#although he didn’t have a sword but he also love cheese just like me

[pumpkinsouppe]

These little guys have a chokehold on me, I’m shaking crying and throwing up bc of them

[helliontherapscallion]

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Thursday (Part 2)

Monday     Tuesday     Wednesday     Thursday (Part 1)     Friday     Saturday     Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: panic attacks, swearing, puking, concussions, mentions of injuries/bullying, homophobia

Word count: 5,138

After school, you were sitting on the couch as you furiously typed on your keyboard at an extremely fast pace. You were on a roll with these essays, they were probably going to be finished by the time you had to go back to the school to get on the bus with the team. You figured that you could even finish Annie’s essay and get started on Sammy’s US history presentation on the sociopolitical climate of the United States in the mid twentieth century to today. However, instead of covering a variety of topics like the rubric requested you to do, you were only going to talk about the significant events that happened to the LGBT+ community starting with Stonewall and going to Obergefell v. Hodges. You were also going to go in depth about how even if there are more opportunities available and more laws set in place to protect for LGBT+ people in the present then there were in past, members of the LGBT+ community still suffer heavy discrimination in the workplace and in the public. With receipts of course, the assignment required a minimum of three pictures per slide, and the group chat was a perfect source.

After that was done, you would email Sammy’s teacher (you had her last year for US history and you knew that she had a son in the grade below you currently transitioning from female to male) that you were the one that did her project and send screenshots of Sammy calling you slurs. Luckily for you, you had receipts of her being transphobic in the past that you could also send. Everything was effortlessly falling into place for you today. 

As you were typing, the front door swung open and two overly excited fifth graders ran into the house and up the stairs. A tired Schlatt followed them. “I will never know how the hell Phil keeps up with them.” 

“I dunno, maybe because he’s already raised three kids before.”

You watched as your uncle jumped and whipped his head over towards you, his hand clutching his chest. He lightly glared at you, “christ kid don’t do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

You smirked at him before turning back to your laptop to continue typing the essay. You were almost done with the conclusion paragraph on Annie’s essay and you wanted to get to Sammy’s presentation as fast as possible. As you were typing, you felt a warm air fan across your neck and your uncle’s voice right next to your ear, “whatcha typin?”

You lept off the couch and almost fell into the coffee table before steadying yourself and deadpanning at Schlatt. “I was typing an essay before you interrupted me.”

He snorted, “it looked like you were on a roll, just thought I’d see what my beloved niece was writing. Can I read it?” 

Your eyes lit up as an excited grin split your cheeks, “yeah, but lemme catch you up real quick. Adrian, Sammy, and Annie got mad at me a few days ago and wanted me to do some homework for them as a sort of payment. But after they pulled that little stunt in the lunchroom yesterday, they decided to be little bitches to me and call me slurs. So naturally, I decided to change the essay prompt into an in depth analysis about discrimination LGBT people face from their peers on the daily. My english teacher’s really against homophobia and the project’s worth twenty five percent of our overall grade, so it’s perfect.”

While you were rambling on and on about your detailed plot for revenge, Schlatt couldn’t help but be proud of the person you’d become. A major part of him was impressed that you came up with a detailed plan so quickly, that meant that his cunning nature was rubbing off on you and that made him ecstatic. Sure you mentioning not being straight was new to him, but he was prepared to accept you for whatever you identified as. He didn’t care how people identified, he just cared if they were good people. And his niece was one of the best kids he knew. He’d let your slip up slide for now until you felt comfortable enough to properly come out to him. 

“That an amazing plan, fuckin brilliant. Though, you could do more.”

That piqued your interest, “I’m listening.”

“Do you have any blackmail?”

Your eyes glinted with sudden understanding, “why yes I do, uncle dearest. I just so happen to have thousands of texts from them talking shit about each other and basically the entire school. And them being incredibly racist. They would be destroyed if that came out.” 

“Two things. One, never call me that again. Two, perfect. Keep it as leverage if they try to do something. You don’t pull out all the good cards in the first round, you wait for the right moment to strike so you can win. You need to constantly defend yourself against other players and anticipate their every move. If you leak everything right now, you won’t have anything to use against them if they have something up their sleeve you didn’t know about. Patience is key in things like this.”

You absorbed every single word that came out of his mouth like it was the holy gospel. Although he was your uncle and you loved him with all your heart, but he was a sly bastard when he wanted to be. He knew his way around fighting and manipulating people just right, so you were incredibly happy that you were on his good side and he absolutely adored you. Though questionable and morally gray, he was giving you advice because he cared about you and you’d be an idiot to not heed his advice. 

“That’s genius, Uncle Schlatt. What would I do without you?”

“You’d get along just fine without me, you would’ve gotten there eventually. You’re smart. I’m just givin you a little push in the right direction.”

“I honestly would’ve never thought about waiting, I was so dead set on getting revenge that I would’ve just leaked everything all at once. I want them to feel how I felt when they were around me. I-” you paused. Would this make you the same as them? You’d be screwing up all their grades, Adrian’s job, and Sammy’s athletic career. You came to the chilling realization that you’d be the same as them. You’d be as manipulative as they were. “...Uncle Schlatt, would that make me the same as them?”

“Fuck no! You’re always gonna be better than them no matter what. When they’re at their best, you’re always gonna be a whole lot better than them. They deserve what’s happening to them, it sounds like they put you through so much shit the past few years. I actually think you could do a whole lot worse to them if you’re willing to put more work in, but it’s your plan and if you think that what you’re doing is too much,” he darkly chuckled, “you wouldn’t like my idea.”

“You’re right, they deserve everything I have planned for them. God, I don’t know what I was thinking, ‘would that make me the same as them,’” you mocked what you said earlier, “what a load of shit. Anyways, thanks Uncle Schlatt. I’m gonna get back to writing this. They’re due tomorrow and I wanna finish as much as I can before I have to go.”

“Alright, whaddya want for dinner? Phil’s gonna be like thirty minutes late from work so I’m cookin tonight.”

Oh no. No, no, no, no. That man can barley cook boxed mac n cheese, let alone anything else. He’d burn down the house if you left him alone in the kitchen with the stove. “On second thought, why don’t I help you with dinner? We can make some chicken alfredo.”

“Awe, you’d rather hang out with me than finish your homework? Ya really do love me. C’mon let’s start.”

The process of making dinner was… interesting. Multiple times, Schlatt almost spilled boiling water on himself and he even managed to burn the pasta while it was in the water. How he even managed to do that you’d never find out, you had your back turned cutting up vegetables and herbs at the time. That was when you subtly started to take over in the kitchen, giving him smaller tasks while you handled everything else. You felt bad for Tubbo, his father can’t cook for shit. 

By time you finished, about an hour passed and Philza had come home and changed out of his work clothes. The two adults sat at the table discussing something that you didn’t pay attention to while your brothers and cousin were in the living room waiting for you to finish dinner. Finally, you set the table and it was time to eat. 

Because you couldn’t have many fatty foods before any matches or practices, you had made a separate plate for yourself that only had plain pasta, chicken, and broccoli. You were surprised with how well it turned out, you were following an iffy recipe you found on the first link Google brought up. 

After dinner, you went upstairs to put your uniform on and pack a little bag full of things you might need: a small blanket, some snacks, a water bottle, and a portable charger. Oh, and fuzzy socks and a pair of crocs. You could never go wrong with fuzzy socks and crocs. Feeling a vibration in your pocket, you pulled out your phone.

Hales : )

(Y/n), I’m omw to your house

Gonna give you a ride to the school

(Y/n)

Hales you don’t have to give me a ride, I can drive

Hales : )

Don’t care

Omw, be there in like 7 mins

You swiped out of yours and her conversation and opened up the family group chat

(Y/n)

I don’t need a ride to the school, Haley’s giving me one

She’s gonna give me a ride home too

Dadza

Alright, thank her for me

Tell her I said good luck too!

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Dadza

(Y/n), do everything he wouldn’t do

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck you I’m a good influence

Dadza

You’re really not

Wilby

^^^^

Technology Sword

^

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck all of you 

You heard Haley’s car pull into the driveway and dashed out of your room with your bag. Just as you put your hand on the doorknob, a hand stopped you.

“Coat.”

You grumbled as you reached past Philza to grab your coat. After you slipped it on, you were pulled into a hug. “You’re gonna do great out there. I know you’re gonna win this, we’ll be watching in the stands.”

“Damn right she’s gonna do good, she’s my niece after all.”

Schlatt pulled you away from your father’s hug and tried to ruffle your hair before you swatted away his hand, “don’t. You have no idea how long it took me to get a perfect ponytail. I have an ungodly amount of hairspray and bobby pins in my hair right now.”

“Fine. You’re gonna kick their asses tonight.”

Tommy and Tubbo pushed past Schlatt and both tackled you into a hug making you stumble slightly back. 

“Kick their asses good (y/n)!” Tommy cheered, making you crack up before one stern glance from Philza completely stopped you. “Tommy, don’t say that. (Y/n), not funny.”

“Alright, Haley’s waiting for me. I gotta go, love you guys!” As you turned to walk through the door, you could hear your family following you and shouting “good luck”. You felt heat creep up on your cheeks as Haley rolled down her window and wove at your family with the biggest grin on her face. 

“Thank you! We’re gonna take home the gold for sure!”

You hopped in her car as she rolled up the window and chuckled. “I love your family, they’re always so full of energy. It’s refreshing to see compared to how boring my family is.”

You glanced at your entire family gathered on the front porch. Tommy and Tubbo were practically vibrating with excitement, Wilbur and Techno calmly smiled and wove at you, Philza was grinning widely at you as you saw his mouth forming words that you couldn’t hear or read, and Schlatt was grinning cheekily at you. You raised your hand to wave at them as they vanished from view when Haley pulled out of your driveway. You smiled softly, “I love em too.”

The car ride was relatively quick with the same soft indie pop music floating from the speakers and an easy going conversation with Haley about the match tonight. You both thought that you could beat the other team if everyone focused 100% and played exactly like you guys did in practices. If everyone did that, you would be unstoppable. 

Luckily for you and Haley, you were the first ones in line to board the bus so you two got the back seat with Zara and Jazzy sitting across from you guys. The hour long bus ride passed quickly and lively with you four passing around your phone and playing some mad libs, you were sure that by the end of the last game you four were laughing and crying. Sometime in the middle of the trip, you noticed that Haley would start to lean on your shoulder and continuously glance at you as she laughed. You desperately wanted to believe that it was because she liked you, but she was straight and she was your best friend. She was probably trying to make sure you were having a good time. 

When the team had gotten to the opposing school and left the locker room to stretch in the gym, you could hear your family start to scream your and Haley’s names from the front row next to you, Tommy and Tubbo being the loudest amongst them with Philza trying to get them to quiet down so you could focus. You felt your cheeks heat up as you smiled at them and Haley wove enthusiastically back at them. Zara was laughing at you two. Stretching went by in a flash and before you knew it, you were on the court facing the opposing team. 

The first match was won by the opposing team by five points. The second match stretched on and on until it was won by your team narrowly by two points. The team was going to have to shape up in the third match if you guys wanted a chance at winning, the opposing team was good. Before the third match started, Coach Williams called for a time out so you guys could talk about strategy. Before Haley could go back onto the court, you pulled her aside.

“Hales, we need to do what we practiced. The other team won’t be expecting it at all, I’ve been setting you up this entire game. They’re never going to expect you setting me up for a spike.”

“When are we going to do it though? We need a better plan.”

“I’m sure the opportunity will come and both of us will recognize it. We just can’t do it too early in the game though, that’ll ruin their surprise.”

“(Y/n), I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“When do I not Hales? We gotta get gold this year.”

The third round went by with both teams constantly swapping places until you both were tied fifteen to fifteen. You saw the ball flying towards Haley, giving her the perfect opportunity to set you up for a spike.  “HALEY NOW!” 

You watched as her face hardened in determination as she pretended like she was going to spike it by jumping high in the air and stretching her arms back, making the opposing front row players all gather in front of her. Much to their surprise, she launched it towards you as you leaped up and went for the kill. The stinging of the ball hit by your wrist and the smack sound the ball made when it slammed onto the open gym floor was something you’d never forget as the crowd around you went wild over the unexpected play. You could hear the high pitched screaming of Tommy and Tubbo over everybody else. Glancing at them over your shoulder, you saw them jumping up and down on the gym floor and looking at you with awe filled eyes and gaping mouths. The rest of your family looked at you with similar expressions, their cheers echoing in your mind. Winking at them, you turned back to your team and went straight to Haley. Clapping a hand on her shoulder, you pulled her into a quick hug, yelling over the raving of the crowd. “HALEY WE NAILED THAT!” 

“HOLY SHIT I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY GONNA WORK!”

“You have such little faith in your setter! You wound me Hales.”

“Well, I would have more faith in you if you weren’t chaotic on the court, sweetheart.”

You felt yourself surge in happiness at the nickname, but you couldn’t afford to focus too much on it. Your team only needed one more point to win best in the state and go to nationals. It would be the first time in your team’s history if you reached national level, and you’d be damned if you were the one to screw it up for them. 

The last rotation went on for a while, each team fighting tooth and nail for the state championship title with clashing determination. You tried your best to block every hit and try to set Haley up for a spike, and you were successful for the most part, only missing a few blocks. You saw the setter adjacent to you set the spiker up for a spike and jumped up in time to try to block it, your arms stretched upwards and your palms out. Only, the ball didn’t hit your hands. It collided painfully with your nose, ricocheted off your face with a thwack and sailed over to the other side of the court. Your head whipped back as your body followed suit and flew backwards onto the floor. Without giving you any time to react, your head bounced back and cracked against the polished hardwood floor of the gym. Everything went black. 

“...(y……”

“..(y/n)......”

“(Y/n).”

You faintly heard someone calling someone’s name over the continuous ringing noise. Was it your name? It felt right, so it had to be your name. You peeled your eyes open to see a blurry figure hovering over you. It was swirled with tans, browns, and backs. After a while of the figure repeating your name, it slowly became more recognizable, albeit appearing twice in your vision. It took you a while to figure out who this was before your muddled brain recognized Haley.

“Hales! There’s two o’ya. Twice as beautiful babe…” You slurred out as you attempted to smile at her.

“Oh thank god, PLEASE WE NEED A DOCTOR SHE HIT HER HEAD!” Her usually angelic voice gritted against your brain like sandpaper making you cringe as pain exploded in your head.

“God babe you’re so loud, why’s so bright? I-wha's goin on?” You blearily tried to move your head to look around only to be stopped by a pair of large hands on each side of your head gently holding it in place. You moved your laggy eyes around to look at the figure. He was a blonde man with blue eyes and a hint of stubble on his chin. His eyebrows were knitted together and he looked… he looked… your brain worked to figure out why he looked how he looked. Who was he?

“Please don’t move hun.” His muffled voice was baritone. You squinted at him trying to figure out who this man was.

“Who th f-fuck… why?”

“I’m your dad hun. Do-do you not recognize me?” You made a noise in the back of your throat as your stuffy brain finally put a name to the face.

“Dad- wha’s goin on? I’on feel so good…”

“Shh, I know, I know. Just stop moving and talking. Everything’s fine. I’m here. You’re okay.”

“Mmk… Dad, where are we? I’ont know- you’re so quiet.”

“Stop moving so much. You’re on the floor in a gym. You just won your team the state championship. Now stop talking please.”

Huh. So that’s why everybody seemed to appear from above you. You strained your eyes to look around you, but you could only see your dad’s face hovering above you. “Shit I- who’s aroun’ me? Where’s Hales?”

“I’m right here sweetheart. I got the doctor, Mr. Minecraft.”

Your dad’s face moved away from your vision so fast that it made your head spin and your stomach twist. Another face appeared above you that you once again didn’t recognize.

“I’m Doctor Martin, can you tell me your first and last name?”

“Uh, (y/n) Minecraft?”

“Good, what month are we in right now?”

“Nov-November?”

“Close, it’s late October. Can you tell me who this,” he pointed to your dad, “is?”

“S’my dad Phillip.”

“That’s your dad Philza.”

The questioning stopped as he suddenly shined a blinding light into your sensitive eyes. You hissed as you tried to move your head away from the offending light only to be held in place by your dad’s hands. Your head spun as you moved too quickly and a wave of nausea hit you, making you groan and move your arm to cover your eyes. Your hand was stopped by something warm and soft wrapping around it and holding it tightly. Everything was so overwhelmingly and painfully bright and loud. You wanted to make it stop. 

“Mr. Minecraft, your daughter appears to have a concussion. I don’t have the tools on hand to determine the severity of it, but it’s worrying that her pupils are asymmetrical, she’s delirious, and has slight memory loss. I understand you live about an hour away from here, and it’s alright for you to take her to a hospital closer to your house. Make sure you keep her alert.”

Your delirious mind only registered about half of what came out of the doctor’s mouth. You mumbled gibberish as you once again opened your eyes to look around. You were only briefly able to crane your neck to the left. Several figures large and small were standing behind your dad. Your family, your mind supplemented. Slowly, your mind was starting to recognize your surroundings even if there was currently double of everything and everything was blurry.

“I’m going to help you stand up. Do ya think you can do that?”

“Yeah Dad.” You lifted your upper body off from the ground with a gentle hand on your back helping you sit up. Fighting the wave of nausea that slapped you in the face, you reached up to rub at your eyes. A hand once again stopped you. You peeked your eyelids open and lightly glared at whomever stopped you. “Hales you’re lucky you’re so cute I woulda slapped you. I like holdin but you’re bein annoying. Stop.” You attempted to make your voice sound firm, but the words that came out of your mouth were slightly slurred.

She was silent as she helped her dad haul you to your feet. Once on your feet, you saw the room spin and felt yourself start to sway slightly. An arm wrapped itself around your shoulders and pulled you close to them so that your weight was supported. They were a little taller than you were making it easy to lean on them. 

“...Can you walk?” A deep, monotone voice rumbled the chest of the person you were leaning against. 

“Mhm. ‘M not weak.” Though your limbs felt like they were made of molasses, you placed one foot in front of the other slowly. The person moved alongside you, “you’re doing so good, keep going.” That sparked familiarity in you as you stopped in your tracks and tried to look up at the person you were leaning against making the person tighten their arm around your shoulders when you almost fell over.

“Tech?”

“Yeah, it’s Technoblade. Just focus on walking. You’re almost out of the gym.”

When you realized that you were out of the gym, you sighed in relief. It was so much quieter and darker. Though it was still relatively bright, it was better than the gym. 

“S’better.”

“When we get her to the car we can give her some sunglasses or something if it’s still too bright for her.”

“Wilbs-”

“Focus on walking.”

You huffed in irritation, “don’ tell me what to do bitch.”

You felt Techno’s body jolt slightly as he chuckled, making your head throb at the sudden movement. “Just walk.”

When you walked outside, you shivered as you felt the cool air nip at your exposed skin. Right, you were in your volleyball uniform. “I’ll go pull the car around, you guys stay with her.” 

You saw a tall brunet start to walk away from you. Uncle Splat? Uncle Schmat? Whatever his name was, you were sure he was your uncle. You tried to snuggle closer to Techno, craving warmth but never being satisfied. Where was your uncle? 

After a while, you saw a car moving towards you and blinding light pointed right at you making you cringe away and groan. Techno started to slowly walk towards the car. “C’mon (y/n), you’re almost there. When you’re in the car you can relax.”

“Tommy, Tubbo, and Techno, you’re in the back row. Schlatt can drive and Wil, you’re taking the passenger seat. I’ll stay with her in the middle row so she can have some room to lay down.” Tommy and Tubbo were with you? Why weren’t they talking, they usually were very vocal.

“Tom, Tubbs didja like the game?”

They didn’t say anything as they climbed into the car. Did they not hear you? 

“They’re just… tired (y/n).” Your dad’s voice reassured you as he took Techno’s place holding you up. 

“I wanna nap. ‘M so tired.”

“You can’t sleep yet. We gotta get you to a doctor first.”

“Mm. Makes sense.”

“Let’s get you in the car hun.”

As he helped you climb into the car, you felt an overwhelming wave of nausea wash over you making you lose your balance and almost faceplant into the cloth seats. You felt yourself being gently, yet urgently taken out of the car and led to grass as you felt your esophagus shorten. Something burning made its way up your throat and spewed into the grass. You felt someone rubbing your back as you puked up your dinner. 

When you were done, you reached up with a shaking hand to wipe your mouth. “You feelin better? Think you can get back into the car or do you need to sit down for a bit?”

“Car.”

After some difficulty, you were successfully in the middle row of the car laying down with your head on Philza’s lap. Soon enough, your shoes were taken off and a blanket was draped over you. 

