#and my dad just told me my grandfather is dead

[catherinerabbit]

what the fuck

[solecize]

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 | 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: every summer on your grandpa's farm was real-life magic to your younger self, who left a piece of her heart in amber valley when the years went on and the town became nothing but a faint childhood memory. soon enough, you become rocked by his death and realize the dead end in your bustling city world. this leads to you making an abrupt decision.

despite knowing nothing but designer purses and the corporate ladder, you uproot your entire life to take over your grandfather's old farm in the town you were desperately trying to remember - alongside a familiar face from your youth that permanently finds his way into your heart.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: jungkook/reader 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒. inspired heavily by stardew valley, friends to lovers, childhood friends, cowboy jungkook, small town alternate universe, slice of life, grief, growing up, mutual pining 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓. 4.6k 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒. n/a

part three: the letters, the saloon and the second storm  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ   ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ   ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ previous. next. masterlist

  vi. the letters

september 2nd 2008 (age 9)

dear jungkook,

  my mom said i should write you letters. i don’t really know what to say here. you better be visiting marshmallow and be nice to her while i’m gone. i miss her a lot. i guess i miss having you around since i don’t have anyone to play guitar hero with…

p.s. happy late birthday maybe i can visit and come to your party next year if my mom lets me

  from y/n

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

january 19th 2009 (age 10)

dear y/n,

  i learned how to skate for the first time. it’s too bad the ice will be gone when you’re back and we won’t get to skate together. i can’t believe we’ll be in middle school soon. are you scared? hoseok and namjoon say it’s not a big deal. also, i saw your grandpa yesterday and he showed me how to use a tapper on a maple tree. so cool!

p.s. you should ask your mom if you can visit earlier this year

  from jungkook

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

april 23rd 2009 (age 10)

HEY JUNGKOOK,

  look inside the box, i sent you a book with this letter. i told you in my last letter that i would send you one. it’s astronomy for dummies (because you’re a dummy). you better read it before i come back to grandpa’s, okay?? you have a month and a half loser.

from y/n

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

september 30th 2009 (age 10)

hi y/n,

  jimin sprained his ankle during gym class. your grandpa told me to write that because it probably just made your day. i feel a little bit bad for him, the nurse at our school is really mean. also i know it’s a month away but i’m so excited for halloween. my dad got me this really cool goku costume. what are you gonna dress up as?

  from jungkook

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

february 4th 2010 (age 11)

jungkook,

  i’m so tired of my parents fighting all the time. all they do is yell. i can’t wait to be back in amber valley so i don’t have to hear them all the time. i wish i had your parents, they’re so nice. also i hate my class. it’s so hard to be friends with the girls that sit next to me, they always leave me out of things. don’t you miss elementary school?

  from y/n

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

may 17th 2010 (age 11)

dear y/n,

  guess what. my dad got me a skateboard!! it’s so cool. if you’re nice to me i’ll let you borrow it. we should see who can do the coolest trick. it’ll be me of course i’m better than you at everything LOL. you better hurry and come back!

  from jungkook

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

november 25th 2010 (age 11)

hi jungkook, 

  i can’t believe i’ll only be living with my dad soon. do you think my mom doesn’t want me? honestly, i’d rather just live with grandpa all the time. then i could see marshmallow everyday all year! or maybe you can convince your mom to take me in. actually, i take that back, i could never live with you. you’re so messy. 

p.s. i got my own skateboard!! it’s cold now but i’m gonna practice and bring it with me next summer

  ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ  ***

february 18th 2011 (age 12)

y/n,

  i know you’re super sad and stuff. i’m sorry about your parents. we’re gonna have the best summer ever though and maybe you won’t think so much about it. look at the bucket list i made!

eat breakfast for dinner

watch the captain america movie

ride the big kids ride at the midsummer fair (i’m tall enough now so you better be too)

stay up all night

make ice cream

  if you have any ideas, add on! hope you’re doing okay :( 

  from jungkook

  vii. the saloon

when jungkook mentioned the saloon to you, you thought it was a joke poking at the countryside life. 

  “oh, it’s actually called a saloon. like, unironically. that’s what the text said,” you rambled into your phone, edged between your ear and shoulder, as you stood in your kitchen in front of your laptop.

  on the screen, you were assembling an excel sheet of sorts to assist your navigation through the business side of the farm. thankfully, this was exactly the field you had long worked and studied in and knowing this before taking on your new role made the transition far easier. there was hardly any product to be profiting from, as you had just arrived, and you were preparing the document before the time came to deal with vendors and other local businesses.

  “oh, honey, that place has actually been called ‘the saloon’ ever since i was a little girl,” your mom’s voice chimed in from the other end.

  since the turn of your early twenties, your phone calls to your parents were far and few between and you could hear the surprise in her tone when she initially picked up. but, your grandpa’s letter seemed to be growing truer everyday, as your surroundings made drew you to reconnect with what you thought was to be lost.

  eyebrows furrowed, you continued to scroll through your work. “mom, do you think he meant it as a date? i can’t do a date, i literally just got here!”

  “calm down. it’s that amber valley hospitality. but,” your mom paused, “you did have crushes on each other growing up.”

  “mom, no way - “

  she merely laughed. “it was so obvious! you mailed a valentine’s day card to jungkook every year. one time, he punched little jimin because he called you ‘jungkook’s ugly girlfriend.’”

  “and then he screamed that i wasn’t ugly. huh, i do remember that,” you began to think. 

  spending time reminiscing with your mom momentarily distracted you from the anxiety you felt, waiting for the evening to come. jungkook did end up texting you, asking if you were coming down to the saloon for the birthday surprise. you looked away and closed your eyes when you pressed ‘send’ on the confirmation that you would drop by.

  the idea made you nervous only because it had been so long since you went out and met new people. there was no such thing as free time in your old life and you really only maintained surface-level friendships with your coworkers in your last year of the job.  however, knowing amber valley and the tight-knit community, it was only a matter of time before you got acquainted with everyone, whether you liked it or not.

  by the time it was six, you’d forced yourself to get changed and inspected your outfit several times before leaving. the last thing you wanted to do was stand out too much. so, you put on your favourite denim jeans and a plain long sleeve top, putting away your go-to strappy stilettos for the night. 

  making your way into town was quick and soon enough, you found the pub situated in between the flower shop and the hardware store. it definitely looked like it’d been around since your mom was a little girl, the exterior siding showing age with chips here and there. 

  “hey y/n.”

  you jumped, having not paid attention to your surroundings. turning around, it was taehyung holding a box adorned in magenta polka dot wrapping. he wore a similar outfit to the one from the day before, except a different cowboy hat. you wondered if there was a store in town that specialized in selling just these hats.

  “hi taehyung. is this for jin?” you offered a smile, gesturing to the box.

  a pleased grin formed on taehyung’s face. “yup. i’m pretty sure i got him the best gift out of everyone, but don’t tell anyone.”

  he walked ahead of you and opened the door, pausing. you realized he was opening it for you and you quickly thanked him, going right in. small town hospitality. 

  it was saturday evening, but to your surprise, there were hardly any patrons in the bar. taehyung then pointed to a sign by the door, which you missed completely. it read: ‘private event, invite only.’ 

  “oh, wow, am i v.i.p?” you joked, following him to the back of the room, where a stack of presents were grouped on one table. 

  “of course! you’re jungkook’s friend, after all,” he exclaimed, setting his box down with the others. “you guys go way back, huh? how long has it been since you guys since saw each other?”

  you counted in your head. “i think twelve or thirteen years. a while.”

  “what, no facebook back in the day?” he teased.

  “no, he was never nearly fond of that. after i stopped coming for the summers, we lost contact completely.” you couldn’t recall any attempts for continued communication afterwards, other than your grandpa offering updates here and there about him. “we used to write, but i don’t know what happened. . .”

  for a while, you wondered why jungkook never wrote you again after you stopped coming to the valley. admittedly, looking back, it hurt your preteen self that he never tried. but, eventually, you moved on and left jungkook in your childhood.

  taehyung nodded slowly. “so. . .you didn’t know about what happened?”

  you already knew what he was talking about and squeezed your eyes shut in embarrassment. “no. i felt really bad about it.”

  “it’s okay. since i moved to town, i’ve really admired jungkook. if there’s any sort of pain, he hides it really well for the sake of others,” he said, leaning on the wall.

  that sounded like the jungkook you remembered. he was always the type to put others before himself, no matter how small the issue. then, you began thinking about jiwon.

  “taehyung, can i ask you something?” you suddenly said. “jiwon. she’s only nine. and jungkook doesn’t have any other family. . .”

  the smile at the corner of taehyung’s lips was sad. “yeah. jungkook is her primary guardian and has been since he was nineteen.”

  the answer seemed to weigh a hundred pounds and you had to take a second to take it all in. there were so many questions that formed, floating around your head and you couldn't seem to find the words to articulate any of them. before you could even try, you jumped again at the sudden appearance of two new individuals, one of them being jungkook himself and forced you to put away your thoughts.

  “we’re behind schedule, did yoongi put the cake in the fridge?” this new person was turned to taehyung, carrying a case of beer. “we need - oh, hi! y/n! i totally remember you, i heard you were back!”

  you’d never seen someone with such energy, exhibiting positivity like a ray of sunshine. it seemed like he was genuinely delighted to see you. taking a closer look at his features, you recognized him to be jung hoseok - jungkook’s next door neighbour. he put down the case in his hands and immediately pulled you into a bone-crushing hug.

  “hoseok, hi!” you winced, trying your best to hug him back, but it certainly made you burst into a giggle.

  he was the first person to remember you on the spot, which took you aback. a few years older than you, you weren’t as close with him as you were with jungkook growing up, but he was always around. you remember him as the big brother who showed you and jungkook the cool ‘older kid’ shows and games that your parents would have never let you watch at that young age. 

  “how have you been? you look so grown up! you’re really staying here for good?” the questions were rapid-fire, one after another.

  beside him, jungkook was smiling, but tapped hoseok to bring him back into the main conversation. “hyung. hyung! we’re behind schedule, remember?” he groaned, but grinned wider when you met his eyes. “nice to see you, though, bunny. really glad you came.”

  “oh, right.” hoseok quickly let go and cleared his throat, beginning to point to each of you with authority. “you, taehyung. go help jimin with the slideshow. namjoon has the pinata.”

  pinata? how old was this jin person, was he one of jiwon’s friends?

  “you, jungkook. jin said he’s five minutes away, we need you to distract him for a bit longer.”

  “can i help?” you piped in, feeling a bit out of place. “i mean, i’m here as a last minute guest, i’m happy to help in any way.”

  hoseok clapped his hands together in glee. “thank you, y/n! go help jungkook distract jin, you being there will give him a reason to yap on. let’s go team!” he raised his fist in encouragement and in the blink of an eye, he already dashed off. 

  at this, jungkook seemed unfazed and frankly, so were you. you remember hoseok’s personality to be like this - extremely vigorous and could never sit in one place. on the other hand, taehyung looked perplexed as much as he appeared amused. he only shrugged, picking up the case of beer that hoseok clearly forgot.

  “let’s go team, i guess. i’ll see you guys in a bit!” taehyung chuckled, walking off.

  you were expecting to be asked to move around chairs or help bring out food. this wasn’t quite in your cards. you turned to jungkook in confusion, who chuckled at your expression.

  “come follow me.”

  he led the two of you back out the saloon, hands in his jean pockets. the early summer air was stunningly humid and coming outside was like hitting a muggy and sticky wall. but, there was one thing that couldn’t be replaced.

  you couldn’t help but stare up at the sky, a fixed gaze. “you can really see the stars when you’re in the valley.”

  the stars, dotted across the night, twinkled and smiled down at you. it was a view that others only romanticized and dreamt of in carefully crafted paintings and poems made to move the soul. and now, this dream was your new home. 

  jungkook mimicked the way you tilted your head up, lost with his own gaze. “i’ve lived here all my life and i never get tired of it.”

  “i can’t believe i forgot about this. . .” you trailed off.

  he pointed out to the sky. “that one is ursa major and you can see - “

  “ - the big dipper,” the two of you said in unison, which led to a shared laughter. 

astronomy was one of your biggest interests growing up, having stacks of books and a tapestry of the night sky in your childhood bedroom. your bedroom in the farmhouse also had a shelf full of astronomy books, which your grandpa still kept until his passing. having ignored the task of organizing and arranging your new bedroom, which was the same room you occupied over your summers in amber valley, you made a note to go through this shelf when you arrived home.

  jungkook said, “you’re the one that taught me about that,” he turned back to you. “you actually used to randomly quiz me on constellations, it was really stressful.”

  you could see your younger self sitting on your grandpa’s porch steps with jungkook, who lazied on the hammock across from you. you would compile actual multiple-choice questions and threw pebbles at him whenever he got an answer wrong. eventually, your grandpa scolded you for that, so you changed your weapon of choice to toy balls.

  “i guess my lessons paid off, though,” you bantered.

  following this, you heard a person shout jungkook’s name. you looked over and saw a man walking in your direction. he was tall and handsome and his smile was inviting. a little too handsome, he reminded you of models you’d seen in high fashion ads. his clothes contributed to the image, a patterned short sleeve button down and t-shirt that gave off neat and put-together. he wore jeans like what seemed to be 90 percent of the town, but you noticed the luxury brand belt. 

  “oh, seokjin!” to this, jungkook nudged you, as if signalling for you to be ready for something.

  this was jin? the birthday boy with a pinata? he had to be around hoseok’s age.

  “hey! hoseok told me to meet him here, have you see him?” seokjin began looking around. “he is working tonight, right?”

  “uh, did he?” jungkook’s tone was not convincing and you couldn’t believe the hoseok made such a horrible liar be the distraction. “i think he is, want me to call him?”

  “um, yeah. he said he was returning something he borrowed from me.” seokjin looked at him strangely. “why don’t i just go inside and check? why are you just waiting out here?”

  “this is y/n!” jungkook suddenly blurted out, seemingly having no way around the conversation. his smile was painful and avoided making eye contact.

  your eyes went wide and seokjin turned to you, having not realized there was another person in his presence. “oh, i’m so sorry! i didn’t see you there.”

  “yeah, hi, that’s me. y/n.” this time, it was jungkook looking at you like you were the least convincing person in the world. you cleared your throat and offered a handshake to seokjin.

  seokjin didn’t seem to notice your awkwardness and took your hand. “it’s really nice to meet you. jungkook actually told me a lot about you!” it was subtle, but you could hear jungkook groan. 

  you raised your eyebrows at jungkook. “oh, did he?” 

  “you guys grew up together, right? and you’re taking over the old farm?” 

  although you could tell right off the bat that seokjin wasn’t from amber valley, his deamanour was just as welcoming and friendly. he asked you a few questions about where you’re from and how settling in was. 

  “i’m sure you’ll be a natural. it sounds like you already have a lot of experience!” seokjin exclaimed and his positivity gave you genuine reassurance. “we’re all friends around here, so don’t be shy to reach out if you need anything.”

  “thank you,” you replied.

  jungkook tried to regain his composure. “seokjin runs the bakery down the street.”

