#and now hyde is back and that’s another thing she has to accept

[donutcats]

that 90s show isn’t even out yet and I’m already thinking about the possibility of all throughout season 1 it’s shown that jackie and kelso don’t have a great marriage, like it’s constantly hanging on by a thread. it’s just an ongoing issue in the background of whatever the new main cast is up to. same with hyde’s character- he’s just constantly mentioned in the background of whatever else is happening. the adults will mention that he’s being a nuisance in some other state or maybe he went to london to partake in their punk scene. finally season two comes around (if it’s even good enough for multiple seasons) and Surprise hyde shows up out of nowhere ready to be the Cool Conspiracy Uncle to eric and donna’s kid, and he’s very obviously been recast but no one ever mentions it, or it’s mentioned once or twice in a very comedic way. anyway hyde is Here Now and it kind of sends jackie into a tailspin and she has to come to terms with the fact that she’s still in love with him and her marriage is failing and how to even deal with All of that. and This is how burkhyde can still win thank you

[nixthelapin]

A Jekyll&Hyde type akuma whose power is to bring out a hidden or repressed part of your personality (but like, making two of you instead of switching in one body), and when Chat gets hit suddenly there’s both “normal” Chat (I’ll get to that in a sec) and Cat Walker/Patte de Velours at the same time.

(Cue Ladybug freaking out upon learning they’re the same person)

“Normal” Chat looks the same, but is just a bit more intense (since this is Adrien’s way of “letting loose” to not be how he is as a civilian, he’s not too different, but because of the split he does lose some usual traits). I.e. *heavily* flirting with LB, going at it with the puns, more agressive and impulsive with the akuma, doesnt like following orders (especially with the remaining feelings of anger towards the partnership being put further into question as LB prefers CW), heart on his sleeve

Cat Walker is also not super different to the episode he was in, but is also more intense thanks to the akuma: all business- no nonsense, doesn’t laugh at jokes (even in a “I’ll laugh if you want” way, like in Kuroneko), cordial to LB, follows LB’s orders to a T (to the point of not making his own decisions in battle), calm and collected (almost emotionless, even with that plastered smile)

CN starts to hate CW as the fight goes on, because LB seems to prefer him (and she’s understandably getting annoyed with CN’s impulsivity). CN gets territorial, saying that he’s LB’s partner. CW: “then why did she replace you with me?” (Man, look at all the self hatred in Adrien’s psyche!)

So CN runs off and leaves them alone to fight the akuma. This ticks LB off even more, but she has an akuma to deal with- and she has CW- so she lets him go.

As the fight goes on, some of the same issues from Kuroneko occur, so she also gets frustrated with CW too.

Since he’s acting more extreme than normal (more like someone awaiting orders than a partner due to the Jekyll&Hyde thing), it causes more problems (like him waiting for her decisions leaving openings where he could’ve done something proactive)

She actually blows up at him, asking why he didn’t do anything (“I was waiting for you to tell me the plan!”), and she says he should be able to think on his own, he doesn’t need her to tell him everything, but- “I thought I was just being what you wanted.”

(He’s shocked and genuinely hurt- though it’s still pretty quiet emotion, subdued and apologetic)

And that’s when it clicks for her what becoming CW was back in Kuroneko. He was molding himself for her. And this version of CW is even more of that. She realizes just how much CN suppresses, not just for her, but for everyone- why else would this be a major aspect of his personality?

(Also, Patte de Velours? Velvet Paw? That’s basically saying he’s been declawed. Yikes.)

She makes CN get his butt back to the fight (or she finds him- he may have been doing something while away like talking with someone, maybe Alya or Nino, or Luka). CN and CW argue more, with insults. Then she goes on a whole rant/lecture to them about how important they both are, both to her and to each other, how they are one person, and their traits are both important, but each extreme is not great. Ex: instinct/impulse and service/obedience (the key is self control, so that your emotions aren’t controlling you, but neither is another person). He is allowed to be both! Neither personality is bad, and hating one is just hating himself- he can’t just reject a fundamental part of himself.

She makes them agree to work together to defeat the akuma. It’s awkward at first, but they get a rhythm by seeing where each one is needed in the plan (LB does still do that, but how they follow is more fluid now). Two cataclysms now! Yay! (Maybe they used their powers already and have to de transform, and they see themselves as Adrien- the same one, not different, and it gets through their skulls. Idk I’m spitballing).

They have a quick talk between the two about accepting each other, it won’t be easy, I’m nervous, we’ll be okay (“yeah, I think we will :)”), etc.

Ends with them combining back with the ladybug cure. Surprise! His outfit is combined too! (Honestly, I just want the ponytail with the fluffy hair)

LB and CN have a talk after recharging about everything. CN apologizes for lying about CW and explains why and how he did it. LB didn’t realize how much he hid. She never meant for him to change or hate parts of himself. He thought she didn’t like the CN parts of him, but LB promises that isn’t true. She admits she did get… annoyed, but never hate! She loves both sides of him. Besides, CW didn’t work out that first time, remember? (Though she very much leaves out her intense crushing being the deciding factor there)

CN admits he feels more, well, not whole, exactly, he’s actually still pretty uncertain about what all this means for “who he is,” but… he can at least say he feels less like he has to perform all the time. He loves being Chat Noir, but he is exaggerating a bit when he transforms, in part to be not like his civilian life. He tells her he’s not like that as a civilian, but he’s also not like Cat Walker. But he’s not really sure who “he” is yet. (What I’m getting at is Oblivio!Adrien- dorky, but not over the top, in love, trusts his lady to make the plan, but is still proactive, etc.)

LB says that’s okay, he doesn’t have to figure it out right away. But she’ll be there to help him figure it out.

END

[agaypanic]

Could you do one of Steven Hyde x reader (fem reader if you could) where they don’t really get along and fight a lot but then something happens that changes it (like Hyde realizing he has a crush on reader or something like that) and it eventually leads to them kissing so basically enemies to lovers trope.

On My Nerves (Steven Hyde X Reader)

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Summary: Despite having the same friends for years, you and Steven Hyde have never seemed to get along. Your latest squabble with the boy sparks a fire, both literally and figuratively.

A/N: au where jackie and hyde didn’t date so at the campout, kelso’s just trying to get back with jackie. also kinda hints at smut at the end but not too much

***

Since it was planned, you’d been looking forward to your friends’ campout to celebrate graduating high school. Four grueling years of education finally coming to a close. You were a bit anxious that you all decided to make the trip the night before graduation, but you were reassured that you’d all make it back to town in time for the ceremony.

But as everyone prepared to leave, some things came up that you weren’t really looking forward to.

First, Eric’s sister Laurie was coming with you. You didn’t really know why, considering she had graduated high school years ago and always fought with her brother. But you knew the boys were more than okay with her company, some having different reasons than others.

Second, Jackie was also coming on the trip. This was more acceptable to you because although she was a year younger than everyone, she was actually a part of the friend group. But you weren’t looking forward to whatever would happen with her and Kelso. Although the two had broken up multiple times, Jackie really seemed to like having the boy fight for her attention.

Third, because of tent space and not wanting to sleep outside, you and Hyde would have to share a tent. Sure, you and Hyde were kind of friends. But you definitely preferred being with other people in the group instead of him. It was like the man was born to get on your nerves.

“Oh, yeah. Just keep moving slower, Y/n.” Hyde said, watching you set up the tent you’d unfortunately have to share. “By this rate, the tent will be ready when we have to leave tomorrow.”

“You know, if I had someone to help me, the tent would be set up by now.” You sneered, locking one of the poles into place.

“Fine.” He replied, and you could tell he was rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. He reached for the pole in your hands and yanked it with such force that it came undone and somehow smacked you in the face.

You yelped in surprise and pain, hand flying up to your forehead. You could see Hyde’s eyebrows raise, maybe in remorse or humor. Humor was more likely. But he didn’t make any other moves.

“Thanks a lot, jerk!” You snatched the tent pole back and stood from your slightly crouched position. 

“Y/n, I-”

“Just go get firewood with Kelso and Fez.” Hyde looked like he didn’t want to do that, and you assumed it was because he either didn’t want to do anything at all or he didn’t want to hear Kelso fawn over Jackie.

But eventually, he started to walk away. You muttered a quick ‘asshole’ under your breath, and Hyde seemed to have heard it from the way he slightly stiffened. But what surprised you was that instead of coming back to pick another fight, he kept walking into the woods. 

***

When Hyde came back, you were still alone. The tent was finally up, and you decided to set up chairs and logs around where your friends wanted the campfire.

“Hey.” He said, dropping the sticks in a pile and sitting in a chair across from you. Instead of responding, you crumpled up some newspaper and put it in the pile. “Sorry about your forehead.”

That surprised you a bit. Steven Hyde wasn’t exactly known for apologizing. 

“Whatever.” You said, and you couldn’t decide whether it was to say that what had happened didn’t matter to you or that his apology didn’t matter to you.

“Why do you have to be such a brat?” 

“And why do you have to be such a dick?”

You weren’t entirely surprised that the two of you were fighting so quickly. But it would be nice to have a little break from it, especially since you guys were supposed to be celebrating.

“It’s not my fault your face was in the way.” Hyde leaned back in his chair, looking at you through his shades.

“Ha ha, very funny.” You said, clearly not amused. “God, I’m starting to think you like getting on my damn nerves.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s hard.” He said, standing up and walking over to you. You stood up as well, crossing your arms. “You’re always wound up so tight; it’s like any little thing will set you off.”

“You don’t know anything about how ‘wound up’ I am.”

“Believe me, sweetheart, you just don’t know how to have any fun.”

“Well, we all can’t be high every single day, can we. Some of us have actual lives.”

“Oh yeah, like you’d know anything about having a life.”

Wrapped up in your little fight, you hadn’t noticed until now how close you and Hyde had gotten to each other. You could almost clearly see his eyes through his dark sunglasses. You gulped, eyes darting all around his face because you couldn’t decide on where to focus. Meanwhile, Hyde took a deep breath, glancing at your scowling lips before trying to look away.

“Whatever.” You said again, digging around in your pocket and pulling out a matchbox. You lit one of the matches and threw it in the pile of sticks and newspaper, starting the fire. With one last look at Hyde, you stalked off to your tent.

***

Before you knew it, it was almost completely pitch black. The only thing lighting up the campsite was the bonfire, which you and your friends huddled around. You’d probably be lying if you said you were actually enjoying yourself. The night had been filled with nothing but Fez drooling over Laurie, Eric and Donna talking about their future as a married couple, and Kelso playing stupid songs for Jackie on the guitar that he had brought.

And Hyde was grumbling about every little thing, but that was nothing new.

“Hey, Kelso, can I see that?” You asked innocently, hand reaching out for the instrument. Kelso hesitantly but willingly handed it to you, maybe thinking you would play a song.

Soon, everyone laughed and cheered as the guitar quickly burned in the fire, their ears and sanity finally saved.

“Hey!” Kelso yelled, shock written all over his face. But you ignored it, for some reason more focused on Hyde’s little snickering hidden behind his hand.

One by one, everyone in your group had somehow left the bonfire. You didn’t pay too much attention as to why, just knowing that the lake nearby seemed to be everyone’s destination. But once again, you and Hyde were sitting across from each other, the only ones at the campsite.

For some reason, there seemed to be some new kind of tension. You didn’t care for that, so you were about to get up and leave when Hyde said something.

“I really am sorry, man.” He said, staring at the fire. “About… well, you know.”

“It’s fine.” You said quietly. 

The two of you sat in silence, more comfortable than usual. Wanting something to do, you grabbed a stick and started to roast a marshmallow. You leaned closer to the fire to try to take in some of its heat.

“Shit!” You hissed, yanking your hand back and dropping your stick. You don’t know why you had suddenly become so susceptible to injuries today, but you found yourself cradling your hand to your chest after it had been licked by a flame.

“Are you okay?” Hyde was suddenly beside you on the log you were sitting on, carefully pulling at your hand so he could have a look.

“What do you think?” You asked sarcastically.

“Don’t be a brat.” You bit your tongue, too tired to start a fight. Your lack of response surprised Hyde, but he didn’t comment on it. “You’ll be fine; it doesn’t look too bad.”

You nodded, deciding to trust his assessment. Hyde didn’t let go of your hand, keeping it in his grasp as he looked up at you. Once again, your faces were very close to each other, and you gulped.

You couldn’t find it in you to back away, not really wanting to for some reason. It seemed like Hyde felt the same way, because the two of you were frozen in place.

Until Hyde started moving even closer. It was subtle, but his face inched closer to yours, and his eyes darted down to your lips. His sunglasses weren’t able to shield his eyes’ movements; instead, they hung on the collar of his shirt.

Hyde pressed his lips to yours, gentle movements seeming uncharacteristic based on his snarky attitude. But then, once you got used to the contact, the kiss became more rough, and you started grasping at anything you could. You pulled at his hair while he gripped the back of your neck.

“Maybe we should test out that tent.”

“You’re so gross.”

[ohtobeleah]

Before You & After You // Mickey Garcia

-> A Jekyll & Hyde Official Prologue

Summary: Fanboys got a crush on the knew Hard Deck Barkeep. But when he’s still getting over the traumatic loss of his wife, crushes and new beginnings aren’t always so ease.

Warnings: Car Accident resulting in death. Family tragedy. Mickey Garcia x F!reader. Mickey Garcia x Original Character.

Word Count: 3.6k

Author Note: Day Twenty Two of Whumptober. Prompt I chose: Greif. Thank you to @ailesswhumptober for the prompt list.

Whumptober Masterlist | Main Masterlist

We cover up injuries with tape and gauze to protect the injury and prevent infection, to save ourselves from further suffering. The hard part though, that comes when you have to rip the bandage off. 

Because that? Well—that can hurt like hell. 

“So the word on the street is that Hyde has a crush on you.” People say that there are five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. For Mickey Garcia? He sat somewhere between anger and depression any given day of the week. “That’s gotta feel good.” But somewhere between the depression and acceptance, sat you. Hyde. 

Jake Seresin had known you for the better half of his life. He was the boy next door, the slightly older but far less mature brother who’d walk you home from the bus stop just to trip you over to see you face plant into the dirt at the same time. So when you had reached out to see if there was any work going in his corner of the world, he jumped at the opportunity to get you behind the bar of the Hard Deck. 

Penny had been looking for a new barkeep, and hell, you fit right in. 

“Hyde’s pretty—“ Was all Mickey replied with as he fed Logan, his eight month old, a bottle. “And nice, Hyde’s nice.” Was all Jake got out of the clearly distracted Weapons System Officer. 

“That’s all? Pretty and nice?” Jake stared down at the little boy who was clearly getting milk drunk faster than Jake was getting real drunk. “Dude—don’t you think—“ 

“Don’t start.” Mickey snapped harshly, it had been a day and a half and the last thing he needed was Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin pestering him about when he was gonna get back on the horse. “I said she’s nice, now drop it, Hangman.” 

Before Jake could say another word, he caught the sight of you sauntering over with a pep in your step and a smile plastered on your face. You brought the sun into any dreary situation, you lit up rooms with your smile and that infectious laugh that sounded like the gates of heaven had opened up truly brightened any person's mood that was blessed enough to hear it. 

“Can I get you flyboys anything else to drink while I collect empties?” You asked politely as you stood holding the empty round collection tray. “Another bottle for Logan Mick?” 

“Oh he should be good, thanks Hyde.” Mickey changed up his attitude real quick while you were around and Jake wasn’t one to not take notice. “But if you don’t mind I’ll grab another beer for Hangman and just a ginger beer for me thanks.” 

“Sure thing.” You hadn’t been in North Island for very long, but in the time you had been you’d come to develop a pretty sincere crush on the back seater with the black curls and the cute kid. “I’ll be right back.” 

Jake wasn’t gonna say anything as you walked away but Mickey beat him to it regardless. 

“She’s got nice eyes too.” He mumbled as he rocked Logan in his lap. “They’re beautiful, just like her smile.” Jake hadn’t ever heard Fanboy say anything along those lines about anyone ever. “She’s a good person—“ He added before he pressed his lips together in a fine line. “But I’m not ready to move on.” 

“I get it.” Jake sighed, he sympathised, truly he did. But Jake Seresin was always in favour of playing the devil’s advocate. “But if there’s anyone who’s going to understand it’s Hyde, she’s good people man, start slow and maybe you’ll surprise yourself.” 

“Slow for me is just saying that another woman is beautiful out loud.” Mickey mumbled as he looked down at a now sleeping Logan, every bit the image of the mother he’d never truly know. 

“Who’s beautiful?” You asked as he came back with Jake's beer and Mickey's ginger beer. “You got your eyes on someone, hey Fanboy?” It was an innocent dig but deep down you hoped that maybe, just maybe, he was talking about you. 

