#my rants to get but in the end we decided lady of the lake fit her better

[blackhholes]

Teen Wolf as Arthurian Characters

Kira Yukimura as Morgan le Fay

[sumu-samu]

Broken

“Hi i saw that you were gonna start writing stories and we're looking for ideas and things,, maybe a Luke x f!reader oneshot around the time of The Lightning Thief. I think it would be cool if the day before he snapped and revealed himself as the thief,, he confessed his feelings to someone or took an s/o on a special date as a type of "goodbye" without saying anything. There's not many luke fics and his TLT story is so fun to explore :3″

Pairing: Luke Castellan x daughter of Poseidon!f!reader

Genre: Angst basically. Some fluff, but angst.

Warnings: non that I can really think of

A.N: Literally listened to The Lightning Thief musical while writing this.This was super fun to write ngl, I also may have gotten carried away with the back story and such but meh :3. I also took a few freedoms and made you Poseidon’s daughter, hope you don’t mind it too much, and I changed the ending of the book a bit because I can’t remember exactly how it ended, just the basics, and I can’t find my book to fact check myself. Hope it doesn't bother you too much and that you like it.<3

Y/N sat at her cabin table, her newly found brother had just come back from a stupid quest he had to go on because her uncle was throwing a fit (as he usually does) about someone stealing his lightning bolt, and he immediately blamed it on her family. She knew all about the prophecy and the whole half-blood child of the big three turning sixteen and having the power to either save or destroy the world. Thing was she had already turned sixteen (if you’re not sixteen yet, just go along with it please) and nothing special really happened, so when Percy showed up at camp and killed a minotaur on the first day, Her and Chiron had been a bit weary of the new half-blood.

When Percy was claimed by Poseidon you’d think she’d be happy that she had found family, after losing her mother at five and never seeing her father, but she wasn’t, She was more worried than anything. Worried that she would lose the family she had just found. And when Percy left to go on the quest, Y/N felt like she couldn’t breath. She didn’t know him very well, but Percy was a good kid, she could just feel it, and she wanted to get to know him more. The thought that he may not come back from this quest in one piece terrified her. And what made it even worse was that he brought Annabeth with him. Annabeth was like Y/N’s little sister.

Ever since the day she found the seven year old blond they had been through alot together. She had run away from camp after getting into an argument with Chiron, she soon learned that it was a big mistake, then ran into the little girl somewhere in Pennsylvania. She then met Luke and Thalia, and then ran into Grover. The five had been through alot, especially when they lost Thalia, she was yet another pice of family she lost. She hadn’t walked into the camp with the other three, she just stayed and watched as Thaila’s body formed into a tall standing pine tree. She cursed Zues for letting this happen to his own daughter.

As the years went by she took care of the spunky little blond, and Luke liked to help every now and then. Feelings grew for the blond boy, no doubt about it, but she also remembered how Annabeth would squeal to her and rant about her little crush on Luke.

When they came back, all three of them, in one pices to say she was relieved, was an understatement. There had been a lot of events that happened after they were back, her favourite being the look on Clariese’s face when she heard that her father had stolen the bolt. The whole cabin was angry and Percy, and the fact that he had made their father look like a fool. But what she really cherished was right now. She was able to catch up with her brother and everything. Talk about his life, get to know him and how much of a good kid he really was. They talked about the prophecy and how he was confused about being betrayed by a friend and failing to save what matters the most.

“People who know nothing about prophecies may say something like ‘oh well you know the prophecy is crazy and could be wrong in some way,’ but, I know that isn’t the case. So I’d say, that the prophecy isn’t done with you yet.” She shrugged.

“Oh, how great.” he rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Y/N” She heard the smooth deep familiar voice and looked up to meet bright blue eyes. “Right before curfew… could you uh,” he scratched the back of his neck. “Just, meet me by the lake.” he quickly stated then walked off. She sat very confused, she had never seen Luke like that before. He was usually a cocky, joking fellow. Seeing him shy and flustered,and maybe even worried, had concerned her.

When the sun had fallen, and curfew was about twenty minutes away, she snuck out of her cabin and went down to the lake. “Luke?” she called out not seeing him anywhere.

“Y/N.” she then heard from behind her. Turning around she saw a familiar silhouette, She couldn't see his face due to the lack of light but she knew it was him.

“Hey, what’s up?” She walked towards him.

“I-” He looked around and took her by the arm to drag her further away from the cabins so that they could be somewhere where he knew they were truly alone. “I have something to tell you.” He sounded sorrowful and serious. This made Y/N’s heart race faster in worry for the boy in front of her.

“What is it Luke?” She moved her hand to his cheek so he could look at her. He just stared into her eyes for about a minute. He was dazzled by her (e/c) eyes, that she had gotten from her mum and her dark hair that she got from her father. His hands moved to her waist before he viciously pulled her close to him, foreheads touching. Her heart sped up even more, this time from the closeness of the two rather than worry. “Luke?” she questioned.

“I’m so sorry.” He squeezed his eyes shut in pain. “I’m so… so sorry Y/N.” He wrapped his arms further around her waist, pulling her into a hug. She took in his scent as he did hers.

“Luke, I don’t understand, why… why are you sorry?” She pulled away to look into his eyes again.

“Y/N, I… I like you… I like you so much I think I love you. And it hurts me, ever since we lost Thalia, you were there, you were alway there. And I don’t know why I couldn’t be satisfied with just you and Annabeth, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry. I was just so pissed, I needed to get it all out. But in the end, I want you to know that it was you, It was always you.” And that's when he did it. He made her heart completely stop, He leaned in and kissed her. His kiss soft and gentle, the kiss was passionate. She melted into it, wanting it to last forever but alas he pulled away. “I just hope you will forgive me at some point.”

“Luke, what’s going on? What do you mean forgive you?” She was seriously done with this mysterious way he was talking.

“I can’t tell you, not yet. Just, stay with me, for the night. Tonight only, sleep beside me, let me hold you one last time.” He pleaded.

“Luke, where are we gonna sleep, we can’t go to your cabin, because… well,” She thought of the cramped cabin 11 and how embarrassing it might be to wake up in the morning with all those kids around her laughing, or how maybe the twins would try playing a prank of them in their sleep. “Percy’s asleep in my cabin, and we can’t stay out here… the harpies.” She shuddered at the thought of being attacked by those bird ladies.

“Y/N, i’ve seen Percy sleep, there's no way he's gonna wake up before us. I’ll be sure to leave before he even knows I’m there.” He rested his forehead on hers.

She thought for a while. “Alright fine.” She smiled and they walked back to the cabin.

That night she had the best sleep she had ever had. Luke’s warmth,and his scent. It relaxed her in a way that she didn’t know was possible. But he held true to his word of getting out before Percy knew he was there. In fact, she had to sit there for a while trying to be sure it was real and not just a dream, because when she woke up, he wasn’t there. Her heart dropped. It was too vivid, too detailed, too… too real, to be a dream. She got out of bed, and got dressed before hearing a snore. She grabbed her pillow and threw it at the drooling boy, still asleep in his bed.

“Wake up ragworm. You’re gonna miss breakfast.” She said, waiting till he got out of bed and started getting changed to leave and go to breakfast.

They sat at the table eating their food when Mr. D. had stood up to tell everyone to decide whether they were staying for the year or leaving before noon. “What are you gonna do?” Percy looked at his sister.

“I'm staying here.” She shrugged as if not going home was something she was used to.

“You’re not going back to your family?” He sounded confused. But he too was confused if he wanted to go back and see his mum or if he wanted to stay with his new found family. He was kinda hoping she was gonna go so that it would make it easier on him.

“Have no family to go home to, Perc. This right here,” she motioned to all the other kids at their respective tables, “this is the closest thing I have to family.”

As the day had progressed the thought of what happened with Luke last night being real faded as Luke had avoided her all day. And as she was walking around Camp, enjoying her last day with some of her friends she saw some wood nymphs carrying a body wearing blue jeans and a bright orange camp shirt. “Percy.” she gasped as she saw the black head of hair. They carried him to the infirmary where he was tended to and given some nectar to recover.

Once he woke up he started ranting off nonsense. “Luke, it’s Luke we- we need to look for him.” he tried to get up but Chiron stopped him.

“What do you mean it’s Luke, Perc?” She was worried by the tone of her brother's words.

“The… the friend who was supposed to betray me… it’s Luke. He’s the lightning thief” At Percy’s words Y/N’s head went fuzzy, her stomach turned. “He’s serving Kronos, hes trying to bring him back.” she didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, “ Oh… and Y/N… he said that if I happened to survive, to tell you… he meant what he said last night, and that he is really sorry.” Percy said that as if it was irrelevant.

“No, you're lying. Luke, he wouldn… He isn’t... “ She shook her head trying to deny it but then something came back to her.

“I’m sorry. I was just so pissed, I needed to get it all out.” She ran out of the infirmary, tears stinging her eyes and her head steaming. She ran into the cabin, and without thinking rationally started to throw things around out of… well, she wasn’t really sure what she was feeling, she just needed to get it out.

Once she was done throwing things around, and the cabin was totally trashed, she knew exactly what she was feeling. She ran to the lake, feeling angry and sad. She took her shoes off and sat at the edge with her feet in the water. Tears running down her face.

“I just hope you will forgive me at some point.” Luke’s words rang out in her head. “I don’t think I ever can.” She thought. It wasn’t because of the fact that he had betrayed her friends, her family, betrayed her. It was more the fact that Luke was so selfish, so so stupidly selfish that he had to dump that onto her. He had to tell her how he felt and then go and break her like that. Because of that, she hated him, but at the same time, deep in her heart she still loved him, something small was telling her that this wasn’t actually Luke, that he was really the Luke that she loved and that something was controlling him.

