#but i soooo wanna do another spin where he actually gets to grow up with his daughter

[nyanykamito]

i love expanding on galahd and Niflheim of course straying a wee bit from canon. because its more fun that way I’m a strong believer that canon is meant to be broken. i’ve been bouncing around with ideas for years and they rise and fall. 

i have 2 official fleshed out ffxv ocs but one kinda remains strong because she’s become literally apart of me, darn my love for firecracker oc’s. plus the idea of Cor being a literal dad warms my heart! even if he didn’t get much time with her

so Imma ramble, 

To cushion the angst Dad Cor would cry seeing his daughter take her first steps, her mimicking his facial expressions (espcially grumpy faces), her waiting for him to get back from his missions, falling alseep with his coat draped over her tiny body, her giving lil kisses on his frown lines because she thinks their owwies. Just Cor getting to be wholesome and loved because dammit he deserves it!

Dad cor gives me life and I think he deserves it a hundred percent, since my oc would be older than rest of Lucian kiddos she’d lead the pack....into trouble. lol

Her and Gladio would try to establish a pecking order, she’d win. Before Regis and his wife have kid(s) I imagine she’d be a favorite. trailing behind Regis’s wife and being a little princess. Even King Regis can’t shake her cuteness and the fact that she’s a spitting image of cor...just with curler hair on her head. Of course Cor has to demand to have his daughter back.

not angst, course stuff happens and she gets taken and she spends the rest of her life in  Niflheim. Without the love of her father and mother and really any warmth. Because the empire is a rough place.

Cor gets angry trying to find his sunshine, than quiet because he can’t find anything...and the warmth he had for his little monster now burns him with regret. How could he the Marshall... the immortal man.. how could he not save his little girl? She believed in him, he was her super hero and he let her down.. And now amount of counseling from his friends.. can change that. Everyone tried to help and offer their words but he just kept walking.. oh and this also caused issues with the woman he loved who birthed her so uh yeaaaahh

Bu~uut this way I get to play around with  Niflheim and touch a bit of Galahd. more straying from canon yay. Because I gotta knows more. and i do enjoy some good angst

[inkedtbz]

do me a favor | juyeon

pairing : juyeon x you

genre : exes to lovers au, fluff, maybe sexual tension? idk

word count : 2.5k

SUMMARY : after breaking up a year ago, you and juyeon still found yourselves in love with each other. too stubborn to get back together, your friends decide to take matters into their own hands.

“(Y/n), come on, please?” Eric pleaded, his head tilted like a wounded puppy. He's been following you around the hall for the past ten minutes, pestering you for yet another favor. 

Pretending not to hear, you plugged your earphones one by one as you walked, continuously ignoring his attempts at aegyo, “Sorry, I can't hear you!” 

He groaned, rolling his eyes before rushing in long strides to stop you in your path. Eric extends his arms out, blocking your every attempt to move past him. His lips jut into a pout. “Come on, just one favor. One!”

“Just one favor-” You mocked, imitating his tone. “Yeah, I heard that one before.” Grinning, you shoved him playfully, before going your own way.

Eric grumbled as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Quickly, he sent a message to their newly made group chat. 

ERIC

MISSION FAILED

she just ignored me TT TT

HYUNJAE

are you sure you’re really her best friend?

YOUNGHOON

We have to get them to talk somehow

She keeps whining about him still aND I AM OVER IT

ERIC

YES I AM HER BEST FRIEND

but that’s not important

wHAT WILL WE DO NOW??

_

“Heads up!” Jacob shouted, passing the ball towards him before Haknyeon could steal.

Juyeon usually hung out on the open basketball court after school with his friends, Hyunjae, Jacob and Haknyeon. 

Dribbling the ball between his hands, Juyeon kept his eyes on Hyunjae’s, looking for a way past him. The latter held a solid defense, reaching every now and then to attempt a steal. For a moment, the older’s gaze wavered and it didn’t take long for Juyeon to seize the opportunity. He pivoted, turning by the ball of his foot before running towards the other direction. With no other guards, his way towards the basket was clear. So, he jumped and shot the ball with a flick of his wrist. 

The soft whoosh of the ball going through the net echoed throughout the court. 

“Break! I need a break.” Haknyeon said in between heavy breaths. He sprawled on the ground with Jacob opting to lay beside him.

Juyeon sat on the bench, a smug smile plastered on his features. “Good game.” He nodded towards Hyunjae. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a swig. 

Hyunjae's phone chimed. Making sure to keep the screen facing away from Juyeon, he opened the group chat. After reading the contents, it took all his willpower to resist the urge to facepalm in front of everyone. 

ERIC

YES I AM HER BESTFRIEND

but that’s not important

wHAT WILL WE DO NOW??

Drops of water spilled on the ground, catching Hyunjae's attention. 

“Shit-” Juyeon cursed, crouching down to pick up the bottle. But his eyes were nowhere near the ground. 

Ah, Hyunjae thought. That's why.

You were walking just outside the court, with books held close to your chest. 

Juyeon goes still at the sight of you, his grip on the bottle tightening with each second that passes. His gaze held steady until you were out of sight. Only then did he blink, bringing himself back to reality.

“Man, if you wanted her back, staring isn't gonna do the trick.” Haknyeon said, shaking his head.

“You could, you know, actually talk to her?” Jacob suggested, “Maybe she's still hung over you too.”

“I'm not hung over her!” Juyeon denied, his easy smile becoming a frown upon hearing their words. “Besides,” He muttered, “We broke up a year ago. There's no way she's still into me.”

Hyunjae glanced towards his other friends, who had the same thought. Yeah, right.

ERIC

We better think of a new plan quick!!

YOUNGHOON

She just entered the library!!

An idea popped into Hyunjae's head. Slowly, his lips twitched into a grin as he sent a text.

HYUNJAE

Leave it to me

_

“Juyeon.”

He inclined his head towards the direction of his caller, showing a small smile. A nice, cool shower after a game always puts him in a pleasant mood, even after seeing an ex he may or may not still be into. “Yeah?”

“Would you mind grabbing my notebook from the library? I'd get it myself but my roommate texted me. Says it's urgent.” Hyunjae asked, scratching the back of his nape.

Juyeon closed his gym locker then turned around to face his friend. “But isn't the library closed at this hour?”

“The student part-timer would still be there by this time. He'd let you in.” 

“Alright, I'll get it.” 

Hyunjae grinned, mostly out of satisfaction. Their plan was in motion, and neither of the two knew a single thing. 

After a short walk, Juyeon arrived in the library, a huge hall stacked with different kinds of books. The hall seemed colder when it was closed, the lights were dimmed and the seats usually occupied by busy students were empty. The library wasn't a place he visited often, so he found himself looking around longer than he should.

“Hey, Juyeon. What do you need?” Younghoon asked, cleaning up his work area. He looked ready to leave. 

“Ah, I came to pick up what Hyunjae left behind. I was wondering where he might have been.”

“Check the reference section.” 

“Thanks.” 

He sauntered towards the seemingly endless shelves. Hundreds of wooden ledges holding hefty tomes. Juyeon focused on the label on each section, avoiding the charts and tables that contain information that would make his head spin. 

“Circulation, periodicals…” Juyeon read to himself as he passed each sign. It wasn't until he walked by a hundred more shelves that finally, he reached the reference section. 

Immediately, he rushed towards the reading area and scanned the tables for any notebook that was left behind.

Instead of a notebook, a familiar, not to mention equally surprised, face greeted him. 

“The library's closed. What are you doing here?” You asked, after a few seconds of awkward silence. 

Once the shock faded, you wore an expression of indifference, trying to hide the fact that your heart wanted to beat out of your chest. 

Juyeon gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing as he searched for words. “I could say the same for you.” He retorted.

“Younghoon is my friend too. He lets me stay after hours to do some research.” You said, your voice sounding harder, as if angry. 

“Well, I just came to pick up Hyunjae's notebook. Then I'll be out of your hair.” 

Hyunjae's notebook? You thought, your eyebrows furrowing. “How could he leave his notebook? He was never here.”

He must have seen your expression because he seemed confused as well. Slowly, the two of you realize what your friends have done. The weight of each other's presence dawns on you both, and none of you have an idea what to do.

Juyeon takes a step closer, daring to make the first move. “Listen to me…”

“Juyeon, please.” You said, cutting him off. Your voice threatens to shake, but you keep it steady, not wanting to break. “We broke up a year ago. You don't owe me anything. Not an apology, not this conversation.” 

“You don't want me here.” He said, his resolve crumbling at your words. “Fine, I'll leave.”

You barely nodded, putting all your attention back on your book. You tried to block out the echoes of his footsteps as he walked away. 

No, the truth was you weren't over Juyeon. How could you be? Everyday, you see him around campus. You can't help but miss his smile, his laugh and his warmth whenever he held you in his arms. Every memory you shared was still vivid in your mind, and thinking about them was like rubbing salt on an open wound.

You don't remember why you broke up, not exactly. Perhaps you both weren't ready, maybe you needed space to grow. 

But the funny thing is, space did nothing except make you want him more. So much more that it hurts.

Your train of thought gets interrupted by the urgency in Juyeon's voice as he shouted. “Hey, (y/n). You might want to check this out.”

Curious, you hurried towards him. You stopped in your path when you finally saw Juyeon. A cold wave of panic washed over you when you find him fiddling with the knob on the door. 