“(Y/n), what do you remember?”

You scrunched up your face as you squinted at Philza’s face. “I remember playing volleyball with Hales. She’s so pretty, she’s straight though. I remember the other team hitting the ball, me jumping, then nothin. Wha’ happened?”

You watched as Philza winced, “well, you got everything right so far. You got hit in the face with the ball so you fell and hit your head on the floor. You were passed out for a minute before you woke up. It was a pretty nasty fall, we’re going to the hospital now. How’re ya feelin?”

“Head hurts, ‘m seein two of everything, an I can’t think.”

“Do you know what a concussion is?” You nodded in his lap slightly, “you probably have one.”

After a while of talking, you were slowly starting to come to your senses and your speech was clearing up, but your head was still too stuffy to think about what you were saying before you said it. You didn’t have a filter.

“Do you wanna tell us about your week so far? Do you remember most of it?”

“Mhm, it was shit. On Monday I had a panic attack and Adrian, Sammy, and Annie were being bitches to me all day. They fucked up my back. On Tuesday, they got mad at me for ditching them and they had me do their homework, had another panic attack, and Haley told me that someone took pictures of our boobs ‘n stuff and they were gonna leak it to the school if Haley didn’t stop hanging out with me. Haley and I almost kissed, but she’s straight. Pulled an all nighter and Wednesday I accidentally came out to Tech and Wil and had another panic attack. Annie, Adrian, and Sammy took more pictures of me through my window, Annie outed me to the entire school and slapped me. Another panic attack, skipped the last two classes and felt like shit the entire practice. Today Adrian and Sammy told me to kill myself and I had another panic attack. ’S about it.”

As you were going through your week, the hand that was previously gently stroking your hair had frozen as the car was enveloped in a tense silence. Luckily, Tommy and Tubbo were passed out in the back seat so they didn’t hear how bad your week was. Everyone awake knew that you had a few bad days this week, but they didn’t know the full extent of it. You watched as Philza’s expression had turned downright murderous, but you didn’t really care. You were busy talking about your week.

For the rest of the car ride, Philza asked you simple questions like what your favorite color was, your favorite animal, basically your favorite everything. Eventually, the car pulled into the hospital parking lot and Philza helped you get out of the car. “Schlatt, can you take the boys home so they can get some rest? I’ll stay with her.” 

“Yeah, I’m on it. Don’t cause too much trouble (y/n), we all know you can raise hell.” He watched you for a reaction, but when you didn’t react, he coughed. “Well, I’ll see ya later kid. Good luck.”

The car drove off leaving you and Philza at the front of the emergency room building. “It’s gonna be a long night (y/n).”

“I gotta finish Annie’s essay and Sammy’s presentation though.”

“No you don’t, I’ll email your teachers.”

You two checked in with the front desk before moving to sit on the uncomfortable chairs. It was going to be a long night. You were so tired.

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[soldierswar]

Kobik - Chapter VIII

BuckyxReader

Fluff/Angst

Chapter plot: The aftermath of the explosion brings up questions of what comes next with you and Bucky's future with Kobik will be.

Masterlist

“Are you sure you guys gonna be okay?”

It had been a few hours since you had gotten back home. Even though you protested Kobik using her powers so that she could conserve energy, she conjured up a small bed in your office for her to sleep in and was now thank goodness dead asleep.

After dealing with some organization called ‘SWORD’ that Bucky and Sam were reporting to on a video call, Bucky managed to convince them that he could handle the rest when it came to the aftermath of this ordeal. At least when it came to keeping Kobik until further notice. But he wasn’t stupid enough to think that they weren’t most likely keeping close eyes on you guys.

“You know you can stay the night here, Sam,” you insisted.

Bucky held a smirk on his face.

“He would, but Sam’s got a date in Louisiana in…18 hours?” Bucky dramatically checked his watch and winked at Sam.

“Okay, Cap,” you nodded impressed going in to give him a big hug goodbye.

“By the way,” he said after hugging you.

“I haven’t had a chance to say congratulations.”

Bucky smiled and wrapped an arm around you tightly.

“But the world is in trouble if this kid is anything like either one of you,” he shuddered pointing a finger at the both of you.

Bucky punched him on the arm.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Hopefully not too soon,” Sam quipped.

“And say goodbye to the little fireball for me when she wakes up. I’m going to miss her.”

A sudden wave of sadness hit you because of his words.

Missing her. Something that you dreaded thinking about. In the few days that you had gotten to know her, you came to love her. You wanted to protect her at all costs from anyone. But now, it seemed like one of her biggest threats was herself. How were you supposed to protect her from…her?

The only solution that you could think of is keeping her away from anything or anyone who could threaten her. Anything that could make her feel sad, angry, or unsafe. To shield her from the world. If she was in a warm, loving environment like Bucky said, she would be fine. She could live a normal life. She could live a life where maybe she’d feel content enough to grow, or stay the innocent little 4-year-old if she pleased. Maybe that environment could be with you…

Being stuck in your thoughts about this made you not even realize that Bucky had walked Sam outside, probably to talk in private about what came next.

What would come next?

“You need sleep,” Bucky sighed when he walked back into the apartment.

But you didn’t want to sleep. You wanted answers. And he knew that by the look in your eyes.

“Y/N, we can talk about this tomorrow.”

His eyes looked tired, but you at least needed his attention for a few more minutes.

“No, I want to know now,” you stated.

“Please, let’s just—”

“You don’t have to give me an hour-long discourse about it, but I just want to know what’s going to happen to her in the next few days. Is she going to be interrogated like a criminal? Put in a cell to be experimented on?”

He hesitated for a moment but sighed lightly placing a hand on your back walking you over to the couch.

“We’re not sure yet,” he said.

“But there’s no way that anything like that is going to happen. Do you really think that I would allow it?”

You shrugged. What if he just wouldn’t have a choice in the matter?

“Right now all we have to focus on is the fact that SWORD will be questioning Kobik at one of the New York branches tomorrow. I’ll be taking her. But I won’t leave her side.”

“I’m coming too,” you stated.

“Y/N they’ll never let you in. I barely have clearance to go in there myself.”

You gritted your teeth and flared your nostrils in protest, but couldn’t find a way to defy his logic.

“What do they even do anyway? Are they like a new SHIELD or something?”

Bucky paused to think about it, and then shook his head.

“They’re…They specialize more in for the lack of a better term ‘extraterrestrial anomalies’.”

“Okay, but she’s not an alien,” you argued.

He shot you that ‘you know damn well what I mean’ look.

“Anyway,” he continued.

“When they first approached me not long after I found out about her, I didn’t trust them at all. But after hearing them talk about their history good and bad, and maybe making both legal and illegal research on them I trust them…cautiously.”

You snorted. Classic Bucky. But you couldn’t lie, it was one of the big reasons why you loved and trusted him so much.

“I’ll make sure that she’s okay. And then I’ll bring her straight home.”

Home.

“Is this where she is now?” you asked hopefully.

“Home?”

He hesitated. And not in a good way.

“I don’t know,” he answered solemnly.

“Bucky, we love her. And I think she loves us. We could be good for her…She might be a good big sister…”

One side of his face curled into a soft but solemn smile. One that shifted into adoration the longer he looked at you.

He scooted closer to you and carefully placed his hand on your belly and rested his head on your shoulder.

“Our kid would be lucky to have her in their life,” he stated.

“But…”

“But?” you questioned.

He exhaled.

“You know that’s risky…Not just for the kid, but she is a risk to herself.”

You frowned.

“Y/N she needs help. We both know it. She needs the kind of help that we can’t give her by acting like she’s a normal child. She needs room to grow into her powers and figure out how not to end up in incidents like…Like tonight.”

Again, you wanted to protest. You wanted to find a good counterargument. But a wave of exhaustion swept over you, and you just couldn’t.

“Come on,” Bucky whispered and picked you up taking you to bed like a child. This you didn’t protest to. Being in his arms after having the day that you had was so comfortable. Even if one of his arms was made of vibranium. You didn’t even make it to bed before falling asleep.

…

Before Bucky and Kobik walked through the door you had a stack of grilled cheese sandwiches set up on the counter. It was one of Kobik’s favorite things to eat for lunch.

“Y/N!” she exclaimed running over to you to give you the biggest hug.

You hadn’t seen her since the previous night when she was exhausted and in distress. And although they had left at almost noon, you were still heavily asleep by the time they left.

“Guess what I made?”

She looked up at the counter and beamed.

“Can I have one?”

You gave her a sarcastic frown and stuck your nose in the air like a snooty queen.

“No. They’re only for me. You can just watch me eat them.”

She giggled. It felt so good to hear her laugh like that again. And you were glad that she didn’t seem completely traumatized from having to rehash all of the events from last night. Or rather even just the past week.

You grabbed a plate and handed one to her and told her to sit on the couch and watch tv. She happily complied which left time for you and Bucky to talk about what was going on.

Bucky walked up to you and kissed you on your forehead.

“Glad to see you up.”

“Glad to see the both of you back.”

The sound of the Sponge-Bob theme song blasted in the living room. She really loved that show.

“I see you haven’t given her up yet,” you remarked crossing your arms.

He looked at you guiltily. So you placed a hand on his arm to let him know that it was okay.

Over the next ten minutes, Bucky explained to you how they had taken over the problem with whoever was trying to kidnap Kobik. Unfortunately, the situation was too big and too dire for them to have clearance to disclose what it was and why they wanted and needed Kobik. But it was safe to say that for now, she was safe.

“What about the parking lot?” you asked.

“I mean she fixed the apartment back to how it was, she could—”

Bucky shook his head.

“That would raise way too many questions. Ones we don’t want the world to have even more questions about. We just have to leave it be. Trust me…Kobik wasn’t thrilled about those orders from SWORD.”

You smiled.

“But…umm…”

You knew that you weren’t going to like what was going to come next.

He leads you to your room and sat you down on the bed.

“She really isn’t staying with us is she,” you sighed.

You took in a deep breath and tried not to cry. So this was really happening.

“There’s um…There’s a couple. They’re scientists that specialize and are top in their field in cosmic energy. And they’re really interested in her case.”

“As for what?” you questioned.

“A little lab rat? To live the same kind of life that she did in a lab like the one in Europe to study her?”

“She was happy there, Y/N. And they never treated her like a lab rat.”

“And she can be happy here, James,” you argued.

“Despite your argument about whether her old home wasn’t good enough, this is going to be different,” he reassured.

“How so?”

He took your hand in his.

“They’re a couple. They’ve wanted a child for a long time but it just never happened for them. When they heard about Kobik and saw her they were thrilled at the prospect of being able to keep her with them. They can help her the way that we can’t. But they can also give her the stability that we could.”

A pang of jealousy hit you. You wanted to be that for her. You wanted to be everything that they could be. But you weren’t. And you hated facing that.

“So you spoke to them?” you choked.

“How do you know that they can be trusted?”

Bucky used his hand to wipe away the stray tear that fell down your cheek.

“I met them.”

He smiled that specific smile that always reassured you that things were going to be okay.

“They’re lovely, Y/N. I think you’d really like them. In fact, Kobik is going to meet them tomorrow. And they want you to come.”

Good because you wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“The best part is that they only live an hour away. She can come to see us whenever she wants.”

You lit up and nearly burst into tears.

“Really?”

He nodded.

“See? She can still be a big sister…But like a sister permanently away at boarding school.”

You rolled your eyes. But you were so relieved that she wasn’t going to be far.

“She’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay.”

“Y/N? Is everything okay?” Kobik asked walking into the room.

Your heart felt warm again at the sight of her innocent features. No longer in terrible distress, but just like an innocent little girl again. And you realized that maybe she might have felt that way because she had hope. Hope that she wouldn’t be the cause of another disaster like the parking lot, or even worse.

“Hey Kobi,” you chimed.

“New nickname?” Bucky asked.

You shrugged.

Kobik jumped up on the bed and sat against you laying her head on your shoulder.

“Kobik, do you know where we’re going tomorrow?”

She turned to you looking a little sad. But nodded.

“Am I leaving you already?” she pouted.

Bucky shook his head.

“They want to get things ready for you first,” he stated.

“Tomorrow we’re just going to meet them. You can see how you like them. And I think you will.”

“They’re going to help me with my powers, right?”

There was a hopeful look in her eyes. This told you everything that you needed to know. She really did need help. And she wanted it.

You put your arm around her and gave her a comforting squeeze.

“Yeah, kiddo,” you said.

“But you know what? We’re going to be right here for you. And you can visit us any time you’d like.”

She smiled and leaned in to snuggle.

“She’s lucky to have you,” she sighed.

You frowned.

She?

“Who?”

“Her,” she said matter matter-of-factly and then pointed at your flat belly.

You paused and turned to Bucky who carried the same confused expression as you.

“Uh…Wait did she say?” he asked.

“How do you know that?” you questioned.

She shrugged.

“I felt her.”

You thought about when Kobik touched you and relived or rather felt your memories, including your emotions. But you didn’t think that she could feel your baby. Or if she even knew about it…Her…

“Well, Kobi,” you said softly, and still in complete shock.

“She’s gonna need a big sister. One that can come visit her every once in a while. You think you’re up for the job?”

She nodded happily.

“I can’t believe in 6 months I’ll be a big sister.”

Bucky’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry…What?” he choked.

He narrowed his eyes at you.

“Six months? That means—”

You gave him a guilty look. How could you not have noticed for all of this time?

You and Bucky just stared at each other some more before Kobik poked you.

“Are you guys gonna be okay?” she asked.

“And can I have another grilled cheese on the counter?”

You would laugh if this wasn’t one of the most surreal and yet happiest moments in your life. But you still were at a loss for words.

Bucky intervened before you could answer.

“How about you both get food, and I’ll call your doctor since apparently, you have an aversion to it.”

You narrowed your eyes stuck your tongue at him and followed Kobik.

“Deal.”

Tagged: @buckylove123 @teenagedreams-bucky @typicalnerd98 @veroxloki @white-wolf-buckaroo @acciosiriusblack @pastel-boy-sungjae @flightsandfantasy @noiralei @unstablesleepygal

[scarletarosa]

Athena

Greek goddess of logic, truth, intelligence, knowledge, wit, wisdom, war, battle strategy, heroism, protection, law, justice, order, good counsel, skill, victory, and handicrafts

Athena (Roman: Minerva) is the magnificent goddess of Truth, she is a tremendous being of light who ensouls the cosmic consciousness of Truth and grants it to the world. She is the guardian over all knowledge and despises ignorance, facing it and destroying it like light ripping through darkness. She was one of the most important goddesses of Ancient Greece and is said to have led the Greeks to their homeland and supported their development by teaching them many things. She was also their greatest protectress and would valiantly defend them while defending their cities, even mentoring them in particular battle techniques. As a very complex goddess, Athena would watch over many areas of life, including all forms of education, crafts/inventions, and philosophical thinking. She also is one of the three Virgin goddesses (along with Artemis and Hestia) who are never swayed by romance or lust, since Athena values being solely devoted to the realm of the mind. 

Mythology: Many ages ago when Zeus was less moral than he is nowadays, he was very jealous of anyone who threatened his position of power. When he learnt that his wife, Metis, the goddess of wisdom, may birth his successor, he became desperate to end their lives. Zeus devoured Metis while she was pregnant, thinking this would secure him. But when the time came, Zeus began feeling tremendous headaches. As even he couldn’t bear them, Hephaestus struck Zeus with his axe and Athena leapt out of Zeus’ head, fully armed and with a furious cry. This frightened some of the deities, but Zeus, however, was delighted and full of pride. In this story of Athena’s birth, we see her as enraged wisdom that fights as a defender and upholder of justice.

A popular myth of Athena is the story of Arachne, a mortal craftswoman who boasted that she was more skillful than Athena herself. Athena offered her a chance to repent, but after Arachne refused, she challenged her to a weaving duel. The goddess fashioned a beautiful tapestry which illustrated the gruesome fate of the mortals who had the hubris of challenging the gods. Arachne, on the other hand, chose to depict stories of the mortals unjustly victimized by the gods. But she didn’t even have a chance to finish it for the enraged Athena tore Arachne’s fabric to pieces and turned her into a spider. As such, Arachne is doomed to weave ever since. This was a myth written by the Greeks as a warning against hubris, and does not portray an actual event, especially since Arachne is actually a goddess of spiders and wasn’t a cursed human.

Roles: Despite Athena’s connection to war, she moreso represents the strategy behind it and the ability to protect and bring about order (whereas Ares represents battle-lust, Athena fights out of necessity). She was also known to bestow victory in war, as she is at times seen accompanied by Nike, the goddess of victory. Through these connections, Athena is the patroness of heroes and is known to wisely advise them in their quests and grant divine weapons in times of need.

Other than the art of battle, Athena is known as a skillful inventor and even holds the title of ‘protectress of agriculture’. She is represented as the inventor of the plough and rake: she created the olive tree (the greatest blessing of Attica), taught the people to yoke oxen to the plough, took care of the breeding of horses, invented the bridle, instructed people how to tame horses, and much more. At the beginning of spring, offerings were given to Athena in advance for the protection she was to afford to crops and fields. Besides the tools of agriculture, Athena was said to be the inventor of numbers, science, hand-made crafts, chariots, and other such helpful things. 

Athena is a magnificently powerful goddess who can easily strike fear into her enemies. In times of battle, she is known to have lightning flashing from her eyes, and can even overpower Ares himself with her strategic mind during combat. She is peace gained through battle, courage gained through struggle, and clarity gained through wisdom. She has explained to me that the Aegis (the head of Medusa) on her breastplate represents her victory over her own shadow, the part of one’s psyche that creates negative emotions such as fear or cruelty. This is a true mark of wisdom and shows even further just how glorious Athena is. She can always be relied upon for sage advice in any matter, and knows how to directly tell someone what needs to be done or how they should change to become better. Athena says that she is also the goddess who inspires women to be more than their domestic roles that are pressured on them. She inspires rebellion in their hearts and teaches them how to fight and overcome oppression. Thus, Athena is the glorious warrior goddess of illuminating truth and courage; there is nothing that can break her down. 

Appearance: a tall woman in her 30′s with long brown hair, gray eyes, and wears either a white dress or silver armour

Personality: Overall, Athena is wise, intelligent, serious, diligent, straightforward, courageous, determined, perfectionistic, and a steadfast protector of peace. She has a very strong sense of morality and is able to keep calm and collected under a great deal of pressure. She loves to spread knowledge to others, but does not guide us through everything since she seeks to make her devotees independent. She greatly values strength of character, open-mindedness, and the desire to make oneself better no matter what. Athena can be a bit motherly at times with those she likes, but not too much in a “soft” way but more like a quiet and dedicated mother who wants the best for you. Although she does not have much patience for most people, especially if they are unwilling to take responsibility or overcome their ignorance. She also has no patience for people who disrespect her or disregard her nature as a virgin goddess. When Athena is angered, she becomes terrifying and cold. Lightening begins flashing out from her eyes and is relentless in bringing her fury upon whoever offended her. 

Athena is very empowering and knows exactly what to say when her devotees feel down or lost, for she can see past clouded emotions and into the clarity of truth. She also hates injustices of any kind and seeks to destroy all ignorance. She is a very protective warrior and an Illuminator, following the path that Lucifer teaches about wisdom through adversity. She is also a very close friend of the goddess Lilith, so they work well together for gaining Illumination. One of the most sacred animals of Athena is the serpent, which sheds its skin to be reborn, making it a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. This is one of the lesson that she often teaches to her followers, that their current self must die to be reborn in wisdom. In some of her statues, a giant snake can be seen beside her.

| Symbolism of Athena |

Owls

Eagles

Doves

Snakes

Helmets

Shields

Weapons

Olive Tree

Books

| Some of her epithets |

Alkis (The Strong)

Areia (The Warlike)

Ærgáni (Instructor of the Arts)

Axiopoinos (The Avenger)

Día (Heavenly)

Drákaina (She-Dragon)

Chalinitis (Tamer of Horses)

Erganê (The Worker)

Mêchaneus (Skillful Inventor)

Mítir Tǽkhni (Mother of the Arts)

Paiônia (The Healer)

Kóri (The Maiden)

Parthenos (The Virgin)

Pallas (The One who Brandishes Her Weapon)

Lýteira kakóhn (Deliverer from Evil)

Omvrimóthymos (Strong of Spirit)

Oplophóros (The Warrior)

Ormásteira (She Who Urges You Forward)

Polias (Protector of the City)

Polæmitókos (Bringer of Necessary War)

Polývoulos (Exceedingly Wise)

Nikephoros (Bringer of Victory)

Sóhteira (Saviour) 

Devotional Actions: Above all, Athena values offerings of action. She expects those devoted to her to constantly seek to improve themselves by gaining spiritual advancement, overcoming their Egos, and gaining as much knowledge as they can. Wisdom is embraced through battling hardships, analyzing yourself, and learning from trial and error. Dedication to what she teaches pleases her far more than physical offerings.