“Oh—no I was just—“ Mickey didn’t know what to say or how to play it off. All Jake could do was watch, he could have thrown a lifeline out to the poor man but the sight of Mickey Garcia fumbling the bag was just too perfect. “I was just saying that I uh—you’re—” He couldn’t get himself to say it, and all you could do was simply try to hide the smirk that wanted to creep itself across your face. “I think that someone’s waiting for you to take their order.” 

“Oh.” You tried to hide your disappointment but ultimately Jake could see right through your faked smile. “My bad, I'll get back to it then.” As you placed your hands in the back pockets of your jeans, Mickey watched with a painful twinge in his heart as you turned around and headed back towards the bar. 

“Smooth romeo, hella smooth.” He teased as Jake took a sip from his beer. He wasn’t trying to push anything, he just thought you’d be good for Fanboy. He needed someone to be friendly with, someone who wasn’t navy to hang out with. Someone to help him heal from the trauma he’d been through. 

Mickey though, he just took the opportunity to throw a single peanut Jake's way. He wasn’t ready to move on, he wasn’t sure if he ever would be. But as he watched you work and laugh with patrons who crowded the bar—he felt his heart flutter.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“I’m driving!” Sophie Garcia was the light of Mickey's life and for the last nine months, she’d been pregnant with their first born. “God please let me drive, I’ve been doing nothing but feeding our son for the past two weeks and I need to feel like something more than a dairy cow.” The college sweethearts couldn’t have been any more in love. 

“So a chauffeur is what you go for?” Mickey chuckled as he strapped little newborn Logan Reece Garcia into his car seat. “Honestly Soph, I don’t mind driving, but feel free if you wanna.” 

He should have driven. 

Mickey hadn’t even finished strapping their fresh out of the womb son in before Sophie was clipping her seatbelt in and turning on the engine of the BT-50 the pair had both gone in for earlier on in their marriage. Five years and going strong. “Alright, well that answers that, doesn’t it buddy.” Mickey cooed to his sleeping son before he made his way to the passenger seat, a seat he hadn’t been in since before Logan was born. “You remember how to drive?” 

He should have driven. 

“I gave birth, I didn't have brain surgery—“ Sophie laughed as she put the truck into gear and pulled out of the driveway, the two of them were going on their first family outing—to home depot for bubble wrap and boxes for the big move. “Yes I remember how to drive.” 

“Okay good, I was just checking.” Mickey strapped himself in and checked his phone, the Garcia family were set to move from Maine to San Diego in just under a week and still not a single person in Mickey's new squad knew he was a new dad. Not Bob or Payback, Coyote or Hangman, Rooster or Phoenix. No one. Not a single one knew about his wife or kid and not a single one knew he was married to the love of his life. His best friend. The human embodiment of true beauty. 

“When should we head around to your mums for dinner?” Mickey asked as Sophie drove the open road boarded by paddocks and empty fields. They lived right on the outskirts which meant farms and the quarry where local contractors got their materials from. Sophie never did like the quarry, it gave her the heebie jeebies every time she drove past, like it was calling to her. An unknown force pleading with her to come closer, to look over the edge. 

“Maybe just after six when Logan goes down for a—shit!” In the blink of an eye Sophie was overcorrecting the steering wheel, Mickey only caught a glimpse of the stray horse that had shot out onto the road right in front of their truck as his wife swerved but managed soon thereafter to regain control. It was unlike any horses Mickey had seen around the farms that boarded his little slice of paradise. After having grown up in an apartment in Brooklyn he wanted his family to know fresh air and grass. 

This horse was different though, it was gone in the blink of an eye. 

“Holy shit—“ Sophie sighed as she kept both hands on the steering wheel and felt her heart hammer into her chest. “That was close.”

“Too close.” Mickey added as he turned around to check on little baby Logan. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” 

“No no I’m okay.” Sophie was adamant about it, she wanted to contribute to the team. “It was just a freak occurrence, Amor.” As soon as Mickey turned around to face the road, Sophie’s eyes trailed from the road to her husband’s for five seconds, no more no less. “I love you.” She had control, she was totally in control of the car her family were driving in. Everything was totally fine. 

He should have driven. 

“I love you too—“ Mickey managed as he drank in the sight of his glowingly beautiful wife, the mother of his child. As his eyes trailed back to the road he saw it, the massive pothole that was just completely unavoidable. “Sophie!” Mickey gasped as she hit the hole head on and overturned on the steering as they ran off the road. The plastic water bottle that had been sitting stagnant in the centre console cup holders became dislodged when they slammed through the quarry fencing and rolled right under the breaks as Sophie tried to hit them. “Hit the breaks!” Mickey shouted as he held on for dear life as the quarry edge approached. Holy shit they were gonna go over. 

He should have driven. 

“I’m trying, I can't!” Sophie tried repeatedly as the truck approached the cliff face of the quarry ditch. “Oh my god oh my god!” As soon as Sophie was able to pull the handbrake in a last stitch effort to stop the truck her little family were in from careening over the edge of the quarry—the two front tires went over the edge as dirty scrapped along the bottom of the cab—stilling the vehicle on a near vertical tilt. 

Airbags designed to protect the occupants deployed and in the process, broke Mickey's nose. He wasn’t prepared for the sheer force of the deployment before it smacked him right in the face. 

“Oh god!” He groaned as he pushed the sea of deflated airbag down into his lap as the view before him came into clear sight. All he saw was the quarry as they teetered on the edge of the embankment. If the truck slid any further forward? They’d fall to their deaths. 

“Holy shit, we’re okay.” Logan had never cried so hard before in his two weeks earthside, the tiny little human in the backseat was just sleeping soundly before all this. Now he was up and hungry and crying out for his mum. “We’re okay—“

“Mickey.” Sophie could barely speak as her hands clutched the steering wheel, her own airbag sat deflated in her lap as fear all but consumed her very soul. “Oh my god.” The car rocked slightly as the wind rushed past and Sophie let out a whimper in fear. “Help—“

“Okay, alright—we’re okay.” Mickey was trying to think about how to get out of this mess without making the car move. They couldn’t stay like this, not trapped on the edge of a ledge that would surely give way. “Can you open your door?” Mickey asked through a shaking voice as he unclipped his seatbelt and opened his car door very, very carefully. He needed to check on Logan, needed to get him out of harm's way. But as he popped the door handle the car slid slightly forward. “Fuck.” He could taste blood but that didn’t matter, what mattered was his family. 

“Uh—“ Sophie shook her head as she tried to open her door. But it didn’t budge—the fencing post had jammed the aluminum framing in as they ran through the fence. “No, no I can’t open my door.” Logan wasn’t settling as his cries got louder and louder. “Mick, please you have to get Logan out of this truck, please—“ 

“Everything’s gonna be okay, I promise—just try and stay still alright.” Mickey was moving as carefully and as slowly as he could to get out of the truck. Once he was out, Sophie really began to cry as she covered her mouth with her hand and moved the deflated airbag to see her knees and thighs were cut up and jammed right up under the steering wheel column. 

She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

“Hey—“ Mickey cooed as he slowly but surely opened the back door of the truck to unclip his son from his car seat. He was being as careful as he could be to not rock the truck. “Hey little guy you’re alright aren’t you buddy.” Logan was a mess, his little cheeks were red as red could be as his little lungs ignited with oxygen to fuel his cries. “I’ve got you, daddies got you, I’m here, you're alright.” 

“Is he okay?” Sophie cried as she tried to remain perfectly still, only moving her hand to slowly press the window button. “Miguel is Logan alright?” 

“He’s fine.” Mickey replied once he had the two week old out of his car seat and crying on his chest. “He’s fine, I’m gonna put him down by the tree and I’ll be right back okay.” Before Sophie could protest, Mickey was racing over towards the tree that wasn’t far away—he knew there was a rope in the back of the truck he could tie to tow bar off to if he couldn’t get Sophie out, that was plan B. Plan now was to get her out. 

“Shhhh I’ve got you.” Mickey tried to soothe his son as he placed him down on the ground as gently as he could. He took the jumper off he’d been wearing to make a little makeshift bed before he placed Logan in the comfort of his father’s scent. “You’re okay, I’ll be right back.” 

When Mickey returned he saw the full extent of his wife’s predicament and knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but they had to try.

“I’m never driving again.” Sophie tried to crack a joke but all Mickey did was try to open the door. It wouldn’t budge for love nor money. This was bad, very bad. 

“Okay, I need you to try and move your legs.” He could see how jammed up in the column they truly were but it was one of the only hopes left. Maybe if Sophie could get herself unstuck Mickey could pull her through the window or help her out the passenger side. “Come on Amor, you have to try.” 

“I can’t move them.” She sighed through a whimper as she tried to set herself free, the truck slipped a little further and Sophie froze in fear. She was looking death right in the eye now, it was a long way down to the bottom of the quarry. “Mickey—“

“I’m right here, I’m gonna get you out, I just need to buy us some time to figure out how.” He explained. “There’s a rope in the back, I’m gonna tie the truck off to the tree okay, I’ll be right back.” 

Sophie Garcia knew she wasn’t getting out of the truck the longer she stared out into the abyss that was the quarry threatening to consume her. She could hear her baby boy crying out for her but there was nothing she could do but accept reality, accept the hand she’d been dealt. All she hoped in that very moment was that her college sweetheart, her best friend and father of her very first and only child would find someone who could love him like she did, or possibly more. She wanted him to be loved forever because Mickey deserved all the love in the world and more. He didn’t deserve this, to lose the love of his life. 

And perhaps Sophie wasn’t the love of Mickey's life, perhaps she was just his first, maybe there was some greater love waiting for him around the corner. It brought her a calming sort of comfort as she sat there teetering on the edge of nothingness, trapped in the wreck of her actions. She should have been paying attention. 

Mickey grabbed the rope from the back of the truck and tied it around the back of the tow bar, making sure it was secure before he took off running right towards the tall tree that he knew was strong enough to hold the weight of his BT-50. 

But when he felt himself stopping, being pulled back by gravity as he fell to his arse, Mickey's heart sank into the very pit of his stomach. 

“No—oh god no no no no!!” The rope wasn’t long enough. The rope wasn’t fucking long enough. “Oh god no, please no.” 

Mickey felt the truck shift forward as he let go of the rope and raced back to his wife’s side. There wasn’t enough time, he needed more time to get her out, to think, to understand why this was happening. But there wasn’t any time. 

“I love you so much.” Sophie cried as Mickey reached in to try and free her legs from being trapped up under the steering wheel column but he was doing more damage than good. “So much Mickey.” 

“I need you to pull your legs out right now!” At this point Mickey was a wreck, he didn’t know what else to do. “Pull your damn legs Sophie!!” Her bottom lip quivered as the truck shifted forward again, it was tipping. It was about to go. “NNOOOOOO!!” Mickey shouted as he held onto the door and tried to pull it open. He couldn't do anything else to help his wife. 

“Please look after Logan for me—take care of him always.” Sophie cried as Mickey reached in to try one more time to free her. “I love you.” Was the last thing she ever said before Mickey felt two hands on his body before he was being shoved away. The second he fell back onto the ground the truck his wife was still trapped inside of went careening over the edge of the quarry. 

“NOOOO!” It felt like time stood still as Mickey watched the love of his life fall to her death over the edge of the quarry cliff face. He laid on his stomach and peered over to see the crumbled aluminum at the bottom—all twisted and broken and shattered. “NNOOOO!” 

Logan continued crying even when Mickey had found the courage to pick himself and his son up off the ground to try and find a way down. He probably circled that particular part of the quarry for the better half of half an hour before the next car came down the road that was barely driven on. They saw Mickey walking along the edge and stopped when they saw the skid marks kicked up in the grass but no car in sight. 

“You alright there bud?” An older looking gentleman asked as Mickey turned around to face him. Only then did he let himself crumble to his knees when reality set in. He’d just lost the love of his life. 

“My wife and I were in an accident—I think, I think she’s—she’s trapped down in the quarry.” He cried out through painful tears. Mickey didn’t have the courage to say she was dead. “Please help me.” 

“I’ll call an ambulance.” The older gentleman nodded as Mickey sat with his now soothing son on the ground, rocking back and forth mumbling to himself. 

“I should have driven, I should have driven, I should have just driven.” 

Until he saw the same white horse, staring at him from across the broken fence he and Sophie had smashed through. Just watching the man who lost it all in the blink of an eye unravel in the mid afternoon glow. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Are you heading out for the night, Fanboy?” Mickey was one of the last patrons left in the Hard Deck, but he hadn’t taken any notice of the time that had passed as he thought back to the day he lost his wife. The damned day. 

“Uh—“ He was going to say yes, going to head out and make sure Logan got to bed because it was way past his bedtime. But he was sleeping soundly in his arms as Mickey approached the bar. “No actually I was uh—I was gonna see if you needed a ride home actually.” It was the boldest Mickey had been since he met you and had started to develop some sort of feeling or two. “Or if you might just want the company while you shut up shop.” 

It hurts to tear that bandage off, we don’t wanna see what’s underneath. But maybe it’s not the fear of the pain that holds us back, but maybe it’s the fact we’re afraid to see if the wound underneath is still open.

“I’d love a ride home.” You smiled softly with a nod as you felt the heat in your cheeks rise. “And the company seems pretty good to Flyboy.” 

Or if it might actually be healing. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~****~**

Whumptober Tags 🏷️ @xoxabs88xox @oldermenaremyreligion @slut-f0r-u @emma-is-cool @armydrcamers @topguncortez @topgun-imagines @kmc1989 @els-marvelvsp @blindedbythelightt

[echooefrost]

HERE WE GO - Last Minute Thoughts about the Upcoming Chapter 

These are some Things Sage has stated about Chapter 15: 

We are heading towards the climax of the story, (it’s going to be a lot)

A lot of Frankenstein and Jekyll stuff 

The Background (and possibly the lighthouse) reflects an important moment in the chapter 

The foreshadowing [on the chapter cover] is heavy 

Personal predictions and Final Theory time: 

We are getting a Frankenstein Character (redemption of sorts) arc. Frankie was never a direct morally wrong character but she was an antagonist to Jekyll, and that’s what counts. With this new found ‘revelation’ I think we'll be getting lots of Frnakenstein and Jekyll having to work together. I don’t think that they’ll be “best friends! Let’s bury the hatchet, all good, no problems.” But more of a comfortable and slightly awkward acceptance for one another, where Frankenstein isn’t such a hypocrite and directly against Jeykll who is just trying to keep everything going, and for Jekyll to not care so much about others opinions and his own reputation, hopefully delving back into more arcane sciences himself. (not immediately change but the start of it at least) 

We are still yet to deal with the protestors out the front of the building so I think that’s the problem that Jekyll/Hyde and Frankenstein are going to have to tackle together because neither of them benefit from this rowdy and conservative victorian mob. I’m hoping we’ll get to see Jasper and possibly some other Lodgers come into play here, in trying to also help and stop the mob, to show Jekyll that he doesn’t have to try and fix everything himself. 

NOW, More onto the topic of the Chapter cover, As I have previously stated (on other mediums) Jekyll will go off the rails, this man is not okay, he is not mentally stable and he is about to absolutely snap. Though I would have already predicted this as we are heading towards the climax of the story and that Jekyll’s Character arc seemed to be heading in that general direction, the Chapter Cover really just confirms all of this (Just look at that guy's face! Evil!!!) 

To add onto the cover, we are yet to decipher exactly what the Shoreline/cliff and Lighthouse represent: 

a.) This could be a flashback or some sort of memory within the mindscape. I can see this happening in terms of everything (both Jekyll/hyde’s physical and shared body membrane) starting to collapse and as a desperate attempt to gain control the mind/body starts to freak out and start relaying old memories/places from the past as it tries to make sense of everything.

b.) This is an Actual Location that some of the Cast will go and visit within the Chapter. I’m not too sure about this one as the entirety of the comic has been set in London so far but it’s always a possibility! It looks as if the shoreline is somewhere in the U.K. I’m more inclined to believe it’s in Scotland, as Jekyll/Hyde are Scottish and would relate to their past etc. I’m not sure why they would go outside of London, but maybe it’s a frankenstein-related decision… 

c.) IT’S ALL A BIG METAPHOR!!! (so this is what I personally believe it to be.)  Knowing Sage’s Tendencies, they love to foreshadow shit in the Chapter covers. They even said so themselves: The Background reflects an important moment in the chapter AND The foreshadowing [on the chapter cover] is heavy. Ok but, What is it foreshadowing exactly? I think the Cliff is symbolic of falling, Jekyll’s fall from sanity, security of self and control. And because he’s falling Hyde has to go down too (because this is all his fault! - says Jekyll probably) The lighthouse I’m not exactly sure of yet but I think that it’s probably a person (either Jasper or Lanyon) Lighthouses symbolise, guidance, hope and safety. I think this person will help pull Jekyll/Hyde out of their spiral and help ground them back to reality (when we get an inevitable breakdown of sorts) The other possibility is that the lighthouse symbolsies an event (kind of what sage stated) but I like the person theory a bit more,,, Lastly the outfits, I don’t think they are really symbolic of anything but purely there to serve aesthetic purposes (similar to Jekyll and Lanyon’s outfits from Chapter 13) BUT If we are theorising, it could show the difference of how Hyde is is turing less ‘Hyde’ opposed to Jekyll because he’s wearing a fancier outfit than normal. But Jekyll does look slightly like a sailor here, adding to the theory that we will go to the ocean (and or) a Lighthouse. 

