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wyattjohnston · 10 months

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and i had silly dreams - brock boeser

summary: a series of weddings mean a series of run-ins with brock, and that means josie must confront some long held feelings.

word count: 3.2k

note: happy birthday @senditcolton!!! this is what i wrote for your birthday bingo and i hope you like it. i hope you get loads of wonderful fics to read, because you deserve them all <3

bingo squares: wedding season + 'it was always you' + free space + second chance romance + interrupted kiss

Josie had forgotten that he’d be there. She’d helped with sending the invitations, helped with the seating chart and had felt her heart skip a beat every time she saw his name. She still did a double take when she saw him at the reception.

Immediately noticing the double take, Courtney, the bride, asked in a high pitch, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything is perfect,” Josie said, literally waving her off. “I forgot Brock was going to be here, is all.”

With all the subtlety that she was known for—none—Courtney whipped her head in the direction Josie had vaguely pointed at. Josie rolled her eyes but followed Courtney’s gaze to see Brock standing beside a table laughing raucously.

“He’s single.”

“Yeah,” Josie said, rolling her eyes. “That’s never been the problem.”

Courtney’s mouth opened and Josie knew she was ready to go off on a tangent about there never being a real problem. Luckily for Josie, Liam materialised to distract his bride and take her away to speak to his parents.

Their departure led to a brief reprieve for Josie who felt like she hadn’t stopped all day, or for the entire month leading up to the wedding. She had truly gone above and beyond—something that Courtney had been increasingly thankful about—and, while there was a quiet moment, she took her seat at the wedding party’s table and barely resisted dropping her head onto the table.

People approached her to check in, the other bridesmaids making sure everything was going to schedule and being redirected to the wedding planner, Rebecca, and her own parents making sure she wasn’t taking on more than she could handle. She absolutely was, but that wasn’t something she’d readily admit. Rebecca popping by was the last thing Josie wanted, because the updates she’d been getting all evening weren’t good.

She felt even more drained when she was left alone again, only interrupted by a waiter carrying a tray of champagne. Josie took two flutes.

It wasn’t a hardship to watch Courtney and Liam bounce around the room together, largely inseparable and overwhelmingly in love—they’d been together for so long that their marriage had slowly morphed into an inevitability and Josie was happy that she had a front row seat to it all.

Even if, every so often in her peripheral vision, there was someone she had to keep monitoring. That she could have done without.

Someone dropped into the empty bridesmaid’s seat beside her, and Josie’s breath hitched in her throat when she realised who it was. She may have forgotten that he’d be at the wedding, but she could never forget him.

She only looked at him out of the corner of her eye—he was like the sun, really, it was dangerous to look directly at him.

“You look stressed.”

Josie hummed in agreement, picking up her second champagne flute and saying, “It is my job to burden all the shit that Liam’s cousin is pulling and make sure that Court never hears about it.”

“And he’s pulling a lot of shit?”

“Literally hasn’t changed since high school.”

Brock’s laugh was low, and he didn’t sound at all shocked. Even having spent a couple of years not in school with said cousin—James, if she had to use his name—Brock was no stranger to the trouble that followed him around.

“Surely just kick him out,” Brock suggested.

“He’s got one more chance. I really don’t want to cause a fuss, right now Court and Liam have no idea, but the poor wedding planner is getting complaints from the staff that he’s being rude to them.”

Brock patted the table and Josie looked at him, then. It truly was dangerous because there was nothing she wouldn’t have done for him. So, when he smiled at her and asked if she wanted to go for a little walk outside to destress there was no chance she’d ever say no.

Despite the sweaty palms he gave her, and had given her for many years, being around Brock was easy. There was never any pressure, no expectations that ever came with him. At least no expectations coming from him, the expectations placed by other people were forever lingering.

The Country Club in Lakeville was the perfect place for a wedding—a fact that had held true for years, and would continue to for many more, Josie was sure—and the weather only made it more so. Despite the sun having set about an hour earlier, the temperature had held steady and, had it been any other wedding, Josie would have taken off her shoes and ran through the grass with her arms outstretched.

“Do you like being home?” Josie asked Brock when they stopped at a patio table.

“I like that it’s quieter here,” he admitted. “Vancouver’s great, but… Yeah. I like being home.”

They sat at the table, just staring over the course and into the night sky, with no knowledge of how long they’d been out there. Josie knew that she’d never be able to truly relax while she was waiting for James to do something, but it was nice.

Brock’s company was always welcome, his ability to find a topic and talk about it for any length of time had always impressed, and it was a welcome distraction even if it was only temporary.

Rebecca came to find her far too soon after they ventured outside, somehow looking even more frustrated than she had all night. James was hot on her heels, cursing up a very loud storm.

“She’s lying!” James shouted. Josie instinctively looked to Brock, her eye twitching.

“He’s now inappropriately touching the waitstaff.”

The eye twitch changed into a full grimace with an accompanying disgusted groan. James’ shouting got louder and angrier, that anger directed at Josie at the first sign that she didn’t believe him. Within a second of James taking a step forward to get in Josie’s face, Brock was standing. He didn’t raise his voice, nor did he sound particularly angry when he spoke.

“Time for you to go home, don’t you think?” Brock asked, so calm it was rather disturbing.

James stepped back but didn’t stop his yelling, trying to shout around Brock’s body to continue his tirade on Josie. Rebecca was long forgotten.

“It’s been ten fucking years and you’re still so fucking pussy whipped. She’s so fucking frigid she’s not going to sleep with you, dude, you don’t need to white knight.”

James’ words rolled through Josie’s head one by one, so slowly that she was only processing them one at a time. Until the meaning of what he’d said hit her, then her silence was because she had no idea how she could possibly respond.

Brock took care of it, though, clapping his hand down on James’ shoulder with a satisfying and deep thud, forcibly turning him around and saying, “Pretty sure your parents are looking for you.”

Rebecca stared at Josie wide eyed; Josie still didn’t know how she was supposed to have responded.

A few weeks passed and the next wedding popped up on Josie’s calendar—everyone she knew was getting married and it was the busiest summer she’d ever had. She had no responsibilities at any other wedding that summer, though, and as far as she knew there would be no sign of James at any of them, so she was letting her hair down.

Drunk. She was getting drunk.

Brock had also made an appearance which Josie hadn’t been expecting. Maybe she should have seeing as the Bride and Groom had invited practically everyone they’d ever met.

Josie and Courtney had barely left the dancefloor since they were let loose after dinner unless it was to get another drink that didn’t even make it back to the dancefloor. The looseness in her limbs helped the floating feeling coursing through her even as she and Courtney scream-singed at each other manically. Liam moved around them, manic in his own way, and joined them to bounce and sing through the choruses.