“What's going on?” You asked, slowly taking a step closer.

“The door won't budge.”

“Very funny, Juyeon. Open it.”

“I am!” 

You make your way towards the door, shoving him off the knob. You tightly grasp it, twisting it with all your strength. It won't move.

“It's stuck.” You hissed, kicking the door out of frustration. Immediately, you recoil, the pain of the impact taking you aback. “Ow!”

Before you could fall on your ass, Juyeon held his arms out, pulling you close to his chest. “You okay?”

“Fine.” You squeaked, pushing yourself off of him before he could see your reddening cheeks. “How do we get out?”

He took a couple of steps back before taking his phone out. “Hold on, I'll text our friends.”

You simply nodded before leaning on the counter.

JUYEON

I hate all of you

Now get us out of here 

YOUNGHOON

No way

ERIC

We're tired of your whining

Both of you

HYUNJAE

No one's getting out until you patch things up

ERIC 

You have all night !!! ; )

YOUNGHOON

ERIC NO

I don't wanna clean any messes

HYUNJAE

Gross

Soooo yea

you're stuck there

HAVE FUN

Juyeon groaned before keeping his phone in his pocket. He sat on a chair across from where you were standing. “We have useless friends.” He said, sighing.

“Yeah, I thought as much.”

Again, an awkward silence settled in the room. Both of you had much to say, but neither had the nerve to attempt anything, much less bridge the gap that had formed over the past few months. 

“I'm cold.” was all you could say. 

Juyeon's expression softened, his dark eyes filling with worry as he remembered how cold you easily get. He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to you, still keeping a careful distance. “Here.”

“Thanks.” You nodded gratefully before taking it from his hand. A familiar, comforting scent washed over you as you placed his coat on your shoulders. Perhaps it wasn't just the jacket, but you felt warmer already. 

“Can we talk now?” Juyeon asked, turning his eyes to the floor as he took in a sharp breath, as if preparing himself for rejection. 

You nodded, “It's not like we have anything better to do.”

“Right.” He chuckled, combing his fingers through his hair as he finally made eye contact with you. “How have you been?”

Good. But probably better with you. You thought. “Busy.” You replied instead. “I've had a couple of projects here and there, so I've been occupied. How about you?”

“The same.” He nodded, his eyes drilling onto yours, as if reading your thoughts. You wish he couldn't. Otherwise, he'd know how much you were holding yourself back. 

His lips formed a soft, sad smile. “You look great, by the way. Our time apart was good to you.”

“Then, it must have been good to you too,” You admitted, shifting your gaze down towards your fingers, which were nervously fidgeting on the hem of your shirt. You could feel the intensity of his stare, even when you weren't looking. “You can move closer if you like.”

“Like this?” He asked, standing up to take a step closer. 

You shook your head, noting the amused tone in Juyeon's voice. “Closer.”

He moved a few inches closer, and yet he was still out of arms reach. “This close?”

You lift your chin up, daring to look him in the eye as you uttered the next words. “Come as close as you want.”

Suddenly, everything was a blur. A moment ago, he was across from you, staring with a gaze intense enough to make anyone feel small. Now, he had you pinned on the counter, trapping you in between his arms. Your eyes were like magnets, not one daring to break contact.

You could feel his every breath brush over your face. Yet somehow, you felt he wasn't close enough. 

“Can I kiss you?” Juyeon whispered, his gaze flitting over to your lips. 

“Please.”

You felt your breath catch as he leans closer. Your eyes flutter shut when you feel his lips press firmly on yours. The sound of your beating heart faded in the background, and all you can think about was how soft his lips were when they moved in sync with yours, and how his arms slowly wrapped themselves around your waist, holding you flush against his body. 

As for Juyeon, he could hardly believe that he was talking to you again, let alone kissing you in an empty library. His mind was blank and all he could feel was your fingers pulling on his hair as you claimed his mouth hungrily. He felt weak as you moved against each other, finally realizing how much he wanted this for so damn long, but then again, he had always been weak for you. You could ask for the world and he'd give it to you on a silver platter.

With heaving breaths, you both pull away, opting to press your forehead against each others. You look at him and you see his mussed hair and swollen lips, you could imagine that you looked the same, probably worse. But you didn't care, you just kissed Juyeon, and you were happy about it.

“I've wanted to do that again for so long.” He admitted between breaths, his lips curling into a shy smile.

“Me too,” You whispered, offering a smile of your own. 

“What does this mean for us?” He asked, his eyes searching yours for an answer he wants to hear. “I want to make us work. I was so stupid to let you go.”

“So stupid,” You nodded, resisting the urge to smile, “Let's try again, Juyeon.”

He leaned in for a soft peck on your lips, trailing a finger on your cheek as he smiled with eyes only for you. 

You don't remember falling asleep. But you do recall cuddling on one of the library's loveseats, sharing whispers and long, slow kisses in the dead of night. 

_

“IT WORKED. OUR PLAN WORKED!”

“Shh. You're in a library, Eric. Shut up.” 

Eric's voice made you jump. Your eyes snapped open and you sat straight up, startling Juyeon, who rolled off and fell on the hard floor. 

“Ugh- what's going on?” He groaned, nursing his shoulder, which took most of the impact. 

You rubbed the sleep away from your eyes and gasped at the sight of your friends grinning stupidly at the two of you. 

“Did you have fun last night?” Hyunjae teased, wiggling his eyebrows. 

You ignored them and gave Juyeon a peck on the cheek, “I gotta go shower. I have class. I'll see you later.” 

He nodded and watched you leave, but not before seeing you flip the finger towards your friends, who responded with laughter.

“So, how was it?” Younghoon asked, his eyes scanning his tangled hair and puffy lips. “I'm guessing you patched things up.”

“I'm not doing any of you a favor ever again.” Juyeon said, before sighing. “But… thanks.”

A huge cheer erupted from his group of friends, and Juyeon tried not to be embarrassed from the sharp glares they received from various sleep-deprived students occupying the library. 

But he let his friends have their moment, he owed them after all.

[need-a-fugue]

We Grow Together (18)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tessa Sullivan (OFC)

Chapter Summary: A romantic getaway goes just a wee bit awry…

Summary: Relationships can be tough, especially when one person is a recovering-from-being-brainwashed-and-tortured former assassin and the other is an overworked mutant scientist. But hey, every couple has their struggles. Right?

Tony’s house is absolutely amazing. Of course, it’s far more than just another getaway spot for the billionaire. It’s the first of several planned (extremely) high-end villas in one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world. “He’s actually going to start a resort,” Tessa hums in awe as they enter the ocean-side palace.

“That is correct,” says a voice coming from… somewhere. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the slightly accented voice goes on after noticing the startled response from Bucky. Tessa is too busy exploring her new surroundings to pay much attention to the computerized creation. Besides, she talks to Friday so much that having a voice in the walls somehow seems completely normal to her. “My name is Nisa.”

Bucky grunts in response. “Makes sense,” he mutters. “When in Rome…”

“Oh, you are not in Rome, sir. You are in Baa Atoll, the Maldives.”

“Thank you,” he deadpans as he finds the master suite and drops off their luggage.

“You’re welcome. Would you like to know a bit about the area?”

In unison, both Bucky and Tessa respond… he with an adamant “No,” and she with an excited, “Yes, please.”

“Perhaps I’ll give you some time to settle into the villa first,” Nisa suggests. “Your chef will arrive at six to prepare your first meal.” Chef, Tessa mouths to Bucky, a look of pure joy on her face. “Until then, you have the villa and surrounding beach to yourselves. Please do let me know if there’s anything I can assist you with.”

“Thank you, Nisa!” Tessa flops down on the king-size bed, splaying her arms and legs out as far as they’ll go. “It’s huge,” she breathes out, turning to roll over onto her stomach. She looks over at Bucky, who’s standing nervously in the doorway, and wiggles her eyebrows at him. “Wanna take it for a spin?”

“It doesn’t make you nervous at all? All of the… tech? The disembodied voices?” He pushes off the doorframe and moves to the side of the bed.

She army crawls over to him and reaches her hands around to grab onto his upper thighs. “Nope,” she says, tugging at him.

He lays his hands on her shoulders to steady himself, seemingly unfazed by her attempts to get him into the bed. His eyes ping suspiciously around the room. “I feel like Stark could be watching us.”

“Ugh,” she lets out dramatically, dropping her hold on him and sitting up onto her knees. “That’s gross.” She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in for a long, deep kiss. When she releases him and sits back on her heels, she can see that his face is only a teeny bit more relaxed. She rolls her eyes. “Tony’s a lot of things. But he’s not a voyeur.” She scoots to the edge of the bed and jumps up. “His life is far too exciting for him to care about what other people do with theirs.”

“Where are you going?” He spins around to follow her as she glides through the double glass doors. Just outside of the bedroom is a large deck that overlooks the ocean. At the edge of the deck, built into the steep rock face is an infinity pool surrounded by the most beautiful tropical garden.

“I’m dead,” she states, standing stark still in the center of the deck. “I’ve died and gone to Heaven.”

She turns around and takes in Bucky’s expression. He’s gazing out over the serene blue waters, the bright white beach that lies below. He doesn’t seem quite as awestruck as she is, but his face is noticeably more relaxed, and intrigued. He shifts his gaze to her and his face softens even further, a genuine smile taking over. “We should probably go for a swim,” he states simply, a glimmer in his eye.