  “yeah! my wife and i used to buy eggs from your grandpa all the time, hopefully we can keep doing that,” seokjin winked at you. 

  then, the front door of the saloon cracked open just enough for hoseok to poke his head outside. there was no sign of activity from the inside, with the lights now off and all voices coming to a complete silence. 

  seokjin tilted his head slightly when looking at hoseok. “there you are. are you. . closed? the bar is closed on a saturday night?” he asked.

  “yeah, uh, plumbing issues,” hoseok’s eyes darted over to you and jungkook. “y/n, jungkook! what brings you here around this time of day? you should all come in!”

  despite the growing skepticsm etched on his face, seokjin glanced over to you two and shrugged. he followed his friend’s gesture to come inside. 

  you mumbled to jungkook, “you and your friends are all terrible liars.” to this, jungkook stifled a laugh and playfully jabbed his elbow into your arm. 

  hoseok opened the door wider and seokjin went in first, while you and jungkook trailed after. you were surprised at how well they made the interior appear deserted, with not a single soul in sight. you did noticed that they even stacked the chairs on the tables, as if the establishment was really closed.

  “by the way, hoseok is the manager of the saloon,” jungkook leaned into your ear and whispered. 

  the floorboards creaked with every step, only adding onto the heavy silence in the atmosphere. seokjin looked around, eyebrows furrowed. he cleared his throat, hoping to cut the awkward tension.

  seokjin started, “so, y/n, what happened with you and ju - “

  “surprise!”

  all of the lights flickered on and filled the room. upbeat music turned on suddenly, causing seokjin to jump and yelp. two dozen or so people popped out from random places - underneath the booths, from behind the walls, and from behind the bar. balloons and streamers began spilling out from out of nowhere.

  “happy birthday seokjin!” everyone yelled in unison.

  you awkwardly tried to join in once you caught onto what everyone was saying. despite that, the high energy ended up engulfing you and you couldn’t help but smile. some of the boys started throwing streamers at seokjin, while namjoon appeared from under the bar with a lit chocolate cake and began approaching the birthday boy in question.

  “thanks, y/n!” hoseok nudged you, as everyone began singing to seokjin. “it’s exciting that you’re around again!” 

  as the song concluded and seokjin enthusastically blew out his candles, you cheered along with everyone else. over the cheering, jungkook found his way to you again. he raised his hand, offering a high-five, which you immediately accepted.

  something about the atmosphere unlocked something inside you. within days, you were welcomed into the community and for the first time in a long time, saw people that could become your actual friends. maybe this was what your grandpa was talking about.

  “yeah,” jungkook added, “it is exciting that you’re around again.”

  “real connections. . .” you muttered to yourself, remembering the contents of your grandpa’s letter.

  the yelling got louder, as the partygoers chanted for seokjin to make a speech. “huh, what did you say?” jungkook shouted over the chanting. 

  “nothing!” 

  you weren’t prepared for the next part of grandpa’s wish for you. it was a surprise to you that you were able to ease into the town and become comfortable connecting with the people around you. at the end of the day, though, you had a farm to run and you were about to face the worst of it. 

  viii. the second storm

your grandpa’s last wishes for you were to reconnect with people and nature. nature. you didn’t realize what you were getting yourself into.

  “oh my god! why does mother nature hate me?!”

  the best thing about living in a big farmhouse by yourself was the fact that you could make as much noise as you wanted. you often found yourself yelling at the top of your lungs, shrieking like a bird when you came across anything frustrating. considering you were learning an entirely new job on your own, it happened quite often.

  you screamed into the void after your first phone call with a vendor, who kept on asking you if you knew what you were doing. you swore you almost broke your vocal cords when you sunk into the mud the first time you checked out the fields after a rainy night. at least you walked away several metres from the coop before you screeched in agony after the chickens gave you a hard morning on time. 

  when a soft knock on your front door interrupted your emotional breakdown, your heart stopped. 

  “fuck!” you whispered to yourself.

  who would be visiting you? what if it was someone important, like mayor kim? maybe they didn’t hear - no, they definitely heard. 

  you tentatively approached the door and took a deep breathe before swinging it open.

  “i didn’t know you started tending to hyenas on the farm.”

  it was jungkook with a lazy, shit-eating grin. it was early in the morning, about 8am, and he wore workout clothes. baggy grey sweatpants and a white nike tank-top, you felt like you were straining to keep your eyes on his face and not anywhere else. 

  “oh, shut it. good morning to you, too,” you shot back. “to what do i owe the pleasure?”

  “sorry, i would’ve texted, but i was already passing by on my run,” jungkook said.

  it’d been about a week since you last saw him, though he was nice enough to check in on you every once in a while to see if you were doing okay with the farm. you hardly left home, used to the same routine of working and going right to bed everyday from your old life and the habit was hard to break. 

  he continued, “anyway, i saw your windows hanging from outside and i just wanted to make sure - “

  you opened the front door wider for him to see the state of your front entryway and his jaw dropped. there was water everywhere on the floor. the storm from the night before was aggressive and the age of the house couldn’t stand it. you didn’t anticipate for it to be this bad, having just shoved the windows closed before you went to bed.

  “yeah, they’re wrecked,” you sighed, looking over to what was left of it, considering most of it was on the ground. “actually, that’s why i was screaming.”

  “you know, i take what i said back. totally justified.”

  “thanks,” you rolled your eyes and sighed. he made a gesture as if to come in and you obliged, carefully stepping aside and making sure you weren’t stepping in a puddle. “i’m surprised this hasn’t happened before.”

  he let out a low whistle, as he walked inside and took in the sight of your floors. “honestly, me neither. you would think this would’ve happened already ages ago.”

  you didn’t know what else to do but shrug. “i can handle it.” despite your words, you certainly could not handle it. there were still a million things you had to take care of around the farm and dealing with broken windows and water was an incredible burden that you didn’t know where to start.

  “shit. look, i have to go to work in a bit, but let me help you out,” jungkook said. 

  you instantly shook your head. “jungkook, no. it’s fine, really, i got it.”

  “you’ve never picked up a screwdriver in your life.”

  “hey, you don’t know that!” you wanted to slap him upside the head like from when you were kids, but found the strength to refrain.

  it was only jokes and jungkook’s smirk showed it, but his tone then became serious. “okay, then, at least let me help you fix your windows. dude, you live alone in this big ass house on this big ass farm. just say yes.” 

  at this point, you could tell he was exasperated with your stubborness and you laughed at it. you weren’t one to turn down someone offering to do manual labour for you, but you were hesitant to show any lack of indepdence. though, something told you to say yes and it wasn’t jungkook’s annoyance with your persistence. 

  “okay, fine. you’re real annoying, you know that?” you had to add in the last part, it was only natural. 

  he shook his head. “thank you - oh, how lucky i am for milady to accept my lousy, peasant self to fix your windows!” at that, you shoved him playfully and when he barely moved from your push, jungkook couldn’t help but chuckle. 

  “i know you’re perfectly capable of doing things yourself, by the way. you just shouldn’t have to all the time,” he gave you a pointed look. 

  you nodded slowly, looking down at your feet. “thank you, jungkook.” 

  though it was only 8 in the morning, you decided to take a later start in the day, since you usually woke up at the crack of dawn. you had your entire day ahead of you and what felt like a hundred things to do and the last thing you wanted to add was a trip to the hardware store.

  “of course,” he carefully tiptoed around the water, moving back to the front door. “it’s what friends are for. i’ll come by tomorrow morning, how’s that sound?”

  this is not what you meant when you decided to “reconnect with nature” at all. with your fluffy indoor slippers soaked in rainwater, you were certainly more than connected with it. you made a mental note to visit the beach and call it a day, hoping that would fulfill your grandpa’s wish for you to be one with mother earth and that the forces of nature would leave you alone after that.

𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓. @sstrongstyletyle @wobblewobble822 @seokoutt @firelcrds @taiwan0618

[arc-misadventures]

Fathers Day Letter

Beacon Academy lunchroom, and everyone is looking over the mail they have each recently received.

Ruby: Ohh! Dad sent me something!

Yang: Me too, wonder what he sent me.

Weiss: Oh? My sister sent me a package, I wonder what’s in it.

Pyrrha: My mom sent me a care package~!

Ren: I got a parcel in the mail: I hope it’s those tea leaves I ordered.

Nora: My magazine is in! YES!!!

Blake: Yes! The latest book in the, ‘Ninja’s of Lust’ series!

Ruby: COOKIES!!! He sent me cookies! Yayyyyy! (Nom,nom,nom,nom!)

Yang: Save some for later, Rubes. Now lets see… Awesome! He sent me the bike polish I use for, Bumblebee! I forgot it, when we left! I’m gonna have some fun spreading you on tonight~!

Weiss: Oh? ‘Dear sister, I lost a gentlemen’s wager, and they requested several signed copies of your latest album. Since I assume this would be no problem, would you kindly sign these copies, and send them back to me. Love, Winter.’ This is rather… unexpected.

Yang: Are you going to refuse her request?

Weiss: No, this should only take an hour to do. What did you get, Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: Cookies, chocolate, and some beauty products from home, nothing much really. Did you get your tea, Ren?

Ren: Yep; I’m looking forward to having these later.

Yang: What magazine did you order, Nora.

Nora: ‘Pancakes Illustrated’

Weiss: Excuse me?

Yang: That’s not what I think it is, is it?

Ren: Well…

Nora: Ohh yeah~! Let that butter run off you, you naughty girl~!

Yang: UHHHH?!

Pyrrha: Don’t ask.

Yang: Okay…?

Blake: And, you say I’m the depraved one…

Ruby: Isthat… (Gulp!) Is that a father’s day card, Jaune?

Yang: Wait, what?

Weiss: Excuse me?

Pyrrha: You’reafather?!

Nora: I’m an aunt?!

Jaune: Oh, yeah. It’s just a little joke card really. My sisters see me as the father figure they never had, so they send me this as family joke.

Pyrrha: Oh thank gods…

Yang: Oh, so what’s the joke, I bet it’s pretty funny!

Jaune: Well… It’s kinda funny… in the shear ridiculousness of it.

Blake: How ridiculous is this?

Jaune: Well, lets start at the beginning: My family consists of me, my older sisters, Saphron, and Thiriana. My mother, Juniper, my grandfather, Álkimos, and lastly my father, Evinder, or simply, Evin.

Pyrrha: I thought you said you were an only child?

Jaune: I’m the only son, I have lots of sisters though.

Pyrrha: Oh okay. Please continue.

Jaune: So when I was three years old, my father disappeared while out travelling. We had no idea what happened, my mother was so distraught that she begged my grandfather to go find him. So, my grandfather who is a, Huntsman, who also loves his daughter very much, went out to find him.

Ruby: Did he find him?

Jaune: No. He spent two years trying to find him, but he found no trace of him. However, a year later, when I had turned five, my grandfather was in another town a ways away from where I lived. Then town was attacked by some, Grimm. Luckily there was only one casualty. That one casualty was where things got interesting!

Weiss: What happened?

Jaune: Well, my grandfather went to the woman, her name is, Isleen, a snake faunas with beautiful blue, and gold tipped scales. And, she had three daughters: Luna, and a pair of twins named, Angela, and Janette, ages two, and one. And, she told him that her husband was missing, my grandfather asked what his name was, and she said his name was, Gregory. She then showed him a photo of him, and my father was left gobsmacked! He had a new hair cut, and a beard, but he knew very well what the face of his ‘deceased’ son-in-law looked like.

Yang: Wait, what?!

Weiss: He wasn’t dead?!

Blake: And, he abandon your mother?!

Ren: Along with you, and your sisters?!

Pyrrha: And, started a new family with another woman?!

Jaune: Yep. He wasn’t happy to say the least. Then, my grandfather showed, Isleen a photo of my mother, me, and my sisters, and my recently ‘deceased’ father, Evinder. She did not take it well that her husband was not who he said he was, and seeming abandoned her, like he had done with my mother really, really hurt her. So, my grandfather decided to take her, and her kids back home. To live with me, and the rest of my family.

Blake: Was your mom okay with that?

Jaune: Eventually. She didn’t like that her father brought some random woman, and her kids home with him. But, she understood why grandfather invited them to stay with us. I mean, learning that their husband was living under false identities, and had married two separate woman, and had kids with them, and abandoned both of them. They had plenty of things in common together to bound with one another.

Yang: I’ll bet they did.

Jaune: Shortly after that, my grandfather was called to deal with a missing person report in another town. So he went there, and this woman asked if he could find her missing husband…

Weiss: Don’t tell me. He looked like your father?

Jaune: Same hair cut, and beard, just with thick rimmed glasses.

Blake: Given years apart you’d think he’d come up with a better disguise.

Jaune: Yeah… about that… The wife, a silver fox faunas who’s name is, Evenora, had two daughters with, ‘Stavon,’ their names were, Luna, and Carol.

Weiss: Hold old were they?

Jaune: One, and two years old. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but you need to understand this… Isleen, and her family lived about two weeks away from, Evenora, and her family.

Yang: I don’t get it.

Blake: So he didn’t go far this time when he faked his death again.

Ren: Wait, they lived two weeks of travel apart? Oh gods…

Pyrrha: What is it, Ren?

Ren: He was married to both of them at the same time… He was double timing them wasn’t he?

Jaune: Bingo bango bongo! You are right on the money, Ren!

Ruby: Wait, what?!

Weiss: You’re kidding me right?!

Jaune: Nope: He was double timing the two of them by being the cheating bastard that he was. He was a travelling sales men, so he two two weeks to travel between the two villages, stay for a month with one wife, then when back, and lived with his other wife for a month. And, he did that for over two years

Yang: You’re fucking kidding me?!

Jaune: Oh gods I wish.

Nora: What happened next?

Jaune: Well, my grandfather showed her photos of the two other families he abandoned. Needless to say she was absolutely devastated by this news. Now, my grandfather would have stay with her, and consoled her through this, but he was only missing for about three days. He needed to find him before the trail turned cold. So he hunted him. Now you gotta understand my grandfather is a vindictive monster; he was absolutely pissed when he learned he abandoned my mother, and, Isleen, he was fucking furious when he learned learned he did it a third time to, Evenora. So, he was after him like a bloodhound.

Weiss: Please, pleassssse tell me he found the cheating bastard, and made him payyyyyyy!

Blake: You’re really getting into this.

Weiss: This fucker makes all the emotional abuse my dad put me, and my family through feel like school yard bullying.

Yang: Same. My mom may have abandoned me at birth, but this. This is fucked up!

Nora: I can relate with them…

Ruby: You can?

Nora: My mom abandoned me. So, know how it feels when a loved one abandons you…

Pyrrha: She what?!

Jaune: It’s okay, Nora, we’re here with you know, and we’re not going anywhere.

Nora: Thanks, Jaune.

Jaune: My pleasure. Anyway, my grandfather did find him, or more precisely what was left of him.

Blake: Did a, Grimm get him?

Weiss: Fuck yeah!

Yang: That sounded so wrong coming from you.

Jaune: Well, yes he was dead. But, I’m not sure if a, Grimm did him in.