Every so often, Josie would catch sight of Brock somewhere throughout the room being cornered by someone who was no doubt talking to him about hockey. It was happening to Jake Oettinger, too. They were both far too nice to even pull a face that might let someone know they didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe they did want to talk about it—Josie didn’t know Jake very well at all and it had been years since she’d known Brock in any meaningful capacity.

The dancing did eventually stop when it was time for speeches, so Josie procured another drink from the bar and took her designated seat and readied herself for a bunch of inside jokes she had no context for. The chair beside her pulled back and Josie started to greet the old friend from high school she’d spoken with throughout dinner only to be met with Brock’s smiling face.

“Wow, Mike, you’ve changed a lot since dinner.”

“I’ve been trying to get your attention since dinner,” he said, hushed. “You’ve been having fun.”

It didn’t take long for the speeches to drag on—the bride was the least interesting person Josie had ever met and nobody had injected her with any personality in the lead up to the wedding which was a surprise because her father stole the show and spoke for what may have been half an hour.

Brock was mumbling under his breath beside her, mostly when a new person got up to speak but the ones that had her struggling to muffle her own laughs were the for fuck’s sake that fell from his mouth whenever someone paused, raising everyone’s hope, only to continue and destroy it all. Everyone was apparently following the same formula of disappointment.

The applause when the speeches finally ended could not have been solely for the speech itself, it was far too enthusiastic for how boring the speech was.

“Drink?” Brock asked, already standing.

Josie was past the point of being concerned about a hangover, so she walked with Brock to the bar, ordered another glass of champagne and happily let Brock walk them outside. It was a cooler night than the last time they sat outside, but the alcohol running through her veins meant that Josie hardly felt it.

“Do you ever just tell people you don’t want to talk about hockey?”

Brock’s mouth twitched, “Josie, I don’t want to talk about hockey.”

She huffed, slouching down in the chair she found, and then started to giggle when Brock’s face morphed into a proper smile. Still laughing, Josie let her head fall back against the top of the chair, her eyes falling shut even if she did want to stare up at the stars.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” she asked slowly, taking time to sound out each word. “I don’t know how long I can talk for.”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay after what James said.”

it was a punch to the gut, being reminded. She forced herself to shrug. Talking was, at that point, beyond her. Brock didn’t seem bothered by the silence.

When the next wedding rolled around, Josie was much more sensible. It helped that Courtney and Liam had finally departed for their honeymoon and Josie had nobody to get silly with, and also that her parents were in attendance. It was a much smaller wedding, too, so she couldn’t blend into the crowd.

The biggest factor might have been that she had been seated right next to Brock. Somehow, she didn’t know who was the reason behind it, their chairs ended up right next to each other—so close that she could feel the warmth of his body from his leg where it was pressed against hers.

“Will the speeches be better this week?” Brock whispered in her ear. Josie covered her mouth to muffle the sudden laugh that threatened to burst from her mouth.

They weren’t better, but they were at least shorter.

It didn’t take any convincing for Josie to join Brock outside—their own little wedding tradition, it seemed. It was their space, even when half the guests had ventured outside and away from the loud music, and Josie couldn’t help but lean towards him to make sure she didn’t miss a single word he said.

“I didn’t realise we still had so many friends in common,” she said after they were briefly interrupted by someone wanting to say hello.

Brock bristled, affronted, “I didn’t just forget everyone when I left.”

“No, I know,” she stressed. “You and I both know that the hockey team and I weren’t exactly best friends. James made sure of that after you went to Iowa.”

Brock’s face fell. He’d heard the stories because Josie was the one to tell him during the summer after high school after two years of being put through hell. James’ outburst at Courtney and Liam’s wedding wasn’t dissimilar to what he’d been saying to her for years.

“That’s not the point, though,” Josie interjected, noticing that Brock was opening his mouth to speak. “The point is, that I forget that you had friends outside of the hockey team. Have friends outside the hockey team.”

It didn’t do much to appease Brock, Josie noticed, a sullen expression still etched across his face. Her shoulders fell when she realised that she’d sufficiently killed the happy mood they had been sitting in.

Without warning, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Brock said, “You’re one of the best friends I’ve kept.” He continued, after a loud and uncontrolled scoff from Josie, “I know we aren’t as close as we used to be but… I don’t know, you’re someone I would have hated to lose contact with.”

Josie rose and moved towards Brock, bending down to wrap her arms around his neck before he could even register what she was doing. She was forever glad they were still in touch, even if they typically only talked over the summer.

It did nothing to help ten years of pent-up feelings when Brock’s hand settled against her lower back, the thin material of her dress doing nothing to hide the warmth of it. The size of it. The way it made her heart jump into her throat.

He didn’t move it as she started to pull away—not because she wanted to move, but because she had to in order to preserve her own sanity. She could only imagine the sadness and longing, in her eyes when she was just far enough from him to make eye contact.

“Brock…”

“Why haven’t we?” Brock asked in a whisper.

In just as quiet a whisper, Josie asked back, “Why haven’t we what?”

“You know what.”

Brock’s eyes drifted to her mouth, and Josie promptly forgot how to breathe. Josie looked at his mouth, struck by the way they slowly parted and hers unconsciously did the same. The light pressure on her lower back increased, it was only slightly but it was enough to have her leaning into him.

“Josie? Are you out here?”

With a sudden but noticeable lack of warmth against her lower back, Josie straightened with a heavy sigh—Brock was laughing in disbelief.

“Yes, Mom,” she said, slowly sinking back into the seat she’d left.

And so, Josie’s mom wandered out into the courtyard, none the wiser to what she had interrupted, and starting a lengthy rant about her own sister that held Brock and Josie captive until it was time for the First Dance.

At least by then Josie’s breathing had returned to normal, though her erratic heartbeat was never going to calm when Brock was looking at her so softly.

The summer of weddings was never ending, with Josie being pulled interstate to attend weddings of some of her sorority sisters. They were exceedingly fun, even if Josie found herself looking around the room for Brock without realising—he’d become quite the fixture.

She was still yet to see him outside of a wedding, despite his assertion that they were friends, but Josie wasn’t making any efforts to organise that either, so she wasn’t able to blame him solely. Courtney had not been quiet about any of it and had made multiple threats to schedule a double date. All of her suggestions had been cut down, no matter how well intentioned.