Tessa takes no time at all stripping down, flipping her flats off and launching them across the deck as she shimmies out of her pants. She doesn’t bother to undo the buttons on her linen shirt, opting instead to yank it off along with the tight tank top underneath. But she somehow gets caught in the two shirts and Bucky has to come rescue her.

He’s laughing like a maniac as he helps to peel the clothing off of her. In the process, some of her hair gets stuck between the metal plates of his palm and she screeches in pain. That only makes him laugh harder. “Hold on,” he says, somewhat out of breath. “Just give me a sec.” And he works the clump of hair loose with his right hand.

Once she’s free, she shakes out her hair and reaches around to undo her bra. “You’re still dressed,” she chides him, noting that he hasn’t so much as removed his shoes.

“Yeah, well, I was going to go inside and change. I didn’t realize we brought bathing suits for nothing.”

She tosses him her bra and shimmies out of her panties. “You heard the disembodied voice. We have the whole place to ourselves.” She cocks a single brow at him and puts her hands on her naked hips. “There are no clothes needed in Heaven,” she says. “So I plan to stay naked all day.”

He breathes out deeply, wide smirk on his face. “I have never loved you more than I do right now,” he says before quickly shedding his shoes and running full force at her. She squeals with surprise as he grabs her and leaps into the pool.

They spend the next several hours either in the pool or right beside it, laughing, kissing, talking, and baking in the sun. They lose all track of time until Nisa calls out to them to tell them that their dinner is ready and waiting in out on the front terrace. Tessa throws on a T-shirt and nothing else. And Bucky can barely focus on anything but that fact… until he actually takes a bite of the food.

“Oh my God,” Tessa moans out, mouth full. “I feel so bad eating this, but it’s soooo good.” She looks over at him and sees a similar look of delight on his face.

“Is it the fact that it still has a face that makes it so much better than other fish?”

“It’s staring at me,” she says, tearing into it with her fork. “But I can’t stop.”

It may well be the best meal either of them has ever eaten.

They head back to the pool after and watch the sun set from matching lounge chairs. Just as Bucky’s about to drift off, he hears the creak of the chair and feels the weight of his girl in his lap. She squeezes her knees tight around his hips and leans down to nibble at his neck. “Wake up,” she whispers in his ear as her fingers lazily drift around his waistband. He grins and sighs contentedly, but doesn’t open his eyes. “I’m naked again,” she singsongs, sitting back on her heels.

He brings both of his hands up to the small of her back and slowly blinks his eyes open. The moon is very nearly full and almost every star is visible in the sky. But all he can see is the beauty sitting before him, her skin luminescent in the moonlight. He runs his fingertips delicately up her sides and tenderly cups each breast. But he makes no move to sit upright, or to speak, or to do anything other than silently gaze up at her.

“What, baby?” she asks with a small frown. “What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head and lets out a little laugh. “Absolutely nothing in the world,” he tells her before wrapping her up in his arms and carrying her inside.

000

The rest of their trip is… less than ideal.

They begin Day 2 by waking to crisp, warm sunshine beaming in through the glass doors. Another day in paradise. They decide to start the day with a shower. Together. But the huge rain shower is freshly minted with the smoothest of granite, and the moment that Bucky makes a move to hike Tessa up around his hips, his heel slides out from under him. They both go down. Hard. Bucky splits the back of his head open on the corner of the built-in bench and bleeds everywhere.

“Just stop,” Tessa tells him as he tries to stand back up. “Wait.” She hurriedly tries to scurry over him to get out of the shower and grab some towels. But her feet fly out from under her as well and she drops a knee into Bucky’s gut, knocking the wind out of him.

By the time she manages to get him into bed, the bathroom looks like a murder scene. He refuses any sort of medical treatment – it’ll heal on its own – so she quickly dresses the wound with some gauze from the first aid kit that Nisa directed them to, and positions a towel behind his head in case the dressing starts to weep.

Tessa spends the next hour and a half scrubbing the bathroom. Bucky spends the rest of the day lying in bed, watching as the ceiling spins above him.

That night he starts to feel better, so they take dinner out on the terrace again. It’s amazing and delicious and absolutely perfect. And it seems that their shit day is about to become just another sad, silly memory. Bucky’s already joking about how the worst part was her knobby knee collapsing his diaphragm.

At the dinner table, Tessa embarks on a journey of self-discovery. First, she unearths a new favorite food.

“How have you never had mango?” Bucky asks her.

“I don’t know,” she replies with cheeks full of the sweet, succulent fruit. “But I’m never gonna stop eating it.”

Just a few short minutes later, she makes another discovery – she’s deathly allergic to mango.

They spend the next several hours at the closest hospital. It is not the nice tourist hospital where westerners are treated like the rich near-royalty they often are. This is the place the locals go, and poor locals at that. Neither of them are at all convinced that they’ll make it out of there without a raging staph infection. By the time they finally get back to the villa, it’s almost sunrise and Tessa has so much Benadryl in her system that Bucky has to carry her to bed.

Day 3 consists of Tessa, still somewhat puffy, tossing and turning and scratching at hives while Bucky hangs out by the pool. He falls asleep in the mid-afternoon sun, his metal arm uncovered as it lies beside him on the wooden lounge chair. No big deal. Until he shifts in his sleep and rolls over onto the arm, giving himself a massive second-degree burn across his torso.

Day 4 starts out with Tessa demanding that they get out and do something fun. “Let’s go snorkeling!” she tries.

But Bucky hates the water. Well, he hates the idea of being under the water. Ever since Steve almost drown at Coney Island and he went in after him and got sucked out by a riptide. So… “No. No way in hell.”

The compromise, it seems, is to sit on the beach together all afternoon, silently stewing.

The moment they arrive back at the villa, Nisa tells Tessa that she’s had several phone calls and texts come in from New York. “It’s Claire,” she tells Bucky, as though mentioning the name of her assistant is enough to explain why she has to spend the next four hours combing through some sort of statistical analysis of something on her laptop.

And how is it that the laptop is even here? “I thought I took that out of your bag,” he says, watching her from the doorway to the sitting room. His arms are folded over his chest, his face drawn and pinched.

“You did,” she responds shortly. “Which was rude.” She looks back up at him, takes in his almost threatening posture, and lets out a long, frustrated sigh. “I repacked it,” she says simply, turning her focus to her work.

They do not eat dinner together on the terrace that night.

Day 5, the final day, begins with Bucky waking to find the bed empty, save a note that says simply, Went for a swim. He heads to the far end of the deck that overlooks the beach below, and he sees her lazily floating on her back about thirty feet out. Every so often she rolls over and freestyles against the current for several minutes before pausing to catch her breath and bask in the early morning sun. Then she lets go again and floats closer to the shore. He watches her intently. Observes how relaxed she seems as she lets the ocean guide her, falling back against the waiting water so it can pull her back to where she started. Then, all at once, she’s at it again, fighting the tide, straining to move forward, struggling to get… somewhere.

He shakes his head and lets out a strange, small laugh. “You and me both, babe,” he mutters under his breath. “You and me both.”

[kida-oftheworld-blog]

Chapter 5: A Party That Never Ends With a Host That Never Dies

[in which Kida makes a stand and things come to an end]

Get up to date: Chapter 1: News Cycle (Hellscape) Chapter 1.5: A Weird-Form Interlude Chapter 2: The Master of My Own Domain (Dreamscape) Chapter 3: Whats in the booox? (Lifescape) Chapter 4: Help From Another World Chapter 4.5: Interlude: The Other World Reaction

[tw: violent imagery but nothing gory? its a showdown guys, use your judgement here. know your limit, play within it || Word count: 5170]

@thedipster

KIDA

Kida knew better than to jump through a box-portal and not bend her knees to brace herself for impact. After all, she hadn’t been born yesterday, but that didn’t mean the landing still didn’t hurt. She didn’t get how a sphere so close to the ground could still seemingly spit her out from so high-up, but that was beyond the point. Cause she was back in Swynlake. Beautiful, partially-2D, torn-sky Swynlake. It wasn’t exactly the home sweet home she had been hoping for upon her return. But that was fine. She still had a plan. More like the outline of a plan, really.

See, there wasn’t a sphere in the sky that she hadn’t ventured into yet. They were all accounted for. Over the buildings she could make out the two first spheres she had come from amongst the bobbing heads of too-tall-to-be-fair demons. One of those heads happened to be heading in her direction, actually, which meant it was time to go. Where, exactly? Kida wasn’t 100% sure. But if she had learned anything from what had happened so far, her best bet was probably the pyramid in the sky. That, of all things, looked like the climax scenario she had been anticipating.

The little side street she had been spat out onto spilled directly onto the road running towards the pyramid in the sky. She turned the corner, figuring that once she got closer she’d be able to figure out a way to climb onto it but--that didn’t seem to be necessary. Where the main road met the avenue that ran perpendicular to it, a doorway had seemingly opened up out of thin air.

Every ounce of Kida’s rational instincts screamed TRAP! TRAP! TRAP! TRAP! and it was probably right.

But what did she have to lose? Three triangle runes in her possession and she was gonna get scared away by an ominous looking staircase? No. Definitely not. The sound of footsteps drew nearer to her and without a single doubt, Kida barrelled down the street at full speed. She crossed the threshold onto the first step, and immediately her body was her own again. Just as immediately, though, the doorway closed behind her, and the only way left to go--was up. With less of the bravado that she had bared just moments ago, Kida climbed all the way up until the stairs levelled out into a singular playing field. Not blank, but not completely full, either. Just seemingly formed by the great tear some ways off in the distance. And for a moment, Kida was seemingly--alone. Alone-ish.