Ren: What makes you say that?

Jaune: My grandfather is an extremely experienced huntsman. He’s seen plenty of peoples corpses that are the result of a, Grimm attack.

Weiss: So you think he killed him, and made it look like a, Grimm attack?

Jaune: That, or my grandmother got to him. She is really protective of her family, and can really, really, really hold a grudge. She’s still upset with her ex… Anywho, after he, ‘found’ his corpse he took, Evenora, and her kids with him back to our home.

Ruby: Where they live as a happy family all together!

Jaune: Eventually.

Weiss: Let me guess, they had some difficulties getting along together?

Jaune: Mom was upset as it was that he left her, and three kids all alone, but even more so that he did that to two other woman, and their five kids too. She was absolutely angry from all of this. Sadly she took out her anger, indirectly mind you, on them which was making them angry in turn at each other even more so.

Pyrrha: And, what about you, how did you handle all of this.

Jaune: Well, I never really understood what my dad did until I was older. But, I was happy. I wasn’t the youngest child, and I now had five younger sisters! i was the older brother I always wanted to be. My, Mom thanked me for being the older brother that I was, loving each of them unconditionally as I did. Because I did this, it showed my mother that she was being petty, and mean to the other woman for things they did not do. So, she managed to fix, and even improve her relationship with the other mothers. They used to sleep in three different rooms, then after me, and my older sisters found the three of them in the same bed, all cuddling against one another they started sleeping like that ever since. Now I’m a brother with two older sisters, and five younger sisters, a loving grandfather, and grandmother, with three loving mothers, and I couldn’t be happier.

Blake: That sounds beautiful.

Pyrrha: I’m glad this had a happy ending b

Yang: That sounds lovely, but how does this relate to you getting a fathers day card?

Jaune: Oh, because I was the ‘man of the house’ I tended to look over, and protect my younger siblings. So I became the ‘father figure’ they never had.

Ruby: Awww~! That so sweet!

Pyrrha: You are a really nice brother, Jaune.

Jaune: Thanks. But, sadly this resulted in all of my younger siblings in developing father/brother complexes with me, just like it did with, Nora…

Yang: Pfft! Hahahaha! You’re right, Jaune; in the shear ridiculousness of it all, that is quite funny.

Ruby: Your family is quite something, Jaune.

Blake: I could make so many stories with this as a basis…

Yang: Settle down, Bla…? Wait, Nora? Do you have a brother/father complex with, Jaune too?

Weiss: You’re kidding me, right?

Nora: Y-Yeah… I do…

Pyrrha: What?! How did that happen?!

Nora: I couldn’t help it! He runs his fingers through my hair to comfort me when I have nightmares, and he gives me goodnight kisses on my forehead before I go to sleep. It’s really nice.

Yang: Do you seriously do that?

Ren: Yeah, he does that almost every night, it’s really nice to see.

Pyrrha: How come I’ve never seen this before?

Ren: You’ve been asleep whenever he does it.

Pyrrha: But… I… Jaune! I want goodnight kisses too!

Jaune: Okay.

Pyrrha: Yes!

Jaune: So, anything else you guys wanna ask about my families.

Blake: Yeah, so, Jaune, if you’re in the mood, do you want to pretend to be my daddy, and give me a good spanking because I’ve been a bad girl?

RWYJNPR: …

Jaune: No.

Blake: Naww…

Weiss: How about me instead?

Jaune: Excuse me what?

[ladyyatexel]

Hey, what's up, hello, I'm Xel, I truly have Donald Duck levels of bad luck and yet I do not have the rage button that makes things work out if I throw a tantrum, which feels like yet another failure of media, what is the deal with this.

The deal is:

Temp job had to let me go instead of make me permanent because the economy scared the 5 people over 65 in that department out of feeling safe enough to retire

None of my applications are getting interviews and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Donald Duck tantrum did not assist me in this realm.

Holy shit seasonal depression I can't get out of bed like.... A Lot.

I have a convention to go to in February where I am selling art in the art show and where I will see many of my friends the only time per year.

I'm scared of everything haha wow 😬

I'm am an artist who just feels too upset and worried to art

I'm having trouble getting everything together and maybe will feel better with some level of stability? I need to do a lot of paperwork. It is proving hard. I have the Tumblr popular suspicions about my level of neurodivergance. (Fun story: I told members of my my family that I have thought in the last two years especially that I might have ADHD or Autism or something, and my cousin said, "Oh, honey *just the last two years?*" Obliterated.)

My abusive dad recently joined a cult and my grandmother thinks he'll try to contact me after 15 years and I'm fucking scared of him and that is Affecting Me in A Way boy howdy.

I do not have the money to pay rent even a little bit! I'm trying to get January and February taken care of maybe? So I can try to exist for this period of time and maybe not have a breakdown or get evicted or something?

Some real not awesome medical junk happening also because why not.

SO, I'm doing Tumblr's favorite thing and being a starving queer artist with brain worms who needs help. If you are interested in helping me out and making a donation to the "Why don't my Donald Duck tantrums solve my problems" fund, I would be Really Grateful.

I am on Ko-Fi, which is really just a funnel to PayPal, over here.

$2500 would keep me on solid ground. I'll try to keep a tally here in a read more along with a expenses tally if that would help you feel better about me! I know I've had to ask frequently in the last few months, so I understand thinking I'm full of it.

I have a commission to finish currently and a few buttons and things that need to be mailed. You could also ask for button and commission, but I am doing prep work for my part of the art show in mid February, so I'm not available until after then for that!

My grandfather used to do a Donald Duck impression that was really good and it convinced me that either he WAS Donald Duck or that old people all knew how to do this because they all talked like this in the era Donald Duck was from.

Here is Ko-Fi again. If there's something you'd like to see me post or unearth in atonement, let me know. If you'd like other places to aim your dead green American presidents, I can give you that too.

Thanks for reading and/or reblogging! Tell me how Donald Duck's freakouts impacted you. Take care of yourselves!

Rent is $710/month, so 1420 is January and February.

65 for the internet, 130

65 for car insurance, 130

65 for electric unless I can get the assistance plan up again, same 130

250 to survive at the con maybe?

Also just like food until i can get the foodstamps stuff sorted??

Gas???

Anyway, that's an idea of what and why, if that is helpful.

Jan 8:

We are at $460!

Thanks!

[ellethespaceunicorn]

The Howling in Claw Creek Forest, Prologue

Title: The Legend of the Claw Creek Creature

Rating: Mature, 18+, Minors - DNI 

Pairing: Werewolf!Walter Marshall x Reader 

Word Count: 2K 

Series Summary: You live in a small town called Claw Creek, surrounded by a deep, dark forest. Since you were a kid, an urban legend of the creature in the woods has been told. If the distant howls at night and mutilated livestock are anything to go by, you fear the stories to be true.

Chapter Summary: The story of the creature in the woods is told to you by your grandfather. You pass it on later to the kids in your hospital ward as a funny story from your childhood. It seems all of this might not be just a story. 

Warnings: mentions of mutilated animals, spoopy vibes 

A/N: So, this is my contribution to Halloween/Kinktober. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but I digress. This poll helped me decide who is my main character. Thank you to @viking-raider for challenging me. Thank you to @milknhonies for setting a fire under my butt. And a special thank you to @peyton-warren for being my lovely beta and soundboard for this. 

Dividers by me 

Support/Reblog banner by me 

Cover Art by me 

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist 

“Grandpa, I wanna hear the story again, please!” You bounded over to your grandfather, your pigtails flopped on your shoulders when you landed in his lap as he sat in his favorite armchair. 

He smiled down at you and spoke, “And what story might that be, darling?”  

“C’mon, Grandpa, you know what story. The one about the Claw Creek creature!!” You reminded him of your favorite tale, the legend of what happened right here in your town. 

“Alright, alright,” He scratched at his gray beard and looked off into the distance, “So, way back when the town was first founded over two hundred years ago, there were only a few families that settled here. The first of which was a wealthy family from England. Then came a successful farming family from the South. And so on. Well, little did these settlers know that there was an evil lurking in the woods at the edge of town.” 

You listened to the story, even though you knew it backward and forward. You just liked to hear how your grandfather could make it so fanciful every time you heard it. 

“After a prosperous number of years, the townspeople started to notice livestock being mutilated overnight. One family would blame the other, of course. But no one was ever caught sneaking on the farms or taunting the animals. And sadly, it didn't end there.” 

You couldn’t hide the smile on your face. This is the good part! 

“Look at you getting all excited! I should have you tell this story.” He laughs and pats your head. 

“No, Grandpa. You tell it so much better than me.” You adopted a pout and looked up at him through your lashes. 

“Your mother used to use that same approach; she must have taught you well,” He rolls his eyes and smiles, continuing, “If losing cows and chickens wasn’t enough, the town suffered another tragedy. While playing a game of ‘Chicken’, a group of boys stood at the edge of the tree line with their backs to the forest in the dead of night. One by one, each boy would run away for fear that the noises coming from the trees were a signal that the creature was nearby. Until only one boy was left. When he saw his friends had all left him, he started to whoop and holler about his victory. And that was his last mistake, sadly—” 

“Are you telling her that damn story again?” Your mother interrupted your grandfather, her father, “You aren’t the one that must reassure her in the dead of night that this story isn’t real, Dad.” 

“Mommy, the story is real! And I promise I won’t get scared tonight. Please let Grandpa finish the story! Please please please please please—” 

“Alright, fine! But remember you promised not to get scared tonight, young lady.” She kissed your forehead, patted her father’s shoulder, and shook her head before leaving you two to your story. 

“Now, where was I?” Your grandfather starts, searching his memory for his place in the story, “Ah right, the last boy was making all kinds of racket over his victory. He started to walk toward where his friends were standing until something grabbed him from behind. All his friends could do was watch for one second, he was there, and the next second he was gone. His screams faded into the sounds of the forest. Those boys ran as fast as they could back to town to tell of what had happened. 

“When some of the townsfolk went to search the forest, they weren’t very lucky. They scoured those woods in search of the boy. All they found was a cabin that was covered in vines, and it seemed to have been there for quite some time. But there was no sign of anyone having lived there. They searched and they searched but only found the boy’s jacket which was in shreds and covered in rust-colored fur. With no bears in the area, they assumed maybe it was a wolf or something. Which would have made sense with the missing livestock as well. It seemed that whatever took him must have eaten him whole because they never found anything else of his. No pants, no shoes. Gone, without a trace. And they searched for days, never finding him. 

“After that tragedy, the elders discouraged everyone from going even near the woods. Unless it was daytime. If the sun was out, the forest was still a little scary but nothing like that night. Even now, with all the safety precautions we have, I wouldn’t go into that forest if you paid me a million dollars. Anyway, they ended up renaming the town Claw Creek in remembrance of what happened. Never found a wolf though. I guess after all these years, we can safely say whatever was there that night is long gone now. Occasionally though, the wind carries, and I could swear I could hear howling late at night. Whatever it is out there, I say we let him have the forest and we keep to the town. That goes for you too, darling. You stay out of those woods, okay?” He finished his story with a warning, and he’d never done that before. 

“I’m not going in those woods. I am curious, though. How come I’ve never heard any howling? That would be so cool!” Your excitement about the story stopped you from thinking of the danger. 

“Trust me, darling. You do not want to hear those howls. They are haunting. And I’m old, I’m barely afraid of anything. But that creature? I believe he’s still out there. That’s why I tell this story, even if your mother hates it. Listen a bit closer in the night, maybe you’ll hear the howls one day. But promise me that you won’t go in search of where they lead.” His serious face scared you a bit, he was usually so jovial. 

“If I hear it, I won’t go toward it. I promise, Grandpa.” You reach out your pinky to him and he locks his pinky in yours to seal the promise. 

“That’s my girl. Now, what do you say we go and see if there’s any milk and cookies we can get into?” With his warm smile back in place, you return it happily. 

You hopped down from his lap and took his hand to pull him up off the armchair. Pulling him into the kitchen, you took a seat and watched as he poured the milk and took out some cookies from the cookie jar. You sat and talked with him about the creature and how you hoped you could hear the howl one day. 

That night you stayed up extra late to wait for the sounds of the forest to float to your window. All you ended up hearing was the sounds of owls and crickets chirping. No howl that night and no howl any night after that. 

That is, until about twenty years later... 

It was just a bit past midnight and you had just finished your shift as a nurse in the children’s ward of the hospital. You were dog-tired but you loved your job. You made it a tradition to pass on the story that your grandfather told you about the town. Telling all the little kids scary stories had only one consequence. They wouldn’t want anything else before bed but your story. And you loved it. Of course, you gave them the same warning as your grandfather did, to never go in search of the ‘big bad wolf’. 

You made it home and had a quick dinner and shower before you poured yourself into bed. Your open windows allowed the night breeze to come and wash over you. It also allowed you some white noise to fall asleep to. 

And that’s when you heard it. 

Ahh-wooooooo... 

You shot up in bed, thinking you were hearing things. You went to your bedroom window and you peered out into the night. You could see the tree line from where your house stood and you listened again for the howl. There seemed to be only silence and you were about to give up when you heard it again. 

Ahh-wooooooo... 

Your eyes were glued to the trees as the sound traveled to your ears. You blame it on your lack of sleep that you saw yellow glowing eyes watching you before disappearing back into the dark of the forest. 

But your tiredness wouldn’t explain the sound. The howl was there. You heard it twice. You can’t mistakenly hear something twice. Can you? 

You wait at your window for a couple minutes and there are no more sounds and no movement from the trees. You close your window and lay back in bed. You toss and turn most of the night, thinking of that pained howl all night long. You even dreamt of those eyes that you thought you saw. 

You didn’t know it yet, but that was not the last time you would hear that howl or see those eyes. 

The next morning, you go out to your local coffee shop to fuel up. You notice there seems to be a commotion as some folks are gathering outside near the town square. With coffee in hand, you make your way over and spot your best friend. 

“Olivia, what is all this about? Why is everyone out here?” You ask, gesturing toward the crowd of people near the fountain. 

“Girl, you didn’t hear those howls last night?” Her panic-stricken face tells you everything you need to know.  

Those howls were real. And everyone heard them. 

“But...it’s just like a wolf or something? We’re outlined by a forest. That’s gotta be normal. Right?” You’re not sure whether you are trying to calm her down, or yourself. 

“Well, yeah. But that doesn’t explain what happened on a few of the farms. Actually, the Elliot and the Sullivan farms got it the worst. They say some of their cattle and chickens got mutilated. But the doors to the enclosures to where the animals were kept? They weren’t broken in, they were just opened. Like something opened the door and walked in, ate their fill of beef and poultry, and then just walked right back out. How could that even happen?” She shakes her head and wraps her arms around herself to try and keep warm in the brisk autumn morning air. 

You were fine with thinking you had gone crazy and heard howls and saw glowing eyes. In fact, you would rather have continued to think you were nuts. But this ain’t no dream. Other people heard the howls last night. And now there were animal mutilations. All like in your grandfather’s story. 

I bet he would have gotten a sick little thrill out of all this happening. But you’re suddenly glad that he wasn’t around to see all this nonsense.  