At Josie’s final wedding of an otherwise gruellingly long summer, she spotted Brock almost instantly. As did Courtney and Liam, both of whom pushed Josie in Brock’s direction. She only barely saved herself from tripping in her heels before Brock was shifting his attention away from Jake Oettinger—god, it really was a small world that he’d been at two of the summer’s weddings—and noticing her. He didn’t waste any time in abandoning Jake to stand beside Josie.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

“Surely there’s no one left in Minnesota to get married.”

“Just us, I think.”

Josie didn’t want to conjure up an image of her standing with Brock at an altar, in a dress she’d been dreaming about her entire life, but she did. In high-definition technicolour.

With cheeks red and warm, Josie blinked the image from her mind and accidentally made eye contact with Brock when she started to frantically search for Courtney to come save her. The eye contact was the worst thing she could have done; it added to her wedding daydream as she plastered that expression onto Brock’s face at the altar.

It became clear that nobody was coming to her rescue—that anybody even noticed she was in need of rescuing— so Josie turned her back on the crowd of people so that they wouldn’t see the heartbreak on her face when she said, “You can’t say things like that.”

“Why not?” Brock asked with no hesitation or uncertainty.

“Because it’s not just us, Brock. It’s never me.”

“What are you talking about, Josie?” She had never heard him sound so exasperated or confused. The tight pull of his eyebrows softened as he said, “It was always you. It’s literally always been you.”

Josie frowned as she felt her shoulders sag—no weight had been lifted from them by the admission. In fact, she felt more tense than ever at Brock’s words.

“That’s… That might be worse, you know?” she sighed. “It’s been like ten years and if it’s always been me then why has it never been me?”

“Why has it never been me? I didn’t think I was very subtle.”

A swarm of people began to move in their direction, and Josie turned just enough to see people beckoning the crowd into the chapel.

Harried and conscious of how close everyone else was getting, Josie whispered frantically, “We can’t do this now.”

“We can do this whenever,” Brock said, taking Josie’s hand as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “We should do this all the time.”

Josie’s brain wasn’t entirely online as she felt Brock’s long fingers wrap around hers, and it was only just started to register everything around her again when he used that hand to pull her closer to him. There was so much time to move away, that Josie nearly did because she thought he’d pulled her in on accident. The way his head tilted down was unmistakable, though, and Josie didn’t want to move a muscle as their lips touched for the first time.

#brock boeser fic #brock boeser imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #homemade fic #canucks fic

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corneliaavenue-ao3 · 4 days

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Summer's a Knife (a graveyard fic)

Graveyard fics are fics that I started and will never return to. Some are vague outlines, some are 4 sentences, some are 40 pages. But if they haunt me, I want them to haunt you too.

I am actually sad that this became a graveyard fic. But I truly cannot write it anymore. I wanted to release this first chapter in May of 2022... you see how well that went for me.

This is the first summer after the war from Ginny's POV. It is sad, it is romantic, it deals with grief. It was going to have flashbacks to Ginny's sixth year. It was going to have 4 big chapters and a small epilogue, each chapter focusing on a month. It was going to be one of my favorite things I wrote. Unfortanetly, I don't feel that way anymore.

May (chapter title: so long daisy May) is the only complete (non-edited) chapter. I knew what I wanted to write in June (the best and worst day of June), no clue what July (I've been down since July) would bring, and an idea for August (August slipped away)

I even had a playlist made

Chapter 1 is below the cut because it is 10k words, and I am giving it all to you. After that I will explain the rest of the vibes of the fic with some snippets I wrote. Sorry this is a LONG POST.

You say that we'll just screw it up in these trying times. We're not trying.

If I bleed, you’ll be the last to know

So Long Daisy May

Ginny’s bloodstained trainers echoed on the cobblestone path to her Great Aunt’s house.

Once again, she was sent away for being too young. It wasn’t that long ago her parents were begging her to leave, to come back here for safety away from the final battle. Harry gave her a look that he didn’t want to see her either. She stayed of course. Fought in the war that was her fight as much as any other member of her family’s fight. Probably even more than most of them to be honest.

Now the war was over, she was sent away again. Her mum didn’t want Ginny to stay at Hogwarts any longer than necessary, wary of any lurking danger from Death Eaters still roaming the grounds. The Burrow was not safe yet. Her dad, Bill, and Charlie left soon after Voldemort fell to ensure that their home would be safe for them to come home. Molly Weasley could not bear to convince George to leave his twin’s side in the room of all the deceased. Ron was off somewhere once again, probably conjoined to Harry and Hermione’s sides, unbearable for them to separate.

That is how Ginny ends up with Percy of all brother’s returning to Great Aunt Muriel’s cold mansion that foggy, early morning.

Percy took a moment to knock on the front door. Ginny was planning to just walk inside, finding herself too tired to care about politeness and proper etiquette.

The front door swung open 30 seconds later, a small house elf stood in the entryway.

“Hey, Milsey. We were sent here to update Muriel and wait it out until the Burrow is safe,” Ginny said.

Milsey bowed down, “Of course, anything for Prewett blood.”

Ginny didn’t even try to hide her eye roll. She could practically hear Hermione in her ear ranting about House Elf Welfare.

“You don’t need to bow for us, Milsey,” Percy said. The first words he said aloud since their mum sent them here. Ginny did not know what to make of Percy anymore. He was the only brother who noticed anything was wrong with her during her first year at Hogwarts, and then he was the only one who checked up on her during her second year. Then he stopped caring about her. Ron told her that he got a letter from Percy telling him to stop being friends with Harry during his fifth year. She didn’t even get that. She could not understand how he could ignore his family for two years, and then come back begging for forgiveness.

Fred had forgiven him.

The thought of Fred made her entire insides clench. She wanted to vomit even though she had not had anything to eat in hours.

Percy walked through the front door, Ginny closely following.

“I am 109 years old, I just can’t have people showing up to my house unannounced at the crack of dawn. I have not even finished my tea yet this morning. Ginevra, your shoes are filthy. Take them off before you step on my Egyptian Rug, it is older than me and made from Sphynx fur,” Ginny’s aunt said in one breath.

Muriel stood in the doorway, wrapped in her silk nightgown, arms folded, looking very unpleased to see her niece and nephew. “And where is Molly? I need to speak with her about her inability to raise polite children who give warning when they are going to visit their aunt!”

Ginny felt Percy’s hand wrap around her bicep, warning her to not make a retort. “We will make sure we give you notice next time we visit, Auntie Muriel. Thank you for letting us pop in this morning,” Percy said, using his trademark pompous voice.

Muriel grunted, "I missed you Percy. You were always the most respectable Weasley. The Prewett blood runs strong in you."