BILL CIPHER

Someone had been chosen.

Bill was aware of this the moment it happened and he knew that she would be coming. He knew that she would collect the runes, knew that she would do it successfully. Knew that in the Other World, someone would be pulling the strings. Knew that, ultimately, he would be defeated, everyone would clap, and he would be but a memory.

But dammit, if he wasn’t going to make this a helluva time.

And dammit, if he wasn’t gonna try to stick around.

He sat atop a great throne, in the Mindscape he’d formed from the collective consciousness of all those involved in this process--the ones in this world, and the ones controlling them in the Other World.

The throne hovered and below it was Dipper’s still body.

Bill sat, spindly legs crossed, spindly fingers tapping on the arms of his throne.

And towards the edge of the Mindscape, he felt a tug. Someone had entered. It was Her--the Chosen One. Like, literally, they chose her.

He narrowed his eye--well, as well as he could narrow his eye--and with a snap of his fingers, he and Dipper’s body shimmered in their current plane, reappearing in front of the girl.

“Well, well, well,” said Bill, growing larger in size and hovering over the girl. He wriggled his fingers, studying his opponent. He wondered why she’d been chosen, of all of them, but he didn’t question the forces behind the Other World; they had more power than him, ultimately.

“I thought you’d come with a trident or a sword or somethin’” cackled Bill. “That’d be a way to do it--stab me in the eye, eh?” The chuckled turned into a low growl. “But no. Just you, Kiddo. Get it--’cuz that’s almost your name? Hahaha, I crack myself up.”

Now truth be told, Bill didn’t know as much about this one as he knew about Dipper or as much as he knew about some of the other citizens of this world. And as he tried to scan for more information, tried to read the old posts, he found he was drawing a blank.

It was those tasks.

They were serving as a blocker. He couldn’t read all her information. He couldn’t find a weakness. He couldn’t hack her.

But he wasn’t gonna let her know that.

“Soooo,” he said, shrinking down a little smaller and bobbing right in front of her. “What’s it gonna be, Princess? You got a secret blaster or somethin’? Gonna spin some magic on me? I’m excited for this.”

KIDA

The more she looked, the more Kida thought she could make something out in the distance. But before she could figure out what exactly it was: it was gone. Disappeared in a shimmering light--and then reappeared. Right in front of her.

So that’s what she was up against, huh? That was… You know, arguably not as scary as the other demons that had been roaming around Swynlake since the beginning. Off the bat, Kida wasn’t terrified, or anything. But then she got to thinking about it, and well, really the point wasn’t that this thing was particularly scary, it was about what it could do. If this was the source, then it had torn the sky open and set hell upon the town. The triangle in front of her wasn’t scary, but that--all of that--was. Kida got that. But she didn’t move a muscle.

Standing there, for the first time, the runes were heavy in her pocket. She’d need them eventually. But not yet.

Kida’s eyes flicked around, following the triangle as it talked. As it entertained. Cause that’s what it felt like. Like he was some kind of host, as if Kida was just part of the show.

“Yeah-- uh, no.” She replied, cutting it off before it launched into the second act of its speech. If there was gonna be exposition, it was gonna be on her own terms, thanks.

“I’m not really the…” Kida lifted a hand up, let it fall back down against her thigh. “Fighting type, if I can swing it. I’m here to--to talk, actually.”

BILL CIPHER

Bill blinked. (Or was it winked--really, he only had one eye, so was it winking or blinking?)

He bobbed a bit in the air, then rested his hands on the lower part of his form (his hips, one could say, if he did have hips), eyeing this...girl. Character. Person. Thing. Carbon-based lifeform. Sack of meat. Pixels on a screen. Formless creature made up only of words and thoughts. Animator’s sketch. Cells of paint.

She was a lot of things to Bill, but he while he could see all of those, he couldn’t look closer at the one that actually mattered. Which was, really, NOT FAIR, c’mon.

“Alright,” said Bill, lowering himself a little. “Let’s talk.” He let out a low chuckle. “Do you realize my game yet? That’ll be my one regret if you do defeat me--that no one figured it out. No one saw their true potential.” He bounced a bit, circling around her slightly, but keeping his distance.

“But, maybe I’m having too much fate in you--alright, let’s hear it, what do you wanna say that’s gonna make me tremble?”

KIDA

Kida didn’t know what she was getting herself into. Figuring her way out of those orbs, walking up those stairs, she had imagined that it was at this point that things were gonna start making sense. Things like this were supposed to fit together like puzzle pieces, weren’t they? The rip in the sky and the demons and the spheres, they were all supposed to come together with one grand speech, but it felt like this thing was just speaking in riddles. Riddles, for the record, that didn’t make any sense to her. In a way it felt just like… Chatter.

That being said, that was why she was here to talk. There was always sense to be found in something and if nothing else--if she was gonna die here, as unlikely as that was, she wasn’t going to go out without having at least edged her way towards the truth.

As it circled her, she didn’t hurry to keep it in her sights, instead only lazily moving her head to spot it as it passed. She hoped she wouldn’t need much more than that.

Kida laughed a bit, just lightly enough to convey her amusement. Cause she was amused, mainly by the impression this thing seemingly had of her.

“That’s still not my goal,” She corrected, shaking her head. “But since you’re giving me the chance, I guess we’ll start with… What’s the point?”

Kida paused, raised an eyebrow. “Of this. To be clear. Not what’s the point of life--unless you happen to have answers for that, too.”

BILL CIPHER

“There is no point, that’s the point!” cackled Bill. “All of this--pointless. We’re just wasting our time here, all of us, you and me and this bag o’ meat down here.” He swooped down to Dipper, who stirred feebly.

“None of it has meaning, Kida-Kiddo,” he said, rising back up again. “Not my grand scheme, not the words that are writing out your life right now--everything’s just for the fun of it. Might as well have fun, ya know, if your very existence literally is just for plot purposes, amirite?”

<<That’s right. That’s not just from me to Kida--it’s me to all of you suckers there on your laptops and on your phones--your existence means nothing. Might as well have some fun, eh? (that ‘eh’ was for you, Sam, get it, it’s Canadian)>>

“We’re all gonna die--even me. I’ll fade out from imagination, one day, and be a memory of a memory. Y’all will too. Maybe they’ll think of us from time to time, games they played in their younger days. But we will cease to exist.” He turned away from Kida, now, looking up into the Mindscape--the twisting pathways that led to nowhere (though it could very easily be a foggy cloud of consciousness, though it could very easily be black nothingness, it just depeneded on what was written)--then swiveled back to Kida.

“So the point? To have some fun.”

KIDA

Kida narrowed her eyes at this thing as it spoke. Not maliciously, but more like she was doubtful of what it was saying. Cause, plainly, she was.

That kind of thinking irked her. And not just the whole nothing matters part of it--for which she had literally hundreds of years of teaching telling her otherwise--but just all of it. The bleakness of it up unto the driving force and the actions that came of it just didn’t make sense to her. If there wasn’t a point, wasn’t the joy of life arguing with the very fabric that said so? If there wasn’t a point, why did that seemingly justify terrible actions? If there wasn’t a point, did that mean that you shouldn’t have morals? That because nothing mattered, you were excused for your actions?

She didn’t think so.

“I--alright. To have fun. That’s fair.” Kida stepped forwards, not following it per se, but making her own path towards the nothingness beyond them. There wasn’t anything out there, was there? She--could ask that later. Maybe. Didn’t matter right now, since apparently nothing ever mattered anyway, right? Wrong.

She glanced over at the body on the floor--and then up at the triangle.

“But, of all things--why have fun like this? Why not something less…” She waved a hand vaguely through the air. “End of the world-y?”

BILL CIPHER

“Hey, no one’s dead--or even dying, might I add. Everyone’s having some fun! Got cool powers and new forms. Far as I’m concerned, this is the best apocalypse you guys have had in the past three years.”

If he could narrow his eye, he would’ve. Instead, it sorta just crinkled up slightly, and he drifted higher in the air, like a balloon that slipped out of a small child’s hand. He rose about a full Kida’s height above Kida, a full Kida’s length distance away from Kida, and grew to a full Kida’s size larger than Kida.

“Is this your plan, kiddo? Get me talking about my grand master vision? Not that I don’t mind talking--love it, in fact. I could talk about myself all darn day!” He cackled, rubbing his fingers together. “I’m gonna miss this--she’s gonna miss me, ya know? You all are, when this is done and over.” He sighed, dropping his hands down and hanging in the air for a moment.

He blinked, then shimmered a little, for no other reason than he wanted to shimmer for one last time possibly.

“Please tell me you’re gonna whip out that trident now,” said Bill. “I’d rather this was quick and gloriously gory.”

KIDA

Yeah, Kida thought, I sure was having a lot of fun watching my kingdom be destroyed over and over and over again. That--she was still painfully sour in regards to that. It was the kind of vision that required a letter home and whole bunch of extra money in express postage but that was besides the point. The point had to stay in the present. She couldn’t afford to have it go drifting off into the ether where this thing was likely to find a way to scoop it up and use it in its favour.

She didn’t want to be doing it any favours. Didn’t feel like it deserved that much.

Course, neither did she, which was why this whole thing was such a pain.