“Liv, I’m gonna go back home. If anything else comes up, call me ok? Just be careful out here, girl.” You give her a quick hug and make your way back to your house after she promises to check in with you later. 

Sitting at your kitchen table, your coffee gone cold, you stared off into space. Was this all really happening? Was the creature real? Had it seen you that night? You pour your coffee into a mug and place it in the microwave. While you wait for it to be done, you check your phone and see Liv sent you a text. 

‘Hey girl, so they’re actually setting a curfew for tonight. Can you believe it? Everybody needs to be indoors by ten. Anyway, let’s get together for drinks tonight. Your place or mine or whatever. Don’t really wanna be alone tonight with all this mess.’ 

You send a quick text back agreeing to have her over for some wine and bad television, not wanting to be alone tonight either. Grabbing your coffee from the microwave, you settle down in the living room with your laptop. You begin to search the internet for any local wolf sightings, and to your horror, there hasn’t been a single one. Which, in your brain, can only mean one thing. 

The creature your grandfather warned you about might not be just a piece of fiction. 

To be continued... 

A/N: I am really nervous about this story so any comments are welcome. I really wanted this to be a one-shot and I should have known better lol.  

**Tag List** 

@deandoesthingstome @cakesandtom @brattymum96 @ambinxe @avengersfan25 @kebabgirl67 @thabiddie23 @sweetandgentlecreature @foxyjwls007 @astheskycries @enchantedbytomandhenry @rebelangel1102 @milknhonies @peyton-warren @geralts-yenn @raccoon-eyed-rebel @cardierreh15 @viking-raider 

Let me know if you wanna be added (or removed) 😁 

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Damian attacks an intruder in the Batcave only for the teen to dodge every blow and try talking him down. He claims that someone said he might be related to Batman and he wanted answers about his biological parents.

This does not help at all considering this would mean Damian is not the only blood son and he calls him a liar. Baby Bat realized the glowing teen was protective over the rolled up scroll he was holding and he demanded to know what it was.

Seeing the fight pause Phantom thought this was his shot to get Robin to calm down and stop attacking him and so he explained this was the Infi-map, a artifact that could take the user wherever they wanted to go with no limitations. Damian quickly grabbed the map and they begin struggling over it. While they were both holding it Damian got an idea, "Fine! We'll take the map to our grandfather and he will confirm whether or not what you're saying is true!" And the map began to glow. Oddly enough it spat out a glowing purple door which opened and sucked them in before closing behind them and disappearing.

Instead of landing in front of Ras Al Ghul like Damian had planned they intead landed in...the batcave? That couldn't be right. It took only a moment to realize something was very wrong. The numerous "trophies" his father and siblings had acquired were nowhere in sight, instead the decor was different.

"Who are you?"

Startled, the boys hopped into battle positions and prepared to face down...Batman??? What? But Damian knew it wasn't Batman. What little he could see of the face was wrong. So was the height and build, it was similar but not enough to fool him. Phantom wasn't so lucky and just asked the imposter if he was his dad.

Well, a fight breaks out after an argument where the man declared that Bruce and Martha were dead and it clicked for Phantom. "Oh snap. Robin, when you grabbed the map you told it to take it to "our" grandfather. We don't share a mother, only a father." All he know about his mom was that she gave me up for adoption and died a few years later.

"Thats not possible, my fathers parents are dead."

Danny chose to ignore the venom in the other boys words, "Its called the Infi-map because it grants access to the Infinite Realms. It can take you anywhere or anytime you want to go, this includes dimensions, realities, alternate universes, a combination of all the above with time travel sprinked on top, you name it."

Robin was silent. The man was appearently Thomas Wayne, thier alternate reality grandpa.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for cleaning the graves of people I don't know?

So, the thing is, I(17NB) have a lot of dead relatives. I spend a significant amount of time cleaning their slots in spring and fall, and when I'm there, I also spend some time cleaning the graves of people nearby. Sometimes I leave them flowers, even though I know they're going to get stolen like half an hour later. Most of the time the slots I clean look abandoned, or just covered in dead plants and stuff. I like being in the graveyard, I like cleaning, so the thought of possibly being an asshole hasn't crossed my mind.

That was until I took my dad(45M) with me to help with the broken fence on our great-grandfathers spot. All of the graves have fences here (unrelated, but this is why american graveyards always confused me — how can you tell where your grandpa ends and someone's aunt begins?) and they get rusty with years. So while he was busy with painting our spot, I took it upon myself to repaint the fence of the couple graves nearby. To do that, I had to physically enter said spot.

My dad got really angry and told me to get out of there, that what I was doing was a sin, a crime, and generally a horrible thing to do. I was really confused, but his reasoning was that I was walking on someone's final resting place and I didn't even know them. I apologized and climbed out of there. On our ride home he said that he was really disappointed in me.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[samgirl98]

Forgotten Demon Twin 5/?

Prev | Next

“Are you going to tell mom and dad?” Danny asked, effectively killing the silence in the car.

“I should,” Jazz said while tightening her hold on the steering wheel. She sighed, “but I’m not.”

Some of the tension melted from Danny’s body.

“You are going to tell me everything, though, right? Or at least the cliff notes version? Just so I can have some peace of mind.”

“Smooth, Jazz.”

“I’m serious, Danny. You told these people your secret identity. Before telling mom and dad!”

“I didn’t mean to! Skulker attacked, and I had to have access to my full powers to protect them!”

“You were reckless. Why didn’t you wake me up before leaving the house?”

Jazz’s voice was starting to rise higher.

“You could’ve been kidnapped!”

Danny snorted.

“I’m serious, Danny.”

“I’m fine, Jazz. I can take care of myself.”

Silence reigned in the car again. They made it back to Fenton’s Work, but neither sibling made any moves to get out.

“What I’m about to tell you can kill you, Jazz, so this is your only chance to back down.”

Jazz said nothing and folded her hands over her lap. Danny sighed.

“I was born high in the Himalayan Mountains in a hidden city called Nanda Parbat. I wasn’t born normally. I was made in an artificial womb; I wasn’t supposed to exist. My mother is the daughter of the leader of a cult called the League of Assassins.”

Jazz took an audible deep breath but kept quiet.

“My brother was supposed to be the only one born. The perfect heir to the Demon’s Head, Ibn Al Xu’ffasch. The Son of the Bat. I was named the Spare,” Danny said bitterly, “I could never measure up to my perfect older brother. I cried after I killed. I wasn’t good at fighting; I was too soft, too weak.”

“Damian was perfect. Why would they need the runt of the litter? I was exiled at seven. My grandfather is, was over 500 years old. We think. He lost track of his actual age. He used something called the Lazarus Pits; now I know it is ectoplasm. He bathed in them to keep himself alive.

“You’re using the past tense.”

Danny nodded, “Damian told me he’s dead.”

Danny took a deep breath and continued.

“Since I was a waste of space, he sent me away to see how scientists interact with the Lazarus Waters outside the League. He ordered me to kill the first three people I ended up with. I don’t know why he didn’t with you guys, but I’m glad.”

“You, mom, dad, are the only true family I’ve ever known. I sent ‘reports’ that were the most basic of basic. They can be found online. Eventually, after being here for three years, they stopped writing back. I was so relieved that they seemed to have forgotten me. I understand if you think I’m a monster. I’m a killer, Jazz.”

Jazz hugged Danny.

“You’re not a monster, Danny, and you’re not a waste of space. You’re my baby brother, and I would kill for you,” she declared, meaning it.

She noticed how Danny talked about himself compared to Damian. He believed himself lesser. She didn’t believe it. Her little brother had taken up the mantle of protector of Amity and had become the Ghost King after protecting their small city from the threat of Pariah Dark. He was a hero; he deserved to be treated as such.

“Thanks, Jazz,” he hugged his sister back, enjoying the warmth.

He let go after a while.

“There’s more. There’s a reason Damian is known as the Son of the Bat. His, our birth father, Bruce Wayne, is Batman.”

____

Damian didn’t sleep that night. He wanted it to be morning as quickly as possible so his father would call the Fentons.

How did he go from forgetting his brother to being impatient to see him? It didn’t help that he felt…something when he saw how easily Danyal followed Jasmine.

(How would it have been if he had been close to his brother? Would Danyal have looked at Damian the same way he looked at Jasmine?)

He wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t!

Damian walked into the sitting room. Father was already there, drinking a cup of coffee. He sat before his father and started chewing on some fruit.

They had gotten rooms in a themed hotel. Three guesses as to what the theme was. The whole damned city seemed obsessed with ghosts.

There was a picture of Phantom smiling into the camera.

Damian had done some research instead of sleeping. Apparently, Phantom was the main hero of Amity, though there was another heroine called the Red Huntress. There were mixed reviews of his brother. The younger generation viewed him as a hero (as they should.), while the older generation saw him as a menace.

There had been an article when Phantom had done a string of burglaries. Because of his red eyes, Damian had concluded his brother had most likely been mind-controlled. It happened. Even Superman has been mind-controlled.

“So, father, when will we be calling the Fentons.”

His father sighed and put down his coffee.

“Soon, Damian, but we must consider how we will approach this. Danny has already expressed his wishes. He doesn’t want to come with us.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve read into the Fentons; they’re menaces. The father has news segments for when he’s on the road! The mother has gone on record stating that all ghosts should be studied and are evil. Their papers are heavily prejudiced, with no scientific evidence to back it up. It’s clear Danyal is in danger here.”

“Damian, he’s happy here. He has people who love him.”

Damian crossed his arms, “He’s being a hero without any adult backup. He’s here alone facing Justice League-level threats.”

Bruce sighed. Damian brought up good points, but Bruce knew his son wasn’t thinking about Danny. He was thinking about assuaging his guilt. A part of Bruce wanted to do the same thing.

He could take care of Danny; he had the money. He had years of experience in the vigilante/hero business and could get other heroes to mentor his youngest son (God, another son he had failed.), but he had to consider Danny’s needs.

Bruce took a deep breath, “I’ll get your siblings. It’s time to call the Fenton.”

____

Danny woke up with a twisted stomach. It was so bad he couldn’t even eat his cereal. But he couldn’t leave either. He wanted to be there when Bruce called. Jazz sat in front of him and gave him weak smiles. Her bags were almost as bad as Danny’s.

Both Fenton siblings jumped when the phone rang.

Neither elder Fenton noticed their children’s mood.

“Fenton household,” Maddie answered.

“Hello,” Bruce’s smooth voice came through the phone. Danny thanked his advanced hearing, “May I speak to either Madeline or Jack Fenton, please?”

“Maddie Fenton speaking,” his mom said, “to whom am I speaking?”

“My name is Bruce Wayne,” his mom cut Bruce off.

“Bruce Wayne, as in Wayne from Wayne Enterprises,” his mother asked excitedly. Jack Fenton got up and put his ear close to the phone. Danny’s stomach got heavier.

“Did you finally take a look at our inventions and want to have a meeting to sponsor us?”

Considering Danny had destroyed any message his parents had sent to Wayne Enterprises for the express purpose they would never meet, the answer was no.

“No,” Bruce said, “Well, it’s hard for me to say, but I recently learned from my youngest that he has a twin. I have another son.”

Maddie and Jack looked at each other, confused.

“Yes, what does that have to do with us?”

“I have reason to believe that Daniel Fenton is my biological son, and I wish to take a DNA test.”

Next up, the Fentons officially meet Bruce and Damian Wayne

[happyunbday2u]

So I recently saw a comic on YouTube about Husk having a daughter when he was alive so now I can’t get it out of my head and now I’d like to welcome Spade and Diamond, human names are Scott and Diane

They died some time in the late 1990’s and were born in the late 1940’s

I like to think Husk was a good father with a soft spot for kids, I am still thinking on their mother’s design but I have the backstory ready, this includes Husk being the Vietnam war.

Their life couldn’t have been more perfect if it weren’t for their dad having to leave for war and their grandmother trying to convince their mother that she could do better, but it got worse when they found her dead after being missing for weeks. (Plot twist! The Grandma killed her because if she wouldn’t leave Husk then there was only one thing left to do! JK it was a moment of sheer rage and the next thing she knew her daughter was dead in her arms, she doesn’t regret it because now she has her precious grand babies)

The only thing Husk came home to was his mother-in-law telling him to give his kids to her, she got in his head by telling him how he’d be able to care for them alone, without his wife, without their mother, so with much pain he gave them away.

They didn’t want him to do it but he told them it was for the best, they tried to hate him for it but they couldn’t, Scott was the one who ended up becoming a rebel and while his sister didn’t he got into some trouble and she had to hide him and one day someone tried to attack them and in a moment of panic she killed them forcing her to the life of crime.

Both died in a crossfire and coming to Hell they resembled their dad (and mom?), they didn’t even know he was there until they watched the new and heard about the fight with the Angels and the Hotel they’ve heard so much about, but there was no denying that they saw their dad on screen.

After seeing it they couldn’t help but go to at least SEE if he really was there. Let me tell you the amount of joy there was in that family reunion was the equal amount as seeing a family of your favorite animal, a bit shocking for everyone to find out that not only Husk was married when he was alive but had kids, but he is the type of person to randomly bring up things about their life and never bring it up again.

Both siblings like Charlie and her energy tho it is a bit much for the two, Vaggie was intimidating at first but then they began to grow a connection and BOTH sides would kill for each other.

Surprisingly they got along well with Angel Dust and they were the first to realize the love in their eyes for each other.

“Why do they make such intense eye contact?” “It’s kinda like how dad and mom did it during anniversaries…oh…” “…Oh..” “OH!”

Niffty is a bit crazy for their taste but over all they can get along with her, Diamond helps her clean.

At first they were okay with Alastor until Husk casually brought up his souls was owned by him, now they secretly hate him.

Spade is absolutely fascinated by Cherri Bomb’s bombs, and has helped her make bigger explosions and make it for farther distances.

Lucifer is basically their new grandfather who spoils them.

You guys can use these OCs if you want just make sure to not say it’s your own OC and tag me so I can see y’all beautiful art or mini fanfic or whatever you decide to do with them 😀👍🏽

Edit: i started on a draft for their mother! 1/2

[lina-lovebug]

You Are Mine, p. 3

Synposis: You and Quaritch are mated but your sister, Neytiri, cannot accept him

Warnings: cussing, Neytiri hating Quaritch

Usually in a situation like this, Miles Quaritch would be yelling and pissed off.

But him falling into a stream because he tried catching a fish with his bare hands and his mate laughing at him only brought him pure joy.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" Miles questioned, grabbing me by my hands and pulling me in.

I gasped as the cold water hit my skin and hit his chest playfully.

"You skxawng!"

Your laughter was heard from miles around. Neytiris' ears flicked downwards, and she growled under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Kiri questioned.

"She should not have mated with him," Neytiri expressed, "He is a bad man. He is the reason your grandfather is dead."

"Nothing could ever change what he did, mom. But I can see he's trying to make amends-"

"Nothing can-!"

"He loves her, mom!" Kiri stopped Neytiri.