Percy squeezed Ginny's arm again as a reminder to stay calm. Ginny turned and gave him a look that read something like I’m not a baby, get your annoying hands off of me. She wasn’t sure he quite got the message, but he removed his hand anyway.

“We are only here until dad gives us the all clear to go back home. I will clear out all of our things we left in your spare rooms. Your favorite Weasley can update you on what has happened in the last 24 hours.” Ginny turned, not even sparing a glance at Percy to see his reaction to the news that he would be the one updating the family about Fred’s death. She crossed over the sphinx rug and stormed up the stairs, making sure to leave dirty footprints with each step.

Her room was first. Her trunk sat in the middle of the floor, a few articles of clothing scattered across the floor, but mostly still packed. She didn’t want to admit it to her mum at the time, but she kept her trunk packed in case they needed to make another quick escape. Now, it seems so frivolous caring about her things when her family is now forever torn apart.

She quickly gathered her clothes strewn around and shoved them into her trunk. Levitating her trunk out the bedroom door and into the hallway.

The Ministry of Magic has more to worry about at the moment than some underage magic.

Her parent’s room was next. Unlike Ginny, they did not have their trunks already packed from school, so they did not bring much from the Burrow. Ginny noticed this on her third day at her aunt’s house when her mum had not changed robes. Looking around the room, Ginny gathered what little items were there and put them into her own trunk.

The twin’s room was last.

Ginny took a deep breath, bracing herself before pushing the door open slowly. Unsurprisingly, the room was a mess. Weasley Wizard Wheezes products piled in boxes on the floor and stacked on top of the bed. Mail in orders haphazardly organized in some system that only made sense to George. In the corner was Fred’s belongings frozen in time, never to be touched by him again.

Flashbacks to the Great Hall flooded her brain.

The smell of burning smoke clogged her nose. Seamus guided her back inside from the courtyard into the entryway of the Great Hall. Everything was too quiet. The emeralds littered on the floor cracked under her step, echoing against the stone walls. Suddenly Bill was there, pulling her from Seamus into his arms. He was crying. Why was he crying? He led her to the middle of the Great Hall where her family was huddled together. She counted the amount of heads, realizing two were missing. Slowly she approached her mum, who was kneeling on the ground in front of - NO.

Ginny stumbled, tripping over a box of sparklers on the ground. Her knees crashed into the footboard of the bed. A spare sparkler fizzled on the ground then ignited the entire box. An impressive explosion lit up the entire room, burning an imprint on the ceiling. Smoke filled her lungs. Spluttering, Ginny sunk to the ground, trying to catch her breath.

Breathe in. Breathe out. In and out. Quicker. Faster.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

She felt herself start to hyperventilate. Her throat clogged up, unable to suck in deep enough breath to fill her lungs with oxygen. Tears blurred her vision. Pressure built in her head, she felt like she was submerged underwater. Unable to catch her breath. Drowning in her tears.

Arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. For a second, she thought she was with Bill back in the Great Hall again before realizing that was not the brother holding her.

“It’s alright, Ginny,” Percy soothed her.

Sobs wracked her body. She was exhausted. She could not keep them in any longer. Tucking her head into Percy’s chest, Ginny cried for her brother. She would never hear Fred tell another joke or have a late night race on the brooms. Her whole body ached. Several hours after his death, she finally felt the magnitude of the loss of Fred.

Percy scratched her back, lightly tracing his fingertips down her spine, soothing her. Just like he had the time she broke down during their trip to Egypt. Slowly, oxygen inflated her lungs and her sobs lessened. Her breath slowed back to a stable rate.

"Thanks, Perce," Ginny said when she finally trusted her own voice.

"Don't mention it," he shrugged. "How about you get some rest, I will clean up the rest of this room."

Ginny was too tired to protest. Pulling herself to stand, Ginny nodded at Percy before slowly making her way back to her guest bedroom. She didn't even bother changing into fresh clothes before crawling into bed. Curled into a ball, she pulled the covers tightly around her.

Her thoughts drifted to the same person she dreamt about for the entire year before the blackness wrapped around her, pulling her into a deep sleep.

Hours too soon she was gently shook awake. Groggy eyes opened to her father smiling down at her. He aged so much within the last year. What red was once in his hair has turned primarily gray, fresh wrinkles were etched into his face. Ginny flung her arms around his neck.

“It’s safe to go home now.”

“Where’s Percy?” Ginny asked, hating how childish her voice sounded.

Her dad stroked her hair, “Already home. Let’s join him.”

Her dad grabbed the trunk on the ground and Ginny’s hand, side-apparating her to the Burrow. Teaching the sixth years how to apparate was not a priority this past year. Just another flaw in her education from the last 9 months. Her landing was not soft. Stumbling a few steps, Ginny stood at the top of the hill, just inside the ward line.

“Everyone else is inside,” her dad said.

Stumbling over herself, Ginny ran down the hill to her home. At first glance, the Burrow looked the same as the day she left it. But as she got closer to the front door, she noticed more things amiss. The treeline looked different like a few branches were knocked away. The grass was scorched yellow like someone burned it. Windows were cracked or blasted open with missing shards of glass.

The front door groaned open with her push. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together, heads bent down, all snapped up at the sound of her entering the kitchen.

“Ginny!” Hermione smiled, standing to embrace her in a hug.

Ginny squeezed her friend back. She didn’t get to appreciate seeing the three of them at Hogwarts. Hermione was much thinner than the last time she saw her. They all were.

Ron embraced her next, giving her a pat on the back. She let go and looked over at the end of the table where Harry now stood.

“Hi,” Harry said.

He looked good. Thin like the other two, but still handsome. He had somehow gotten taller over the last year, his hair long, messier than she had ever seen it. The dark rings around his eyes and his hollow cheeks emphasized his green eyes. Staring at her the same way he had a year ago, like he was staring into a brilliant light.

Her heart skipped a beat.

But in the next heartbeat, they were crossing the room to one another. His arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders, hers around his waist. Pulling each other close. She pressed her ear against his chest.

He's alive, heart is beating, lungs are expanding with each breath.

Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive.

The stairs creaked, alerting them to the presence of another Weasley member. Ginny pulled back from Harry just slightly, not completely breaking contact, as George entered the room. Slowly, he crossed the room, giving Ginny a quick pat on the head before leaving out the back door. Reality sunk back in as she watched the back of George’s head.

Fred's dead.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

She felt her throat start to clog again. The unbearable feeling of loss started to overwhelm her. Slowly, she pulled away from Harry. She could not lose it again, especially not in front of the others who went through so much more than she had. Ron also lost Fred, and he wasn’t breaking down at the sight of George.