Alright this is getting kind of big so I’ll leave it here. Before the Page drops I think it’ll pick up where we left off (with Frankestien and Hyde) ALSO First Hyde/Frankenstein interaction incoming!!! Suffice to say I am extremely excited and worried at the same time. Oh boy here comes the Angst… Anyway, This is just me rambling, Let me know what you think! I love theorising and this Chapter has got me all types of pumped : O

[kraken17]

One quote from Enid Sinclair per every chapter of Kooky Spooky in which she has been present.

(Note: She is present in Ch.6 & 7 but in a total wolf out, so she has no dialogue).

"Yeah, yeah... relax. The knife-throwing contest is still on. I already made it clear to Wednesday that she could only use volunteers as living targets. Yoko has offered." (Chapter 1)

"I think she's mine and Wednesday's daughter, but not from around here." (Chapter 2)

"Sigh... as tempting as it is I'd ask you both not to maim her just because of her bad habit of spouting occasional idiocy." (Chapter 3)

"They've captured our Friday. Let's go find her and then you'll teach me what's the most painful way to rip off the head of the person responsible." (Chapter 4)

"Sorry, I just… I don't feel like wasting time with this ceremony right now..." (Chapter 5)

"OMG! Why do I always forget this now when I return to my human form!!??" (Chapter 8)

"Holy shit, I'm a hunk." (Chapter 10)

"Aaaw, I think it's very cute. I'm sure deep down your Bruno appreciated this kind of attention." (Chapter 11)

"Are you very fond of this nightgown?" (Chapter 12)

"And I smell people, and pollution, lots of pollution." (Chapter 13)

"Gosh, you're a year older than us now. This is disconcerting." (Chapter 14)

"Wednesday, don't talk about your parents as if they were rabbits." (Chapter 15)

"I'm sorry... I..." (Chapter 16)

"You threw me against a building and caused me to terrify a family! That's very rude!" (Chapter 17)

"At least you're not a racist nutcase who would use her personal Hyde to gather bits of human remains for resurrection rituals." (Chapter 18)

"Your sister told us a little about you when we met her. Well, she told us that you liked to be thrown with catapults..." (Chapter 19)

"I'm not going to fight you! We don't have the time!" (Chapter 20)

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" (Chapter 21)

"Uh, I should say something, but just for calling Tyler a dime-store Hyde I'll let you have a pass." (Chapter 22)

"Wednesday and I are keeping our names because our dimension was the one originally visited by the others... Pure convenience but it was all by mutual agreement between all parties." (Chapter 23)

"What happened to my local counterpart?" (Chapter 24)

"God, it's a little trippy to think of myself as dead." (Chapter 25)

"Principal Weems! Or maybe I should say director... uh... because of the... Yeah, I'd better shut up." (Chapter 26)

"Uh... yeah, it's something I usually do, Wednesday. You used to love to complain about it." (Chapter 27)

"For your own sake, you'd better..." (Chapter 28)

"They will have no hesitation in killing any of you." (Chapter 29)

"You're going...to pay...for..." (Chapter 30)

"Oh... erm... apology accepted my... err... my lord?" (Chapter 33)

"But wait a minute, if they're a confederation of packs how come there's a princess?" (Chapter 34)

"I'm sorry. There's nothing wrong with your last name. It's just that... well, in my reality a counterpart of you is one of my best friends." (Chapter 35)

"Ok, the doppelgänger thing I can get, but what's with the homunculus?" (Chapter 36)

"And now... now I get this story that I'm some kind of... multiversal warrior who reincarnates, like a cheap copy of Avatar: The Last Airbender!?" (Chapter 37)

"Ah, ah. I already know the electricity trick." (Chapter 38)

"We're going to breach The Bright One's defenses. And we won't use magic to do it. What we need is science. Mad science." (Chapter 39)

"What do you say about finding a way to inter-dimensionally travel to a magically sealed universe to rescue Wednesday and Friday and deal with an army of supernatural monsters?" (Chapter 40)

"Six months, my love. It has taken me six months to be able to come back to you." (Chapter 41)

"It's just that if you leave me stranded in another universe I have a bad habit of trying to find my way back." (Chapter 42)

"Oops, someone's a wee bit cranky." (Chapter 43)

"It's just that… Look at her! We're not even talking about being just a MILF anymore. I'm going to be totes a GILF, for real." (Chapter 44)

“My name… is… Enid Addams.” (Chapter 46)

"Fuck, Weds, getting stabbed by a saber shouldn't feel so good!" (Chapter 47)

"Who are we? Right now and right here, we are the Addams family." (Chapter 48)

"Well...I mean...the truth is...erm...Ireallylikeyourhairandyourloosehairdoesthingstome." (Chapter 49)

"Six months, Weds. I've been six months away from you. The word insatiable doesn't even come close to describing how I feel.” (Chapter 50)

“You know, if you keep calling them that they're going to end up being born with horns and wings.” (Epilogue)

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

I have a really weird hyperfixation on The Mummy, but not the Boris Karloff or the Brendan Fraser versions, those would be completely acceptable movies to enjoy (and I do so enjoy them)

but I cannot stop thinking about The Mummy 2017 starring Tom Cruise and it's a problem

I love bad movies, I love them so much, I own so many b-grade horror flicks, old classic films with terrible acting and awful special effects, I love absolutely shit tier cgi, I love Ed Wood disasters, I love cult classic bad movies, I love really weird niche bad movies

but this one is like, such a special kind of bad movie, I can't really put my finger on exactly why though?? but I am damn well going to try, in this essay I will-

they fucked up from the get go by casting Tom Cruise, like this movie is sometimes deliberately goofy, but a lot of the time it takes itself very seriously, SO seriously, and I cannot physically take Tom Cruise seriously, he turns every single scene he is in into a joke by virtue of his mere presence

but when they have actual jokes, they are so not funny they cycle back around to being really fucking funny

I am watching this movie fucking whiff every god damn beat it tries to hit and it does it so beautifully it's a god damn marvel

Russel Crowe as Jekyll and Hyde??? I actually somehow missed the part where he introduced himself as Jekyll on my first watch, so the Hyde reveal was a true surprise to me and I was very genuinely disappointed on my second watch when I realised it was not supposed to be a surprise, because that was a really fun reveal

and Russel Crowe seemed to be having an absolute fucking whale of a time as Hyde, I loved every moment he was on screen with his stupid cockney accent, I would watch his movie, I know it would be bad, that's why I want it, because there is nothing quite like a bad movie with an actor still giving 110%

and the mummy character herself? she was supposed to be pharaoh and then her dad had a son with someone else and now this baby is jumping all up in her place like, okay baby murder might not be the coolest thing in the world but like, she's got ambition, she's getting shit done, she's hustlin' like go get it girl I'm rooting for you babe

also when she sucked the life out of some dude and turned him into a shrivelled husk my roommate said 'she could do that to me and I'd thank her' so she's got that going for her, like girl's a half rotten corpse wrapped in decaying bandages and she still slays

and then we have the completely ridiculous female rivalry??? like this mummy could kill this woman SO MANY TIMES and just doesn't???? for reasons?????? like she could literally kill her in an instant at any moment but no they gotta girl fight for a bit because Tom Cruise is at stake and why wouldn't two hot women fight over Tom Cruise right?? right????

nevermind the fact that he has been practically nothing but ✨The WooOOOOooorst✨ to her the WHOLE first act of the movie, oh and uh let's not forget the 'duh huh guy bad at sex' jokes that they just could not put down for a good chunk there (but wait! uh he's good at sex actually she's just being mean because he hurt her feewings)

like, this movie hits every fucking branch of the bad trope tree, this movie is playing bad trope bingo, it is collecting bad tropes like pokemon, it has to have them all

also a really bizarre ongoing American Werewolf in London reference?? it was not unwelcome, it was some of the best comedy in the movie (that is an easy bar to jump btw), the actor had some great wry line delivery, I enjoyed it

I think the biggest issue, and the reason I can't stop chewing on this magnum opus of garbage, is that it reminds me of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, in several different ways

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen also happens to be another of my favourite bad movies, but it falls into the particular genre of bad movies, a fucking cool as shit concept, and some really cool as shit visuals, and some very cool as shit characters, but an absolute swing and a miss on the delivery

The Mummy 2017 starring Tom Cruise has That Vibe to me, there is some cool shit here, we know this because the previous version utilised that cool shit very very well, but this one was the only one who made the villain a woman pursuing a man, and not just any man, the ✨worst✨ man, you did not feel very sorry for this guy, honestly watching him go through the constant torment of being stalked by a bodacious supernatural babe who put a sexy little curse kiss on him was fun, he's a sopping wet little meow meow and I wanna see him thrown at a wall, and I get to see that several times, and it is a delight every time

in the previous movie the mummy went after really likeable characters, people who were just generally nice, a roguish scamp with a heart of gold, or just really hot, seriously that cast was beyond smoking what the fu

I did not like Tom Cruise as a character, and to be fair that was the point, he was supposed to have a redemption arc, the story and his sacrifice at the end were supposed to be about him becoming a better person

but he fucking doesn't??? it's like 'oh boo hoo I have made this great sacrifice and now I am a monster and I did it to save my lady love's life even though we had zero chemistry and I was just ✨The Worst✨ to her' and then he fucks off to go and do the exact same shit he was doing at the start of the movie, fucking around in the desert looking for boy adventures

it was a great ending and I loved it because it was so dumb and also he abandoned the woman he brought back to life to go fuck around with his bro who he also brought back to life, I love that for them, go have some boy adventures you madlads you sure didn't earn it but don't let that stop you, just heterosexually ride off into the sunset together it's fine, she is literally better off without you in every way you made the Correct Decision

and then there's these moments, moments that are treated like big moments, and could be really cool moments, but just don't fucking land

there's a part where Tom Cruise starts talking to the mummy in her own language (they got a psychic bond and shit which is it's own cool little thing we'll get back to that) and everyone is watching like 😮 oooh didn't know he could do that wow there really IS magic bond between them oooh, and it's like a Big Deal and Very Cool

but Tom Cruise just sounds like he's speaking gibberish with a mouth full of novocain???? it doesn't sound cool at all??? it sounds really goofy???? I half expected him to start drooling on himself

then there is the ending, leading lady dies, he completes the ritual to invite the god of death into his body (a fucking baller move honestly), he fights it for control as the mummy attempts to sway the beast inside him to her side, but when he sees his beloved laying dead he fights her off, using his newfound powers to defeat her, and then weeps over his lady love begging for her to wake up

and then as he lets the god inside him loose, a terrible monstrous visage takes him over as he bloodcurdlingly screams in her face WAKE UP!!! and the power within him that he doesn't understand and can barely control listens

she wakes, and sees him hiding in the shadows, unable to face her now that he has become something terrifying

at least that's what I think they thought the scene would be like, it was a little more like, some crappy flashback and speed up effects as he becomes the god of death, a really pathetic and uneventful 1 minute of him fighting for control, after which he has a really pathetic and uneventful 1 minute of fighting the mummy, and then as he screams for his lady love to wake up, we get a shot of some absolutely fucking god awful cgi and the most uninspired monster face I've ever seen

I mean, half seen, it was a very dark shot, in fact most of the movie is shot in the dark, a very blatant attempt to obscure the shithouse cgi

except in one scene where it kinda fucking slapped, where the mummy sucks the life out of some guys, and then reanimates their husky corpses as thralls, the way they stand like jerky unstable puppets being dragged to their feet by unseen strings was actually pretty fuckin' dope and the dark scene obscured the details in just the right amount to make their uncannily decrepit silhouettes appear super creepy

this is the only time that trick works, every other time I just want someone to turn on a fucking torch so I can actually see what the hell's going on

okay now let's get back to that psychic bond thing

our main character was chosen not because he was a descendant, or a reincarnation, or just Looked Real Pretty (although I think she did have the hots for him a leeetle bit which is like, girl raise your standards, it's Tom Cruise, he's about as sexually appealing as a wet potato, you can do better), he had absolutely zero in common with the mummy's original choice for this ritual, in fact that guy was not significant to the story at all, I think he was just some dude who was down for some ritual shenanigans 'cause a hot lady asked him (also he was hotter than Tom Cruise so this is a significant downgrade, I feel like if she had the opportunity to shop around a little she might have picked better)

so Tom Cruise wasn't chosen for any reason other than that he's the one who released her, and she sees this as her way of saying thank you, and I love that, it's real sweet, would love if I opened a door for someone and they repaid me by summoning a god of death into my body, that really shows they care you know?

she gives him a little hallucinatory kissy kiss and then manages to follow him everywhere, while also compelling him to follow her without him really knowing it, there is a very cool part where he's trying to drive away from her, but somehow ends up driving in a circle and falling right back into her clutches, that was cool, that had the potential to even be super fucking creepy, she can manipulate him without him even realising, it doesn't matter where he goes or what he does, he will always somehow find his way back to her, that's so good, I love that

and then back to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comparisons

The Mummy 2017 starring Tom Cruise established a concept of an organisation who hunt down, collect, and research supernatural phenomena, with a leader (Jekyll) who also has ulterior motives and is actually not really the good guy, this movie was also supposed to be part of a monster movie cinematic universe, so this really could have become like, the Universal Monster Movie equivalent of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and I would have watched the hell out of that, and I am crushed that this movie bombed so bad and ruined the whole plan

like could you imagine a whole series as bad as this movie? all culminating together as the most god awful Avengers style team up? fuuuck I want to live in that universe so bad

I think my fascination comes from this ungodly mix of real pure potential, those fleeting super fucking cool moments and concepts that, if given to literally any other actor, could have really been something, and the just pure insane failure to make literally anything in this plot successfully land a hit

somehow this movie felt like the completely dead and soulless corpse of a cheap party clown, while the ghost of something incredible flickered in its eyes

[zeezelweazel]

Wednesday| General Relationship Headcannons|

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

I'm obsessed with the characters in this show and I can't wait for season 2. I hope they give us more Yoko content cuz I love her but it was so hard to write for her :(

Also I think I'm way too late to the hype but aren't I always?

Characters Included: Wednesday Addams, Enid Sinclair, Bianca Barclay, Yoko Tanaka

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

• Wednesday •

Honestly at first you thought she hated you but then Enid told you that Wednesday hates everyone so you shouldn't take it personally.

The werewolf assured you that she'll open up to you with time so you kept trying and magically it worked.

It was hard to get her to be affectionate with you but after time you learnt that she's going to come to it at her own pace.

Once she does she's a very soft touches kind of person. Nothing to extravagant and not much in public. Words of affirmation are her favourite thing, both to receive and to give.

Gives you private cello concerts that you no doubt love. She'll immediately immerse herself in any interest that you have. Of course at first she'll act like she doesn't care about it but the same night Enid will catch her doing research on it.

You take turns when it comes to planning dates. She usually prefers a setting where it's the two of you alone but will generally enjoy anything gothic and dark.

Fights with Wednesday are a nightmare.

She completely shuts down when she's upset and you'll hardly even get a word out of her when you notice how upset she is. Wednesday herself also has a very hard time understanding how she's upsetting you and she can't show empathy that easy. Once you get the communication going it's going to be fairly easy to solve whatever happened because Wednesday is very mature. She will apologize for hurting you during the actual argument and if she's in the wrong she'll recognise it.

Meeting the Addams family was chaos but they were pretty quick to accept you. The mere fact that Wednesday tolerates you enough to date you was enough for the rest of the family to like you. Of course they couldn't miss giving you a very dark and gory version of the shovel talk but you were pretty used to it from being around Wednesday so much.

Now I won't lie and say she's the perfect girlfriend or anything. We all know she can be toxic and since she's not used to any of this she's bound to make a lot of mistakes.

If you give her a chance she'll give as much of her heart as she can.

• Enid •

She's so sweet and energetic

A true ball of sunshine

You guys met during your first year at Nevermore. Enid was the one who approached you. She came up to you all giddy and excited saying something about how she just felt attracted to your aura. You couldn't say anything to that so you just kind of accepted that she's your friend now.

As you might have guessed the platonic feelings quickly turned into romantic ones. Enid needed only a tiny bit of encouragement before she asked you out.

Although she can be a little bit overbearing at times. You need to communicate with her and tell her that she needs to tone it down just a bit. She might be upset at first but she'll understand.

She plans the best dates ever. She knows exactly what you like and will combine both of your interests so you can spend quality time together while having fun.

Absolutely adors pda and will want to be touching you in some way 24/7. Obviously she'll respect your boundaries. You find it endearing how she craves your touch so much.