She looked up at the sky, the clear blue sky. To anyone else, on any other day, it would have been a beautiful day. But no matter how much the sun shined, all she could see was grey. “Why? Why can’t I be happy? Why do you insist on torturing me constantly. What did I do to make you decide I don’t deserve happiness? Was it because I was born? It’s not my fault that my father can’t keep a stupid promise. It’s not my fault i’m alive. I never asked for this. So why do you do this to me? You petty little brat! I hate you with every bone in my body.” She screamed at her uncle. Zeus wasn’t listening to what his pathetic niece was saying, but someone was.

His chest felt heavy. Listening to what the beautiful broken girl was saying. He had wanted to hold her like he should have for every heart breaking moment of her sixteen years. “I’m sorry i couldn’t save you from that. But I gave you Percy. You have each other now. Take care of each other like I can’t.” Poseidon sighed.

[atsumiye]

Yeah let's have it lol. And it might be small to others but it's big to you so it still matters.

STOP HJSAFGHGDIQWUOHGUBHA i love you thank you!!! you are very sweet for saying that <333 i love complaining to people!! this is fun and i switched to my computer so i could type more and faster lmao long rant ahead

OKAY OKAY lets start with the fact that i couldnt fall asleep last night no matter how exhausted i was. ill blame it on pre school jitters but it was annoying bc i am not a morning person. right so i have to go to this place thats like 30 min away from me by bus for my ONE class so i had to wake up extra early too so ofc!! i was tired!!! and i knew it would happen so i planned everything and set it all up so it would move a bit faster in the morning (SOB i am someone who takes 15 minutes to like put on socks in the morning if im tired) also!! i just got back to my apartment like a few days ago so everything is still in suitcase (im lazy) so i knew i would need something or whatever and so i planned for it. ANYWAY everything was going okay UNTIL i put on my outfit i was so excited for. okay listen i bought this sweater right before covid happened and its so cute and never got to wear t so ive been pumped and i purposely laid it out flat so it wouldnt wrinkle and then this morning IT WAS SO WRINKLY and then i put on these pants that i love that literally fit last week and they were like falling down and i couldnt do anything about it bc i didnt want to be late and my hair was straightening properly so i looked dumb I WILL ADMIT THOUGH my makeup and jewelry looked poppin. get to the bus only to find out that this deal the used to have of like 3 months of free bus rides for quite cheap NO LONGER EXISTS so now my budget for the month is all out of wack too. now, my friend told me to wait for her only for her to SHOW UP LATE and then get MAD AT ME when i told her i would go by myself to class. SCREAMS and we arent even done. its still only 8:50 am at this point. we get to class and i realize I DONT THINK I UNPLUGGED MY STRAIGHTENER i live alone so this??? is an issue. so im concerned the whole class and then my teacher tells me i have 3 weeks to make a 20 page thesis <333 and wouldnt give us good examples of what kind of topics to pick <333 now class ends early so thats a plus and me and my friend decide to go eat lunch later which is something to look forward to but i get to the bus station and start waiting with some friends but there is a ton of traffic due to construction so we waited for 30 minutes, in the cold, for a bus that NEVER SHOWED UP. so my friends decide we should walk home. and im so panicked thinking about how i might have almost started the biggest fire in world history i agree. AND on the way once we start walking this guy i used to LIKE a lot literally ignored me this morning so i made sure to say hi to him when i walked past him and he was so dry :l and im over my little crush on him but??? you cant IGNORE ME??? anyway back to the walking home. BABE ITS AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTE WALK AND I START SWEATING. and my white shoes got really dirty. then i say goodbye to my friends and he tries to hug me but i realize i have like a mini lake underneath my sweater so i dodge him and look like an idiot <333 then i embarrass myself over text to my hopefully soon-to-be boyfriend. but i get home and my straightener was unplugged so all was good but then i wait until 3 pm for my friend to answer my texts about lunch only for her to go eat lunch with her parents :D without telling me :D and ive been starving for hours :D then!!! this lady who was supposed to help me clean my kitchen CANCELLED AGAIN. so i took a nap and woke up late and now i wont be able to sleep. as i said this may seem so insignificant but it kept piling on and these are only the things i can remember <333 there was definitely so much more <33

and honestly this is truly how my days go like one time i went to go get coffee and came home to the police bc the mafia set a car on fire near me <33 this is how my life runs <33 me and my near death experiences <33 ANYWAY this part was kinda unrelated but i felt like it needed to be added. so if you made it to the end of this without wanting to claw your eyes out thanks <333 and if you want any more story times pls let me know i will literally talk about them any day any time akgduewd

[docholligay]

You need to keep us up to date on what eps of Bly Manor you've watched so I can scream at you without fear of spoilers. Because I need to scream at someone other than my husband about the shit that's happening in this show.

I finished! Me and Jetty watched the last few episodes on Saturday. I want to rewatch it before I make any “real” calls on themes or what I think it’s really trying to say or anything like that, but if anyone’s interested, here are my basic spoilery things below the cut

Loves: 

I thought the gothic horror tone with the series on the whole was excellent. I have no doubt there are and will be complaints about it not being “scary” but I think it hit what I think of as horror really well, and that feel of the early horror novels, that creeping feeling of something being horribly wrong. 

I quite liked the “happy” ending. I think it was really bittersweet and well set up, and I had only minor quibbles with the execution. BUt all in all, I think the way that Dani wins by deciding to lose is quite compelling for me, and I’m a big fan of victories that are had in this way. I find them to be really reflective of life. It addresses a frustration I had with Hill House, where I found the end to be very very neat and tacked on based on what the entire fucking miniseries was saying about Hill House and about the things that drag us down. I found this even more egregious after seeing Doctor Sleep, a story he changed to NOT end with the resolution of childhood trauma despite the entire story being written to signal it was GOING to. ANYWAY THAT’S A WHOLE OTHER RANT. But yes, I found the winning and losing of Bly Manor to be very satisfying. 

Episode 5 is a fucking masterwork. I was never fully convinced of time itself being frightening by the Bent Neck LAdy, but Hannah’s episode did it for me, the way she skipped through time, knowing she was doing it, knowing that on some level, it’s ALL HER. Absolute perfection, and I had even realized Hannah was dead before the episode, but if a story is good, the twist is unnecessary. 

Jamie!!!! Jamie. I am gay, and there is Jamie. FINALLY, a lesbian for the rest of us. 

The scene with the Lady of the Lake walking behind Dani as she talks to the children was incredible. Actually, the casting for the kids was incredible, in general. I thought they did a marvelous job. 

Plus and minus:

The whole thing with Edmund was really fascinating and well done in bits but, I felt, resolved rather quickly. I think the reveal maybe should have come sooner so we could see more working through it. 

Cons: 

Episode 8 was entirely unnecessary. I know you are married to Katie Seigel, Mike Flanagan, but that does not mean you are contractually obligated to give her at least an hour of “shitty person who gets to be rebellious in a way that fits social mores so she can be likeable” in every The Haunting series. Viola’s story could be told over the course of the series in bits and parts, and went on far, far too long. This is especially egregious given the shortened season. If this season had been 12-13 episodes and had been able to breathe a little more, i wouldn’t have had such an issue with it, but given what we have to work with I found myself ENDLESSLY irritated. 

We sort of dropped the whole thing with Peter at a certain point. I mean, he was still there, and we didn’t like him, and he was bad, but I don’t think the show ever satisfyingly did anything with him as villain or victim. The thing with him and Rebecca just sort of...kited away. I think this would be another thing that could have been easily solved with time and a dedicated writing team. 

Which brings me to my overall complaint, I think. This season felt disjointed because it was written and directed by too many people. Flanagan fully wrote 4 episodes of Hill House and consulted on all of them. HE directed every single one of them. Bly Manor had ONE episode that he wrote and ONE he directed (both were the pilot). That’s it. So it feels like it lacks a single thesis statement, because it does. There are GREAT ideas in Bly, but because we have too many hands in the pot, it lacks focus. And that’s the most frustrating part.

That’s what I can think of first watch off the top of my head without a direct question!! 

[sorceress-coffee]

The Trolls’ Day in the Sun

AO3 Link Phase 2 - Chapter 22

Jim and I decided that the best person to ask about Draal’s sudden transformation would be Vendel. As soon as Draal woke up, we got him into slippers, which was more of I fight than I expected, covered him in blankets, and dragged him to Trollmarket.

“Do you want to incite a panic?” He growled out, keeping out of the sun. If he turned to stone in this form, he’d never hear the end of it.

“Vendel is the only troll who might have some semblance of an idea as to why you’re a human now,” I reasoned, taking out the horngazel to open the portal.

“Not to mention we can’t exactly leave you at the house, we don’t know if anything else will happen,” Jim sighed, leading us down into the market.

We quickly avoided curious stares, dragging Draal to the Heartstone. Jim paused as we passed the forge, “You two get to Vendel. River, I think we need to have a word with the council.”

I nodded, rushing Draal into Vendel’s study, interrupting his reading.

“River? What in blazes has you so agitated?” Vendel asked, setting his scrolls down eyeing the blanket-covered form next to me.

“Well,” I trailed off. With a sigh, I pulled the blanket from Draal’s head.

Vendel jumped back before letting out a snarl. “Oh, no! Not another one! I let the pudgy one stay for moral support, the female because she has potential, and your changelings because you keep an eye on them, but another human?!”

“Really, you old goat?” Draal snarled, catching Vendel off guard, “Not like I’m happy about being a fleshbag either.”

“Vendel, it’s Draal,” I winced as Vendel’s jaw dropped, “We were hoping you might know how this happened?”

Vendel took a moment to recover before directing Draal to a stone slab. As he began to poke and prod at Draal, I took a seat, feeling the void pull me from my body.

When I opened my eyes, Jim was being shown our trip to Gatto’s keep. “He found the Birthstone,” one of the previous Trollhunters spoke.

“He thinks he can kill Gunmar?” Another cackled.