And George, who would see Fred’s face whenever he looked in the mirror, did not deserve Ginny breaking down by looking at him. It made her feel like an awful person for almost losing it. No one needed the stress of taking care of her while they too were struggling.

“He hasn’t said anything,” Ron said, filling the silence. Ginny realized her eyes had not left the back door George exited. “Charlie went back to Hogwarts to convince him to leave. He got back maybe 20 minutes before you did.”

Ginny wouldn’t know what to say either when everyone looked at you like they were seeing a ghost.

“Where’s everyone else?” Ginny asked.

Ron nodded to the back door. “Bill and Fleur are out back. They checked the house for curses, but haven’t finished the rest of the property.” He pointed to the stairs next. “Mum’s up in her room. I imagine now that dad is back, she will spend the rest of the day in the kitchen. She shares her love through food, you know. And I think she has a lot of love she will want to share.”

Ron’s prediction that Molly Weasley would cook a feast for dinner was not far off. A few hours later, everyone was crammed at the table, along with enough food to feed them for days. Harry sat next to her with a plate stacked full. Throughout their meal, they exchanged casual brushes and quick glances.

“What are Kingsley’s plans with the Ministry?” Harry asked her dad as he passed the salad bowl to her.

“There is a lot to figure out. The Ministry was corrupted, that is no secret.” Percy kept his head down, avoiding the gaze of his father. Arthur took a bite of his chicken before continuing, “It is fair to assume there will be trials, but those probably won’t occur until later this summer. First, the physical damages of the war need to be fixed before the government can fix itself. Kingsley is working with Gawain to assess the damage first.”

“Do we know how many people lost their lives?” Bill asked.

Arthur shook his head. “It is unclear. There are still those unaccounted for in addition to those in critical care at Saint Mungos. But right now the number is at 43, not including Death Eaters.”

The clattering of silverware halted. Silence overcame the table as the magnitude of the battle overcame them.

“Excuse me,” Harry stood, tossing his fork on his half finished plate of food. He crossed the kitchen and made his way up the stairs, not bothering to look back at any of them.

Ron silently stood too, following Harry up. Hermione paused, eyes following Ron, but she stayed in her seat. “He will be fine,” Hermione reassured the table, not making eye contact with any direct member of the Weasley family as she spoke.

The table remained awkwardly quiet for the rest of the meal. Fleur spoke of Shell Cottage to fill the silence. Ginny excused herself to her room as soon as she felt appropriate to leave.

“I will be right back,” Hermione said as she passed Ginny’s bedroom door later that evening, two plates of food balanced on her arm.

Ginny nodded and continued to get ready for bed. By the time Hermione returned, Ginny had already tucked herself into bed, facing the wall. Hermione silently dressed for bed. “Goodnight, Ginny.”

Her circadian clock was off. Even though her entire body felt exhausted, Ginny lay awake staring up at the cracked ceiling of her own bedroom for hours. Sleeping at Muriel’s threw her off. In other circumstances, she would have taken this opportunity for a night flight. But she didn't feel safe flying alone tonight. Her mum would also be worried sick if she found out Ginny went out alone unsupervised in the middle of the night. Ginny did not need to be an added reason for her mother's stress right now.

So instead she shifted in her bed, trying to drift off to sleep. Counting Hermione's rhythmic breaths as she slept on the cot next to her bed.

One.

Two.

In.

Out.

Ginny tried to prevent her thoughts from drifting to anything depressing. No Fred, no Hogwarts, not even her childhood home. So instead she tried to make her mind go blank, to think of absolutely nothing besides the sound of Hermione’s breath.

Her counts of Hermione’s breaths quickened. “No, please no!”

“Hermione?” Ginny leaned over the edge to peer down at her friend. Her face was twisted in distress. The faded quilt was thrown off her body as she tossed and turned in her sleep. “It’s fake! Please stop!” a blood curdling, terrible scream escaped Hermione’s lips.

Hermione bolted straight up, eyes widened in fear, her hand reached for her right forearm. Ginny crawled out of her bed, squeezing next to Hermione on the cot. Tentatively, she reached out, stroking her back.

Hermione flinched away from her touch before finally relaxing. She tugged the sleeves of her jumper down her arms and pulled her knees into her chest. Ginny continued to try to provide comfort to her friend.

After a few minutes of silence, Hermione finally looked at her. “Sorry.”

Wrapping Hermione into an embrace, Ginny whispered, “You have no need to apologize. I wasn’t even asleep.”

Hermione hummed. “Bellatrix, well…” she trailed off, staring out the bedroom window. The quarter moon provided minimal light in Ginny’s bedroom, so Ginny could hardly make out the look on Hermione’s face. “Nevermind,” Hermione finished, pushing herself away from Ginny, standing. “I’m going to go sleep upstairs, so you can get some rest. Goodnight Ginny.”

She grabbed her wand and bolted out the door, leaving Ginny all alone.

Ginny sighed and crawled back into her own bed. She punched her lumpy pillow, trying to find a comfortable enough position to drift off to sleep. With Hermione gone, she lost her distraction from letting her mind run wild. Now, thoughts of Bellatrix infiltrated her head.

Chaos reigned. Flashes of lights of every color surrounded her. She fired off spells at any person still cowardly enough to hide their face behind a mask. Harry was dead, but Tom had not won. She would make sure of it. Ginny caught sight of her wild mane of black hair before she saw her face. Firing off a cascade of curses, each aimed for Tom’s right-hand woman, each somehow deflected with ease. Bellatrix gave her a wicked smile, and for a moment Ginny wondered if Bellatrix knew exactly who she was and why she was so distraught. Hermione and Luna joined her side to fight Bellatrix. A streak of green passed her head, and for a moment, Ginny thought she would finally be at peace.

All good judgment she made hours prior about not flying tonight was out the window. She needed out.

Shoving her feet in her trainers and grabbing a jumper to combat the cool May evening air, Ginny quickly slipped out of her bedroom. Taking the stairs two at a time, pushing open the backdoor, and sprinting the moment she stepped out into the night.

With no one to tend to it in over a month and Death Eaters to trample it to the ground, the orchard was a disaster. Apples littered the ground, the sweet fruit squashed underfoot. The burnt grass damp with dew.

The broom closet smelled musty. Thankfully, it appeared untouched. Ginny grabbed an old Cleansweep, swinging one leg over the handle in a fluid motion. Her feet firmly placed on the ground, inhaling the cold air, she pushed off into the dark sky.