"I can see it. There's a reason they met, and why Aunt (Y/N) fell in love with him. You trust your sister, and I know that my aunt would not be tricked like this," Kiri saw the love between them, and it wasn't fake. Miles Quaritch wasn't deceiving her.

But Neytiri wouldn't believe it.

He's a monster and always would be, in her eyes.

He killed their father.

"He regrets it. I can-"

"Kiri, you are young. You cannot fathom what he has done."

"It wasn't just him! I love dad, but he knew. He knew what was coming and you still love him."

"It was different-!"

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Jake interrupted, hearing the commotion as he came home with Lo'ak and Neteyam.

"Dad, please, you have to give Miles a chance. You were once one of them, you thought like them, you even thought of us as savages," Now that hurt Jake.

"I swear to you on Eywa that he's changed. He loves (Y/N)."

"I can see it," Lo'ak spoke up.

"The way he watches her was weird, but it wasn't in a creepy way. He looks at her like you look at mom," Lo'ak told Jake, who knew the truth but it was Quaritch. He hated the natives more than anyone.

And yet he mated with one of them.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Neytiri looked back to see him. He was wearing Na'vi clothing, he looked like Na'vi, but she knows hatred when it's infront of her.

"You will never be one of us," Neytiri sneered before walking away, Neteyam and Lo'ak following after their mother.

Miles ears fell back, knowing this wouldn't be easy.

"I don't give a damn what she tells me, but (Y/N) misses her sister. I can't stand seeing her like this," Despite how hard he's tried, he knew that all his mate wanted was for her sister to forgive her and accept him.

And the problem of the humans. They had to have figured out by now that Miles betrayed them and had to be looking.

Fighting his own spaud was going to be a bitch.

"I don't like you all that much right now either, but I know (Y/N), and she wouldn't choose if she didn't know that you've changed," Maybe she was right. Just like Jake, Miles had grown to see the beauty of Pandora and its people.

"Oh, and Miles?"

"Yes?"

Jake had punched him in the face, causing Spider and Tuk to gasp.

"That's for trying to kill me."

"Yeah, I should've seen that coming."

But before anything else, everyone heard a scream. Miles ears folded back, recognizing the voice as his (Y/N).

Him and Jake exchanged a look of worry before running in the direction of the scream.

What happened? Is she okay? Why did I leave her alone?

Thousands of thoughts were racing through his mind, regretting every second he wasn't by your side.

"Tell me who sent you!"

"Let go of me, bitch!"

Only to find (Y/N) holding Corporal Lyle by his queue and with a dagger to his throat. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, showing that he got a good beat down in the few seconds it took them to get to her.

"Colonel! Tell this bitch to let go of me!" But then he noticed something. . .off. His Corporal wasn't in his gear but instead, he looked like one of them.

"So it's true. You did run off. For what?! Some quick native pussy?!"

Before Miles could beat the living shit out of him, an arrow shot through the brush and into his skull.

That arrow was so fast, and if Neytiri was feeling extra vengeful, she could've easily killed him. She glanced at Miles as she came out of the bush.

"You better be ready to lay down your life for her," Neytiri hissed, and (Y/N) looked towards her mate.

"Always."

[afandomdreamerwrites]

Scarlet Part 2

For @aguilaguerrera10, here’s the second part. Again, so sorry for the wait. I’ve been trying to make a habit of finishing my stuff. So, to everyone, I am in the process of making your posts. I am very grateful for your patience and I am trying my best to get to all of you.

TW: ANGST, FIGHTING BETWEEN FATHER AND SON, and uh.. yeah. If there is anything else I missed or that troubles you, let me know, and I’ll put it in. 

(Edit done in Picsart by me)

Neither you nor Jason ever mentioned your grandfather.

It didn’t matter. Jason raised you, cared for you. He was family and you were, too; finding out about your real family didn’t change that. Jason is your real family - who cares who your mother is or who your grandfather is? Jason has been there for you your entire life - you could care less about your 'other' family.

As you continue on with your life, each day your vigilante work got tougher; forgetting the incident between Jason and your grandfather. You were always near your dad, who explicitly told you to never stray from his eyesight unless given permission to - you listened, of course. Gotham is full of surprises, and Jason is a seasoned veteran at this sort of thing. While you may know how to dropkick a guy from above or put a man in a chokehold, Jason knows when a guy is gonna pull the trigger, or who's hiding behind the corner. Once, you got into a run-in with a group of thugs. You and Jason took them down, one by one. You let your guard down for a second, and you were tackled to the ground, repeatedly getting your face punched out. You would’ve been dead..-

If it wasn’t for Jason’s hard fist knocking their jaw out.

The memories were hazy…

You were going in and out of consciousness, but.. you could’ve swore you saw Jason’s knuckles covered in blood. When you managed to pick yourself up and run to safety, you also swore you heard a gunshot.

You shrugged it off as a result of nearly getting your head smashed in, but the more you thought about it, deep down, you start to wonder more and more about what your dad actually did to those men…

“Scarlet.”

You snapped out of your thoughts. “You understand?” Jason stands before you, arms crossed over his chest. You blink under your mask then nod. “Yes. I understand. No confrontation whatsoever.” Your Dad caught wind of an ‘organization’ doing some shady business around Crime Alley. A few searches and criminal records lead him down to a run-down building, deep in the east-end surrounded by the apartments of the ghetto, which is where you two currently stand on the rooftop of. He didn't intend to bring you along, but after going through some more information, he realized he was going to need a helping hand, so here you are.

Jason looks down, observing the guards through the clear windows. “If anything goes wrong, let me know, and I’ll come get you. Remember: never stray from my radar.” You nod. “Got it.” All you were assigned to do is take pictures and gather info - that's it. No confrontation, no take-downs, just sneaking around and playing spy; it will be your first time going solo. Jason stares at you then takes a deep breath - he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about you. So many what-ifs and a thousand scenarios of the absolute worst things to happen play around in his mind. He knows you’re a good kid, you’ve rarely ever gone against him, and the only time you did was when you wanted to become a vigilante. Besides that, you never caused trouble for him, but still, he couldn’t help but worry - hell - fear.

You noticed Jason's silence and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what are you scared about? All I gotta do is take a few pictures," you assured, "No biggie!” Although your face was behind a mask, he can feel your bright smile.

It's not that he doesn't trust you.

He trusts you.. wholeheartedly.

It’s those sick fucks that he doesn’t trust.

He holds your gaze then places a hand on your head. "I can always trust you, kid." He says. You smile then run to the air vent with Jason following right behind.

Using the X-ray vision in his mask, he gauges the area: there aren’t as many guards compared to yesterday. You won’t be engaging the enemy and you'll be in the vents, so it didn't matter as much. 'But you never know.' He noted. Jason would be careless to not think there could be more hidden around somewhere in the warehouse. "Well, kid." He turns to you. "Whenever you're ready." Nodding, you use a laser pen you made out of a laser pointer for cats - with the help of your dad, of course. The beam cuts through the vents, carving a circle into the metal, and all it took was one, gentle, push to create a perfect opening. You took one last look at your Dad, then climbed in. Jason can feel his nerves bubbling in his gut, but he pushed them down. 'You'll be fine.' He reassured himself. 'You're a good kid.'

You peer through the holes of the vents: there's a group of men surrounding a map on a table. Using the mini camera in your mask, you snap a few pics then move on to the next room. Jason sat on the rooftop watching the red dot on the map move across the vents in his helmet. Despite overviewing the entire area, he couldn’t shake off the suspicion about the unusual small number of guards hanging around the building. It gave him that much more anxiety with you.

"She shouldn't be doing this."

Jason grits his teeth.

He didn't need to ask to know who it was…

In the pitch black night of Gotham, a tall figure, camouflaged like a menacing shadow, stands behind Jason.

How long has it been..?

Weeks? Months? Years?

God knows how long since he last spoke to the man he was disgusted to call his mentor, his father.

"What do you want?"

"You know why."

Truth be told, Jason does..

Very well…

Along with finding out who your grandfather and mother is, Ra's also told him of who your father is, and your brother. Jason stands up. "Yeah, I do. What of it?"

Bruce's face was as cold and as expressionless as always. He saunters closer to Jason. "She can't live like this." Jason glares through his mask. "Who are you to decide that?" "I mean it, Jason. It's dangerous." Jason scoffs. "Funny coming from you and your four other little birds."

"Make that five."

The familiar cape dawned with the bright red, yellow, and green colors flies down beside him. An unfamiliar figure stands before him, another kid, another Robin. Jason narrows his eyes. "That's right. Almost forgot about you."

Damian Al-ghul Wayne. Grandson to Ra's Al Ghul, son to Talia and Bruce Wayne.

Your older twin brother.

Robin scoffs. "You've heard of me? Good."

Egotistic.

Wonderful…

"My sister will be coming back with us. That's a guarantee."

Jason clicks his teeth. It's his first time seeing the little devil in person and it's already bad enough learning that your mother tried to leave you for dead, it's a whole other thing to find out she abandoned you in favor of this entitled brat. 'Must be genetic.' Jason thought. "Yeah. That's not happening." Robin narrows his eyes. "Yeah. You heard me - she's staying with me and just like how I told your bastard of a grandfather: if any of you even lay a hand on my kid - I'll put a bullet in your skulls," Jason pulls out one of his pistols, "That's a guarantee."

Robin grits his teeth. Before he could even think about lashing out, Batman stands in front of him. "Think about this, Jason-" "I have. A long time ago. No one is taking my kid away from me, especially you."

A rustling echoes from the vent. All men turn to you as you climb out.

"I got all the pictures, Red. Is there..-" Your sentence trails off. Your dad, Batman and Robin standing before you.

Anyone who was born or has lived in Gotham long enough are familiar with the iconic dynamic duo, but to see them in person is an entirely different experience. Usually, you would be excited - if it wasn't for the feeling that something was wrong.

"...what's going on?"

Batman took a few steps towards you only for Jason to jump infront. There's a feral look in his eyes, his shoulders raised up and his muscles tense.

“Jason, please-"

“No! We’re done talking.”

Turning around, Jason starts walking. “Come on, kid. We’re leaving.” Glancing at the duo, you stare at them for a good minute before reluctantly following Jason. “Wait-” Batman grabs your hand.

Before you realize it, Batman goes flying backwards.

You blink.

You find your dad right next to you, his leg outstretched, breathing heavily.

It took a few moments for the gears to turn in your head. Then you realized…

Your dad kicked Batman.

The Dark Knight groans and sits up holding his stomach. You stand in complete shock, unsure of what to make of what just happened. Seeing this, Robin grits his teeth and runs at him, jumping up to send a roundhouse kick towards Red Hood’s head. “Robin! No!” Batman yells. Jason effortlessly catches him, flinging him across the roof to the next building. He tumbles a few times before falling to the ground, groaning.

Your mouth hangs open, stilled by both fear, confusion, and complete shock. Jason scoffs and grabs your wrist. “Let’s go."

“Jason, please. Can we at least talk?” Batman reaches out to grab you again. In a blink of an eye, Jason pulls out his gun.

There’s a suffocating moment of silence.

Neither party made a single move.

Despite your utter horror, the conflicted thoughts, and denials running through your head, there’s no doubt anymore that what happened with those goons is true - your dad had shot and killed them.

“Talk? Talk?! I said, we were done talking. I guess I didn’t make myself clear enough.” His finger begins to press down on the trigger. Your eyes blow wide, you shout. “Dad! Don’t-”

A gunshot never rang out. Batman kicked the gun out of his hand. He simultaneously grabs your arm and pulls you behind him. Robin, with a throbbing headache, stands up. “Robin! Take Scarlet away from here!” Red Hood growls and tries to bring his other gun out but Batman punches that one out too. Robin nods and grabs your arm. “Hey - wait!”

With both of his weapons out of reach, Jason takes to using his fist and goes straight for his nose. Batman catches it and punishes him by striking him twice in the abdomen before kicking him and sending him across the rooftop.

"Come on, let's get you out of here!" Robin is tugging at your arm, but you kept yourself planted. "No! I'm not leaving without my dad!"

Batman walks over. Jason lifts himself up, giving Batman the deadliest glares you’ve ever seen from him. Bruce says nothing and raises his fist at him, ready to land another punch.

"Stop!"

You ran between the two.

Batman halts. You stand there with your arms wide using your entire body to shield your father. "Don't hurt him!"

Batman lowers his fist and stands straight. "You don't understand. What you're doing.. it's not right." You glared at him. "So what?" Batman's gaze hardens. "You can get hurt or worse. Not to mention, where you live is just as unsafe." He kneels down to your eye-level. "If you live with me, with us, we can give you a better home, get you into a better school." He places a hand on your shoulder. Jason tenses up. "Become a family." You held your gaze with him. You didn't move from your spot nor let your arms down despite them beginning to ache. "I already have a family. It's him!" Batman goes silent. Robin grits his teeth. "Don't you get it? You'll die living like this!" "So what!" You snapped. "I rather die right beside my dad than leave him behind!" You hear a groan behind you and turn around. Your dad was struggling to get up, grunting as he held his stomach. You rush to his side, catching him when he falls. Batman steps to you, calling your name as he reaches a hand to you. "No!" You yell, clutching your dad harder, glaring harder at the Dark Knight. "You aren't taking me from him! I'm staying right here and if you try, you'll have to kill me to do it!" Batman stops. You were glued to Jason's side, standing next to him so defensively, ready to put up a fight. Robin was growing impatient and stomped his way to you. "You will come with us, whether you like it or no-" "Stop." Batman halts his son. Before Robin could argue, he turns away from you two, walking to the edge of the roof. "We're leaving." "But-" Batman narrows his eyes. Robin glances at Jason, then you. He holds his gaze with you, clutching his fists, before forcing himself to follow his father. The duo hop off from the roof, disappearing into the night. As if on cue, thunder rumbles across the sky, a heavy downpour following after.

You turn to your dad. He tries to get up again, this time, you help him by wrapping his arm around your shoulder and standing up. "Are you okay?" Jason groans. "I'll be fine. Are you alright?" You chuckle. "I'm alright. But we should get home." You say, then carefully guided him to the rooftop edge.

[DISCLAIMER: This work and any other works I do is purely fiction and fantasy. I do NOT condone any behaviors like this or other yandere behaviors in real life. If you experience something like this, I strongly advise you get help. Again, this work is purely fantasy and should not be done or supported in real life.]

...