Offerings: Fine quality white wine (esp. if flower-scented), olives, olive oil, milk, bread, goat cheese, pomegranates, citrus, apples, cherries, figs, white lilies, myrrh incense, sandalwood, almonds, honey, cakes, cooked lamb or goat, beeswax candles, non-fiction books, fancy pens, quills, pottery, paintings, swords, daggers, silver armour, snakeskin, owl feathers, votive owls, clear crystals, silver jewelry, chess games, wool, knitting tools, pretty antiques, white marble, artworks, poetry, snake statuettes, and imagery of her sacred animals.

[lorei-writes]

Don’t be.

Kenshin x MC Hurt/Comfort Warnings: alcohol, toxic extended family

Information: This time I bring you an MC struggling with (newly reinforced) insecurites - and Kenshin who tries to soothe her.

A gift to my dear @cailann, who also happens to like rain and a certain bunny lord.

Kenshin stopped. She was there, her hands held up as to shield herself from the rain. Fabric of her kimono sticking to her body, she rushed through the downpour, seemingly blindly so, her feet threatening to slip on the muddy road at any moment. He called her name, her face turning towards him as their eyes locked – and she was with him, although he couldn’t quite tell when she fell into his chest, his arms holding up his cape above their heads.

Odd coldness seemed to emanate from the corridors of his estate, steps of his relatives still vibrating through the hallways, their words hanging low in the air. Kenshin gritted his teeth, his muscles tightening at the very memory of their visit.  As if to rid himself of the residual anger, he strode towards the training hall, his fingers twitching to curl around the hilt of his sword. Never once looking back, he kept his gaze high, ceilings appearing to be more important than matters flickering at the border of his consciousness. Whispers slowly turning into shouts, he clenched his fists, guilt mixed with strange sort of anxiety pooling low in his stomach – he should have foreseen this, he should have prevented it, he shouldn’t have let them… Wind ruffled the leaves outside, first drops of rain hitting the stone paths. Kenshin opened his eyes wider, his mind slowly waking up.

Kenshin ran, a clap of thunder spreading though him, waves of fear propelling his body. She was out, wasn’t she? Was she…? He didn’t want to think. His feet carrying him forward, his mind seemed to evaporate, changing its form into a mix of sorrows and worries – some of which he could have attempted to ease ahead of time, some of which were out of the reach of his hands. His fingers reached over to the clasps keeping his cape in place, opening them dexterously as drops fell over his head and wet his hair. He did not care – how could he, when her life was in…?

Kenshin stopped. She was there, her hands held up as to shield herself from the rain. Fabric of her kimono sticking to her body, she rushed through the downpour, seemingly blindly so, her feet threatening to slip on the muddy road at any moment. He called her name, her face turning towards him as their eyes locked – and she was with him, although he couldn’t quite tell when she fell into his chest, his arms holding up his cape above their heads. “Kenshin?” she noted in surprise, not quite understanding what was happening in the snippet of world around them. “Let’s get back inside. You’re soaked,” he murmured, clarity beginning to wash over his mind. She nodded in reply, gusts of winds passing by prompting cold shivers to run up and down her spine. Her fingers curling into his kimono, they marched forward, struggling as not to walk into anybody. Weather becoming sterner with each passing second, the cape ceased to offer them any shelter, wind seemingly parting the fibres and seeping through thus created cracks – or so his mind told him, his lover trembling while holding onto him, static slowly creeping at him, waiting for a single opening to overwhelm his senses… “Kenshin? You don’t look well,” she voiced her concerns. Akin to hundreds of tiny bells, her voice rung in his ears, pulling him away from falling into the abyss of anxiety. “Yes,” he steeled himself, castle gates emerging in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere.

The door to their bedroom closed behind them, stray droplets of water wetting the floor with each of their steps. Kenshin hung his cape hurriedly, the fabric creasing where it shouldn’t have – he didn’t care, however, his hands already searching for dry towels. Reaching out to pass one to her, he froze, her eyes looking away from him while she struggled to hide herself behind her arms. His mind stung as he remembered the words spoken to him a day earlier, his hand itching at the memory alone – yet it was her who mattered in the moment, not him. Kenshin spoke her name softly, her gaze refusing to meet his. “Look at me. Please,” he uttered, his request not being granted. He took a step forward, his fingers brushing against her cheek. She leaned into his touch, letting him guide her. “I’m sorry. It’s stupid. I shouldn’t have cared about it to begin with,” she laughed faintly, her lips twitching as she struggled to bring a smile to her face. “You… Have a meeting with them, don’t you? You should hurry.” “I do not,” Kenshin stated curtly. “My family left at night.” “You can’t push people out whenever they speak poorly of me,” she snorted out and glanced to the side. “This matter can be dealt with via correspondence.”

Silence fell between them, air growing thicker as her lips pressed into a thin line. Her shoulders tensing up, her voice slipped out of her lungs. “They did not lie, though. I am useless. I couldn’t even be a pretty accessory, even if I wanted to.” His heart sunk, his fingers tracing a path down her arm as to entwine with hers. “You’re not useless. I wouldn’t change a thing about you,” he uttered, clasping her hand. “You wouldn’t?” As if to answer her, Kenshin brought her palm to his lips and kissed it, then proceeding to move onto her wrist and past it, her sleeve rolling up as to expose more skin. His caresses spreading up to her neck, he showered her in feverish affection, seemingly aiming to claim her inch by inch – until savoury taste marked his tongue, bringing any doubts out of their hiding. Kenshin pulled back, shining tears flowing out of her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she forced out of herself, feelings choking her voice down. “Don’t be. We’ve already discussed that.” Perhaps she fell, perhaps some force pushed her – whichever it was, she found herself nestled safely in his arms, few bitter sobs escaping her lungs. She let them, her lover rubbing soothing circles over her back, her hands grasping onto his clothes. “You should have come to me the first time it happened. This castle is as much your home as mine.” “Mhmm,” she hummed, seemingly beginning to relax. “Let’s… Let’s get changed. It’s getting cold.”

She still tried to hide, he noted – although she seemed to have relaxed, her movements becoming less stiff. Dry yukata hugging her form, she let her arms fall by her sides, a faint smile coming onto her face. Kenshin took a step forward. His hands on her shoulders, he pulled onto her collar to open it slightly, his lips finding themselves on   her   collarbone, a red mark soon blooming over   her  skin. He straightened his back, his fingers brushing against her cheek. “Should I kiss you some more?” “Yes, please,” she whispered, standing up on her tiptoes.

The distance between them shrunk as they collided, greedy of shared affection. As if fearing she’d disappear, his arms snuck around her waist and  pulled her forward – the feeling being seemingly mutual, his lover cupping his cheek. Their foreheads still pressed against each other, they parted to satiate their hunger for air. “Since you’re free now… Would you mind joining me for a round of sake? We could watch the rain fall. The gardens look very pretty at times like that…” she whispered bashfully. “With pleasure.” A smile lit up her face – and his heart warmed, threatening to melt.

Droplets of rain fell from the sky, fresh water pooling in peony buds, moisture gathering over their petals. The world hummed, wind – previously seemingly so stern and cold – rocking tree branches, leaves ringing like bells. The pond seemed to have awakened, its surface rippling with each caress sent from the clouds. Kenshin lifted the cup to his lips, burning sensation spreading over his tongue. He looked down, gentleness sneaking into his gaze: there she was, the only woman he loved, smiling at the world around them. Her shoulder brushing against his, he tipped the bottle to pour her another drink. She turned to look at him – and he wished the moment could last forever, a feather-light kiss being bestowed upon his lips. She was his everything.

Tag list: @datenoriko, @nad-zeta, @tsubaki3192, @jiyuu-chan, @missjudge-me, @ikemencrossedmyth, @plumpblueberry , @nimeryaa, @nuttytani, @thesirenwashere, @milas-imaginarium, @kisara-16, @yukas-clover, @alerialumina , @cheese-ception , @iamryxx, @cottonfluffballofdoom

If you want to be tagged under my future works, let me know (any way works)! ^^ Also, if you have some preferences (for example: you’d rather not be tagged under some series, etc.), please, tell me. 

If you don’t want to be tagged anymore - please, do not feel bad about it, just say so :)

[lovlydovlyjaycie]

Ævi - Frontlines

Hey again! This will be a continued series. The first Ævi series is in my masterlist and is only four parts. This is going to be a ongoing series, so there is going to be a lot more of Ævi to come. :)

Summary: Y/n or also known as Ævi has lived through varies of world events. Now it is 1941, she has excepted that some things cannot be changed so Loki has convinced Y/n to go to New York and live a normal life, a life Y/n always wanted. Or as normal it can be, because new introductions lead to events that didn’t go down in the history books.

Characters: Bucky Barnes x reader, Steve Rogers, Peggy, Loki, OC Vera

Warnings: Fluff, Violence, we’re officially in Captain America the First Avenger now... So I guess spoilers?

Note: When I am writing and particularly writing about Bucky and y/n meeting again or them just being in love I always listen to Pirates of the Caribbean to the theme or Will and Elizabeth and I thought it would be good to share that with you guys. To get in the feels. Right now it jumps from POTC One day and the last minute or so from Drink up me hearties yo ho. I know it is so random, but I cannot get it out of my head.

Part 10

I woke up next to Bucky the next day with the blankets sprawled all over me and Bucky laying his arm lazily over me, still asleep. I looked at the dog tags that I was wearing. It felt nice having something with Bucky's name on it, to have something of his with me. I carefully turned around towards Bucky. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. Even in his sleep he had his well known smirk plastered on his face, probably dreaming about some good things. I reached with my hand towards his face. Slightly tracing his lips with my fingers and then up to his cheek. I was rubbing slow circles on his cheek with thumb.

"Good morning." He said quietly, his smirk becoming bigger. "Sorry for waking you up." I told him apologetic sliding my hand back to my place, but he quickly grabbed it. "Waking up next to you is the best thing, so never apologize for that doll." He told me as he guided my hand back to his cheek and he opened his eyes to look at me.

"What are you up to today?" I asked starting to rub circles on his cheek again. "If it were up to me.. I'd stay here the whole day." Bucky moved closer, our heads touching. My hand slid down to his neck. "But sadly it is not up to you. So what are you gonna do?" I said smiling. "Training. I wanted to ask.. Do you want to train with us or did they teach you enough in Sweden and Norway? You still got me curious about that, doll, but if you don't want to tell me I'll respect that." He continued on. I understood the curiosity and I wanted to tell him, but I didn't know what his reaction would be. "I have learned a lot from Sweden and Norway. And I will tell you everything you want to know, but I need time to find the right words.. And I want the world not to be going to shit." I slightly laughed. There was so much going on.. And how do you even tell a person that I am from the future, but have lived so far in the past as well. I honestly never told anyone before, besides Bjorn and his family, but they were there when I was figuring out what was happening to me. And then Loki, Thor, Odin, Heimdall and Frigga know, more like everyone in Asgard knew, but those five actually know the whole story. But besides that I never even tried to tell someone. And this time I really wanted to tell Bucky, but I have no clue how.

"I understand. Don't worry." He smiled then sighed. "I need to get ready." He turned over on his back. "At least we work at the same place." And he gave me a kiss on my mouth. But as soon as it started, it was over. "Lets get ready for work." I told him as I started to get up. "But lets end our day like this." He pulled my arm, making me fall on him. He kissed me again, this time it was deeper. He flipped us over, so now he was hovering over me. "I need to get these replaced." He said as he held his dog tags in his hand. He gave me a smirk. "They do look a lot better on you." He leaned in again for another kiss. "Bucky.. We.. Need.. To.. Get.. To.. Work.." After every word I got another kiss. I couldn't stop giggling between the kisses. "Bucky." I tried, but not really trying to stop him. "Alright. Lets get to work." And he stood up. As he started to walk away he turned around quickly once more and gave me another kiss. "Last one." He said as he almost skipped to the bathroom. All I could do was laugh.

-I walked in the facility to meet up with someone named Howard. Before I greeted everyone I decided to put the dog tags under my shirt. "Ah! You must be Y/n Ironside!" A man called and kind of startled me. "Yes I am." I said with big eyes turning around to see where the voice was coming from. It was a man with dark hair and a mustache. He walked up to me and put out his hand. "Nobody told me how beautiful you are. I am Howard Stark." He happily said as he was shaking my hand. "Howard Stark, I swear I have heard that name before. What's your full name?" He smirked. "Howard Anthony Walter Stark. You may have heard of me through my inventions. I have been trying to make cars fly and I see it happening in the near future." The last part I barely heard what he said. I could only think of the name Anthony. Anthony Stark. Tony Stark. Right before I got zapped away to the past he told everyone he is Iron Man. Is Howard or I Howard going to be his father, I mean they are on the same path of inventing things.

"I think I have heard Bucky mention your name before." I responded. "Bucky? Your husband?" He asked, trying to figure out whatever he was trying to figure out. "No.. But I am taken, if that's what you're getting at.." I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. He put his hands up. "Just curious. Anyway, I'll give you the tour of what we got." He said as he started walking, indicating I needed to follow. "So we have been dismantling the guns you had found in Switzerland. And there are some really interesting parts." He walked towards a machine that was holding up something that was shining blue. "This was something that was found in the guns." He explained. I stepped closer. There was no way. It looked like it was part of the Tesserect. That's how they made the guns. With the machine he was holding up the little piece, carefully. "Seems harmless enough." Howard stated. "Hard to see what all the fuss is about." He moved another machine arm closer, this one had a sort of laser. "NO!" I yelled as we got hit back by the blast of the little stone. "Write that down." Howard said. "Are you ok?" I asked as I came over to help him up. "I'm fine darling." He said as I helped him up. "Whatever that small thing is.. it is powerful." He stated.

This was actually good to know. To have the power of the stone, you don't need the whole stone. Even small bits and pieces could be powerful enough if you used it. I know the power I have is strong, but having the spell on me that Frigga helped me with so the stone can not be traced was not letting my powers come out to my full extend. I also have never really been able to use my full powers, for my own protection and others. Sometimes I do wonder what my limit is, but what if it is too much? What if I hurt people that I swore to protect? What if I cant control it? These are questions I don't want answers to right now or maybe ever.

As I turned around I saw Steve walking up. "Hi Steve." I said happy to see him and giving him a quick hug. "I have a question. What does fondueing mean?" He asked quietly. I snorted. "What? Fondue is just cheese and bread, dork." He narrowed his eyes seeing if I was joking. "Really?" He asked. "Really." I laughed.

"Alright ladies come on." Howard said ready to get back to work. "Right now we're working on everything to make sure you and your men, and woman, do not get killed." He told us showing Steve around the lab. I had no idea what they were making. "Carbon polymer. Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife." Howard told us as he showed us some material. It was most likely for his suit. "I hear you're kind of attached." Howard said as he patted the shield Steve had with him at the Hydra facility. It had a few bullet holes in them. Would be useless now. "It's handier than you might think." He told him. "You know you should think about a weapon or something to protect yourself with as well. Not just a shield." I told Steve. "I don't know. I don't think I want a offensive weapon. I want to protect people and defend them. How am I supposed to do the with a weapon." The last part wasn't a question. And he was right. To have a sort of shield as a symbol for protection would be such a good message. Steve has always been such a good man, fighting for what is right. I almost feel like a proud mother. "You're right. I completely agree with you." I told him. But what does that say about me? I swore to protect Life. And always when I fight I have my sword with me or knifes. Was I wrong for doing that?

"I took the liberty of coming up with some new options for your shield." Howard broke my train of thought. On the table there were many other shields. And they were the complete opposite of what Steve wanted. Howard was explaining somethings about the shields as I saw out of the corner of my eye another shield. Much smaller than the ones on the table. "What about this one?" I asked as I took the shield from next to the table and handed it over to Steve. It was very light. "No, no, that's just a proto type." Howard said dismissively. "What's it made of?" Steve asked him. "Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent." Steve was spinning the shield around in his hands checking it out. He put the shield on his arm and gave it another look. "It looks good, Steve." He smiled and nodded at me. He also seemed to like it a lot too. "That is the rarest metal on Earth." Howard told him.

"You quite finished Mr. Stark?" Peggy asked as she came walking in the lad. "What do you think?" Steve asked Peggy. I could see in his eyes that he really like her. Slightly trying to show off his stance with the shield. In a quick motion Peggy grabbed a gun and fired at Steve. I quickly stepped away looking on in shock. Four shots and not even a dent in the shield. Howard's mouth was gaping open from shock. "Yes I think it works." Peggy said as she brushed by Steve. When Peggy was out of sight I spoke up. "What the hell did you do?!" I yelled at him punching him in the shoulder. "I-.. I don't know.." Steve said stammering. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Steve?" I said in a warning tone. "She might have seen me kiss another dame." That deserved another punch to his shoulder. "You what?! I thought you like Peggy? What are you doing kissing other girls for?" He shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't mean to." I pushed him. "Well you better get your priorities straight, cause we are leaving soon." I said as I walked away from him.

-

We had done a few missions already. It felt strange working with multiple people at once. I was so used to working alone. But there was still no luck on the Tesserect. There were many people with the same guns we had found earlier, but that was it. It was becoming so frustrating to still not be able to find anything. Even more so when people around me were getting hurt.

"Alright, here is the plan. Sergeant Barnes, you are gonna go up on the hills and you will be the look out for us. I will go down first to the facility and take out any threats that are outside. Dugan, Morita, Falsworth you take the Eastside. Jones and Dernier take West. Sawyer, Pinkerton and Juniper take North. Y/n, you stay close to me." Everybody nodded in agreement. We all got ready and checked our things. I put my knifes behind my back and Bucky had added a hand gun to my belt as well. He had told me it would make him feel less worried if I didn't just have knifes with me.

"You got everything?" Bucky asked coming closer and strapping his riffle to his back. "I do." I told him showing off the gun he gave me. "You have enough bullets?" I smiled. "I do. Don't worry. I am probably not even gonna use the gun anyway. So don't worry." I said smiling coming closer. "Besides.. I have this to protect me." I showed him the dog tags that were hidden under my shirt. "I would feel better if I was actually with you." He told me as he took the dog tags in his hand and gave them another look. "You know I need to check the facility. Who else is gonna make sure it is safe from a distance?" I told him smiling. "You really need to teach me how to fight with knifes." He told me as he pulled me closer to his chest.

It was always scary separating like this. Bucky was always somewhere behind up in the hills or between the trees. When I was somewhere at the front with Steve or Gabe Jones. I knew Bucky could defend himself, but I never have really seen him fight hand to hand.

"Alright. After this mission I will teach you a few things with me knife. Just don't do anything stupid." He laughed and nodded and hugged me a little tighter. I put my head down on his chest. Hearing his heart steadily pump. His warm embrace always calmed me down or just made me feel at peace. I breathed in his scent, he smelled like gunpowder and warm wood. "Be safe out there." I told him quietly. He put his hand up to my hair and started rubbing circles. "I will."

-

The mission had gone fairly well. We took out every Hydra member at this facility. But still no Tesserect. I mean how many hiding places do they even have? I feel like I have looked everywhere, but every single time there was nothing.

"Did you find what you where looking for?" Steve asked coming up behind me. "No, still nothing." I shook my head. It was getting so frustrating leaving empty handed every single time. "Did anybody know about what you were looking for?" Steve continued on. I wish someone did know as to where to find the Tesserect. "No, I need to find someone who is in some of the higher ranks they-.. Ahh!" My leg felt hot. I looked down and there was blood gushing out of my upper leg. I fell to the ground from the pain. In just a moment it would be gone, so I couldn't make a tooo big of a scene about it, but right now it hurt a lot and it was hard not to scream. Steve quickly jumped in action to the offender. He threw his shield towards the Hydra agent and he fell down.

"Y/n!" I heard coming from my right. Bucky was running down a hill towards me. "No! Stop!" I yelled. He didn't look if it was clear. Because behind the tree I saw another agent come out from hiding pointing his gun to Bucky's back. I quickly grabbed my knife I had behind my back and threw it at the Hydra agent. Bucky was trying to turn around and put his gun up at him at the same time, but the knife already hit the Hydra agent in his chest. In that moment the Hydra agent had pulled the trigger and hit Bucky in his right shoulder. "Bucky!"