The common phrase “It’s like riding a broom,” never fit so eloquently. Months away from the sky, and it is almost like she had never left. She pressed her chest closer to the handle to center her gravity, and she was soaring. Past the treeline and the top of her home, she flew lazy laps. Circling the property, spiraling in the open air.

Her lungs expanded with cold air, her heart kicked faster with adrenaline, and her mind forgot old haunts. She felt invincible. She felt alive.

Slowly, she looped closer to the ground.

She noticed his dark hair first.

Once she flew within earshot, Harry started to speak. “Imagine my surprise to be awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of your brother snogging.”

For the first time in days, Ginny smiled "I hope it wasn't with the picture of Aunt Muriel he keeps stashed under his pillow.”

A laugh escaped Harry’s lips. It was one of the most joyous sounds Ginny ever heard. "I think he finally has reason to dispose of that picture."

“Oh?” Ginny questioned, the tips of her toes grazing the grass as she hovered closer to him.

The corner of Harry’s mouth quirked up, “Your brother is snogging Hermione Granger.”

“When did that happen? Oh, you haven’t been stuck third wheeling them this entire time have you?” Ginny asked, sympathetically patting Harry’s arm.

Harry looked down at where Ginny was touching him, slowly moving his other hand up to give her fingers a gentle squeeze. Ginny sucked in a breath.

He shook his head, letting go of her hand, “They didn’t snog until yesterday.”

“But yesterday was the ba-”

“Exactly,” Harry said, interrupting her. “How long have you been out here?”

"I couldn’t sleep, and Hermione had a nightmare,” she said, shaking her head. “It was Bellatrix. That's all that I know."

A dark look crossed Harry’s features. "I can only imagine."

Ginny did not push further. It wasn't Harry’s secret to tell, nor was it her's to know.

Instead, she slid off the Cleansweep and took a seat next to him. Enough space to not touch, but enough to feel the electricity between them. The hairs on her arm stood straight up. All day, tension wrung between them. Each touch sparked every nerve in her body. For months, she dreamt about what she would do when she saw him again, and now she was too overwhelmed to act.

They sat in the silence, staring up at the stars. As each second ticked by, she became more and more unsure how to express how much she missed him. Harry shifted beside her, and Ginny braved a glance to peek over at him only to find his bright, green eyes focused on her.

He hesitated for only a moment before his signature look of determination swept across his features. A look found right before doing something brave and stupid.

And then he kissed her.

If Ginny thought it was easy to return to flying after time away, nothing compared to kissing Harry. The feel of his mouth slanted against hers felt like coming home. Nothing was more natural. An instinct. Just like the instinct of Harry’s hands to wind in her hair and hers to press against his chest.

No words were said aloud, but so much was shared within one kiss. They were always good at having silent conversations. A single look. A single touch. So many emotions and thoughts expressed between them in those moments.

His hands in her hair. I missed you.

Her hands wrapped around his waist. Please don’t go again.

Their lips pressed together. I need you.

Eventually they broke apart after what could have been several days. Ginny always lost track of time when Harry kissed her. Pulling away, Ginny let out an uncharacteristic giggle, relishing in the warmth of an alive Harry.

She shifted her weight, leaning against his side. Her head rest on his shoulder. His arms snaked around her waist. Slot against one another like no time had passed since those days spent by the lake.

That is where they stayed until daylight broke over the horizon.

Days were quiet. Planning funerals drained livelihood out of the Burrow. Ginny found herself helping where she could. Her mum was constantly cooking in the kitchen, so Ginny would help clean. She didn’t speak, she kept her thoughts to herself. When Harry was in the room, they moved like they were dancing. Never touching.

Nights were loud. Hermione would leave her room after everyone officially went to bed to join Ron in his. That was when Ginny would sneak out to fly. Harry would join her minutes later, some joke on his lips about Ron and Hermione and how he wished maybe they went back to fighting. Then they would fly together or sit and talk. Eventually, they would fall asleep under the stars pressed into each other's arms, waking just at the crack of dawn to sneak back into their respective bedrooms.

One bright morning, Ginny followed the scent of fresh breads and sweet sugar down to the kitchen. Her mum hunched over the oven, a faded floral apron tied loosely around her waist. Ginny would not be surprised if she barely missed her mum waking up to slave away in the kitchen right as her and Harry were sneaking back into their beds.

“Morning, mum,” Ginny said, giving her mum a squeeze around the waist.

“Good morning, dear,” her mum replied, leaning into her hug. “I would like you and Charlie to run some errands for me today.”

“Sure,” Ginny said, stealing a pastry from the counter. “What do you need?” She asked, mouth full of scone.

Her mum turned back to the oven to pull out a fresh pie. “I would love it if you could run some of these breads to some families for me. The Browns, the Deacons, and the Rivers. I believe Deacon’s daughter was in your year. Sophie was it?”

The scone in her mouth went stale. Bile rose, burning her throat on the way up. Ginny grabbed a napkin off the counter and spit out the mushed up pastry. “Yeah, Sophie,” Ginny’s voice wavered. She cleared the acid from her throat, pushing the sound of late night giggles about Hogwarts gossip out from her head. “I can do that for you. Where’s Charlie?”

After wrangling her second eldest brother from the yard, the pair apparated, Ginny tightly wrapping her hand around Charlie's arm, to the home of Ron’s ex girlfriend.

Ever the introvert, Charlie left her to do all the talking and condolences.

After giving her final sorrows to the Brown Family, Charlie grabbed her arm and apparated them to the small Wizarding village the Deacon’s lived.

Ginny stumbles forward as her feet crashed into the stepping stones of her dead dormmates home. Steadying herself, Ginny wondered if she would ever get used to apparition. Flying makes sense. Apparating does not.

Grabbing her brother’s arm, she turned him to face her, “Listen, let me do this house alone, yeah?”

Charlie gave her a look, questioning her judgment. “You know you aren’t of age and mum would slit my throat.”

“Please. She was my friend.”

Something in her eyes must have given enough reasoning to Charlie to let her go alone. “I will wait over at the shop across the street. Meet me there when you’re done.”

Ginny pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his thick waist. Charlie was the closest of her siblings to her own height, so she could rest her chin on his shoulder during the embrace. “I won’t be too long.”

She turned away from her brother, the pie her mother gave her rest carefully on her arm. Steadying herself with a shaky breath, she knocked.

A moment passed. And then another. Ginny held her breath as she waited. Maybe she would not have to face them. Maybe she could set the pie down on the step and turn her back and run away from the grief inside the home. But before Ginny could follow her intrusive thoughts, the door opened to a beautiful woman with short auburn hair and laugh lines carved into her face even though she looked as though she had not had a reason to laugh in a long time.