You're her go to person. Whenever she's stressed about something, either that be something small like losing another one of her favourite nail polish or big like the whole Hyde situation, she'll show up at your dorm expecting to be comforted.

It's actually easy to get her back to her cheerful happy self. She just needs snacks her favourite movie and you.

Although it's different when it comes to her worries about her family, especially her mother and the wolfing out obsession that she seems to have.

You're going to have to let her rant. She'll be pacing around the room talking animatedly and her claws may even come out but soon enough all her feelings will be out in the open. She made it quite clear that she didn't want you to get involved with her family and their problems.

She only ever allowed her father to meet you and after getting pass the initial awkwardness it was pretty nice. Her dad was a soft spoken kind man who immediately took a liking to you. Enid was ecstatic to see you two getting along.

Your relationship with Enid might have some slight problems at first but it gets better with time. You'll be the annoying constantly stuck in the honeymoon phase couple everyone loves and hates.

• Bianca •

The queen bee of Nevermore was of course intimidating.

Which is exactly why she was the one to approach you first. You shouldn't expect her to make the first move though.

Bianca would want something romantic but not to over the top, subtle but sweet. Thankfully you gave her exactly that and of course she accepted. The entirety of the school was all over you guys after you announced your relationship, gossiping and looking, some even had the courage to come up to you and congratulate you.

While Bianca loves being the centre of attention normally, when it comes to you she wants some things to be kept between you two. She enjoys the quiet moments you guys share a lot. That of course doesn't mean that she won't take you out for the best dates.

She isn't too into pda but not entirely against it either. A light peck on the cheek and the casual hand holding is as far as she'll go. Unless she's jealous that is. Jealous Bianca is a sight to behold. She gets jealous quite easily, believe it or not. Divinia had to convince her that using her siren song on the person being all over you wasn't a good idea too many times. Instead she settled for placing her hand around your weist while glaring at the other person. It's pretty safe to say that she got the message across.

Her siren song and the whole manipulation nuisance only becomes a problem after a certain amount of time when we guys have already been in a relationship for some time. It's when she starts seeing this relationship as a serious thing. Her insecurities and the voice of her mother try to convince her that you'll leave once you realise who she truly is. You on the other hand can't lie and say that you've never thought about how Bianca might have used her power on you. It was a silly though that you quickly discarded.

This entire ordeal thankfully ended before it could escalate into something bigger.

Bianca is a mature person so whenever you're having any serious fights she would be very easy to talk to and she'd try to resolve the issue the best way possible. When it comes to small and petty arguements on the other hand her snarky nature will come out full scale and she won't hold it back.

Bianca might also trust you with everything that's going down with her mother but she wouldn't want you to intervene at all. She has it all under control and she expect you to show trust in her.

All in all Bianca is a pretty good girlfriend even if you relationship isn't perfect, with the regular ups and downs.

• Yoko •

With the whole dark and chill aura that she has she's truly irresistible. The attractive vampire had her eyes on you for a pretty long time but she didn't make a move. Instead she simply waited to see just how you would approach her. She's someone who's lived for decades so patients is her strong suit. Enid tried to tell her that it's kind of creepy how she just stares at you and never dares to makes a move but Yoko insists that she simply enjoys the excitement of waiting.

The build up was truly worth it in her eyes. She stayed behind in class one day packing up her things and tidying her desk when you walked in, flushed a pretty colour with red roses to match ber lipstick on your hands. You were stuttering and fumbling over your words so obviously flustered and it was such a sight for sore eyes. If you weren't so nervous you would've noticed the way the pretty vampire was looking at you the way a wolf stares at a rabbit.

She took pity on you though and accepted the flowers. After she took your hands in hers, placed a kiss on your knuckles and left with a promise of a date. A promise that she didn't forget. Your first date was something so hopelessly romantic but Yoko made sure not to go overboard, she didn't want to scare you after all.

Yoko is a very private person in general and she loves being alone with you in quiet spaces were you can just relax and spent time together. She'd definitely plan things that both of you can enjoy. You can expect her to be very good at planning dates but also dating in general due to her many years being alive. Yoko also absolutely loves pda but in a very different way from Enid. She's more of a chill character but she needs to have her hands on you in some kind of way. Casually throwing an arm over your shoulders when you're sitting or a gentle hand resting on your hips.

Arguements with Yoko can only be described as weird. If it's a small arguement it won't cause much of a hustle, especially if Enid evolves herself. Big arguments are a different story though. Yoko is an immortal vampire that has been alive for god knows how long. If you aren't a vampire like her then after arguments you'd feel like a child. She's so good and understanding and so damn mature that it annoys you when it absolutely shouldn't. It's bad enough that sometimes Yoko takes it to heart and completely shuts down spending hours upon hours alone trying to understand you.

In the end the entire friend group has to invert themselves in the equation so that everything can be solved and go back to normal.

Speaking about vampires qualities, biting was a very taboo subject in your relationship. At first Yoko would constantly flirt with you about biting you and marking you just so she could fluster you. Then when you asked her if she'd actually do it she profusely refused. You thought that she was just scared of hurting you or something so you tried to prove to her that you're not as fragile as she thinks you are. Turns out biting is a very intimate thing for vampires so she might do it once you guys are very serious.

In the end if you're not a vampire I think it'll be a very difficult relationship especially since Yoko will have to deal with you ultimately dying but if you're immortal like her it's pretty sure to say that you've found your soulmate.

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

[alder-saan]

The Path of Poisons .2

Manchineel

Larissa x gn! oc

The Path of Poisons masterlist . [01] . [02] . [03] . [04] . [05] . [06] . [07] . [08] . [09]

Warnings : none (maybe an hospital can be triggering)

Words count : ~3.3k

Avareida was waiting in the small café in Jericho. They had promised their friend to meet them there, since they had arrived in the city the day before. They yawned. They were tired from their nightly excursion. They crossed their arms on the table, put their head on it, and tried to fall asleep when a waiter appeared.

"Can I get you anything?

"A double long ristretto espresso with whipped cream, but no cream," they grumbled, raising their head.

"There's no such thing," he answered embarrassed.

"I know. A strong coffee without sugar is fine."

"I'll be right back."

He left, they buried their head in their arms again. The door tinkled as it opened. Small heels clicked on the floor. Avareida recognized them as those of Thalia, their friend and history teacher at Nevermore Academy. They sighed and sat down properly.

"You're late, Thalia."

Thalia was a small, pudgy, laughing black woman. Her mother was descended from native Americans, and her father from black African slaves, and she made a point of showing her students all the horrors the colonists had committed in America. Avareida understood. They were a descendant of the Cree.

Thalia always wore very colourful clothes, probably, Avareida thought, because she wasn't that happy after all, and today was no exception: she had put on a yellow dress with white polka dots and a little pink hat to match her tights. Where did she get all her clothes? It was still a mystery.

"Yes, I'm sorry Rei, we had a little trouble at the academy yesterday…"

"What kind of trouble?"

The waiter served Avareida their coffee and they began to drink it while listening to their friend, who ordered a long coffee.

"Well, for a start, our former botany teacher wanted to destroy the school and to do so she resurrected Joseph Crackmore, her ancestor."

"Woah..."

"Three students managed to stop him, but one of the inhabitants of the town, who was a Hyde and who was killing people in the area, associated with this teacher and another student stopped him."

"Well…"

"And finally, the principal, Mrs. Weems, was found overdosed with belladonna, and one of our manchineel plants has disappeared. We suspect that thieves may have taken the-"

Avareida choked on their coffee. They coughed to regain their composure.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"It is suspected that thieves wanted to take this plant and came across Mrs. Weems, who then gave them a dose of belladonna, not enough to kill her though. The question is: who stole this manchineel, and for what?"

"Mmh… it's strange, this whole thing…" Avareïda said, looking outside.

Thalia nodded, the waiter gave her her order.

"Especially very dangerous! If this person doesn't know what it is, they could die! And if they know, we can be sure of their criminal ambitions!"

Avareida put down her cup, now finished, with the most innocent look in the world.

"Do you know what a manchineel tree is?"

"To be honest, I didn't know until this morning…"

"Read The Path of Poisons and How to Cure Them, by Avareïda Hydrurga, and you'll never have any doubts about a potentially poisonous plant again."

The teacher laughed a little.

"Haven't you finished your commercial?"

"Hey, my income depends almost entirely on the sale of this book! And I love money!"

Thalia sighed, looking up at the sky... well the ceiling.

"So, how was your trip to the South Pole?"

"Nice, I made a friend. I called her Katia."

"What do you mean you called her?"

"She's a female leopard seal. At first she was a bit aggressive, but eventually she accepted me completely."

Thalia smiled as she watched her friend sink into her seat, gesturing wildly as they explained their encounter with the animal. Rei had that look in their eyes when they talked about their travels… she loved to hear them tell their stories.

"Isn't that your mother's name, Katia?"

"Yeah, because she acted like a mother. She used to bring me food. Which was penguins. And since they're not part of my diet, I had to decline her offer…"

"How do you manage to make so many enemies among humans and so many friends among animals?"

"I'm beginning to think that I'm not the problem… well, anyway. Is your principal okay? I mean, belladonna's a hell of a poison."

"She's in the hospital. I'm going to see her right after. You can come with me if you want. I'll just have to stop by the police station first. As you know about poisons, you could help them, couldn't you?"

"I don't see how I could be of any use to them…"

Thalia got up and went to the counter to pay.

"You underestimate yourself… I'll buy your coffee, a welcome to Jericho gift. And since you don't have any money…"

"Thank you for your great generosity but I can still afford coffee."

"I don't want to hear about it. I'll buy you one."

"All right, all right…"

Avareïda stood up and put their brown jacket back on their shoulders. They ran a hand over their hair, which was still neatly tucked back.

"You'd look good with red hair," Thalia remarked, coming back to her.

"Do you think so? I might try it… But I like my hair black."

"Shall I show you around town, and on the way we go to the police station?"

"Oh, yes, I've always wanted to!" they sneered

Thalia gave them a flick.

"Sorry, I don't have much choice, I've been summoned as a witness… You're lucky you weren't there yesterday. You would have been suspected. What time did you arrive anyway?"

"A little before midnight," they lied.

In truth they had arrived at 9 p.m., but they had nothing to blame themself for and didn't want to get into trouble with the law…

The door tinkled again as it opened. Avareida sighed. They had chosen the wrong moment to steal the manchineel tree…

Thalia pushed open the door to the police station, and was immediately greeted by the sheriff. Rei found the man was sad. There was something tired in his eyes. But they didn't know what. The place was small, smelled of ink and coffee. The policeman questioned Thalia with his eyes after noticing Rei, who was going through all the corners of the police station with a curious eye.

"Avareïda Hydrurga, this is a friend who arrived last night. They were not there on the night of the incident if that's what you're wondering. But they can be a great help to you."

"You're exaggerating, Thalia…"

"I'm curious to see that…" the sheriff said

"All because I know a little about poisons," they sighed.

"Mmh, we'll see. In the meantime, I'll take your statement, Mrs Kedlan."

"No problem. Can Rei come along or do I have to be alone?"

"Since you're not a suspect, you can bring whoever you want."

"Then they're coming with me."

Galpin opened the door to his office and pulled the blinds wide open. A bright light flooded the room. He invited Thalia and Rei to sit down, which they did.

"Well, Mrs Kedlan, tell me what you know."

"Well, the boy who called the emergency room went to warn me and other teachers, and when I arrived, Mrs. Weems was lying in the greenhouse, and a manchineel tree was missing, but there was no sign of a crime. The thief knew the code of where the manchineel trees were put."

"What were you doing before?"

"I was in my classroom, correcting papers."

The policeman wrote everything down on a sheet of paper, Rei was silent.

"Well, do you know if Mrs Weems has any enemies?"

"I don't know of any. And even though we are not necessarily well regarded, she is well respected."

"I see, so you believe in the hypothesis of a robbery gone wrong?"

"I don't," Rei cut in.

The Sheriff opened his mouth and took a few seconds. He leaned back in his chair, put his pen and elbows on the table, put his hands together and intertwined his fingers before speaking.

"Why did he do this?"

"Why, when the thief had a manchineel tree in their hands, would they use nightshade to poison Mrs. Weems?"

"What do you mean?"

Avareida crossed her legs, sinking into her seat.

"The thief knew the code, so they came from inside the school. Mrs. Weems wouldn't have suspected them until they took the manchineel, and so wouldn't have stood in their way. This means that she interfered after they took the manchineel. Now, when you have a manchineel tree in your hands, you don't try to poison with belladonna."

"Why not?"

"If they had just thrown the manchineel at Mrs Weems, she would have been out of the way. For ever. A manchineel tree is toxic enough to poison you if you stay under it. Anyway, you'd better wait for the potential witnesses to wake up. Starting with Mrs Weems. She'll probably know what happened."

The sheriff nodded.

"Of course, but I like to get a head start…"

"It's possible that the botany teacher or the normie attacked her and stole the manchineel tree… That would fit very well with the fact that she attacked her and knew the code. And it would be the normie who poisoned her because…"

Thalia nudged her. Avareida fell silent.

"I have no more questions. You may go."

"Thank you, Sheriff Galpin."

Thalia stood up, Rei followed. They left the place.

"Rei, the normie was her son."

"Oh… Damn. You think I should go apologize?"

"No, it should be fine. You couldn't have known."

"You want to go to the hospital now?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna stop by and buy her some flowers first. Then I can show you the plant shop, I think you'll like it."

"You know how to talk to me…"

Thalia smiled and walked towards a small shop on a street corner. Huge bunches of poppies, lavender and craspedias indicated that it was the beginning of summer. Avareïda liked poppies, especially pink, wild poppies. They found them particularly charming. They decided to buy some flowers for Mrs. Weems. Their friend went straight to the counter and ordered an assortment of peonies. Rei, on the other hand, walked slowly through the potted plants of different sizes and shapes. Crassulas, bonzaïs of all kinds, everything smelled of soil and humidity. The tables on which large bunches of leaves were placed to embellish the bouquets were made of rough wood. A few everlastings were drying, hanging from the ceiling. They remembered that Larissa had always liked immortals. Rei approached the counter.

"What can I do for you?" the florist asked with a smile.

"I would like a small bouquet of Calendula officinalis and Helichrysum stoechas."

"What colour should the marigolds be?"

"Yellow and orange please."

"Well, I'll make your bouquets, if you'll wait a few minutes."

"No problem," Thalia said

The florist disappeared into the back of the shop. Avareida continued her little observations.

"Rei, who are the flowers for?"

"For Mrs. Weems, I felt bad coming to the hospital without bringing anything."

"But you don't even know her?"

"What's the big deal?"

"And what flowers did you ask for?"

"Marigolds and shrubby everlastings."

"Why shrubby everlastings?"

Rei pointed to the little yellow flowers hanging from the ceiling.

"Because they don't wilt. That way, even if she doesn't wake up for several months, she can enjoy them. The marigolds will be dead, of course. And I like immortals. Besides, surviving belladonna poisoning, although it depends on the dose, is quite an achievement."

"Hm. A student injected her with physo… stuff. Apparently it stabilized her well and kept her from deteriorating."

"Physostigmine. He had the right reflex."

"What's physostigmine?"

"A poison found in Calabar beans."

Seeing the expression of incomprehension on Thalia's face, they continued.

"A vine of the bean family that grows in the tropical forests of Africa."

"But… why a poison?"

"Oh, it's a poison that has the opposite effect to belladonna. Belladonna slows the heart rate, Calabar bean increases it. It's what is used to treat atropine toxicity in general. If he'd put too much on her, it might have killed her, but if he hadn't put any on her at all, she'd probably have died anyway. It was a risk to take. You'll have to reward the boy."

"I see, fighting fire with fire."

"Sort of, yeah."

"So she was incredibly lucky that someone who knew about this came along…"

"You have no idea," Rei murmured thoughtfully.

The florist returned, their bouquets in hand. Thalia paid for her bouquet, Rei paid for hers.

"Say, florist lady," Rei asked, "do you have a loyalty card or something? I might come here regularly."

"Oh, yes, I do."

She pulled out a small card with a sunflower on it from behind the counter and applied two bramble stamps.

"Every 10 dollars you get a stamp, after 10, you get 10 dollars free. The first stamp is automatic."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"Have a nice day."

Thalia and Rei walked out of the little shop, each holding a bouquet. The streets began to fill up slowly. Rei was pensive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Thalia that he knew Mrs. Weems. He was waiting to see if the woman had changed.

"Rei, shall we take my car to the hospital?"

"Shall we? Yes, I don't know where it is anyway."

"It's not far, we could walk but it takes about half an hour. I'd rather take the car, I'm in heels."

"I'm in heels too."

"Perfect, I parked it near the café."

Avareida followed her friend to the car, thinking about her last real conversations with Larissa.

"You can't, it's not normal to be like this."

"I didn't choose, Rissa, I'm sorry…"

"Stay away from me, you're disgusting."

"But… Rissa…"

"LArissa, for you. You know what, don't talk to me anymore. I don't want to be friends with your kind."

