#let’s find out I guess heheheh >:3

[catgirlknighted]

“My son turned out completely fine!” Your daughter wants to be put in a trance, called a “good kitty“ as she does cute catgirl poses for me, and obey my every command. She’s also very suggestible & susceptible to my voice.

[disneyprincemuke]

mrs all american * archived.

who is that guy in the andretti racing garage?

pairings: bother figures x fem!driver, 4lyfers x fem!driver

notes: lOLSIE OXOXOXOOXOOXOXO tell me if u want their smau too?? hehehehe

(series masterlist) | (📂 the sophomore year)

alex tilts his head, approaching his friends gathered right behind a crowd that’s formed in front of one of the racing hospitalities in the paddocks. “what are we doing here?”

“same sentiments,” george mutters, craning his neck to try and look over heads to see what’s all the commotion about. him and lando had been having a chat while walking in from lunch when they were greeted by a large crowd gathered and chatter filling up the air. “we’re just as curious as you.”

“but you lot were here first?” alex asks, scrunching his nose again, looking between his friends. “did andretti manage to score some big name or something for the weekend?”

“brad pitt, you reckon?” lando asks, raising his eyebrows. “nah, i don’t think so. has to be someone else.”

“maybe it’s just rocky causing terror to everyone again.”

george and lando exchange a stare and ultimately shrug with a nod. it’s not entirely impossible that it’s not the brand’s own driver who’s gathered a big crowd to watch her do something stupid.

“hey, why are there so many damn people? i just wanna take a nap before the parade.” the 3 turn around, shocked at the presence that’s announced itself behind them. the andretti racing driver stands in front of them, hands on the straps of her backpack as she looks at them curiously. they furrow their eyebrows. “what?”

“you’re not the one that’s causing all the commotion?” george tilts his head, pointing at the crowd of cameras and paparazzi behind them.

she shrugs. “i guess not. what’s going on?”

alex sighs, widening his eyes. “we have got no idea. we’re just nosey,” he takes a sip from his drink, “will you tell us when you find out later?”

she shrugs nonchalantly with a small smile. “sure. i’ll see you lads later for the parade.”

“are you hiding someone from me?” the girl, who’s just walked into the pitlane to head to the grid for the driver’s parade takes a step back with a clueless blink. “max keeps pestering me about the guest for tonight.”

she shrugs, eyebrows furrowed. “why do you just assume i always know more than you?”

liam shrugs as well, frowning. “i don’t know. there’s just so much commotion on our side of the paddocks today and i’ve got no clue as to why,” liam says with a frown.

realistically, she feels bad lying straight through her teeth to everyone. but she doesn’t need anyone messing with her when the truth happens to come out before the race starts. it’s just not something she thinks she needs.

besides, everybody will find out after the race. she will just explain herself then.

“i’ve got no idea what’s going on with our garage today,” she takes a sip from her pepsi, blinking at liam innocently. “guess we’ll find out later?”

“find what out?” oscar tilts his head as they come to a stop right by him and lando, waiting for the truck to start their lap around the track.

“why we’ve been so crowded with paps today,” liam frowns. “i’m not the centre of attention and it’s simply absurd.”

lando sighs, shaking his head. “i know. i’ve barely seen a camera pointed my way today and it’s our grand prix race. something is not right.”

she shrugs with a small grin. “someone kinda famous, i guess.”

“it’s not jacob elordi again, is it?” carlos pokes his head between lando’s and hers, furrowing his eyebrows. he turns to her, met with an unamused stare and head tilt. he shrugs. “just curious. who knows if you’re seeing him again?”

she looks around their huddle, suddenly greeted by curious stares and raised eyebrows. she throws her arms in the air and shakes her head. “i’m not seeing jacob again! i haven’t seen him since the miami race last year! please let it go!”

alex narrows his eyes down with a small smirk. “you sound like you know something about andretti’s special guest.”

“you liar!” liam screams.

“i don’t!” she turns to liam with her arms in the air. she turns to alex and scowls. “why are you stirring drama? i don’t know anything about who andretti’s decided to give their stupid pass to this weekend, okay?”

alex hums, pressing his lips together. “that’s not what logan told me.”

“why would logan know anything about andretti’s guest this weekend? i’ve barely seen him.”

he shrugs, “i really thought that would break you.”

“nice try,” oscar sighs, shaking his head. “you really don’t know anything?”

she shakes her head. “i really don’t. now can we please talk about something else?”

“i’ll see you later after the race?” a soft, familiar, higher-pitched voice says. “don’t forget to watch me, okay? remember: i’m in the andretti car. don’t watch the red bulls or the ferraris, just me. you’re here for me.”

liam presses his ear against the door as if he could somehow make out who’s speaking to whom inside the room.

you can only imagine his shock when he hears a man’s voice from the other side of the door. “suddenly i’m an andretti supporter. i don’t even like ferrari.”

he hears her laugh, followed by footsteps approaching the door. “i’ll see you later, my. love you.”

the door clicks, prompting liam to hurl himself towards the stairs leading downstairs, stumbling and sliding down a couple of steps. liam pulls himself up with the railing, trying to ignore the way he can hear the confusion as the door closes.

“what are you doing?”

liam hops up to his feet, one of his foot sliding off at the edge of the steps. he coughs to cover it up and shakes his head. “i’m just super excited to be racing in vegas.”

she tilts her head and furrows her eyebrows. “are you sure? is something wrong?”

he shakes his head. “nope. nothing.”

perhaps she will break the news to him after the race? he doesn’t think he’s ever heard her say that phrase to anyone, much less know anyone called ‘my’.

“you don’t have anything to ask me?” she bites down on her lip, trying to keep the laugh in.

truthfully, she had heard the door rattle a couple of times and assumed that liam was being nosey outside her driver’s room. she’s more surprised that her teammate is not probing her for a more defined answer other than a shrug.

“i guess,” liam shrugs dejectedly.

he just wants her to tell him instead of having to ask her outright.

“alright, mate,” she laughs, furrowing her eyebrows. “by the way, you’re coming for ice cream tonight, right? i’ve got someone i want you to meet.”

another podium finish. it’s absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she’s got a special guest in her garage watching, the car was just good.

she knows that because liam’s finished directly behind her. she would have given him the podium if sebastian hadn’t insisted that there’s jo driver swap necessary and that it would only be riskier to do so.

she climbs out of the car, eyes crinkled towards the team gathered behind the barriers for her. she tears all of her headgear off and immediately runs forward to where her team is gathered.

“amazing!” sebastian screams, arms wide open as she approaches them. “good job, kid!”

she screeches, hopping over to where they are with her fists in the air. “i know! i literally love vegas! year after year, all vegas gives me is bangers!”

she jumps into sebastian’s arms, cheering along with her team of mechanics with their arms wrapped around her as well. “yay! another podium for me! suck it, oscar!”

“oscar catching strays,” liam mutters, tapping her on the shoulder and holding his arms out to her. throwing his arms around her, he sighs exasperatedly while a smile. “i know you had someone in your room earlier.”

“i know. you rattled the door with all your moving,” she whispers back before pulling away. she drops her head slightly as a blush slowly creeps up her cheeks. “i’m seeing somebody.”

“i also know that,” liam grins, a hand still on the small of her back. “do i get to meet him?”

“obviously. do you know how difficult it’s been to keep him out of your sight all day?” she snorts, rolling her eyes. “i promise you’ll get to meet him.”

“if i didn’t know you were a good driver, i’d have thought you made it to the podium just to impress me.”

“it’s just luck, i guess.” she grins giddily leaning in as he holds both hands up, grabbing her cheeks. “thanks for coming to watch my race.”

“absolutely. thank you so much for inviting me over.”

she scrunches her nose, hands lifted slightly behind her as she leans in with puckered lips. she’s turning 22 in a couple of weeks and the fact that this is her first public relationship ever is still new to her.

truthfully, she wasn’t even planning on dating any time soon. she’s gone 5 years — almost her entire life — not finding herself with a boyfriend, what harm would it do if she went on longer without one?

but she coincidentally found herself laughing a little too hard at his jokes and now here she is, lip locked in her garage with some guy she swore annoyed her.

“ew!”

“fuck off!” she says immediately, pulling away and whirling around with red cheeks. her hair is dishevelled, stray hairs on her face and cheeks getting redder by the second. “what are you, 12?”

max raises his eyebrows with an amused smile stretching his lips. he tilts his head to the side and ignores the driver in front of him. “who’s this? i’m max,” he holds his arm out, “i can fight.”

“max!” she shrieks, pushing max’s arm away before it can be grabbed cordially. “what is wrong with you? that’s not how you introduce yourself!”

but as she’s preoccupied with max, to her horror, she’s turned back around and the other 3 have already surrounded the poor boy with furrowed eyebrows and questions spilling on their lips.

who are you, where do you live, what’s your intentions with rocky, how long have you known her? and this is exactly why she hesitated even bringing him to the race to watch her.

“hey, what are you doing? stop doing that!” she cries, running back around to try and shoo off alex, george and lando who have well invaded her boyfriend’s personal space. before she can take 3 steps away, max grabs her shoulder and yanks her back toward him to hold her in place. “you guys are embarrassing me! you’re worse than my siblings!”

“oh, you’ve met her siblings!” alex cheers for a moment before wiping the smile from his face. “so? what are they gonna do to protect you? they’re so much younger.”

“hey! those are my sisters and brother you’re talking about!”

“ah, you get what i mean,” alex waves her off, snorting softly. he returns his attention to the boy with a small amused grin. “so? you plan on answering our questions, mate? we’ll be here all night if you don’t.”

the brunette grins. “i’m milo manheim, i’m an actor. i’m,” a blush creeps up his cheek as he bites back a smile and points over at the girl still in her race suit, “she’s my girlfriend.”

“girlfriend?” lando screams incredulously, throwing his head back in disbelief. he turns to the girl and points at milo. “you found yourself a boyfriend? did you use our advice?”

she stares at them, blinking with a toothy and fearful grin. “why… would i use your shit advice?”

“hey, what are you– oh, hey! you look–” oscar cuts himself off with a loud laugh before turning to his best friend, “oh, you little sneaky shit! no wonder you’ve been keeping your mouth shut the entire evening! it’s the guy you h–“

“guys!” she throws her arms in the air. “give me a break, please! at least let me sp–”

“how long have you guys been dating?”

“dating?” oscar asks loudly, blinking rapidly. all this is new to him. she’s always been pretty secretive and private about her dating life, so it’s not a shock that everything is only unveiling now for her.

“have you made her cry yet? every tear is one punch i get to throw without you running off to the media crying about it, kid,” max says firmly, shoving her aside so that he could take a step forward towards milo.

“max! he has not–”

the younger boy grins and puffs his chest proudly. “of course not! we’ve been going out for a couple of months, around 5 or 6?”

“wow!” george cheers, turning to her in amusement. “that’s long! you kept a secret that long?”

she shrugs. “lily knew.”

“lily knew?” oscar screams, arm darting out to punch her shoulder. “why didn’t you tell me?”

“because then you’d tell logan and lando, and then it wouldn’t be a secret anymore,” she explains, throwing her arms in the air with a knowing stare. “i don’t see the problem, really. mick knew too.”

“mick found out before me?” george shouts. “unfair!”

she shrugs again. “he saw us at the hotel lobby last night.”

“why are there so many people in my garage?” sebastian walks in, tapping his phone against his palm. “hi, milo.” he looks at the crowd of excess drivers in his garage and lifts his hands in the air to continue his interrogation. “anyone plan on answering me?”

“we’re having a meeting,” lando answers, not even sparing the older man a glance. he keeps his stare on milo. “so how did you meet?”

“we met at the eras tour in the private tent!” oscar cuts in with an amused stare. he blinks. “i gotta find logan and tell him.”

“tell me what?”

she throws her arms in the air. “did you guys agree to come to my garage after my podium just to piss me off or something?” she shouts, hands balled into fists and she stomps a foot into the ground. “what is everyone doing here? why are we having a gathering?”

“i was gonna congratulate you on the podium,” logan mutters. he trails off as he meets the familiar pair of brown eyes, the only person in their makeshift circle not in a race suit, and tilts his head. “what are you doing here? don’t i know you from somewhere?”

a silence falls in the garage, the chatter from outside the only thing that anyone can hear. max and alex share a look, then glances over at george who lifts his eyebrows with a shrug.

milo blinks. “i’m–“

“rocky’s boyfriend!” lando cheers, holding milo’s shoulder and pointing excitedly at the young boy next to him. “you didn’t know?”

“nobody knew,” she grins, explaining through gritted teeth. “except seb. cause he’s the one that let this happen.”

“rat!” max screams, whirling around to sebastian. “you said you knew nothing about who andretti’s guest is!”

“i was sworn to secrecy if not i might wake up bald tomorrow!” sebastian suddenly screams in defensive. “i don’t wanna be bald! don’t you think i haven’t thought of telling anyone?”

logan grins, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “i didn’t know you guys were talking.”

logan scratches his elbow as he turns to oscar, tilting his head and pointing between her and milo as if to ask if he’d known about it. in return, oscar shrugs.

“wait,” max shakes his head. “this is actually a thing? you guys are actually boyfriend and girlfriend? like it’s official?”

her and milo share a look. she turns to max and nods. “yeah?”

“you hesitated,” george points out. “why did you hesitate?”

heads turn to one of the men in papaya, a giggle bubbling from his stomach as he points between them. “i see what’s going on — you haven’t talked about it, have you?”

“what?” she sputters, rolling her eyes. “that is absolutely none of your business.”

oscar giggles. “but we’re right, aren’t we?”

george throws his hands in the air. “guys, leave them alone. this is seriously none of our business.”

“but i wanna know!” max whines, stomping towards milo. “how did you guys meet?”

“eras tour,” milo grins widely. “then she went home and stalked me — liked my picture from like 2021.”

“no, i didn’t!” she shrieks, hands coming up to shield her flushed cheeks away from everyone in the room. she runs over to milo and starts to push him towards the doors that lead to the paddocks. “don’t tell people i did that!”

“oh, that’s so embarrassing!” oscar tugs at his hair then hunches over as he no longer can contain his laughter. “rocky, no!”

she scratches her head and darts back towards oscar. “oscar!”

“she didn’t like me very much at first,” milo points out, grinning at her.

“oh, we know,” logan grins, folding his arms over his chest. he glances at the girl cowered next to sebastian, forehead resting on her race engineer’s arm with her hands still cupped over her cheeks then looks at everybody else. “she told us how annoying you were for like 20 minutes after the concert.”

she sighs and just drops herself into squat. “yeah, whatever.”

“mate!” liam grins, pushing the door open of their hospitality home. “i’m liam! it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

he says that as if he hadn’t just found out of his existence literally 2 hours ago.

“aw, absolutely, man,” milo grins, taking the hand that offered to him. “she talks about you all the time.”

“yeah, how fucking irritating he is,” she scoffs, throwing her head back. she steps forward and breaks their hands apart from one another, quickly wrapping her hand around milo’s arm. “let’s go for drinks!”

“really? drinking in vegas?” liam snorts, raising his eyebrow at her. “shouldn’t you have learned your lesson by now?”

“what lesson?” mick hums, appearing behind them. “drinks, right? celebrate rocky’s podium or something?”

“your lesson? what did you do in vegas that’s naughty?” milo teases, furrowing his eyebrows and looking down at her. “you did something stupid, didn’t you?”

she blinks. “yeah, i almost got married in vegas this time last year.”

“married?” milo repeats with a laugh. “to whom? and what do you mean almost? it didn’t happen?”

mick sighs. “we were bested by sebastian — a lesson about drinking too much or something like that. we still engage in black out drinking though.”

the girl cheers with a soft laugh, holding a hand up and immediately receives a high-5 from the older driver.

milo laughs, wrapping an arm around her. “that’s actually kinda funny.” he looks at mick, already well acquainted from their impromptu supper in their hotel room the night before. “she is my girlfriend now though, so…”

liam scowls, looking between the 3 of them. “you guys just made it super weird.”

— bonus

“you seriously didn’t know?” oscar blinks, starting to walk away from the williams racing home alongside his friend and girlfriend, towards the exit of the paddocks to meet their friends. “you guys have been acting so weird lately.”

logan shrugs. “i bet ylona knew. they’ve been hanging out a lot lately.”

lily grins, peeking from oscar’s side to look at logan. “she does. rocky told us she was seeing somebody after they first kissed that one time in new york 2 months ago.”

“2 months ago,” logan puffs his cheeks out and shakes his head, “wow. good for her, honestly.”

“yeah,” oscar hums, “you’d think that she’d actually end up that crazy cat lady if she never finds a decent man.”

lily laughs, squeezing oscar’s arm. “we’ve hung out with him a cou–“

“you what?” oscar scowls, taking a step away from her. “what’s with all the secrecy? are you even my girlfriend anymore?”

“you say ‘we’,” logan huffs. “you’re telling me you guys reeled ylona in without either of us knowing?” lily nods. “assholes!”

taglist: @wcnorris @treehouse-mouse @laura-naruto-fan1998 @mindless-rock @vellicora @leilanixx @ironmaiden1313 @angsthology @cherry-piee @christianpulisic10 @elliegrey2803 @33-81 @darleneslane @nikfigueiredo @happy-nico @namgification @localwhoore @notawc @sadg3 @kazuha-pista-badam @mellowarcadefun @megatrilss1885 @peqch-pie @woozarts @meadhbhcavanagh @2bormaybenot @a-disturbing-self-reflection @inejismywife @love4lando @louvrepool

[chestharrington]

🌝 hi im back hehehehe a steve harrington fic where you’re teasing him (grinding at a bar????????? mayhaps?????) and then you turn around to him just 🤠 bc he 100% came in his pants thank u mamas

Heyyyy sexy <3 This is short (sozz) and I took liberties pls forgive me. But the heart of the matter is the same: Steve Harrington WILL bust in his pants. AMEN!