“We told him he couldn’t” Snarled a third.

“Silence!” Kanjigar cut through the memory to Jim and me.

Jim glared, angered that the Trollhunters lied to him about being able to kill Gunmar. “You said it was impossible to kill Gunmar, but we found a way. You’re either a lousy council or a worse liar.”

Kanjigar grit his teeth, “We needed to deter you from making a grave mistake. You were lucky to obtain the Birthstone, but the journey will only grow more treacherous from here onward.”

I snorted, shaking my head, “How is killing Gunmar a grave mistake? Isn’t that what the Trollhunter was designed to do? Protect our worlds from him?”

“And, with all due respect,” Jim huffed, “you said a Trollhunter should only work alone, but if it weren’t for my friends, I wouldn’t even have the first stone.”

“If it weren’t for your incessant need to pull people into your fight, my son wouldn’t be a human,” Kanjigar growled.

I pulled Jim back, snarling at Kanjigar, “For everything Draal’s told me about you, making Trollhunting personal was never mentioned.”

Kanjigar snapped his mouth shut at my words, sighing as the other spirits began to bombard us. “They won’t listen! They mock us! What’s the point of council?”

“If you insist on risking the lives of everyone you care about, I advise you to listen to reason!” Kanjigar scolded, waving the other spirits away.

“Jim!” Arrrgh voice cut through the void, “Jim!”

“Your friends, they seek you.” Kanjigar’s eyes drifted off for a moment, “There is trouble in Trollmarket. An intruder! Go!”

“An intruder?” Jim asked, concerned, “How’d he get in?”

“Go!” Kanjigar yelled, forcing us from the Void.

I crashed into my body, hearing the panic and yelling from the market. Without pausing, I sprung up, flashing out to the market as Jim came running with Arrrgh, donning the armor.

“Hey, stop!” Jim called out as the group who caught the intruder began threatening him. “Let him go!” He ordered glaring at the troll holding him.

The troll snarled at Jim, holding the ropes tighter.

“I’m the Trollhunter. I’ll deal with it. Let him go.” Jim glared back at the troll.

I stood next to him, eyes glowing blue as I forced my sclera to change, making the Troll jump back a bit. He eyed Arrrgh behind us before letting go of the rope, dropping the intruder.

Jim summoned Daylight, cutting the bag open, causing a middle-aged human male to pop out of the sack. “Oh. Thank you, Jim.”

Jim jumped back, confused. Arrrgh reared up on his hind legs, growling at the intruder. Realizing who it was, I covered my mouth, trying to keep my laughter at bay.

Jim pulled Daylight on him, “How did you get past Trollmarket’s barrier and how do you know my name?” He asked, glaring down the human.

“Master Jim, it’s me, Blinky.” The human spoke, staring down Daylight.

“No. He lies,” Arrrgh growled. I shook my head, whacking Arrrgh’s arm, still shaking from laughter.

“I can prove it. Your mother is Barbara Lake. Your best friend is Tobia Domzalski. Your father disappeared when you were five. Your sister, Lady River, is the daughter of Lady Ganieda and Garridan the changeling.” This little bit of information caused the Trolls around as to gasp, eyeing me closely as they debated the truth of his statement.

“Spy,” Arrrgh snarled, pulling me between his arms incase the Troll got any ideas. Jim lifted Daylight to the human’s neck, backing him away from us.

“And we just replaced the ignition on your Vespa last week,” the human began to panic.

“Did Strickler put you up to this? You’re working for him, aren’t you?” Jim asked. “How did you get in here? I won’t ask again.”

I flashed between Jim and the human, grabbing Jim’s shoulder to push him back, laughter finally escaping, “It’s like Draal!” I gasped out, leaning on Jim’s shoulder as I broke into a giggle fit.

“I do not appreciate your tone of voice, Master Jim. Is this the way you address an errant stranger in need?” Blinky asked from behind me. “And you knew the entire time, Lady River! I expected more from you two.” He crossed his arms over his chest as Arrrgh came up behind Jim, staring at Blinky confused.

“Blinky?” Jim asked, realizing he was in the same situation as Draal. He circled the Troll turned human in shock. “You look terrible!”

Bliny sighed as Arrrgh began to poke at him, chuckling at his squishiness. “Squishy.”

Among other things, my considerable companion,” Blinky pouted as Jim lifted his arm.

I circled Blinky, “We should probably get you to Vendel too.”

“Too?” Blinky asked as we headed for the Heartstone.

I snorted as we entered the study, Vendel was fitting Draal with a much smaller prosthetic as we entered. “Take a look for yourself.”

“Draal?!” Blinky shout at the other humanoid in Vendel’s study. “What in Gorgus’ name is going on?!”

“I am at a complete and utter loss,” Vendel glared, eyeing Blinky’s human form. “Though whatever happened it seems to either be spreading or you were exposed to the same enchantment.”

“Is there anything you can do for them?” I asked, seeing Draal’s growing agitation at being stuck in a fleshbag body.

“I can turn wolftoads into willowbait, and willowbait into wolftoads, but this?” He gestured between Blinky and Draal, he began poking at Blinky’s face. “What nonsense have you stumbled into now, Blinkous?”

He slapped Vendel’s hand away, “Nothing unusual.”

“Eaten by Gatto,” Arrrgh called out, playing with a helmet he found stored on one of Vendel’s shelves.

Vendel grabbed Blinky’s head, scolding him. “You went into Gatto’s Keep?” He took a deep breath, glaring over us, “Just what kind of INSANITY possessed you?!” He snarled.

“It was my decision,” Jim defended, “We went for the Birthstone.”

“Draal and I had the unfortunate experience of being swallowed by the slubberdegullion and drenched by numerous potions and,” Blinky cut off as Vendel dropped him, jumping from the stone table as he came to a realization, “Oh, my Gorgus!” He cried out, “That must be the explanation for our transformation!”

“Looks like it wasn’t allergies then,” I sighed, helping Draal with the final adjustments of his new prosthetic while Vendel went on a tirade.

“And why would you venture,” He began to ask, looming over Blinky.

“To complete the Triumbric Stones,” Jim stated, Blinky immediately covered his mouth. Jim pulled it down, rolling his eyes at his mentor antics. “So we can destroy Gunmar and save Claire’s brother.”

Blinky quickly backed away, hiding against Arrrgh as we all braced for Vendel’s wrath. “Vendel mad?” Arrrgh asked, wanting to get it over with.

“MAD would be a significant improvement!” He yelled, slamming his fist on the stone slab. “The Trollhunter is to protect Trollmarket, not risk his life chasing stones from fairy tales.”

I pulled the Birthstone from my satchel, tossing it to Jim. Jim quickly placed it on the slab where Vendel hit causing him to break off of his rant to gasp in awe.

Using his magnifying glass, Vendel began to exam the stone, “Oh, my… Gunmar’s birthstone. The legends are true!” He carefully picked it up with forceps, rotating it slowly before pulling back, storing it in the satchel on his belt. “This stays here, safe from your bumbling hands.”

“Hey!” I pouted, “You’re the one who taught me how to handle gemstones, and I’m the one who’s been holding on to it.”

“You went to Gatto’s keep, with your blood you’re lucky he didn’t add you to his collection!” Vendel snapped, leaving no room for argument as Gatto had tried to do just that.

“Speaking of hands,” Blinky interrupted our argument, “uh, when am I going to get my other two back?” Vendel approached him, shaking his head. “It could be days, weeks! It’s impossible to know when an enchantment of this severity will wear off.”

“Well,” Blinky sighed, whacking Vendel’s hand away as he tried to prod at him again. “What shall we do until then?”

“I can’t imagine the other Trolls being too happy to have us around right now,” Draal snarled testing his hand out, nodding once the movement felt right.

“It’s your choice,” Vendel shrugged, smirking down at them. “Stay here for me to poke and prod, or enjoy your day in the sun.” He sneered, turning back to his scrolls, “For as long as it lasts.”

We quickly gathered ourselves, heading up to the canals. The trolls recognized Draal due to the similar prosthetic, some tried to rile him up, but as soon as my eyes flashed with fire, they backed down quickly. Arrrgh escorted us up to the canal exit, opening the portal.

Jim and I walked out first as Blinky and Draal paused in the shadows with Arrrgh. “You ready?” Jim asked, smiling at there hesitation. “Don’t worry, it’s not gonna hurt.”

Arrrgh sighed, nudging Blinky, worried about whether or not he would get hurt in the sun, even as a fleshling. Blinky sighed, turning to Arrrgh, “I’m sorry you won’t be joining me on this adventure, my friend.”

Arrrgh smiled, nodding to Blinky as he nudged him towards Jim and me.

Jim pulled Blinky out as I pulled Draal. Arrrgh covered his eyes, not wanting to see them turn to stone. As soon as they both entered the sunlight the shut their eyes tight, waiting for death.

“There you go.” Jim grinned as they slowly opened their eyes.

“See? Neither of you turned to stone!” I cheered, hugging Draal as his eyes adjusted to the daylight.

Blinky ran out from the bridge, staring at the sun. I shook my head, knowing exactly what was going to happen. I waved to Arrrgh as we headed out of the canal, having to chase after Blinky.

“He’s a little too happy about this,” Draal eyed Blinky, unsure how he could be so excited about being a human.

“It’s a learning experience, you know how much he loves those,” I teased, elbowing Draal’s ribs.

He winced, grabbing his side. “Fleshbags are too soft.”

“I’ve seen the surface so many times, but never like this.” Blinky grinned as we made it up to the bridge. It’s so beautiful!” He backed into the street as a car drove by, the person threw a soda can at his head as he swerved to miss Blinky.

Blinky laughed picking up the can, as we tried to pull him out of the street. “What a kind gesture. Thank you, stranger!” He waved to the car. “I was in need of a snack.”

“No, no, Blinky, wait!” Jim tried to stop him as Blinky bit down on the can.