[I also wished I could center text! >:(]

[aingeal98]

I have like. Two versions of Damian Wayne in my head. I think it's a consequence of getting to know and love him via Morrison's run on him and then wanting to know more, doing research into his mother's side, and being horrified by how racist the retcons made were. It didn't really change how much I enjoy Damian in any significant way, because I liked him for his dynamic with the batfamily and how entertaining he is as Robin. It's just that when it comes to anything deeper than that, about what motivates him, what he internalized growing up, the impact his childhood abuse had on him, anything to do with Ras or Talia really... A lot of writers fail so badly at making it compelling and instead just make me cringe and want them never to touch the al Ghuls again. And so we end up with two Damians:

Damian Wayne aka the Damian I love: Most easily described as an in-character, well written Damian with a solid backstory. Robin Son of Batman and his Robin run both pull this off pretty well. They don't downplay the horror of his childhood but they don't cross over into cartoonish territory either, and they allow Damian to have complicated thoughts and feelings about what he did and what was done to him. You can see how his abuse shaped him without it being shoved hamfistedly down your throat, and I don't come away thinking "I have to ignore all of this no matter how important it is to his character because logically Ras and/or Talia would not fucking do that". Also he's hilarious and makes me root for him whether he's insulting his enemies or electrocuting Jason or dying for the fifth/sixth time. Like that's my son and I can write a million words on his mentality and how it's changed and his opinions on his parental figures and his character development and how he'd interact with x or y character and-

And the second Damian, aka the Woobie Damian. The one you get where hack writers want to give him a sad backstory to justify how Edgy and Badass and Damaged he is and write the most cartoonishly over the top evil Ras and Talia possible. Most recent example I can think of is Tom King saying Ras locked Damian in a box with no water for a week because he didn't tie his shoelaces right. Or Morrison's Talia murdering her own son. Or how SuperSons wrote Talia. And look, it's not that I won't accept horribly, ridiculously evil villains. My favourite character's dad abused her in more extreme ways than even the worst al Ghul writer could come up with. It's that these are characters with already established personalities and traits. Unless they are being mind controlled they would not act like that and do these things. Just like how Bruce Wayne wouldn't lock Dick in a cave and feed him rats. There are ways you can show the impact of growing up in a cult and raised by an evil grandfather and being told repeatedly that you are destined to lead them all into a better world and trained in the art of killing a man. And these writers fail miserably at pulling any of that off. It's as shallow and boring as "You know why I'm mean to you all the time? Because my family taught me love is a weakness. I said mean things to you and stabbed you but my grandfather used to beat me for showing kindness to animals. Don't you feel sorry for me now?"

It sucks. I hate it. Anything with that Damian in it, I automatically filter out of my personal canon. The only way I can think of making it good is if it's like the "Slice the Baby Saturday" meme, where Damian is just bullshitting to see how much he can get away with and deliberately testing his family with stereotypes. But unfortunately those writers are dead serious about Ras making Damian climb up a whole mountain with no safety gear even if he falls and breaks his arm or dies. Because that is definitely something you would do with your one and only heir. They're literally two minutes away from saying Ras gave Damian a puppy and then told Talia to kill it in front of him.

So basically when I say that I love Damian and he's my favourite male Robin, know that woobie Damian is not a part of this conversation. Real Damian I would kill for. A writer puts woobie Damian in front of me and says his mom stabbed him I say let him bleed out so I won't have to endure comics about him anymore.

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files: Son of Egypt

First fic of all time (barring dabbles in my younger years off the internet that don't count.)

All credit goes to @television-overload's intriguing idea-- Samantha adopts and raises William Mulder-Scully (post here)-- with a Prince of Egypt-esque twist~.

Will Van de Kamp couldn’t remember how old he was (and couldn’t begin to take a guess now) or even what he'd said when his mother’s wistful, yearning look stopped him in the middle of a protest. “Your father said that to me, too,” she’d murmured, before quickly walking them away from the conversation. It was then he understood: Samantha Van de Kamp was his mother, Carl Andrew Van de Kamp was his brother, but the man he called “dad” was not his father.  

~~~~~

He had just turned twenty-two when Will was finally allowed to join the raids.

Their base's Consortium quarters had been quiet, eagerly quiet as the Van de Kamp men represented their request. Will may have felt aged in his soul-- a cobweb weighed down with dust and filth and dead parts-- but he was young in their eyes; and against this fading generation, who had seen wars and brokered peace before their species was extinguished, Will had to prove he could handle the great risk, the heavy responsibility, the implied future work this one task would set him up for. That was easily done as he parroted back their secrets-- a young boy with a quick mind and a listening ear could learn a lot, particularly when firmly transplanted from his childhood farm into the middle of a Syndicate compound. And a boy who could turn that threat of exposure into a boon for his lords and masters was a gift to be cultivated and groomed. He was approved. In passing, a few half-remarks (“Perhaps he should have been left on the farm. To know so much of our inner workings and with so much history--”, “It was necessary. There was no other way to keep Mulder from--”) snagged at his mind, vaguely recognizing a few names and situations mentioned before; but his attention was caught by Van de Kamp’s reassuring grip and a few curious members striding over to weigh him in the balance for themselves. Later. 

Later came sooner than expected.

The raid had been going smoothly. It wasn’t even a raid, Will discovered, but a routine drive-by meant to intimidate a specific helper or informant: a preening “you’re still in checkmate” boast. Elevated desperation reeked from their current victim, choking Will as thickly as Van de Kamp and Henderson’s ruthless satisfaction did. The interrogation ended badly: Henderson was knocked aside and Van de Kamp warned away from his charge by the muzzle of Henderson’s gun. Will Van de Kamp had his own weapon out and aimed at the man’s chest before he could become a hostage; but Will could not pull the trigger. The background noise faded out as both opponents faced each other, equal fear in their eyes. Then the man jerked the gun away, swiftly putting a bullet in his own skull.  

Another half-remark haunted Will’s footsteps from the scene. “Can’t change a Mulder,” Henderson hissed under his breath, hand wrapped around his twisted fingers. 

~~~~~

The Consortium appreciated the concept of genius but withdrew from his own. Bad blood on all sides, Will assumed; the dark, overcasting shadow of his late grandfather providing contrast to the spark of his intelligence. Eidetic memory was a negative in this den of bloated jackals, gluttoned as they were on easy power and declaring victories when they hadn't even fought wars (though against whom or what no one could point to.) 

When Van de Kamp had told the family they were moving permanently on-base, everyone had assumed it was because Andrew had caught the Syndicate's attention. Cunning was prized by a group who had to lick their own wounds one too many times; and Will’s older brother had it in spades. It was ridiculously easy for him to spin anything to his advantage with everyone except Will-- the two brothers knew each other too well for those games to be ended between them in anything other than a fight, a good laugh, and another adventure. Andrew's harsher struggles trying to live up to his grandfather's legacy in the Consortium was harshly contrasted by Will's greater negligence in the name of freedom; and both brothers grew closer and further away as the group's requirements necessarily pushed and pulled at their relationship. There was love, Will knew; but suspicions this intense could only be dealt with alone.

“What’s eating at you? We all don’t take that first shot, it doesn’t mean--” 

“Teach me to hack in, not get caught.” 

Another tussle, another patch up, another bargain.

Will only gained fringes of information from slipping into those dangerous territories (most of the information having been kept offline since an incident in 1995, he gleaned); but two important pieces were worth the risk: former Special Agent Fox W. Mulder (recently exonerated) had continually entangled himself in Syndicate business while on a madcap search for his sister; and that sister was Samantha Mulder. Samantha Mulder, Samantha Van de Kamp. 

He had to find those files. 

~~~~~

It took longer than Will was willing to admit to recall where Van de Kamp stored his important documents, cds, and drives. Nocturnal adventures were not unusual for him, even with a mother who quaked with worry and a father who quietly guided him back to his room any time after 10 PM. With the tiniest flashlight he could find in one hand (being invisible was an essential skill to survive when surrounded by betrayals layered with suspicions) and a phone in the other, Will picked his way through the attic, recognizing various names or codes from his notes. Eyes growing strained in the darkness, he finally found a promising box: folder piles, papers filed together, pictures, notes… the X-Files. Or copies of them.  

Will flipped around, brusquely set aside, and grabbed for stack after stack until he found his mother’s file. Although she was younger in this photo than any in the house, they still reassuringly shared the same nose (pinched at the bridge, widening out at the tip.) For a brief moment he wondered what his uncle’s nose looked like; but the word “Found” arrested his attention. Everything froze with him in shock, coming back to life only after he sputtered on a choked, belated gasp. Closed… found… 2000… died…starlight. Died. 

He clutched as many files and cds as he could; then a box of them; then set everything aside, shaking, as he ruthlessly sorted between importance and paramount importance. Remaining undetected was the goal: it wouldn’t matter how much evidence he collected if he were caught. 

~~~~~

Uncle Fox, Will discovered, was a fascinatingly transparent opponent to the Syndicate. He'd never hidden his motives or intentions, often defying the shaved-down FBI report regulations to get "the Truth" out-- conferences, interviews, even an odd media appearance (Cops was one of the notes he underlined.) The smaller, more humanizing details of his life were gathered through safer searches, having been expunged from the Consortium record for their unimportance. Special Agent Fox Mulder (Uncle Mulder) was always accompanied by his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully. And, fittingly he assumed, when Will saw them both for the first time it was together: his uncle’s wide smile and her serious frown captured on-site of one of their cases. 

Former Special Agent Dana Scully was still being monitored by her enemies (likely a more indirect way to monitor her former partner): now a doctor at an Our Lady’s Sorrow hospital, her hair was longer and her face relatively unchanged, if the newest articles about her work were to be believed. It was a short leap from those articles to the sensationalism rags about her past, and an even shorter distance from that to tumbling into revelation after revelation: exoneration in 2008, fleeing the law with her partner in 2002… and adopting-out her son, also in 2002. William Mulder-Scully.

The thought flitted and was brushed aside; then slammed back with ringing clarity. Will scrambled for baby Mulder-Scully’s birthday and breathed a sigh: he was born in 2001. Five years too young to be himself, but a cousin nonetheless. He hoped wherever the boy was that it was far from where he was. 

But “Closed… found… 2000… died.” wouldn’t leave his mind. Samantha Mulder was buried in North Carolina with a Teena Mulder; and, to Will’s shock, was briefly joined by Uncle Mulder himself for three months. The files he had on hand confirmed the public report, which left him shaken and reeling.

Closed… found.. 2000… died…. Resurrected? 

And if closed, found, 2000, died, resurrected was a possibility, then there was an equal chance that born, adopted, given a new identity could be true as well.  

A frantic, thorough, and looping search confirmed it: the Will Van De Kamp born to Samantha Van de Kamp existed only after William Mulder-Scully was adopted out. Thinking back, Will couldn’t personally prove his existence after his alleged birth in 1996. The life they lived had never allowed for natural curiosity or too many questions with silence so easily bought and paid for. Until now, he assumed “the work” was dangerous and fearfully weighty, something to be talked of obliquely or not at all. Now he wondered what sort of kingdom he and Andrew were being raised for. 

~~~~~

Clones and hybrids and tortured children and harvested women and broken men. 

That was their empire. 

His mother, a tool of the Project. Carted out against her knowledge and against her will for her father’s (her creator's) means and goals, paraded before a brother she thought she had and married to a man that may or may not know she was inhuman. A string of children lost and born and dead before Andrew survived to carry on her creator's legacy. Complicit in the lie of Will's birth and parentage.   

His brother, a tool of the Project. Elevated as its prince, honed to a weapon, and all-but-in-writing handed the keys of the Conspiracy. Immune before immunity was no longer required. Cunningly grasping for that power and for Will, unable to keep both but refusing to lax his grip all the same. 

The Project: fruitless lies upon lies that saved no one, having merely benefitted from two opposing alien factions’ war and stalemate. Bullies left with too much aimless power and ashes at their feet. 

Will knew he needed to leave. Soon. Immediately. 

~~~~~

Andrew was furious Will was leaving without warning and almost without a goodbye. Their ensuing fight was left unresolved-- perhaps forever-- with the punctuating slam and screech of an angry driver venting his pain on the road. Will wondered if his family was doomed to be continually torn apart; and if Andrew would ever start or never stop looking for him.

His mother, Samantha, simply stared, silent tears marking the many years she'd chosen ignorance over truth. A soft then more desperate hug said everything for her; and she quietly slipped into the backroom, giving him time to grab what he needed and leave. 

Van de Kamp barged in before Will left, breathless with pain. He, too, was silent; and he, too, allowed his son to leave. 

Will knew all three wouldn’t betray him; but how much of that was motivated by love, loyalty, or a twisted sense of duty he couldn’t say. 

~~~~~

Doctor Dana Scully was easy to locate but harder to follow, the Consortium’s search for him making it nearly impossible at first. Her frown was still serious and her hair was still long, but her spark was gone. He could only watch this new mother from afar, drifting in her wake-- hungry as she ate, parched as she drank, exhausted as she slept. He couldn’t approach her, the bereft ache in his last mother’s eyes always on his mind, foiling his best attempts to forget. Perhaps former Special Agent Dana Scully and he were not meant to be, or perhaps meeting her in person would turn her from a figment into flesh. Until he could be certain, he waited. 

Former Special Agent Fox Mulder was nowhere to be found. 

It was a week before Dana Scully led the way to her second home, a ramshackle abandoned house in the sticks. Will knew about this property, even came to scout it out once; but it looked dead from the road, and he’d hurried back to his previous task. By now, he should have learned that appearances are deceiving. 

He left his car in the woods, slinking up the porch easily by crouching under the tall grass. The house was still dead-- no hum from the power, no creaking of the pipes, and no shuffling from the steps inside.  Half remarks, easy to recognize from a lifetime of training, trickled outside; and Will inched closer to catch them.   

Dana Scully’s voice-- harder to hear from where Will was positioned-- was softer than he’d imagined, especially when contrasted with the solemn expression that settled perpetually on her face. “...out here… this house… alone.” 

“Well, you know me, Scully,” Special Agent Fox Mulder’s (Uncle Fox, Mulder, Father's) voice rang out, falsely cheerful. “You predicted how this’d go years ago.”

Will caught a mournful murmur. 

“‘Catatonic schizophrenia’, I believe you called it.”

“Mulder.” He heard that loud and clear: no nonsense endearment. Amused and trying not to be.  

“Though I think our story ended better than theirs. Though not by much.” 

Although Dana Scully’s (Scully's) heels clicked close, Will could tell she was only drawing closer to Agent Mulder (Mulder.) There was a long, deep silence, a few deep reassuring breaths, and what sounded like affectionate ruffling. 

“You’ll find your way back, Mulder. I believe that.” 

Retreating from this intimate moment between two sad, broken people, Will felt fifteen years old for the first time in his false twenty-two. 

~~~~~

Will didn’t leave Mulder’s house. He spent the next week or two losing track of time in the rhythm of Mulder’s world: quiet except for the wind moving through the trees, the grass, or slamming up against the lifeless windows. Food was easy to forget when he subsisted on various nonperishables; and the hours were whittled away plowing through various copies of unredacted files. Low profile didn’t seem to have existed in Mulder and Scully’s orbit, with more and more press and eyewitness accounts to corroborate or validate the various outlandish claims they’d both signed their names to. 