Rating: E (18+) Kinda

Warnings: Drinking (which shouldn’t be a warning. GROW UP!), making out, premature ejaculation

~~~~~~~~~~

Steve had been clinging to your side like a baby duck the entire night, never wandering farther than arm's length. A warm hand on the small of your back as you made your way through the crowded frat house, a warm lap to sit on when your feet started aching and the ugly leather couch started calling your name.

“You don’t have to babysit tonight,” you murmured after you sat down in the , pressing a soft kiss on his jaw.

“I know,” he replied. His hand was warm on your inner thigh, protective and comfortable. His thumb rubbed soothing circles on the plush skin as he looked at you. “I trust you, I just don’t trust these college guys.”

“You’re so adorable when you’re all protective,” you teased, poking his side. “Are you even having a little fun?” His guilty expression and lack of response said all you needed to know.

You stood and pulled him off the couch with a scheming grin. “We’re going to go slam a beer, and then you’re going to dance with me to whatever shitty music they have playing. Then we’re going to try the jungle juice, dance a little more, and after that we’ll bail and go make out in your car.” You raised a brow. “Any questions?”

“No questions. But you’re really sexy when you boss me around,” he said, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on your lips. You grinned at his words and guided him through the packed house to find the nearest cooler.

Things were going pretty well until your first cup of jungle juice. There was definitely some sort of mixer there, but, by taste alone, you would’ve guessed it was just food coloring to turn all the liquor red.

“We’re gonna have to call Robin to drive us home,” Steve shouted over the music as he downed the last swill in his red solo cup. You nodded and poured a little more in your cup, which you easily chugged down.

You wiped your mouth with the back of your hand and stood on tiptoes to press a messy kiss to Steve’s lips. As soon as you pulled away, a smile spread across your lips. “Let’s go dance! I love this song!”

Despite the crowd, you managed to pull him through the crowd on clumsy footing. Everyone was in similar states of carefree and giddy drunkenness, so no one really cared if you bumped into them. You guided him until you were practically back to back with the sound system and started dancing.

You really didn’t love this song. You didn’t even think you’d heard it before. But there was a good beat, and Steve’s hands were warm on your exposed skin, pulling your back right against him.

He was planting clumsy kisses along your jaw and throat as he held you tight, letting you move and sway against him. You relished in the feeling of his fingertips toying with the hem of your shirt just itching to slip beneath.

Your hands settled atop his, guiding them to your hips as you moved. You spared a glance back and felt your heart flutter at the sight of him— hair plastered to his forehead, cheeks flushed.

A few songs later, his hands were back under your shirt and you were itching to escape the crowd. Which is how you wound up down the block in the backseat of the Beamer.

Warm hands splayed across your ass as you straddled his lap, lips barely leaving his except for very necessary gasps for breath. He tasted like jungle juice, but you didn’t care.

“See?” You gasped between kisses. He held you firm on his lap, guiding you as you ground against him. “Told you that we needed to get out for once.”

“Mhmm.” He nodded, chasing your lips, tongue licking into your mouth with a needy desperation. Occasionally, passing cars would light up the interior, but you were both too drunk on each other to care.

Distantly, you could hear the bass shaking the frat house off the foundations, and cheers as someone broke the keg stand record for the night. But after a while, the sounds of Steve’s lips smacking against yours, and soft moans slipping past his lips when you moved against him took over your entire brain.

It could’ve been fifteen minutes or an hour. Time got a little fuzzy when you both got drunk and touchy. His hands were so tight on your hips that it might have actually left bruises, which would’ve been a problem for tomorrow.

You had only just started toying with his hair when he pulled back from the kiss with a muffled whimper, panting softly.

“Did I pull your hair too hard?” You asked sheepishly, giving his scalp a soothing scratch.

“No! No it felt nice,” he insisted. His cheeks were a burning pink, which matched his kiss-swollen lips. You leaned in and gave one chaste kiss, before leaning in to start up the make-out session again. You rolled your hips against his briefly before he grabbed your hips in his hands, keeping them still. “Can we just take a… I dunno… five minute breather?”

You raised a brow and moved your hands between the two of you, only to find a wet patch on his jeans. You bit your lip in an attempt to hide your grin, but it was too late. “Aww… you came from a bit of kissing?” His cheeks flushed impossibly deeper, as you pecked kisses along his cheek. “That is… surprisingly sexy.”

“It’s so not my fault,” he insisted, practically pouting until your words registered. “Wait— it is?”

“Mhmm…” You replied as you began stroking him teasingly over his denim. “Actually… I kind of want to make you do it again.”

[pokemenlovingmen]

Okay!! I was able to counter act the links being funky in my app by opening your blog in my mobile browser!!!! so I was able to read your rules n stuff so now I can finally request (yusss!!! also, I saw the "ingo,,, again" under the PLA characters you write for and it made me think "ingo 2,,, electric boogaloo" heheheh. also yeah fuck kamado, all my homies hate kamado)

okay, could I please request a lil drabble (if you only do hc's thats fine of course! I just couldnt find it clearly if you only do hc's) of Adaman taking care of a reader who is on bed rest and healing? the exact stuff of how and what is up to you, for me its more so the comfort and caring side, not so much the angst side (so like, nothing thats like "omg reader was near death" pls?). gender of the reader I dont mind, just do what youre most comfortable with and yee!! thank youuuu

Hi you’ve been such a kind supporter I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you!! And yeah. Fuck Kamado. That exile would have been my villain origin story if the game gave me more agency, I swear to god.

And conversely, we love Adaman. They put him in pokemas and my quality of life has improved significantly <3

Oh and I’m sorry about the lack of clarity of what I do! I do only HCs, but at the level of detail I can’t stop myself from including, they’re kinda like a weird fusion between drabble and headcanons.

Healing Takes Time — Adaman x M!Reader

💎 — Hisui is a dangerous place and injuries ranging from minor to severe are all too common. So Adaman’s not exactly a stranger to presiding over loved ones on bed rest.

💎 — Doesn’t mean he’s good at it, though.

💎 — Mai reminds him that the slow passage of time is just as important as things that happen in the quick, efficient manner that he prefers as well. It’s not a slight from Mighty Dialga being displeased, it’s just the nature of time. But he can’t just stand around when it comes to your health! Yes, rest takes time, he’s aware, but all this waiting feels the same as doing nothing to him.

💎 — Mai basically has to keep him away from you constantly because he’s always fretting over you, which is definitely sweet of him even if it’s not exactly helpful, but it is funny to watch the cartoonish shenanigans of Mai trying to constantly shoo Adaman away from the medical tent.

💎 — Even if what you’re recovering from isn’t serious, you’d never be able to guess that from how he behaves.

💎 — He essentially becomes your primary nurse and seldom lets you out of his sight if he can help it (thanks to Mai being the reasonable one, he usually can’t).

💎 — Once things calm down though, after the first two or three days when your recovery progress is becoming quite apparent, he’s less frazzled and more willing to leave you be. He just can’t help that impatience winning out, though, sometimes.

💎 — He’ll be there to help you with maintaining yourself while you rest, sitting beside your futon while you recover, brushing your hair so you don’t have to, keeping a fresh cold compress on you at all times if the problem is that you’re sick and feverish, changing your bandages if it’s an injury, all that.

💎 — If you’re okay with it, he’ll also happily bring his Leafeon to see you for some good old fashioned grass-type aromatherapy. I know Leafeon can’t actually learn the move aromatherapy, but it’s clearly made of plants and must have some kind of floral/herbal smell.

💎 — And since we know he is a house husband in the making guy with an interest in cooking, you bet he’ll be bringing you all manner of home-cooked meals.

💎 — He’s so dutiful, oftentimes he doesn’t go back to his own tent for the night and will instead fall asleep on the cold floor next to your futon.

💎 — Adaman is very sure to keep you abreast of all goings-on in the clan, usually nothing much of interest, but he does uncharacteristically bring you all sorts of gossip. It’s not that he likes to gossip, but while you’re bedridden he can’t think of much to entertain you with so this is what he’s settled on. And also he probably would like to vent his multitude of frustrations with Melli specifically because you just know 3/5 instances of drama involve some kind of category 5 Melli moment.

💎 — Once you start to recover and leave your bedridden state, he’s still just as present as he was before.

💎 — If it was an injury he’s always making sure you’re not overexerting yourself, and if it’s something that happened to your legs, he’s volunteering to help you walk around so you don’t put too much pressure on the injury.

💎 — For illness he’ll always be on your case about taking whatever medicines/remedies you were instructed to, because your recovery has already taken ages (to him) already, and he’s not sure he can bear seeing you sick for much longer.

💎 — Regardless of the reason you’re bedridden, he’ll always give you a kiss on the forehead when he enters the tent and before he leaves—though if you’re sick, he musters the self control to wait. Ideally he can keep that up, but he might get a little impatient… oh well. He needs to remind you how much he loves you, and if he ends up getting what you have, he knows you’ll care for him just as dutifully as he did you.

[dragonwritersblog]

She Was Like A Sunflower

Read on AO3

Read Part 1 Here

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

“Just your imagination!”

.

“Trust your imagination…”

Jax and Pomni remember who they used to be, the childhoods they grew up from, the lives they lived and the love they shared. But it doesn’t mean their journey is finished yet. They still need to find a way to escape and return home. Things become more complicated in the real world when Riley starts to investigate further into the disappearances with the help of Samual. The more everyone tries to piece together the puzzle, the more C&A keeps breathing down their neck. But one thing is for sure, time is becoming limited each day. Will Pomni, Jax and the rest of the circus be able to escape before it runs out? Or will they fade away into nothing but pixels?

Bet ya thought this was gonna be Royally Screwed chap 5? Well guess what, I LIED MWAHAHAHAHA. THIS WAS THE REAL APRILS FOOLS JOKE ALL ALONG!!!

So strap yourselves in, cause if you thought chapter 5 was bad then you are in no way prepared for what I have planned. Chapter 5 was child's play my dude, we going straight into the deep end hehehehe

Hope you're prepared 😈

Willow

Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark

Show me the places where the others gave you scars – Willow by Taylor Swift

.

.

.

Three Months Ago

“Penny?” Amber knocked on the door of her daughter’s apartment. “Penny, it’s mom!”

Throughout the past week, Penny had been eerily silent. Normally she would let in her mother or sister, or occasionally answer the phone if they called. But every time Amber reached out, she never replied. She tried to cook it up to her daughter grieving, but she was a mother. Mothers worried.

So here she was, outside Penny’s home and trying to get her to answer the door.

“Look Penny, I know these past few months have been stressful,” Amber said, “But everyone is getting worried about you. I had to stop Riley from charging down here to get you out. We all just want to help you, please.”

Amber gave her a moment, to see if she would hear someone saying they were coming, or have the door unlocked and revealing a messy haired brunette. But nothing. Amber sighed, she didn’t want to do this, but she had to make sure Penny was okay. She reached into her purse and pulled out the spare key her daughter had given, opening the door slowly.

The apartment was in a state, dirty dishes and dust gathering on the countertops. It had been a while since the woman visited, who would usually help her daughter clean. Maybe she would do that today. “Penny!” Amber called out, still no answer. “Penny, we gotta try and get up today.” She walked to the bedroom, “Maybe we can get some coffee or go to the park or-”

Her stomach dropped. The moment she stepped into the bedroom, the bed was empty, without a body in sight. But what scared her more was the turned-on computer with nothing open and a damaged headset…just like Riley’s cases.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Amber chanted, running out of the room, scouring every inch of the place. “Penny?!” She reached the bathroom, no one. “Penny?!” she checked her sewing room, still nothing. “Penny!” the centre of the living room and kitchen. Again, void of anyone there.

She went back into the bedroom, pulling off the sheets, praying her eyes were playing tricks on her. But deep down she knew the truth. She covered her mouth, tears stinging in her eyes. She was gone. Her baby was gone.

She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, hastily dialling until an operator picked up. “Yes hi! My name is Amber Reed!” she cried, “I went to visit my daughter Penny Reed but when I got there she was gone! All that was left was a broken headset and computer just like…just like.” Her voice broke off into a cry.

The operator understood immediately, asking for an address and told the woman that the police would arrive shortly. Amber thanked them and hung up, before dialling a new number.

Riley’s number.

“Hello?” Riley answered, “Mom, is everything okay?”

“Riley…Penny,” Amber sniffed, unable to say the words.

“What?” Riley asked, her voice starting to lace with concern. “Mom what happened?!”

Amber gulped, “It’s Penny…she’s gone.”

.

.

.

Jax stirred, now that it was confirmed that he could actually sleep here, it was certainly something to get used to again. He didn’t mind though, it was something that made him feel more alive, more sane, more human. Especially now that he remembered who he was. Jack Bloom, he missed hearing that name. But he missed another even more.

A warm body stirred next to him. Penny he lovingly threaded his fingers through Pomni’s short hair. He still couldn’t believe she was here! That she went all through that for him! He was going to get them out of here, no matter what.

Pomni hummed at the sensation of his fingers, mumbling and kneading her pillow beneath her hand like a cat. Jax chuckled, he missed watching her do that, every night she would do it. It was the cutest thing to him. Her eyes blinked open, taking in the purple rabbit before her and smiled sleepily.

“It wasn’t a dream,” she hummed, “It was real.”

“As real as it can get sweetheart,” Jax pressed a kiss to her forehead. “God you’re so beautiful.”

She giggled as his fur tickled her skin, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him in for another kiss, “Not so fast bunny boy.”

He chuckled against her lips, giving her bottom lip a small nip, “I’m definitely not complaining.” He pulled her closer to him, revelling in her warmth. Jax missed this, he missed this so much. He missed her so much. How could he ever imagine losing all of this? He literally had the world in his hands and the future ahead of his path was a bright one, and because of Luke, he was so quick to throw it away.

He pulled his lips away, he almost lost his person. He was such an idiot. Jax buried his face into Pomni’s neck, breathing in as much of her scent as he could and keeping her close. He never wanted to lose her again.

“Jack?” Pomni brought her hand up to stroke the back of his head, “Hey, talk to me. What’s going on?”

He shuddered, he feared what to say next, feared that the next wrong move would ruin something. But he shook that thought away, those were the same things in his head that drove him away from Penny in the first place. He wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. “I shouldn’t have made that deal with Jason,” he murmured into her shoulder, turning his face to look at her. “I’m the reason we’re in this mess. You deserve to be home, with your mother and sister, making your dreams come true. And I…I’m really sorry Pen.”

“Hey,” she cupped his cheeks in her hands. “You didn’t know any of this was going to happen. There was no way you could have known that you were gonna end up here after putting on that headset. We fought, yes. But I know that if this whole place didn’t exist, we would have figured out the situation we were in. I put on the headset too, you know. I don’t blame you for anything. I love you so much Jack.”

He sighed, how did the world give him the sweetest soul ever created? She was perfect. “I adore you,” he pushed himself up onto his forearms, leaning over her.

“You’re trying to out do me mister,” she pouted.

“Oh am I?” he smirked, “Can’t I not express how I have the most beautiful, perfect fiancé in the world?”

“I know you mister,” she stuck her tongue out at him, “I’ve known you long enough when you’re trying to be a show-off.”

“So you think I’m being a show-off when I’m doing this?” without warning, his lips were fluttering little kisses against her neck, reaching all the spots where he knew Pomni was most ticklish.

“Jack!” Pomni snorted, trying to shove him off her, “You asshole! Don’t make me bite you!”

“Oh no,” Jax drawled, he knew he was pushing her, “Whatever shall I do?” He didn’t stop his kiss attack.

Just as they both expected, Pomni launched up and bite him on the shoulder, making the rabbit laugh out loud. There was a bit of rough and tumble, with both the rabbit and the jester fighting for control, until Pomni eventually pinned his arms down while straddling his waist. “You can sweet talk me all you want,” she jeered, “But never think that I don’t get even.”

“I mean, I’m definitely not mad about these current circumstances sweetie,” Jax grinned, “As long as I get to look at your beautiful face.”

Pomni groaned, shaking her head, “What am I gonna do with you?”

“Hmm, how about marrying me the moment we get back home?” the rabbit suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

The jester giggled, her annoyance vanishing, “Yeah, I guess that can be arranged.”

His hands were moving up to the back of her head, caressing the soft strands between his fingers. Her short locks were a contrast to her usually long hair that he loved to bury his hands in whenever they kissed, but she still looked beautiful, nonetheless. He lifted his upper body off the mattress, watching as her face softened with relaxation the more he massaged her scalp. His lips inched closer to hers, ready to press them together when-

“-Jax, are you in there?” Ragatha asked on the other side of Jax’s bedroom door, giving it three sharp knocks. “I need to talk to you.”

“Eep!” Pomni squeaked, rolling off her partner and buried herself under the covers. “She’s probably looking for me since I’m not in my room!”

“Shoot!” Jax cursed. Well, as best as he could without triggering Caine’s censorship feature. “This isn’t how I planned to tell everyone about us!”

“I didn’t intend on having a plan at all!” Pomni hissed, “Get in front of me! I’m short enough to hide behind you!”

She found herself regretting those words when she saw a smirk creep on Jax’s lips, “Oh so the little lady finally admits that she’s small.”

Pomni growled, “Keep talking like that and you’ll see how much damage a small person can do to your shins!”

“I’m coming in!” Ragatha called.

Jax immediately sobered up, using his height to cover Pomni behind him, he could hear the rustling of his sheets as she tried to cover herself up with them. He leaned his cheek on his palm, trying to appear as relaxed as possible as Ragatha cracked the door open. “Doll face,” he really hoped he sounded casual, “Don’t you know its rude to break into people’s rooms.”

“Look who’s talking,” she deadpanned, “Besides, you weren’t in your room when I went to check on you last night. I was gonna look for you but then Caine started pressuring us to get to bed at a ‘proper time’.”

Jax face faltered a bit, she cared enough to look for him? After he treated her like nothing but garbage? Little things like that made him all the more grateful that Pomni found her way back into his life. For those last few months and memories, she had managed to get him to open up in ways that no one else could. Maybe deep down it was him trying to get back out or her just being her most sweet and honest self that he couldn’t help but let his edges soften. But either way, it gave him so much more clarity with how he was with the others, and how ashamed that he was blind to the fact that they actually did want to help him. That it wasn’t a cruel trick that someone like Luke would pull. God he was an idiot.

“Guess I got tired of sleeping on a hard stage so I came back to bed,” he gulped down any nerves that were rushing up. “See, no big deal.”

“Well, I hope you’re feeling better,” Ragatha smiled softly. “Pomni was really worried about you when you didn’t come back.”

He felt the jester shuffle behind him when her name was spoken. He wanted nothing more than to smother her with affection right there and then, to show her how much he appreciated even the smallest pieces of kindness she had to offer. “Don’t worry, I’ll see her later and show her that I’m fine,” he told the ragdoll. “But…how was she? After the whole…”