Wincing, he pulled the can from his mouth, confused. “Well, that does not taste very good anymore.”

Jim pulled Blinky back to the sidewalk as another car drove by, honking at us.

“Why don’t we head home and get some food, we could all use something to eat,” I giggled, taking the can from Blinky before he tried to eat it again.

“If cans are no longer edible, I’m assuming that there will more things we can’t eat?” Draal asked, eyeing the can.

I nodded, texting Eemeli and NotEnrique, “Exactly, things like rocks, coal, socks, metal,” I trailed off, “You know what, just ask first. That’ll be your safest bet.” Draal nodded, keeping close as we walked.

Eemeli pulled up as we reached the house. Grinning at us, he burst out laughing looking between Draal and Blinky, NotEnrique popping his head from the bag. “Oh, this is rich!” Eemeli snorted as we headed inside.

Draal growled, glaring at the Changelings. “Why are they here?” He asked, irritated at being made fun of.

“I asked Eemeli to bring you some clothes. Sweatpants and slippers aren’t going to long.” I smiled, taking the bag Eemeli offered up. “Find something in here to change into while we get some food together.”

Draal, grumbled, nodding his thanks to Eemeli as he took the bag, heading to the downstairs bathroom to change.

Eemeli snickered, “Okay, seeing you all couple-y with a human is unnerving.”

“Agreed!” NotEnrique barked out, laughing at Draal and Blinky.

Jim and I headed into the kitchen, scrounging up leftovers for everyone, “Really?” I asked, reheating the pizza. “Just feels like Draal,” I shrugged.

Eemeli shook his head, “How does the Noodle feel about her Pebble going on fleshy?”

“Not sure, she’s been knocked out since Gatto’s Keep. I think the heat exhausted her.” I explained reaching into my hoodie to scratch softly over her scales.

NotEnrique hopped up into the seat, playing with the scrub brush. “She’s an ice-based familiar, course the heats gonna get to ‘er.”

Blinky smiled, eating the pizza as soon as I pulled it from the microwave, ignoring the burning in his mouth, “She will be fine, a little rest will do her good. Perhaps she’ll be less of a grouchy serpent when she awakens.”

Jim shook his head, passing Blinky a glass of water to cool his tongue off. “Take it easy Blink. You can hurt yourself with food.”

“We’re that fragile now?” Came Draal’s disgruntled voice as he entered the kitchen. He looked college-ready in a simple white t-shirt and jeans, tied together with a letterman jacket.

“Ironic colors,” I rolled my eyes, realizing Eemeli somehow got his hands on an Arcadia High wrestling jacket.

“Strickler gave it to me, part of the undercover bit,” Eemeli smirked, “Never did well in human wrestling thought, too many rules.

I rolled my eyes, hugging Draal as he settled at the counter, “We’re, well, humans aren’t really that fragile, it’s just if you eat food that’s too hot it can melt your skin and it takes a few days to heal.”

“Humans can heal from melting? Fascinating!” Blinky grinned as he began to rifle through the fridge. “There’s so much I haven’t seen of your world. So much I want to do!” He passed some pizza and items from the fridge to Draal.

“Human food,” Draal huffed, “We couldn’t have don’t the taco truck?” He sniffed at the food, trying the pizza first. Grinning, he began stuffing the rest of the pizza in his face, “Never mind!”

“Well, we can count pizza on our new take out list,” I giggled, swiping a piece from the tray.

“I’ve never cared much for human food, but,” Blinky unloaded an entire box of cereal into his mouth, “but the flavor!”

“I guess things taste different for Trolls, huh?” Jim asked, watching Blinky and Draal in awe as they devoured everything in sight.

“They’ll have to eat more often too now,” Eemeli explained, “At least three times a day, and not so much at once.”

“Why is that?” Draal asked, eating a freshly made bowl of popcorn.

“Trolls get sustenance and energy from the Heartstone, eating for us is more celebratory, humans on the other hand get energy from food, water, and sleep. Coffee if you need a boost.” Eemeli went over quickly, giving Blinky and Draal a crash course so they can function. “You use up energy as you do things during the day so you have to replenish that energy.”

“Is that why you eat all the time?” Blinky asked, turning to me.

“Well yeah, even I run off of food,” I paused, realizing that since I wasn’t human, that might not be the case, “Do I?”

Draal shrugged, pushing the popcorn bowl between us. I smiled, sharing with him.

“If only I had two more hands to eat faster,” Blinky sighed, dismayed at only have two hands now. “What do you call this cuisine?” He asked Jim, holding up the empty Tupperware that once had lasagna in it.

“Uh, leftovers?” Jim winced, in shock at the rate Bliny and Draal could empty the kitchen.

“I can’t even look at you!” NotEnrique laughed, still hanging out in the sink. Using a wooden spoon to gesture at Blinky. “Your whole body is like an old sausage left on the grill too long.”

Blinky huffed, setting his next food victim down, “Very amusing.” He glared at NotEnrique, “Who invited him?”

“It’s boring sittin’ round the crib all day.” NotEnrique huffed, “When River let us know about that change, I didn’t know it was into a fat, balding, hot fudge sundae!”

“Oh, and what are your opinions on Draal human form?!” Blinky scowled, yanking the spoon from NotEnrique.

“Oh, no. I’m not stupid enough to fall for that!” Notenrique snarled, “If I go insulting Moonlight’s mate, I’m gonna get a lance through the gut,” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

A grumble sounded from Blinky’s stomach, alerting a new problem. “I think my stomach is trying to communicate with me.”

NotEnrique grinned, heading over to Blinky, grabbing a cup to listen to his stomach. “That ain’t your stomach, pal.” He snickered, poking at Blinky’s abdomen. “After eating a buffet like that, that fleshy inner tube of a body is about to spring a leak.”

“Ah,” Blinky began to panic, realizing what NotEnrique meant. “Oh, dear!” He cried out, running up the stairs to the second-floor bathroom quickly.

“At least he’s bathroom trained,” Eemeli laughed, watching Blinky run into the wall before making it up the stairs.

A car door slammed outside, alerting the rest of us to mom’s return from work. “Mom!” I jumped up, throwing the Tupperware into the dishwasher, and cleaning up the leftover food.

Draal ran for the door, pausing, “Do I, uh, have to hide now?” He asked, realizing he was human.

Jim grabbed NotEnrique, trying to shove him in the fridge, “You don’t, but he does!” He snapped.

Eemeli and Draal quickly stepped in, helping me clean up Blinky’s mess.

Mom opened the door as Blinky returned from the upstairs bathroom.

“I have to say, indoor plumbing is the most remarkable,” He trailed off, as mom walked in.

Gasping, mom backed into the door. “I don’t care what you’re doing, but if you’re not out of my house in five seconds, I have an orange belt in Krav Maga, and I will not hesitate to use it!” She threatened, glaring him down.

“Oh, no,” I yelped realizing what was about to happen.

Blinky tried to explain why he was here as mom snapped, going after his soft targets. As she kicked him to the ground, Eemeli helped Jim shove NotEnrique into the fridge, slamming the door on him.

“Blinky!” Jim jumped up, going to stop mom. “Mom, stop! He’s with us!” Jim stepped between them.

I ran to crouch by Blinky, checking over where mom had hit him. Adding a little magic as I helped him sit up. “Mr. Blinky, are you okay?”

“Kids? He’s? Oh!” Mom gasped, “Wait, what? I’m sorry, who are you?” She asked, helping me get Blinky to his feet.

“This is Mr. Blinky,” Jim tried to explain, unsure of what would keep mom from flipping out right now.

“What have they done now?” Mom asked, exasperated.

“No, no, no. They’re not in any Trouble, Dr. Lake. I’m here to… assist!” He grinned, nodding to himself.

“Yeah,” Jim grinned, trying to find a plausible story “He’s our, uh, guidance counselor from school.”

“Mr. Blinky came over to check on everyone, Dr. Lake, and to meet with you and Draal here,” Eemeli stepped in, greeting mom easily as she was used to him coming around.

“Since when do guidance counselors make house calls? Wait, who’s Draal?” She asked, quickly spotting Draal walk in behind Eemeli.

“Mr. Blinky is new, mom!” I chimed in quickly, elbowing Eemeli in the ribs.

“Mr. Strickler just brought him in,” Jim finished up, standing on my other side, keeping mom from possibly attacking Draal as she had with Blinky.

Blinky cleared his throat, pulling mom’s attention back to him, “Do you mind if we speak alone?” He directed her to the dining room quickly, leaving us in the sitting room.

“When I first introduced to your kids, I never met anyone like them. They were scared, vulnerable, filled with questions and doubts. This led to them acting out. Both have experienced having a father walk out of their lives. River experienced this twice. It’s a traumatic experience enough on their own but at their tender ages.” Blinky sighed, glancing at Jim freaking out behind mom. “Toby and Claire have been supporting young Jim, through the play, camping trips, and late-night walks. Though a couple of the walks didn’t turn out well.” He sighed, referring to us breaking into the museum. “And Eemeli and Draal have been there for River. I’ve seen a significant improvement in River as her relationship with Draal has developed.”

I sunk on the couch, holding Draal's hand tight as I waited for mom to explode. I hope Blink knew what he was doing.

“Relationship?” Mom asked, confused seeing as she’s never met Draal before.

“Indeed, he is her boyfriend, after all,” Blinky explained, smiling at my stiff form. Holding his hand up to keep mom on task, he continued, “Since she began dating Draal, I’ve taken note that she’s opened up quite a bit. I’ve seen her smile, laugh, making friends in school. She even had… what do you call it?” He paused, tapping the table in thought, “Ah, yes! A girls’ night!”

Mom smiled softly, glancing back as Draal nudged me, making sure I was okay with everything Blinky was discussing. I smiled, leaning against his shoulder, glad he was able to be around for this.