It rose into the air, and Kida--sat down. Making herself comfortable. As far as anyone watching could tell, she was unperturbed. Unsure, maybe, but not worried about it. She leaned back onto her hands and stretched out her legs in front of herself, crossing them at the ankles. Kida disregarded its last requests and tilted her head up at it.

“Who’s she?”

BILL CIPHER

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” cackled Bill. He peered at Kida, drifting a little closer. Maybe he’d indulge her.

“There’s forces beyond what you and your tiny one-dimensional brain can understand here,” he said. And if his voice could be kind, it dipped sorta-kinda into it now--not in an actual kind way, but like she was some small child and he was showing her how to do a basic task. “There’s dimensions within your own--then there’s ones that go above and below and all around. You can cross the ones in your own, but not above or below--if you even think about them too much, your tiny little mind will explode.”

He chuckled a little, swerving a bit down for dramatic effect.

“This was my way of pulling those above and below worlds to intermingle with yours, kinda, sorta,” he said, then turned back around. “That answer your question, kiddo?”

KIDA

Kida hummed under her breath. That was better than expected, actually. Two answers for the price of one--and extensive ones at that. This thing spoke of dimensions and higher powers and twisting all of these things to play along with its own sick little game. From where she sat, it seemed like it fancied itself some kind of god.

Was it, though?

Kida doubted an answer that simple.

“Mm, more or less.” She conceded, keeping most of her suspicions veiled inside of herself.

This thing was a--demon, probably. Given the runes and given the, well, the other demons running around Swynlake as she spoke, but it wasn’t anything like those.

(And for a fraction of a second Kida wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew.)

“What about--” She jerked her head back towards the seemingly lifeless body on the ground. “What’s with the kid?”

BILL CIPHER

Bill had actually forgotten about Dipper. He glanced downwards, his body tilting slightly at an angle, his luminous pupil dipping towards Dipper’s still form.

“Oh, him? Yeah, well I needed a way into this world and Dipper here won’t admit it, but he wanted to know all about the aboves and belows and inside-outs and what not.” Bill straightened back up, eye crinkling, and shrugged his little black arms.

“A deal’s a deal, ya know? He gets infinite knowledge, I get to exist. We might be tricksters, but we hold up our ends.”

This was not entirely the truth of the matter; technically this time around, Milo had summoned Bill. Still, he’d gotten what he wanted -- his dead girlfriend. The first time round, Dipper had gotten what he’d wanted -- infinite knowledge. Never mind that it faded away when Bill had been banished. Dipper still had a sense of it though, a craving for something he could never quite know and never would know (which was enough to have kept the remnant of Bill there in the first palce, which was how the summoning this time had been easier; he just needed someone particularly desperate enough).

But enough exposition--

“He’ll be fine,” said Bill, dropping a little closer to Dipper, who let out a small murmur, and reached a hand to pat him on the head. “Just overwhelmed with infinite knowledge, ya know?”

He bobbed back up.

“Anyway, you a therapist or something? Tryin’ to psychoanalyze my plans for universal domination?”

KIDA

She shook her head.

“No, I’m just trying make sure I have all my bases covered, you know? The whys and the whats and the immediate courses of action and things like that...” The list of things like that  ran pretty straight forwards in her head as she compiled information.

Use the runes to do whatever the runes were used for-- because there had to be some point to them. Nothing appeared and disappeared out of nowhere to only ever be used at mantel decorations or coasters.

Take out the triangle (this one was still kind of wishy washy, though Kida wasn’t completely without ideas. It just kind of depended on number 1.)

Probably watch the plane disintegrate around her

Tend to the kid if he needed tending to, which, if he did, Kida hoped that that thing had at least been truthful in that he wasn’t that poorly off. Really though, why did she have any reason to trust it?

“So just to make sure I got this straight, you used the kid to get here, and upon arrival you took the world that was yours for the taking because--why not? That’s a uh--hell of a story. It’ll make for great content, you know?” Kida wasn’t actually considering posting any of the nitty gritty of this on her blog. It didn’t feel--quite right. She’d write it down for herself to remembered, but publishing things like this took tact that she didn’t have, and a open-book policy that she couldn’t quite uphold.

Maybe this one was just hers, for once.

She pushed herself off of her hands and crossed her legs in front of herself. She slipped one hand into her pockets, and came right back out easily with the three runes in the palm of her hand.

“You said infinite knowledge, yeah? Any idea how it all ends?”

BILL CIPHER

Bill did, in fact, know how it was going to end. He’d known from the moment he popped into this universe back in August -- no, even before that, when he was just a passing thought being pulled into creation. There was always going to be an end for him.

That’s how it had been in his first universe, how it had been in the ones after that (there were some weird ones out there, though, where that was not the case, but he sorta preferred the ones where it was), how it would be in this one.

Bill knew that everyone was expecting an epic showdown--lasers and lights and loud noises and the like.

Bill knew that it would end, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

And that he would be added as a footnote when they explained what happened to someone new. That they would talk about him still and they would say they missed him, but ultimately, he would just be words on a screen.

“It ends,” he said, simply. “I end.” He cackled a little, eye drifting up to the space of the Mindscape, the fixed it right on Kida. “Make it a good one, eh? Worth a read, make ‘em talk about us.”

KIDA

In hindsight, she shouldn’t have expected anything less. It took more than a conversation to get to know someone, but when this thing’s M.O seemed to be anything goes--Kida should’ve expected the same, here. She should’ve expected the solemn words, even as she had been hoping for the opposite. It was much easier to take someone out if you couldn’t find any sympathy. Kida had too much of it for her own good, she figured, but not enough to think twice about her plan. There was a pang, for just a moment, and then there were many more for the people still in town--for the rest of the world.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and this thing had no right to take the world for it’s own just because it could.

Kida could feel it’s bulging eye staring down at her as she laid the runes on the ground all the same. There were three triangles on the ground, and one in the sky. How convenient. She clicked them together like a dream, and from the puzzle came a single triangle, with a perfect space in the middle.

“I can’t make any guarantees.” She said.

The runes began to glow with that same dull light as the spheres, and Kida took that as her sign to back up. She scrambled up onto her feet at the runes expanded and expanded and slowly righted themselves until they stood tall in the void, at which point they began to rise.

BILL CIPHER

There were things he could do to delay her.

He could conjure up a swarm of neon-colored squirrels, swirling in tornado formation and chewing up the very fabric of this reality into a million-trillion-gazillion squirrel-chewed pieces. He could call upon a storm of past-selves and current-selves and future-selves and alter-selves and a-whole-lotta other selves and overwhelm them all with the sheer selve-ness of the whole situation. He could blast them into a total other reality where they’d be suspended in time and space and words and not be able to move or think

or act or anything because they didn’t belong there and would not ever belong there, so they’d be in an eternal state of half-existence, existing in one reality but being in another.

But he couldn’t really do any of those things, because right as he decided on the squirrels, the final piece of it all -- the one that Kida didn’t know about, couldn’t know about -- was completed and in another reality, he felt himself violently shaken and tossed and in this one, he froze --

And Kida completed the triangles.

“Aw shit!” Bill cried, as the triangles locked together and rose into the air. His one eye grew wide as the triangles closed in around him, trapping him in the space between them. He let out a scream, low at first, but growing rough and loud, ripping through the air, through time and space, reverberating in the collective consciousness of the Mindscape.

(Feel that chill? The one you get out of nowhere in the middle of the day, when the air is otherwise warm? That’s Bill Cipher’s scream echoing through time.)

As he screamed, his lines bled to his main coloring, the yellow turning black, the black lines of his curves turning red--his eye inverted, the white turning black, the black turning white and expanding and flashing red as he struggled between the bonds.

“You don’t know what this world is,” he sneered and his eye flashed white-red-black-white-red-black-white-red-black. “You’re all just pathetic puppets used by them and they’re gonna leave you one day and you will cease to exist and this was your chance -- all of your chances -- to wake up to your bleak reality--”

His voice was cut off, as the runes closed in tigther and he was shook again in the other world (seriously? twice?)

KIDA

Kida shielded her eyes from the rapidly blinking light above her. Could whole planes shake, or was it just her? Was that the universe trying to burst at the seams or was it her heart breaking free from her chest? Either way, it felt like a lot. Kida was feeling a lot and that made it hard to focus on the task at hand.

The demon--and Kida was sure it was a demon now, she could feel it in the waves of energy rippling through her crystal. It was trying to protect her. She appreciated it--screamed and it’s voice rang out louder than anything she had ever heard before. It was inside her head and all around and in the air and running through the ground and nothing would ever be quiet again, she figured. So long as this thing screamed and struggled and cursed her out, there would not be quiet. The world would not be safe. If she stood there and did nothing, the world would not be safe. Not for herself, not for the kid lying half-dead on the ground, not for anyone.

She had to remember that and--try to do something.

Her crystal rumbled around her neck. There was strong magic in the air, and it could feel it, which meant that Kida could feel it too. It hummed through the Heart all the way back to her and from it there was a lingering sense of peace. One that told her, you know what to do.

Kida stepped forwards, and brought her hand down from where it shielded her eyes to wrap it around her crystal. She tugged and the chain broke loose.

“Why should I care?” She yelled out, holding the crystal tighter and tighter until the ruff edges dug into the palm of her hand.  “You said it yourself! There’s no point! Nothing matters! Not even you! So it’s about time you go back to where you came from!”