My leg was not fully healed yet, but I bit down the pain and ran towards Bucky as fast as my legs could take me. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion from that moment on. I slowly saw Bucky fall to the ground and I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. Every step I took made my heart beat faster for the worry I had for Bucky. As I came close to him I dropped to my knees.

"Bucky keep your eyes open!" I said. I checked his shoulder and saw all the blood gushing out. "Are you ok?" Bucky asked me out of breath. "Worry about yourself, Buck. You need to stay awake." I had to heal him even though there were people around me. I looked at Bucky's face and saw it drain of color. His eyes were slowly dropping. "Stay with me." I told him as I put my hand on his bullet wound. I quickly looked around and saw that Steve was already running towards us. It was now or never I thought. I put all my energy I had towards my hand and it started to light up. White and gold swirling around my hand and going through Bucky's skin. I looked at Bucky's face again and saw his eyes snap open. It worked. I slowly lifted my hand up and saw that the wound was already as good as healed. There was still a cut left, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was before. This would be naturally healed in a little more than a week. My hand had stopped glowing.

"Are you ok?" I asked Bucky with hopeful eyes. "I-... I uh.. I'm ok. What happened?" He asked me as he sat up. Steve had caught up and dropped down next to us. "Are you ok! I saw you get shot!" Steve said. Bucky looked down at his shoulder. It was still covered in blood, but he could definitely tell something was off. He saw the wound, but it was small, but there was a lot of blood. He pulled down his shirt from his shoulder trying to see if there were more wounds, but that was it. He looked really confused. He slowly looked up at me. He tried to search my eyes for an answer. "I thought I got shot too."

...

..

.

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[ever-fics]

A Sebastian x Farmer Stardew thought I couldn’t get out of my head....

The farmer shows Sebastian thay the magic he’s lived his whole life is real and adventure is at his fingertips.

____________________

You both were laying on Sebastians little black couch in his little stone basementroom.

You had been together at least a year and a half. Today being one of Sebastians famous comic days... Meaning he got the newest issue. Which resulted in you tucked under one of his arms your head on his shoulders. He had stroked your hair with one hand and held the comic in the other so you could both read it.

There was scilence but it was ....

Comfortable silence. Lovely silence...

The kind of silence where any conversation anything that need to be said didn’t need to be said. It was just known. The way you had just known you wanted it to stay like this... forever. You wanted to marry him. Sure you could have waited around for him to propose but,that wasn’t the custom here. Nor was there gendered expectations of proposals.

Best it was told to you is that only certain people can see the ghost of the Mariner. Best it was told to you it was the responsibility of that person to do the proposing.... so you bought the shell. Keeping it somewhere in your house cuddled in cloth as tightly as you cuddled him now.

There was still one thing you had to do with Sebastian before you could propose... one last thing to tell him...no this would take showing him. So when you had both finished the comic.

“Seb? Can I show you something?” You asked watching his face knit in confusion as to why you even felt you had to ask.

“Sure.” He responded in his usual game for anything attitude.

“Meet me at the farm ok? If I were you I’d look in your drawer at my place to see if you have anything ... durable to wear.” You smirked

“Umm ok... cool see you in 20?” Seb scratched the back of his neck.

_____________________

Sebastian had always loved fictional adventure stories and magic and Dnd honestly. It was one of the major things you loved about him... his open mindedness, his imagination in storytelling, his beautiful unapologetic geekiness and his shy little smile when you complimented it.

Although if Sebastian was in the loop the others had to be as well.

So you texted Sam ,Abigail ,and Seb in the group chat...

You: Come to farm wear something durable be ready for anything...

Sam ,Abigail ,and Seb however had not been ready for anything. As when you greeted them at your door with a sword for each of them. Some healing potions and a map they looked dumbfounded.

“Y/N what’s going on?” Seb questioned.

“I want you all to know me all of me including the fact I really haven’t just been a simple farmer. Also Seb I love you and I want to share this part of my life with you as well... especially as a lot of the time I work late and I would rather you don’t worry about my loyalty to you,my safety, and my love for you so..

I want to take you all to my work...

And before you ask no I didn’t do this before I actually did work at Joja mart.” You explained.

Leading them to the mines.

“So your leading us in like a suprize Larp.” Abigail chimed in.

“Sure... I guess.” You said leading everyone to the mines.

There was a little green Junimo trying to get the dwarves attention.

The Dwarf just cussed loudly in Dwarvish.

“Um...let’s address the elephant in the room ...Holy Shit that’s a dwarf like an actual proper dwarf.” Sam

“Yup... I’m trying to learn Dwarvish to speak to him for now I figure best not although he has seemed please when I bring him Dwarvish relics I find so ...”

“What’s the green thing?” Abigail asked.

“Oh that’s a Junimo they are woodland spirits like will o whisps almost. The wizard in the woods asked me to come to his tower and gave me a potion to communicate with them they help me with things in return for items they want like goat cheese...” you explained.

“The wizard in the woods the WIZARD IN THE FUCKING WOODS!! That’s so cool. This is awesome.” Sam exclaimed.

“That’s what that tower is ... I thought it was some weird Forrest lighthouse.” Abigail chimed in.

“Forrest lighthouse?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. Causing you to chuckle a bit before ushering everyone in the elevator and pressing level 75.

“So when you say your going mining?” Sebastian questioned.

“ I’m actually going monster hunting.”

You answered.

“And I thought You couldn’t get hotter or more impressive..” Seb laughed to himself.

“Careful I might try to steal her from you.” Abigail winked.

“Fat chance.” Sebastian laughed

“If everyone is done I would just like to let you guys know drink the healing potions seriously you’ll need them.”

The elevator opened to a ghost rushing towards you all as soon as you stepped out.

“Swords up swing.” You chuckled as your friends seemed to have the same thrill you have when you come down. They smashed skeletons and ghosts.

And you found a frozen tear.

When the fighting cleared... you tapped Sebastian on the shoulder although he was listening to Sam who was whispering to him and slipped him something.

“Hey Seb I found this for you and I know they’re you’re favorites so I wanted you to have it.” You smirked.

“This isn’t what you’ve had to do to Bring me those right? Risk your safety in some monster infested mine?” Sebastian felt a pang of guilt.

“I’m a sucker for adventure and a sucker for you so I even thought I didn’t have to I’m sure I would’ve ended up doing this anyway.” You cupped his face with you’re hand.

“I just I thought the cuts the bruises might’ve been from some of the animals getting territorial. I also thought you were a lot clumsier than you are apparently.” Sebastian laughed.

“Hey!” You retorted.

“In all seriousness... Don’t ever risk your life for me like that again. The gems are nice ,but you are the only treasure I’m looking for.Seriously Y/N Stones can be replaced you ... you can’t I’m an introverted person. There aren’t many people amazing enough to be worth the risk.

You have ALWAYS been worth the risk. You listen. You have done more for this town than they give you credit for. You made me realize I am not Mom and Demetrius expectations. That I deserve to be myself. That myself is enough. That I don’t have to give up being a programmer or move to the city to be happy here. Actually I am realizing I’d be miserable in the city because the city wouldn’t have you.” Sebastian explained.

“Seb ....” you reached for the blue shell in your pocket .

“I have a gift for you one that is long over due.”

You smiled.

“And I you.” Sebastian responded which took you off guard.

“Umm... ok then let’s exchange them and open them together on the count of three.” You suggested befor you both did just that.

Both unwrapping paper.

Both revealing a blue shell.

Both cry laughing..

“Marry me?” You asked him.

“You don’t even have to ask I’ve wanted to marry you for a while now I just haven’t gotten the nerve. Thank you foe being the coolest actual adventurer Fiancé ever.”

Seb kissed you

[sif-the-tsunami]

Hello friends,

This is a small sample of the fantasy series I’ve been working on for a few years. I would love to get some kind of feedback. Positive, negative. Lay it on me. I want to know what you think.

This is a rough draft, barely edited. 

Summary: A young warrior starts the path to her destiny. 

Rated: PG-13, this will probably read like YA but there wont be any sexy times. Just talks about violence and death (this doesn’t mean that people under 18 can start interacting with my blog. I mostly post smut.)

The attack on Dawnforge came without warning. Raiders, dozens of them, descended upon the small community surrounding a rural temple. The invaders poured violently out of the woods. In the cool shade of the temple’s grove, Ellisif Thrace’s mossy green eyes shot open from her late afternoon nap when she heard the Keepers sound the alarm. The war horns had only been blown ceremonially for as long as she could remember. The second blast echoed off the stone walls and summoned her to action. The young woman sat strait up, and listened for another moment to see if she could find out what direction the alarm was coming from.  She thought she could hear the Keepers shouting towards the east although she couldn’t make out what they were saying just yet. Always eager to be of assistance, Ellisif picked up her belongings and started running towards the commotion. Ellie, as she preferred to be addressed, had been learning defense and fighting techniques since she was strong enough to pick up a sword. Her father had been a knight errant and thought it was important that his children should know how to keep themselves safe.

Another blast of the horn let her know she was running in the right direction. Soon she heard the sound of weapons being thrown and bashed into the thick wooden gate. The Keepers were directing the villagers to leave the area, a man that Ellisif thought was named Erik told her to go home. He couldn’t have been much older than she was, his skin was sun kissed, with a little pink on his temples and cheekbones. Erik looked scared, brushing his reddish blond hair out of his face.

“I’m here to help, give me a sword!” She shouted.

“Little Sister, you need to go somewhere safe.” Erik ordered. As he was saying this, the Commander put his hand on her shoulder.

“Erik, Ellie is to join the Order at the Feast of Lyria. Let her pick up a shield, if they make it through our defenses, she knows how to handle herself.” The older man told Erik. He handed their recruit a wooden shield with metal studs, “Ellisif, make your father proud.”

Erik rolled his eyes as the Commander went to go hand out more tools. “They are going to break through in a matter of minutes. Take an ax. If they make it past us, cut the fuckers down. And don’t you dare get killed.”

Ellie pulled the cord she had on her wrist to tie her hair back. Her thick dark chocolate brown curls were pulled back out of her face and she said a small prayer to her favorite Goddess. I don’t want to have to kill anyone, but if I do, please let me do it quickly. Her heart pounded in her throat, her trepidation rose with every new crack emerging from the gate. The wood finally gave way, and she watched the horde of mismatched heathens break into her town. The Keepers had set up as much of a barricade as they could. Carts where pushed on their sides trying to create a funnel and direct the invaders to the villages best fighters and war priests. The Archers were doing what they could to thin out the herd. Ellisif inched closer to the battle, she tightened her grip on the handle of her ax just in time for a raider to jump over the stack of crates that had been near where she was standing. She raised her shield to the long sword he was swinging at her and it became stuck in the hard wood. Then it was as if her brain shut off and her body took over.

The warrior would never truly be able to recall everything that happened that afternoon. The surviving Keepers would tell her that she was brave, surgical with her actions and moved like she had been doing this all her life. In her state of shock, she would just say she had really good teachers. They would congratulate her for surviving her first battle. They thanked her for saving lives that day. Not a single invader made it past where she stood her ground.

Ellie looked up at the white stone buildings that were beginning to glow pink with the setting of the sun. What would they do with the bodies, she wondered vaguely. She leaned against the warm stone wall and slid down. What should I be doing? She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to make the sickness in her stomach go away.

“Where is she? Where is my sister, where is my Ellie?” a familiar voice was shouting. A couple of the Keepers pointed towards where she sat with her knees tucked to against her chest, her head resting on the wall behind her. Sarah thought she look more pale than normal.

“I’m right here.” Ellie croaked. Her throat was so dry. The healers had looked at her briefly, said she would be fine but to be prepared that she would probably have some pretty bad bruising on her forearms.

“Oh my Gods, why are you covered in blood? We’ve been so worried! Mama is going to skin you alive. Are you hurt? What were you thinking?” The thin woman stammered together as she fretted over her younger sister.

“I’m fine, the blood’s not mine. At least I don’t think so.” Ellie said, “What was I thinking? I was thinking that this is what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to run toward the fight. Do you have your water on you? I need a drink...”

The Commander strutted over like the fine peacock he was and pressed a bottle of ale into Ellie’s open hand and said something about how proud he was. She didn’t care. Ellie just wanted to be able to swallow without her throat feeling like sandpaper. The strawberry ale was sweet and warm, it made swallowing a little easier but after the third mouthful it became clear that the ale was doing nothing for her nausea. There might have been something said to her about how he was looking forward to seeing her take her oath, he chuckled and walked off. Sarah started trying to clean the viscera from her sister’s face but before she got too much grime off of her face, Ellisif turned her head and wretched.  She groaned, “Let’s go home.”

They walked home, arms wrapped around each other. It wouldn’t be until they reached their little home that Ellisif would start talking. The words slipped out of the young woman, still dazed. She looked down at the ax she was still holding onto with white knuckles and whispered “The one who gave this to me, Erik… I don’t know. He was killed. I killed someone today, Sarah. I killed several someones…”

Sarah, as gently as she could, wiped the tears off of her sister’s face, “You did what Daddy taught us to do. You helped keep our family safe, you kept or town safe. Lyria would be proud. She would be thrilled to know you will be defending her temple. Daddy would be so proud too.”

The older sister took her partner in crime into their house, and tucked the battle wary woman into her bed. The ax fell to the ground with a sickening thunk, and Ellie rolled over and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Sarah went to the kitchen and put a kettle on to brew some tea. Their mother, Kyra, had gone to the temple to help bandage up wounds of the Keepers and anyone else who took up arms. She eventually grabbing the heel of the loaf of bread from the pantry and slather it in homemade butter, pulling out her book of herbs. If Ellisif was more athletically inclined, her sister was definitely more well read. Sarah propped the book up and began plaiting her silky hair as she read the well loved tome. The front door opened quietly, the family’s matriarch came back after a long night of bandaging up injured young people and comforting the loved ones of those they lost.

“The Pale Mother now has a few more attendants now,” Kyra sighed, she and Sarah’s looks were similar, though she had more silver in her hair now. They both had dark brown eyes, almost black.  “Those poor souls. The Council and the High Priestess has asked that we all gather tomorrow at the Temple. They found their leader and they are interrogating him. He seemed to not understand that the forge our town was named after has been closed for generations, thought he could arm his merry band of miscreants. I heard Ellisif did her duty. How’s our girl doing?”

“She might have gone into emotional shock. I put her in bed, she’s going to need something strong in the morning. I was just reading up on something that will sooth her nerves, she was covered, and I mean covered, in blood. Evidently none of it was hers, which is good. Daddy taught her well. The Keepers were saying she showed a lot of potential.”

“Your father was the best knight I have ever seen wield a sword, I can only imagine what he taught her. The Temple will have never been safer if she is half as good as he was.” Kyra grabbed another hunk of bread and helped herself to some cheese. “I wish you could have seen him. I’ve never seen anyone burn with righteous fury like he could. When he would swing his sword in the tourneys he fought in, I swear that it looked like it was on fire. It was beautiful and absolutely terrifying. Ells has that same spark. When she was little, I saw it in her too.”

“I told her daddy would be proud.”

“He would be. He would also be profoundly sad for her. Sweetheart, you should go get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be very long.”

Ellisif slept until nightfall the next day. Siggy and Kyra left her to her mild unconsciousness to attend the meeting at noon. The temple slowly filled with the mourning villagers. More than a dozen Keepers had died that afternoon, it had been a decade since there had been any attacks on Dawnforge like this. It would be weeks before the damage the raiders did to the town could be repaired. The surviving raiders were told they could bury their dead on the other side of the ravine outside of the walls and then to assist the town in its repairs to try to make amends. The Thrace women where given the instruction on how they could help by the High Priestess. As soon as they where able to, Sarah and her sister would be going to the schoolhouse. They thought that having a couple extra adults around the kids would help make them feel safer.

Most of the school age kids knew Ellie. Two years ago she had won the combat tournament on the Feast of Seraphina, the Scarlet Mother. Usually the winners give the bouquet of fire Lilies to their significant other, she instead pulled out individual flowers and gave one to every little one who was around the ring that day. Her father had done the same thing the last time he had won the tournament. She enjoyed being their hero that afternoon, Sarah remembered as she and their mom walked home with their orders. The night of the feast, Ellie was asked attend the dance that was be held in the town square. Sarah had never seen her sister so happy as when she came home giggling, barefoot and a little in love.

When they made it to their home again, they saw evidence that Ellie had been up and moving but she was no where to be seen. Kyra suggested that they leave her be for the time being, they were kind in letting the young woman try to recover at her own pace. After a few days of her sleeping more heavily than she ever had, Ellisif needed to be in the forest behind the temple. She wanted to feel the presence of the Green Mother and ask her for guidance. There was a small clearing there, where a large stone acts as an alter for Lyria. It was a large piece of granite that always seemed to be covered with moss in all the directions, not just north. On the morning of Lyria’s feast day, the sun would align itself with this slab perfectly, and that is where she would be taking her vows to join the ranks of the Keepers. They were originally called the Temple Keepers, as the community grew, the area they kept safe grew with it. Once Ellie joined, she would be binding herself to the fate of the town. She could get married and have a family if she chose, but traveling would be almost impossible. If the Empire of Oril ever declared war on any of the other kingdoms, they were almost always the ones that were conscripted.  

While Ellie had wanted to become a Keeper for as long as she could remember, as of this morning, the idea of joining gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her mother had always talked about how even masters of their craft could have their confidence shaken if the seeds of doubt had taken root in their minds. Was this a seed a doubt she had been warned about?

“Lyria, divine mother, I come here to beg you for forgiveness. I never wanted take someone’s life. I thought they would yield if they got hurt. How could I have been so stupid...” and for the first time since the attack, Ellisif’s strength gave out. There she spent the rest of the day sobbing and trying to figure out what she needed to do. Her body shook violently as the waves of emotions crashed over her. In the back of her mind, a small notion crawled its way forward, seeping into her thoughts likes a strong tea in hot water. Devoting herself to the temple may not be the right choice. Ellie cleaned her face of the mess that the sobbing caused. The moon had risen, her family would be worried.

She made it into her home moments before they would begin searching for their missing member. There were hugs and more tears. They remained silent as Ellie made her way to her bed, she prepared herself for the night.

[365days365movies]

March 7, 2021: Onward (2020) (Part Two)

Do I like this movie so far? I do. I do like this movie. But...

Hasn’t beat Finding Nemo yet, just saying. And I do like this movie, really. It’s enjoyable! And I want to see more of this world (also, the pixie bikers are GREAT), BUT...it’s not Nemo quality yet. To be honest, for me, it’s currently on the level of A Bug’s Life.

That said, A Bug’s Life is one of my guilty Pixar pleasures, and I saw that movie in theaters. Yeah, I’m old as shit. But putting Onward on the level is a compliment, I guarantee. Anyway, I’m only halfway through, so let’s go back into it! Part One is right here!

Recap (2/2)

So, the boys are pulled over by the cops, and Dad walks out of the trunk right in front of them, weird upper body disguise in tow. And the boys...decide to disguise themselves as Colt (the cop from earlier, and their mom’s boyfriend), in front of Specter (Lena Waithe) and Gore (Ali Wong), a cyclops and faun cop respectively. 

Which I don’t get, because you literally have a half of a dude right there. Just tell the people in a world where magic is in the history books that you’re trying to help your dead dad with magic. Like...is it not that simple? Because I feel like it totally is.

But in reality, this is a plot device to get Ian to admit to Barley that he thinks he’s a screwup. See, they disguise themselves as Colt (goddamn TERRIBLE idea, by the way), and the disguise is broken by lying, with Ian at the head and doing the talking. ALSO A TERRIBLE IDEA, BOYS.

Said conversation (which includes the cyclops confirming she’s a lesbian in a barely inclusive move that the media jumped ALL OVER Pixar for at the time) eventually turns into the faun calling Barley a screwup, and Ian attempting to defend him, only for the dissolution of the disguise to confirm that he actually thinks Barley’s a screwup. Cool. Probably was a better way to do that narratively, but...sure?

Things are tense in the car, as Ian tries to defend his actions to an understandably upset Barley. Although, to be fair...Barley doesn’t seem to not not be a screw-up. Which is probably a little unfair of me, because he hasn’t actively screwed up...much. I mean, the pixie biker fight was entirely his fault, but none of the other stuff has been him.

And that’s what Barley points out when he angrily pulls over and gets out of the car. When Ian disagrees, Barley challenges Ian to agree to go on the journey to the Gem via the previously mentioned Path of Peril, a more dangerous pathway. As they argue, they’re interrupted by their dad’s legs, which dance with them and allow them to open up to each other a bit. They agree on Barley’s idea to take the path.