“Hello, my name is Ginn-”

“Ginny come in,” Sophie’s mum invited her in, opening the door wider for Ginny to slip inside.

She shouldn’t be surprised that Mrs. Deacon knew who she was, a classmate of her daughters, a Weasley, a blood traitor whose family housed The Boy Who Lived for years. Ginny did not want to know what the exact reason was that Mrs. Deacon recognized her.

“My mum made this for you,” Ginny said, offering the baked pie that would never fill the Sophie-sized hole in her heart.

“Thank you, that is very sweet of her and sweet of you to drop it off.”

Sophie’s mum took the pie and set it on the kitchen counter filled with other condolence foods. Ginny felt nauseous at the sight.

Ginny sat on the gray loveseat and turned away from the sight and took in the room around her. Light cascaded in and reflected off of the framed photos on the cream wall to brighten the room. Photos of Sophie and her little brother, Samuel, were everywhere. Together with a woman, who must have been their grandmother, standing in Diagon Alley. Sophie singing in the frog choir with her hair tucked back in her signature butterfly clips. Sam tugging on a much younger Sophie’s hair and running away. All moments forever to cycle on repeat, but to never be updated again.

The bile that she swallowed that morning began to rise again.

“Would you like something to drink, dear?” Mrs. Deacon asked, pulling Ginny out of her reverie.

“No, thank you,” Ginny replied, even though she could probably use a glass of water or a shot of firewhiskey.

A grunt from the door leading to the hallway alerted Ginny of Mr. Deacon’s presence. He was a tall man, not as tall as her own father, but much wider. He worked for the Ministry’s Portkey Office. Sophie often boasted about all the places her father traveled for work, and Ginny could see it. A man like him did not belong behind a desk.

“Elric, this is Ginny. She is,” Mrs. Deacon paused, “She was one of Sophie’s classmates.”

Ginny stood to her feet, “Mr. Deacon, I am so sorry for your loss.”

Mr. Deacon waved his hand, his other rubbing his sternum like he too struggled with gastric reflux at the reminder of Sophie.

“I too am sorry for yours. I heard you lost a brother.”

The grief of losing Fred washed over her again like a wave that quickly retreated into a cool, cold nothing. “Yes, I did. Thank you.” Ginny sat back down on the couch. The Deacons sat across from her, gripping each other’s hands.

Silence swept over the room like a cloak. Thick, warm, and suffocating.

Ginny broke the silence first.

“Sophie was-,” Ginny paused, clearing her throat, “she was a beautiful soul. Her voice lit up the dorm room. She would sing under her breath and she studied and then belt songs in the shower. She was wicked at potions and brilliant at Gobstones. She was one of my best friends, and I am so sorry for your loss.”

The all too familiar prickling sensation behind her eyes grew. Rapidly blinking, trying to keep the tears at bay, because she had so much more to say. So she pressed on. “I was there,” Ginny said, looking up to meet Mrs. Deacon’s eye.

The scent of smoke encroached her olfactory system. The feel of Sophie’s manicured hand in her own haunted her skin.

Ginny ignored the memories and pressed on. “When You-Know-Who asked for a pause, I went out to the ground to help.” The words recover bodies left unsaid. “I saw her lying there. She was alive, and she was asking for you. She loved you so much.” The tears building in her eyes escaped, rolling steadily down her cheeks.

"They told us her body was recovered during The Silent Hour, but never by who," Mr. Deacon said, tears brimming his eyes. “Thank you, Ginny.”

The guilt bubbling in her gut was interrupted by footsteps bounding down the steps. Little, 12-year old, Samuel Deacon slid into the room.

“Ginny!” Samuel shouted, eyes filled with joy as though he were seeing a hero. And to him he probably was. She had not seen him in months. Thankfully, Samuel was long gone from Hogwarts during the battle, but the last time she saw him was forever ingrained in her brain. The memory seeped through her pores.

“Pain does not last forever,” Amycus Carrow said to a room full of scared students. “But the memory of it does.” He sauntered across the front of the entrance hall, each step deliberate to draw out the dramatics of what he was saying. Ginny guessed he got this schtick from Tom. “Which is why it makes such an excellent punishment. You remember the pain, so maybe next time you won’t misbehave.” He turned to face her, smiling like a Grindylow ready to to entangle their prey within their long fingers.

“Now can someone please tell me which illiterate idiot graffitied the walls?” Amycus’s voice echoes through the hall. Dozens of eyes stayed focused on the floor. “Was it you?” A finger pointing at a short Hufflepuff boy standing over in the corner. His eyes widened at being called out for a crime he never committed.

“No,” the boy stuttered.

“I don’t believe you,” Amycus sneered, clenching the collar of his cloak, dragging him out into the open. “What’s your name, boy?”

“Sa-Samuel,” the young boy managed to stutter out.

“Well, Sa-Samuel, I hope you remember to never misbehave again.” With those words, Amycus lifted his wand.

Quickly shoving her hand into her bag, fumbling around searching for the jar of paint stashed at the bottom. Her fingers found the cool glass and she yanked it out and threw it at Amycus’s feet.

He turned to meet her, and grinned. The Grindylow caught his prey. “I see I found the illiterate idiot.” He turned his wand to her face, “Crucio.”

“Sam, it is good to see you,” Ginny asked, voice overly pleasant.

To Ginny’s horror, Mrs. Deacon said, “Samuel has told me a lot about you.” She smiled too warmly at her. Like she wasn’t the reason Sam was not almost cursed in the first place. Like she wasn’t the last one to see her daughter alive. Like she deserved forgiveness.

Ginny’s stomach turned and threatened to spill out on their carpet. She needed to leave.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality. I do need to get going.”

Both of the Deacon’s stood immediately.

“Of course,” Mrs. Deacon said.

“Let me walk you out,” Mr. Deacon said.

So Ginny let herself be ushered out. She kept her mouth clamped shut. Afraid to vomit out words along with her guts.

As she reached the door, Mr. Deacon stopped her, “Sophie’s funeral is set on the thirteenth. We would love it if you could make it.”

Ginny couldn’t trust her words, so she nodded in agreement, and burst out the front door. As soon as the door closed, she broke out into a sprint, down to the corner shop where Charlie should be waiting for her.

He was leaning against the side wall, lazily smoking a cigarette.

"Take me home." Ginny said, walking past Charlie.

"But we have one more-"

"Take me home."