“Dr. Lake, you have raised young River, but I know that her biological parents are somewhat of a mystery.” Blinky sighed, “The gift, the one from her father. It seems to have caused her a bit of shock. She’s started looking for him, and Jim and her friends have been supporting her.”

Mom sighed, getting up quickly. She headed for Jim and me, hugging us tightly. “If you needed to talk to someone…”

“Well,” Jim sighed, holding her hand. “You’re kind of always working.”

“That’s what this is about?” She asked, worried that had caused this, “The trouble you’ve been getting into and the late nights and the strange behavior?”

“The letter,” Jim smiled softly, shrugging a bit, “I wasn’t sure how to tell you, and I had to tell someone.”

“And I don’t like talking about things that, bring up the memories, but I knew I had to,” I sighed, grip tightening around Draal’s prosthetic.

“Mr. Blinky has helped us through a lot of stuff.” Jim smiled, finishing for both of us.

Mom hugged us tightly again, only pulling away to look at Draal, “You must be Draal then? How long has this been going on?” She directed to me.

“Months?” I sat back from the hug, smiling at Draal, “A few months now. The timing never worked out,” I shrugged, looking back to mom. “Draal’s a year older. He’s normally away at school, but he makes time to visit. We haven’t been able to work out a time that you were off to introduce you two.” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t be upset.

Mom smiled softly, looking between us. “You can make her smile, not many people have been able to do that.” She shook his metal hand in greeting, not even flinching at it. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, Dr. Lake,” Draal smiled, careful of his grip on mom’s hand. “I apologize for not being able to get out here sooner.”

Mom shook her head, “Nonsense. Are you staying long?”

“I’m, uh,” Draal looked to me, trying to remember terms I used for school, “on break.” He decided, lifting his prosthetic, “Recovery break.”

Mom’s eyes widened, realizing it must have happened recently, “Then I insist you stay here. I’m a doctor, after all. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiled before finally turning back to me. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to know about your parents?”

I went from happy that mom was insisting Draal stay here, to wincing in an instant, “I,” sighing I took her hand staring at the locket around my wrist. “I didn’t think there would be anything to find, until dad’s gift that is. I just, I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem real.”

Mom hugged me tight, petting my hair back. “If you want to find them, I will help. They’re your birth parents, and I know how important family is to you.” She pulled back as Toby and Claire burst through the back door.

“Is it true?” Claire asked, running in, “Is it really true?” She stopped dead in her tracks in the kitchen, seeing all of us, including mom.

“We came as soon as we… Oh! Hi, Dr. L.” Toby greeted, eyes going directly to Draal and Blinky after jaw-dropping as he approached them.

“So, it is true,” Claire grinned, before looking down at a nonexistent watch, “you really can make it here from the school in under ten minutes.”

“Awesome sauce!” Toby chimed in, pulling at Blinky’s face.

While mom was distracted writing down her phone number for Mr. Blinky, the fridge burst opened. Judging by Claire’s panic, NotEnrique fell out of the fridge.

“Uh,” Jim pushed Toby off of Blinky, “we were just introducing mom to Mr. Blinky, our guidance counselor.”

“And to Draal,” I smiled, kicking Toby away before he could pounce on him.

“Good to see you again,” Claire greeted while holding a shivering Enrique.

Mom almost dropped the slip of paper she was handing to Blinky as looked from Claire to the door, positive she didn’t have Enrique when she came in with Toby.

“Do we mind if we borrow your kids and Mr. Blinky?” Claire asked.

“We’re burning sunlight, Dr. L. You know what I mean?” Toby snickered, excited to take the trolls turned human out during the day.

“Oh, yes, of course. Go,” mom smiled, shooing everyone from the house quickly, stopping me on our way out. “I expect to see you, Jim, and Draal home at a decent hour.” She smiled, kissing the top of my head before sending me out and stopping Jim behind me.

Draal sighed in relief next to me, finally letting himself relax, “Your mother is terrifying, I see where you get it from.”

“Just figuring that out now?” I smirked, holding his hand as I watched Claire toss NotEnrique, “You okay with her knowing that you’re staying here?”

“Probably better than sneaking around, this way she’ll know I’m at the house and won’t freak out.” Draal chuckled, finding it odd that he won’t have to stay in the basement.

“What now guys? It’s your big day!” Toby grinned, hopping off the porch.

“There’s only so much time and so much to do!” Blink began to rant, listing off everything he wanted to try as a human, driving seemed to be the thing he was most excited for.

“Well, the day is almost over,” Claire smiled, interrupting his rant, “but I know just the place. It’s a little bit of a hike, but well worth it.”

“Sounds like a plan then, you guys have fun,” Eemeli waved us off, “I have a changeling to keep an eye one.” He smirked, heading back into town.

“That’s ironic,” Draal snorted as we headed out into the woods.

“What? Witch hunter turned changeling spy?” I snickered, “I see what you mean.”

“I’m just glad Eemeli and NotEnrique are on our side,” Jim spoke up, “Will he be fine though? Strickler has that troll assassin running around.”

“I’ve met changeling’s with Eemeli’s type of training before, Master Jim.” Blinky grasped his shoulder as they walked, “If anyone can avoid a troll assassin it will be him.”

Claire smiled, leading us up to the top of a hill, “Almost there.”

“Who voted for hiking?” Toby asked, trailing behind us. “I thought we were supposed to be doing cool outdoor activities.”

Claire kicked some recycling out of the way as we made it to a clearing at the top. “Looks like someone had a party.

Blinky picked up a glass bottle, sniffing it, “Its, uh, charming.”

Jim shook his head, “No, Blink. She means this,” He turned Blinky to face the sunset.

Blinky and Draal both made their way to the cliff edge, watching the sunset it awe as the sky changed from blue to pink, fading into a dark purple around the silhouette of the city.

“This is breathtaking,” Blinky sighed out, almost walking off the cliff. Jim grabbed the back of his collar, keeping him from walking off.

“You can see this every day?” Draal asked, taking a seat with me further down.

I nodded, leaning against him, watching the sky. “Yeah, but it’s better watching it together.”

Draal hummed, thinking over his day so far, “River, do you want to find your parents?” He asked since Blinky’s counseling was the first time it was brought up.

I sighed, opening the locket, “I’m not sure,” I admitted, tracing the portrait. “I have more questions than ever before, and I know my father would have answers but,” I trailed off, uncertain how I felt about it.

Draal smooshed his face against my cheek, chuckling when he could feel my smile. “If you decide to look for him, then I will help. Fleshy or not.”

I closed the locket, smiling as I kissed him. I could always count on Draal to help me smile.

Claire’s screams pulled us apart as we jumped into action. A golem made of shattered glass climbed out of the recycling bin.

“Another golem?” Blinky shouted as we ran over.

I pulled midnight out, “Why is it glass?” I asked Jim.

“You said it was made of mud!” Toby yelled as the shattered wine bottle approached us.

“Well, there’s four of us and only one of him,” Jim glared the golem down as he summoned his armor. “Flank him!”

“Jim, I think we need a recount!” I yelled out as another golem approached from behind us.

A third quickly joined in. They surrounded us as Jim and I ended up back to back. Currently the only fleshlings with weapons.

I poured my magic into the Heartstone belt, summoning my armor as a golem swiped for me, only landing a blow to a metal bracer.

“Jim, what do we do?” Claire asked as she asked, trying to keep away from the glass.

“I don’t know, last time there was a weird doll in it!” Jim explained quickly, pushing Claire behind him as the golems drew closer.

“An animus totem. We must rip them from out of the beast’s hearts and destroy them.” Blinky explained as we were cornered.

“You mean, I gotta put my hand in that thing?” Toby screech, staring at the jagged glass, threatening to flay his skin.

“Stand back, friends. They are no match for the rocky fists of justice!” Blinky cheered as he rushed for one of the golems. As his hand made contact, he screamed, pulling it back. “Sharp things!”

“Did you forget you’re a human?” Draal snapped, grabbing a large stick and attack another golem.

Claire threw rocks at the golems, breaking their limbs off as Toby used a trashcan lid as a shield.

Jim and I kept cutting them down, but the golems regenerated much faster than the mud golem at school had. “We need to hit one hard and fast against the totem. Grab everything you can get your hands on and attack!” Jim instructed.

Claire and Draal attacked with large branches. Blinky found every rock her could and pelted the golems. Toby tried throwing a boulder way too heavy form him, he ended up with smaller rocks. A golem slammed into Jim, throwing him into a tree.

Toby and I quickly ganged up on the golem that attacked Jim. I flashed above it, lunging midnight straight down through its head as Toby used two smaller sticks to hack at it from the front. Midnight shattered the totem as it pierced the ground.

“He’s getting away!” Jim called out, chasing after the troll we saw at school.

“Jim!” I yelled after him, worried about him going off on his own.

“River, go after him!” Draal shouted as Claire took down the second golem.

Nodding I took off running through the forest, he couldn’t have gone too far yet. As I teleported through the woods, I could hear chanting. I followed it to a clearing where the troll assassin held Jim in some sort of trap.

“Next time we meet, hunter, Daylight will be mine to command.” The assassin sneered.

I teleport behind him, snarling, “Command this!” I snapped, lunging forward with Midnight.

The troll turned, using his staff to block, smirking down at me. “Interesting, in this form, you look just like your mother.” Grinning, his hand shot out, grabbing the collar around my neck.

I could feel my magic drain from the collar to the troll holding it. Yelping as the burning sensation took over. My troll-like features quickly showing through the glamour.

The troll chuckled, draining the magic from my collar as he pulled me forward, studying the changes. “Ah, now there you are Sunshine,” He sneered, gold eyes boring into my firelit orbs.

The name stuck something in me, forcing me into my mind as memories began to overwhelm me. Running through grand hallways, my mothering chasing after me. A woman in gold scooping me up, ‘careful Sunshine, we can’t let the king see you.’ Emerald eyes and a kind smile clouded my vision.