It also gave him time to think. Losing his family was concrete and understandable even if it was gut-wrenching and grueling. But to have stripped him of his identity, of so large a factor as his age, was as baffling as it was appalling. Will had lived through each milestone, had graduated, had taken other secondary education classes and courses; and now he was left to second-guess everything he thought he knew. Tutelage tempered with lies under the Syndicate could mean anything: how effectively was he taught? Did he even graduate? Likely not, since a fifteen year old brain could not fit the knowledge required for a twenty-two year old collegiate. Had the Consortium fallen so far that they were sloughing off a piecemeal education on their next generation, not caring if they learned so much as they obeyed? If so, the whole structure would collapse within a generation; but then, what structure did they have left to uphold? The selfish men who bought and sold for power were dying out, and the next generation might be willing to take what they could from the scraps. But then why--

And underneath all of those thoughts was the one Will was trying to isolate from but kept finding over and over in the files, typed up plainly in Dana Scully’s neat sentences: “...if it’s only by knowing where he’s been that he can hope to understand where he’s going, then I fear Agent Mulder may lose his course; and the truths he’s seeking from his childhood will continue to evade him, driving him more dangerously forward in impossible pursuit.” 

~~~~~

Mulder stepped out of the treeline, gun in hand. 

Will realized, as he stared at this man chiseled by regrets and promises, that he had been disappointed in his father a week or more ago. He’d wanted to respect him, had even thought he loved him in a way; but had still withdrawn from the concreteness of his father's weakness, just as his father had. The Mulder standing before him was every inch the former Special Agent Fox Mulder he'd read about: danger in his stance, fire and fairness in his eyes.  He’d never met Fox Mulder, but Will was glad to have him back. 

Mulder stopped his string of succinct commands when his eyes fell on the files, breath catching as he looked erratically from one copy to the next before flying back up to Will’s face. There was fear in his eyes-- good fear, alive fear-- and his words caught a few times before he asked, “William?” 

Fox Mulder, Mulder. Dana Scully, Scully. Will Van de Kamp, William Mulder-Scully. He could live with that. 

There wasn't anything to say, so William did what Samantha Mulder had taught him, letting his smile say everything for him. Mulder's face split into the exact same, wide-open beam: he, too, had taught William in his absence. And William knew-- he just knew-- that Scully had passed on her ability to read the layers of emotions dancing across his father's neutral expression. And he could live with that, too.

William watched his father's smile slip as he swallowed back crashing emotions. "I tried looking for you, years ago. When you were a baby. And later, when...." Mulder paused, miserable in his failures.

There was only one thing left to say. "You did."

~~~~~

Acknowledgements: Thank you to @television-overload for coming up with the original idea and for naming Will's older brother. ;)))

Thank you to @ghostbustermelanieking and @o6666666 for creating short, beautiful AU fics that ultimately helped me flesh out the format for this one.

Thank you (in no particular order) @baronessblixen, @welsharcher, @agent-troi, @dd-is-my-guiltypleasure, @suitablyaggrieved, @pianogirlxf, @samucabd, @herdingcats12, @cecilysass, @amplifyme, @slippinmickeys, @enigmaticdrblockhead, @annablume, @spidey-is-tired, @two-microscopes, @spidey-is-tired, @mariaann, @chavisory, @medicaldoctordana, @ibringyouasong89, @cyb3rpeach, @mindibindi, @two-birds-alone-together, @invidiosa, @jessahmewren, @living-in-unreality, @mollybecameanengineer, @tossingmyglossymane, @demon-fetal-harvest, @settle-down-frohike, @storybycorey, @thescullyphile, @scullys-scalpel, @perpetually-weirdening, @teenie-xf, @captainsugarcane, @frogsmulder, @paperheartsarts, @unremarkablehouse, @cutemothman, @my-spookybunnies, @lindz-dude, @sonictacocat, @freckleslikestars, @kiivitaja, @today-in-fic and more for always being willing to engage with my work (and enjoying when I engage in yours.)

Thank you to every single one of the fic writers out there. Your work nudged me gently along to this point; and without your leaps I wouldn't be making these steps.

And thank you to each and everyone of my mutuals and lurkers-- keep on keepin' on~!

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[seas-storyarchive]

Cain's Fable - au

Thank you, @mabeljonesrock, for this idea. Wrote it while waiting for my doctor's appointment.

[[MORE]]

Alastor is Cain. The first murderer.

He killed Abel.

Got exiled, built a city, had a son. His star, Enoch.

Went to Hell when he died. Signed an agreement with Lucifer that once every hundred years, he could escape to the surface world for a year. Why? Because Lucifer and him were drunk and a deal was proposed.

After his father Adam and grandfather God chose Abel (and apparently this Seth) as the favorite son/grandson, all Alastor had was Uncle Lucifer.

Why the name Alastor? Well.. he shook the hand of a mediocre radio host with that same name who wanted more fame and money but didn't have the balls to obtain any himself. He just.. took his memories, name and face for a.. long "trial period" or spin if you prefer (slaughtering many in the New Orleans population of the 1930's, but that's not new. Last murder spree he committed was as a woman under the name Chloe -no last name given- in 1801.).

Anyways.. to today.

Alastor was listening to the battle plan, told by Uncle Lucifer to unleash a heavenly hell if he wanted, spoken through his microphone by Charlie. Why he let her borrow his things? He didn't know.

His microphone returned to him, ah the speech was over. Just in time too.

Adam and the Exorcists were descending. Many were stopped by his shield- truly pathetic really.

And then, what broke the barrier was Adam and - Abel, oh.. Oh this just got interesting!

"Adam! First man, next to die!" He was being genuine. "Oh, and you brought a friend!"

"Who the fuck are you?" Adam snapped, glaring at Alastor. Abel had the same expression. Ever daddy's favorite, gross.

"Sure you'd recognize me, Father, dear Brother?"

"C- Cain?" Oh, is itty bitty Abel shaking? Delightful!

"Oh, this'll be sweet!" Ah! So daddy did share something with Alastor after all.

Needless to say, Alastor got his ass kicked in a 2 v 1 (oh no, he had no trouble again Abel, again, but his dad? nope). Look, he had the chance to call his Uncle, but he was too focused on kicking Abel's ass for a second time and then getting the snot kicked out of him by his dad to bother focusing on that.

--

So, yeah. Now he was recovering in the newly built hotel, Rosie having just finished stitching and bandaging him up, deciding to stay and watch (this was news to her as well) as everyone trickled in.

"So, you're.." Charlie was hesitant to say anything. Alastor was her family, well technically. But that was neither here nor there.

"Cain, the first murderer." Alastor said, extending a hand and then regretting that action, his true name sounding.. it sounded strange on his lips.

Vaggie spoke up. "Seriously!? You are ROYALTY in heaven and-"

"Well, darling Vagatha - daddy and grandfather didn't think so." Alastor's red eye pierced into Vaggie's one eye. "They always liked Abel more. Abel this, Abel that. Why can't you be like Abel, Cain? Pfft! Acting like farming isn't integral to feeding people and those stupid sheep!"

He looked at the others, who were all just staring back at him with blank expressions - save for Uncle Lucifer, he was the only one with an understanding gaze.

"Kid. Cain." Began Lucifer, looking for words to say.

"If you are going to apologize, Uncle. Don't." Alastor glared at the man as he pushed forwards on the bed. "And it's Alastor. Alastor the Radio Demon! Cain, first born son of Adam, stain on his legacy of humainty - is dead!"

"Al, you're tearin' your stitches." Rosie sais gently.

"Hm." Alastor glared, settling back down, ignoring the burning from the wound.

"So.. Adam is you pops?" Angel asked, after a few moments, breaking the silence.

Alastor resisted the urge to tell Angel to read the fucking book, taking a break.

"Yes. I take it some of you are familiar with my son, Enoch?"

"You have a son, Mr. Alastor?" Niffty asked, scrambling up the bedsheet to sit beside him.

"Yes dear." Alastor smiled fondly. "My only son, up there." He looked at the ceiling, but everyone knew where he meant. "Where I can never go. I.." his breath hitched. "I miss him.. my sweet boy.."

Lucifer put a hand on his leg, Rosie put a hand on his shoulder, and when he bowed his head to cry, Niffty patted his tears away.

--

How they accomplished a Reunion Day? Alastor will never know.

He was getting his bandages changed by Rosie, the only one who he let near him in this state (he almost bit the hands off the royal doctor when he visited). The lecture from Charlie was worth the fear in the man's eyes.

"Al! They're here!" Charlie's voice came over the intercom in his room, excited.

After a nod from Rosie, it was show time. He pushed the red button to talk back. "Be right there, Charlotte."

They took the elevator to the second floor, because it's them, why not? And walked down the one flight of stairs, to see everyone was talking to a loved one. Apart from one man who stood off to the side, watching them with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Enoch?" Alastor asked, as he and Rosie walked down the last few steps. He felt Rosie let go of his arm and move a little bit off to the side, smoothing her dress skirt.

"Father?" Enoch looked at the man, taking in his appearance now - he'd heard about it from Uncle Abel, but this.. it was.. "Father!"

The man rushed at Alastor and hugged him, they all heard a popping noise from the thin demon, starting to cry.

"Enoch, my boy." Alastor hugged his son, careful of his claws as to not hurt his precious boy.

It was weird, for everyone. Seeing Alastor with any emotion apart from rage and vitrial. Off to the side, Rosie wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and waved her hat on her face to not ruin her mascara.

When the men broke apart, Enoch turned to look at Rosie, and then glanced at Alastor.

"Oh! Where are my manners? Son, let me introduce you to my dear friend." Alastor said as Rosie stopped fanning her face. "The most darling, dangerous, overlord in her pocket of the pentagram, Rosie."

Rosie gave a courtesy. "A pleasure. Simply a pleasure."

Enoch, being Alastor's son, wasn't immune to his large smile. "The pleasure is all mine, ma'am. Thank you, for looking after Father." He then loudly whispered, "head strong" as he pointed to Alastor.

Rosie laughed, "oh! You are adorable!" She hugged the young man, before letting go and grabbing his cheeks. "Simply adorable! Oh, I could eat you up!"

"R̸̤̘͆͠ó̸͎͊s̸̡̛̬ï̵̦̯͘é̶̢̼." Alastor said in warning, his antlers growing.

"Oh come now, Al. Ah was just kidding. You know I wouldn't hurt a fly." Rosie said, letting go of Enoch's face. "Especially not this cutie pie! Oh, he has your dimples!"

"Rosie.." Alastor tried to get her to stop.

"Father, when willl I expect an invitation to your wedding with this lovely lady?"

"Go to your room."

"No."

"Grandfather dammit, Enoch! Go to your room!"

Angel burst out into laughter. "Oh, oh my goodness!"

"Stay out of this, sonny. Or else I'll show you why I'm down here!"

This only everyone laugh harder, and even Alastor eventually caved to the laughter around him.

[cherrythepuppet]

Corpse puppet [Part 15]

as everyone began screaming and panicking once more of the dead came

"Fetch me musket!" Lord piller yelled "Fetch your own musket. l'm off!" The butler yelled as he ran out of the house "who invited these people?!" Lady piller asked

"They must be from your side of the family" lord piller mumbled "Certainly not!" Lady piller yelled as she hit lord piller in the head

"Why, if my Grandfather Piller could see this, he'd be turning in his grave!" Lord piller said "Harold Where do you keep the spirits?" Grandfather piller said

Lord and lady piller looked at each other then screamed and ran off

"ln other news, the dead walk the earth!" The town crier screamed "Get back! Don't try and sneak up on me!" 

"Get back! l'll give you such a wallop!" Everyone was screaming as the dead ran around as Cherry stood in the street enjoying the chaos just then She noticed two Old Men running off to try and get to safety

The old men noticed Cherry and the two stared at each other Before one of the old men slowly came up to her, Cherry's eyes widened and she felt like crying but There was silence for a few moments "Cherry?" One of the men asked "Dads!" Cherry exclaimed as she hugged them

As Cherry hugged her dads she saw Ms Beagle Being hugged by Barnaby Meanwhile Eddie was backed into a corner and he grabbed a stick "BACK UP!" He yelled as Frank saw him and ran towards him

"Eddie!" Frank exclaimed making Eddie's eyes go wide now "Frank?" He asked "But- You died fifteen Years ago" he said as frank hugged him "Frankly, my dear, l don't give a damn" Frank said as he then kissed Eddie

Once the living had realized who everyone was they all were over joyed to see their passed loved ones

"Wait That's it! We're going to take whatever money we can and get out of here" julie said as she came out from hiding "Money? What money?" Howdy asked

"Your dowry! lt's my right!" Julie yelled "But my parents don't have any money...lt's my marriage to you that will save them from the poorhouse" Howdy told her

"Th- The poorhouse?! You're lying! It isn't true...Tell me that you're lying!" Julie yelled "Did things not go according to your plan, Lady Joyful?" Howdy asked

Julie in a fit of rage kicked a chair then left the house and so did Howdy and he was shocked to see the dead and living all heading to the church

"Be gone! ye demons from hell!" Pastor Kermit yelled as the dead along with some living people came to the church "Back to the void from whence you came! You shall not enter here Back, back!" He yelled

"Keep it down, we're in a church!" A skeleton said as the dead and living ignored him and walked into the church and took a seat

Cherry sighed as she sat behind a table with home on her shoulder "Frank owes me for this, I'm not even a licensed minister or whatever their called" Cherry groaned as wally stood in front of the table

"Whatever this is a dead wedding it doesn't count do it?" Cherry asked as the dead and living sat down and Howdy snuck in and hid to see what was happening 

(Y/n) soon came and stood across from Wally "Dearly beloved and departed we are gathered here today to join this woman and this corpse in marriage" Cherry said

Wally and (Y/n) stood in front of the table unaware by the fact that Howdy was hiding behind a piller "(Y/n)?" He mumbled 

"Living first..." Cherry sighed "I'm too old for this" She mumbled "With this hand l will lift your sorrows, Your cup will never empty for l will be your wine" (Y/n) said as they put the ring on wally's hand

"Now Apple man" Cherry said "With this hand l will lift your sorrows, Your cup will never empty. For l will be...l will be..." Wally trailed off as he noticed Howdy hiding 

"Go on Apple Man" Cherry said "Your cup will never empty for l will be...l will be your wine" Wally said

"He's having second thoughts..." Frank mumbled "l can't..." Wally muttered "What's wrong?" (Y/n) asked "This is wrong! l was a Groom My dreams were taken from me Well, now...Now l've stolen them from someone else" Wally told them as he put a hand on their face

"l love you, (Y/n)...But you're not mine" He said as Howdy came out of hiding "Howdy?" (Y/n) asked "Oh, how touching l always cry at weddings!" Julie said loudly as she entered the church

"Our young lovers together at last! Surely now they can live happily ever after" julie said as she walked up to Howdy, (Y/n) and Wally

"But you forgot one small little thing" julie said with a sinister smile "he's still my husband!" She yelled as she grabbed Howdy's arm "l will not leave here empty-handed!" She yelled

Julie noticed Wally and she was frozen with terror "You?" Wally asked as he noticed who julie was "Wally?" Julie asked "You!" Wally yelled

"But- But- l left you!" Julie said as she backed up still holding onto to howdy "For dead..." Wally mumbled "This man is obviously delusional! Sorry to cut things short but we must be on our way!" Julie yelled as she was about to run off with Howdy

(Y/n) grabbed Julie's arm "Take your hands off him" they demanded and julie sighed "Do l have to kill you to?" She asked as she ripped the sword out of Sally "HEY!" Sally yelled 

"(Y/n) catch!" Poppy yelled as she threw a fork at (Y/n) "Really poppy?!" (Y/n) asked "Sorry! Its all i have!" Poppy said 

Julie had let go of Howdy and attacked (Y/n) with the sword. Fortunately, the sword went in between the fork (Y/n) was using as a weapon.