Meanwhile, Laurel and Corey are off to save the brothers from the curse, which manifests as goon as they grab the gem. To do so, they need to get Corey’s sword from a pawn shop, run by Grecklin (Tracey Ullman), a goblin who owns the shop. After she upscales the price of the sword once learning of its rarity, Corey just knocks her the fuck out with a scorpion sting! Nice. They take the sword, while Laurel gets a call from Colt.

Colt’s also looking for the boys, who make their way on the Path of Peril. They encounter a ravine, and the only way across is to cast an invisible bridge that relies on trust. You know, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade style. Despite a mishap involving a lack of rope, Ian makes it across, and let’s down a bridge to allow Barley and their dad across as well. Oh, and Colt, too.

Colt arrives, and tries to get the boys home, completely ignoring their quest and planning on bringing them in. Ian pretends to go along with it, but instead gets in Guinevere and guns it down the path. They reach a dead end, now being pursued by multiple cops, and have seemingly no way out. But Barley...Barley sees a way out.

GUINEVERE NOOOOOO!!! You were a valiant steed. The van’s destroyed, the cops are blocked, and the boys make their way down the path, fraught with danger...and feral unicorns! Whish is something that I will one day incorporate into a game, I SWEAR it.

They find their way to a cave, and need to get down a river to get there. They do so by riding a giant cheese puff that Ian makes. Nice. And delicious. While on the S.S. Cheezy Poof, Barley reveals another of the few memories he has of his father: his death bed. Whoof. They land the Poof, and go down a booby-trapped pathway where they meet up with a gelatinous cube. Neat. Also very bad.

But they get out of that, out of a water trap, and finally reach the end of their quest, which leads to...the school. Ah. Fuck.

Well, this leads to the inevitable Act 3 blow-up from Ian to Barley, blaming him for his idea to go down the Path of Peril, and officially calling him a screw-up. Barley’s not given up as of yet, but Ian is done, and he storms off. Barley, desperate, goes back to an old stone well nearby, which was being torn down at the beginning of the film. He climbs on top, causing the construction workers to call the cops.

Ian, looking over a cliff with his dad’s legs, looks at a list of thing he had wanted to do with his father. But as he reads through it, he realizes that he’d actually already done all of those things...with his brother.

The real father was the brother we made along the way.

That made me laugh harder than I should have, but...that is weird, right? Like, his real dad has been his brother all along? And yeah, I get that it’s more of an “appreciate your family” message thing going on, but...I’m not crazy to be seeing the problematic nature of the execution of that message, right? RIGHT?

Well...father-brotherly-love aside, Ian realizes this just as Barley realizes that he’s had the key to their problems in his hands. Literally, he has a stone key, and he uses it to open up the well, revealing the Phoenix Stone inside of it. But when he takes it out, well...it’s curse time.

The curse manifests itself by going into the school and grabbing equipment paid for by taxes, and uses it and the stone infrastructure of the school to become...

...a goofy-ass-yet-somehow-kinda-imposing stone dragon. As the brothers flee the mascot-faced stone dragon, who should show up but Laurel riding Corey, which solidifies her status as best movie mom. They go to take care of the curse, while the boys go to fully revive their father before the sun sets.

Laurel and Corey go up against this thing, but crash into the ground. Laurel, being the BEST GODDAMN CHARACTER IN THE MOVIE, uses Jazzercise moves to take out the dragon...temporarily. It’s not quite enough, but she got real goddamn close. Barley decides to give up his chance to say goodbye to his Dad, but Ian takes his place instead, noting that he never had a dad, but he had his brother. He goes to slay the dragon, and succeeds with magic and the help of his mom.

It’s cool. But, uh...Ian misses the opportunity to meet his father, after all of that. Barley, however, gets that opportunity...which we only see from afar. And it’s poignant, and sweet, and...oddly a little anticlimactic. It’s uh...I dunno, guys, I’m not sure.

Wilden disappears after a hug with Barley, and Barley goes to tell his brother what his father said, which was that he was very proud of the young men that Ian and Barley grew up to be. He also gave him something else to give Ian.

Sweet.

The epilogue reveals that everybody’s had their lives changed a bit. Corey’s still the manager of the tavern, but approaches it with a few and fun vigor (I really like Corey, by the way; she’s my second favorite). She goes out with new friend and fierce warrior Laurel on some night for some good old fashioned adventuring. Fuck YES.

Colt, taking on a comment from Barley earlier in the film, has stared running on his horse legs, rather than using his police car, and is also getting along better with Ian and Barley. Barley is...to be honest, still exactly the same, which feels...a little wasted, not gonna lie. And Ian is now far more self-confident, and is learning an adeptness for magic, which the entire world is now beginning to rediscover. And Ian and Barley, their relationship stronger than ever, sets out of the adventure called life in a new Guinevere.

And that’s Onward! And...I mean...it didn’t beat Finding Nemo. Didn’t suck either, but...you know what, we’ll get to it in the Review. See you there!

[gorochuva]

OC-tober Day 9: Spice

@oc-growth-and-development

Also abt Day 7: Power (Glory's Element of Spirit), my day be so fine, then BOOM, writer's block

Baby's first lemon/lime fic plz go easy on me-

“You do know none of this really happened to me, right?”

“I know.” Oriko sighed. “I just… thought it would be fun.”

“I’m- sure it would, but… It’s just- you want us to fight for control?”

Oriko chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get your turn~” Though, in truth, she did lament it a little. She wished she could take both of them at once.

And so, there they were. Tonight was the night. She had even asked to borrow Nero’s dress for the occasion- not that Ritsuka’s Saber really knew exactly what she needed it for. Henry cleared his throat. “Mrs. Jekyll, may I have this dance?”

“Dr. Jekyll, you may have every dance.”

They spun in place for a moment, humming in place of the music. Suddenly, Henry stopped, separating himself from her and doubling over in pain. “Henry, what is it?” Oriko asked, although she didn’t need to. It was all part of the act.

“Don’t make a fuss- Terrible pain- Get me out of here- Can’t breathe!”

He began screaming and thrashing around. Even if he and Hyde weren’t really fighting for control anymore, it was an easy habit to fall back into. So much so that Oriko didn’t have to pretend to be scared. “Oh, God, what now? Oh, God, not now! Help me, somehow- Please take the pain away! Feel it fill me- This will KILL me! Please, God, will me somehow to fight, I pray!”

————————————————————————————

Madoka was pleasantly surprised when her old friend, Sayaka Miki, was Summoned as one of Oriko’s Servants. Even though she herself was torn away from the Law of Cycles, her legend and very existence as a Servant gave it a strong connection to the Throne of Heroes. “Are any of the others there, too?” she asked excitedly.

“So far, just me.” the blue-clad Saber replied. “We tried to get Nagisa, but this Gilgamesh guy was like “but you can’t have cheese here” and she started crying. I’ve heard rumors about Homura, though.”

“Really? That’s wonderful! She’s the reason we’re here, after all. I say she deserves it! Well, I should probably introduce you to our Master, huh?”

A scream came from the end of the hall towards Oriko’s room. “GOD HAVE MERCY! Don’t let her see- Not on our wedding day!”

“What was that?!”

“It sounded like Jekyll!” Madoka cried.

“Jekyll? You don’t mean-“

Madoka was already sprinting down the hall, bow at the ready. “I’ll explain later, Sayaka! We have to help him!”

————————————————————————————

With a final cry, the transformation was complete. “Henry?!”

“There is no Henry, only HYDE!”

Oriko faked a gasp.

“We seem to be married, my love.” Hyde grabbed the padlock chain around Oriko’s neck and shoved her into the wall. “Ready for our bridal bed, are we?” he growled hungrily, wiping her bottom lip with his thumb.

Oriko returned the Berserker’s sultry smirk. “Yes, sir~”

SLAM

Madoka gasped at the sight before her, dropping her bow, hand over her mouth, blood quickly coloring her cheeks. Sayaka stood behind her, wide eyed and jaw dropped, her swords dissipating. Both were left too speechless to apologize.

Too frozen in shock to close the door.

Footsteps echoed in the direction the Puella Magi came, stopping behind them. Once he laid eyes on the same sight, Dantes laughed. “Nice.”

Hyde: Man, what a bummer. Way to kill the mood, pigtails!

Oriko: It's fine, Edward. I'll talk to Romani about soundproofing the place tomorrow and we can try again.

[fandomsonrequests]

𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓..? [𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 1]

fandom: ATEEZ

characters: prince! park seonghwa

reader: fem! knight

word count: 1.7k+

summary:  It was time for another Selection. No- not a Selection for a bride but rather a well-trained knight to keep Prince Seonghwa safe after a failed assassination attempt. You, a blacksmith’s daughter, manage to make it to the elite group of knights worthy and skilled enough to protect the crown prince after months and months of training. This alone catches Seonghwa’s eyes- in more ways than one

a/n: so the first part! mind you this is unedited so im sorry if there are any spelling errors or if it sucked. ;^; i’ll try updating every week but please bear with me- class is about to start soon for me :(( Also- I hope you catch the two cameos of two other kpop idols in here ;) 

Please message me if you want to be tagged for the future updates! <3 

↞previous  ♛   next↠

You were always full of surprises.

You surprised your mother with your first kick in the womb while she was tidying your father’s workbench. You surprised your whole family when you came out of the womb as a girl- not as a boy like a village’s midwife predicted. You surprised your father with the first sword you crafted, showing that the gift of smithing didn’t stop at your older brother.

So it wasn’t unexpected when you expressed your desire to open another smithy in town.

“Now why would you want to do that, my dear?” Your father asked with a gentle smile, wincing at the injury his leg sustained during an accident in the workshop. “Are you not satisfied here with us?”

Your younger self momentarily glanced at his injury, shaking her head before answering him with a hopeful grin. “I am papa. But we will be able to earn more for the future. And you don’t have to tire yourself out in the smithy anymore, papa…” Your voice trailed off at the end, your smaller hands reaching out to hold her father’s.

Your father smiles gently although there was almost a sad glint to it. He raised his calloused hand to your cheek, caressing the skin there softly and pinching it afterward. He laughed quietly when you swat his hand away with a tiny pout on your rosy cheeks.

“My dear, you never fail to brighten up and think of the loved ones surrounding you. For that, I’m grateful.” He grunted as he stood up from his seat, leaning on the cane that was made for him. He gently cupped the back of your head and pulled you forward to kiss the crown of your hair.

“But don’t worry too much about me. I’ll be able to manage.” He flashes you one of his reassuring smiles before limping away to his workbench to continue his work.

You looked over to your father, brows furrowed together as your hands gripped at the apron that hung around your waist. One day- you’d make him proud and he’d never have to suffer again.  

Forward to many years later. Here you are now, a young woman of twenty-two, ready to start the day.

You yawned behind your palm, looking over to the window in the corner of the room on the right. There was no light creeping through the cracks on the shutters which was a telltale sign that the sun was still asleep and that the town was still in the early hours of the morning. It wasn’t uncommon for you to wake at this ungodly time of the day. You always had to start early because as soon as the sun rises the whole town comes to life.

Another yawn escapes you as your hand flies across the bedside table, finding the small box of matches and candlestick that you kept. You pull back your hand and hiss quietly as you feel a tiny splinter on your palm. You ignore the pain for the moment and continue searching for the candle and matchbox.

As soon as you find it, you light the candle and make work of removing the splinter in your palm. You set the candle into its respective holder and glanced over to your brother’s side of the room. His back was to you, shoulders going up and down as he breathed steadily. You roll her eyes in half amusement and half exasperation, a quiet sigh escaping you. He always stayed up late.

You get up, bringing the candlestick with you, and proceed to head to the kitchen in your small house. You grab your shawl on the way there as a draft blew through the house. It was always cold where you lived- especially since it was near the mountains- but it was even colder in the mornings.

As you move about the kitchen, you can hear footsteps approaching. “What time did you sleep last night, Christopher?” You ask your brother, not looking up from slicing the hard bread you had.

“Earlier than usual..” He yawns, running his hand through his dark hair. He assisted you in making breakfast, bringing out the earthenware jug of goat’s milk and pouring it into the clay mugs you each have.

“But late as always.” You counter back as you set the slices of bread onto the table. You proceed to return the jug of milk to the cupboard but sigh when you realize how much lighter it was than before. “Looks like we’ll be out of milk soon.”

“Then it’s another week without it,” Christopher adds as he cleans up the crumbs and cuts some slices of goat cheese to go with the bread. “Oh well… we’re used to it anyway. You know how most of what we earn goes to papa’s medicines. Not to forget his ointments.”

“I know Chris, I know.”

You two eat in silence, letting the topic pass by quickly. It’s been a decade since your father had the accident and twelve years since your mother passed from an illness. Since then, it’s just been the three of you. You and your brother worked hard from sunrise till sunset- anything to get your father to rest. You both hated to see how he limped as he walked from one place to the other. You both never told him this but you both saw him sitting on his bed one night, seemingly cursing himself as he stared at the cane he had flung across his room. It pained you to see your father, who usually held his head high, look so defeated.

“I’m off to open the smithy.” You announced as soon as you were done with your meal. “Take care of papa will you, big-nose?”

Christopher nodded, cheeks full of bread and cheese. “See you later stinky-breath”

“It’s just morning breath..!” You refute as you head back to your room to change into your work attire.

After changing into some pants, you threw on your boots and grabbed the worn leather gloves that hung by the doorway. You waved goodbye to your brother and crossed the street to your family’s little smithy.

Few people were already out and about. The delicious smell of fresh bread from the baker’s wafted through the air, thankfully overpowering the nasty odor of goat dung that your neighbors were shoveling out. Probably to be used for the farm they had, or, what little of farmland they had. It was hard to grow things around this area- especially with the altitude and type of soil but the townsfolk managed.

The few shops that were in the village started to open up and the faint sound of the quarry-workers’ song drifted up from the mountain and down into the area, their voices carried by the gentle morning breeze.

“Morning ____!” Magda, your elderly neighbor, greeted as she dusted her carpet from the window.

“Good morning Magda!” You greet back as you head into the smithy. Your boots squelched in the mud created from the dust that floated down from the mountain that mixed with the moist atmosphere created in the early morning.

The smell of heated leather, coal dust, and molten iron greeted your nostrils, burning your lungs with familiarity. You light up the tiny lanterns in the corner of the smithy and your workbench, illuminating the once dark area before grabbing the bucket beside it to fetch some water used in cooling the metal. You hum along to the quarry worker's song, having picked up the tune from having to hear it daily as you work. By the time you were finished with setting everything up, the sun was high in the sky and the town was once more bursting with life.

Your father and brother soon enter, making you smile. “Good morning father.” You greet him with a kiss to his cheek.

“Good morning my flower.” He greets in return as he limps his way over to his workbench.

You tried not to stare after him but you couldn't help it. It seems as if his limp grows worse day by day. You hoped that it the worst will never come- it was a lingering thought but you chose to keep it that way: a what-if scenario. It'll only crush your father's heart if he had to stop crafting and blacksmithing altogether- all because of his injury.

The day continued as usual. The usual customers, both kind and impatient; long lists of requests varying from a specific type of blade and scabbard to the most standard and basic ones. Soon, the sound of a mallet hammering against metal or the hissing of something hot meeting the cool water filled the area. It was practically music to you by now. Time seemed to just flow past the small family of blacksmiths as they worked hard, sweat forming on their brow and skin.

“Careful big-nose,” You tease Christopher when you catch him slipping. You saw how his eyes drooped from his lack of sleep, causing him to trip. Lucky for him- he didn’t drop the mallet he was holding onto his foot.

Lord- he needs to rest.

Chris only laughed dryly and stuck his tongue out at you to which you mirrored quite childishly. Your father only shook his head in amusement, pushing back the spectacles that sat on his nose as he engraved delicate markings into the sheathe a customer ordered a while back.

You were about to throw another playful jab at your brother when the sounds of brass trumpets echoed throughout the village. The people around you grew confused as it continued. There were horns in your village, yes, but this was different. It sounded more regal and official compared to the somewhat brash sound of the village horns.

You threw a rather quizzical look to your brother who shrugged in response. Many of the townsfolk around your area left their place and started moving towards the source of the sound, causing you to do the same. You went over to your father, handing him his cane as you three walked towards the exit of your smithy.

“Oi!! Chris! ____!” A voice called out.

You turn your head to see your friend Siyeon come running towards you. Her steps slowed down to a jog beside you, greeting your father as she did. “What do you think is happening?” She asks you, resting a hand on your shoulder.

“I have no idea.”

[daggery]

Your tags on the Narnia post (about the Evie & Susan and Carlos & Edmund associations) have me thinking about Carvie finding a doorway to Narnia in Cruella's closet jkdjalgjklsgjk. I don't know what this AU is but it exists in my mind now. It's a thing and I must share it.

fun fact! when you sent me this ask i went and wrote an 800 word response in one sitting, and then i just. didn't post it which is exactly what i'm doing rn with your writing prompt sdjflksjdfl. i definitely will post it though. this is still long unfortunately so don't feel obligated to read this! i know you're not really invested in narnia, i'm just dumping these thoughts out at this ask's feet and letting the wind carry them away like dead leaves etc etc

narnia au!!! i love the moment when lucy discovers narnia, especially the look of wonder on her face when she steps out into the snow in the movies. but it made me think of the differences between lucy discovering narnia through the wardrobe and carlos discovering narnia through cruella's closet? the wardrobe is this grand old mysterious thing standing alone in some dusty room with a bunch of old coats. whereas cruella's closet is like.. very different. your rat fic is the definitive depiction of the setting of cruella's closet for me rn, i'm thinking about the nightmare scene specifically. so i guess i'm just talking about the image of carlos pushing through the darkness, through cruella's fur coats and into the closet until he finally steps out into Some Other Curious Unknown Place that's bright, open, beautiful and he has that soft wonder about him. it'd definitely hit different. (although it brings forward the question of why he'd walk through the furs in the first place. honestly my first thought is that he's looking for a place to hide.) anyways - yup he'd tell evie about narnia first

and personally for me what appeals to me about a narnia au is more the feel of narnia and not plot or anything. i love the way narnia feels Old and Full of Magic and Fairytale-like. that d2 quote where mal asks rhetorically "does an ogre like cheese puffs?" to tell ben how much she likes the motorcycle gift? the quote by itself is weird and hilarious, but for some reason what this made me think of like.. you know how winnie the pooh capitalizes certain words sometimes and it makes it Feel So Kindly? narnia only really capitalizes the names of talking species, such as Horses or Dryads or Fauns, but it still feels?? kindly to me?? to put it badly??? capitalization has that old children's tales vibe. basically the ogre quote made me think of mal hanging out and having a tea party with Giants or something lmfao

like actually it's just that straight up i would love to read a rotten four fic that's written in a style of a children's fantasy series. the core four are all like 12 and bffs and spend their days organizing a little feast for their friends and chatting with Creatures and playing chess with their solid gold chess set that this little old woman in the forest gifted them after they battled and chased away some monsters for her, and such - that they are kids and they are wielding swords and shit is never questioned bc this is a kids story. just fun fluffy things and all. this has nothing to do with a narnia au but alsdjfmgmsks anyways. there is actually a core four narnia au on ao3 but it's a very short wip from like 2018.

OH and also i once had this weird narnia-inspired idea where one of the core four goes into a closet to hide and ends up in auradon. i got nowhere beyond that idea

aand one last little thing, i mostly associate susan and evie bc they're kinda mom friends, their stories have a big thing to do with how they're perceived by others as really beautiful and ladylike and such, are smart and practical, better with people. but they're quite different in a lot of other ways, me using associate is probably a bit strong. im feeling the edmund and carlos thing though. constantly thinking type people. on the quieter side and sharp, witty, intelligent. bit bookish though that might be more of a hc idk. mean sometimes. i think they would be buds. like they'd just chitchat and talk shit and philosophy or smth

[stahlop]

Making a Memory (1/?)

Well here it is! My submission for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer. This idea has been in my head since last summer, but I didn't have the motivation to tackle it until this year. All I knew is that I wanted some form of The Parent Trap but I didn't like the idea of Emma and Killian being divorced, and then this is what it became.

Just a warning, there is nothing supernatural for the first few chapters.

Thank you so much to @profdanglaisstuff and @thisonesatellite for being my betas and for helping me come up with ideas for this since last summer. And to @mariakov81 for also helping with ideas and for the lovely artwork you gifted me for my birthday inspired by this story.