“The,” I gasped, ripping myself from the troll, “the lady in gold?” I held my head. A castle courtyard took my vision next as the troll circled me. A boy in blue singing lullabies as green and gold magic clashed around us. There was something warm. A blanket? No, it moved. A cat? I think it was a cat or was it a familiar?

“Memories are so fragile, how long have yours been locked away I wonder?” The troll grinned as he pulled me from the memory, a small blade held just above the collar against my throat. “What is this?” The troll snarled as he tried to move, gold magic cuffing his wrist.

I fell back from the blades, staring at the magic. The lady in gold? How could she do this? “Gana?” I gasped out, feeling the familiarity of the magic, but there was something off about it.

“You’re starting to remember her,” The troll pulled back, the magic vanishing as he did. “It seems the Pale Lady wishes to spare your life. I wonder how long that will last?” He growled, opening a portal of shadows using the staff. “Child, I am Angor Rot. If the Eldritch Queen wants you alive, then I will stall my hunt for your head. The hunter, however, I’ll be back for his.” He snarled, fading into the shadows.

“Jim!” Claire yelled out as Angor Rot disappeared.

“He’s in a stasis trap. Don’t touch the stones,” Blinky instructed as he jumped into the trap, knocking Jim out of it.

Draal found me on the ground, staring at the spot Angor had been standing. “River!” He rushed over, kneeling next to me and checking for injuries. “What happened?”

“Master Jim,” Blinky gasped out, pulling my eyes to Jim, half his face had glowing marks etched into his skin. “The golems,” he sighed kneeling next to Jim. “they were a distraction.”

“What does it mean?” Claire asked, the markings worrying her.

“The sigil of Angor Rot,” Blinky frowned, eyeing the sigil. “Master Jim, I fear you have been marked for a fate worse than death.

Jim shook his head as the mark faded. “River?” He turned to face me and Draal, having heard everything. “What did you see?”

I slowly lowered my hands from my head, not realizing I was still holding my hair tight. Shakily, I settled my hands in my lap staring at the locket. “My family,” whispered out, feeling weak as the collar pulled magic from me to power the glamour again. “There were more people and magic.”

Draal held my hands, steadying them as I recalled everything. “Take your time.”

Nodding, I closed my eyes. “I was running through a castle. Mom was chasing after me,” my brow furrowed as I focused on her face. “She looks terrified.”

“A castle?” Blinky asked, curious about the memories.

“The lady in gold is there, she called me Sunshine.” I frowned, focusing on her before shifting to the memory of the boy. “There’s a boy singing, I’m hugging his familiar,” I began nodding off, focusing on the lullaby. “My brother has a lute,” I yawned, leaning against Draal.

“What about the Pale Lady?” Jim asked, hoping I had a memory of her.

“The Pale Lady?!” Blinky shrieked, startling me enough to clear the drowsiness. “You saw the Pale Lady?!”

“I’m not sure, the name doesn’t stand out to me,” I sighed, dropping my head into my hands as I tried to think of a connection.

“Angor attacked River while she was stuck in a memory,” Jim began to explain, kneeling next to me. “He went to cut her throat and a weird golden light froze him in place. When River snapped out of the memory, he told her that the Pale Lady, wanted her alive.”

Draal snarled, pulling me close. “Over my stone body! I’ll tear that witch limb from limb!”

Jim frowned at Blinky and Draal’s reactions, “Who’s the Pale Lady and why does Draal want to kill her?”

Blinky sighed, hesitating for a moment, “She’s the Eldritch Queen, the one who, according to the only legend I could find on Lady Ganieda, killed her.”

[pan-imagines-ig]

Don’t Mess With Pan’s Lost Girl p9

Warning: Nothin’

Word count: 1443

A/N: this is long overdue and I can’t remember how long ago I last updated

—

Once he’s right in front of me he circles around me, slowly, bitting his lip. He’s silent for a few rounds and I keep my arms crossed and my head held high.

Finally he speaks, “how’ve you enjoyed sleeping with my best mate for the past few months?” He says coming to a halt in front of me, his eyes dark.

My jaw locks in place and I can feel the heat of hatred in my cheeks, “I never slept with him.” I say continuing to look ahead and avoid eye contact.

“Oh, of course not, he’s only asleep in your tent cause you guys are the best of friends.” He says inching closer.

I can’t help it and my eyes flash to his, “He is my best friend, and why’d you go in my tent?” I raise my voice at him but he remains calm and collected.

Shrugging, he begins to pace again. “I was looking for you.” He states simply.

“Why?” I ask glaring at him but he doesn’t notice.

Dodging my question he begins to circle around me again.

“Well I’m sure you guys must of done something, you know to get over our love that was for not, I know I did.” He mumbles the last part just loud enough for me to hear, the smirk clear in his voice.

“You’re right, we did, lots of fun satisfying activities, but I didn’t sleep with him.” I lie turning behind me to give him a quick smile before stalking off back to the camp.

Once I know he hasn’t followed me I let the tears stream down my face. I really shouldn’t be acting like this, I knew he was coming back. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so soon.

I get back to camp and my fit of tears have turned into a blank expression. I barge into my tent and plop down on the bed. My dramatic entrance stirs Felix awake.

“What’s wrong?” He asks mildly concerned due to the fact that he just woke up.

“Pan’s back.” I inform him, my tone dead.

“What happened?” He asks slowly pushing himself up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I was washing my clothes and,” I let out an annoyed groan, “I forgot my clothes.” My tone hasn’t changed other than the slight annoyance, I feel like the life had been sucked from my body.

“Mariana, focus, Peter. What happened with Peter?” He’s now sitting next to me, his hand on my thigh.

His words shake me from my daze. I was the only one that was allowed to call him Peter. I think back to when he gave me permission to call him Peter and it all comes flooding back. The passion, the love, the heartbreak, the rage; it all washes over me so quickly. My eyes snap and meet his, he looks concerned but his eyes look a bit scared.

“I was washing my clothes down at the lake. Bell came and told me Pan has been going to England for the past couple months to visit the same person and that he’d be coming back soon. I was confused and upset so I decided to take a swim. That’s when Pan appeared.” I relay the events from the past hour then remember one more thing, “also, he thinks we were...intimate, while he was gone.”

“What do you mean intimate?” Felix asks, a hint of fear in his tone.

“I mean, he thinks that while he was gone I’ve been using you to satisfy my sexual needs.” I tell him point blank and a bit sarcastic.

“And why does he think that, Mariana?” The fear in his voice growing stronger.

“Cause I might have told him,” the color drains from his face but I continue before he can interject, “he was going on about how he thinks we slept together and I told him we didn’t but he kept talking about how he’s been fooling around to get over me.” I say rolling my eyes the anger building back up causing my cheeks to heat.

Before Felix has time to piece everything together there’s shouting and cheers from the camp. The lost boys are going wild with joy making more noice than I’ve heard in weeks. Pan made his grand appearance.

Felix and I share a glance of concern, “Let’s just hide in here. It might be the coward move but so what, I don’t feel like dying tonight.” Felix suggests and I nod in agreement. I really don’t feel like facing Pan right now.

We both lay flat on our backs not touching not talking, just listening. The boys started a chant of praise about Pan’s return. This goes on for about an hour and me and Felix start to cuddle back up in hopes of getting some sleep. That’s when his voice booms over the lost boy chaos.

“Lost boys!” He begins, hoots and whistling respond, “How I’ve missed you all! I trust you’ve been keeping each other in check and playing around to your hearts’ content!” More cheering.

I sit up and look down at Felix as Pan continues, “I want to go out there.” I whisper down to him.

“Are you sure about that?” He asks sitting up too.

“Yes.” I say quickly grabbing his hand and getting up before I talk myself out of it.

We peak out of the tent and see the bon fire a couple yards away. A few steps to the right Pan can be seen standing on a table most of the lost boys are standing and listening but a few of the younger ones are up front sitting, they’re looking up at him like it’s story time. And it sort of is. The way Pan explains his adventure to Earth is so vivid and enticing. Felix and I creep out and join the crowd.

There are other boys coming out of their tents too so our presence goes unnoticed. I keep my head low and make sure to stand behind taller boys to avoid catching Pan’s eye.

Pan goes on about all the amazing things he’s seen on Earth, “but nothing could ever compare to Neverland. Though there was one thing about Earth that I wished to have here with me in Neverland. It’s why I kept coming and going, and finally stayed away for so long. I finally got my greatest desire here to Neverland.” There is confused but excited murmurs amongst the crowd.

“Gents!” Pan shouts, “lady.” He growls and my heartbeat takes off. “I want to introduce you to my new passion!” I glance up and see he’s gesturing to the woods behind him.

I’m confused at first but then I see her. A petite blonde. She looks to be maybe fifteen. Her eyes are big and she has a small nervous smile forming. I can feel my face cringing with disgust. What did I care? I shook my head slightly as Pan offered his hand to the girl to help her up onto the table. She takes it and shyly hides behind Peter on top of the table.

It’s clear that the lost boys are confused about the appearance of yet another girl on the island. There are many glances back and forth between me and the new girl, most are sympathetic but there’s a handful that result in snickers. My cheeks flush and I try to hide myself behind Felix. He subtly wraps an arm around my back pulling my chest to his side.

“Boys! I’d like you to meet Wendy!” Peter announces and he pulls her from behind him. There’s silence at first, then Wendy offers an awkward smile and an innocent wave to the crowd. The boys burst into laughter which quickly becomes cheering and singing. Wendy blushes and Peter pulls her down into the crowd. I’d seen enough.