They shuddered, hoping that their old friend had changed. After all, they hadn't seen each other for almost thirty years. They couldn't hate her, even after all that time. Larissa had been a great support to them. She had helped them to integrate, which was more difficult with the two classes they had skipped. It was thanks to Larissa that they had a more or less normal school life. They had always gotten along with her very well. A smile passed over their lips as they remembered the nightly trips to the forest, the times they'd skipped school to go shopping, the coffees they'd had together. Rei shook their head. Yes, their relationship had been good for them. Not everything about Larissa Weems was a waste.

"Rei? Is everything all right?"

"Is it? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about my years at Nevermore."

"Oh, come to think of it, did you know Larissa when you were there?

"From a... certain distance, I know she was there, I might have talked to her once or twice, but I'm not sure. She was already 18 when I entered the academy, I was only 13. I only had two years in common with her."

"That's right, I forgot that you were younger than me."

"When you're around 40…"

"Shh, don't talk about that, I'm still 20 in my head."

Avareida burst out laughing. Thalia frowned as she unlocked her car. Rei climbed into the front passenger seat.

"And that was an old person's sentence."

"That's right, just mess with me. Just because you're four years younger than me doesn't mean you can. Watch out, time's catching up with you."

"Okay, boomer."

"So, shall we go to that hospital?"

"Well, get going, old girl."

Thalia grunted and turned on the ignition. As the car approached the hospital, Rei became lost in thought again. Thirty years had passed. But Larissa was not a forgettable character. Shit, they thought. They didn't want to risk loving her again. Yet they couldn't help but wonder how much she had changed.

"Say, Thalia. Are you still dating that other teacher?"

"Elizabeth? Yes, still. I mean, it's been a few weeks."

"And… your principal is okay with it?"

"She doesn't know about it. It's still new, we haven't told anyone around here, we don't want it to get out amongst our colleagues. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a lesbian."

"She? Lesbian?"

"Why does that shock you so much?"

"I don't know, I'd heard stories about her love for Gomez Addams, at the time, that's all."

Rei smiled a little. Of course she were a lesbian. They'd guessed it, at the time. But Larissa had locked herself in her closet so much that they'd come to believe it.

"Mmm… I don't know… But my gaydar rarely deceives me. You know, we're pretty close, though. Larissa is someone I like and respect very much. I think I can count her among my friends. She has a courage that I don't have and…"

Thalia's voice caught in her throat.

"God, I'm so glad she's not dead. The academy wouldn't have been the same without her."

"I hope she wakes up soon, then."

"Yes…"

Thalia parked the car in the hospital's large car park and got out. Rei followed her into the building. The hospital smelled clean and new. There was no smell of dirt, no smell of damp. It was all white. They were given the room number: room 128. They walked to the lift, without speaking.

The room was clean. Larissa was lying on her bed in a white patient's gown, her eyes closed, tubes in her nose and arms. A machine on the side was going "beep…beep…beep…beep…", as the lines representing her heartbeat distorted into spikes. Thalia readjusted her hat, which she had refused to remove at the reception desk, explaining her gorgon situation, and placed her bouquet in a vase, on the small cabinet next to the main one. Rei did the same. And then their eyes roamed over the principal's body. She had changed, yes. But she was still as beautiful… Very tall, too. Rei estimated her at almost 6"3. They were only a poor 5"7 feet tall.

"Get well soon, Larissa. The academy needs you again," Thalia said, as if the principal could hear her.

A nurse entered the room and motioned for the Gorgon to follow her.

"I'll be right back, Rei."

Rei nodded and left. They took the opportunity to take a closer look at their former friend's features. She was beautiful…

"So you're a lesbian, huh? You should have admitted it to yourself earlier, stupid. You'd better get over it soon. I think I'd like to see you again. You're lucky, I could have hated you."

They left the room to wait for Thalia, who soon returned with a smile on her face.

"Her condition is completely stabilised and she is starting to recover. She even showed signs of brain activity in some places that indicate a near awakening. She'll probably be back with us in a few days!"

Rei smiled. They loved to see their friend so happy. And the thought of Larissa waking up made them happy too.

[quimble]

Random Headcanons for the Main Peeps and Lodgers :)

Have I done one of these yet...?

Anyways, yeah these are just my headcanons that I enjoy thinking about, but in no way have to be canon or relate to canon :)

Henry - Autistic, but pretty good at masking in situations when it's necessary, such as dinner parties and dances. - Also didn't have the best childhood. He was looked after, had all he needed, sure, but he wasn't usually indulged in his science and his enjoyment, save from going to those Frankenstein plays. - Probably why he got sent to a university in England when he came from Scotland. - Does stim. Really feels good when he stims, but often doesn't because of his status. Robert has made it known that he really doesn't care if Henry stims around him and in fact finds it rather sweet. - Henry's still working on feeling comfortable doing it, but every now and then his hands will start to flap in his office. - Has quiet days where he just.. doesn't want to talk. Usually the days he'll hole himself up in his office, so they don't get noticed. - Prone to headaches from light, why he keeps his curtains closed - Will fall asleep/relax with fingers running through his hair

Hyde - Stims far more visibly, especially in front of Rachel - Is still prone to overloads, but shoves through them because there are more fun things to do - Very much catlike - Will also relax if someone strokes his hair - Struggles to fall asleep because he's never really needed too? - Grins with his teeth on show, thinks it looks intimidating but Rachel finds it endearing and slightly goofy.

Robert - Had a pretty terrible childhood, first proper friend who saw him for him, was Henry - Neurotypical - Struggles with germs and contamination, Henry brings round stuff to clean, like gloves and hand sanitiser - Recognises a lot of Henry's overwhelmed reactions, even when he's trying to hide them - Has learnt from Utterson and just general practise how to help with them, when Henry allows him to - Just bringing Henry to a quiet room, covering him in a blanket, offering a hug if that isn't going to be too much of a sensory thing

Jasper - Struggles with Auditory overload because of his better senses - And most kinds of overloads actually- - Knows how to make sausages from scratch and will often help Rachel in the kitchen with the meat

Bird + Archer - In a QPR with each other - Bird being Finnish, so struggles in the warm summers of England and is still adjusting to the temperature, even now. - They both enjoy snuggling together, but also have their own beds in their room. Well, Bird has a bed, Archer has a hammock. - Bird cannot get in the hammock, he always falls out, no matter how much he tries. - Bird had problems with his self image and weight growing up and still as he joined the society - Archer was homeless upon coming into London, so he was worryingly underweight and malnourished - They helped one another out, Bird giving Archer snacks from the plants he grows, Archer's excitement to finally be able to gain weight, and maybe a little muscle, and not look so brittle helping readjust Bird's image of himself. - In the beginning of their friendship, they fought and argued a lot, both adjusting to the new place - They still jokingly tease each other because it's fun - Archer can box

Sinnett - ADHD - Can also do metalwork - I always loved the idea of him having a supportive family? So him having a brother who's a fisherman and has one of Sinnett's handmade lamps at the front of his ship to keep it going in storms - Sinnett's brother completely accepting his Sinnett's ADHD and stuff and adapting to help him - Sending back any scrap metal he finds for Sinnett to play around with - His brother gets married and ends up having a daughter who Sinnett loves to bits - Gets a little nervous as the daughter starts showing signs of ADHD herself, but his brother reassures him that "If she's anything like you, she's going to be spectacular."

[asmolbirb]

Of interests and indulging them

we love an unhinged prettyboy! wyler, ambiguous ending, idk whether i’ll upload this to AO3

-xx-

“You just couldn’t stay away, huh?” Tyler asks, familiar boyish grin affixed upon his lips. It’s the one part of him that hasn’t changed, hasn’t been whittled into emaciation by the imprecise knife of imprisonment. His face is thinner, his eyes weighed down by dark bags; his already lanky frame is swallowed up by the garish jumpsuit he wears; if she looked at his wrists, Wednesday guesses she would find angry gouges where Tyler’s been straining against the shackles that bind him.

But his smile persists. Playful curiosity, a trait in which Wednesday had once found kinship, still lingers in his eyes.

Silence stretches between them as Tyler watches Wednesday watching him, neither wanting to be the first to break.

Wednesday’s got more practice winning their battles of will, though, and she prevails again here: eventually Tyler’s smile fades, and his eyes skate away from hers. “If you’re looking for answers, you won’t find any here,” he says. “You’ll just end up disappointed.” Sarcasm creeps into his tone, acrid like the bite of a mousetrap around Wednesday’s fingers. “But I guess you already know everything there is to know about Hydes, don’t you? That’s why I’m in here, and you’re out there, instead of the other way around.”

He gestures viciously toward the glass window that separates them. Its faint blue tint belies the nightshade sandwiched between the panes, the most obvious of the antioutcast measures that reinforce the divider. The nightshade is meant to deter any attempts to shatter the glass and escape via the visitors’ room, but Wednesday has already come up with three different methods for counteracting it. She’s certain she could combat the other antioutcast measures, too, given enough time to discover what they are.

“You don’t know what questions I’m asking,” she finally responds.

“Then why don’t you enlighten me,” he hisses.

“They’re not questions for you.”

He laughs quietly, bitterly. It’s a beautiful sound. “Of course not. Why would they be? You’ve never been interested in me. Not until you found out I was a monster, too.”

Wednesday tips her head imperceptibly at the outburst, the abundance of insight capable of being gleaned from just a few syllables. Monster: a revelation, a peeling back of the gleeful, sadistic nonchalance Tyler affects in an attempt to obscure the self-loathing he feels. Too: for him, this glass window is akin to a mirror, and Wednesday his reflection. Wednesday, a monster, too.

How loathsome. The thought could almost make her smile.

Tyler lunges suddenly toward her, seemingly having grown tired of Wednesday’s silent contemplation. The glass rattles with the impact, then again when he pounds his fist against it. He snarls at her, wide-eyed, face taut with contempt, body trembling as though he’s trying and failing to shift. Throughout all of this pageantry, Wednesday does not flinch.

Instead, she wonders if he, too, has realized he is a Hyde without a master. She wonders if it frightens him not to have another target, not to have someone showing him the acceptable directions in which to unleash his resentment. She wonders if he has even begun to explore the unending depths of monstrosity that now yawn open inside him, or if he is still tiptoeing around their edges, waiting for someone to guide him deeper. 

He's right about one thing. Though Wednesday had always found Tyler interesting, even before she knew the truth, his flavor of interesting had been peripheral at best, secondary to the more pressing interests at hand.

But now he’s of interest.

And Wednesday is interested.

She stands. “I have always been honest with you about my intentions. I’ll grant you the privilege of that honesty once more,” she says. “You don’t frighten me.”

“Then you’re a fool,” he says, voice so richly scornful she could almost bite into it—into him—and feel it burst into bitter flame on her tongue. “And you deserve everything that’s coming to you.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she promises. And with a crisp pivot and Tyler’s gaze burning into her back, she departs.

[pokckygamewithbatman]

Wednesday Rant (sorry, I didn’t like it)

Disclaimer: These are just my opinions, and where I reach most of my initial impressions of what the characters should be like from the 1964 tv series, and the 1991 movies so if I’m missing facts then that’s why. I may say these opinions as fact but that’s just how I talk remember it’s just opinions.

Ok good, now that that’s out of the way, the casting is pretty crap, Morticia is boobilicious but not tasteful, which is very important for her character. Gomez and Pugsley look right but even tho Gomez is supposed to be kinda ugly there was already a precedent of 1991 Gomez that set the bar high so it was a little disappointing. He is the best cast. Wednesday smiles too much, and talks to much, and Thing isn't supposed to be stitched together he's a horrible monster who's only saving grace is his human looking hand it doesn't need to be stitched together also Thing should've used sign language bc it would've been cute. Jericho is a stupid town name, Nevermore is a stupid school name. Wednesday not liking her parents is very out of character what's even more out of character is the implication that Morticia and Gomez are trying to make her like them. Excuse me have you ever met the Addams family the whole gimmick is that they support their kids to be whoever they want. Fester was a disappointment he looks too human, not dead enough. Platform shoes on Wednesday was weird. I felt so bad for Xavier because his actor was specifically cast because he kind of looks like the Hyde, yk to further complicate things and make the audience feel like they absolutely got it. Totally cheesy that Mr. Normie Tyler is actually the Hyde, and totally stupid that Wednesday has a love interest. She says at the beginning that she doesn't want one and then low and behold he ends up having 2. The inhaler guy at the beginning was an obvious callback to Wednesday's love interest in Addams Family Values, that romance actually worked because he wooed her with his allergies, not his charms. The principal shouldn't have died, that whole scene was unnecessary if the principal didn't believe Wednesday why would she go along with another scheme?? Enid is sweet but a doormat, instead of her coming back to Wednesday, Wednesday should've gone to Enid to apologize properly. The dance scene would've been fantastic if Tyler was into it, dancing with her, smiling at her, anything, but he was just standing there awkwardly and like, that’s not someone who should be a love interest in any setting. If you’re being goofy, or doing your best, or whatever at something, your partner should be enthusiastic about said thing. He’s smiling but less in a “oh my god she’s so cute” kinda way and more in a “wtf is she doing help” kind of way. Teens can't act, we already knew that this is just another example, the Jericho thing with the pilgrims was so stupid bc they already were pushing the modern day thing but then had such outdated, old fashioned ideologies??

The romance that people want to happen between Enid and Wednesday would be cute on the surface but kind of toxic when you delve deeper because Wednesday just doesn’t think about people in that way. I don’t know how to describe it without making it out like Wednesday is an asshole, she’s not, or at least, not on purpose? Does that help? Also Enid has that medusa guy (which by the way doesn’t make sense because medusa doesn’t have any descendants unless you how the flying boar and horse that come out of her severed neck) and they seemed pretty okay together despite starting out a little rocky; btw they never explain how he becomes unstonified it just happens and we’re meant to accept it.

I don’t know how there could be a season 2 other than the fact that people like the show so they’re going to make another season. Wish that happened for other shows, yk, like GLTAS, Young Justice, even Pantheon hasn’t been promised a second season despite it being so damn good. I’m salty about that but it has nothing to do with what I disliked about the show.

And much more, I don't remember nearly enough about the show because it was so unremarkable.

[marwritesgood]

Just Me | S. Basset

Pairing: Simon x WOC!Reader

Timeframe: Early Season One

Summary: Simon and Y/n had a long history together. So why did it take reading Lady Whistledown’s latest column for her to learn about his blooming relationship with Daphne Bridgerton?

masterlist

A/N: This fic is over 6K words. 

The mere thought of a BIPOC love story set in the 18th Century is enough to make me swoon. So I decided to give it a go and write one myself. There’ll be two more parts after this :)

I also wanted to keep the reader description applicable to any and all women of colour, so it’s a bit vague just to ensure all of us (women of colour) can feel included. Please let me know if there any parts of this fic that don’t do this and I’ll fix it asap! 

If you’re white, this fic is not for you to identify with x

Also, if at any point you find my attempt at mimicking the language used in Bridgerton laughable... you are not the only one lmao. This has been super fun to write and also very challenging, but I am well aware it is farrrr from perfect :)

Nonetheless, I hope it’s a nice read for my WOC readers <3

Simon and Y/n first met when they were children. Her mother was very closely acquainted with Lady Danbury, so naturally, a friendship grew between the two of them- and a strong one at that. 

For years, their interactions had remained within confinements of what was socially acceptable. They bickered. They laughed. They shared inside jokes about the people within their social circle. Their feelings for each other never extended beyond what was befitting of a friendship. 

That was until they grew older.

When marriage and love became more and more ingrained into casual conversations, Simon and Y/n explored their feelings for one another. Questioned the extent to which they cared for each other and whether there was something more beneath the surface.

However, just as Y/n came to realise her love for Simon, he left for London. After a few short weeks, he returned with a new title. A new vow that the Hastings bloodline would end with him. Subsequently, with it, any hope Y/n had of her relationship with him becoming anything more than all it had always been: a friendship.

A year had passed since the sorrowful conversation resulting in Simon and Y/n agreeing to not indulge in the affections they shared. Since then, Y/n struggled to focus on securing a marriage proposal from one of the suitors in her town.

“This is your second season,” Y/n’s mother cried as she paced across the sitting room. Y/n sat in silence, having been interrupted from playing the piano by another one of her panicked outbursts. “Your second season and yet you continue to reject every marriage proposal you receive.”

She couldn’t blame her mother for being frustrated with her. As her only daughter, she needed to find a good match and be married off as soon as possible. Her father was of old age, but even he remained restless that Y/n be married. He much preferred the prospect of dying knowing that the estate would be inherited by Y/n’s husband instead of his nephew.

“I did not reject Mr Graham’s proposal, mama,” Y/n responded, unnervingly calmly considering how distraught her mother was. Mr Graham’s proposal was the latest one she had received that season. “I... simply asked for more time to consider my answer.”