He felt Pomni stiffen, Jax suddenly felt guilty about bringing it up. But seeing her scared little face, how she felt the sensation of dying…Even if she was alright now, it didn’t mean that the trauma of it all was erased. It was just another part of this hell that they were forced to be part of. A hell that Caine was either too naïve or stubborn to fix.

“I won’t lie, she was pretty shaken up. And that’s me giving the sugar-coated version of it,” Ragatha tod him, sighing. “You’d think that we’d be used to it all by now, or at least, we are. But Caine just has to one up himself every time. I know she didn’t – you know. But I was there once, I know how she felt and-” She stopped herself, her voice edging on sounding tearful. Jax watched as she danced the same routine that she always did when she felt as if she was about to cry.

Ragatha closed her eyes, breathed in forcefully and gripped her hands so tight that Jax swore that were almost about to rip. She beamed, as though she wasn’t even sad in the first place. But her smile was just too fake to be considered real, “Anyways, have you seen Pomni? I was going to fetch her for breakfast but she wasn’t in her room. Have you stumbled upon her while going back up to your room.”

Stumbled was definitely a loose term. I mean, if you believed tearful kisses, a long-awaited reunion, the bringing back of lost memories and the passionate promise to return to the real world was just a little stumble then yes, perhaps he did stumble into her. “Uh, nope,” Jax shook his head, “I haven’t seen her. But then again, she is pretty short. It would be hard for anyone not to see her.”

He bit his lip as Pomni kicked him in the leg. Despite her small and light structure, Riley had definitely taught her a thing or two about strength.

“Right,” Ragatha hung her head with worry. “I’m sure she’ll show up eventually. Oh and once you see her again, please be nice to her, for some reason she really likes you. If I didn’t know any better I’d think she has a crush on you.”

“Is that so?” Oh how Jax wished he could see how red Pomni’s face could be turning right now. “I did not know that at all.”

“Unsurprisingly, men are pretty dumb about that stuff,” she scoffed, turning before shutting the door behind her.

When he was sure the sounds of her steps were far away enough, he burst out laughing, echoing off the walls as he fell onto his back.

“Shut up!” Pomni’s was flustered head to toe, grabbing a pillow and smacking him. “So what if I was crushing on you before we got our memories back?! We’re already engaged!”

“It’s the principal little lady!” he snickered, grabbing the pillow and throwing it away. With nothing to hold onto, she fell forward onto his chest with a yelp while the rabbit encased her in his arms. “But I think it’s pretty cute that you were crushing on me even if you didn’t know me.”

Pomni whined, burying her face into Jax’s fluffy chest as she continued to mumble and groan with embarrassment. Jax patted her hair gently, deciding to take pity on her…for now. “There, there,” his fingers combed through her short locks, “I’m sorry for teasing you Penny.”

She went silent there, looking back up at him slowly, “Huh.”

Jax raised on eyebrow, slightly confused, “What? Did I say something weird?”

“You always say weird stuff,” she grinned, earning her a flick to the forehead. The couple giggled as Pomni snuggled up against him more, “It’s just…still getting used to hearing my name again. I feel like I’ve denied of myself for so long, it’s nice knowing that I am someone. And that I do have importance.”

Jax felt himself smile softly, looking at Pomni with all the love he could muster, “That’s my girl.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “And I’ll say it as many times as you want as long as it makes you happy. Penny-Penny-Penny-Penny-Penny-” He started smothering her with kisses again as his fiancé squealed.

“Jack!” she snorted, “You can’t say it all the time! The others don’t know yet!”

“I guess that means I get to keep you to myself a little longer,” he chortled.

“Ugh,” she grumbled, “Dumbass.”

“Shortie,” he retorted as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well, I think ‘keeping me a little longer’ is gonna have to wait,” Pomni told him, “I gotta head back to my room so no one else gets any more suspicious.”

“You sure I can’t keep you for five more seconds,” Jax pouted.

“Jack Bloom you will learn to be patient,” she poked him on the nose. “Once today is over I’ll be right back.” She cupped his face in her palms, “As long as we see each other throughout the day, then that’s enough for me.”

He took her hand, kissing the inside, “And it’s enough for me too.”

Pomni smiled, pressing one last kiss to his forehead and began to swing her legs off the bed until a long purple arm pulled her back. “Changed my mind! I want five more seconds!” his lips began to attack her neck as she screeched and squirmed.

“Jack!” Pomni cackled, “You asshole!” She couldn’t stop giggling, tackling the rabbit to the bed again as the two began to scuffle about, kisses and laughter filling the room.

Five seconds turned to five minutes…then ten minutes. They made it to breakfast eventually, with Jax having to wait a while after before joining the table in order to erase suspicion. Everyone raised a brow at him, usually the rabbit would be there before anyone, ready with a prank and make everyone else’s morning more miserable. Yet he was late, with a carefree smile and said nothing as he sat down (he was grateful that he as least still got to sit next to Pomni).

It still didn’t stop everyone from raising an eyebrow at this sudden new development, and even whispering about it while eating. “See,” he spoke in a hushed voice in Pomni’s direction, “I knew we’d be good at this whole secret thing.”

Pomni never wanted the ground to swallow her up whole as she did now.

.

.

.

The smell of warm coffee filled Riley’s nose as she filled two mugs. Winter was still at work and now she had this stranger in her house. She was still trying to wrap her head around things, the whiplash of finally being able to get her sister back had thrown her for a loop. Did she trust this Samual kid yet? Not really. But she would wait and see if he was bluffing or not. As long as there was a chance to find Penny, she didn’t want to waste it.

She carried the mugs back through to the living room, where Samual was waiting patiently on the sofa. His eyes scanned the room, widened with curiosity. His gaze landed on a small picture frame with three women, two with red hair and one with brown hair-

“-Take it,” Riley shoved the mug in his face, the boy nearly jumping of his skin.

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” he apologised, taking the coffee gratefully. “I usually get distracted. Um, that girl in the photo, is she-?”

“-Aren’t we here to talk about why you should help me?!” Riley snapped. She didn’t mean to sound so cruel, but right now they were here to discuss business. They weren’t friends, and she certainly didn’t want him to familiarise with Penny.

“Sorry, you’re right, I-I’m sorry,” he cleared his throat, gripping the warm mug as the heat washed through his hands before beginning his story. “I always had a funny feeling about Jason since my parents disappeared. At first I thought he was fine. Whenever my aunt and uncle were unsure with how to help me, Jason was always there to try and cheer me up. Before they went missing, he was close with me and my parents, even letting me see games that weren’t finished yet. But when I started getting older things got…different.”

He shifted in his seat in discomfort, his hands tightening around the cup, “He became more controlling, restrictive. He was very vocal about the stuff that I should be studying like coding and computer science, stuff that my dad used to do. He also kept breathing over my shoulder with where I would go and why I wouldn’t spend time with him. Like, he was angry that I wasn’t always in the building. I chalked it up to thinking that maybe he just wanted me to take over C&A, like my dad did, and maybe this was his own way of grieving his loss. But whenever I tried to talk to him about my parents, he always shut me down. I remember this one time where it was just us, I was begging him to tell me at least one thing about my parents. I…I never saw him so angry in my life. It was the last time I brought it up. Whenever I tried to talk about them to someone else at C&A, they’d either bring up a different conversation or not talk to me at all. If someone did talk to me Jason would either get super pissed, and sometimes even fire them.”

His knuckles started to turn white, “I tried to talk to my aunt and uncle about him, how I didn’t want him in my life anymore. But he was always really good to them and helped them out since I was a kid so they didn’t see anything wrong with him, even saying that I was being dramatic. They even supported him when he tried to pick out what college I should go to and what I should study there! As if it wasn’t my choice!” He cringed once he realised the volume of his voice, shrinking a bit in his seat. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“It’s fine,” Riley muttered, gathering more information in her head while listening to him.

“Um, well. Everything kinda changed a few months ago, after Jack went missing,” he continued, “Before…well…your sister went missing. I started getting these anonymous messages. There was never any email address attached, just words on a page. I asked them who they were but they never gave me a proper answer. The only thing they mentioned was that they were trapped and needed a way out. I tried to figure out what they meant, asked questions about how they could get out. Anything else they told me was about bugs, keys and trying to find an escape. I don’t think they meant to be confusing, their whole tone made them sound really scared. However one day…there were no more messages. I tried to email them back but they never responded.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. “This was the last thing they sent me.”

He handed it to Riley, taking it carefully while still feeling slightly suspicious. The whole thing so far had sounded extremely bizarre. She unfolded the paper, blinking in shock at what she saw.

GAME

ITS ALL A GAME

TRAPPED

HELP

THE EXIT IS NEAR

WE NEED A KEY

C&A IS A LIE

FIND THE BUGS

It seemed to be written in a panic. Each sentence quick and at least trying to get to some sort of point. “You sure they didn’t at least have some sort of name?” Riley asked.

“Well, kinda,” Samual shrugged. “The only thing they referred to themselves as was Queenie. But that’s all I got from them.”

“Queenie?” Riley deadpanned. She sighed, running a hand over her face. As if it was realistic for a sane person to have that sort of name. “Look kid, I get your giving me what you know so far, but it’s not realistic for be to see if literally anyone has that name.”

“I know, I know,” Samual told her. “Believe me, I wish that there was more that I could tell you. But that fact that it stated that C&A did something raised so many red flags for me, and it would explain why Jason is so tight lipped about anything relating to my parents.”

“Do you even have proof that you didn’t just make these up?” Riley questioned, her tone harsher as she raised her brow at him.

“N-no,” Samual’s voice wavered slightly. “B-but! I can take you to C&A and show you that I’m telling the truth! I could say that you’re helping with the case and they’d let you in!”

Riley didn’t say a word, taking a long sip of her own coffee. She didn’t know what to believe, everything that this kid had mentioned just seemed off the walls insane! But he spoke to earnestly that a part of her almost felt inclined to believe him. “One chance,” she said, “Got it?”

He was practically radiating with joy the moment those words left her mouth, “Yes! Yes! Absolutely! I promise I won’t let you down!”

She nearly smiled at him, but she forced it away. She wasn’t going to celebrate anything yet until there was solid evidence that he was telling the truth. But she wasn’t going to lie, this was the first time that Riley felt a glimmer of hope with finding Penny.

After so many months of disappointment.

So

Much

Disappointment.

.

.

.

Three Months Ago

Riley was on a mission, her knuckles white as she gripped onto the steering wheel of her car. It was barely a day since Penny was announced missing, and she wanted to confirm that the worst-case scenarios didn’t happen before focusing on anything else. Did she like what she was planning to do? No fucking way. But if it meant getting rid at least part of her worries, then it was worth it.

The car pulled up on a shoddy looking house, the white paint on the bricks fading into grey with chips cracking along the surface. From the windows it didn’t even seem like the place had been cleaned, with grease marks all over the window and what seemed to be a pile of dirty clothes from the corner. She jumped out the car, slamming the door shut before going up to the front of the house.

Riley hammered on the door, not ceasing until she heard an angered, “Alright!” from a male voice.

After the sound of a lock turning, the door opened, revealing a haggard man in a tank top stained with sweat. He seemed like he’d seen better days. Riley cringed at the scent of cigarettes on his breath, “Is David here?”

“Yeah, so?” the man shrugged.

She shoved past him, ignoring his cursing at her. The stronger scent of whiskey and smoke hit her all at once, like a gentlemen’s club that served only the strongest of liquors and lacked any type of windows for air. If the house already seemed messy on the outside, it was so much worse on the inside.

On the floor was more dirty laundry scattered about, dust was collecting on the furniture and there was a build up of unclean dishes nearly covering the kitchen surfaces and sink. In what was supposed to be the dining area, a group of men were huddled round a table, with opened cans of beer, cigarettes and each one was holding a handful on playing cards.

She ignored them, there was only one person – hopefully two – that she was looking for. “David!” she yelled, venturing into the hallway.

“Woah, woah!” one of the men stood up, “Who’s this bitch?!”

“Dunno,” the man from the door scratched his stomach, “Just came in here liked she owned the place.”

The second man scoffed, “Listen lady, I don’t know who you are but you’re a real cunt for interrupting our-”

He tried to reach out and grab Riley’s shoulder, only for the woman to whip back round and grab his arm. She twisted it behind her arm, smirking at his yelp of pain, “Or what? What would you do to a member of the FBI?” That seemed to scare the others off, the men sinking into their seats with Riley’s silent threat. “That’s what I thought.”

She let the man go as he staggered back to his seat. “David!” she went back into the hallway again, stepping over the piles of fabric on the ground.

A body came hurling towards her, but Riley was quick to react as she pushed the body to the wall, the back of head hitting the hard surface. She sighed, she found the idiot she was looking for, “David.”

The man came to, a delirious grin spreading across his face the moment he recognised her. “Well, well,” he drawled, the stench of beer hanging of his breath, “Fellas! This is my oldest, Riley!” He was drunk, obviously. But it didn’t make it hurt for Riley any less, “Come here kiddo!”

He tried to reach in for a hug, but Riley was quick to push him back against the wall with a growl, “Where’s Penny?”

“The fuck are you talking about?” he slurred.

Riley rolled her eyes, if he was playing dumb then she wasn’t going to risk it, “Didn’t you even at least here from the news? She’s missing. I figured that could be the only way you would find out since you like to pretend she doesn’t even exist.”

“Yeah I did,” he scoffed. “She ain’t here. Why would I drag her sorry ass out here?”

That stung more than it should have. His daughter went missing yet he treated it as though as he had a speck of lint on his shoulder. “Dunno,” she scowled, “You always wanted to make sure she was miserable as possible. Wanted to make sure that she wasn’t here.”

“Riley you gotta stop being dramatic,” David said, “It’s a bad habit you got from your mom. You guys always freak out over Penny.”

“Right,” she balled her hands into fists, “Her daughter and my sister went missing and no one can find her but sure. We’re being ‘dramatic’.” She walked away from him, she couldn’t stop searching yet. “Penny!”

She searched through each room of the house, even checking in the wardrobes. Maybe it wasn’t plausible, but that fearful section of her mind wouldn’t let go of that fear until it was confirmed that her father wasn’t a complete monster to her baby sister. He still was, and Riley would never forget that. She could still hear him trying to get her attention, trying to give her some sort of ‘apology’ (which mostly resulted in him trying to avoid any type of blame whatsoever).

Once she made sure she didn’t miss anything from the inside, she ventured back out, gulping in as much fresh air as she could in order to erase the stink of cheap booze and smoke. There was only one more place she wanted to look. She went over to David’s car, unsurprised to find it unlocked, and opened the trunk. Was it a stretch? Honestly, she could never tell with him. The way he treated Penny was enough to make her this fearful. She could feel relief swarm her when there was no one in there. Penny wasn’t here, that’s good.

Worry was quick to fill Riley again, then where was she?

“You’re really being paranoid Riles,” David muttered, stepping outside.

“I’m doing my job,” she spat at him, slamming the trunk closed.

“Don’t use that tone on me young lady,” he scolded, “I’m just trying to help.”

“Seriously? You decide now that you want to attempt at being my dad?” she snarled, “Because that stopped happening the moment you wanted nothing to do with me and Penny after she was born! You held a grudge over a fucking baby! And if you really want to help, you can get off your lazy ass and help Mom with the search parties or even pitch in any ideas to help find your daughter!”

“Come on Riley,” he groaned, “You know your sister has had her freakouts before. She’s probably having one of those after her little boyfriend dumped her.”

Riley grit her teeth, no one spoke about her Winter’s brother like that, “Jack didn’t dump her, he’s missing too. And you’re seriously calling what Penny went through ‘freakouts’? Especially that you’re the reason behind most of them? How fucking dare you?!”

“Oh come on, the car accident was years ago, you should be over this by now,” David crossed his arms. “It’s not my fault your mother was too lazy to pick up that little brat. It was my day off but Amber just had to be a bitch about it anyway.” Riley felt her fist balling up again, her veins raising to her wrist at the intensity. “And if I’m being honest, it’s probably a good thing that she’s missing! It’ll finally teach her to stop being so fucking selfish-”

Riley’s fist collided with David’s nose, sending him to the ground. He screamed as he clutched the now bleeding appendage. Riley flexed her fingers, that felt good. “That’s all I needed,” she muttered, “See you around David.”

She ignored his cries, opting to go round the side of the house to reach her car. She sighed the moment she shut the door behind her and started the engine, not bothering to look back at the dingy old house.

Riley hated him, she hated him so much. She hated that she shared his blood. She hated that he threw away the chance to be her father because of his own entitlement. She hated that he made her baby sister so afraid of being touched despite him not laying a hand on her. She hated how he spoke about her kind, sweet mother in the vilest ways possible. And she hated for wishing for the potential of the relationship they could have had.

She hated him she hated him she hated him sha hated him she hated him-

SHE HATED HIM

The tires of her car screeched to a halt on the empty road. Riley let out a blood-curdling, painful scream, banging her hands on the steering wheel. This always happened whenever she saw David, all the anguish and hurt he fed to her over the years coming full front and forcing their way into her heart.

But this time it was worse. This time Penny was gone. Riley had spent the last few days burying down the panic, the fear, the intrusive thoughts that plagued her mind. Now it was rising like bile in her throat.

A tear ran down her cheek as she pressed her forehead to the wheel.

She just wanted her baby sister back.

.

.

.

“Uh, Miss Riley? Are you okay?”

Riley snapped out of her gaze. She turned to face Samual’s brown eyes. Huh, there the exact same shade as Penny’s- No! Enough! She wasn’t going to get soft on him. Where was she again? Oh, right. After the information that Samual gave her, they had driven up to C&A to carry out the kid’s plan. Right now they were parked outside, with Riley just snapping out of her daydream. “I’m fine,” she murmured.

“You sure?” Samual asked, “We can wait a few minutes in case you need a breather-”

“-I’m fine!” she snapped at him, his eyes widening with panic. Riley sighed, she didn’t mean to snap at him, but right now was more tense than she ever believed she could be capable of. “Just tell me what you want us to do.”

“R-right, okay,” he fidgeted with his hands for a moments. “Um, so I’m able to tell them that you’re still working on Jack’s missing case. You know since he used to work here and all. Then I can take you to where I found the emails, I still have them hidden.”

The plan seemed plausible enough, and Riley was still working on Jack’s case so her boss wouldn’t have any complaints with her being here. “Okay, let’s get started,” she stated.

Samual nodded eagerly, already jumping out the car. Riley sighed, this kid’s energy was too difficult for her to catch up to. She followed him into the building, taking in the familiar site when she first started working on the case. She didn’t think she would get used to the size yet, she knew this company was popular but it was definitely noticeable with the size of this place.

Samual walked up to the desk, Riley already reaching into her pocket for her badge. “Donna,” he greeted the receptionist, “I’m here with Agent Reed from the FBI.”

“Sorry to disturb ma’am,” Riley spoke, holding up her badge. “But I had to come back here to make sure there wasn’t anything I missed for the Jack Blossom case.”