Thank you @gingerchangeling for the amazing artwork you made for this fic! I love it so much

Summary: Hope Swan and Alice Jones meet at summer camp and immediately realize two things: they look exactly alike and they don’t like each other. But the more they delve into things the more they realize this is not just another case of The Parent Trap, and that there may be more at stake (and more danger) than they thought.

Rated T (although it could change later on)

Read on Ao3

For as long as she could remember, Hope Swan had wanted to go to sleepaway camp. Oh sure, she’d been going to regular day camps every summer since she was five, but she wanted some time away from her mom. She’d begged her every year, but Emma Swan told her every year that they couldn’t afford it (bail bonds kept them comfortable, but didn’t leave a lot for extras). And every year Hope was disappointed. But this year, the year she was 13 (14 in three months), all that changed.

Hope’s older brother, Henry, had published his first novel a year ago at the age of 28 (yes, there was a 15 year age gap between them; that’s what happens when your mom first gets pregnant at 17, she waits a while before having another kid) and now had a sequel coming out, and had offered to pay for Hope to go to camp. Six weeks away from her mom. Not that Hope didn’t love her mom, but she was getting overbearing now that she was officially a teenager. It was as if she didn’t trust her at all. Hope had asked Henry if she was the same way when he turned 13, but he just gave a shrug and left it at that. Hope figured that being 45 with a 13-year-old and being 30 with a 13-year-old were completely different. And now she was here and having a great time and making new friends (Jen and Bianca), when she discovered the Jones girl.

She hadn’t noticed her on the first day. There were two 13-year-old girl cabins and Alice Jones happened to be in the other one. But on the second day, two girls from the other cabin said hi to her and called her Alice. She’d never seen these girls, since they weren’t in her cabin, but she figured it was the second day and all, and they must have mistaken her for another blonde-haired camper. But then more girls from the other cabin started calling her Alice and one of them tried to get her to go back to the other cabin with her. It was finally at lunch on that second day that she glanced over at the other cabin’s table and noticed a girl that looked exactly like her, except instead of her shoulder-length curls, this girl had much longer curls with purple streaks in them.

Jen noticed her looking. “The nerve of her! Coming here with your face!” She said angrily.

“Well, at least I understand why people thought I was someone else now.” Hope said. Of all the places to meet her doppleganger, she never would have thought it would have been at sleepaway camp. “It’s not a big deal, people will realize we’re two separate people eventually.” She said as she watched the Alice girl laughing with girls from her own cabin.

Except they didn’t. Everyday someone called her Alice and it was irritating Hope. Yes, they looked alike, but otherwise they were very different. Alice was a lot more punk rock, what with the streaks in her hair, the fact that she wore nothing but vintage band t-shirts and frayed cutoff shorts with Converse shoes. Hope mainly wore tank tops (sometimes with an open flannel shirt over it) with Bermuda shorts and sandals. She also wore her hair up in a simple ponytail, a perfect clone of her mother. Except for her blue eyes. Her mother seemed to have no idea where those came from seeing as she had green and her father had brown, or so she’d been told. She was too young to remember him when he died. Must have had two recessive blue eyes finally meet up her mother used to joke. Hope hadn’t got close enough to Alice to look at her eyes, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she had blue eyes too.

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Alice Jones was a bit of an odd duck. At least, that’s what she’d been told. Her Papa joked she had “a touch of the sight”. Alice didn’t think she was that peculiar. She likened herself to Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series (minus the radish earrings). She just got gut feelings about people. But running into a girl who looked almost identical to herself at a summer camp was nothing she could have ever predicted. It was unnerving to see someone who looked so similar to herself but wasn’t her. It was like looking into a mirror to see a super serious version of herself. She didn’t like it one bit. And Alice liked everything. Nothing rattled her. She didn’t know why this girl did.

It wasn’t as if this girl -- Hope, she’d learned her name was Hope -- had done anything to her either. Her mere presence just left her feeling unsettled. That touch of sight her father joked that she had been sending off warning bells in her gut that something wasn’t right. But what could she do to avoid her?  Alice thought that would be easy considering the size of the camp, she just didn’t bank on Hope having many of the same interests that she did. That first day, after all the rules had been told to them, they got to try out different specials (activities) and Hope seemed to be at most of the ones Alice had also gone to, and the feeling in her gut grew worse and worse. Like they weren’t supposed to be around each other.

“Everyone deserves a chance no matter what is in their past, Starfish.” Her Papa would say to her. It had just been her and her Papa for as long as Alice could remember. She usually had trouble making friends, being slightly odd as many girls she’d tried to befriend had told her, but she loved making new friends when the opportunity arose, and if people didn’t mind her idiosyncrasies. She’d always loved playing make-believe. She would often pretend she was Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and have tea parties with her Papa and stuffed animals (Papa was always a pirate in her make-believe world though). As she got older she started sketching landscapes and the occasional self-portrait and had won several art prizes at her school and local contests. That was why she was confused about the feelings she was having concerning Hope. She should be forging a friendship with this girl, getting to know her, not feeling like she should stay as far away from her as possible. How many people got to meet someone who looked exactly like them?

“Hey, Alice, it’s time for lunch!” Viola yelled, startling Alice out of her thoughts. Alice usually loved mealtimes, she loved food, grilled cheese and onion rings being her favorite, but that was when she knew she’d see Hope and her stomach would practically rebel at a mere glance at her. She’d been so excited to finally get to go to sleepaway camp (something she’d been begging her Papa about for years). It just hadn’t been feasible on a dock manager’s salary, but this year they’d started a scholarship program and Alice had applied and received it, so here she was. Too bad her camp experience was being ruined by her weird sixth sense.

“Thanks!” Alice said getting up from her bunk and slipping on her worn, pink Converse.

Alice wondered if she would have the urge to avoid Hope the entire summer. That would definitely dampen the camp experience.

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The change from avoidance to rivalry started over fencing of all things. Alice hadn’t known it was Hope that the director had pitted her against, as they were both wearing the required fencing masks and gear and it was impossible to tell who her opponent was. Alice had only recently started taking fencing lessons, something her Papa had wanted her to do, but she’d never been much for physical education or sports. She would have preferred archery or horseback riding (things she was happy she was getting to experience here at camp), but those were a bit expensive. The local YMCA offered fencing lessons for a low fee.

Her opponent was much better than she was. Alice had more of a hack at the other person with her sword approach rather than the correct stance. The other girl had much better form than she did and Alice could hear the frustrated sounds coming from her whenever Alice used two hands on her sword or kicked her opponent away (which Alice knew wasn’t legal, but this wasn’t a tournament and they were padded for goddess sake). At one point, Alice’s sword had been knocked out of her hands and she just lunged at the other girl. Alice knew she wasn’t playing by the rules, but she wanted to win and the fencing specialist hadn’t blown their whistle at her, so she kept on doing what she was doing.

Eventually, Alice ended up on her back with her opponent above her after she had tried to kick her again and her opponent had grabbed her foot instead, making Alice fall to the ground. They had definitely thrown the rules out the window, especially with her adversary completely disregarding the little footwork Alice had learned and doing swishy twists and turns. Bad form as her Papa would say. So, if she wasn’t going to play by the rules, then she wouldn’t either. Alice quickly kicked her knee upward, essentially kicking her opponent in the groin (even though she knew it wouldn’t hurt nearly as badly for a girl as it would a boy), but it was enough to push her back off of her. The distraction was enough that Alice managed to get herself back on her feet and jab the tip of her sword at the other girl’s chest. The whistle finally blew and the specialist came over asking the girls to take off their fencing masks so she could declare the winner and make sure they shook hands like good sports.

To say that both Alice and Hope were in shock when they realized they’d been fencing each other was an understatement.

“That was bad form, all that kicking you were doing.” Hope sneered at Alice.

“Me?” Alice practically screeched. “What was with all the twists and turns? Give you a leather duster and you could have been a pirate.”

“Girls,” the specialist said, trying to regain some control over the situation, “can you please just shake hands?” But both girls refused. Hope shucked off the rest of the fencing gear, threw her sword onto the ground, and huffed off while Alice actually attempted to pull her hand out of her glove for a handshake. The specialist gave a shrug to Alice and picked up the gear Hope had thrown on the ground before announcing that formal fencing lessons would be every Tuesday and Thursday during Specials time. Alice slowly took off her gear and put it in the designated bins. As much as she would enjoy fencing over the summer, running into Hope was not something she was looking forward to, so she decided to try something else to avoid her.

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Archery had been the next special Alice wanted to try. And there was Hope, already there with her arrow nocked in her bow and an arrow practically in the bullseye. After a few tries of her own (and almost hitting Hope --accidentally-- twice), Alice realized that maybe watching archery was more fun than actually trying to shoot a bow and arrow. Especially, because Hope thought she was trying to hit her on purpose.

“It was an accident.” Alice gritted through her teeth.

“Sure it was.” Hope huffed, swishing her ponytail behind her and storming off with two of her friends in tow.

“God, why is she such a bitch?” Alice’s friend, Lori, asked. “Anyone can see you’re just not that coordinated.” Lori joked. “Maybe you should just stick with art.”

“Yeah.” Said Alice sheepishly. She put the archery equipment away and headed for the art shack.

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Two days! It had been two days and Alice was already a thorn in her side!

“She’s like your stalker. She’s always showing up where you are.” Bianca huffed, sitting down on one of the benches in the ramada. Hope had needed to be away from the prying ears of her cabin.

“Yeah! Who does she think she is? It’s like she’s trying to be you.” Jen added in angrily, having just arrived from a trip to the Snack Shack. Even though they’d only been camp friends for the past four days, Hope, Bianca, and Jen had quickly bonded the way only 13-year-olds that had to live together could. She handed out packs of candy that she had got for them, gummy worms for herself and Bianca, and a pack of black licorice for Hope.

It was true that it seemed like wherever Hope was, Alice inevitably ended up there too. “There’s really only so many places one can go here, girls. I mean, we only have so many choices.” Hope said, opening her bag of licorice and taking a bite. She still hesitated to be around Alice, but it’s not like they could go anywhere outside of the boundary of the campgrounds. “I appreciate the sentiment though.” Hope said happy for the support. “I know it’s not rational, to dislike someone just because they look almost identical to me.” Her blue eyes looked to the ground.

“Hey, no matter what, we’ve got your back.” Bianca reminded her.

“And speaking of having your back,” Jen said, pulling out a piece of paper from her back pocket, “look at this.” She unfolded the paper and smoothed it down in front of them. It was an announcement for a dance.

“They’ve invited the boys camp from across the lake!” Jen said excitedly. The flyer announced that the dance would be in one week. “I can’t wait! I’ve never been to a dance.” She pressed the flyer to her lips and kissed it.

“Want to get a first kiss?” Bianca asked teasingly.

“What, like you’ve been kissed?” Jen responded back not so teasingly.

“I’ve been kissed.” Hope spoke up to diffuse the situation. She was older than most of her cabinmates, her birthday being in September, only three months away, so she did have a little bit more experience than some of them. Both girls’ eyes lit up.

“What was it like?” Jen asked.

“I bet it was super romantic.” Bianca said dreamily.

Hope, laughed and then cringed. “Um, my best guy friend and I tried kissing a few weeks before school got out. We’ve been friends since fourth grade.” She blushed at the embarrassment of the memory, Bianca and Jen hanging on her every word. “It was tech week for our school play, Peter Pan. I was Peter. That’s how I know how to sword fight.” Bianca and Jen both gave Hope an exasperated look as she started going off topic. “ Sorry. Anyway, he was on backstage crew and we were outside waiting for our parents to come pick us up. I saw my mom’s car and as I went to give him a hug like I usually did, because that’s just how we are, and he kissed me.”

Both Bianca and Jen’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of their heads and they both had the widest grins on their faces.

“So, how was it?” Jen asked, breaking the awkward silence of them both staring at Hope.

“Wet.” The girls laughed. “And weird. We didn’t know what we were doing. And he had braces. And, I think I can wait before getting kissed again.” The girls all dissolved into giggles. “I was really glad I was going to camp for the summer so I wouldn’t have to see him everyday. We both agreed to just stay friends.” Hope had not told her mother, even though she was bursting to. Hope knew that her mother had had bad luck with men, her father on the top of that list, and she really didn’t know how her mother would react to her having been kissed. She had confessed to Henry though. He told her he was the same age when he’d had his first kiss as well, which made her feel better about the whole thing.

“That’s still so exciting!” Bianca said breathlessly and finished up the last of her gummy worms. “I don’t know how you can eat black licorice.” She made a face to show what she really thought of it.

“I don’t like sweet stuff.” Hope scoffed and took a large bite of licorice.

“Whatever.” Jen said, grabbing her trash and throwing it away. “Let’s get back to the cabin so we can figure out what we’re going to wear to this dance.”

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“Did you hear about the dance?” Viola practically screamed as she rushed into the cabin. Alice looked up from where she’d been sketching the view from her window, not the greatest view, but Alice was trying to make her grass look more realistic and less like pencil strokes on the page.

“A dance?” Lori asked almost falling off her bunk to look at the flyer Viola had in her hands. They looked over the flyer as several other girls in the cabin also flocked over to them to peruse the flyer; all of them talking excitedly about finally getting to dress up a bit and getting to see members of the opposite sex after two weeks. This inevitably brought up the girl’s experiences with boys (not that they seemed to have a lot), a conversation that Alice felt uncomfortable with. Alice didn’t have much interest in boys yet (something she was sure her Papa was happy about). She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about them in general, let alone to do things with. She had her Papa and that’s really all she needed. That and her art. Just leave her in a beautiful location for a few hours with a sketch pad and some drawing utensils and she was happy.

“What about you, Alice?” Lori, a bushy haired girl asked after regaling the girls in the cabin with a tale of how the first guy she had kissed had also tried to cop a feel and had only discovered the tissues she’d stuffed into her bra.

“Oh, me?” Alice asked. “No kissing for me. I’m not really good with boys.” Once again, Alice was feeling like an oddball.

“Don’t worry,” said Viola, coming to sit over near Alice and taking her hand, “not all of us are boy crazy.” Viola smiled sweetly at her. Alice’s stomach nearly did a somersault.

Oh!

“Thanks.” Alice said giving a shy smile back and keeping their hands clasped a little while longer before pulling it away to continue her drawing.

Alice decided she would just find a chair out on the patio and sketch during the dance, since (according the the flyer) the whole shebang was mandatory. She would have rather stayed in her cabin during the dance instead of watching her cabinmates flirt badly with the boys.

Unfortunately, the intention of finding a boy to dance with for the night that Hope had been banking on, and the quiet drawing in the corner that Alice had hoped for (and maybe talking to Viola a bit more), did not end up coming to fruition.

It had started out great. Hope, Bianca, and Jen were in their pack and had all been asked to dance by boys in their own group. Sterling had been the one to catch Hope’s eye. He seemed quiet and reserved, and upon speaking to him for a little bit, found that he was very much into science.

“I’ve never been that good with science myself,” Hope told him sweetly when he brought up some experiment he was doing with blue lights at his camp, “but I know crime novels use blue and black lights to find blood at crime scenes.” She said hoping that she hadn’t come off as creepy. Luckily, Sterling thought it was adorable. He smiled at her and she noticed he was not wearing braces, even better.

Meanwhile, Alice had attempted to cajole Viola to come hang with her outside while she drew a picture of the lake in the moonlight. She’d brought some of her charcoal so she was making quite a mess of herself, but she wasn’t planning on doing much dancing or interacting with anyone else. “I’ll come out here later when I need a drink, okay?” Viola had said, smiling at her again. The drinks and refreshments had been set up under the patio not too far from where Alice had situated herself. She just hoped that none of the directors would notice her out here and try to make her come inside.

Alice had probably been outside all of 30 minutes when her gut started telling her something was wrong. She looked up at the sky thinking maybe rain was coming, but it was a clear, cloudless night. She looked over to the refreshment table and saw Hope talking with a boy. That must have been what set it off. She didn’t need any trouble from Hope right now, so she went back to her drawing. But it wasn’t meant to be.

After a few minutes a male voice asked her. “What are you drawing?” Alice looked up to see the boy that Hope had just been talking to looking over her shoulder at the barely started drawing.

“Um,” Alice said nervously, “just drawing the lake in the moonlight.” She looked back at the landscape in front of her determined not to continue this conversation. The last thing she needed was for Hope to have another reason to not like her just because this boy wanted to talk to her too.

She continued to draw and glanced over at the refreshment table to see a few girls she didn’t recognize hanging out and talking, when he spoke again.

“Are you just going to ignore me all night? I thought we’d hit it off pretty well in there.” Alice closed her eyes and gave a nervous laugh. Of course he thought she was Hope. Her doppelganger must have either gone to the restroom or ditched him and now he was out here thinking she was the girl he’d been talking to all evening.

“I’m not Hope.” she said plainly, still not looking up from her drawing.

“Are you seriously trying to pretend you’re someone else right now?” He asked incredulously. Alice rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of this whole situation.

“I’m not Hope. We just look alike. Tell me, how did I all of a sudden get purple streaks in my hair and have charcoal on my hands if I was with you?” She huffed. The boy opened his mouth to say something when the girl in question came out the double doors and immediately stopped at the scene in front of her.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Hope asked, hands crossing over her chest like armor. She was glaring at Alice, like the boy talking to her was her fault.

“I…, I mean…” The boy looked very confused as he turned his head looking at both girls.

“Mistaken identity. He thought I was you.” Alice said finally putting her drawing notebook and charcoal down and getting up from the chair she’d been sitting in all night. Her explanation did not seem to pacify Hope at all.

“Seriously, Sterling?” Hope walked over, the niggling in Alice’s gut getting worse. “You couldn’t tell the difference between us?” Sterling, for his part, had turned bright red and seemed quite embarrassed about the mix-up. “And you!” Hope said, swinging her body toward Alice’s. “I’m sure you didn’t have any part of this at all. I saw you out here before when we were talking. Hanging on every word.”

Alice was very confused as to what was happening now. She’d been sitting outside drawing and minding her own business. She hadn’t encouraged the boy in any way and now Hope was accusing her of intentionally, what, pretending to be her in this whole thing?”

“Look, Hope, I didn’t…” But Alice never got to finish her sentence as she felt a stinging sensation overcome her whole face. Hope stood across from her staring at her own hand as if she couldn’t believe she’d just slapped Alice. Sterling snuck off as the gaggle of girls who’d been chatting at the refreshment table stopped to watch the scene that was unfolding.

Alice held her hand to her face, not believing that Hope had had the audacity to slap her. And at the same moment, rage at this whole situation finally reached its boiling point, and Alice slapped Hope back, leaving a charcoal handprint across Hope’s face. Alice immediately put both hands over her mouth, horrified at what she had done.

“I’m sorry.” Alice said quickly, trying to diffuse the whole situation, but Hope 's eyes were practically black from her seething anger and she grabbed Alice’s hair and yanked her to the ground.

Alice was vaguely aware that there were screams coming from the other participants of the dance. That someone had yelled for the director, Mrs. Hatfield and the director of the boys camp. That Lori and Viola and Hope’s two friends all came out to try and convince the girls to stop fighting. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

As Hope dragged Alice down to the ground, Alice grabbed Hope around the knees, pulling her down to the ground as well. Hope immediately tried to gain the upper hand by straddling Alice and trying to slap her again, but Alice managed to roll her over so she was on top. They both kept rolling each other over, trying to regain the upper hand when they hit the refreshment table. More screaming abounded as the table came crashing down. Alice managed to avoid the punch from drenching her (as she happened to be on top when it came down on Hope), but Hope managed to wrench her over right as the ranch dressing came down on her face.

“Girls! Girls!” Mrs. Hatfield screamed. The director of the boys camp finally managed to pull Hope off of Alice (who now also had bits of chips in her hair), and get the two girls separated.

Mrs. Hatfield had seen enough. “In all my years,” she said, trying to maintain some semblance of control in her voice, when all she wanted to do was rant and rave at these girls, “this has been the most revolting, the most disgusting display of hooliganism we have ever had.” Alice hung her head in shame. For once her gut had led her down the wrong path and she would have to pay the price. “And from sisters who should be leading by example…”

“We’re not sisters!” Hope exclaimed, appalled that she had been brought into this as an instigator. Mrs. Hatfield’s mouth dropped and she looked from Hope to Alice and then back to Hope again.

“But they are, aren’t they?” Mrs. Hatfield asked the two other directors who were assessing all the food and drink that were now on the floor.

“Uh, no.” said one director with curly, red hair  who looked between the two girls. “We have here, Alice Jones and Hope Swan. They just happen to look alike.”

Mrs. Hatfield looked at both of them again as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing, but then gave up on trying to figure out why they looked so much alike when they weren’t actually related.