I wiggle out of Felix’s hold and stalk back off to my tent, Felix follows suit. I throw the curtains open and pace back and forth in front of the bed, when Felix enters I’m already ranting. “Like why does he feel the need to make me hurt anymore. We broke up months ago and it was him who ended things. I don’t know if I should be pissed or sad. Right now I’m just pissed but believe me in about two seconds I’m gonna be a mess.” I end facing Felix my arm falling dramatically to my sides. I stare at him and he stares back. I feel the tears brimming and instantly he has his arms around me as I begin to sink onto the floor.

[xenophanatic]

Not my Austen???

Okay, I know this is going to be an annoying post for those who are much wiser and mature than myself. It’s like that college student who has taken their first Austen class and tells all Janeites ‘Did you know that the lake scene never happened in the book!’ 

However, I need to talk about two texts that are based in our reality, where Austen novels exist, that aim to celebrate Austen but - imo - they fail to either understand Austen’s original works or execute their mission statement poorly. These two texts are Lost in Austen and The Jane Austen Book Club respectively. 

In Lost in Austin, Pride and Prejudice avid-fan Amanda Price, who is unsatisfied with her modern life and romantic prospects, switched with Elizabeth Bennett. She finds that not all her favourite characters are what they seem and unintentionally changes the plot to her favourite novel. 

I didn’t mind the set-up. Actually, I found it quite enjoyable. However, some things were forced. Amanda, knowing Darcy’s arc, falls for it. By that I mean while before entering the world is in love with the character and wishes her boyfriend was like Darcy, when meeting him she instantly dislikes his rude behaviour, however then gets to know him and falls for him. THAT IS THE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK. So, as a fan - how can you not see this rude behaviour as just an exterior coping mechanism. Though I haven’t watched this series since it aired, that was something I remembered not understanding from a character point of view.

Though the series explored several secondary characters well, the main issue I have with this text is the ending. Amanda has taken Lizzie’s place and therefore her and Darcy have fallen for one another. Knowing the this is not how it supposed to end, she tries to get Darcy and Elizabeth together. Elizabeth this whole time has been living in the modern world and knows her existence as an Austen character who marries Darcy - umm... hello? this could have been a great existential crisis narrative, but lets ignore that for Amanda’s self-fulfilling prophesy. So, instead of ending up together, Elizabeth and Darcy decide to go separate ways and Darcy ends up with Amanda (leaving her modern day life), while Elizabeth goes to present time as a modern woman. 

Contrast Amanda’s arch to that of Catherine in Northanger Abbey. Amanda is obsessed with P&P to the point where she compares all men to Darcy and rejects living a her life to instead read about Lizze’s. This is similar to Catherine who is obsessed with gothic lit that is all she talks about and has not knowledge of what is happened in the real world. She also projects her knowledge of gothic lit (tropes and plotlines) to her love interest’s life - which cause a rift between the two and others around them. In the end, Catherine learns that she should not live in the fiction world and accept the reality of life. She grows mature and marries said love interest. While, through Northanger Abbey, Austen tries to illustrate the downfalls to individuals who engross themselves in fiction and encourage them to instead accept reality, Lost in Austen encourages audience to submit themselves into fiction and reject reality. I believe that the creators of Lost in Austen - or maybe just Amanda - has never read Northanger Abbey. In my opinion, Amanda should have returned to her reality and understood that while fiction is enjoyable, it is not where she belonged. Amanda crashes into fiction, makes many mistakes - derailing the original story - yet gets ‘rewarded’ by ending in her favourite novel and male hero.

What about your career Amanda? What about your right to vote? What about any autonomy or agency you will get in the modern world?  

In all honest, I would love to see a sequel where Amanda misses internet, electricity and Independence; or where Darcy thinks about what could have been with Elizabeth. I mean they were, in the world of Austen, created for one another. I dislike the ending and therefore dislike the series as it’s thesis statement is... Why can’t I be Elizabeth!  

It’s funny how this text wants to celebrate Austen by creating something that she would not agree to. Not because of the liberty they took with her text, but with the message they are trying to send.

The second text, which I recently viewed, is the film The Jane Austen Book Club. I had previously seen it, but didn’t remember it or why i didn’t enjoy it. I chose to re-watched it because of my love for Hugh Dancy and how his relationship was shown in trailer made me want to see it again.... yeah... not good. It feels the mission statement was ‘Friendship, Love, and Jane Austen’, but really it didn’t do any of it right.

The issue I have is that there is so much going on... but nothing at all. It is all surface level. Most characters are also unlikable, except for Grigg (Hugh Dancy) - mainly because I like the actor. None of the romances were appealing, the friendship was told not shown, and Austen was discusses on surface level as if just in background... like a jukebox musical. Again, the best one was Grigg with Northanger Abbey because he actually put effort into it and I did like the Henry Crawford discussion because I agree with it. FannyxHenry Forever! 

The friendship between the women, and the men, were so weak that I’m not sure why they are all hanging out after a year. Was the club that impactful to your life? This film was based on a book - which I haven’t read. However, here are some changes I would have made. 

1) Have it a mini-series rather than a film. Consisted of 8 Episodes. First episode called Juvenilia, introducing all the character and getting the book club set up. Each following episode is titled by the Austen novel and focuses on the person hosting the bookclub for that month. Giving the characters a whole hour to explore themselves and the novel, whilst building the over arching plot. And the final episode titled Love and Friendship, concluding each character’s arch. 

2) Have it more with strangers rather than friends. Or maybe even friends that have been out of touch - who got together because of an Austen class or something. Oh, maybe a recent death of a friend - therefore leaving the sixth place empty for Grigg. By having familiar friends talk about these books, there’s no character building - because the character known each other for a long time. The film also doesn’t given enough time for Prudie or Grigg to feel apart of the core-group.

3) Focus on female friendship. Prudie is an outsider and other often make fun of her or judge her relationship with her husband. I expected to see a scene where the friends help her out - like in Skam when the girls help Vilde and the iconic imagery of Sana carry Vilde. Have Prudie throw away this image she has and talk to the ladies about her fears and past. The girls talk to her and make her feel better and they all bound. But nope. Prudie’s arch was to make her husband read Austen... ehhhh....

4) Have someone else, other than Jocelyn, be the one to introduce Grigg to the group. From the trailer, it seemed that Grigg was someone Jocelyn didn’t want in the group because he was a man, but then saw him as a rebound guy for her friend and then end up liking him. I wanted that rather than Grigg clearly being interested in her and her stringing him along. I did LOVE the Grigg moments about science-fiction and Jocelyn’s arch of reading the sci-fi books as a symbol for letting him in. However, if we get this disinterest for one another at the start it would be similar to Pride and Prejudice, therefore fitting into the Austen theme. Though I liked Jocelyn as the Emma character, the P&P romance would have worked too. 

I don’t know... I just want to re-work this whole thing. Ideally a Sunny meets Jane Austen. Old friends, that have been out of touch for years, come together after the death of a friend and decide to re-connect through what brought them together... Jane Austen.They find that they no longer connect with the character/book they once love and instead connect to different characters and book. Dead friend’s younger brother, feeling he never knew his sister, joins the club to understand his sister more. 

Oh man I want to write this mini-series now! 

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my rant. If you feel the same or even disagree, comment! Let’s talk!

[quarterfromcanon]

How Long Do You Plan to Keep Me at the Back of Your Mind?

Heather & Valencia - Femslash February - Day 21 - Basic [2,442 words]

“Hello, ladies, and welcome to the trial run of Hallmark & Hummus.” Rebecca splayed her fingers. She waggled them as if the name were appearing in lights. “On this very special evening, we will be enjoying some unarguably bland dip only made interesting with other foods. Whatever film is selected by our vote will be much the same: devoid of flavor until the added ingredients -- us, in this case, the added ingredients are us -- come along to spice things up.”

Valencia offered a strained but well-intentioned smile. She turned to the right and consulted with Heather. “Translation, please?”

Heather’s beleaguered sigh preceded the reply. “She wants to watch sappy made-for-TV movies and eat tortilla chips while we talk about them.”

“Ohhhhh,” the rest of the group chorused. 

“I wanna take this opportunity to just apologize to everyone,” Heather told them, ignoring Rebecca’s background indignation. “The theme tonight is my fault and I am already so sorry.”

“How’d that happen?” Paula draped her arms over the sides of her chair.

“We were kicking around viewing options for Girls’ Night earlier this week and everything totally snowballed outta control. I was trying to steer her away from them by pointing out that they’re usually a little boring and unoriginal... which, like, ‘a little’ was being generous, honestly... and she just really latched onto the metaphor.” Heather folded her arms and shot Rebecca a ‘Why are you like this?’ look. 

Rebecca tried to mirror the stance but ultimately just stuck out her tongue. “I still think we can make it fun. Plus, your cleverness sparked the creative spin! You should be owning this with pride! You were my muse.”

Heather wrinkled her nose. “I accept full responsibility for the apt comparison but not its application.”

“Compromise met.” Rebecca clapped her hands into a clasp. “Now, before we get into any of that, the first order of business is to greet our special guest. Thank you for joining us tonight, Beth. Welcome.”

Beth was clearly not expecting an individual shout-out like that. Still, she leaned forward to acknowledge them all with a salutatory wave before settling back against the couch. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Heather readjusted on her respective cushion. She pulled one leg up to her chest and locked both arms around the kneecap.

“Okay, so, drinks are in the fridge,” Rebecca continued the hostess explanations. “There’s wine, juice, water, beer, et cetera. I originally floated the idea that we take shots of Hennessy for every glaring instance of sexism to keep going with our letter ‘H,’ but Heather did actually talk me out of that one because we would all die of alcohol poisoning.”

She gathered a tall stack of borrowed cases in her arms, each labeled with a barcode from the local library. “I grabbed all the ones I could find. Their collection was unexpectedly extensive, so let’s see if we can start the process of elimination.”

“Nothing with a cover that looks like pretty white characters are gonna fall in love or die at Christmastime,” Heather declared.

Rebecca pouted and removed six boxes from the tower. “That’s practically their entire yuletide catalog - heh, yule log, that was unintentional - but fair enough. It does whittle the options down by a significant margin.”