“Oh, uh,” the woman seemed startled, her eyes almost panicked. It already raised a few red flags for Riley. Sure Jack’s case was still going but C&A seemed to have their hands clean so far. This didn’t seem like a reaction for concern, but rather like a child having their hand stuck in a cookie jar.

“Yes, yes of course,” the receptionist finally answered, running a hand through her hair anxiously. “Go right ahead agent, do what you need to do.”

Riley gave her a brisk nod, with Samual leading her further into the building. When they reached the elevator and the doors were shut did Samual begin to grin again, “Woah! That was amazing! Is this what it feels like when you’re undercover? You’re all mysterious and secretive, it feels like being in a play!”

“Easy kid,” she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Right, right, sorry,” he panted a little bit from the excitement. “I’ll be calm. It’s just – so freaking cool!”

Riley rolled her eyes. And if there was a smile slowly quirking at the corner of her lips then she was quick to get rid of it.

With a small ‘ding’ of the elevator, the duo found themselves on the floor they were looking for. Samual led her down a few hallways before stumbling into some sort of office. Samual looked back and forth in the hallway before shutting the door between them. “Okay, this is the place where I started getting the messages,” he informed her, “I kept them on this computer to make sure that it was safe.”

Samual logged onto the monitor, scanning through each folder until he finally found what he was looking for. He clicked on the first file, an email detailing the start of a conversation.

Hello?

Is someone there?

Please

You can see this

Can’t you?

My name is Queenie

I need your help

“You see!” Samual pointed to the screen, “I told you.”

Riley felt her heart flutter a bit, hoping filling it once again. Samual clicked on another email.

You’re back!

Something is happening with the insects here

They’re acting strange

What did you find?

Don’t worry it’s gonna be okay!

We’ll find something

He clicked on a few more pages, each one detailing something similar. Both Samual and this ‘Queenie’ person were trying to find something, something that could somehow set this mystery person free from whatever prison they were in. Samual finally clicked on one more.

It’s all a simulation

Like a game

I remember the headset

I know that I had a life

I know that I am trapped in the amazing digital circus

Riley raised a brow at that, it sounded familiar, “The amazing digital-”

“Samual! What do you think you’re doing?!” a male voice thundered.

Both Riley and Samual jumped, turning to the source of the voice.

Samual gulped, “J-Jason.”

Jason Wood stood at the door, his arms crossed and his face holding nothing but fury, “Donna told me that you were bring an agent here so I rushed out of my meeting to deal with this nonsense. You better explain the meaning of this.”

“I-I, y-you, um,” Samual stuttered, the words not being able to form.

“I can explain sir,” Riley walked over. “It’s for the Jack Blossom case, I got in contact with Sam to see if he could help me out since he knew Jack before he went missing.”

Jason’s eyes furrowed more, looking past Riley to deepen his frightful gaze onto Samual. The boy felt and looked smaller than he ever did, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Jason walked past Riley and over to the computer, “What is this?”

“I-it’s just something to help with the case!” Samual said, “I only wanted to help, I promise!”

“Oh, Samual, not this again,” Jason computer.

Riley looked to Samual, again?

Jason looked back to Riley, pity drawn all over his face, “He did this when his parents disappeared. He created an imaginary version of them to talk to out of grief, the poor kid.”

“Well, kids need to find their own way to grieve, right?” Riley pointed out, dreading that this conversation wasn’t going where she thought it was going.

“Sure for kids,” Jason nodded, “But not for teenagers.” He turned back to Samual, “This is probably another one of his episodes. Last time this happened we had to admit him to the psych ward. I really hope this isn’t another one of these situations, it nearly broke me, his aunt and his uncle seeing him like that.”

A pit formed in Riley’s stomach. Of course she was being naive! The recent cases must have been making this kid act up again, and she only made it worse by selfishly indulging in it.

“No, no!” Samual yelled out. “That’s not true! Riley this isn’t true!”

“So you weren’t admitted to the psych ward?” Riley demanded.

“Yes but not for the reasons you think?!” Samual sniffled. “It was him!” he pointed at Jason, “I stepped out of line and he punished me for it! That’s what he does!”

Riley pressed her fingers to her temples, massaging them. How could I be such a fool? “I’m sorry for wasting your time Mr Wood,” she sighed, “I should get going.”

“That’s quite alright dear,” he smiled warmly.

“No, no, wait!” Samual cried out, chasing after Riley as she went back into the hallway. “Riley please believe me! Those emails were real! I can help you!”

“STOP!” Riley screamed, “Just stop! I can’t believe I was so stupid enough to trust what random kid had to say in order to find my sister!”

“It wasn’t a mistake, please!” he begged, “Riley I can help you! We can find her! We can find Jack! We can find my parents!”

“Enough!” Riley growled, “Enough. You need help Samual, I’m sorry for what you went through but this isn’t going to bring your parents back.”

“You think I haven’t gotten help?!” his voice broke, “You think I didn’t want help?! I had to threaten to leave C&A in order for Jason to let me go to therapy before he weaponised the psych ward in order to get me out the way! This isn’t a deranged theory, this is me finally asking for help after months and months of denying it because I was scared people didn’t believe me! You were the only person I could trust who wouldn’t betray me! Please Riley! Please stay!”

Riley closed her eyes. She couldn’t make the same mistake, “Goodbye Samual, have a nice life.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked back to the elevator.

“Riley please!” she heard Samual sob. “I don’t want to be alone again!”

She walked into the elevator.

“Please! I can’t!” Tears were streaming down the boy’s cheeks.

Riley tried to ignore how much it reminded her how Penny used to cry for her as the elevator doors shut.

.

.

.

Seven hours should never feel this long!

Jax wanted to sob as the adventure finished up for the day. It was some sort of fast-food type of adventure, where he had to take multiple orders at once, get yelled at by an NPC manager, and wasn’t allowed to take a single break. Worst of all? He hadn’t seen Pomni once. It felt like some sort of crime to deny him of his fiancé’s beautiful face.

He laughed to himself, he wondered what the others would think of cruel, sarcastic Jax having such sappy thoughts about the love of his life. A few days ago, he would ignore these thoughts in order to keep up his act of the heartless joker. But now? He couldn’t care less. He loved Pomni and he wasn’t going to change that one bit. Not when he had been refused of her for so long.

Speaking of Pomni, she was currently talking to Gangle. The body of ribbons was held back by Ragatha while the former tried to give Pomni a hug, still clearly concerned for her after the pool incident the other day. Pomni smiled, stating that she was perfectly fine and that the masked lady didn’t need to worry.

Jax felt himself smiling. She was here, as hellish as today was, Pomni was all that mattered to him. He didn’t want to interrupt her yet, besides, the scene was quite funny to watch. Although it seemed to be only them and himself in the ring, he wondered where Zooble and Kinger…oh, right.

Kinger.

“Stop speaking to me as if you know me! You’re nothing but an insect-obsessed, stupid piece of wood who can barely remember his name!

He still remembered the sting of saying that. He wished he could take it back. He wished he took take a lot of things back. Before everything he thought he was fine. He was a prankster, sure, but he never wanted to be cruel like the people who hurt him. But here, without the memories, without something to lean on, without all he built after years of therapy – of course it would cause his scars to bleed again. But he shouldn’t have scarred others along the way.

Jax gulped as his eyes finally caught the chess piece talking with Zooble. He wanted to try and make this right. He walked up to the duo, “Hey hoo-haa, Zoobs. What dumb thing are you talking about now?” Seriously! You try and makes things right and this is how you start the conversation?!

“What do you want now Jax?” Zooble crossed their arms, already annoyed.

“I just wanna talk to the old royal over here for a sec, okay,” Jax replied, trying to seem his usual, casual self.

“Why? So you can kick him down another hole again?” Zooble questioned bitterly. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Jax looked to Kinger, the chess piece was avoiding eye contact with him. “Kinger, I wanted to say-”

“You don’t get to say anything!” Zooble growled, “Not after how you talked to him! Yeah, I overheard your conversation while I was giving Caine an earful! The f&*k did Kinger even do for you to say that?! He was just trying to help!”

“I know, I know!” Jax ran a hand over his face. “I know that I shouldn’t have said that I was scared and I lashed out. I didn’t think-”

“You don’t think at all Jax,” Kinger spoke softly. Both him and Zooble turning to face the chess piece. “You believe everything that you do here is just mindless fun for you. But every time you push us down, every time you call us names, every time you grin cruelly at us, we all remember it. But sometimes there’s a glimmer of hope in you, I saw it when you talked to me about - you know. And every time I see it, you always try to squash it, as though you’re afraid. As though it makes you brave to deny yourself the slightest chance of goodness, but it doesn’t…you’re a coward Jax.”

It felt as if all the air had been knocked out of Jax, he nearly stumbled on the spot. To hear that from Kinger, the only person he felt close to other than Queenie, brought him a shame that he never knew existed. “I…I really am sorry Kinger,” he said with all the sincerity he could muster.

Kinger sighed, “I wish I could believe that.” He pulled out a paper butterfly, red like the old cloak that Queenie used to wear. His eyes smiled softly at the familiarity. “But Queenie always had an eyes for the diamond in the rough. And I trust her more than anyone. I might forgive you, but not today.”

The chess piece’s eyes held the same wisdom as they did back when he and the rabbit built the fort together. A pair of years with decades of knowledge. But as soon as he blinked, he was back to normal old Kinger, “Oh look, a butterfly! That will be perfect for my collection.” He looked back up to the rabbit, “Oh hi Jax…bye Jax.”

With that, he turned away, leaving Jax starstruck again. Zooble gave him a final glare before walking away too. Jax sighed, while that conversation didn’t go the way he wanted it to, he wouldn’t lie and say that it wasn’t unrealistic. Of course Kinger wouldn’t forgive him right away, not after Jax had mistreated him and the others for so long. He felt a hand curl into his, he tightened his hold onto it.

“You okay?” Pomni asked.

He lifted his head to the side to face her, those beautiful and unique eyes already bringing him peace, “I will be.” His eyes scanned the room, everyone was gone. “Remember my promise with getting us out of here?”

Pomni nodded.

“I need to show you something,” he told her, guiding her back to his room.

He made sure the door was locked behind him, erasing the risk of getting caught. “I don’t show these to anyone else,” he said, walking over to a chest and pulling another key out. “But I think this might help with our situation.”

The lock of the chest clicked open, the lid falling back as a hundred of different golden keys were revealed. “Woah,” Pomni’s red and blue eyes widened, “That’s…that’s definitely a lot.”

“Yup, I told you I got keys everywhere here,” he smirked.

She nudged him slightly, “Could come in handy for us sometime.”

“Watch it little lady,” he snickered, his face falling serious again. “I’ve used these keys on every single door I could find but I haven’t found an exit. But with you here, maybe there’s a better chance of finding one.”

Pomni was lost in thought, taking out a singular key and fiddling with it in her hands. “Yeah,” she replied absentmindedly. “I think it might be closer than you think.”

Jax whipped his head round to her, “Come again?”

“Uh…” Pomni trailed off, realising that she had been speaking out loud. “So, remember when I said to Caine a while back that I stopped seeing exits doors? Well…”

Jax raised a brow at her.

Soon enough they were in her room, the chest of keys laying by the wall while both the rabbit and jester were pushing her wardrobe away from the other wall. Jax’s jaw dropped at what he saw once the wardrobe was pushed away. Right behind the piece of furniture was a bright red exit door, the green sign glowing above it. “It appeared here after my first dinner here,” she explained, “I tried to see what was behind it but all it led me to was another maze of weird office hallways.”

“Another?” Jax asked. “Wait, you really did see other exit doors when you arrived here?”

“Yeah, three times actually,” Pomni said. “The only time I went through one it led me to the maze I was talking about.”

“That’s…I,” Jax, for the first time here, was rendered speechless. He thought Pomni had arrived at the void some other way. But she really had seen exits doors and no one believed her, not even him. “There has to be a reason why you’re targeted. If it didn’t do this to us, why you?”

“I wish I knew,” Pomni glanced down, shuffling her feet.

“Hey, hey,” he took her chin into his palm, lifting her head up to face him. “Don’t feel bad, okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as harsh.” He stroked her cheek gently, “We’re gonna figure this out together, okay? And with our memories back we now have an advantage.”

Pomni sighed, leaning into his touch. It had been too long since she last felt his gentle touch, “Yeah, we do. We’re gonna get out of here.”

He pressed his forehead to hers, giving her a wink, “That’s my girl.”

They settled there for a few moments before Pomni turned away again to look at the keys. Jax wanted to be greedy and pull her back, but right now there was business to attend to. “You said you tried every key with every door, right?” she asked.

“Yup,” the rabbit nodded, “Yet it always never worked. They would either be a room that was part of the circus or would never unlock.”

Pomni hummed in curiosity, picking up another one, “Maybe…” she peered to the bright red door on her wall.

Jax followed her gaze, a grin playing on her lips at what she was implying, “Maybe what?”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Maybe it could work on an exit door?”

“God I love your brain,” he exclaimed.

“Phhh, by making a suggestion?” Pomni snorted.

“By making a smart suggestion, like you always do,” he corrected leaning into her face and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Okay mister,” she retorted, pushing him away with her index finger as the rabbit chortled. She looked down to the key in her palms, it had a circular end with four holes in the middle. This no doubt had to be Ragatha’s key. She looked back to her fiancé, “May I have the honours?”

“It would be my pleasure little lady,” he bowed dramatically.

Pomni huffed, pretending to be annoyed but didn’t force away the smile that tugged at her lips. She breathed out slowly, her breath slightly shaking as she did so. She slid the golden key into the hole, turning it once as they door clicked open.

Jax’s tail twitched with anticipation, awaiting what could possibly be behind it. Pomni reached up to the handle, twisting it and pulling the door open slowly. Her heart plummeted when the familiar office structure appeared again. She shut the door, “I’m sorry I got your hopes up.”

“No, no,” Jax’s voice was gentle as he took her hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Let’s try two more, how does that sound?”

The jester bit her lip, nodding quietly in agreement. Jax pulled out two more keys from the chest, the first had the shape of some sort of castle on its end while the second had a jester hat – Pomni’s key. “You’ll probably need this back once we’re done,” he told her, referring to the object. “In case you need your privacy, I know how Caine can be.”

“Aw, honey,” she cooed. “You’re playing favourites.”

He flicked her nose, the jester rubbing it while giggling, “Yeah, yeah. You get your wife privileges.”

“I’m not your wife yet,” she retorted.

Jax grinned, “But soon you will be.”

She shook her head, placing the next key into the lock. She felt a twinge of disappointment when it led to the same grey hallway again. Pomni closed the door again, taking her own key from Jax’s paw, “Maybe third time’s the charm?”

Jax gave her a gentle smile, wanting to keep her as hopeful as possible. But both of them felt the intensity of the situation, if this didn’t work then another dead end was hit, then neither of them would know what to do. Please, please work.

She slid it in, the lock clicked, the door creaked open.

Pomni shut her eyes slightly, she didn’t want to be disappointed again.

“Oh my god,” she heard Jax gasp.

She peeked one eye open, then the other as they widened at what she saw.

It was a hospital room, void of the cold grey scale of the office hallway. The walls were a warm light brown with a lamp switched on by a bed, contrasting with the midnight sky from the window. Pomni’s breath hitched when she saw who was laying on the bed.

“Mom,” she whispered.

A younger Amber was sat up in the hospital bed, her red hair was messy and bags were under her eyes. But she looked so incredibly happy. Next to her was a glass case with holes and inside a little baby with brown curls wrapped up in a pink blanket slept.

“Is that…” Jax trailed off.

“Yeah,” Pomni felt her spirits lift ever so slightly when she looked at the date on the small clock next to the lamp. “That’s me. This was the day when I was born.”

She watched as the woman’s fingers trailed across the glass, marvelling at the tiny human inside. “Hi Penny,” she exhaled happily. “Welcome to the world. I can’t wait for Riley to see you, she’s been so excited to have a little sister. I don’t know where your daddy went but I’m sure he’ll be back soon. When you get better, we’re gonna have so much fun together.” A tear of mirth ran down Amber’s cheek, “Look at you, you’re perfect.”

Pomni felt a tear of her own escape as she watched the scene in front of her. She had been told about how her mother was glued to her side as a baby, watching her every move when the doctors told her how sick and weak she was. Amber had spent every waking moment making sure her daughter was healing. It wasn’t easy with a sickly newborn, an absent husband and a rowdy four-year-old, but she did it anyway.

“I miss her so much,” Pomni sniffled.

“Oh, Pen,” Jax wrapped his arms around the smaller woman’s body, pressing a chaste kiss at the back of her neck. “You’re gonna see her again, I promise.”

She turned and pressed her lips to his cheek, agreeing silently.

Another door creaked open, drawing the duo’s attention. It was the door of the hospital room opening, but instead of leading to a hallway, it seemed to be leading outside instead. The rabbit and jester shared a look before moving ahead, for them it was the most plausible thing to do.

The moment they stepped out, they had to squint from a beam of sunlight shining in their eyes. It seemed like they were in some sort of back garden, with real soft grass beneath their feet and fresh air filling their lungs. It made them feel human.

Pomni let out a shocked yet excited laugh when she saw what was in front of her, this wasn’t any ordinary back garden. It was the one where she grew up in where she and Riley would play when the sun was shining and dried up the rain. The ground was scattered with toys, with a trampoline at the right-hand side and a swing on the left.

She gasped, for on the swing was a girl about ten-years-old, wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt and purple overalls with white butterflies on the pockets, her brunette hair was short and ended by hair jaw as she stared out into the garden with her chocolate brown eyes. “T-that’s me!” Pomni said, startled. “I remember this!”

Jax was going to say something, his smile widening seeing the jester so happy when another voice cut him off.

“Marco!”

The little girl snickered at the new voice, jumping off the swing, “Polo!”

A girl around fourteen years of age, with red hair tied into a ponytail, ran into the garden, dropping a school bag in favour of chasing the younger of the two. Pomni pressed her hands to her mouth, “Riley.” 

The older girl snorted as the younger ran around the swing set, reaching out in order to grab her, “I’m gonna get you!”

“Nuh uh!” a younger Penny retorted, “You’re too slow Riles!”

“Oh, now you’re gonna get it!” Riley smirked, the two squealing as the chase continued.

Unfortunately it came to a halt when Penny tripped over a toy and landed on the concrete path leading to the house. Riley gasped, rushing over to her as the little girl picked herself up, her palms bloody and staining her skin. Fat tears ran down her cheeks as she began wailing, “Mommy!”

Riley wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her arm and rocking her slowly. Amber ran out of the door, kneeling down and gently taking her daughter’s hands, “Oh baby. Don’t worry, we’ll get these cleaned up.”

She scooped her youngest into her arms, walking back into the house.

“Mom I’m really sorry!” Riley panicked. “We were playing and she tripped, I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

“Riley, Riley, it’s okay,” Amber spoke calmly. “This was an accident, it’s not your fault, okay?” That didn’t seem to make the older girl feel any better. Amber hummed in thought, “How about you go get the bandages while I clean Penny’s hands, how does that sound?”

Riley nodded furiously, already running in and up the stairs. Pomni followed her mother and younger self into the kitchen, Jax tailing behind her. Amber sat Penny upon the countertop next to the kitchen sink, running the tap while Penny tried to gulp down her cries. “Oh Penny,” Amber ran her fingers under her daughter’s eyes, wiping away the tears. “We’ll get you fixed up, it’s alright baby.”