“What on earth is there to consider?” Mrs Y/l/n shrieked. Her frustration only grew when her daughter was unable to answer her question. Y/n turned away from her mother. “He is a good man. He comes from a good, honourable family and will give you a good future- something you will not have if you continue to turn away suitors.”

“Mama, please.” Y/n could not say anything more, for fear that her mother’s anger toward her would only grow if she were to find out the truth. The real reason she could not yet bring herself to accept a marriage proposal.

“Why do you need time to consider, Y/n?” Her daughter had stood up from behind the piano and had her back turned to her mother. That did not stop her from continuing to pry. After so many rejected proposals, she felt she had a right to know why her daughter refused to marry. “I beg of you, tell me- what is there to consider?... What could possibly be keeping you from marrying Mr Graham.”

They stood in silence for a moment before Y/n sighed exasperatedly and turned back to face her mother.

“I do not love him,” Y/n replied in a hushed cry, only just loud enough for Mrs Y/l/n to hear from across the room. “He may be a good man, mama, but I... I do not love him, and I do not believe I ever could.”

She knew from their first encounter that she could never love him. Perhaps it was how he mispronounced her grandmother’s name or the way he possessed the same arrogance as every other suitor Y/n encountered. 

“My dear,” Mrs Y/l/n said, her voice and expression softening entirely. She reached out for her daughter’s hand and took hold of it gently. She knew precisely how Y/n felt, which meant that, unfortunately, she knew there was nothing to be done. “We have talked about this. Women like you and I... we do not have the luxury to make decisions based on our own feelings.”

Y/n was surrounded by women who did not share the same experiences she did. Women who could not empathise with the challenges she faced and being a woman in the 18th Century. Not even if they tried.

Therefore, whenever Y/n found herself hoping for the same things as the white women around her, she had to bring herself back to reality. She had to remember that if life was unkind to white women, it would always be hell for women like her, no matter who married into the royal family.

“I know,” Y/n answered. 

She did. She knew it was incredibly reckless of her to reject all of the proposals she had received. She knew she was naïve for basing her decision based on love. Yet, even so, she could not keep herself from holding out on the hope that she would not end up in a loveless marriage.

“I do not mean to upset you, Y/n,” Mrs Y/l/n said sincerely, as she guided her daughter to the nearest seat. “But I fear that if you continue on, you will have no more proposals to reject, and I... I simply cannot bear the thought... Please, dear, you must-”

Y/n began to close her eyes ready to brace herself for what she feared would inevitably happen- her mother insisting she accepts a proposal. However, just as she did, a maid knocked on the door and promptly brought in the newspaper. When Simon left for London, Y/n requested that any newspaper copy or mail sent to her from London be immediately handed to her. She looked forward to any kind of update on him.

“Thank you,” Y/n said to the maid as she handed her the newspaper. Without hesitation, she immediately turned to Lady Whistledown’s column.

“What does it say?” Her mother asked, giving up on her attempts at convincing Y/n to accept a marriage proposal, at least for the time being. 

Y/n’s blood ran cold as she read the column. She had expected to hear more about the bitter impression Simon was leaving in London. She was going to comment on how typical arrogant white elitists villainising anyone who did not approach them in a way that appeases their ego.

But that was not what she read.

Instead, she read about Simon showing a particular interest in the woman named the ‘Diamond of the Season’ by the Queen herself- Miss Daphne Bridgerton. She read about him courting her and spending a significant amount of time with her. She read about flowers, the expensive kind, and walks through Hyde park, and she was unsure whether to feel betrayed or feel furious.

It was one thing for Simon to begin courting another woman, after explaining to Y/n that he would never marry. It was another for her to have to learn all of this from reading the Lady Whistledown column. 

Without providing her mother with an answer as to what the column wrote, Y/n slammed the newspaper against the table beside her and stood up abruptly. 

Her mother went to reprimand Y/n for slamming the paper so violently against her favourite table. However, Y/n walked hastily into her bedroom. She began to plan what she was to pack when she would leave for London in the morning.

She was adamant on learning the truth in its entirety. And, this time, not from an anonymous publisher but from Simon himself.

***

Y/n had an aunt who lived in London with her husband and their three kids- all much younger than Y/n was. She knew that if she could get away with arriving in London unannounced with intent to stay for longer than a week, her only luck was with her aunt.

After she was escorted inside by one of the workers, Y/n stood and marvelled at her aunt’s husband’s estate. It looked nothing like the sitting room at her home. It looked fancier with much nicer things, leading her to think back to why her mother pushed so hard for her to marry. Mrs Y/l/n had helped her younger sister find a match, and now she lived in a beautiful home in London. 

Perhaps all she wanted was to ensure the same future for her only child.

“Y/n, my dear!” Her aunt came bursting through the doors with arms stretched out. She pulled Y/n into a tight embrace as she always did whenever greeting her niece. Before her three children, she had Y/n. “Oh, how I have missed you!”

“I have missed you too, Aunt Philippa,” Y/n smiled, gently clutching her aunt’s hand as she held her cheek. “Please forgive me for arriving here unannounced. I would have written to you in advanced, but I have an urgent matter to attend to.”

“Do not be silly, my dear,” Philippa laughed, before guiding her niece out of the sitting room and towards the staircase. “You are welcome to stay here for as long as you may need. Though I imagine your mother will be impatiently anticipating your return... how is my dear sister?”

“As restless as ever,” Y/n mumbled. Philippa’s laughter echoed across the halls. Just as she expected, her older sister had not changed. Not one bit. “She is adamant that I am engaged by the end of the season, which is part of the reason I needed to leave home so quickly.”

“I do not blame you, dear,” Philippa murmured. She knew from first-hand experience how relentless Y/n’s mother could be. Even so, she knew it was out of love. Y/n knew as well. “Now... what is the urgent matter you need to attend? I imagine you will need a chaperone... and perhaps a carriage?”

Y/n smiled in relief. Everything she had done leading up to her arrival in London was purely impulsive. She hadn’t even thought of how she would get to Simon or who she would have to escort and chaperone her. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know the whereabouts of... the Duke of Hastings?”

Philippa’s eyes grew twice in size. Whether it was shock or excitement, Y/n could not figure out. It wasn’t until her aunt pulled her into the nearest empty room, checked to see if anyone was listening in, and grinned at her that Y/n concluded it was the latter.

“When I read about the Duke and Miss Bridgerton, all I could think of was you,” Philippa began, speaking in a hushed tone, though unable to contain her excitement. She did not typically indulge in gossip, but she was entirely invested in staying updated to her niece and Simon. “You never did tell me what happened when he returned. Did you confess your feelings?”

Philippa had generously volunteered her afternoons so that her niece could practise what she would say to Simon. She hoped those afternoons had not been spent in vain.

“I did... And then he did too... Before telling me, he would never marry,” Y/n explained, trying to conceal the way her breath hitched and the way tears welled up in her eyes. “Though, after reading Lady Whistledown’s column, it is clear that perhaps he meant that he would never marry me.”

Philippa frowned and lifted her hand up again, holding the side of Y/n’s face and swiping the few tears she couldn’t stop from escaping. As she did so, Y/n inhaled sharply- trying desperately to keep herself from indulging in her sorrow.

“I am sure that is not the case, dearest,” Philippa insisted. 

She refused to believe Simon would do that to her niece. Not after the stories she had heard from Y/n as they grew up. Not to mention all the times she caught one staring at the other across ballrooms and dining tables. 

“We must hurry,” she chirped, dropping her hand so she could grasp her niece’s arm. “I believe the Duke will be in Hyde Park with Lady Danbury. ‘Tis best we leave now if we wish to catch them.”

Y/n smiled. Being with her aunt was a nice change of pace to being with her mother. She would have scolded Y/n had she caught wind of what had happened. 

***

Upon their arrival at Hyde Park, Philippa approached Lady Danbury. Her plan was to make conversation with her, find out more about Simon and Daphne’s relationship. Then, she would ultimately create a segue for Y/n to have a somewhat private conversation with Simon.

However, Y/n had other plans.

When they arrived, she scanned the park in search of Simon. Once she spotted him walking alone on the pavement, she threw caution and decorum to the wind. Before her Aunt Philippa could stop her, Y/n sprinted. 

Once she reached him, she grabbed his shoulder roughly, prompting him to turn around.

“Peach,” Simon whispered, dumbfounded by Y/n’s sudden appearance.

He stopped calling Y/n by her name when they were five. Instead, he called her Peach, for reasons that remained a mystery to Y/n. Despite not knowing the reasoning behind it, she always adored it. She was the only person he had a unique designated name for.

More recently, she wondered if Miss Bridgerton would soon become an exception.

“You owe me an explanation,” Y/n said harshly, not having the patience to beat around the bush. This was primarily because she wanted to know the truth and because she was out of breath from sprinting to Simon.  “Do I really mean so little to you, Simon?”

“Please lower your voice,” Simon begged, subtly grabbing Y/n’s arm and quickening their pace to avoid the crowded area of the park. 

“Do not speak to me as though I am a child,” Y/n growled, yanking her arm away from him and stepping back. 

“Then do not act like one,” Simon retorted.

Y/n scoffed, before dusting off her dress. Simon rolled his eyes to cover his nervousness. He had a habit of concealing it with aggression. Y/n was often able to see through it, but she was guilty of doing the same.

“What changed?” Y/n asked as she looked back at Simon. “You seemed so certain when you told me you would never marry. Now you have extended your stay in London to court Miss Bridgerton?”

“I wish I could give you an answer,” Simon responded honestly. It was perhaps the most honest statement he had made all month. 

His courtship of Daphne was a mere ruse to attract more suitors for her. Truth be told, Simon was incredibly stressed by it, but he was too deep into the lie to give up any time soon. He hadn’t anticipated Y/n would be caught in the middle of it.

“Well, what could be hindering you from doing so?” Y/n cried, confused by how vague and cryptic Simon was acting.

He struggles to find the right words. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Y/n any more than he already had, but he could not give her the answer she wanted. Although he was not actually courting Daphne, he still would not marry. Thus, he could not do what would make her happy, which was the main reason he kept his distance from her in the first place.

“Things are different now,” Simon said apologetically, hoping to deter Y/n from prying. Though he desperately wanted to say more, he knew that doing so was incredibly risky. “We... we are not children anymore.”

Y/n blinked, astonished by Simon’s reaction. It was far from what she had expected. She expected an explanation. She expected assurance. Instead, she has pushed aside as though she and her feelings were disposable. 

This was a familiar feeling to Y/n.

“Is that all you think of me?” She asked angrily. Simon, of all the people in her life, had the most power to hurt her. And he often did so without realising. “A child?... And our relationship? You think it is something as easy to put behind you as your childhood? Is that all this is to you, Simon?”

She went to speak again. To demand what she felt she had a right to. However, before she could get a word out, a woman appeared from behind her. She was fair-skinned and wore a dress that resembled her complexion. 

“Miss Bridgerton,” Simon gasped. He did not know whether to be grateful for her arrival or concerned about how it would affect Y/n. He eventually became both. “May I introduce you to Miss Y/l/n. She is a... very close family friend.”

Y/n had to keep herself from scoffing. She was more to him than just a friend. Y/n knew that well, despite Simon’s denial.

“I am terribly sorry,” Miss Bridgerton cried, averting her attention to Y/n. “I did not mean to intrude.”

“Not at all,” Y/n assured, smiling sincerely at Daphne. Her anger was entirely directed towards Simon. Unlike him, Daphne had no pre-existing history with Y/n to remain considerate of. “I actually must return to my aunt. It was lovely to finally meet you, Miss Bridgerton.”

Before Y/n turned to walk back to her Aunt Philippa, she glanced back at Simon, who was very clearly terrified of how calm Y/n was. He could only imagine the amount of anger she was harbouring. Deterring her would prove to be much more complicated than he expected.

“Your grace,” Y/n snarled through gritted teeth, before forcing a smile as she turned away.

***

It had been a week since Y/n and Simon’s interaction at Hyde Park.

Y/n sat beside her aunt Philippa in a carriage as she read through her mother’s letter. She had made vividly clear, through an eight-paged rant, that she was absolutely livid with her daughter. Y/n’s hands were trembling. 

“I assume she is quite upset?” Philippa asked, though she already knew the answer. 

Y/n had extended her stay to a week just so she could attend a gala at Lady Danbury’s estate. It was her last hope of catching a moment alone with Simon and gaining, at the very least, some form of closure. She hoped it would not come to that, but from their last interaction, Y/n was losing confidence.

“She is furious,” Y/n answered shortly, before folding the letter abruptly and placing it aside. Her mother wrote one demand that sent chills through her bones. “If I am not home within a week, she will come to London and take me back herself. Then, I will have to accept Mr Graham’s proposal.”

Philippa’s stomach dropped. She placed her hand atop her niece’s. Y/n looked down to conceal the tears that began to gather in her eyes. Philippa noticed and wrapped her arm around Y/n, gently squeezing her shoulder. 

“I am sure it will not come to that,” she whispered soothingly, though she struggled to sound sincere. Y/n nodded. She didn’t quite believe her aunt, but she knew there was no point in losing hope entirely. At least not yet.

Once they arrived at the gala, Philippa made conversation with a friend, whileY/n made way to Lady Danbury. The event was held in her courtyard. While others marvelled at her estate, Y/n felt a warm sense of nostalgia. When Lady Danbury brought Simon to her London estate during summers, she would often invite Y/n and her parents. While her parents and the Danburys made conversation in the house, Simon and Y/n would run about freely outside.

“Welcome back, Miss Y/l/n,” Lady Danbury smiled warmly, as Y/n and her aunt approached her.

“It is a pleasure to be here, my lady,” Y/n responded curtly, before laughing out loud as Lady Danbury pulled her into her arms for a tight hug. 

Once she let go, they made small talk. Lady Danbury asked Y/n how her parents were. Y/n asked Lady Danbury how she was and how her fruit orchards were. After they ran out of things to discuss, Y/n could not help but scan the room searching for Simon, who was nowhere to be found.

“I am not completely sure where he is,” Lady Danbury said, startling Y/n who had not realised how far from natural she was acting. “Though, he did complain about how suffocated he was by the throng here... I imagine he has gone to a place where it will be difficult for most to find him.”

Y/n thought for a moment. Lady Danbury was cryptic by nature, and after years of knowing her, she had a knack for figuring out what she meant. Once Y/n knew, she smiled at Lady Danbury, before excusing herself from the gala.

Y/n headed away from the gala and towards the maze area. It was well-lit, which she was grateful for as it meant she could navigate her way around swiftly. It felt like second-nature to her; running about in the Danbury’s London Estate. She forgot how much she enjoyed the thrill of running through and past the hedges.

Once she reached the maze’s centre, she saw Simon standing idle, his back towards where she stood. That was the place they spent most of their time. When they were younger, they would sit there and play games. As they got older, they would sit there and talk. Sometimes he would read while she drew. Sometimes vice versa. But most of the time, they spoke—about everything worth talking about, and then some.

“I remember the first time we played here together,” Y/n began, causing Simon to jump. Once he turned around and saw Y/n his tense posture softened, and a small smile appeared across his face. She felt relieved by it, though she didn’t want to let her guard down entirely. “I got lost, almost immediately, and you found me sitting here, cross-legged, in a puddle of tears. Do you remember?”

Simon chuckled. Of course, he thought. 

“You were inconsolable when I found you,” he mocked, prompting Y/n to reach out and lightly punch his shoulder. His laughter only grew.

“We were five,” Y/n reasoned. She would never admit that she was dramatic. Not even as a child. “I genuinely thought no one would ever find me... and then you did, within a matter of minutes.”

She joined him in laughing. It made for a very entertaining story that they retold relentlessly. While others were sick of hearing it, neither of them were sick of recounting it, for their own reasons.

“I told you I would never leave you behind,” he added, smiling as he thought back to that day. His smile faded quickly when he realised the irony. He frowned and took a step towards Y/n. “Peach, I must apologise-”

“-No... I am the one who must apologise,” she intervened. Simon stood back in confusion. Y/n sighed before clarifying herself. “I did not mean to blindside you so aggressively before. I did not come here to argue with you, Simon, I... I came to ask you if it is true... Are you courting Miss Bridgerton... with the intent of marrying?”

Simon winced. 

He felt conflicted by both his love for Y/n and the promise he made to Daphne to uphold their ruse. He could not in good faith outright admit that he was merely pretending to court Miss Bridgerton. However, he couldn’t bear the thought of breaking Y/n’s heart a second time.

His lips parted, but his mouth ran dry. Before Simon could keep himself from blurting out the wrong thing, he was overcome by a habit he developed over the last month of playing along.

“I am,” he answered.

Just as he did, he lifted his hand to his temple and scrunched his eyebrows. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Y/n. He was still haunted by the look on her face when he told her he would never marry.

“Right,” she sniffled, unsure how to react. Y/n had convinced herself that there was more to the story than what she had read from Lady Whistledown. She regretted how in-denial she allowed herself to become. 