“You two will clean up this mess and then tomorrow you will pack your bags to move into the Get Along Cabin up the hill.” She said firmly.

“But…” Hope started to protest. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten herself into this situation. The moment she had slapped Alice she knew she’d been in the wrong, but it was like she couldn’t stop herself. Mrs. Hatfield cut her off with a look that would stop the deadliest murderer from coming anywhere near her.

“You have two hours to make this back porch spotless and then tomorrow you will have until noon to pack up your stuff. Are we clear?” She barked at them. Hope and Alice nodded. Mrs. Hatfield walked past the two sullen girls, motioned for the rest of the campers to follow her, and left the two girls on the back porch. Hope and Alice looked at each other, neither one wanting to admit that they were somewhat at fault, and began to start cleaning up what they could. Alice realized, after they cleaned the entire back porch, that her drawing notebook and charcoal must have ended up in the lake during the scuffle.

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Hope was determined to ignore Alice. Since they had been made to inhabit the Get Along Cabin, Hope had not said one word to her. Alice watched the first two days as Hope would get up in the morning with the camp radio station that blared into the cabin at 7AM, grab her things for a shower (their cabin boasted it’s own bathroom complete with shower, so they always had hot water and only had to share with each other, and not trek down the hill to the communal one), got ready after her shower, and headed down to the mess hall for breakfast. Alice liked to take her time in the mornings, especially since she and Hope had to also share the Get Along Table for all their meals. Luckily, they were able to join their own cabins for daily activities, but meals and free time were all spent together so they could learn to ‘get along’. Alice kept herself busy reading and rereading books she had brought with her, or drawing in another one of her notebooks. The bad gut feeling that Alice always had around Hope had calmed down immensely since they’d been made to cohabitate, and Alice, for the first time, wondered what her gut had been trying to tell her.

Hope, on the other hand, knew this whole thing was her fault but refused to admit it. She was being stubborn (like her mother). She had no idea what had compelled her to slap Alice when seeing the look on Sterling’s face told her that he had honestly mixed up the two girls. She just knew that she was so angry that a boy she kind of liked couldn’t tell the difference between them and it had really made her angry.  She felt that her whole camp experience had been ruined by this girl and no amount of ‘I’m sorry’s’ were going to make up for that. Even if she needed to be the one to apologize to Alice. So she continued to ignore her instead.

Hope had known Alice liked to draw, but she didn’t realize how much she drew and just how good she actually was. She’d been drawing the past two days any time they were in the cabin. After each picture was finished being drawn, she would carefully rip it out of the book and tape it up on the wall by her bed. Many of them seemed to be landscape drawings of a small town that boasted an old clock tower above, what Alice had mumbled, was a library. Other drawings were of people that Hope had originally assumed were in Alice’s life, but when she drew a picture of what looked like a huntress version of Snow White and Prince Charming, Hope assumed that they were either part of Alice’s imagination, or maybe video game or cartoon characters. Hope still refused to talk to Alice so she couldn’t ask her what they were all about.

On the third day of their isolation, it rained. Cold, windy rain that made the campgrounds into a giant mud pit, so everyone had to stay in their cabins after lunch. Which meant Hope and Alice were stuck with each other until either the rain stopped or dinnertime. Hope was bored out of her mind. Unlike Alice, she had not thought to bring cabin activities to do when stuck in a cabin. She figured being at camp all the entertainment was provided for you. She hadn’t counted on downtime due to a rainy day.

It was unbearably muggy in the cabin, even though the rain brought cooler temperatures, the humidity was still clinging making Hope feel hot and sticky even though she had goosebumps. She figured opening the window a touch wouldn’t be that bad, just enough to cool the room down, or at least give her a bit of a breeze in which to lower her body temperature.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened. Hope attempted to partially open the window, but it was as if it had a mind of its own and sprang open all the way. One little tug and rain and wind came pouring into the room!

“Oh, crap!” Hope exclaimed as she tried to get the window back down. A gust of wind and a torrential downpour of rain came sweeping into the room.

“HELP!” Hope screamed as papers started getting blown around the room and her bedspread started to get soaked.

Alice had been listening to music through an old iPod (cell phones were not allowed at camp, and even if they were, the reception was probably terrible) with earbuds in her ears when she heard Hope screaming. She took a deep breath, wondering what had happened that made Hope actually want to speak to her. She looked over to see rain pouring in the window onto Hope’s bed, and her drawings being blown off the walls and getting absolutely soaked.

She immediately tore the earbuds out of her ears and ran over to help. It took both of them, but they eventually got the window down to just a crack, enough to help cool the room but not enough for the rain and wind to get in.

“Oh, no!” Hope said, looking at the mess that had befallen the room. She started picking up the drawings that had been blown off the walls. “I’m so sorry.”

Just a few days ago Alice’s gut would’ve made her believe that Hope had done this on purpose and she would have been seething with anger. But today, today her gut was telling her Hope was being completely sincere. And why hadn’t it been doing this before. Why had she thought Hope was this horrible person after barely meeting her and over a stupid boy? She was 13 for goddess sake, she should know better than that.

“It’s okay.” Alice said, trying to save some of the pieces. She’d try and hang them over the radiator and see if they could be salvaged.

“Did you draw all these?” Hope asked, picking up one of the least wet pieces of artwork. It was one that Alice had done based off a book she’d read. It was Red Riding Hood, but retold as if she were also the wolf. Alice had drawn her with her red cloak billowing around her with a wolfish grin upon her lips. It was a stunning picture.

“Yeah. They’re based on a book I read.” Alice said not wanting to give Hope more information then she’d asked for. Their relationship was tentative at this point and her drawings were a sore spot for her when they were made fun of.

“They’re really good.” Hope said, now looking at the picture of the Evil Queen from Snow White. She definitely did not look like the Disney version, with the high ponytail and low plunging dress with bustier. “What book?”

“Um, it’s a new series. The first book came out a year ago, the sequel should be out right when camp ends. It’s called Once Upon a Time.” Alice gathered the rest of her drawings up from Hope as she explained the book. When it had come out, Alice felt as if someone had reached straight into her dreams and put them on the page. She’d always loved a good alternative fairy tale, but she’d seen these characters in her mind for years. It was like the author had created these characters directly from her brain.

Hope gasped. “Once Upon a Time by Henry Mills?” She asked incredulously. Alice nodded and Hope broke out into a huge grin. “That’s my brother. He wrote it.” Alice almost dropped the pictures on the damp floor again.

“Your brother is Henry Mills, the author of the book I’m currently obsessed with?” Alice couldn’t believe it. She’d almost become mortal enemies with the sister of her most favorite author. Stupid gut feeling. “You must tell me everything you know about the sequel?” She asked, now overly excited.

“Uh, I actually haven’t read it.” Hope admitted. She wasn’t much for fairy tales. She preferred crime and mystery novels. Alice’s eyes almost bugged out of her head at her admission.

“Your brother wrote a book and you didn’t even read it?” Alice asked, appalled. She ran over to her bed and Hope thought she might be ignoring her again, but then she realized she was searching through her belongings.”Ah ha!” she exclaimed when she found what she was looking for. It was a copy of Henry’s book with a brown cover that was supposed to mimic leather with gold lettering.

“Isn’t your last name Swan?” Alice asked as she brought the book over to Hope.

“Pen name.” Hope said, shrugging. She opened the book to the table of contents. She knew it was a book of fairy tales, that much Henry had told her, but Hope preferred reality to fantasy. Something she definitely picked up from her mother. Give her a good crime drama any day over a sappy Disney movie. The first chapter was entitled Wanted: Snow White for Crimes Against the Queen: Murder, Treason, Treachery. Well that was definitely different from the Disney version. The second chapter was titled A Wolf in Red Clothing, the third simply Elf Tonic.

Hope turned the page to the first chapter to see a wanted poster illustrating the chapter title. It was a pencil drawing of Snow White on a wanted poster with her crimes listed below her face. The drawing looked slightly familiar to Hope. Something about the chin, she couldn’t put her finger on it. Henry probably had it around his apartment when he was in the development stages and she’d seen it there and forgotten. But it tickled at her brain.

“They don’t seem to be your typical fairy tale fare do they?” Hope said flipping through to see other pencil drawn illustrations throughout the book.

“They are so much better. No damsels in distress in need of rescuing by a big strong prince, lots of women power and what not. Characters popping in and out of other fairy tale’s stories, and earned True Love’s Kiss. Your brother has a very vivid imagination!” Alice said excitedly.

“What’s this?” Hope asked, flipping to the final picture in the book, a baby being put into what looked like a tree with the name Emma on her baby blanket.

“It’s the whole impetus for the next book! What happens to Emma in the Land Without Magic after her father saved her from the Evil Queen’s curse to make everyone unhappy forever. She’s supposed to be the Savior and bring back the happy endings!”  Hope ran her fingers over the picture, almost as if she were looking at a memory, rather than a fictional drawing.

“Our mother’s name is Emma.” Hope said pensively. “I didn’t realize Henry named a character after her. She’s amazing. Raised both of us without a dad. I guess he was in our lives for a little bit, considering the age difference between me and Henry, but he died when I was two, so it’s just been us and her for pretty much my whole life. She didn’t grow up with any family, so I guess it’s fitting...” Hope said wistfully, her heart suddenly so thankful that Henry decided to name a character in his book after their mother and make her the hero she always felt she was. “What about you, Alice? What’s your mother like?” Hope asked, wanting to take the spotlight off of her.

The smile that had been on Alice’s face vanished. She didn’t necessarily look sad, just void of emotion. “I don’t have a mother, just me and my Papa. My mother also died when I was two.” She took the book back from Hope, closed it, then sat to face Hope. “That’s weird, right? That both of us lost a parent when we were two?” Alice looked at Hope expectantly, waiting for something more from her, but she just looked down at the ground.

“There was a fire at our apartment. Papa got me out, Mama wasn’t so lucky. After that we moved out of Boston to the country. He still works in the city though, he just wanted something better for us and he didn’t want reminders of my mother all over the place. I don’t even have any pictures of her, something about them getting all burned up in the fire. I’m not sure why they didn’t have any in the Cloud or Google Photos or whatever. The only picture I’ve ever seen of my mother is a pencil sketch my Papa did when they first met.” Alice set her head back against Hope’s bed frame where they’d been sitting down on the floor. She glanced over at Hope who was looking over at her with wide eyes. “What?” Alice said, concerned.

“My father died in a fire too.” Hope barely whispered. “Mom got me and Henry out, but she couldn’t get back in for him. And the only pictures I’ve seen of him are from when he and my mom originally met, before he left her the first time. Somehow, all our pictures were lost in the fire, which, like you said, makes no sense seeing as we all have computers and smart phones and what not.” It was Alice who now had wide eyes when Hope looked over at her. “Don’t you think that’s weird?” Hope continued, “That we look alike and that we both lost a parent in a fire and that we have barely any pictures of the other parent. What’s your dad’s name?” Hope asked, all sense of pretense going out the window. She suddenly felt like they could be connected somehow. This overwhelming heaviness had invaded her body and she needed answers that could make it go away. There was no way they had this much in common without there being something connecting them.

“Killian Jones.” Alice answered immediately, because her gut was going crazy, practically pushing her to find these answers. “And your mother?”

“Emma Swan.” Hope replied. They sat in silence, not sure where to go from there. The answers hadn’t brought any huge revelation. Neither name meant anything to the other.

“When’s your birthday?” Alice asked. “Mine is September 27th.” If they had the same birthday that could still mean something. Maybe the reason for no photographs had been because of something else.

“September 28th.” Hope said. They both deflated a little. Until…

“What time were you born, Hope? I was born at 9:07 at night. I know because Papa always reminds me that it was the beginning of this huge lunar eclipse that also happened to fall on the Harvest Moon that year and it was called the Super Moon, so he used to call me his Super Harvest Baby.” Alice smiled at the memory. She looked over at Hope whose mouth was practically on the ground.

“I was born at 12:27, right when it ended. My mom also used to call me her Super Harvest Baby.” Hope paused as if she were thinking of the next thing to say. “This can’t be a coincidence. I...I,” She paused again, trying to get the right words out. “I think we might be twins, just born on either side of midnight.” Hope struggled to get the words out, her eyes now filling with tears at the prospect that she might not only have a sister she didn’t know about, but a twin sister at that.

The two girls stared at each other for a while, not sure what to do with the information that they both felt was the truth. Hope had felt the weight that had been pressing on her lift the moment she had suggested they were twins. Alice’s gut had stopped sending her warning signals too. They both felt this had to be true, they just couldn’t figure out how it could be true.

“Do you think we were separated somehow? Maybe our mother and father adopted us and we’re not biologically theirs?” Alice wondered aloud.

“No. I’m the spitting image of my mom, and so are you I suppose, just with blue eyes instead of green. And my dad had brown eyes, so I know they didn’t come from him.” Hope said, disputing Alice’s theory right off the bat.

“But my I have my dad’s blue eyes, which would also mean you do too.” Alice contemplated.

“Maybe they lied to us about the fire. It seems awfully convenient now that our other parent is dead and all the pictures of us with that parent disappeared.” Alice said grimly. She really didn’t like the thought of her Papa lying to her about something that important, but it seemed the only logical conclusion at the moment.

“Henry!” Hope all but yelled in Alice’s face. Alice looked at her confused. “Henry! He was 15 when I was born. Certainly he would know the whole story. Hopefully, he would tell me the whole story.”  She suddenly looked concerned. “We need to talk to him somehow. I don’t want to freak him out in a letter, which means I somehow need to call him.” She started pacing the cabin. “But the directors won’t let us use phones. Even if we were in better standing than we currently were.” Hope said, getting more and more distressed.

“I think I can help you with that part.” Alice announced as her face widened into a huge smile.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was lunch time the next day before Alice finally clued in Hope as to what she meant. Since they were in the Get Along Cabin, they were also forced to eat lunch at their own table away from the rest of the cabins. But Alice’s friend, Lori, from her former cabin, had managed to sneak a cell phone into camp and was using that to get money, food, and other sundries from her cabin mates.

Alice walked by her former cabin after receiving her lunch in line and gave a series of knocks on the table as she walked by. That was apparently the signal to let Lori know that she was interested in using the phone. Alice continued walking to the table she and Hope shared to eat lunch.

“That’s it?” Hope asked, having watched Alice give the signal.

“Yes. She’ll get in touch with us at some point today. You better have some money ready for her or she won’t give us anything.” Alice said, taking a bite of her sandwich which looked to her to be just orange marmalade and bread. Hope grimaced.

“What, it’s good.” Alice said, defending her sandwich choices.

They didn’t hear from Lori until after lights out that night. Hope’s anxiety was getting the best of her, convinced that her mother had been lying to her about her father her whole life. Alice was taking it more in stride, as she didn’t get flustered easily. That and her gut didn’t seem to sense that her father had ever lied to her, which made things more confusing.

A series of knocks, similar to the ones Alice had tapped on Lori’s table earlier that day, sounded from the other side of the door. Alice knocked back before letting Lori in. Hope rolled her eyes over the whole spy scenario they had going on.

After the door closed, Alice finally spoke. “Hope needs to make a phone call.” Lori looked at Hope, only knowing that she was the rival of her friend.

“Why should I help her?” Lori asked scrutinizing Hope who sat on her bed practically ignoring the whole conversation. “She doesn’t even look like she wants my help.”

“I do want your help.” Hope said with a sigh. “I need to call my brother. It’s an emergency and it concerns both myself and Alice, so name me your price so we can just get this over with, please.”

Lori arched a bushy eyebrow at Alice who nodded in agreement. “20 bucks.” she said simply.

“20 bucks for a phone call?” Hope asked incredulously, but this phone call was important and she really needed to talk to Henry.

“Hey, you took way more than that playing poker the other night.” Lori retaliated. Hope sighed. Lori was right. She’d walked away with at least $40 in quarters and ones. Hope walked over to her bed and pulled out a small box from under it and grabbed twenty ones. She stood up and walked back over to Lori and gave her the money. Lori made a big show of counting the money out before handing the phone over to Hope.

Hope dialed the number for Henry’s phone, thankful that she’d had his cell phone number memorized since she was six in case of emergencies, and praying that he answered even though it would come up as an unknown number. Surprisingly, he answered on the first ring.

“Hello?” Came the voice of her brother from the other side of the line.

“Oh, Henry, thank goodness. It’s Hope.” She said relieved.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at camp?” He asked, and then, “Are you alright? Do I need to come rescue you?” Big Brother Henry, always looking out for Little Sister.

“No, everything’s fine. Or, well….I don’t really know how to explain it.” She paused trying to get her bearings. Alice had distracted Lori from listening in by showing Lori her newest drawings that she’d done since moving into the Get Along Cabin. It seemed that Lori was a big fan of Alice’s artwork. Hope took a deep breath, “Um, there’s a girl here, who looks almost, well no, she is, identical to me. Her name is Alice.” She paused trying to see if she could hear any type of reaction from Henry, but there was nothing but the sound of his breathing on the other end. “Anyway, we have some questions, and, well, I thought you might be able to answer them.”

Henry remained silent for so long that Hope almost had to check the phone to see if they were still connected. After what seemed like forever, she heard Henry sigh.

“Do you have a day when your camp goes into town that I could possibly meet you?” He asked, and then, “Meet you and Alice?”

Hope looked over at the camp calendar that showed all the outings the camp would take during the six weeks. Sure enough, there was a town day coming up in two days. Hope told Henry this and they made plans to meet at a small coffee shop that Henry found through Google Maps.

“Do you know who she is, Henry? Do you know anything about what is going on?” Hope asked, her voice sounding really small.

Again, a resounding silence on Henry’s side. Hope could almost see him warring with himself whether to tell her anything or wait until he saw her in two days, and then she heard him sigh. The sigh she recognized as the Little Sister had won sigh.

“She’s your sister. You and Alice are twins.”

Tag List: (Let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@profdanglaisstuff @thisonesatellite @mariakov81 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @superchocovian @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @cssns @itsfabianadocarmo

[tuffdwightwest]

You Are My Best Friend Ch. 1

"Snotlout!" Gobbers voice rang out right before a hooked hand smacked a piece of metal. Startling Snotlout back awake as he cried out in fear, forgetting briefly where he was.

Seeing the familiarity of the forge though, his cry quickly turned into a groan as he crossed his arms meeting Gobbers gaze. "What? Can't a viking get a little shut eye around here?" He complained.

"Not when you are working with me, boyo. Perhaps you would like to work on the next shipment of maces needed instead of the meager, sharpen these axes job I have going for ya." Gobber responded. Turning away from the Jorgenson as he went back to what Snotlout assumed was forging some new maces.

For a months now, Snotlout had taken over Hiccups old job in the forge. Working as a second hand to Gobber. He had been promised the 'Official Weapon Tester Position' but that was clearly not the case. In fact the other Riders had a good laugh as even his father piped in and agreed that it would teach him some humility.

If Snotlout's life was a fable this chapter would be called the dark years. Still mumbling he still went back to work as he focused on sharpening the blade. Trying to ignore Gobbers off-key singing as he silently cursed Hiccup's name. As they were nearing being finished however Gobber piped up with something that actually caught his interest.

"-ading off with her cousin Lars to the Northern Markets. With that Zippleback with her, I bet she'll come back with more gold then she could carry!" Gobber boasted with a laugh.

"Uh who? What's going on?" Snotlout cut in having missed the beginning of whatever Gobber was speaking about.

"Ruffnut. She is trying to become a Trader of all things and for a few weeks she'll be training with her Cousin Lars on the business." He explained. Snotlout blinked in surprise at this. Of course he knew that both the twins were planning on trying different avenues for professions, something that their family had been harping on them about, both had been adamant on saying that they were Dragon Riders and that was what they would stay. Although now apparently it seemed that Ruffnut was going to try being a merchant?

"Uh when did she leave?" He asked.

"Just this morning; well done!" Gobber said before quickly switching into something else as he noticed Snotlout for once actually finish his work. Looking down Snotlout hadn't even noticed he was on the last sword. Grinning he set it aside, feeling mighty pleased with himself as he stood.

"This mean I can go?" He questioned.

"Gah, yes! Get more work done without having to deal with your moping anyway." Gobber complained although he still had a small smirk. Excited Snotlout turned to leave as he practically raced out of the Forge.

It wasn't dusk yet and the sun was still decently in the sky which left him a good four hours to actually have some fun for once. Usually he would go straight to Hookfang and the two would go flying together but today he actually veered off course as he remembered the conversation he was just having with Gobber. He was actually kind of curious about why Ruff chose to do that and he figured Tuffnut would be the best one to ask.