Penny shook her head, trying to quiet her crying as much as possible, “I-I’m being a b-baby! I n-need to be s-strong!”

“You’re not being a baby for getting hurt,” Amber’s brows furrowed, concern lacing her voice.

“B-but Daddy said t-that crying i-is w-weak,” Penny sniffled.

Amber inhaled sharply, her jaw tensing before slipping into her relaxed position again, “Your Daddy isn’t always right about a lot of things. This is one of them. Even the strongest people in the world need to cry Penny, never feel like you aren’t strong for doing so.”

Like a magnet, Penny clutched onto her mother, wrapping her arms round the tall women’s neck. Amber kissed the top of her child’s head, rubbing her hands up and down the little one’s back. There was probably blood on the back of her shirt, but she didn’t care, not when her child needed comfort. “How about we wash that blood off, okay?” Amber suggested.

Penny nodded against her shoulder, unwrapping her arms. Amber led her hands under the running water, Penny hissing at soon as the liquid touched her skin.

“I know baby, I know,” Amber ran her fingers through the child’s hair, “You’ll feel better soon, I promise.”

“I got the bandages!” Riley announced, running back into the kitchen.

“Perfect,” Amber switched off the tap once Penny’s hands were clean enough. She patted them dry with a towel and took the bandages from Riley. Slowly and carefully, she wrapped up each hand in the white gauze, finishing it off with a small bow on the top of each hand. “See, much better.”

Penny rubbed one last tear away, holding her hands out for her mother again, “Thank you Mommy.”

Amber cooed, picking her up and holding her close, “Always baby.” With a spare arm, Amber pulled Riley into the hug, rubbing the older girl’s shoulder, “Thank you for your help.”

Riley let out a trembling breath, burying her face into her mother’s shoulder, the woman holding her daughters in a vice grip as though they would disappear if she let go.

Pomni felt her stomach twist, Amber’s daughter did disappear. And her mother had no idea where she was.

Jax placed a hand on her shoulder, Pomni touched it as pressed her cheeks onto it, “It still hurts, knowing she doesn’t know where I am.”

“I know,” Jax agreed. “I know how much you mean to your mother. She’ll see you again, I know it.”

The back door creaked open like the hospital door did, this time is showed the inside of a living room.

Walking through, a wave of familiarity hit them both at once. It was their old apartment. Everything was the same, from the furniture to the wallpaper to even the starry mug that Penny loved to use all the time. Said mug was on the coffee table, steaming rising from the top.

Laughter broke the two out of their trance, for in the middle of the living room from was…them. Their human forms, engagement rings on their fingers as they danced while slow romantic music filled the room.

“Watch your speed!” Penny giggled, “I can barely keep up!”

Jack snickered, “Says you! You keep tripping over yourself!”

“It’s not my fault I have two left feet!” Penny retorted grinning.

Jack ran a hand over his face, another laugh escaping his mouth, “Imagine if we danced like this on our wedding day.”

“We’d certainly attract a crowd, that’s for sure,” Penny sighed wistfully, her arms curling round his neck, “How about we just settle for swaying?”

“Yeah, swaying sounds good,” Jack’s hands settled round her waist, the two moving from side to side. “I guess this isn’t so bad.”

Penny hummed in agreement, “Looks like our wedding dance won’t be a complete disaster after all.”

“It was never gonna be, I’ll make sure it will be the best day for you, promise,” Jack’s nose rubbed against hers, earning him another giggle.

Pomni looked up at Jax, the latter looking on longingly at their past selves. Life could have continued like this if he hadn’t been so selfish, so entitled, so cowardly…Kinger was right.

“Hey,” Pomni spoke up, it was his turn to listen to her. “It’s not your fault for what happened, okay? If you believe that we can get out of here, then so can I.”

Jax felt warmth spread about himself, this was why he loved Pomni so much. Despite her own fears and anxieties, when her kindness shone then it shone brightly. Many actions that she had done spoke loudly than any word she spoke. And if she couldn’t see how amazing she is, then he could do it for her. “You’re incredible, you know that right?” he said.

Pomni blushed, trying to hide behind her short hair, “Maybe.”

Jax chuckled, he never wanted her to change. The sound of another door creaking made them turn. Just like they did many times before, they walked through.

They were back in Amber’s house, though this time it had aged, they were in the living room instead, although furniture seemed more recent in memory than Pomni expected. “Is this ringing any bells?” Jax asked.

“No, no this doesn’t seem that familiar, aside from the room,” Pomni replied.

Footsteps entered the room. It was Amber, now older and more tired. Pomni watched as her mother sat on the sofa, there were bags under her eyes and dried tear stains on her cheeks. In her hands was a small pile of papers, Penny’s face printed on the very top and well as the words ‘MISSING’ written in bold black letters.

“This isn’t a memory,” Pomni murmured. “This is now.”

Jax let out a tiny gasp of realisation, they had come so far they were teetering on the border of the outside world, something that no one could possibly imagining happening in the circus!

But the circumstances weren’t as bright. Right now they were watching Amber mourn over her lost daughter, the one thing she feared the most.

Amber gripped onto the papers tighter, her lips quivering as more tears hit the posters. She let them go, each one scattering across the floor as she brought her hands up to cover her face, muffling her sobs.

Pomni’s heart twisted, she wished for nothing more than to reach out to her mother and engulf her in the biggest hug she can manage. “Mom, I’m here,” she spoke, “I’m okay.”

But nothing, it could be as though the wind had spoken. It was silence.

Pomni wanted to cry, to yell, to scream IM HERE. But it was pointless, wasn’t it?

The jester lifted her hand to a switched off lamp next to the sofa. When she was young, Amber would always turn on her bedside lamp, telling her that she would feel safe as long as that was on. Pomni’s fingers grazed the handle of the lamp, that was what she wanted for Amber, for her to feel safe like she did for her.

Without even realising, her fingers lightly pushed against the button, the pressure making it flicker on. Pomni jumped back, did she do that?!

Amber turned to the sudden light, sighing, “Lights are acting up, great.”

Pomni looked down at her hands, Amber couldn’t see her still. But what if…

She looked to Jax, the rabbit looking just as surprised as she did. He turned to the light switch on the wall, quickly moving towards it and flicking it on. Just like with Pomni, it shone throughout the room. He let out a strangled laugh, he could do it too!

Amber’s brows furrowed in confusion, “What is happening?”

Pomni held onto the lamp again, determination on her mind. She wasn’t going to leave until her mother knew that she was here and she was alive. She flicked the lamp on and off again, feeling guilty when Amber jumped in surprise. She did the same with another lamp on the chest of drawers at the side of the room, flicking it on and off while Jax did the same with the room light.

Amber whipped round, watching in shock as this bizarre event unfolded before her. She knew that lights had a habit of acting out, but never to this extent. “What’s going on?!” she exclaimed, “Is someone doing this?!”

Pomni bit her lip, she had to let Amber know that she was here. She scanned the room, trying to see if there was something, anything that could help. Her traveling eyes came to a stop when she spotted Amber’s computer tucked away into the corner, a printer next to it with missing posters on top of it. She must have moved it down here when making them.

Pomni rushed towards it, pressing the ‘on’ button and praying that her plan would work.

Amber yelped as she heard the sound of her computer switch on, panic rising in her chest.

The jester pressed a few keys on the keyboard, searching until she landed on a blank document, here goes nothing. And so, she began to type.

Mom

It’s me

Penny

Amber took a few steps back as her missing daughter’s name appeared on her screen, it felt like a horror movie unravelling in front of her. She let out a broken laugh, “Okay you got me! Whoever’s here better piss off with their sick joke before I call the police!”

Pomni winced, she had to keep trying.

It’s okay!

It’s Penny Mom!

You don’t need to be scared!

Amber shook her head, this had to be some sick joke. “My daughter’s missing!” she felt insane for talking back to the computer. “How could she be able to do this?! Whoever you are, you better show yourself!”

Pomni wracked her brain, she had to think of something, anything. A lightbulb went off in her head, she began to type again.

I was born on August 13th, 1999, at 11:59 PM

I was born too early so I had to be incubated at the hospital

On my fifth birthday you gave me a purple teddy bear and I named her Candy

You always sang ‘Silent Night’ to me to help me fall asleep even when it wasn’t Christmas

You brought a giant sign at Riley’s graduation saying ‘YOU’RE AN AGENT NOW RILEY’ when she completed her FBI training

Riley hates carrot cake but she always brings some for Winter whenever they go on dates

You took time off work just so you could help homeschool me when I left high school and helped me when I struggled to eat

I’m terrified of bees but I love butterflies

I hate the water, I always have

I always wanted to go into costume designing

When I finally felt confident in myself you asked me to make you a promise

I promised you that no matter what I am Penny Reed

I have a role in this world

I am worthy of greatness

And I have always mattered

Mom

It’s me

Amber’s breath hitched, nearly stumbling back a bit. No one could know something so personal about one person. Could it really be… “Penny?”

Pomni felt her own tears escape.

Hi Mom

Amber’s knees dropped to the ground, tears of relief and joy escaping. “Oh my baby!” she sobbed, “You’re here! Are you…Are you alive?”

Pomni sniffed, letting out a small laugh.

Yes Mom

I’m alive

Another cry tore from Amber’s throat, her daughter was alive. And somehow, she was here. “Penny where are you?” she asked, wiping away her tears. “What’s going on?”

It’s hard to explain

And I don’t know how long I can stay

“No, baby don’t go yet,” Amber begged. “Just stay, at least until Riley gets here.”

Jax’s ears twitched, a soft voice calling from the distance.

“Jax?”

“Pomni?”

He could recognise that voice from anywhere. Jax grasped Pomni’s shoulder, “Ragatha’s looking for us, we gotta go.”

Pomni was startled for a second, but she knew that he was serious. She turned back to her mother.

I’m sorry Mom

I have to go

“Penny please!” Amber panicked, “Don’t go!”

I’ll come back

I’m so sorry

But I’m okay

I promise

“Stay!” Amber cried, “Penny, stay!”

It felt as though Pomni’s heart was being ripped from her chest, but she couldn’t risk her or Jax’s safety. What if Caine was with Ragatha? Then they would really be in trouble.

She and Jax rushed to the door, the room outside of it reverting back to Jax’s bedroom. Pomni looked back to her sobbing mother, guilt stabbing at her. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised, even if Amber couldn’t hear her.

She forced herself to tear her eyes away and ran back into Jax’s bedroom, the rabbit closing the door behind her. “Hey,” he placed both of his hands on her shoulders, “I know that must have been really hard for you, but we can go back. We’re able to now, we finally have a chance to try and get out of here.”

“I just,” Pomni sniffled, “I just miss my Mom.”

Jax brought her into his arms, letting her cry out as much as she needed to. He wasn’t going to let go, never again. Both mother and daughter were terrified of this bizarre situation, the mother fearing that she would never see her child and the daughter wishing for her mother to hold her. Until they were back, Jax had to protect Pomni. It was serious now, bigger things were at play and everything was different. No matter what, her safety was his priority.

“Jax?” Ragatha knocked on the door. “Come on, open up please.”

Pomni let go, her eyes darting to the door with worry.

“It’s okay,” Jax reassured her, “Take the keys and hide behind the side of my bed, I’ll take care of doll face.”

Pomni looked to the keys and back at him, “O-okay.”

He kissed her forehead, stroking her cheek lightly before the two pulled away. Pomni picked up the chest, taking it and ducking behind the bedside while Jax pulled the wardrobe back over the exit door as silently as he could.

The door knocked again, he smoothed down the fur on his head I’m cool and collected, I’m cool and collected. Once he had slipped into his persona again, he opened the door. He gulped, apart from Caine and Bubble, everyone was there.

 “So, Rags,” he leaned against the side of the door. “How can I help you?”

“Pomni’s in there,” Ragatha crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t she?”

I’M COOL AND COLLECTED, I’M COOL AND COLLECTED! Jax’s tail twitched nervously as he let out a laugh that seemed fake even to him, “What? No, of course not!”

“I saw you go in her room a while ago,” Gangle mumbled. “I didn’t know if you were pulling a prank on her but I had to get the others just in case.”

“And imagine my panic when I found out the door was locked!” Ragatha growled. “You better explain yourself, Pomni better be okay!”

“Ragatha,” Pomni peered above the bed, jumping over it and made her way towards the door. “Don’t worry I’m fine-”

“Oh Pomni you’re okay!” Ragatha gasped, reaching out her hand to the jester. “Come here, what type of prank did he pull on you?”

Pomni surprised everyone when she jumped back, opting to stand beside Jax instead. “Ragatha,” she spoke softly, “You don’t have to worry, I’m completely fine. Jax didn’t do anything.”

“T-then why is he in your room?” the ragdoll asked. “You two have been acting strange for the past couple of days and we’re all getting worried, what’s going on?”

Pomni and Jax shared a look, a silent conversation between the two. Pomni, without breaking eyes contact, nudged her head towards the group. Sparing the others a glance, he looked back to Pomni with a nod.

“You guys come in,” Pomni said, opening the door wider. “There’s a lot you gotta know.”

.

.

.

This had to be the second time Riley was emotionally exhausted while driving back home, the first was when finding out Penny was missing. But her hopes had gone up too many times and had blind faith in someone who was hurting like she was, maybe even more. It was strange, everything Samual said felt true, but Jason Wood was a prominent figure who helped raise him after his parent’s disappearance, who was she to have a say in that situation?

Perhaps the wish to have her sister back was overtaking her logic. But now anymore, she was going to put her headfirst and figure this out the way she always did. Her phone began to ring in the cup holder next to her seat, it was Amber. She put the phone on speaker, keeping her eyes on the road, “Hey Mom, what’s up?”

“Riley!” Amber panted over the phone. “Riley you need to get here now!”

Riley practically kicked the break to stop the car, ignoring the other honking cars behind her as she pressed the phone to her ear, “Mom! Is everything ok?! What happened?!”

“It’s about your sister!” Amber blubbered. “You need to get here as soon as you can, please!”

Before Riley could say another word, the line was caught off. She pressed on the accelerator, her heart pounding. If her mother was speaking in that panicked and it involved her sister, she was going to drop everything and be there first thing.

The car skid to a stop when she arrived at her mother’s house, running to the door as fast as she could and slammed it open. “Mom!” Riley called out, “What happened?!”

Amber was collecting posters off the floor, dumping them down on the coffee table before pulling Riley inside. “Riley!” she gasped, “You won’t believe it! I know it sounds insane but I saw it happen in front of my eyes!”

“What? What did?!” Riley was starting to worry now. “Mom you’re scaring me, what does Penny have to do with this!”

“Everything!” Amber bellowed, a wide grin forming while more joyful tears leaked down her face. “Penny was here! She’s alive!”

The whole world went still for Riley, “Penny?! She’s alive?! Wait-wait, what do you mean ‘was here’?! Where is she?!”

“That’s the thing!” Amber pointed to the computer. “She wasn’t ‘here’ here, she was speaking to me through that!”

Riley’s palms began to sweat, this was beginning to sound familiar, “What do you mean by through the computer?”

“She wasn’t here in a physical sense, but she was messing with the lights, writing to me on that computer!” Amber exclaimed. “I don’t know how it’s possible and I know it sounds crazy, but your sister is alive! My daughter is alive! And she needs our help!”

Riley nearly staggered on the spot, Amber’s concerned calling for her name falling on deaf ears. Her mother wasn’t someone who spouted nonsense (that was more of David’s thing) and there was no way this type of situation could be a coincidence, it wasn’t something that anyone could make up on the spot.

She looked past Amber and to the screen behind her. Her breath hitched, on the screen was basically what Samual had showed her. Someone trying to communicate through anonymous messages with no email attached. Except this time it was different, this time it described parts of her life that no one else could know about, this time there was undeniable proof that someone was talking to her mother, this time there was a name.

Penny’s name.

Riley gasped.

Samual was telling the truth…and she pushed him away.

[asexualsoup]

In which Peter Nureyev goes undercover at the Vixen Valley and Juno just happens to find him there. Not canon... (maybe). I’ll find out tomorrow when the finale comes out, I guess lol. 

And yes, this comic was all just an excuse to draw Nureyev as Jessica Rabbit. 

As always, click the pics for better quality. 

[ID: A five page fanfiction comic of characters from The Penumbra Podcast, in grayscale. 

Page 1: The text at the top of the page reads: “Disclaimer: Not canon (unfortunately).” The first panel shows the exterior of the Vixen Valley at night. Juno’s word bubble reads, “Come on, Vick. We both know you got the intel I need on the guy I’m looking for.” The second panel shows Vicky and Juno sitting in armchairs together inside the Vixen Valley. Vicky’s word bubble reads, “You know how this works by now, Steel. I ain’t in the habit of givin’ out anythin’ I can put a price tag on.” The third panel is a close up of profile Juno looking serious while holding a drink. His word bubble reads, “I do. Just want to make sure it’s a price tag I can afford.” The final panel shows an extreme close-up of Vicky’s grin. Her word bubbles read, “Hehehehe. I guess that depends on how badly you wanna find your ‘guy...’” 

Page 2: The first panel shows an employee of the Vixen Valley dressed in a black suit approaching Vicky, their hands behind their back. Their word bubble says, “Ms. Vicky. Your wife is on the phone for you.” A grinning Vicky responds. Her word bubble reads, “Perfect. Steel, gimme a minute. I gotta take this.” The second panel shows a frustrated Juno. His word bubble reads, “Goddamn it, Vick! You can’t just-!” He gets interrupted by another Vicky word bubble, which reads, “God, you’re such a baby.” The third panel shows Vicky and her employee walking away. Vicky grins and gestures behind her with her thumb. Her word bubbles read, “I ain’t leaving for long. Gives me time to think over our little deal. Besides, the show starts soon. And somethin’ tells me you’re gonna like it.” The final panel, which rests partially behind the third panel, shows a still angry Juno shouting to Vicky behind him. In front of Juno is a stage surrounded by tables of waiting patrons and bustling wait staff. Vicky grins mischievously in the foreground as she continues to walk away. Juno’s word bubble reads, “Vicky!” Vicky’s word bubble reads, “Don’t enjoy yourself too much, Steel.” 

Page 3: The first panel shows a close-up cartoonish version of Juno pouting (FX: “pout”). His word bubble reads, “hmph.” The second panel is the same close-up but drawn in a less cartoony style. Juno looks upward curiously as the lighting in the room changes and the show begins. The lyrics to the song Why Don’t You Do Right? by Kansas Joe McCoy and Peggy Lee begin to appear in text boxes surrounded by music notes. The third panel shows the curtains on the stage, now lit from behind by a spotlight to show off the silhouette of the hidden performer posing sensuously. In the fourth panel, Juno gapes up at the stage in interest as other patrons cheer and whistle around him (FX: “whistle” and “woo!”). The final panel shows the silhouetted performer behind the curtain doing another pose. The lyrics on this page are: “You had plenty money 1922/You let other women make a fool of you/Why don’t you do right?” 

Page 4: The song lyrics continue across this page. The first panel shows the performer sticking a long leg out from behind the curtain. The second panel shows a close up of Juno’s eyes as they widen and he blushes. The third panel shows the performer stepping out from behind the curtain and grinning, but the second panel partially covers the third, obscuring the performer’s face. We can still tell that they have round glasses, light skin, long dark hair, and long, slender fingers. In the fourth panel, we see the back of the performer’s head as they push the curtains aside. More patrons of the Vixen Valley watch with rapt attention. The fifth panel shows a close up of the performer’s high-heels as they slowly strut across the stage. The sixth panel shows a squinting Juno. His word bubble reads, “No way...” The seventh panel shows an extreme close up of the performer’s heavily lashed eye behind their glasses. The lyrics on this page are: “Like some other men do?/Get out of here/Get me some money too.” 