Kida opened her fist, and just like the day her mother had--gone, the light that spilled out of her crystal was blinding. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, but kept it pointed at the demon.

“Go HOME!”

DIPPER

Bill’s grip on Dipper loosened and the blackness that he’d slipped into for the past week or so started to melt away. He felt the ache in his body first, creeping from his sides, to the very center of being, then up to his face -- have you ever felt your face ache? Like not just your head, but your face --

There was a light. It was so strong that Dipper had to blink to see and then he heard that scream.

He’d heard that scream before--

The last time, when Uncle Ford and Stan and Mabel had blasted into the cave and wrangled Bill out of this plane.

(They hadn’t done it properly, but that had been the plan the whole time)

He scrambled to his feet.

There was a girl there and he didn’t know who she was but the light was coming from her.

y̤͞ ̙͠o̼̹̬̩ ̡͓u̗͈͠ ̜̩c̣͈̮̠̦͜a͙̘͚n̫̹̰̬ ̹͚̳̖͕͙s̨͓̻̞T̡͕̳̤͍ͅo̭͇̼P͓̩̘̭͝ ̮h̻̖̮̟E͏͇̦R̢

The voice echoed through Dipper’s head and he pressed his hands against his ears--he wanted it out, wanted it out.

He had sudden images of horrible memories--of Merida’s face, her eyes wide in fear; of Maui’s eyes wide in confusion; of writhing and spitting and holy water splashed in his face; of Professor Thatch’s desperate voice; of blood--blood from him, blood from Terence, blood from Maui--

s̡̟̻̹t̶̼̹o͖̣͍̠̙̤P̺̥̯̜̝̯̠ ̞H̤͙͎͍͍e̺̟͍͡R ҉̤̣̣͍̪o͕̠̙̬͜R̠ ̴͍̜͓̗Y͏̜͔̰̩̼̜͉O̵͉͉̼̣̟U̵̹̮̮͉̫̱ ̳̰͎̘̱͙W̮̫͕̖̼̺ͅI̞̜̟̫̙̣̗LL̤̙͚͎̝͖̰ ̥̪̖̹͔̝BE̞̺̜͈̥̰ ͢I͏̳̯̹̞N͍̲̖̰̹ ̼̩̯̳̫͙̀T̹͉̫̳̣͞H̰̩̼E̺̕ ̩̪͝D̗̱̖A̲̻͓͎̥̗R҉͇̩k̵̳̥

There were things he also saw--he saw three girls, a bit older than him, they were on a train. He saw laptop screens. He saw himself, too, and Mabel, too, in Gravity Falls, except everything was different, everything was the same, not really. He saw a man drawing. He saw business meetings (why did he see business meetings?)--

He could see all that and--

What was the point? Why did he need that? He had this reality and that was what mattered and he could discover all there was about this one and he had all his life to do that and there was no point in doing that now, not this way, not in this way--

He stood next to the girl and he looked up at Bill--the runes around him closing in smaller and smaller.

“Leave ME ALONE!” he yelled, voice hoarse, but loud and strong and echoing through the Mindscape. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH.”

Bill’s eye flashed back to white, his body flashed to yellow and the eye widened and--

If it could have looked sad, right now, it did.

But it was only a moment, could have been a trick of Dipper’s eye, something that the light altered, something that the hammering of his chest made him feel, something that the ties between him and the demon made him think, something that Bill was doing to make Dipper feel bad.

It was only a moment and Bill let out a wail as he was sucked into the space between the runes, which swirled a deep, bottomless, black.

And then, for a moment, it was quiet. It was still. Dipper took a shaking breath and for the first time in nearly ten years, his head felt silent.

And then, there was a loud sucking noise--the black portal between the runes swirling as all the weirdness, all the disasters and demons and chaos flew to the portal, getting pulled within, vanishing into the nothingness.

The place they were shimmered around them, as if it were fighting between being here and not being here.

And then--as if nothing had happened at all, Dipper and the strange girl were standing in the middle of Professor Thatch’s flat, sunlight streaming through the window, birds chirping outside, a clock ticking from somewhere he couldn’t place. There were noises--noises of life: the radiator in the corner, those birds, that clock, the pipes somewhere, the floorboards.

But his head, it was quiet.

He took a deep breath, his arm reaching for the back of neck, and turned to the girl.

“So, uh, that was weird.”

[mecatchingraindrops]

Play Underground 2

Disclaimer: events may or may not have happened. Names are fictional. Any resemblance or similarities to people in real life is purely coincidental.

—Foreword—

The vigor of youth transcends as every sweat trickles down your body in the heat of the afternoon sun. The eyes open up possibilities in multitudes, however, fate only chooses one that will shape you as a person. For love, lust, and mind can play with your heart relentlessly, spinning the wheel of fortune that binds your fates together from the moment of your first hello, to your last goodbye.

——

“What have I gotten myself into?”

I asked myself as I brave the most difficult course of Play Underground’s wall climbing facility. Just last week, we finally completed the intermediate area, of course, after falling several times. Ok, thousands of times. Now we took on our new found friends and the challenge that faced us: completing the most difficult wall.

A few minutes earlier we started our stretching and began climbing the beginners wall as warm up. I was in a strange yet familiar high as I felt anxious to prove to these newcomers who owns these walls.

When it was finally my turn I suddenly felt like I could easily finish it in half the time I usually spend reaching for the top. My veins were filled with energy I have not felt before as adrenaline pumped in large quantities resulting from anxiousness, excitement, and the usual bravado facing rivals on one’s turf. Not to mention the Venti Frappe Affogato I had earlier. 

Then it happened. I missed a rock and slipped. ON THE BEGINNERS’ COURSE. And I say that with emphasis. 

Adrian wasn’t really paying attention as my belayer and was on his phone more agitated than I am as I climbed up so without any resistance, I fell down with a thud. I imagined myself falling with a scream or wailing, but no. My fall was a no nonsense fall. Let’s get it over with so ground, here I come!

What I saw next would haunt me relentlessly in the weeks to come. They were the most beautiful brown eyes only an angel could possess. With hair damp from sweat, his bangs swaying side to side. His white shirt plastered on his muscled body. Wet but warm. I thought he would smell disgusting like those locker rooms in the gym filled with soiled undergarments but instead, he smelled of... Issey Miyake.

“Damien!”

Adrian’s voice brought me back to my senses. It also brought in the pain on my butt as it started to radiate.

“Ow” was the first thing I said as the angel’s strong arms helped me sit up right.

“Ow” I said again as I got steadied into place.

“I think I broke something” I said under my breath while trying to feel my butt.

“Hopefully not your heart” the angel said smirking. 

“What?” I thought to myself, contemplating if I actually heard those words or was imagining everything. Wait. What angel would say something as cheesy as that? He’s definitely from hell.

“I’m Kyle” he introduced “this is Paul my best friend”

“Damien” I replied trying to get up to shake their hands but I slipped on the wet mat. I started to wonder where it came from. Was it sweat? But I asked myself how clumsy can one be to slip twice within a minute. Luckily My best friend caught me this time.

“Oh, this is Adrian. The great belayer” I said with annoyance and sarcasm.

“I’m so sorry. I thought you got this since we finished intermediate last time and mom sent me an sms so I had to get back at her. So soooo sorry....” Adrian rambled on as I spaced out and murmured

“I am never gonna do this with you again”, then I punched him lightly on his right arm.

Kyle laughed again. While Paul now threw a jab at his side trying not to laugh.

“I wanna die” I thought to myself.

This is so embarrassing. On the way here I thought Kyle and Paul were amateurs but they’re already on the most difficult wall. Paul would’ve reached midway till he saw me fall and got down as his belayer came to my side. And here I am, slipping and falling from the beginner’s course. Then I remembered Kyle saying something and asked him in a naïveté way, “you said something earlier. After I said I broke something. Wha...”

He cut me off and continued “hopefully not your heart?” He tried and failed miserably to stifle his laughter. “You see, you fell... hopefully not with a broken heart..” then he couldn’t contain his eminent laughter.

Not an Angel. Yeah, probably the devil’s first born. Just my luck. That’s what I thought and I think I looked annoyed cause Paul took another jab at Kyle. “I’m sorry, Kyle can be a bit... cheesy...and...”

“..And corny” I added with utter annoyance as I rolled my eyes instinctively.

Two seconds of silence arose. The longest two seconds of my life. I began to overthink if I might’ve offended the cute devil, and what they will think, say or do. I thought, should I laugh halfheartedly, as I tried to sense the air for the mood. And as if on cue, all three started to laugh.

“Tryna be funny and clumsy at the same time huh?” Kyle retorted as his laughter died down.

Standing up, I realized the angel is really just a cherub. A cherub on steroids.  Well not really that buff but toned. A midget of an angel was my exact words in my head. Maybe he is half angel and half demon. I wonder.

Kyle is kinda short, he can pass as 15 or 16, while Paul his best friend is almost as tall as I am which stands 5’8. Kyle seems almost like 5’5. Shorter than my best friend Adrian who stands at 5’7. I found out later they were three years older than I am.

“Isn’t this wall to tall for you shorty” I blurted out trying to get even without thinking and realized I might’ve gone overboard so I covered my mouth hastily.

“Hey! I never said anything about you falling from the beginners wall! That’s below the belt!” he mouthed off before pouting. The cutest pout I’ve seen. It was too sincere to not be not adorable. Then Paul and Adrian laughed at us like parents seeing their kids argue about childish stuff. Kyle and I looked at each other and joined them as well. 