After all, he still was gearing for Ruffnuts love and her suddenly up and leaving was quite a shock for him. He thought they were finally getting somewhere!

With those indignant thoughts he found himself in front of the Nuts house. It was further back on the island and looked like it needed its fair share of repairs. With cracks lining the walls and even a few smashed windows. The chicken coop behind the house actually giving a kind of unpleasant odor. Come to think of it. Snotlout had never really visited the twins at their house and at this moment, he kind of wished he still hadn't.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, a squeal sounded from behind him. Turning he came face to what appeared to be a very angry boar. The animal stomping on the ground as it glared at what it deemed an unwelcome trespasser. "Uh... nice boar." Snotlout mumbled trying to calm the animal as he held out his hands, trying to make himself less threatening. The boar however just stomped the ground again, shaking its burly head as it gave a loud snort.

Then with a roar the animal started to rush Snotlout. Screaming out in terror, Snotlout went to move out of the way but before he could he was suddenly pushed to the side as something shot out from behind him. Not suspecting it he fell back on his ass but at least now he could identify Tuff as the twin rode on the Boars back, laughing and giggling as the beast tried to buck him off.

Just as Snotlout was starting to get concerned, the boar finally started to calm as Tuffnut finally jumped off. "Next time. Lets do that in the boar pit okay Bjorn. Also! Good pig telling us when theres strange men at the house." Tuffnuts voice rang out as he petted the boar behind the ears. The once angry animal just snorted as it sniffed at the twins hair, Tuffnut without a helmet, before it started to trot off.

Standing up Tuffnut brushed himself off before crawling up the steps and standing next to Snotlout. His eyes alight with amusement as he looked down at him. Realizing that Snotlout still hadn't gotten back up, he cursed before scrambling to his feet. "Why is there an angry boar guarding your house?" He scoffed already angry at what just happened.

"Why not?" Tuff responded. The retort Snotlout had was lost in the absurdity of that so instead he just threw his hands up, thinking of many reasons why not to have a boar guarding your house. Visitors being maimed being one of them. Before he could though Tuff beat him too it.

"You need something? Not to cut off your imminent rant but none of you have ever come to our house before. Unless its overhead, on dragon and you are yelling at us to get Barf and Belch cause Svens sheep got out again." Tuff explained, "Although still, its not usually you." He added looking at Snotlout warily.

Ignoring it though Snotlout shrugged, "I heard Ruff left and I just came to find out why. I thought you two weren't gonna go through with your tribes demands?" He said jumping right into it. Tuff looked surprised for a moment before he just shrugged, his whole body moving with the effort. Instead of answering though he just gestured Snotlout to follow him inside. Although Snotlout really didn't want to know what the interior looked like, he still followed.

"We weren't initially but Mom convinced Ruff to trail along with Lars. She said she actually enjoyed it so... yeah she's gonna try to be a Merchant or whatever." Tuff said, voice a little detached when he said it. He didn't exactly sound pleased by his sisters decision but it was obvious he was at least trying to be supportive. "They wouldn't let me go with her either." He added at the end.

Glancing around the surprisingly tidy inside, he listened to Tuffs explanation and couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. He was mostly sad that he wouldn't be able to recite his newest poem to her, while Tuff was upset cause he already missed his sister. "Two weeks?"

"Or more. Depends on how it all goes." Tuff responded with a sigh as he went and sat down in the center of the floor. "What am I even gonna do while she's gone? She took Barf and Belch so I don't even have that." He complained.

Snotlout pursed his lips before going and sitting next to him. Whatever he was planning on saying in comfort though was lost as he actually smelt the twin. Now usually they smelt like a mixture of BO, Zippleback gas and cheese. A disgusting scent but they were always proud of it. Today though, today he smelt like, "Why do you smell like freshly baked sugar cookies?" He asked.

Tuffnut looked surprised as he spared a glance at Snotlout. Snotlout was actually surprised to see the twins face redden as he averted his gaze and mumbled something under his breath. "What?" Snotlout shot back leaning in closer to hear.

"My mom made both Ruffnut and me bathe in this special oil she made. She said she didn't want us smelling like a dead rat so she's making Ruff and me bathe more often. Except it has always been me. Ruff always somehow finds a way to avoid it while I walk right into it." Tuffnut huffed crossing his arms.

Snotlout grinned finding Tuffs distress amusing, "I think its an improvement. Might actually want to hang around you more now that I don't gag everytime I'm downwind."

"Haha..." Came Tuffnuts response as he kicked at Snotlouts boat. "Speaking of hanging out though. Do you wanna hang out?" Tuffnut asked offhandedly.

"I really just wanted to know why Ruff left. Was gonna go take Hookfang for a flight. He's been restless." Snotlout responded, moving to get up as he was reminded of his original goal. He was still looking at Tuff however as he caught a flash of hurt cross over his face before the twin quickly covered it up with a half smile.

"Yeah okay, I get it. Maybe later?" He asked.

Snotlout frowned, Tuffnut sounded almost desperate and what was with the hurt look he gave him. It wasn't like they hanged out all the time so why did he suddenly want too today. Feeling wary he just shrugged, "I'm a busy dude." Was his response as he turned to leave.

If Tuff was trying to pull him into a prank he wasn't falling for it. Tuff didn't say anything as he left the house either so Snotlout just assumed he realized that Snotlout was too good to be tricked.

Now to go flying.

[burtfurlong]

The Best Story

He was the ultimate gangster of all time. He had millions of guns, and although he couldn’t carry them all at once he was able to carry more than any other gangster or soldier. It was because he was the strongest fighter. He knew over 50 unarmed and knife fighting techniques, and even invented several dozen lethal styles himself. He would sell the secrets of his styles to other gangsters and fighting experts. All of his bullets were the best. He used bullets that were perfect in every way and he had billions of billions of them. He had the most money of everyone in the world and it made the governments of several major world powers very mad and jealous because he always boasted about it. He could do anything illegal and would never get busted by any cops or FBI agents, mostly because of all the guns and bullets he had but also because of the secret fighting styles he had.

His car was made by a wizard who was a girl with big boobs. She wasn’t his girlfriend because he already had 50 girlfriends, so they agreed it was best if she just remained his car wizard. She really liked him because of his punches, which were the strongest and fastest, but she also deeply admired his kicks and his aim with weapons. She told him this many times. He admired her spells and her boobs and he made sure that she knew this. They both decided to have dinner at a spaghetti restaurant, to discuss cars, money, wizardry, guns, and music. It turned out they both had lots of friends.

They arrived at the beautiful spaghetti restaurant just at the border where Italy meets France. It was a breathtaking star filled summer night and they stood outside for a moment gazing at the night sky together, their swords glittering in the moon glow. “This is the most romance” they both said at the same time. He said it in a tough way and when she spoke it was quite girlfully, but they did speak together at the same time. It was as if the stars were serenading them as they laughed, him toughly and her girlishly, and together they walked into the spaghetti restaurant. The inside of the restaurant was enough to take even the strongest restaurant man’s breath away. It was a perfect blend of the best French restaurant and the best Italian restaurant. The dining room glowed warmly with an earthy russet hue.

It had a high vaulted ceiling dotted with skylights, cleverly arranged so as to let the mesmerizing French–Italian stars shine down on the patrons. On the walls were famous European paintings, their beauty and elegance amplified by the magenta glow of neon lights, artfully fashioned into shapes of spaghetti and cheese. Tantalizing aromas of spaghetti and cheese with sauce filled the air, and teased the appetite of those waiting to be seated. Of course, the ultimate gangster, whose name was UltroGanger and the ample breasted car wizard, whose name was Eva, did not have to wait. The maitre d greeted them warmly “We-la-la Monsieur UltroGanger!” He turned to Eva and bowed “We-la-la Madame Eva!”

“We-la-la” replied UltroGanger “the usual table for the wizard and I”

The maitre d summoned a waitress and handed her 2 menus “Please seat this fine couple at Monsieur’s usual table”

Eva blushed. The maitre d had called them a couple. While it was true that Eva was quite fond of UltroGanger, the two had mutually decided to keep their relationship professional in nature. Still there were feelings that no girl could deny. No degree of professionalism could change that. A girl did not love with her head, she loved with her heart. “What am I even thinking!?” She thought to herself “Love?!” she let out a quiet giggle that she quickly stifled “Sure I like UltroGanger! Who wouldn’t?! But I’m a professional car wizard and we’re here to discuss swords and” Her thoughts were interrupted by UltroGanger “what’s so funny?” he asked.

“Oh, I just really like spaghetti a lot and it makes me giggle sometimes.” She said.

“Does spaghetti make you blush also?” He said in jest.

UltroGanger was aware of Eva’s feelings for him. Every single girl ever in the world had feeling for UltroGanger, because he was the strongest and best man with the fastest reflexes. They both laughed it off as the waitress led them to their table.

“5 bottles of expensive good wine and 2 plates of your finest spaghetti”

The waitress hurried off to fill their order and the two began to discuss swords and spells and fighting and car fights. The evening was quite elegant, and the food was delicious. They were sure to make their business quick, because that was the way UltoGanger preferred to conduct his business, fast and best. The remainder of their evening was spent enjoying wine and spaghetti. “The stars are beautiful tonight. You know I usually let my cars do the talking, but did I ever tell you that my magic is 50 times stronger in the moonlight?”

UltroGanger gulped down a full glass of 100% expensive wine. “Eva, are your boobs magic?” Eva blushed and twirled her spaghetti around her silver fork “they’re just regular” she said with a nervous laugh “My magic is mostly just for making cars and winning car fights”

“I only ask, because they look 50 times stronger in this moonlight”

there was a brief silence, Eva’s face flush with color. UltroGanger looked upward at the moon through the skylight while pouring another glass of the best wine. He didn’t have to look at his glass when he poured because his aim was so good that it was perfect even if he couldn’t see. He was starting to feel the effects of the drink, as it was quite heady and strong. Presently the maitre d arrived at their table “Madame. Monsieur. I trust everything was exactly to your liking as usual! Would Monsieur like me to bring the bill?”

“Put it on my tab” said UltroGanger. “As you wish Monsieur”

The two rose and collected their coats. They left the spaghetti restaurant feeling very satisfied, full and light headed from the wine, and climbed into UltroGangers magic car. They were going to fly back to America and turn in for the night. UltroGanger was definitely a bit intoxicated but it was fine because the magic car had autopilot and also UltroGanger could drive perfectly no matter how drunk he was and he also couldn’t get in any trouble for drunk driving because he could do any crime and not get in trouble. He put his hands on the stick shift and began to shift into flight mode when Eva put her hand on his. She was also fairly intoxicated and still blushing, her big boobs heaving in the moonlight “Don’t worry, I can make this car just teleport us back to America and it will be much quicker. I told you, my magic is 50 times stronger in the moonlight.”

[of-wrens-and-whirlwinds-blog]

What’s a King to a Schoolmaster?

First commission by the ever-wonderful @turtletotem! Commission info is here!

~

Being king, Edward mused, was absolute shit.

Having been a prince, he was jaded to all this luxury. The power would’ve been fun, except if he wanted to keep the throne until his wife had a baby, he had to share it with the councils. This wasn’t even a big country and he was tired of ruling it. What he would give for a fine, strong son to take the throne so he could move far away and be a goatherd or something.

“Daydreaming again, sire?”

Edward perked up and turned with a grin to his oldest friend and current guard captain. “More like pouting,” he replied, “But I suppose the day’s getting better.”

Wilhelm smiled back a little, lop-sided. “Her majesty the queen is anxious to see you again,” he informed the king.

Edward scoffed and waved his hand. “She’s always anxious. That’s why Father picked her, because she’s anxious and if she kills me no one will suspect her.”

Wilhelm stopped smiling. “That was fast,” he remarked. “Do you hate her already?”

“No, but I suspect she hates me. I give her everything she wants and never ask for anything except her presence at state functions and an heir. She wants to be needed and I can’t give her that.” Edward shrugged and stretched, smirking as Wilhelm’s eyes flicked up and down his body. The current court fashions were tighter than Edward liked, but if it made Wilhelm flustered, he’d take it. It was always fun to fluster Will. “Poor lady. Maybe I’ll run away as soon as she has a child,” he mused. “Boy or girl.”

“That would not do, sire,” Wilhelm said stiffly. “You are still king.”

“And you are still obsessed with honor.” Edward stood, walked over, and yanked Wilhelm down for a quick kiss. “I’m telling you, a little chicken-blood, signs of a struggle, and we can make it look like you killed me and ran away. We can be goatherds together!”

Wilhelm finally, actually smiled, and put his hand on Edward’s waist. “Eddie, you don’t know shit about goats,” he retorted, but fondly. “And I can’t make cheese. So there.”

Edward laughed and embraced him.

~

It was another holiday feast, and Edward was bored out of his mind.

Sarah was having fun, talking to the other court ladies and comparing notes on whose secret lover was better. Edward didn’t mind that she had a lover. Someone to make her happy, keep her sane in this endlessly boring existence as queen. Well. He assumed it was boring.

Wilhelm was looking handsome, as usual, shadowing Edward as he stood by the fireplace and discussed the military with some of his nobles. Edward hated the military part of ruling, but the Vassa Legions were gathering next door and his ministers were nervous about war. Gods, they were so nervy.

Edward looked around the ballroom, and frowned. Everyone looked nervous. Was he missing something? He’d have to ask his spymaster what was going on. Or Wilhelm. Wilhelm always knew.

Finally, finally, his ministers drifted away, and Edward strolled over to sit in his throne again. A servant hurried over and handed him a goblet of wine. Edward nodded his thanks and toyed with the goblet, not really in the mood for more alcohol. Wilhelm drifted up to him and leaned down to murmur, “Sire, I suggest you and Queen Sarah adjourn early. There’s too much tension.”

“Oh, so you noticed it too.” Edward looked around again, frowning once more. No one would meet his eyes. “Huh. I think I will take your advice. How should I approach Sarah?”

Wilhelm raised one dark eyebrow and looked aggrieved. “Sire, you know I am exactly the wrong person to ask about that,” he replied dryly.

Edward coughed to hide a laugh. Yes, he did know. Wilhelm had never had a lover, woman or man; he just wasn’t interested in anyone, he’d told sixteen-year-old Edward, blushing.

Well, that was alright. Edward wasn’t very much into lovers, either. So sweaty, and what did one get out of it? A few minutes of pleasure that you could easily get on your own if you had the privacy? No, better to spend his nights reading and sleeping, although he always remembered to do his duty by Sarah.

Just as Edward set down his goblet and stood, Wilhelm straightening and stepping back to give him room, the doors of the ballroom slammed open, and armed men in chainmail swept in. Everyone shouted or screamed, and scurried away; but it all sounded fake and looked practiced. Edward glanced at Sarah; she was smiling. She looked over at Edward and said softly, “Sorry about this, Eddie.”

Edward grinned back. “No harm done,” he assured her cheekily. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to be a goatherd.”

She looked stunned, but then Wilhelm grabbed Edward’s arm and dragged him to the secret door.

It was quite interesting, how the rest of the king’s guard did not seem to be in their places. Wilhelm swore under his breath as he hustled Edward up the stairs, to the emergency exit.

“So this is what I get for spending my days with the new recruits,” he muttered furiously. “They all turn on me like dogs.”

“Oh, no,” Edward drawled, panting, because despite his joking he really was frightened enough to run. “Whatever shall we do? We’ll have to go into hiding. You know, my mother’s family has this lovely castle they never visit, we could hide there—”

“Shut up, Eddie.”

Edward shut up.

They made it to his quarters, barely. Wilhelm grabbed Edward’s sword off the wall and tossed it to him; he caught it easily and buckled it on. They had planned this, and practiced. There was a small bag under Edward’s bed containing loose, rough clothes, and several purses scattered in secret places. They gathered all of these quickly, as someone started hammering on the door. Then, while Edward slung on his cloak, Wilhelm opened the second secret door, which led into the stair way down into the dungeons. Built by one of Edward’s forefathers who liked to get off on watching people being tortured. But from the dungeons, they could get to the stables.

They followed this program quickly, and Edward began to tremble as he realized that they couldn’t hole up in a castle. They really would have to travel secretly to a barely-civilized part of the country for protection.

No more wines, he thought in a detached manner as Wilhelm slew two men who tried to stop them. No more velvets and jewels. He pulled off his signet ring and crown and dropped them in a pile of horse manure. No more fine dining and the newest books.

But also, no more being royal.

That thought made Edward suddenly happy. He was still terrified for his life, as he saddled his mare Breeze and jumped in her saddle, and following Wilhelm out of the stables, to gallop to the gate and out into the royal city. Crossbow bolts whizzed past his ear, but Breeze was faster, and soon they were in the silent city streets, sticking to shadows and avoiding the City Guard.

“So,” Edward whispered, as Wilhelm looked around sharply, “Where shall we go?”

Wilhelm hesitated, then sighed. “We should leave the continent,” he murmured back. “Or, at least pretend to. We should continue south, anyway; much more land to search to the south.”

“True enough.”

They rode in silence, far into the morning. They stopped in the woods, by a stream, and sat down while their horses rested. And then Edward felt tears in his eyes.

“Damn it!” he snarled, thumping his knee with his fist. “I told her! I told her if she asked I’d abdicate in her favor! What is it with royalty thinking they have to kill people to get what they want?!”

Wilhelm reached over and put his hand over Edward’s fist. Automatically, he uncurled it, and wove his fingers tightly with Wilhelm’s. “There was always a chance you’d come back, or others would rally around you,” he said gently. “No royal worth their salt would allow that, even if she did believe that you would never try for the throne. What if you had a son who challenged hers? The web of politics is not straightforward.”

Edward leaned over to lean his head on Wilhelm’s shoulder. “Can I be a goatherd now? They live such simple lives.”

Wilhelm sighed. “No, Eddie. We can set up as a disgraced merchant and his bodyguard in some small city, and you can be a tutor. You like teaching, don’t you?”

“Well, yes,” Edward admitted. “It was fun, teaching those youngsters about economics. But would it work?”

“It will work,” Wilhelm replied firmly. “We will make it work.”

~

If one were to ask the jovial, aging schoolmaster and his quiet blacksmith friend where they had come from, Schoolmaster Ed would laugh, and Blacksmith Will would just shake his head and smile.

“Oh, it doesn’t really matter,” Ed would chuckle. He still had an accent when he spoke. “They didn’t want me there, anyway.”

Will would just shake his head and refuse to answer.

Some of the town gossips were sure they were… peculiar. But there were never any signs. They lived together, and if one were to watch through their window (which, given the fact that their cottage was smack in the middle of the street, was never unnoticed), Ed liked to read aloud to Will, and they sometimes fell asleep on the same couch. But nothing else.

One bold young girl, Niamh, snuck out from her foster home one night before she could be caught and hurt (the wheelwright had a nasty temper and took it out on everyone) and crept into the back garden of the schoolmaster and the blacksmith, just in time to hear Ed say, “I got a letter today, from Sarah! She said she’s given birth to twins!”

“She found us?” Will asked sharply, and Niamh shrank back in the bushes, frightened by his tone.

“Yes, but it’s fine, my love. Her new husband has straightened out those courtiers too annoying to be useful, and now the country is stable again. Just in time for the births. She asked if you would mind terribly if she named one after you, the only loyal man in court.” Here, Ed faltered. “I… haven’t written back yet. Do you have anything to say to her?”

A long moment. Then Will sighed. “Tell her I thank her for the honor, and for thinking of me. That’s all I have to say to the woman who tried to have you killed.”

“Oh, but didn’t I tell you?” Ed said merrily. “She laid out the entire plot in that letter, every scrap of detail, she said because she couldn’t live without me knowing. They weren’t going to kill me! Rough me up, yes, torture me, probably, but they knew if they killed me there’d be an uproar. So they were just going to imprison me. Oh! We seem to have a visitor!”

Before Niamh could figure out what that meant, Will was looming over her, frowning. She shrank back, beginning to shake with fear, eyes huge.

But then he smiled, and said, “You’re Niamh, right? Well, come on out, child. You’ve heard quite a bit already.”

“That darling child living with that nasty wheelwright?” Ed gasped, also coming around the corner as Niamh stood slowly. “Oh, my dear! You shouldn’t be hiding in the dark and cold like that. Come, come, have tea with us. Did you run away?”

“Yes,” she answered in a small voice, as she followed them to the graveled area in front of their backdoor, where they were having a final cup of tea before bed. “I… I was scared. He was angry.”

Will frowned, but in a worried way. Ed nodded and smiled sadly. “Understandable, my dear. He’s an alarming man. Do you take sugar?”