Page 5: The final page of the comic. The first panel takes up about three quarters of the page. It is a full view of the performer on stage, revealing him to be Peter Nureyev dressed in a Jessica-Rabbit-style dress. He poses sensuously, hand on his hip, leg stretched out, and head tilted back. The second panel shows a grinning and slightly flushed Juno with a little heart beside his head. The final panel of the comic is the moment Nureyev notices Juno is there watching him. He gasps, looking embarrassed and blushing furiously. The lyrics on this page are: “Get out of here/Get me some-.” The second line is cut off by Nureyev’s gasp (FX: “gasp”). 

End ID] 

[asumofwords]

My theory is that the reader will probably find out that alys is pregnant through someone else (a secretice source Or dreams) and it will probably be unknown to the council so aegon doesn't find out and she can decide what to do or plan in secret, she might stop drinking moon tea and let aemond impregnate her so if the news of her pregnancy is out before the bastard babe is born, her stance in court will not be weakened.

Alys said that when her babe is born, the reader's will grow, she didn't mention specifically at what month the reader will be when alys babe is born, could likely be around 2 - 3 months/moons if we follow biology, end of 10th week is when the baby officially goes from an embryo to a foetus (it starts taking a human form) and that grows into a baby 👀

IT'S JUST A THEORY SO TAKE IT WITH LIGHTHEARTEDNESS AHSHAD I love guessing what will happen next! you don't need to verbally answer this hehehehe !

I LOVE READING PEOPLES THEORIES YES YES YES!

[carmenized-onions]

SIGH you got me good with this one I fear

Okay so the chap is still fresher in my mind this time since I read yesterday!! Itemized yap sheet incoming below based mostly on the order they happened

1) Yoooooo

That just cracked me up okay. Had to add. But also like. I love them. I love that Tony is so nervous to catch up with Richie bc it means talking abt mikey, but also relieved and excited ish to talk to richie bc it means talking abt mikey does that makes ykwim

2) AAAAAAA listen the way that Carmy thinks about Tony to calm down?? Like hes having a panic attack and he thinks about Tony and is calmed slightly by smelling her shampoo in his hair literally makes me ILL

2b) kinda related but also like not ?? But Anyway Like. Carmy like unsure whether or not he is actually scared/believes Richie when he says he could end his relationship with tony got me like on my knees in my workplace when I read that bc UGH he has absolutely zero confidence and i just want to kiss his face okay. Also him not really wanting to share tony with Richie is so real of him actually. Like he wants Tony to just be his and that's so sweet.

3) if we dont find out the chip storyline ill riot if only for Carmy's sake cause like Carm, im also now very intrigued that Richie didn't immediately blab when prompted but also go richie thats very cute

4)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Scream break mb

5) last one but like the painting??? The way that it starts with the beef and has like pictures of before and stuff and the mid point is mikey and then it has pictures from like the building process and ends with the The Bear sign? IM DECEASED YOU KILLED ME THATS SO GOOD WHAT LITERALLY WHAT

6)okay im i liar whatever could i edit the post yes will i no. I digress. Last one fr. So the way both their lil povs end with them saying on friday they'll do right by each other??? Im so gone actually wtf

Anyways as always i adore you and your writing RAAAA

HEHEHEH GOTCHU!!! GOT YOUR ASS!!!

yoooooooo -- The next convos are really some of my favourite to write, i get to amp up the funny and math out what their texting styles would probably be, it's fun!!

Also yes, it's very much that part of grief where it's like a knife to talk about them, but it's also nice, it's weird when in the grief process, everyone around you acts like that person just simply Never Happened in fear of being triggering-- It's nice for Tony and Richie to get to talk raw!! Even if it's anxiety inducing to lead with it!!

2. Hehehhehe, he does it a LOT, When he called her before, trying and failing to get her voicemail, when he was having an episode in the diner and then Tony came back and he became Normal mostly. Grounding Tool but it's a Person

3. listen baby, I don't put a gun in the first act just to not fire it. I've had this backstory since chapter two. And honestly, I was extremely nervous that someone was gonna guess it and I was being too obvious. Thank God, no one has, yet-- But also no one's guessed, so like, feel free to throw in your guesses, love to hear em.

4. AHHHHHHHH!!!! Here let's see, during this scream break what can I give you...

This is what I'm screaming over, personally. This is Chapter 10 alone, LMAO. AND I'M NOT EVEN DONE LMAOOOO. The goal for me is to get it out this Friday, so it's like, timely and on theme. But we'll see how tired I am, this work week. Might've just gotten a commission (that I honestly don't want to take lmaoo) so we'll see. Fingers crossed. It's definitely gonna need me to take my eyes off it for a day and come back to, so keep your fingers crossed, for me.

5. OH GOOD! I was worried I described it poorly; there's always that fear, when you have to make the thing that's like the thing of the story, and if it's not good then what the FUCK WAS IT FOR!!!!!????

I'm vv happy to hear it killed you, is what I'm trying to say. I also thought the idea was very sweet. Hehhehe

6. You're always free to yap on end, never fear such a thing. Yes!! Their POVs start and end the same way, which is just like, a cute lil touch, yknow. Two anxious mfs. In the club tnnnnn, trying to do right by each other if it fuckin' KILLS them

thank you thank you thank u as always i love to hear this and i hope u enjoy Friday whenever the FUCK it comes out.

[yesyourstalker]

Mahi: hello?

Neta: Hey Mahi don't come into work today. Don't come into work tomorrow or the day after that.

Mahi: Why what's happening?

Neta: *sigh* turn on the news..... I swear it's always me.

News channel: salmonoids have invaded the barnacle and dime mall. We advise everyone to steer clear of the surrounding area. Volunteers and employees of the grizz-co company must arrive as soon as possible to fix the issue. We will keep you all updated on further information we'll receive. In other news is turf war...... ruining our kids education??

Mhai: holy shit!! The whole mall is flooded!!.... Thank fuck we're on the second floor!!

Neta: *sigh*.............. We're still going to get damaged..... The mall is going to smell like salmon shit for weeks........ Anyway I got to head out. I just got my slop suit.

Mahi: what you work for grizz-co??

Neta: No, I'm volunteering. I just want to protect my store! I work way too hard just for it to go-

Cirrina: Aunt Candi's here can we go?!

Neta: yeah I'm coming Sweetie! Yeah I got to head out. Bye.

_______________________________________________

Mahi: mizole babe, let's go.

Mizole: We're going to raid Neta's apartment?

Mahi: yep

* texting *

Mahi: Warabi get up our boss is not home let's break in

Warabi: can't Neta is making me do a shift at Grizz's I'm getting overtime

Mahi: :/ fine is Baja still there?

Warabi: you mean my boyfriend ;p <3

Mahi:..[typeing]..... [Typing].................. Yee

Warabi: no he's with me

Mahi:.... [Typing]........ [Typing]..... Ok

_______________________________________________

Mizole: you know I expected his place to be a lot shittier......

Mahi: Right? I expected it to be like some sort of depression cave or something.

Mizole: hmm.... So what do you do anyway when you're here?

Mahi: nothing much. Watch TV, play his Nintendo, eat his leftovers, go through his shit........ find some really nice stuff. I took a nice t-shirts and a pair of his old sneakers. They don't fit but they're really nice....... There's a lot of interesting stuff if you look for it.

Mizole:...........hm..... .. If I take the base do you think he's going to notice?

Mahi: put that down. I'm not planning on attending your funeral if you do something stupid.

Mizole: boooooo Mahi stop being such a killjoy I thought you said we can steal whatever we want.

Mahi: I meant stuff he won't miss!

Mizole: what's in this drawer- UH!.....uhhahahahahahahahha! how about this?! You think he'll notice this being gone?!

Mahi: *slams close* I didn't see that! I'm erasing that from my memory. lets go down stairs.

Mizole: hehehehe....I mean it'll be funny-

Mhai: SHUT UP!.......... I saw nothing!...... Let's go.

_______________________________________________

Mizole: *eating * so.......... Baja. I guess he's here to stay?

Mahi: ugh yeah.. I guess....... He got a job at the Annaki store and is planning on moving here. ..... Pffth

Mizole: Hey, I mean if we're lucky the salmons will destroy the mall and he'll be out of the job.

Mahi: I'll be out of the job too.

Mizole: you got me, don't you? Heheh.. [kiss]

Mahi: I want my own money.........

Mizole: you don't like Baja?

Mahi: It's not that I don't like him...I like him, he's cool. It's fun to boss him around and tell him what to do. Since he's getting close to Warabi....*eating* They're dating now.......... He's going to be around more often.

Mizole: knowing Warabi. It'll probably be 2 months

Mahi:hehe...... What if Baja wants to move in? We have to buy another mattress... He won't be next to me.. What if Warabi wants to move out again? I'll be here by myself........ again........ what if he forgets me and replaces me with Baja.? A taller better looking vers-

Mizole: *eating* Babe shut up that's not going to happen. Ok? Warabi loves you. He's not just going to replace you with that weenie. I mean look at him....... Look at him Mahi! You can punch him in the face and he'll probably apologize to you! You worry too much babe you'll be fine....... And besides if he moves out you can move in with me.

Mahi: really?... Are we really at that stage?

Mizole: I feel like we are. It's a nice upgrade too, an apartment to a big house in the hills. What do you think?

Mahi: .... ... That sounds nice...... really nice.............. nice big house... We need to keep them together.

Mizole:hahahahahaha.....

_______________________________________________

Warabi: okay, just jiggle the pick. I know there's like three notches annnnnd I.... got it! ..... I knew you guys were going to be here!

Baja: are you at least a little worried that he might find out about this?.......... Oh hello

Mahi: hey

Mizole: hm

Baja: you must mizole.... You're the front man of what floor!

Mizole: and?

Baja: I'm a big fan of yours. When Mahi told me that they were dating you. I was really excited to meet you. I've been following your work for a long time. I was a big fan of you when you were with 'the deep sea divers'

Mizole: Yeah I have a lot of fans that's what happens when you have a tale- you know about the deep sea divers?

Baja: yeah! I saw you guys playing at the conch shell club 8 years ago.... Your first rendition of undertow amazing. I mean I like the final cut of it but your first draft was art!

Mizole:.......... You actually like that?

Baja: yeah!... they had a lot of personality in it. Why did you change it? It was so rugged and aggressive now it's all polished now which I love but the original one had such character

Mizole:............... Wow.....uh.......*humph*. You know heh .... when I got signed to a label they wanted a specific genre and all that....hehehe..........* Inhale* ...... What's with the bag and why is it moving?

Baja: oh They're salmonoids. I got some during my volunteer shift at grizz-co. Got a lot of these little guys. I like to eat them raw.....*eating* I got them for you mahi ait tons of them during my shift.

Mahi: nice! Thanks I like to eat them raw too...*eating* They're juicer too

Warabi: *ugh* I can never get used to that.......Any of y'all know Neta 's finflixs password?

Mhai: bassbaba@86

_______________________________________________

Mahi: okay so what's the plot of this?

Warabi: okay, so it takes place during the great turf war. Two soldiers one inkling and one octoling who grew up together and are childhood best friends. And the story switches from backstory to backstory until it goes all the way to present day and then it all comes together during the end of the movie. It's really sad like it's so sad.

Baja: Oh I saw this... We had to watch it in school

Mizole: eh

Neta: Why are y'all in my apartment?!

Mahi: *eat* hey boss. you look like shit.......

Baja: AHHHHH... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I told myself that I wouldn't do this again and I did it again. I'm really sorry I'm so sorry!

Mizole: would you get the fuck up! Stop kissing his ass. It's not going to do shit!

Neta:..................*sigh*........*moan*........... I can't do this today .....*sniff*...... What are you watching?

Warabi: 'war-torn brothers'

Neta: The one based off the book?

Warabi: yeah.....

Neta:............ Cici order something to eat and take a shower okay baby?

Cirrina: ok....You didn't go to my room did you?

Mizole/mahi: no

Cirrina: good Don't want your grody hands all over my stuff.......... Unless it's you baja hi!!

Baja: *waves*

Neta: I'm going to go take a nap......... Maybe have a nice hot bath first........Yeah that sounds nice.......... Nobody bother me and all y'all need to get out of my place by 6!

______________________________________________

Mahi and the gang did not leave around 6 they left around 11 but Neta didn't notice. The minute he got out of the tub he passed out @fish-at-fish-fish-resort

[reefer-reelz-n-reviews]

Scream 3 (2000)

Smoking: Splatter

This is the 3rd movie in the franchise and they are making the 3rd movie “Stab” during it.

Something that I guess I wouldn’t have thought of. The Voice is the same (at least in the first 3 movies) played by Roger Jackson.

I will say unlike the first 2 movies this movie doesn’t have as famous of a person dying. I’ve never seen Kelly Rutherford in anything else. At least that I know of. Maybe to others she is, I just looked at her list and she was on a show called Melrose Place. I’ve heard of it, but never seen it. She was also in the original Gossip Girl. Which I’ve seen but I don’t recognize her 🤣

I wanna know what Neve Campbell does to afford a house that nice in the middle of no where with all the security that she has. I don’t see how a Women’s Crisis Center would pay for that. I guess in the 2000’s it was a bit cheaper because it totally isn’t now. Especially in California.

Courtney Cox’s bangs… she let a 4-year-old do her hair? Looks awful, just like that meme about it 😂

We’ve got Kenny from the Cosby Show! Welcome Deon Richmond to your death 🤣 well I’m pretty sure he does lol. We will find out for sure in a little bit.

Tell me how I forgot that Jay and Silent Bob are in this!?! My favorite stoners! “Who smokes the blunts? We smoke the blunts!” 🎶🎶

Why is the ghost face make that is huge and hanging a lime green color? It’s supposed to be white…

Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg drops an award on the floor and breaks the head off. I laughed so hard 😂 foreshadowing? You’re literally on a movie lot and she’s trying to use knives to attack the killer, then she is surprised they’re fake. Like come on JMW.

Hmmm David Arquette’s bad arm switched… In the second movie it was his right arm… now it’s his left.

Love that Patrick Warburton is in this! Kronk is THE BEST! He’s a bit of a jerk, but I mean he’s a security guard for famous people, so I’m sure he’s a bit jaded. Hehehehe he steals the larger change from DA. Takes a frying pan to the head and a knife to the back. Still walks around and then dies in front of everyone.

Tells you how old this movie is, Parker Posey has a fax machine in her house 🤣

The eternally beautiful Carrier Fisher, even in the movie she talks about Princess Leia. Though she is stating that she didn’t get the part, but you know she did 😂 made a joke about sleeping with George Lucas, wonder how much basis there is for that? I know that he convinced her that in space there wouldn’t be a need for bras. So, who knows, maybe it is true 🤔

If this is about Stab 3, then why is the set up almost like exactly as the deaths in the first one? You had blood on the doggy door in the garage door for Rose McGowan’s death…

NC is carrying around pepper spray… if the killer is wearing a mask then how would it penetrate? Though I guess if it is some kind of soft cloth with holes it would make sense it would go through. But IDK seems suspicious to me.

Patrick Dempsey is really good at playing creepy and suspicious. I’ve heard that really, he’s a dickhead. Which I could totally see that. He kind of gives off dickhead vibes.

Snack time! Apple Pie, with whip cream and chocolate sauce 🤤

DR gets stabbed in the stomach and tires to run away. Nice little flip on the rug. Then over the balcony to die when he hits the ground. At least his wasn’t like a super easy death, right? He had a semi fighting chance.

So out of all the times through out the series that the killer gets knocked out this movie is my favorite. He is laying at the bottom of the stairs and as he’s, I guess dreaming, he goes, stab stab around him 🤣

Don’t understand why when PD opens the door, he has the gun come out first. Like what are you going to do? Shoot blindly? Risk hitting RC instead?

Just realized I haven’t even mentioned who the killer is in this. Maybe I will just leave it a “secret” even though I said what I did about the first one 😝 oh well.

🤣 She mentions Stab 3 and then stabs the killer a 3rd time.

Alright, that’s all for this review!

Toke on! 😶‍🌫️

-RRR

[snowboyclarkov]

Beyblade Burst Main Antagonists - Last Conversations

This list does not include dialogue that occurs within battle, and is relevant only to their time as main antagonists, due to when I believe they stopped being such.

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

Lui: I want a do-over!

Valt: Huh? What?

Referee: Wait a sec, but kid.

Lui: I'm not gonna let my victory hinge on some freak accident!

Valt: Hmm.

Valtryek: *Unknown.*

Valt: You beat me fair and square.

Lui: Tell me you're joking.

Valt: I'm not. You're great and you deserve this win.

Lui: Hm.

Valt: But that doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on taking you down.

Lui: Try all you like, you'll never be able to beat me.

Valt: Keep telling yourself that.

Lui: I've already won our next battle. Hnhnhnhnhn, hahahahaha, hahahahaha, HAHAHAHAA!

Valt: I'll end your streak one day!

Shu: Hmm.

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

Valt: I'm still here, and I'm not giving up on you. I've got your back. Heh!

Spryzen/Shu: *Gasp.* Ah... [Has memories of Valt insisting he'll face Shu at the National Tournament Final]

Spryzen/Shu: Nnnnnnnnnnh... nnnnnnnnngh. Nnhnnnhnnh.

Senor: Uh oh, something is clearly up with Red Eye. What is going on down there?

Free: My guess is that he's at his limit.

Kristina: *Gasp!*

Raul: I would second that opinion.

Kristina: Ah...

Spryzen/Shu: Nnngh. Nnnnnnnn-aaa-AAAAAAAAEEAAAAAAAAAH! Listen, Valt!

Valt: Huh?! Shu...

Spryzen/Shu: I admit it, you're my best friend. It's true. That's why I can't fail. I would never be able to forgive myself if I lost this battle! I won't EVER let you defeat me Valt!!

Valt: Same for me, so, let's roll. Now!

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

Phi: Unnh! (Phi slams Dread Phoenix onto the unit) *Irregular shivered breathing.* Nnn...

Hyde: You got what you deserved.

Phi: Have you come to mock me?

Hyde: Heh. I can't even bring myself to laugh at how pathetic you are.

Phi: Nnh, what was that?!

Hyde: Oh please! You lose and take it out on your bey? Just how petty can you be?

Phi: Nngh...

Hyde: Of course. You still don't understand why you lost, do you?

Phi: This has nothing to do with you!

Hyde: It has everything to do with me!!

Phi: Ah!

Hyde: After all, Dread Phoenix contains parts from my Hades.

Phi: ...Well then do you know why? Why I was defeated?

Hyde: Ha! How about you tell me, your Highness?

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

Gwyn: Friends...? I don't need them. I'm fine on my own.

Genesis: Is that really true? You mean you aren't seeking any?

Gwyn: ...I'm not. They're unnecessary.

Genesis: This battle contains the solution you've been reaching for.

Gwyn: Hn!

Dante: Heheheh.

Referee: Second battle!

Gwyn: I wanted to battle you...

Dante: Heh, we are right now!

Gwyn: ...Since the first day we met. When I saw you persevere, even after your bey was destroyed... that was when Beyblade began for me. Genesis, let's go!

Dante: Okay Dragon, let's rise up!

Referee: Ready, set!

Stadium: 3, 2, 1!

Gwyn/Dante: Let it rip!

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

Hyuga: They got us.

Hikaru: That combo attack was really incredible.

Hikaru/Hyuga: Heehee.

Shu: You did it Lain. I always knew you could. That crimson Flare has always been inside you, well done.

Lain: Huh. Then this... is my...!

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

Bel: Haahahahahaha! At last! I made the High Prince flee in fear!

Rashad: Hm.

Bel: Huh?

Rashad: I'm not fleeing anywhere. I'm still preparing for my victory.

Ranzo: Hold it right there! You can't just steal Bel's catchphrase like that.

Ilya: Hehe. Guess it's back to the drawing board. Hm!

Rashad: Hmm.

Bel: He, I'll allow it. Prepare for when we cross paths next.

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

Pax: *Deep breath.* ...Yes.

Referee: Ready, set!

Stadium: 3, 2, 1!

Pax/Bel: Let it rip!

(Pax finds himself in a vision of his younger self with a younger Pri)

Pri: Woooow! Pax, that launch was so amazing! Blading with you is so much fun!

(Young Pri switches to present Pri)

Pri: Oh no way! You can see the elements! Look, check it out! (Pri points to behind Pax, who swiftly turns around and switches to his present non-blading self)

Pax: Huh?!

(Pax finds himself in the bey spirit realm facing Pandemonium)

Pax: ...Does this mean... you're Pandemonium...?

(Pandemonium moves one of its four skeletal arms and offers it to Pax as a sign of bonding)

(Pax looks at their previously injured arm and his fist meets Pandemonium's finger, spiritually erasing his gauntlet, Pax switches to his present blading self)

(Pax turns around with his launcher and bey to see a battle ready Belfyre standing behind Bel who has frozen in the middle of launching*)