"THIS ISN'T F!CKING FAIR MAN!" (Y/n) yelled, their voice rising in pitch and intensity.

Julie was taken aback by this sudden outburst, but she didn't let it stop her. She lunged forward with the sword, aiming for (Y/n)'s neck

(Y/n) managed to dodge as Julie ended up stabbing one of the benches. "YOUR F!CKING INSANE!" (Y/n) yelled

Julie gritted her teeth in exertion as she tried to bring the sword down again. (Y/n), however, was too quick and agile for her, dodging every attack with ease

Julie felt her anger rising and the fury within her building up with every missed strike

"(Y/n)'s Adorable." Wally mumbled as he and Howdy, along with everyone else in the church, watched "Agreed," Howdy said

The two boys stood in front of the table as Cherry was reading manga, both of the guys watching (Y/n) in front of them with a similar expression of awe and fondness

The clashing of steel filled the air as the two people engaged in combat Just as (Y/n) thought they could possibly win, but we both know that was just wishful thinking

Julie hit the fork (Y/n) used as a weapon away now leaving them defenseless Julie pointed the sword at (Y/n)'s throat, "Any last words?" she asked menacingly

Just as Julie was about to stab (Y/n) directly in the heart, there was a sickening crunch sound. Julie's eyes widened when she saw Wally standing in front of (Y/n) with the sword going through him

(Y/n) looked at Wally with wide eyes "Wals?" They asked which caught him off guard for a moment as Wally pulled the sword out and held it out to Julie. "Leave now," he demanded, his voice cold and hateful

"Touche, my dear" Julie said "Get out" Wally repeated "Oh, l'm leaving...But first a toast! To Wally! Always the Best man and never the Groom! Tell me, my dear can a heart still break once it's stopped beating?" Julie told him

"Let me at her! Let me at her!" Home yelled as all the  dead got up from their seats ready to beat Julie but frank held them all back and cherry held Home back "No, don't hold me back!" Home yelled

"Wait! We must abide by their rules We are amongst the living!" Frank told them "Well said..." Julie mumbled as she grabbed the wine glass unaware of it having poison in it

She drank it and as she was leaving she froze and clutched her heart and started coughing...before she turned blue "Not anymore!" Sally exclaimed "Yep, you're right She's all yours" Frank said

the dead slowly came up towards Julie "No...No! GET AWAY FROM ME! S-STAY AWAY!" She yelled as Barnaby grabbed her arms and dragged her to the church backrooms and José threw a book at julie

"New arrival!" Sally exclaimed as the dead dragged julie away...and after a moment of silence Howdy spoke up "Oh (Y/n)...l never thought l'd see you again!" Howdy said as he hugged (Y/n) 

"Wait!...l made a promise" (Y/n) said as they looked at wally "You kept your promise...You set me free Now l can do the same for you" Wally said as he left the church

(Y/n) watched him leave with a painful look "Wally wait!" They yelled and wally turned to face them "Please...don't go" (Y/n) mumbled "Why?" He asked 

"Because I love you" (Y/n) told him "what?" Wally asked with wide eyes "I said I love you" (Y/n) repeated "but- I thought you loved Howdy" Wally said "i...I thought I did but..." (Y/n) mumbled 

"Darling" Wally said quietly as he placed as hand on (Y/n)'s face "I love you...I really do but I cannot stay here" he whispered "Then take me with you" (Y/n) said 

"I wish I could...but you have your whole life ahead dof you dear" Wally muttered "But-" he cut you off "No buts okay? I have to go But I'll be waiting for you" Wally told you

(Y/n) stared at him with tears beginning to form in the corner of tjeoe eyes "Wally we have to go now..." Cherry announced and wally sighed 

He looked at them then smiled "Goodbye Darling" He said before lightly pressing his cold lips onto theirs after a moment his lips left theirs and he stared at them for a moment 

"Please don't go..." (Y/n) begged "I told you Already (Y/n) you have your whole life ahead of you and I'll be waiting for you" Wally told them "But what's the point of living without you by my side?" (Y/n) asked

Wally didn't know how to answear "Please promise me I won't see you till you die from a natural cause" He said randomly "What?" They asked "Promise me (Y/n)" Wally repeated 

(Y/n) sighed "I promise..." they mumbled and wally smiled at her "Your the absolute Most my dear" He told her before turning his hand in the direction of the rest of the dead and Cherry

Cherry looked as if she was going to cry "C-come on apple man" She said and wally let go of (Y/n) and walked towards the others

Cherry held her book tightly before she sighed "Has everyone said their goodbyes?" She asked and everyone had nodded "Then let's go..." She mumbled As she began to read a spell from her book

All of the dead was engulfed in beautiful blue butterflys that swarmed around them all yet when they butterfly flew away into the moonlight the dead were gone

(Y/n) had small tears coming down their face "Goodbye my Lovely Corpse Puppet" She whispered quietly

4 Years Later...

Four years had passed and the story of the dead became a fairytale people would tell their kids, (Y/n) was the only one who remembered every detail about it

They also now lived in a small cabin located in the very woods they met Wally and played with him and Cherry as Kids

Whenever they were asked "Why live so far out?" They would respond with "I Had the best times of my life there!"

It confused people but made (Y/n) smile, as they finished the dishes and put them all up after drying them (Y/n) sat outside on the porch while reading a book

(Y/n) had read the book several times but it was their favorite! It appeared on their doorstep a year after the dead incident with a whole thing about how everyone in the little dead town was doing

Sally created a play inspired by everything that happened, Frank and Eddie reunited after Eddie was hit by a stagecoach, Poppy now owned a bakery, Barnaby amd Cherry finally resolved their issues...mostly

And Wally...Wally was still upset over everything but he was slowly getting over it 

(Y/n) sighed...they knew that soom they would see their beloved friends...it was only a matter of time, You see (Y/n) recently was diagnosed with Tuberculosis a year ago

And since then (Y/n) knew that one day they could die out of no where "Morning (Y/n)" Howdy said "Oh Morning Howdy" (Y/n) smiled

"I brought you your groceries" Howdy told them "Thank you Howdy but you know you don't have to do that" (Y/n) mumbled 

"I'm aware but I want to since your getting weaker...you barely leave your house now" Howdy said "It's okay..." (Y/n) muttered as they slightly coughed

"See?!" Howdy said "I know...I know" (Y/n) replied "(Y/n) you could die any day now..." Howdy mumbled "Howdy please don't worry about me...just enjoy your life" (Y/n) told him

Howdy sighed "Get well soon (Y/n)" He said "Goodbye Howdy and tell your wife I said Hello" (Y/n) grinned as Howdy smiled then waved goodbye and left

(Y/n) stayed outside for a while before going back inside, it was eight o'clock at night so they decided to get some sleep

After getting ready to sleep they laied in bed and blew out the candle before closing their eyes...

.

.

.

.

.

And peacefully dying in their sleep as it began raining 

"New arrival! New arrival!" (Y/n) heard a familiar voice exclaim as they fluttered their eyes open and then their eyes widened and they felt like crying...

(Y/n) saw all the familiar faces of their dead friends 

Sally, Barnaby, Cherry, Eddie, Frank f!cking everyone stood around (Y/n), they all stared at (Y/n) in shock 

They were all confused, overwhelmed yet happy to see their friend once again as Sally grabbed (Y/n) and pulled them into a tight hug as the others joined in

Normally (Y/n) would have been asking for air yet they weren't breathing and they could no longer hear or feel their heart beat

"Apple Man is going to start ugly crying again" Cherry mumbled as she released from the hug before telling the others to let go "Shall we go see him?" Cherry asked

(Y/n) grinned and nodded instantly, Cherry grabbed their wrist and began walking towards the bar with the others following closely behind

During the walk there Cherry was quiet as the others asked questions and asked how (Y/n) was "Your here early..." Cherry mumbled "Tuberculosis" (Y/n) said "Oh...that must have been painful" Sally replied 

soon the group stopped in front of the bar doors "NEW ARRIVAL!" Sally screamed making sure she gained everyone's attention and I mean everyone...but that included the specific Corpse (Y/n) has been missing for the past four years

"(Y/n)? Is that you?" Poppy asked which made wally's head snap towards you and his eyes widened "(Y/n)?" He asked

"Hi wals" (Y/n) said with a small smile "(Y/N)!" Wally yelled as he ran towards them and hugged them tightly "Darling I missed you so so much! How are you?!-" Wally paused

"It's much to early to be seeing you..." he mumbled "May I ask how'd you die? And be honest or I let Cherry throw books at you" He said

"I was diagnosed with Tuberculosis a year ago" (Y/n) told him "That's horrible but goodness I'm glad your here love!" Wally exclaimed 

(Y/n)'s smile grew as they hugged him back "I missed you so much my lovely Corpse puppet" they whispered "(Y/n)?" Wally asked "Yes?" (Y/n) asked back "Can...can I kiss you?" He asked and (Y/n) didn't hesitate 

They grabbed his face and kissed him instantly, Wally was limp for a second but he gladly returned the kiss "Alright enough I'm going to throw up" Cherry groaned but then got smacked on the head with a newspaper by Sally

~

"But I don't wanna officiate the wedding!" Cherry groaned "Cherry it's either that or sit next to barnaby" Frank said "Ugh fine" Cherry muttered 

Home was asleep on her shoulder as cherry sat behind the table not even reading from the correct book as she was reading Spy X Family manga

Sally sat at the organ as poppy gave her a thumbs up signaling for her to start playing, Sally began playing the 'Here comes the bride' music as Wally stood in front of the table

"I'm still going to beat them y’know" Cherry said as she continued reading her manga "I'm aware...just don't hurt them as much please" Wally told her as Cherry muttered an 'Okay'

Two skeleton children walked down the aisle throw blue rose petals onto the carpet, as they finished (Y/n) slowly walked down the aisle 

They walked up to the table and stood across from Wally "Dearly something something" Cherry announced as she began reading from the actual book now

"I don't know how to read..." She mumbled "Uh whatever you know the vows and sh!t" Cherry said then went back to reading manga

Frank facepalmed as (Y/n) recited their vows then Wally did the same, Once they put the rings on the other was when Cherry looked up

"With the power vested in me which is a lot im like Thanos! I now pronounce you Apple Man and (Y/n)" Cherry told them as (Y/n) grabbed Wally and instantly kissed him

"I'm going to throw up again" Cherry said which made Sally throw a newspaper at their head "SALLY YOU HOMOSEXUAL RAT!" Cherry yelled as she got up and ran towards her

As chaos began to unfold (Y/n) looked at wally and entwined their hands together "I kept my promise" They said "I know" Wally replied 

"I love you" (Y/n) mumbled "I love you too dear" Wally mumbled as well as he tightened his grip on their hand

"Aw what a cute ending....Can I throw up now?" Cherry asked....

@sketchquill...It's been an Honor NOW I CAM MAKE A WIZZARD OF OZ FANFIC [if I ever watch wizard of oz-] working on an Alt ending for Howdy though rn so :P

[servantofthefates]

"So what did you sacrifice for yours?"

My nail technician asked me with a smile.

Traditional witches — those who inherited it — can recognize each other at first glance.

And I could tell she was from Samar, one of the most notoriously supernatural places in the Philippines. 

You see, while witchcraft in the Western world in 2022 is all about cute tarot cards and cheap crystals on Amazon, witchcraft in the purest parts of the Philippines is still the way it always has been. Pain and retribution. Magical healing and definite fortunetelling.

Some say it’s bullshit. But if you haven’t gone there yourself and truly witnessed it, you have no right to speak.

And those of you who aren't just pretending will know this: A witch's powers come at a price. You have to sacrifice something in order to secure it.

"You first," I told her.

"My beauty," Bertha said. That’s what we’ll call her.

"Nah, you still have it." She does.

"Then why do you think I'm a manicurist?" she asked. "I could've been Miss Universe. You have no idea."

“How was your initiation like?” I asked her.

She said it was her grandfather who had it. He surrounded his house with wax apple and mango trees. Whenever his neighbors would ask for permission to take some fruits, he would always gladly give it. But one time, a bunch of travelers passed by and didn’t think to ask first. One died on the spot, the other’s mouth rotted for days before he too died, and the third was left alive as a warning to others.

“Was it your grandpa’s pet entities living in the trees, or…?” I clarified.

“Orisons planted with the trees. The strongest kind of witchcraft.”

“Yes. When you can hurt, heal and help with just words and nothing more, you’re among the most powerful,” I added.

When her grandpa was in his late 90s, and his shoulders were almost touching his knees, he still wouldn’t die. Because it — his power — wouldn’t let him. Not until he’s passed it on. But his son, Bertha’s dad, was a devout Catholic and wanted nothing to do with this “evil”. His daughter, Bertha’s aunt, failed the inheritance ritual when she ran away screaming from a snake in the forest.

Bertha, then still really just a girl, had always been in awe of how everyone feared her grandfather. Unwealthy though they were, no one ever did them harm. They were afraid to. People had more respect for them than they did for the Mayor, the Chief of Police and the old-money families in their province. So she asked her grandpa to pass it on to her.

In the dead of night, Bertha’s grandpa took her to the forest, which was only nearby. When they came to a gigantic tree, he spoke a foreign incantation, and a cave opened underneath it.

“Always look straight ahead. No matter what you hear, never turn even the slightest,” his grandpa instructed. “And follow my exact footsteps, even if there seems to be a hole where I stepped.”

And so she did. Even when an enormous snake slithered to where her grandfather stood just a moment before, she stepped on it. Not fearlessly, but bravely.

“It was very anticlimactic,” she told me. “There was no fearsome fairy waiting at the end of the path. Nor a well of shining diamonds, or a gathering of my ancestors’ ghosts. There was just darkness and quiet. The purest kind of both.”

Her grandfather started speaking. “She has no child to give up. She is only a child herself. She has no wealth to sacrifice. We neither have nor desire it. She has no talent to offer. She can neither sing nor recite poetry. But by gods, is she beautiful.”

“Bertha, are you willing to give it up?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

Bertha started screaming. As if boiling water was devouring her skin. Her chest felt like it was on fire. She was being burned alive. She fainted.

Her grandfather told her the sacrifice lasted about 10 seconds. She said it felt like it took years. Her body remains scarred to this day.

“Why is it worth it?” I asked. A loaded question. Of course it’s worth it.

“Some people train their whole lives to be able to defend themselves. Others spend millions of money on a cure for their illnesses. I only have to utter a word, and all harm sent towards me will ricochet. I may get COVID, but I will never die, unless I’m ready.”

“Awesome,” I said.

“Your turn,” she reminded me.

“Would you rather have my answer, or that?” I asked, pointing to the iconic green box of Patchi beside my Palm Springs Mini.

She laughed. “I’ll have the chocolate. You keep your secrets.”