One thing Y/n knew for sure, though, was that she did not want to be near Simon. Although she was on the verge of sobbing, she still turned around and intended to leave him, but Simon grabbed her arm and kept her from doing so.

“Please let me explain,” he begged.

Y/n’s tears halted as she glared at Simon, shocked. She shook her arm out of his grasp and took a step back from him. She had always despised the way men often treated women as though they were disposable and replaceable. She never expected Simon to be one.

“There is no explanation necessary,” she scoffed.

“Y/n, please, you do not understand,” Simon cried. It was rare for him to call her by her name, but Y/n dubbed it as him trying to manipulate her emotions. She would not let that happen. 

“No, of course, you would deceive me,” Y/n spat, unwilling to let Simon get a word in. She was tired of waiting around just to hear from him. This time, she would be the talking. He would be the one listening. “-about not wanting to marry or have children, and of course, I believed your ridiculous lie, like the fool I have always been for you.”

“Ridiculous?” Simon hissed. Y/n’s dismissal of his vow sparked a fit of anger that overcame him before he could realise it had done so. No one had ever called to question or criticised his decision to remain a bachelor for life. No one until Y/n.

“Perhaps not a ridiculous lie,” Y/n sneered. “No, it was more-so childish and nonsensical.”

“And yet, you believed it... What is that to say about you, Miss Y/l/n?” Simon scorned. Y/n flinched. Simon had only ever addressed her in such a way to either tease her or to emphasise his anger. It had been a long while since he had done so for the latter. “It was not a lie, Y/n, I... You could never understand the immense pressure I have been placed under my entire life-”

“- Pressure that significantly decreased with the death of your father,” Y/n argued. Simon acted as though he had a monopoly over her when it came to challenges in life. He could not have been more wrong. “I, on the other hand, am placed under severe pressure and will continue to be, long after my parents pass... That is one of the many things you will never understand.”

“That is not true,” Simon fired back, only for Y/n to continue speaking- this time, with a louder voice.

“We may be the same in one sense, but we are significantly different in another, because you, Simon, are still a man with a title.” Y/n and Simon both shared similar challenges as neither of them were white. However, where Simon inherited certain advantages for being a man, and a Duke, Y/n was only disparaged more. He often forgot that. “You, at the very least, still have the luxury of choice. To choose how you wish to fulfil your future, and whether or not that may include a wife or children.”

Simon lowered his eyes defeatedly. Though he was still angry, there was no denying the shame he felt. 

“I do not. Those choices were made for me the moment I was born a daughter and not a son. So do not act as though you are in a position to empathise with me,” Y/n said. “Especially when you have been the least bit empathetic after I came all the way here, just to confirm the truth about you and Miss Bridgerton.”

“I never told you to come to London,” Simon snapped.

“No, you did not,” Y/n retorted, with just as much, if not more, annoyance in her voice. “You did not tell me anything. I had to find out at the same moment as everyone else in England, as though we are strangers.”

Simon flinched as Y/n progressed from speaking loudly to outright shouting. He had always relied on having her sympathy and her support, even when he was in the wrong. Thankfully, they were far from the gala. However, Simon still feared someone had heard her reprimanding him.

“You claim you are different, now that you are a Duke, but you are the same as you have always been,” Y/n continued. She knew how he had always been. Better than anyone, let alone Miss Bridgerton, that was for sure. “You are still rigid and arrogant. You are still a coward who will never allow himself to feel any kind of joy. And you are still revolving your every decision in life around a man you claim to despise.”

“You do not know a thing,” he whispered, which only confirmed to Y/n that he was scared. He was intimidated. For as long as they had known one another, Y/n rarely confronted his relationship with his father.

“I have watched you go from living only to please him to living only to spite him, even if it means hurting the people who actually care for you,” she cried. She had no more anger within her. Not any more. She had only sadness. “Did it ever occur to you how much it hurt when you rejected me?”

“That was never my intention,” Simon said regretfully. 

It was the truth, though Simon had begun to realise that his wrath against his father blinded him from what he cared about more: her happiness. 

“Peach,” he whispered, inching towards Y/n as he lifted his hand and held the left side of her face. “Please, believe me, I never meant to hurt you.”

Their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity. It had been so long since they had shared a moment like that. An intimate moment shared between no one but them. Where Simon was not the stoic and emotionally detached Duke of Hastings. He was Simon. Dare she say, her Simon.

Despite that, Y/n was the first to turn away. She wanted to indulge. To take advantage of the opportunity to reconcile with him. To enjoy how vulnerable he was, after months of distance. 

But she couldn’t. 

Not when there were still questions burning in her mind. She could not rest until they were dealt with. After all, she was her mother’s child.

“Then what about Miss Bridgerton?” Y/n’s expression remained stagnant, but she could not keep hands from trembling. Simon winced at the mention of Daphne. “You... courting her after rejecting me... You cannot possibly tell me you did not intend to hurt me when you did that.”

Simon opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had no response to what she had said because there was no justification for what he had done. All he could do was curse quietly to himself for taking so long to realise how foolish he had been.

“I had always expected this to happen,” Y/n began, sniffling as she tried to compose herself enough to explain herself. Simon remained quiet and decided he would until she finished. He figured he owed her as much. “I always knew I would be turned away for someone like Daphne Bridgerton.”

It had been the subject of many of her mother’s lessons. Before she was introduced to society, her mother made it a point to prepare her for rejection. To not hold out hope for any man, until a marriage proposal was made. 

Simon had been Y/n’s only exception to that rule. 

“It’s happened to me my whole life,” Y/n laughed bitterly, as she recalled all the times she had lost to a woman of fairer skin than her. All the times she wept to her Aunt Philippa and to Simon. “I always expected this would happen. But I never expected this would happen with you.”

Simon’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched Y/n struggle to stifle her cries in between her sentences. He had watched her sit in this sorrow many times, just as she had done for him, for this was a pain she shared. But this time was different. This time he was the one responsible. 

He didn’t know pain, so heart-wrenching, was possible. But watching her cry and knowing he could do nothing to fix it. That pain had never felt more real.

“I do not blame you, Simon,” Y/n whimpered, which only made him hurt more. He wanted her to be angry. To berate him some more. It was the least of what he deserved for causing her such sorrow. “She is the ‘Diamond of the Season’ after all, and... I am just me.”

Y/n hated the pity party she was throwing for herself, but she could not help what she felt. After a life of being classed second to white women, who could blame her for internalising this? 

He was dying to say something. To tell Y/n that she had it all wrong. He wanted to reveal that his courtship of Daphne was all a ruse. That he could never bring himself to entertain the idea of marrying anyone but her. But his fear of only making things worse left him paralysed. 

“You have made it abundantly clear that I was a fool forever waiting around for you,” she said to Simon. Unfortunately for him, she had taken his lack of response as confirmation that what she had concluded of the situation was accurate. “I will not make that mistake again.”

“Peach-”

“Goodbye, Simon,” Y/n blurted as she turned away hastily. 

Left in too much shock to reach out and stop her, Simon stood, dumbfounded, and watched as the woman he loved walked away from him and back to the gala. Looking back, he wished he had called out to her. Simon wished he had run after her. But he did not.

When Y/n reached the courtyard where the gala was being held, she couldn’t help the wave of disappointment that rushed over when she realised Simon let her go. This assured her that she was right to leave him, but it did not alleviate the pain in doing so. 

She made her way through the crowd and searched for her aunt. As she did, she felt her cheeks burn and her pace of breath quicken. She had gone through all the effort of coming to London just for what she feared most to be the reality. 

“There you are, my dear!”

Y/n turned around and saw her Aunt approaching her. Philippa smiled brightly as she walked towards her niece. However, when she realised that Y/n’s enthusiasm fell short of matching hers by a significant margin, her smile began to fade.

“Where is Simon?” She inquired, her voice lowered to not draw attention to their conversation. From Y/n expression, Philippa inferred that was the last thing she wanted.

Y/n’s lip quivered as she tried desperately to answer her aunt’s question. When she failed to do so, she hung her head- too embarrassed to face her aunt. Philippa frowned. A line appeared between her brows as she reached out to her distraught niece.

Though she was dying to know, the details of Simon and Y/n’s conversation were the least of her concerns. All she cared for was her niece and helping her in any way she needed. 

“I will call for our carriage,” she whispered, before guiding Y/n out of the courtyard. 

Once their carriage arrived, Philippa sat opposite her niece and watched worriedly as she refused to make eye contact, let alone speak.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Y/n took a long moment to respond. She stared at her gloved hands as she thought about what to do next. She regretted all the proposals she had turned down, and all the ways she put her life on hold for Simon. She felt ashamed that she had allowed herself to be in the situation she was in. 

Then she realised the only thing she could do to fix it.

“May you organise a carriage to take me home tomorrow?” Y/n asked. Her aunt’s eyes widened. Returning home to face her mother was the last thing Philippa expected Y/n to want to do. 

She watched her niece closely, trying to figure out what her plan moving forward was. Y/n finally looked up and met her aunt’s gaze. To Philippa’s surprise, her niece had a prominent sense of confidence in her expression. 

“Why, my dear?” Philippa quizzed, her eyebrows still knitted in confusion as well as fear. The way her niece was suddenly overcome with confidence after being on the verge of tears was concerning. She couldn’t imagine it would lead to anything good.

Y/n inhaled sharply, pursing her lips as she did so. She knew her aunt would disagree with what she planned to do. But she also knew that, given the circumstance, Philippa would reluctantly do as she asked. Before she answered, Y/n momentarily glanced down at her hands and turned back to her aunt.

“I have a proposal to accept.”

NEXT PART

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

I have a theodicy-adjacent question if that's alright. How can I offer prayers of thanksgiving without implying that God "likes me better" than They like other people? For example, I often want to thank God for keeping my loved ones safe through this pandemic, but it feels weird when so many have lost dear ones. I've learned a lot about how to wrestle with God through your ministry, but how to bring your positive feelings to God without toeing the line of a prosperity gospel-esque mindset?

Anon, I feel you! Some point a few years ago I had a similar unsettling realization. I knew that gratitude is important not only for our relationship with God, but for our psychological wellbeing — yet I felt so guilty for thanking God for things i knew others didn’t have. Did attributing the good things in my life to God imply that God wasn’t with those who lacked those good things? 

I brought that guilt and discomfort to God (and still do, whenever it arises anew). asked Them to help me sit with it, accept it, and then transform it into something more fruitful.

guilt transformed to motivation. discomfort transformed to commitment. what i was left with was an understanding that i did not need to stop my prayers of thanksgiving, but to expand them.

i take time to really feel and express my gratitude for the abundance i experience. and then i ask God to help my gratitude move me to a desire for others to experience that abundance too. I ask for guidance in how i can help make that abundance happen in the the lives of those around me and far from me. 

___

i also make time for lament. many of us are taught how to ask God for things and how to thank God for things, but grief and lament are not taught. however, thanksgiving and lament are not opposites, but work together. they enrich one another. we need to take time for both.

a book that helped me embrace lament was Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark. You can read quotes and whole passages from it in my tag over here.

one of my favorite songs/psalms to sing/pray in lament is this one. The psalmist empowers us to question God, to ask why and how and when? and then the psalmist leads us to praise God anyway — to praise in spite of and with our doubts and our questions. 

when we look at all the pain in the world — in our own lives, the lives of loved ones, the lives of those we don’t even know, and in the struggling pulse of all Creation — we feel all sorts of things. Distress, despair, anger, grief. But some of us are afraid to bring those feelings to God. We’d rather avoid the feelings in general, repress them, not sit inside them for a while. (And certainly, we should not wallow in the bad all the time.) Bt when we dare to assign intentional time to sit in those feelings, God sits in them with us. 

And there is a strange thanksgiving in there, too — that we aren’t alone in the lament. We come to see that it is true that God does not will suffering upon any one of us — that the fact that sometimes i experience blessing while you struggle, or you find success while i go without, is not because God is choosing which happy few to bless that day. God really does will abundant life for all, and grieves when sin (individual, systemic, the rot that eats at this world) blocks that abundance for anyone. 

___

in continuing to make time to feel and express gratitude, and then to make time to lament and to both desire and participate in abundance for others, thanksgiving does not elevate me above others as “better” or “more blessed” than they are. instead, gratitude reminds me of how interconnected we are with one another. In the Body we all share, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor 12:26).

___

When abundance wins out in spite of sin, we rejoice! When it is we who enjoy that abundance, our gratitude should not lead to smugness or self-congratulations, but to humility. it should shape us, move us to bring similar abundance to others.

A book that has really helped me understand that concept is Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (which you can read online for free).

Christian texts have told me that the appropriate response to all God’s gifts is gratitude, but it’s Kimmerer’s book that helped me digest and embody just what that means. We acknowledge abundance, and we use that gratitude to connect us to the giver, and to others to whom that giver would also share Their gift.

Here’s one passage from her chapter “The Gift of Strawberries,” starting on page 33 of the webpage linked above:

Even  now,  after  more  than  fifty  Strawberry  Moons,  finding  a patch  of  wild strawberries  still  touches  me  with  a  sensation  of surprise, a feeling of unworthiness and gratitude for the generosity and kindness that comes with an unexpected gift all wrapped in red and green. “Really? For me? Oh, you shouldn’t have.” After fifty years  they  still  raise  the  question  of  how  to respond  to  their generosity.  Sometimes  it  feels  like  a  silly  question  with  a very simple answer: eat them. 

But I know that someone else has wondered these same things. In  our Creation stories  the  origin  of  strawberries  is  important. Skywoman’s  beautiful daughter,  whom  she  carried  in  her  womb from Skyworld, grew on the good green earth, loving and loved by all the other beings. But tragedy befell her when she died giving birth to her twins, Flint and Sapling. Heartbroken, Skywoman buried her beloved daughter in the earth. Her final gifts, our most revered plants, grew from her body. The strawberry arose from her heart.

In  Potawatomi,  the  strawberry  is ode  min, the  heart  berry.  We recognize them as the leaders of the berries, the first to bear fruit.

Strawberries first shaped my view of a world full of gifts simply scattered at your feet. A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it.  And  yet  it  appears.  Your  only  role  is  to  be open-eyed  and present.  Gifts  exist  in  a  realm  of  humility  and  mystery—as with random acts of kindness, we do not know their source.

...Gifts  from  the  earth  or  from  each  other  establish  a  particular relationship,  an  obligation  of  sorts  to  give,  to  receive,  and  to reciprocate. The field gave to us, we gave to my dad, and we tried to give back to the strawberries. When the berry season was done, the plants would send out slender red runners to make new plants.

Because I was fascinated by the way they would travel over the ground looking for good places to take root, I would weed out little patches  of  bare  ground  where  the  runners  touched  down.  Sure enough, tiny little roots would emerge from the runner and by the end of the season there were even more plants, ready to bloom under  the  next  Strawberry  Moon.  No  person  taught us  this—the strawberries  showed  us.  Because  they  had  given  us  a  gift, an ongoing relationship opened between us.

...It’s funny how the nature of an object—let’s say a strawberry or a pair  of  socks—is  so  changed  by  the  way  it  has  come  into  your hands, as a gift or as a commodity. The pair of wool socks that I buy at the store, red and gray striped, are warm and cozy. I might feel grateful for the sheep that made the wool and the worker who ran  the  knitting  machine.  I  hope  so.  But  I  have no inherentobligation  to  those  socks  as  a  commodity,  as  private  property. There is no bond beyond the politely exchanged “thank yous” with the clerk. I have paid for them and our reciprocity ended the minute I handed her the money. The exchange ends once parity has been established, an equal exchange. They become my property. I don’t write a thank-you note to JCPenney.

But what if those very same socks, red and gray striped, were knitted  by  my grandmother  and  given  to  me  as  a  gift?  That changes everything. A gift creates ongoing relationship. I will write a thank-you note. I will take good care of them and if I am a very gracious grandchild I’ll wear them when she visits even if I don’t like them. When it’s her birthday, I will surely make her a gift in return. As  the  scholar  and  writer  Lewis  Hyde  notes,  “It  is  the  cardinal difference  between  gift  and  commodity  exchange  that  a  gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people.”

That  is  the  fundamental  nature  of  gifts:  they  move,  and  their value increases with their passage. The fields made a gift of berries to  us  and  we  made  a  gift  of  them  to  our  father.  The  more something is shared, the greater its value becomes. This is hard to grasp  for  societies  steeped  in notions  of  private  property,  where others are, by definition, excluded from sharing. Practices such as posting  land  against  trespass,  for  example,  are expected  and accepted  in  a  property  economy  but  are  unacceptable  in  an economy where land is seen as a gift to all.

Lewis  Hyde  wonderfully  illustrates  this  dissonance  in  his exploration of the “Indian giver.” This expression, used negatively today as a pejorative for someone who gives something and then wants to have it back,  actually  derives from  a  fascinating  cross- cultural misinterpretation between an indigenous culture operating in a gift economy and a colonial culture predicated on the concept of private property. When gifts were given to the settlers by the Native  inhabitants,  the  recipients  understood  that  they  were valuable and were intended to be retained. Giving them away would have been an affront. But the indigenous people understood the value of the gift to be based in reciprocity and would be affronted if the  gifts  did  not  circulate  back  to  them.  