Pax: So it has all come down to this, Bel. Elementals at our side... I'll hold nothing back!

(Pax leaves the bey spirit realm by launching Pandemonium)

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

*It seems that when a blader enters a bey spirit realm, time outside of it is perceived to have stopped.

[because-why-not-a-fnaf-blog-too]

Doodled a scene planned to happen in ch 5 or 6 of Static Void, where the nightmarionette (who is the reader/mc) is gifted drawings from Sun and Moon. It goes about as well as expected. Read L to R (click for easier reading/clearer drawing).

Text below

Row 1: 

nightmarionette!reader/mc:

*sees a pic of Sun and mc with ‘new friend?’ scribbled on it*

A drawing of Sun and me? Pfft. That’s *me*? It’s cute, I guess.

Row 2:

nightmarionette!reader/mc:

Let’s see what Moon drew…

*pic of Moon dangling mc from an apparently high height with a smiling face in background*

Uhh…that is…um, nice, maybe?

… *processing*

Row 3:

 nightmarionette!reader/mc:

*is concern now* Dancing or being dropped to my doom?

*glance*

Moon: *tapping fingers on floor, watching you*

Row 4: 

Sun: saying drawn out ‘Hi’

Moon: going ‘hehehehe’ before he waves to a silent nightmarionette!reader/mc and then vanishes from sight.

Nightmarionette!reader/mc: *annoyed/aggravated as they turn away* I need to find a new spot to hide.

(Keeps the drawings and places them up on the wall in their hideout. Also, malleable mask because drawing expressions is fun).

[bincutie]

Saur many chan thoughts heheheh (this is partially inspired me a non-yandere fic i’ve seen! Oh and by the first time headcanons post!)

Okay so mc gets to know chan via his sister and they kinda fall for him. But ofc they can’t exactly just go for him cause they’re besties with hannah. So far, so good; (fic inspo ends here lol)

Until they sleeps over one night and Hannah falls asleep on them. She hasn’t set up a bed for them yet, so they just kinda chill awkwardly in the living room. Chan finds them and is like, ‘oh? you good?’, and they explain their situation.

At this point, he only knows that they’re a fan and his sis’ best friend; And so he starts talking to them about random things, explains what he’s working on, and the two get pretty close that night.

They end up falling asleep on each other, and mc wakes up before chan and kinda dips back into the living room. They do end up telling Hannah that they fell asleep in chan’s room (definitely not about the cuddling) and she’s oh 🤨 and they’re like 😅 and she’s like okay 🤷🏻‍♀️ next time just wake me up dude.

Chan starts to kinda like them; he can’t stop thinking about them and how they must have so many close friends and admirers

Chan inconspicuously starts asking questions about the mc, and once he finds out they haven’t had their first bf yet he’s like!!!!!!! okay time for chris to pop out

Next time they come over, he swoops them away, claiming that hannah had some sort of super important appointment she forgot about. The two end up in his room again

They talk about different songs, and the conversation starts turning towards romance and such. Mc brings up the fact they’ve never dated and chan ofc has to be all surprised like !! no way! (-_-)

They talk about his first kiss, and how it was a lil awkward but you improve with time. And mc is like …because i’d definitely know.

“do you want me to shaur show you?”, and ofc he has to amplify the accent to get them to swoon. Mc agrees, and they kiss:D

Thwy do feel guilty bc again, bestie’s bro over here! But they do break the news and he starts dating them officially.

It’s a lot easier for him to be more possessive and such, cause they don’t know any better. Plus he’s not unreasonable so they don’t really catch on super fast.

I think he’d hide that aspect of his life for quite a bit, but eventually let them in on it; again, i think they’d be a lot less sensitive to it cause they don’t know any better and it’s kinda comforting <3

Oh god sorry for the essay!

_ 🦑 i don’t think it’s taken?

Never apologize for sending essays to my asks, I absolutely live for this!! I have thoughts under the cut!

It's kind of funny because I've been having an idea like this for a story 😂 I guess I'll just have to spice it up a little.

I definitely think this is how it would go. And I think it would be a very slow build into that side of him and that's just another reason why the mc doesn't see that Chris is being a little bit toxic. There are two things on my mind though.

1) Hannah. She's super smart so I don't think she'd be 100% unaware of Chris's personality traits. But I also don't think she'd know the full extent. And maybe that's why she was hesitant about the mc being with Chris, especially alone. She knows people think that he's charming even if she thinks he's just embarrassing. So once Chris and the mc are out about their relationship, I feel like Hannah and Chris would be a little tense around each other, especially if mc was there with them. Not like a "if you make one wrong move, I'll smite you" kind of tense. But definitely the kind where they tiptoe around each other sometimes and never bring up certain topics. Hannah isn't afraid of Chris though, and he can obviously see how much mc loves her, so he's just gonna have to deal with sharing them.

2. THE KISS!!! As calm and collected I think yandere!Chris is, I think he kind of has a little thing for corruption, whether he wants to admit it or not. So mc and Chris sitting on his bed, the mc pouting a little while they admit that they've never kissed anyone and it makes chan's heart pound in his chest (you know the kind where you can hear it, feel it in your chest, and feel it pulsing through your veins and in your fingertips? Yeah that one). And the mc's eyes are so wide after chan offers to be their first kiss. And then after they agree, mc is just sitting there staring at him, waiting for him to move, but he doesn't. Because he wants the mc to kiss him first. He says this, the mc is practically on fire because of their embarrassment. Chris scoots closer, he's gentle as he takes hold of their jaw and guides their face closer to his. Their lips are almost touching and he whispers something like "close your eyes", and once the mc does, their lips are connected. The first one is very brief and the mc is trying to avoid his eyes but they're still so close to each other that they have to just close them again. And then Chris is kissing them again, and again, and eventually it would lead to a full makeout. Chris has one hand on their hip, the other helping guide their hands because they have no idea what to do with them. And he's laughing at them when the front door opens and mc jumps away from him and off of his bed because they heard hannah.

This is a 17/10 chan thought, very good job. And that tag is not taken, so you've got it!

[pesterloglog]

Roxy Lalonde, John Egbert

Act 6, page 6453-6459

ROXY: hay look

ROXY: its jake stuffed in a blue windsock

ROXY: heheheh

JOHN: huh?

ROXY: n/m

ROXY: so what kind of hot god tier trix can you teach me

JOHN: tricks...

JOHN: i guess i don't know any actual TRICKS per se, aside from how to use some of my powers.

JOHN: but i don't know if the same tricks apply to using your powers...

ROXY: u said u could help tho

JOHN: i said MAYBE i could!

JOHN: i dunno, i was just throwing it out there.

JOHN: like, maybe if i told you about some of the experiences i had when i was learning to do my windy stuff, you might have some kind of... voidey epiphany?

ROXY: a voidey epiphany

JOHN: yes.

ROXY: k then

ROXY: im all ears johnny windsock

ROXY: let loose ur wisdom whilst i rake in the epiphanies

JOHN: ok, um,

JOHN: i've noticed whenever i learn to do new things with my powers, it's usually in response to something. like something important that has to be done.

JOHN: so why are you trying to make this spike ball?

JOHN: and how important does it feel to you?

ROXY: well at first i was mainly tryin to make it because dog girl was forcing me to

ROXY: but now i think i keep trying because im gettin obsessed with making this dumb spikeball and PO'd that i cant do it

JOHN: i see.

JOHN: what actually IS this spike ball, if you don't mind my asking?

ROXY: its an alien egg

ROXY: 4 tha trolls

ROXY: to hatch em all back to life

ROXY: but only to be ruled by an evil witch so its gonna be shitty for them

ROXY: so yeah its kind of an important thing

ROXY: but at the same time it would probably be terrible if i actually made it so...

JOHN: then maybe the fact that you're conflicted about it is why you're having trouble?

ROXY: yeh maybe

JOHN: if you think it's important to make, but don't want to give it to the bad guys, why don't you just...

JOHN: break out of jail?

JOHN: then you could try to make the egg at your own discretion, and use it however you think is best.

ROXY: idk

ROXY: i broke outta here once already and the fuckin witch just nabbed me again

ROXY: and that was BEFORE she recruited jakes omnipotent goofball grandma to zap me back here the moment i step outside

JOHN: yeah. it is a tricky situation with grimbark jade on the loose, that's for sure.

JOHN: but i've been managing to evade her.

JOHN: i just swoosh the breeze around to hide my scent, and dissolve into wind and fly away if she finds me.

JOHN: maybe you could do something like that too?

JOHN: it seems to me if anyone should be able to avoid detection using their powers, it would be a void player.

JOHN: get it? a void... as in, avoid?

JOHN: heh.

ROXY: that is legit sound reasoning yo

ROXY: + a way lame pun 2 boot

ROXY: but remember how we were just talkin about the fact that when it comes to god tier shit i dont know what the eff im doin??

JOHN: oh.

JOHN: right.

ROXY: anyway

ROXY: i thought you were going to regale me with stories of your ascent through the windsock tiers

ROXY: such that i may through osmosis glean the vagaries of godhood

ROXY: then all i got to do is wait for this rude tidal wave of epiphanies n junk to wash over me and get me hella wise

ROXY: then and only then

ROXY: i will b able to make this shitty egg happen

ROXY: k?

JOHN: ok. where should i start?

ROXY: at the beginning!

JOHN: you mean like when i first became a god tier?

JOHN: that's a long story... i was kind of tricked into that.

JOHN: it might take some setup to understand.

ROXY: dude look

ROXY: i dont have grand illusions that this yarn you spinll be like some actual efficacious tutelage on fuckin pajama spells

ROXY: i just want to hear u talk about stuff

ROXY: wanna kno ur stories!!!

ROXY: go :3

JOHN: alright.

JOHN: in that case, i guess it all started on my thirteenth birthday.

JOHN: which was three years ago, by the way.

JOHN: i heard about this awesome game, or at least one i thought was awesome, and i wanted to play it with my friends.

JOHN: but it wasn't so easy to start. i had to get it from the mail, which meant sneaking around the house while avoiding my dad.

JOHN: which was kind of stupid and childish in retrospect, but blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

ROXY: hmmmmm

ROXY: go on

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah meteor.

JOHN: blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah nannasprite blah blah blah blah oil everywhere blah blah blah blah blah blah imps blah blah blah.

ROXY: m hm

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah your daughter blah blah at least i think she is blah blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah salamanders blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah trolls blah blah blah blah blah rocketpack blah blah blah died.

ROXY: rly

JOHN: blah blah karkat blah blah blah blah blah ectobiology.

JOHN: blah blah blah jack noir.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah queen's ring blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah my dad blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah a girl named vriska.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah windy thing blah blah blah blah blah blah ocean of green fire.

ROXY: wow

JOHN: blah blah blah quest bed blah blah blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah prototyped blah blah blah blah blah blah blah jade's omnipotent dog.

JOHN: blah blah chess guy blah blah blah blah blah flying around in my dad's car blah blah blah blah blah blah blah liv tyler.

JOHN: blah the battlefield blah blah blah blah huge wind drill blah blah blah blah the tumor.

JOHN: blah blah.

ROXY: pls continue

JOHN: blah blah blah followed rose blah blah blah blah blah blah blah mom and dad died blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah kissed her back to life.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah the scratch.

JOHN: blah blah huge record blah blah blah blah blah blah giant needle.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah green sun blah blah blah blah blah reset blah blah blah blah blah god tier jade blah blah blah blah blah blah blah golden battleship.

ROXY: ur kiddin me

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah through a giant window.

JOHN: blah blah three years blah blah blah blah blah blah con air.

JOHN: blah blah thought it sucked blah blah blah blah but eventually came to my senses blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah ghost busters 2 mmorpg.

ROXY: mm

JOHN: blah blah blah blah blah blah DUEL WITH JACK NOIR!

JOHN: blah blah blah TURNED INTO WIND AND ESCAPED blah blah blah blah blah blah.

JOHN: blah blah blah blah COOL HAT WITH RABBIT EARS!

ROXY: oooh

JOHN: blah blah blah CRACKS IN PARADOX SPACE blah blah blah ENCHANTED DESERT blah blah blah MAGIC RING!

JOHN: blah blah ADVENTURE ON THE HIGH SEAS blah blah blah blah blah blah GHOSTLY TROLL PIRATES!

JOHN: blah ULTIMATE WEAPON blah blah blah blah blah blah DEFEAT LORD ENGLISH!

ROXY: !!

JOHN: blah blah blah blah HOUSE SHAPED THINGY!

JOHN: blah blah POKED MY HAND INSIDE blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah UNSTUCK IN CANON!

JOHN: blah blah blah TURNED BLURRY blah blah blah blah CLOWNS ON TOP OF THE WHITE HOUSE blah blah blah blah VAMPIRE HISSED AT ME blah blah blah blah LITERALLY INSIDE CON AIR blah blah blah GLITCHY BULLSHIT blah blah blah MET MYSELF blah blah blah blah FINALLY FOUND YOU HIDING IN THIS LITTLE GREEN PYRAMID! WHEW!

ROXY: omg

JOHN: so that's...

JOHN: pretty much the whole story?

JOHN: i left a bunch of stuff out though.

JOHN: if more important stuff that i forgot occurs to me, i will let you know.

ROXY: hey no thats fine

ROXY: that was all great and exciting as heck

ROXY: it sounds like you guys got up to a lot more crazy shit than we did

ROXY: for us its been mostly dicking around in a session full of spooky skeletons for half a year

ROXY: then fefeta died

ROXY: the end

JOHN: fefeta?

ROXY: fefeta was a dear sweet precious dear DEAR friend of mine

ROXY: she was beautiful and sweet and lovely

ROXY: she sploded

JOHN: wow.

JOHN: i'm sorry.

ROXY: oh we also became tricksters which as far as things that happen go was sooo dumb

ROXY: i guess thats kinda the epilogue of our story?

ROXY: oh yeah then we had hangovers and went god tier accidentally

ROXY: thats the double epilogue

ROXY: the end ex two combo

JOHN: i don't know, that all sounds pretty interesting to me.

JOHN: sometimes in life, when you look back on things it can feel like it was all boring and uneventful.

JOHN: but when you really think about it, you remember all these cool things that happened you forgot about.

ROXY: hm yeah

ROXY: them wise words j sock

JOHN: anyway, if you remember more about your adventure and want to tell me some time, i would love to hear it!

ROXY: haha ok

ROXY: um but hey

ROXY: i could not help but notice in ur story you was talkin about my mom sometimes

JOHN: your mom?

JOHN: well, yeah. but i know her as your daughter.

JOHN: but i mean, who the hell knows at this point?

ROXY: i know rite

ROXY: the curious case of the mutual moms

ROXY: it is

ROXY: the biggest mystery?

ROXY: u no

ROXY: once i even caught wind of some lore that implied i might even be my OWN mom

ROXY: (fefeta hinted that @ me once during a long spiel DAMN that girl could talk)

ROXY: how messed up would that be tho

JOHN: there is probably something to that actually.

JOHN: you were all the first batch of babies, after all.

JOHN: i think you were literal copies of yourselves?

JOHN: that's what it supposedly means to be a paradox clone.

ROXY: babies

ROXY: wat

JOHN: oh.

JOHN: i guess i kind of glossed over this stuff in my story.

JOHN: but i was the one who made us all in the first place, with a weird cloning machine.

ROXY: no fuckin shit???

ROXY: *is impressed*

JOHN: it was no big deal though. i was just messing around with a control panel, and some babies appeared.

ROXY: so we already met huh

ROXY: and i dont even remember because i was just some idiot bb

ROXY: that aint fair!

JOHN: come to think of it, we met one other time too.

JOHN: but you were asleep.

ROXY: ??

JOHN: you were floating around in purple pajamas, and i pushed you out of the way of a flying fork.

JOHN: i almost forgot about that. but yep, that was you alright.

ROXY: you shoulda woke me up then

JOHN: i might have, but the fork stabbed me in the chest, and dream killed my sleep ghost. or something.

JOHN: you know how it is with dream logic.

ROXY: u mean how it makes lil 2 no sense ever

JOHN: yes, exactly.

JOHN: i guess i didn't think much about it at the time, but i had a sneaky suspicion that's who you were.

JOHN: you really look a lot like rose.

JOHN: she is looking for you, by the way.

ROXY: yeah?????

JOHN: she told me to go find you. and i did.

JOHN: so, she says hi.

ROXY: o man

ROXY: what else did she say

JOHN: uh.

JOHN: she said...

JOHN: she's looking forward to meeting you?

ROXY: awwwwww

ROXY: well if u see her again before i do tell her i cant wait to meet her too

ROXY: though tbh im kinda nervous about it but dont tell her that part haha

JOHN: sure!

JOHN: there's nothing to be nervous about though.

JOHN: she's just a nice nerd who likes to read and knit.

ROXY: i shouldnt be surprised to hear that

ROXY: me and all my friends are a bunch of silly nerds too

ROXY: even dirk who thinks hes 2 cool 4 school

ROXY: when in reality he is nowhere close to clearing the coolness threshold which exempts one from attending an educational institution :p

JOHN: speaking of which...

JOHN: i've been wondering where he is?

JOHN: i know jade's grandpa is in jail too, getting badgered by my evil nanna...

ROXY: u mean jake n jane

JOHN: yes, sorry.

JOHN: but i have not seen hide nor hair of dave's bro yet.

ROXY: i figured he got thrown in jail too

ROXY: although come to think of it i probly would have heard a bloody ruckus by now resulting from his inevitable escape attempt

JOHN: hmm.

ROXY: im not that worried about him though hes good at takin care of himself

ROXY: in fact i feel like all of us will be ok now that you guys are here

ROXY: but

ROXY: there is still one of my friends im worried about the most

JOHN: who?

ROXY: shes my best friend

ROXY: well ok

ROXY: i got a few best friends u know?

JOHN: yes.

ROXY: but she was always kind of a special best friend

ROXY: and last time i saw her she was in big trouble

JOHN: oh no.

JOHN: where is she?

ROXY: in the afterlife

ROXY: being dead

JOHN: ...

ROXY: her bro killed her

ROXY: which is bad enough

ROXY: but now hes out there

ROXY: hunting for her ghost

ROXY: shes doing her best to hide

ROXY: but her bro is an awful and relentless piece of shit and im afraid

ROXY: im afraid she might be already gone :(

JOHN: you're right, that is very concerning.

JOHN: who is she? would i know of her?

ROXY: dunno

ROXY: how in the loop are you on cherubs?

JOHN: oh!

JOHN: surprisingly, i know a LOT about that subject.

JOHN: for instance, did you know they turn into gigantic snakes when they have sex?

ROXY: :O

ROXY: :O

ROXY: :O

JOHN: i know. weird, right?

JOHN: that's probably not very relevant to the topic at hand, though.

ROXY: yeah prob not

ROXY: anyway u know about lord english right

JOHN: uh huh.

ROXY: ok well

ROXY: shes his sister

ROXY: her name is calliope

JOHN: ohhh.

JOHN: ok, this is starting to make sense.

ROXY: yep

ROXY: shes supposed to be critical to defeatin him somehow

ROXY: shes going on some quest out there to find a deadlier version of herself or whatever

ROXY: i dunno that could be all be true...

ROXY: and maybe its selfish of me but all i rly care about now is if shes ok??

JOHN: i understand. she is your friend.

JOHN: i would feel the same way.

ROXY: :)

JOHN: wait a minute...

JOHN: i've got it!

ROXY: got what

JOHN: i have such a good idea that would solve your problem.

ROXY: ????

JOHN: all you have to do is bring her back to life!

ROXY: how

JOHN: easy.

JOHN: i have a magic ring!

ROXY: what

ROXY: u have one too

JOHN: yes!

JOHN: wait. what do you mean too?

JOHN: you have a magic ring??

ROXY: i HAD one

ROXY: fuckin lost it though

ROXY: made peeps invisible who put it on

JOHN: ah.

JOHN: no, mine doesn't do that.

JOHN: it brings ghosts back to life!

ROXY: FUCK

ROXY: no wai

JOHN: yes wai. way.

JOHN: it's back at my house.

JOHN: i could go get it right now!

ROXY: damn son

ROXY: i find this 2 be some truly baller happenstance

ROXY: if ur claim is true im.......

ROXY: im cry :')

JOHN: it is quite true.

JOHN: it should be a piece of cake.

JOHN: you just wear it when you go to sleep, and it comes with you in your dreams.

JOHN: then you find your cherub friend, put it on her finger, and bring her back!

JOHN: i think you can only use it once though. so once she's wearing it, it would be hers forever, or at least as long as she wants it.

ROXY: yo

ROXY: yooooo

ROXY: john thats amazing

ROXY: i dunno though that sounds like

ROXY: such an obscenely precious commodity

ROXY: u sure you want to let me use it?

JOHN: sure.

JOHN: it's no big deal, really.

JOHN: for a while i was hanging on to it, thinking that i might give it to...

JOHN: aw man, this is going to sound dumb.

ROXY: hm?

JOHN: there was a girl who i was considering giving it to, for some reason.

JOHN: remember? she was the diabolical one who figured prominently in my long story.

ROXY: um

ROXY: oh yea

ROXY: fresca right

JOHN: yes, close enough.

JOHN: see, she REALLY wanted that ring.

JOHN: and she found out i had it, and...

JOHN: honestly, i'm not sure why it even crossed my mind to give it to her?

JOHN: i guess i was just used to the idea that i liked her for some reason.