Adrian decided to get the four of us something to drink. While Kyle, Paul, and I chatted about random topics. I then started to notice Paul. He’s also good looking but not as ripped as Kyle. He seems kinder too while Kyle seems a bit on the wilder side. Like he is the life of any party he goes to, exuding with confidence at every stride his ripped muscles make as they flex and relax. It was like a dance. A ballet of muscles of some sort that is too beautiful to describe with words alone. Yet Paul’s smile overflowed with sincerity and warmth, it seems the pain of my earlier fall seem to fade into the bright light of his perfectly white teeth. A shining beacon for any dentist...

I found out that Paul was getting fond of me as I happen to remind him of his younger brother. Kyle agreed and even told me that Paul’s brother and I share the same reaction when being teased. He also noted that we both have an air of sarcasm. The sarcasms yes, but I didn’t know I blushed a lot. Now everytime Kyle opens his mouth and tries to mess around with me, Paul kept on pointing it out. But sometimes, I feel my face grow hot just looking at Kyle. Or when I hear him talk annoyingly. 

After resting a bit, all four of us shared an inexplicable bond new friends have during these years. Like we clicked immediately and seemed destined to be bestfriends.

We then decided to climb walls again. Adrian being the naughty bestfriend suggested we switch partners. It took me a minute to realize he has the hots for Paul. As always, he was brazen enough to strategize this situation to his advantage.

So, to my surprise, I was paired with Kyle as Adrian tried his luck with Paul. 

Kyle offered “you go first. Don’t fall this time”, looking stern and at the same time trying to contain his laughter. He still can’t get the knack of embarrassing me. (I mean hey, I am cute when I want to be lol).

Wittingly, I replied, “If I do, will you catch me?” And gave him a coy look.

Shit. Was that too much? What was I thinking? He doesn’t even know I’m gay, I think. He is straight. Appears to be at the very least. What if he was a homophobe? Are there homophobes in Manila? I was beginning to space out and recall my experience with homophobes in Vermont when I noticed Kyle still unable to move even a single muscle. Oh those muscles. How hard and soft they must have felt... Focus god damn it Damien! Homophobes!

But the look of shock on his face was enough to bring me back to reality and snap me out of my internal monologue with lasted one second. It was utter disbelief which made me switch gears and burst with laughter. A perfect excuse. We Filipinos love to joke around so I’ll tread that path and see where it goes.

He then got the “joke” and looked annoyed. But what surprised me is that he started to blush and hide his eyes behind his beautiful jet black hair.

The next words that escaped from his lips gave me the feeling I’ve never felt in a long time. Those words that was only for me. Those words that nobody else heard. Not the children screaming at each other, nor their parents mindless watching over them, nor the staff busy overseeing everyone’s safety. Not even our two best friends trying to out do each other with one showing off on the wall while the other giving out directions on how to better climb it. It’s as if the whole powerplant mall fell into a perpetual silence that only Kyle’s voice emanated in my ear drums, trying to sync with the sound of my heartbeat that goes faster and faster as every second ticks and tocks. He spoke, no, whispered as he turned and tied the rope to the anchorage on the floor.

“I’m more than capable... of catching you”

[deadlydollies13]

The Potion Master’s Grace ch. 17

Disclaimer: Solas Moyle is a real place. Did a little research before I went and made up a rehabilitation center myself, and turns out there is one in Ballycastle. Thus, the address is real. I have no affiliation with Solas Moyle at all.

Severus naturally woke up every morning at seven o’clock. He’d shower, get dressed, and by seven-twenty, he’d wake up Grace, who would groan and whine and usually throw whatever was in arm’s reach in his direction before he shut the door, shielding himself from her fire. Except for the one time it was Cas, and then he had no choice but to catch the cat, but before he could say something, her head was under her pillow, snoring away.    She was a pain in the ass to get up in the morning, he never knew how she’d manage to get down to the Great Hall every morning for breakfast during the school year. But, she did share a dorm room with about three other girls, one of which was Luna, who was disgustingly a morning person. Seriously, she was like a Disney Princess, singing to the birds with a bounce in her step. Unfortunately, none of that rubbed off on Grace, who was through-and-through a night owl.    Luna, when she stayed over, which was almost every night, was usually up when Severus was up and had gone downstairs to make coffee and tea.    Grace, ten minutes after Severus had woken her up, was still sleeping. So, Severus came to the conclusion that he had to get creative.

   One morning he rushed into Grace’s room, “Grace, there’s a Dementor attack!”    “I already have depression tell them to fight me,” she’d grumble into her pillow and then drift off again.    “Grace, Draco is here, you’d better get dressed!” he tried another time.    “If he can’t deal with me at my worst then screw ‘em!”    At a final resort, “Grace Audrey, if you’re not up in three-seconds, you’re getting the cold water treatment.”    “You wouldn't dare,” she said, but still didn’t come out from under the covers.    “Aqua Eructo,” he said pointing his wand at her, and a controlled jet stream of freezing cold water hit her before she could react to his words.    She screamed bloody murder, let out a stream of curses, and scrambled out of bed, now soaking wet, face red with rage.    “Morning, sunshine,” he said closing the door behind him, not bothering to hide his smirk. She was pretty pissed at him the entire day though, sending daggers at him, and whenever their eyes would meet, she’d reach for her wand, revenge in her eyes. Severus knew full well she’d get him back, and much harder too, so he never did that again.    But usually, Grace would eventually roll her ass out of bed and come downstairs, still in her pajamas with her robe and slippers, her red hair a mess, and wouldn't talk for a good thirty minutes, except to wince at how hot the coffee was, no matter how many times Severus would warn her.    To say the least, they had created a consistent morning routine.    Except for this morning; this morning was different. Severus did not wake up at seven on the dot. Perhaps it was because he didn’t sleep two nights before, but he definitely woke up later than usual, which never happened. And there was noise downstairs, which was also unusual, because if he slept in, Grace was surely enjoying her extra snoozing as well.    Severus showered and dressed, but when he went to wake Grace up, her room was empty. Weird, Severus thought. As he made his way closer to the staircase, he heard music and singing and laughter. Not just one voice, but three.    Downstairs, in the kitchen, now covered in flour, he found Grace, Luna, and Phoebe dancing around, covered in flour themselves, singing along to the music playing.    “I’m walking on sunshine, woah- Oh! Sev!” Phoebe stopped mid-lyric, jumping at the sight of a very amused Severus in the doorway and smiled wide. It was like she was constantly surrounded by light; she could make a room catch on fire just by walking in it. She poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him, “G’morning. You look much well-rested.”    “Good… morning, how’d you get in here?” his mind was spinning. Far too early for this. He glanced at Phoebe and then at Missy, who was frantically trying to clean the kitchen.    “She was with Miss Lovegood, Master. And Missy saw how Master was looking at her last-“ he shot Missy a glare before she could finish. But Missy didn’t cower in fear, instead, she hid a knowing smile. Damn house elf always in the know; she’s worse than Grace.    “We didn’t wake you, did we, Sev?”    “Hm? Oh, no, actually, I slept later than usual. What I’m most surprised is why the Hobbit is up so early,” he pointed to Grace, who instead of cutting up fruit, was eating it instead.    “Sev, that’s so mean!”    “No, it’s true,” Grace spoke up. “He calls me that because all I do is eat and sleep. And I’m short.”    Phoebe raised an eyebrow towards Severus. He shrugged, “Fastest metabolism in the world, and I hate her for it. She’s constantly eating her weight in food!”    “She’s a growing girl, Sev!”    “How? She’s five feet tall and will be forever, probably!”    “I’m right here, ya know!” Grace spoke up again.    “It’s all of that coffee you drink, it’s probably stunted your growth.”    Grace gasped dramatically, as she does everything else, “How dare you insult my love for coffee? Have the potion fumes gone to your head?”    “If you two weren’t related somehow in a past life, I’d be completely surprised,” Phoebe laughed, Luna nodding in agreement.    Severus looked at Grace, “You still didn’t answer my question.”    “Hogwarts letters are coming today and we didn’t wanna miss them.”    “Why? Are you nervous?”    Luna called from the kitchen where she was helping Phoebe, “Fifth year is a big year! We have O.W.L.s at the end of the year so then we can be in N.E.W.T.s and-“    “And you both will be fine,” Severus reassured them.