Many  of  our  ancient teachings counsel that whatever we have been given is supposed to be given away again. From the viewpoint of a private property economy, the “gift” is deemed  to  be  “free”  because  we  obtain  it  free  of  charge,  at  no cost. But in the gift economy, gifts are not free. The essence of the gift is that it creates a set of relationships. The currency of a gift economy is, at its root, reciprocity. In Western thinking, private land is understood to be a “bundle of rights,” whereas in a gift economy property has a “bundle of responsibilities” attached.

...

In  material  fact,  Strawberries  belong  only  to  themselves.  The exchange relationships  we  choose  determine  whether  we  share them  as  a  common gift  or  sell  them  as  a  private  commodity. A great  deal  rests  on  that choice.

For  the  greater  part  of  human history, and in places in the world today, common resources were the rule. But some invented a different story, a social construct in which everything is a commodity to be bought and sold. The market economy  story  has  spread  like  wildfire,  with  uneven  results  for human well-being and devastation for the natural world. But it is just a story we have told ourselves and we are free to tell another, to reclaim the old one.

One  of  these  stories  sustains  the  living  systems  on  which  we depend. One of these stories opens the way to living in gratitude and amazement at the richness and generosity of the world. One of these stories asks us to bestow our own gifts in kind, to celebrate our  kinship  with  the  world.  We  can  choose.  If all  the  world  is  a commodity,  how  poor  we  grow.  When  all  the  world  is  a gift  in motion, how wealthy we become.

[bailey-reaper]

I've said it a few times already, but you write one of the best Baroks I've seen :) he's deceptively hard, but you nail his nuances, and his "in love" version is so cute ❤️ I also love a lot your take on Klint, in my mind your interpretation has become canon. Can I request something slightly different? How do you imagine Barok and Iris' first day as uncle and niece? How would they spend the day, how would they treat each other? :>

Headcanons (Barok's your Uncle, Fanny's not your Aunt)

Notes: 🥺😭 Thank you so much, @beevean! I'm so touched and grateful for your lovely compliment! And I'm delighted that you enjoy my Klint & Barok portrayals! :D ♡ Thank you very much for the request, I hope you enjoy it!

Content Warnings: GAA spoilers

Unlike any arrangement she has with Sholmes (who's always late), Iris is delighted when Barok arrives promptly and even has the courtesy to bring her a gift – of high quality tea leaves. She gratefully takes them and promises to make him a fitting special blend in thanks (he insists she doesn't need to trouble herself, but she's having none of it).

Barok's surprised when Iris presents him with an itinerary of the things they'll be doing – including a visit to London Zoo, afternoon tea and a balloon ride over Hyde Park. Still, he had promised her the entire day and he has no qualms about the events she has in mind. Of course, he insists that he'll be paying even when she politely suggests they split the cost of the day.

They start the outing at a cafe near London Zoo, where Iris has lavender tea and a jam tart while Barok has a cup of drinking chocolate. At first, they're rather... polite, almost wooden, with one another - because it's very odd for both of them to accept that they're no longer the orphans they once perceived themselves to be; they're a family, bound by blood, albeit there's much time to catch up on.

As such, the initial talk is mostly small talk: how Iris tolerates living with Sholmes, confirmation that he has been a reasonably able guardian, etc

Barok makes for intelligent and engaging company, much to Iris' delight, and she says he simply must come over for dinner one day as she believes he'd be a wonderful dinner guest. He accepts, albeit with the caveat that Sholmes has no part in cooking the meal. She assures him he knows the kitchen is out of bounds.

Gradually, as the day progresses, they start to soften toward one another and become more comfortable – not that they mistrusted one another, it's just been such an odd time and at last those earth-shattering events are starting to become part of the past rather than the present.

Iris does notice, however, that Barok is continually glancing over his shoulder and paying particular attention to shadowy backstreets or side roads. Eventually, she asks him about it and Barok confesses that he had his reservations about meeting with her due to his infamy as the 'Reaper of the Bailey'.

Even if that spectre has been largely put to bed in his mind and those present at that closed trial – London's criminal underbelly has no idea about the reaper's true identity and as such they continue to target Barok (despite there being no further murders since then).

She asks him why he allows the Reaper to continue to exist, and he replies that the best thing he can do moving forward is be a deterrent to the criminals of London – "If my being mistaken for a demigod makes life even marginally easier upon the people of London, and reduces the crime that plagues this city, then I believe it is worthwhile even with the risks it poses."

It's rather sad to hear him say such a thing - because it implies, as far as Iris can see, that Barok continues to be at peace with the idea of being hated and feared by most, and ultimately risking being killed at the hands of brutes who don't know the truth.

Not to mention, it means he has no choice but to continually watch his back; and he can't even relax during this outing, which should be a fun affair - "It sounds all together too sad as far as I'm concerned... wouldn't it be better to be 'Barok van Zieks' and... my uncle?"

It's the first time she's actually called him that since she learned the truth, and it's a tentative attempt to see how he responds.

". . . ." at first he's not sure what to say, because it would be much better to be part of a family - of course it would. He smiles, slightly, "... Your uncle, hm? For such a long time I thought I had nothing left in terms of family, and now I'm blessed with an intelligent young niece thanks to my older brother... yes, Iris, I do want to be your uncle and support you in whatever way I can, but, I also intend to continue to fulfill my duty to the public at large as a Crown Prosecutor. Even if I weren't known as the Reaper of the Bailey, my work would still attract hostility as it did for my brother."

He has no delusions about how vile the criminals of London are and the lengths they'll go to in order to continue their enterprises. Strong law enforcement and effective legal procedures make their lives harder, so they would always target anyone in such office -- as they had Klint, and him in a bid to get to his older brother; this had always been a part of his life, ever since he was young.

"So, pray, forgive me if I continue to look over my shoulder..." he'll then turn the conversation to lighter things, like the animals at the zoo, and ask her which is her favourite while picking her up so she can pet a curious giraffe.

By the time the day is over, Iris is fast asleep and Barok dutifully carries her home and tucks her into her bed. Of course he bought her a stuffed toy from the shop at the zoo, and she's cuddling it tightly as she dreams. It's... a heartwarming sight, one that brings a genuine smile to his lips.

"I say," Sholmes will say as Barok closes Iris' bedroom door over, "Who'd have thought the Reaper of the Old Bailey was also the Pied Piper? She seems utterly charmed by you, sir."

"Clearly she's been wanting for intelligent company," Barok will remark pointedly, provoking Sholmes to laugh and heartily agree-- but, he can't quite permit himself to be so cold, "Thank you," he says, quietly, "For taking good care of her. She's becoming a splendid young woman."

Sholmes will simply smile and offer a small bow. No words are needed, after all Iris is a special young lady who has saved them both in different ways.

[pocket-luv101]

Summary: Kuro finds Mahiru asleep in his pub. (KuroMahi, Modern AU)

“It was busy tonight. I’ll close up the kitchen so you can go to study for your exam, JeJe.” Kuro told his brother. The family owned a small pub and they would often work late. He was tired himself but he thought it was important for his siblings to focus on school. “Wrath will get angry at both of us if she thinks that I made you work late instead of doing your school work.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Hyde entered the kitchen and said: “We have a problem with a customer. He’s your regular and he’s asking for you, Kuro.”

“Me?” Kuro wondered what the customer could want with him. He didn’t have anyone he would consider a regular customer either. He rarely worked as a bartender since he preferred to cook in the kitchen. His siblings were better at small talk so he would leave the job to them. The pub was quiet so the customer wasn’t violent or angry. He wiped his hands and said, “Can you tell me what to expect?”

“You’ll call it ‘troublesome’.” Hyde told him and took the hand towel he had been using to wipe the counter. He started to clean the kitchen for him while Kuro stepped out of the room. His brother’s description of the customer was vague and he didn’t know what to expect. At first, he didn’t see who the person was and he thought the bar was empty.

He scanned the room and he noticed someone sitting at the bar with their head resting on the table. It was clear that the person had fallen asleep and Kuro sighed. He didn’t know why Hyde asked him to deal with the customer when he could’ve simply woken the man and called a cab for him. Kuro was glad that the problem wasn’t an angry drunk at least.

He stood next to the sleeping man and lightly shook his shoulder. As the man shook his head, Kuro was able to see his face and he gasped softly. He never expected to see Mahiru again, yet here he was. He could only stare at him while the memories of their relationship came back to him.

They had broken up the month before they graduated high school. The tears that Mahiru had that day still stabbed at his heart and Kuro traced his fingers over his cheek. Mahiru had the opportunity to go to a prestigious college and it would allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer. But the school was in another city. Kuro didn’t want their relationship to hold Mahiru back from accomplishing his dreams. He made the difficult decision to break up.

“Kuro…” Mahiru mumbled his name in his sleep and his voice pulled him out of his memories.

“What am I going to do?” Kuro whispered and ran his hand through his hair. He was still in love with Mahiru so he didn’t know how he could face him after their break up. He didn’t know if he came to the bar to see him again but a small part of him hoped that he had. With a shake of his head, he reminded himself, “Don’t be selfish. Mahiru is better off without you.”

Despite those words, Kuro found himself gravitating to Mahiru. They hadn’t seen each other for a year but he hadn’t changed in that time. His face still had the soft and vulnerable expression whenever he slept and the sight made Kuro feel protective of him. Mahiru moved in his sleep and he almost fell off the stool but then Kuro caught him. “You could’ve chosen a better place to sleep.”

He slipped an arm under Mahiru’s knees and supported his back with his other hand. Slowly, he lifted Mahiru off the chair and took him to a lounge chair in the corner of the bar. When he held him close to his chest, he could smell alcohol on his breath. Had he been drinking before he fell asleep at the bar? He would have to lecture his brother about letting him drink too much.

Kuro was careful to not wake him as he lowered him onto the lounge couch. Then, he took off his jacket and draped it over Mahiru so he would be warm. He sat next to him and considered what he should do. Should he wake him and talk? Would it be best to have one of his siblings wake him and send him home?

They hadn’t spoken since the break up and Kuro wondered if college had been stressful on Mahiru. There were dark circles under his eyes so he was likely tired and needed sleep. He decided that it was best to let him sleep on the couch and watch over him. A part of him knew that he chose to let him sleep so he could avoid facing him again.

Unconsciously, he started to stroke his brown hair like he would in the past. Mahiru’s face relaxed under his touch and the small change squeezed Kuro’s heart. One of the things he loved about Mahiru was how honest his expressions were. Seeing him again brought back the regret he thought he had let go. They would call each other a few times after he moved to his new school but Kuro eventually stopped picking up his phone. It was painful to hear his voice when he couldn’t hold him.

“Kuro…” He spoke again. Mahiru turned on his side and hugged the jacket around him. The subtle scent of spices and seasoning that clung to the jacket reminded him of Kuro. In high school, he would visit him after the bar closed and his clothes would smell like spices from working in the kitchen. He realized that the cushions beneath him felt much stiffer than his bed and he sat up in confusion.

His eyes fell onto Kuro next to him. Mahiru opened his mouth to say his name yet he couldn’t form words. He had imagined a thousand different things he would say to Kuro if he ever met him again. They were a happy couple and he didn’t understand why Kuro suddenly broke up with him. He was upset and angry at first but now he only wanted an explanation.

Kuro was the first to speak. “You fell asleep on the counter and I was worried you would fall off the chair. I moved you onto the couch. Do you have a headache or feel sick? I can call a cab to take you home if you can’t drive. Your eyes look alert but your face is a little flushed.”

“I only had two drinks. That’s not enough to make me drunk even if I’m a lightweight.” Mahiru didn’t tell him that his blush was caused by how close Kuro was. He tried to stand but his legs were a little unsteady beneath him. His gaze fell to the ground in embarrassment and sank back onto the chair. A hand fell over his shoulder and he looked back to Kuro.

There was only kindness in his red eyes and Mahiru bit his lip. “Don’t look at me like that, Kuro. You’re going to give me the wrong idea of how you feel.”

“I’m sorry.” He took his hand back and sat next to him on the couch. Kuro didn’t want to see the pain in his else because he knew he would try to comfort him if he did. He broke his heart and he thought he didn’t deserve to hold him. An awkward silence surrounded them and he searched for something to change the subject. “Are you here on break?”

“The first semester ended and I decided to come home to visit my uncle. I’ve been busy with classes and I haven’t been able to stay in touch with everyone. I should go home before my uncle starts to worry. He isn’t as paranoid as Misono’s dad but I don’t want to make him worry.” Mahiru stood and slipped on the jacket. He didn’t notice that the jacket belonged to Kuro. “The cold air will help me become sober again.”

“I’ll walk you home.” He offered. “It’s dangerous to walk alone in the dark, especially when you’re tipsy. We already closed the bar so my siblings don’t need me here anymore.”

“Thank you.” Mahiru accepted but there was a brief moment of hesitation in his voice. He didn’t say anything further as he stepped out of the bar with Kuro by his side. The cold air made him shiver and he pulled the jacket’s zipper higher. He realized that he had put on Kuro’s jacket unintentionally yet he hadn’t commented on it. He reasoned that he could return the jacket once they reached his home.

He lived only a few blocks from the pub and Mahiru found himself dragging his feet to spend more time with Kuro. When he visited the bar, he hoped he could see Kuro again and speak with him. He ordered a few drinks for courage but he ended up falling asleep on the counter. Mahiru watched Kuro in the corner of his eyes. “How has business been?”

“We’ve gotten more customers. Since I graduated, I’ve been putting more hours into the pub and that helped keep down costs. Hopefully, the pub will bring in enough money to put Hugh and the others through school.” Their father had abandoned their family and Kuro did his best to support his younger siblings. Mahiru knew how important his family was so he couldn’t leave them. “What about you, Mahiru? I heard that your photos were featured in your college’s showcase.”

“Yes. I must’ve taken a thousand photos for the showcase. Art school is more work than people like to joke about.” Mahiru smiled wearily. “I threw myself into my work because I wanted to distract myself from our breakup. I couldn’t fully forget you though. The day I had to choose a photo to submit to the showcase, I came across this old picture. It was the reason I wanted to be a professional photographer.”

Mahiru took out a picture from when they were younger. The edges of the paper were worn from age. In the photograph, Kuro was asleep with a cat resting on his chest. “I wanted to take pictures of experiences and landscapes to share with others. While I was in class, each time I took a photo, I thought ‘I can’t wait to show this to Kuro’. Then I had to remind myself we broke up.”

“You deserve someone better than me, Mahiru.” Kuro stopped walking. “I’m sorry.”

“When you broke up with me, you said that it was because you cheated on me. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now. We’ve known each other for years and you’re not the type to cheat. It’ll be too troublesome.” Mahiru stood in front of Kuro and faced him. He cupped his cheeks and moved his gaze down to him. “Can you lie to my face and say you cheated on me?”

“I…” He started but then he looked into Mahiru’s large eyes. Kuro didn’t know how he was able to lie to him before. He had lied to him when they broke up because he knew Mahiru wouldn’t accept his true reason. He would’ve insisted that they try to have a long distance relationship but Kuro was worried it would hold Mahiru back. “I’m sorry, Mahiru.”

“For cheating or lying to me? Please, Kuro, I need to know why you broke up with me.” His voice started to break in time with his heart. “I loved you and I thought you felt the same way.”

Suddenly, Kuro gathered him into his arms and buried his face into his neck. He held him tight but Mahiru didn’t mind and hugged him in return. He slowly ran his hand down his back to feel his warmth after being apart for so long. Mahiru whispered, “Why did you lie to me?”

“I thought if I hurt you by lying, you wouldn’t have any regrets going to college. That school has been your dream for years. I need to be here to support my siblings and I don’t have a lot to give you. If anything, I’ll hold you back from your dreams.” Kuro didn’t lift his face from his neck and Mahiru could feel his warm breath against his skin.

“I understand, Kuro, I really do. Your family is important to you and I could never ask you to move to Tokyo where my school is. But couldn’t you have talked to me instead of breaking up with me the way you did? It hurt.” Kuro leaned back and tenderly ran his hand over his cheek to comfort him. Mahiru touched his hand and looked up at him.

Mahiru lifted himself onto his toes and kissed Kuro softly. “I could’ve gone to school in Tokyo and still date you. It would’ve been a lot of work but I’m willing to do it if it meant I can be with you. Aren’t we worth the effort?”

“You’re one of the most important things to me.” Kuro brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed his fingertips softly. “I thought I was doing what was best for your future by leaving but I only hurt you. I’m sorry, Mahiru. Will you take me back?”

“That’s the reason I came to your bar.” Mahiru smiled up at him. “Will you stay the night at my apartment? We have a lot to catch up on.”