JOHN: at least i thought i did.

JOHN: it was a stupid idea based on hardly anything. like one day of conversations.

JOHN: but since i've gotten to know her better...

JOHN: i don't know.

JOHN: i think i might actually...

JOHN: kind of hate her?

ROXY: yeah?

JOHN: yeah, she's...

JOHN: actually pretty awful!

JOHN: she's so full of herself, and mean to her friends, and...

JOHN: dangerous.

JOHN: really, really dangerous.

ROXY: ouch

ROXY: well what can i say john

ROXY: love sux

JOHN: yeah. it does.

JOHN: anyway, i don't think i can let anyone like that have the ring.

ROXY: but u dont mind trustin me w it?

JOHN: no!

JOHN: it's funny, after spending some time with a person who is legitimately crazy, it becomes easy to tell right away when someone...

JOHN: isn't?

ROXY: lol

ROXY: u sure about that

JOHN: well, yeah, everyone is a little crazy. i just mean not BAD crazy.

JOHN: besides, you don't even want the ring for yourself.

JOHN: you want to give it to someone you care about.

JOHN: that is what makes you one of the good guys.

ROXY: what a nice thing to say

ROXY: i bet sayin stuff like that is why ur their leader

JOHN: what makes you think i'm the leader?

ROXY: come on dude you are obvs the leader of otherkid teamsquad

ROXY: i can just tell

JOHN: haha, ok. i'll take that as a compliment.

JOHN: anyway, i'll go get the ring now.

ROXY: yay!

ROXY: ill wait here

ROXY: no need to set off the alarms with a daring escape just yet

ROXY: lets keep em lulled into a false sense of control over the sitch

ROXY: we can start scheming under their nose while u keep sneakin around undetected

ROXY: the last thing we want is for all hell to break loose before we know what were doin

JOHN: yeah, that's a good plan.

JOHN: if i had to guess, i'd say you must be the leader of your team squad too, right?

ROXY: naaaw

ROXY: that's jane

ROXY: as you can see shes the one with a knack for ruthless executive authority

ROXY: is a shame she only uses it when evil tho :(

JOHN: yeah.

JOHN: but maybe we can do something about that, if we work together.

ROXY: :D

JOHN: alright. off i go.

JOHN: keep practicing your powers!

JOHN: see you, roxy.

[breanna-lynn]

astrology hoe era

I got into astrology during the pandemic and like everyone else that got sucked into the time-sucking (but woke) void of tiktok with all the quarantining at home...I fully studied it to every end. I developed a insatiable thirst to understand and learn all I could about this new topic...to which today I literally can read anyone's birth chart, transits, synastry, houses, placements, planets, points, degrees, signs, modality, elements, aspects, explain anything about astrology, astrocartography, etc. Like a fucking crazy person fr. I've just memorized and studied and applied all this information as a tool. If you like understanding it I can break it down WAY DOWN for you, in fact one of my catchphrases talking to the people closest to me I'll drop casually in conversation is "not to bring astrology into it, but..."

I also have a toxic trait now (actually idk if it's toxic it just feels like secret knowledge I have on them) where I love to guess people's rising sign and placements based on what I know and find to be obvious, then be fully convinced I know it (who needs birth time and location, I don't hehehehe) and when I see transits that may affect them I pay attention to how so I can just be aware and supportive to them depending on what area of life it may be transiting <3

Anyways, I've chilled out a lot on it because I've learned all I can at this point (I'm still learning little things here and there, but the extensive work is done for me). I simply know how to integrate it into my life or planning with just a sane amount of attention to it. It's just interesting and still stimulates my mind enough that I enjoy utilizing it.

All this to catch up to speed on the fact I'm into astrology. If you "don't believe in that crap" keep it to yourself I don't care about your opinions on it. If you also nerd out about it let a bitch know!!! Happy to nerd out together >:)

[halo20601]

“Willow’s New Garden” (Another Owl House Swap AU) Episode 3

(QnA)

VRM: "This honestly looks very good."

Aw, thank you.

Mr. Spinner: "This was an excellent flip of "Separate Tides". And the Cynthia coven reference was great!"

Thanks. I feel Willow would be smart enough not to fall for Adegast's schemes, and I wanted to introduce the Armorer and Enforcers as early as possible. I figured if Willow were a fantasy fan, she would like Cynthia Coven more than The Good Witch Azura. I think a Harry Potter-ish urban fantasy would fit Willow better than a Lord of the Rings-like High Fantasy Luz would enjoy.

Mr. Spinner: "Dell's intro is fittingly subtle, with his gentle warmth and his quiet disapproval at his wife's continued quest. Plus, he's a Huntlow supporter right off the bat, hehehehe!"

Dell is still a loving husband, but he can't support Gwen's obsession with finding a cure, especially since it was a factor in what ultimately drove Eda and Lilith away. And even if Gwen did find a cure, they have no idea where Eda is on the Isles, what she's been up to since they last saw her, and if she'll even want to take the cure. And yeah, I think he would recognize how Hunter looks at Willow. It was precisely how he looked at Gwen in his teens.

Mr. Spinner: "It's interesting that you would use the glyph themes as accepted "elements" of magic on the Isles. Perhaps the types of spell phlegms in the bile sac? And I can only imagine how quickly Willow learns plant magic, along with the other three."

Since I assume wands are only meant to be used by novices, they would only have access to native elemental magic like fire, ice, plant, and light. Spells that would be easy to cast. That's not to say a wand is incapable of casting advanced spells; they could match or even exceed a staff with enough skill.

Mr. Spinner: "Viney is always a great addition, and I can't help but notice a parallel between her here and Willow-to-Luz in canon. Plus, duh - ASIAS reference with Puddles! Woo!"

Yeah, I thought Viney would fit with this chapter. I think she would protest hunting endangered animals in canon if given the opportunity. She and Hunter know each other from the Detention Track and have used the secret room to study magic along with Jerbo, Barcus, and Luz.

Mr. Spinner: "The Blights being pawns of the throne draws some interesting questions about their backstory. Also, is Belos around in this? You referenced the Empress once, but Belos several other times?"

Belos saw that the Blights would do anything to gain more power, so he used their ambition to convince them to allow their children to be turned into his elite soldiers. The emperor's relationship with the siblings (especially with Amity) is far different from how he treats Hunter in canon. Let's just say that if it came down to them choosing Alador and Odalia or Belos as a better parent, they would choose the latter and join him without hesitation. "Empress" was a typo I made, but I addressed it.

VRM: "Grimwalker element still here?"

Yes, Hunter is still a Grimwalker here.

VRM: "Canon Luz struggles with friends for her weird quirks, a Lumity swap called Keeper of Secrets on AO3, which switched their homes and parents but not species, has Amity shunned for her pointed ears, and accidental magic she didn't know she had."

That sounds like a good read with an interesting premise. I'll check it out when I have the chance.

VRM: "Was this Willow bullied for anything in particular? What do you consider her previous town before Gravesfield?"

That will be answered in the chapter.

VRM: "With Belos' reign for 50 years and Eda's teenage flashbacks for 30, I would've thought that the system was in place for 20 years and Gwen would've been branded... but alright."

Well, I was under the impression that Gwen got branded from joining the Beast-Keeping Coven only after Eda got cursed. Which meant she was a wild witch for 20 years. I'm guessing that since Belos's grip wasn't as tight back then as it is in the present, there were more "wild witches" roaming the Isles.

VRM: "Heh, Waffle - nice. If Luz made a blue jay what do you think she'd call it? FrenchToast? Blueberry? XD"

She would definitely it call the blue jay one of those. I think Blueberry more because it sounds cuter.

VRM: "Canon Luz is Hispanic, I saw a Swap!Amity who's German. Is this Willow Asian and speak another language? If not, any chance could Luz have found a Spanish book and learn it with her mom?"

Yes, Willow is Asian, Korean, to be specific. She can speak the language, too; she's just not as fluent in it, like how Anne from Amphibia can speak Thai but isn't as fluent in it as her mom or dad. Also, in this AU, Luz did find a book on how to speak Spanish and learned it with her mom for fun.

VRM: "Yup there's still Tibbles and trash slugs (Luz discovers Azura, right?)"

Yup, Tibbles is still around, and Eda still does her "dumpster diving" in trash slugs, and unfortunately, Raine, King, and Hunter get dragged into helping her. And yes, Luz has discovered the Azura books and is a fan of them.

VRM: "Salty moment was nice."

Yeah, despite the name, Salty is a sweet guy.

VRM: "Yet to see how Hunter avoid Belos but glad he got a better life."

Hunter does have a better life here.

VRM: "Excited to see Luz next time! (will her dynamic with Hunter be any different?)"

That question will be answered in this chapter of the pitch. I hope you all enjoy it.

______________________________________________________________

(Here is my pitch for the third episode/chapter):

At the Clawthorne residence, Willow practices magic by growing plants in the garden that Gwen and Dell helped set up in the backyard with the same flowers Hawksley stole. Gwen woke up with back pain and is having a quiet day with Dell, and Hunter's at school, leaving Willow, whose only able to garden and exercise, very bored. Finally fed up with it, Willow asks the Clawthornes for anything that will give her a chance to leave the house and explore what lies outside. Gwen doesn't want to risk Willow's safety by sending her out alone and has Hawksley accompany her to run a few errands. Willow accepts as she grabs a hood to conceal her ears, and Hawksley perches himself on her shoulder, ever watchful. Willow and Hawksley head into Bonesborough together for the errands, with the palisman instructed to fly Willow away as fast as possible if something dangerous happens. Dell tries to assure Gwen she'll be all right, but Gwen is still worried and says a small prayer to the Titan to protect them both.

Willow makes her way to Bonesborough with Hawksley, talking to him while taking in the beauty of the forest between the town and her only living place on the Boiling Isles. While walking, she suddenly hears a conversation nearby and peeks over a bush to see two witchlings: A tall girl with tan skin and a shorter boy with dark skin. The boy complains to the girl, Luz, about Mattholomule telling members of the "Human Appreciation Society" lies about humans. Luz assures the boy, Augustus, that Matt is "full of it" and that he should trust his knowledge on the subject as the club's president. Suddenly, Luz tackles Augustus to the ground, dodging a flaming ball that would've hit both of them in the face. A group of girls led by a pink-haired tri-clops laugh at them, and Luz identifies her as Boscha, who proceeds to harass them, calling Luz a "half-a-witch" and Augustus a "failure." Willow wants to step in with her wand, but Hawksley snatches it before she can do something she may regret.

After the bullies leave, Luz comforts an upset Augustus by taking out her glyphs and using them to perform a trick in front of the boy. He compliments her, saying that while she lacks natural magic, she makes the most of her self-taught skill. Willow is amazed to see a spell being cast by something other than a wand or naturally, but the wind suddenly picks up and blows Luz's glyphs to Willow. A fire glyph activates, burning the bush, and Hawksley nearly flies away with her, but Willow calms him as Luz and Augustus finally meet the girl. Luz apologizes profusely, but Willow assures her that she wasn't harmed; Augustus gasps as he sees Willow's human ears and squeals. Luz and Augustus introduce themselves, and Willow realizes the wind blew her hood off and admits to being a human. Willow gives Augustus the nickname Gus, which makes him even more excited and makes Luz laugh. After chatting with Willow, Gus reminds Luz they're about to be late for school, which is when the witch girl suddenly gets an idea to bring Willow with them to Hexside.

Gus is immediately on board with an actual human seeing H.A.S. After talking about it with Willow, she decides to go with them to the school, if only to help them with their problem, especially the bullying problem that got under her skin. Willow assures Hawksley everything will be all right as they follow Luz and Gus to Hexside; she pulls her hood over her ears before entering and finds it… okay. Hexside doesn't appear that different from a regular school in the Human Realm but is immediately caught off guard by all the differences she sees. Willow then hears Hunter's voice call out to Luz and Gus, greeting them as friends, and he instantly recognizes Willow and Hawksley. He asks what they're doing here, then suspects Luz and Gus to have something to do with this, and they come clean. Hunter thinks their plan is terrible, but Willow convinces him she'll stay safe and shouldn't worry. Luz asks how Willow and Hunter know each other, and Willow explains where she lives, which leads to Gus saying to Hunter, "She lives with your gr—" but Hunter shushes him.

Hunter points out they'll need somewhere for Willow to hide until later, but Luz and Gus have the same idea of where she can hide. They take her to the Detention Track but run into Principal Hieronymus Bump, who is suspicious. Bump reminds them to be on their best behavior as an inspector from the Emperor's Coven will be coming today and wants to ensure Hexside gets the funds it needs. While the Detention Track teacher sleeps, Willow meets Viney again, along with Jerbo and Barcus, and Luz and Gus explain everything to them and agree to hide Willow in the secret room until lunchtime when she can be introduced to H.A.S.

They pass the time by spying on the other classes, and Viney explains how all the magical schools work on the Isles.

· Hunter is in the Potions Track, having just gotten out of the Detention Track for "good behavior."

· Luz was also Detention Track for a while but is now back in the Healing Track.

· Gus is an Illusion Track prodigy, and Willow sees his skills on display.

· Peeking into the Bard Track, Willow sees a girl playing the harp beautifully.

Willow asks why they're in detention and learns that multi-tracking is banned:

· Jerbo tried to mix plants and abomination magics.

· Barcus tried to do oracle and potion magics.

· Viney tried to combine healing and beast-keeping magics.

· Luz ended up in the Detention Track because she tried to take all the different classes at once, even breaking many of the school's rules in her plan to do it.

· Hunter ended up in the Detention Track by throwing a stink potion at Boscha because she bullied Luz to the point of tears, which is how they met.

Barcus notices Willow's "aura" felt uncomfortable at the mention of bullying and asks, with Jerbo translating, if she is all right. Feeling like she can trust them, Willow shares that she grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, and always preferred the company of plants over people. She tried to make friends once, and it seemed like she did, only to be revealed as a cruel prank to humiliate her, and everything went downhill from there on out. Her little self-esteem made her a target for bullies, the "Boscha" types, who also mocked her for her appearance, being a plus-sized girl, and it didn't help that her teachers were ignorant of this harassment.

Things got so bad that she didn't think her dads could help, and she didn't want to feel like she was burdening them. Willow has their sympathies, and they tell her that she shouldn't feel like she would burden her parents and that they love her, but Willow feels otherwise. Jerbo warns everyone that "the bells will be screaming" in five minutes and must return to the Detention Track before the teacher wakes up. The Detention Track students leave Willow with Hawksley in the secret room but will return when the teacher falls asleep again.

After lunch, the H.A.S. members gather in the club room, and Gus and Luz shock everyone by presenting Willow. Before she can disprove anything, Mattholomule confesses to fabricating human items. He wanted the club's acceptance, not having many friends after transferring from Glandus. The H.A.S. meeting concludes with everyone forgiving and giving him another chance. Willow tells them she has to leave to do the errands she was sent to do, to begin with, and get back to the Clawthornes.

On her way from exiting via the back of the school, Willow bumps into the harpist from the Bard Track, Skara, and immediately apologizes, but Skara assures her that she's okay. Before they get a chance to introduce themselves, Boscha shows up and asks Skara what she's doing, but she doesn't get a chance as Boscha turns to Willow. Willow sees first-hand how possessive Boscha is of her "friends" and how toxic she is, belittling Skara for talking to "some nobody girl." One part of Willow tells herself to get on Hawksley and leave, but another part wants to confront Boscha about her bullying of others. But just as things were about to escalate, Principal Bump arrived with the inspector, looking for Skara in particular. Skara is one of the school's top students and a prime candidate to show they're worth the funding.

Willow gets a strange feeling from the inspector but ignores it as she's about to leave Hexside, but changes her mind, and just in time, too. Willow finds she was right not to trust the inspector, as she's revealed to be a giant, serpent-like monster that proceeds to drain Principal Bump of his magic, rendering him unconscious; then does the same with Boscha before moving on to Skara. Using her wand, Willow conjures vines to seal the inspector's maw and grabs Skara, who looks sickly pale from having her magic drained out so unexpectedly. They hop onto Hawksley and fly through the school, warning teachers and students as the inspector chases them, intent on killing the human. Students flee while teachers fight back, but they ultimately get their magic drained from them, and the monster resumes her chase. Willow comes across Gus, Luz, Hunter, and the other H.A.S. members and warns them of what is happening.

The inspector arrives, and the H.A.S. members try to fight her off, only to get their magic drained. Hunter fireman carries Gus while Luz uses her glyphs to create a distraction long enough for them all to hide. Luz leads them to the secret room, where Viney asks what's happening, and a semi-conscious Skara asks where they are hiding. Willow explains everything that's happened, and Viney identifies the monster as a greater basilisk. She adds that they should be extinct by all accounts and that the Emperor's Coven ensured they were killed off some decades ago.

Willow tries to convince everyone still conscious to help, but while Luz is willing, Hunter, Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus aren't as willing to risk their lives against a natural predator to witch-kind. But after some convincing and seeing the teachers and students' peril, they eventually agree, and Skara—fading in and out—says she has a plan.

Following the bard girl's plan, the troublemakers combine their strengths to lure the basilisk into a trap, causing it to regurgitate the magic and flee from the school. The gang celebrates with the students and faculty restored, but Principal Bump reprimands them for breaking the rules. Before he can punish them, Willow defends her newly made friends, explaining that Hexside's teachings are too restrictive. Swayed by her argument, Bump reluctantly allows students to take more than one class and even offers Willow to attend Hexisde if she wants. While Willow declines the offer, Bump still gives her a pamphlet just in case she changes her mind, adding that "Hexside may benefit from a fresh perspective."

Elsewhere, the basilisk is tending to her wounds and swears vengeance upon Willow and the others, but she's suddenly captured by the Amethyst Armorer, calling her Number I. She explains that Emperor Belos has been looking for her for a long time and is eager to have one of his prized creations returned to the castle immediately. The basilisk says she would rather die than be taken back to Belos. However, the Armorer responds that they have II through V in custody and will be executed if she refuses. Fearing for the rest of her kin, Number I surrenders her freedom as the Armorer tells her she has an essential role in the Day of Unity.

______________________________________________________________

(The characters and other notes):

I don't know about you guys, but I find it funny that I gave Willow a wand in this story, only for the "Pilot" episode to show Polleena (Pilot Willow) using a wand, too.

When I mentioned Willow was bullied for her appearance, being a plus-sized girl, that wasn't the only thing she was harassed for. Jerks would also insult her heritage, calling her Chinese slurs and such (she's Korean, by the way).

What bullied Luz into tears was Boscha making fun of her dad being dead. I initially planned for Hunter to give Boscha a black eye, but I decided to humiliate her with a stink potion was a sweeter revenge.

Skara wasn't with Boscha, Amelia, and Cat when they were picking on Luz and Gus in the woods, which is why Willow didn't know her. Also, I wanted to plant some Skarlow seeds into the story, as I still plan to keep the main ship Hunter x Willow x Skara.

______________________________________________________________

So, what did you all think of the third episode/chapter? Anything I should've done differently or improved upon? Let me know your thoughts; I'll answer your questions when I upload the fourth chapter/episode. As always, if anyone is interested in making this AU a reality, please, feel free to use it.

Take care, everyone, and have a wonderful day or night.

______________________________________________________________