“No movies with sequels,” Valencia suggested. “The last thing we need is to get stuck with these people for more than one.”

“And none with punny titles,” Paula added.

“Why not?” Rebecca countered.

“Check how many that eliminates and you’ll see.” Paula assembled a plate while she waited.

“Oh wow, you guys are going after their whole brand,” Rebecca muttered as she continued to weed out entertainment that matched the criteria. “Hallmark came out to have a good time and is honestly feeling so attacked right now.”

“What does that leave?” Beth peered at the titles one by one when they passed through her acquaintance’s hands.

Rebecca held up a single DVD. “Something called The Love Letter.”

“Hang on a sec.” Valencia’s brow furrowed. “Can I see that?”

Rebecca passed her the box. Valencia tapped the name in the bottom corner. “I knew it! That’s Jennifer Jason Leigh.”

Beth chuckled. She rubbed her palm along her girlfriend’s spine. 

Valencia peeked to the left self-consciously. “What?”

“Nothing. I just think it’s cute you followed the career of an actress with a big gay fan following before you even figured things out.” Beth kissed Valencia on the cheek.

Rebecca joined in the affectionate laughter. “Adorably oblivious.”

Heather popped the lid off her beer and drank.

Paula tucked a diced piece of pepper into the side of her mouth and lifted her own bottle. “Let’s get this party started.”

She tapped the alcohol against her friend’s serving. Just for a moment, Heather thought she saw a flicker of sympathy in Paula’s eyes.

They all settled more comfortably while Rebecca turned out a couple of the lights and readied the selection. Rebecca stretched across the chaise lounge. She pointed the remote control toward the censor. “Drum roll... play!”

Within the first sixty seconds, a store owner made a comment about women dragging their boyfriends into the building to look at a white dress in the window. Valencia and Rebecca automatically flipped their middle fingers at the screen. 

“Damn,” Valencia commented just shy of the seven minute mark. “She likes some imaginary pen pal better than the guy who just proposed to her. Are we sure she’s not a closeted lesbian in this, too? Fixating on an unrealistic man-of-her-dreams seems like a handy excuse.”

“You would know,” Paula teased with a smirk. She sipped more of her drink.

Valencia arched an eyebrow but inclined her head. “Touché.”

“Ooo, it’s near Salem!” Rebecca enthused. “Witches?” She waggled her eyebrows.

“Dude, again, late ’90s Hallmark,” Heather reminded her. “They aren’t gonna throw us a lot of surprises. Also, wrong time period.”

“If Hocus Pocus taught us nothing else, it’s that they don’t have to be bound to their own era. Spooky shit happens,” Rebecca reasoned.

Heather shook her head and laughed quietly.

The female lead was finally introduced. Valencia and Beth exchanged knowing glances when her first onscreen act was writing a poem for a flower consistently referred to with “she” and “her” pronouns. ‘Gay,’ they both mouthed.

Half an hour into the run time, Beth whispered, “So, is this basically The Lake House with a more cockblocking year gap?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Heather confirmed. “This one’s just eight years older.” 

“Good to know.” Beth smiled with genuine appreciation for the trivia.

Heather felt a twist of guilt that her first internal response was ‘ugh.’  Then the story randomly included a scene involving kitchen spices and she choked on a scoop of hummus.

“Are you okay?” Valencia murmured.

“Yeah, just went down the wrong way,” Heather managed to reply.

A strange reaction crossed Valencia’s features but she periodically hovered a concerned hand over her friend’s back until ten minutes later.

“It must be true love if you get turned on by air touches, amirite?” Rebecca joked. Heather and Valencia froze before they realized she spoke in reference to the film. They scooted to opposite ends of their couch space.

Beth’s fingers interwove with Valencia’s when the movie’s ill-treated fiancée got to confront her betrothed’s emotional infidelity. Heather’s eyes found the ceiling as she tried not to notice.

The end credits rolled. Rebecca wiped away a few tears. She tucked both legs beneath her body as she faced the other women in the room. “So, what did you guys think?”

“I really liked that checkered dress. Oh, and the giant cloak when she left for Gettysburg!” Paula stayed seated but pantomimed donning the aforementioned clothing while sweeping away in a hurry. “I mean, c’mon, can you really call it a dramatic exit without some kind of cape to swish behind you? It’s the only way to go.”

“Right? So pretty. So stylish. And when they got into the rowboat and she read her poetry to him?” Rebecca pouted and held her hands over her heart. “I loved that.”

“He was kind of an asshole, though,” Valencia concluded. “Waffling between them both like they were equally viable options. Pick a path and stick to it. And for the love of God, invest in wax or a razor.”

“That’s a justifiable point,” Rebecca acknowledged. “I’m a big advocate of a person having as much or as little body hair as they see fit so, you know, more power to him. But, practically speaking, that stuff is gonna scratch your tits to hell when you’re pounding it out together. R.I.P. reincarnated lady’s boobs.”

Heather and Paula concurred with empathetic nods.

“I’m not super into the reincarnation angle itself, though,” Heather decided. “They had a few set traits because of the whole same-internal-essence thing, but Caleb and Scotty were still different guys living different lives, y’know?”

“They did each have their own vibe,” Paula concurred. “The two were very similar but not identical. Close, but no cigar.”

“Exactly! And I think they knew people weren’t gonna be as into modern JJL after ninety minutes with Civil War her. That’s why her name went from Elizabeth to Beth so it’s like, ‘Oh, don’t worry. It’s cool for us to just end the movie now because she’s literally the same,’ but she’s not. She wasn’t there for any of it. Beth doesn’t share all the history and she doesn’t know everything that happened before she came into the picture. It’s like, dude, she’s a separate person and eventually you’re gonna have to explain everything. I guess go ahead and get attached to someone who’s superficially a match, but it doesn’t make her your soulmate.”

Heather finished her rant and stared down at the empty bottle in her hands. She could feel Valencia tense beside her but neither risked eye contact. 

Heavy fabric pelted against the top of Heather’s head and fell to the floor. 

“What the...”

She looked up to realize Rebecca had chucked a throw pillow at her. 

“Start believing in romance, you cynic! Stop deflating love bubbles with your logic!” Rebecca reached for another to lob, but Heather held her hands aloft.

“Yeah, there’s an open container of salsa literally two feet away from me, so I’m thinking we should call for an armistice.” Heather forced her expression into a semblance of contrition. “No more mood-killing. But also no more furniture attacks. Deal?”

“I can agree to those terms.” Rebecca let the second pillow fall from her grip.

“Cool. I’m gonna go use the bathroom before we start whatever’s next.” 

Heather departed for that location and locked the door. She splashed water on her face and met her own gaze in the mirror’s reflection. “You are acting like such a jealous douche,” Heather reprimanded herself in a low voice. “That may be the literal brand you represent, but it’s not who you are as a person. Cut the crap.”

She towel-dried her skin and sighed. Somehow, she had to come to terms with the chasm between where she used to think her life would be at this point and where things were actually headed. It wasn’t fair to Valencia to keep letting an undercurrent of bitterness guide the course of their interactions. Then there was Beth, genial and charming, who had done absolutely nothing to earn a cold shoulder. Heather frequently hashed and rehashed it all out in her mind, and she knew Beth had proven herself to be an exemplary first girlfriend. Whether the process of doing so was easy or not, she had to step aside. After all, Valencia wasn’t the only one in a new relationship. Heather had someone, too. Hector... No, she couldn’t tackle her feelings about him right now. The main thing to focus on was turning over a new leaf, and she intended to do so once she rejoined the others.

Heather left the bathroom, pivoted out of habit toward the living room, and almost ran right into Beth. She pulled to an abrupt stop. “Sorry. All yours.”

Beth hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. “Thanks. Hey, I don’t now if it’s a breach of that treaty you and Rebecca have going to tell you this, but you made a pretty solid point earlier.” She cast a covert glance at the rest of the group, playfully following along with the faux tension as well as the subsequent peace. “What makes a person isn’t just what they’re starting with, but how they’re affected by things, and what they do in response to that. Like you said, it’s from their ’90s collection, and I don’t know if they were really encouraging us to look that deep, but still.” She shrugged. “V told me you’re good at reading people, and she was right.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.” Heather nearly crossed her arms, but instead she slipped her palms into the pockets of her vest. “I may need to call on you for backup in the event of another pro-tearjerker uprising, so, be ready with a strong argument. Rebecca loves a debate.”

Beth laughed. “You got it.”

They parted ways and Heather turned around again. Valencia was watching. She twitched her lips upward timidly. Heather flushed with remorse that things had become so difficult between them. She returned the greeting with a sincere smile. Valencia beamed and approached to talk. 

“How’s movie vote number two going?” Heather asked.

Valencia looked back at their companions with loving exasperation. “We’re officially in Eeny Meeny Miny Mo territory, but Rebecca and Paula got into a discussion about whether it should be the full rhyme or just those four words. I feel like I don’t need to tell you which friend was in favor of which option.”  

“It’ll be all right. Paula will wrap things up one way or another,” Heather said confidently. “My money’s on her grabbing something out of the pile and shouting ‘This is it!’ just to cut the rounds short.”

Paula’s voice suddenly projected over Rebecca’s. “Oh, look! It’s the brunette from Down with Love. A Christmas Wedding -- we have a winner!” She held the box aloft and then carried the disc to the player. 

Rebecca was miffed by the interruption for only a few seconds before her shoulders rose and fell. “Works for me.”

“You called it.” Valencia nudged Heather. “You know us all too well.”

“I feel like you could probably make an educated guess what I’m thinking sometimes, too.”

“Like right now?”

“Sure, if you want.”

Valencia considered Heather with exaggerated scrutiny. “Switching from beer to wine before we start another cringey movie?”

Heather elbowed her and they both smiled. “Bingo.”