-

   When the letters did arrive, the two of them just stared at them for a few minutes.    “How do they always know where we are?” Luna asked.    “McGonagall stalks us by owl, I heard,” Grace answered.    “I heard it was by cat.”    “Cat?”    “Yes, McGonagall is an Animagi; she can turn into a cat.”    “I wanna turn into a cat!”    “Me too. Mine’s heavier than usual. Does yours feel that way?”    Grace bobbed it in her hands, “No, I don’t think so?”    “Girls, if you don’t open them, I will,” Phoebe interrupted.    “Fine, fine! Ready? One-“    “Two-“    “Three!” they both said in unison as they ripped open the envelopes. It was the usual acceptance letter, along with the books and supplies they’d be needing for their Fifth Year. But Luna had an extra piece of paper more than Grace.    When she unfolded the paper, she realized why her envelope had been heavier. Out fell a blue badge with the word Prefect across it. Luna, for once, fell speechless. She glanced at the badge and the letter, explaining to her that she had been chosen as Ravenclaw Prefect for her year.    “What? What is it?” Phoebe asked, trying to peek over her niece’s shoulder.    “Prefect,” Luna mumbled, still shocked.    “Prefect?” Grace clarified, Luna nodded. “Luna, oh my god, that's amazing!” she jumped up and down and then hugged her best friend. “I’m so happy for you, this is awesome!”    Luna broke out of her trance, “You mean you’re not mad?”    Grace leaned back to look Luna in the eyes, “And why the hell would I be mad?”    “Because I thought you’d be Prefect.”    Grace honestly could’ve slapped her for how ridiculous she was being, “What kind of friend would I be if I was mad about this? I’m extremely happy for you, Luna! And besides, Prefects have to deal with the First Years, and we all know I don’t have the patience for that. Plus, you’re hardworking, and caring, and know how to stay calm in a chaotic situation, and-“    “Okay, I think that’s enough,” Luna giggled.    “I could write a book of why you’re going to be the best Ravenclaw Prefect ever. And plus, Rolf is a Prefect for his year, so maybe you two will be paired up for midnight strolls around the castle,” Grace winked.    “Draco’s a Prefect too, though.”    “Yes, well, that,” Grace looked at Severus, “is a fine example of what we call, ‘favoritism!’”    “Brat,” he turned his attention to Luna. “Congratulations, Luna. You deserve this, and I know you’ll be a responsible Prefect.”    “Thanks, Mr. S!” she beamed.    “Just realized I have two Prefect friends now, and a Prefect boyfriend, which basically amounts to curfew immunity, right?”    “Wrong,” Severus answered immediately.    “Ugh!”    “Grace, have you practiced Quidditch at all this summer?”    “Hm, well, no, because you see, I’ve either been mentally distraught or hooked up to an oxygen tank. Or perhaps it’s because I take pity on the dear Slytherins in my life because we all know that with Davies gone, I’m up for Team Captain, and I’m going to ensure Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch Cup this year,” Grace said smugly.    “Go Eagles!” Luna cheered in addition.    “Mhm,” Severus smirked. “Have you told your Slytherin Quidditch Captain boyfriend this yet?”    “No,” Grace paled. She hadn’t realized that her and Draco, both Seekers, would now be going up against one another as boyfriend and girlfriend. Awkward. “You don’t like Quidditch anyway!”    “Since when?” Phoebe asked. “Um, your dad may have never been on the pitch, but he definitely liked going to the games and got very into it at times.”    “Oh for the love of-“    “So who you gonna cheer for, dad? Huh? Slytherin or Ravenclaw? Huh?”    “Whichever is the winning team,” he smirked.    “Soooo, Ravenclaw?”    “You’d better get to practicing then.”    “I know, I know. Don’t nag.”    “I bet Draco’s been practi-“    “Dad!!”

-

   Severus and Phoebe sat in the living room with the windows open so they could keep an eye on Grace as she rode her broom. Luna would release the Snitch and Grace would chase after it, diving, swooping and flipping. She also had much more new flashy tricks in her repertoire to show off once the season began. Severus couldn’t decide if it was to win the adoration of the spectators or to baffle the opposing Seeker. Either way, they definitely had an effect on everyone.    But, as impressive as they were, they still made Severus anxious; they always have, even before becoming her father. Now that he was her dad, his heart stopped every time she did something remotely risky. Which is why his eyes followed her every move until Phoebe spoke up, “Hey Sev?”    “Hm?”    “Did you teach Grace Occlumency”    “What?” he gave her a questioning look. “No. Why?”    “Her mind is just, a wall. Like, Fort Knox— or the Tower of London— type walls. Impenetrable. Why would that be?”    Dammit, Phoebe, always the curious. “Uh, I think that’s something for Grace to tell you.”    “Sev, did something bad happen?”    “Feebs-“    She narrowed her eyes at him. She’s so cute when she does that, he thought. Then her face paled and her eyes widened. Shit! Perhaps he wasn’t the best at Occluding his mind around her.    “Holy shit, Sev…” her eyes started to brim with tears as she looked out the window at the happy teenager who had such a horrible past.    “Phoebe, please don’t let her know you know. I think there are only three people in her life that actually know, and that’s Luna, me, and I’m sure she told Draco. She’s trying her best to just forget it all.”    “She’s trying to erase her own life and replace it with one based off the one she has now,” her voice was strained now as if she’d absorbed all of the sadness she saw.”    “If that’s her coping mechanism, then so be it.”    “She can’t suppress all of that and just ignore it though, Sev.”    “She already dealt with it. She had to stand in a courtroom full of strangers and tell what happened to her. And she’s just trying to make a new life for herself, no matter how she has to do that, and I’m going to be with her every step of the way because she hasn’t had that support since she was seven. I just want her to be happy.”    Phoebe placed a hand over her heart and looked at Severus, “You’re an amazing dad, do you know that?”    Severus smiled, he did know.    And then,        SPLASH!    Followed by a cackling laugh from Luna. They both rushed to the window to see Luna rolling in the grass clutching her side and Grace stomping up the hill soaking wet.    “Not funny!” Grace glared at the two adults through the window who were trying to stifle their laughs but were failing miserably.    Then she glared at her best friend, still laughing, and smirked to herself as she wrung her sopping red hair out on her face. That certainly shut her up.    “Agh, it got in my mouth!”    “Good! I’ve got water in my ear!” she tilted her head to one side and smacked her palm on the opposite side of her head, jumping up and down on one foot, trying to get the water out.    “Grace, don’t do that! You’ll give yourself a concussion! Come inside,” Phoebe called out.    “It’s all sloshy!” Grace said as she made her way inside. There was a side door in the kitchen, so she used that one so she at least wouldn't get water on anything valuable.    Phoebe placed a hot washcloth on Grace’s ear, telling her to keep her head tilted and apply pressure with the washcloth for thirty-seconds before removing it for a minute and repeat until the water comes out. This, plus gravity, should do the trick.    “You don’t want to go jostling your brain around any more than you already have done those tricks. And what on Earth were you trying to do?”    “Stand on my broom.” It would’ve been really cool if Grace managed to do it, but she lost balance and fell. Thank god she at least fell in the lake and the water broke her fall.    “Are you insane? Honestly, Grace, you’re going to give your father a heart attack and he's far too young! You put so much stress on him already and now I’ve gotta stress over you? You’ll make us age another twenty years!” Phoebe did a quick check on the rest of Grace’s body, making sure she had no cuts or bruises. Grace couldn’t help but smile. Like the overprotectiveness Severus had over her, she rather enjoyed being fussed over; especially by someone who was so motherly as Phoebe.    Severus was great and all, a wonderful father, caring, kind (at least to Grace), and someone Grace could always rely on being there, but he wasn't a mother. And though she wouldn’t let Severus know, she yearned for a mother-figure once again. Someone who wasn't Luna, and shouldn’t have to be a mother to Grace; that wasn’t her job. But there was so much that a mother and daughter shared. Not that Grace would necessarily know, but she'd seen it with Lorelai and Rory on Gilmore Girls and many others.    “I like having a nurse around here,” she said to Severus.    “Me too,” but he wasn’t smiling at Grace, he was smiling at Phoebe, who had no idea he was looking at her the way he was. Luna and Grace shared a knowing look. There was no doubt about it, Severus Snape was in love with Phoebe Trigg.    Grace always saw it in movies; person A would look at person B with such love and adoration only when they weren’t looking. Person B was completely oblivious to their feelings. But person B also had feelings for person A, only they didn’t know of either one’s feelings. And you sat watching this movie, yelling at the characters to just get on with it and confess their love to each other. But you sit through an agonizing two-hour movie, only for them to get together in the end and the screen fades to black, and the audience never knows what happens afterward.    This is what life at Snape Manor is now. Only, now person A and B have two annoying teenage girls to push them to confess their feelings. And there is life after they get together filled with endless possibilities.    Finally, the water came out of Grace’s ear. “Are you going to be staying long here?” she asked.    “Well, I work at Ilvermorny, so I have to get back for that.”    “But that’s not until September first, right? Can’t you stay until then?”    “Please, Aunt Phoebe? It’ll be fun!” Luna pleaded.    “I mean, I suppose… But that’d mean I’d have to go get more clothes since I barely brought any.”    “Yes! Shopping!”    Phoebe smiled, “Yeah, a girl’s day out sounds nice. Plus, I’m sure Sev would like a break from all the females.”    He smirked, “Just me and the cat.”

-

   The light mood didn’t last, however. Not when an owl flew in through the window with a letter clutched in its talons.    “I thought the Hogwarts letters already came? Did they forget something?” Phoebe asked.    “No, that’s Pidge. He belongs to a Squib who works at the postal office. He sends Muggle mail to Wizards, like magazines and all that,” Grace answered. Pidge hooted in agreement.    Severus took the letter from Pidge and he flew off. He glanced at the letter, there was no seal, it was just an ordinary Muggle letter, but who sent letters anymore?    “It’s for you, Grace,” he said handing it over. “Who’s Adina McClivert?”    Grace’s face turned red, and then a ghastly white, and slowly started to turn green. She wanted her eyes to be lying to her, wanted her tears to have the magical power to make her read incorrectly.

Adina McClivert Solas Moyle 62 Anne Street Ballycastle, Northern Ireland United Kingdom

   She froze, the envelope dropped out of her hand.