Charlie paused before grabbing her arm and spinning on his heel. They arrived in front of the Burrow a second later. Ginny sprinted to the broom shed. Grabbing the closest broom, not even checking whose it belongs to, Ginny kicked off of the ground.

She lapped the Burrow several times, streaking by as fast as the broom allowed her. Up in the air, she could blame her tears on the wind in her eyes instead of the guilt she felt in her heart.

That night, she did not fly.

Hermione snuck out of the room, but Ginny stayed in her bed. Waiting. A soft knock on the door alerted her of his presence. Her bed shifted from his added weight.

They avoided each other that day. Well really, Ginny avoided him and everyone else. Hiding in the sky, and when she was called inside by her mum, she hid in the kitchen. Charlie did not say anything to her, which was a blessing. Her mum did comment on the extra pie brought up, but a quick lie that the Rivers were not home avoided anymore questions.

Harry’s arms snuck around her waist, pulling her against his chest. She tucked herself under his chin as he pressed his nose into her hair. Her hair was still damp from the shower she took earlier that evening, but she knew Harry would not care. In fact, he probably preferred it. The scent of her shampoo freshly washed into her hair. It calmed him.

She wondered if he was struggling with what was going to happen tomorrow as much as she knew she would.

But she did not ask.

Slowly, his breaths evened as he fell asleep behind her. And Ginny fell shortly after.

All mornings have been quiet since the battle at the Burrow. But none compared to this one. Outside, the morning fog was thick and suffocating. Inside, so was the silence.

Weasley family members dressed in black to bury their loudest family member.

When it was time, her father led the family to the grave. Walking in a line to the apparition line on the edge of the Burrow property, and one-by-one apparating to Fred’s final destination. Ginny stood and watched as her loved ones disappeared with a pop. Her dad stood by her side and lifted his arm.

“Ready?”

No.

“Yes,” she said, gripping his arm.

The graveyard was busier than she expected. Her family is large, but so was Fred’s impact.

Old classmates of his, old teammates, old co-workers lined the chairs in the back. Professor McGonagall could be seen from her tall witch’s hat. Hagrid stood off to the side, already loudly sobbing. Ginny felt her tears join his.

She made her way to the front and sat in her seat nestled between Ron and George. The same small wizard that preached at Dumbledore’s funeral and Bill’s wedding stood in the front. A twisted thought crossed her mind about how busy that man is during this week.

And he talked in platitudes. He talked about his sacrifice, how he was a light in the family. But never really about Fred. Ginny wished she had taken the time to write something, then maybe Fred would have gotten the send off he deserved.

George gripped her hand near the end of the small wizard’s speech. “Are you ready to see some magic?”

Ginny grinned, a warmth spreading across her chest. “Always.”

George grinned back at her, reaching into his pocket, pulling out his wand. With a small flick of his wrist. A bang behind the gravestones went off.

Gasps wrang out from behind her. Aunt Muriel gave out a shriek of terror, as fireworks lit up the foggy sky.

Sparks flew above her, spelling out the initials F.W. And for the first time all week, Ginny was crying, but she was not upset by it.

After the funeral, the mood was much brighter, the fog outside lifted with the smoke of the fireworks, and Ginny could feel like she could breathe again.

Slowly, the crowd began to thin. Angelina grabbed George’s arm and loudly declared that they were going to the Leaky to celebrate Fred’s life and a group followed her. Bill, Charlie, and Fleur followed shortly after them. After a moment of contemplation, Percy followed suit.

Her mother gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading further into the graveyard to where her brothers lay. Her father followed a few steps behind her.

Ron and Hermione were still sitting in their seats. Their chairs were now pushed impossibly close together as Hermione almost sat on Ron’s lap with her head tucked against his chest, and Ron’s face pressed into her hair. Masking the tears that he was shedding.

Ginny steadily made her way up to Fred’s grave. Ash sprinkled the grass from the firework show. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting to the right of the gravestone.

“Hey, Forge,” Ginny murmured, closing her eyes and resting her head on the stone. “Miss you.”

Ginny slowly descended down the stairs, unsure exactly which one would creak under her step. She wasn’t sure who would be worse to alert of her late night excursion: her mother or her great aunt.

All she wanted to do was see them and not just take Bill’s word for it that they were safe. Luna. Dean. Hermione. Ron. And of course Harry. Mum nearly locked her in her bedroom when Ginny asked to go to Shell Cottage.

So now she was sneaking to the fireplace in the middle of the night to floo her way over to Shell Cottage. A task significantly less dangerous than any of the times she snuck out in the middle of the night this last year.

The third from the bottom step let out a loud groan.

“Shit.”

“Going somewhere?” A voice from the top of the stairs called down to her. Thankfully, it was the person who would most likely go with her on this adventure.

“I thought getting some nice fresh, saltwater air would be nice at this time of night. Want to come along?” Ginny asked, nodding her head to the living room.

Fred quickly descended the stairs, uncaring if he woke the entire house along the way.

"Is that the plan then? Run off to Shell Cottage without letting anyone know where you're going?"

"You know."

"I know because I caught you sneaking out," Fred retorted. "And when mum and dad wake in the morning and find your bed empty? What will you do after they chain you to your bed?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "They won't tie me to the bed."

"No, probably not, but you won't be let out of their sight. And when the time comes when it is important for you to sneak out, you won't be able to."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, hating that she didn't understand.

"I'm saying, wait. Wait until something big. I will go with you then. Not when you're sneaking out to see your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend."

"I didn't realize you were sneaking off to see Thomas. Don't let me stop you then," Fred teased.

"Oh, shove off," Ginny said, pushing his shoulder.

Heavy footsteps pulled her from her thoughts. Harry stood above her, head of messy hair blocking the sun. He held his hand out, an offer to help her up.

She took it, pulling herself up and into his arms in one fluid motion. He enveloped her in a hug, holding her tight against his chest. Ginny breathed in the scent of him. Woodsy and cool, like the morning air in the autumn.

Reluctantly, she detangled herself from him, keeping her hand intertwined in his. There they stood, hand in hand, staring down at Fred Weasley’s grave.

Fred Weasley

1/4/1978 - 2/5/1998

Mischief

Harry gave her fingers a squeeze before letting go. He bent down in front of Fred’s grave. He paused for a second, before pulling out his wand, waving it carefully. A bouquet of daisies appeared in the dirt. Fresh and white. Harry stood, reaching back for her hand, but refusing to look at her.

“Hermione and I went to my parent’s graves on Christmas. She did this,” Harry said, waving his hands at the flowers on the ground, “I thought Fred deserved some too.” He bent down and picked one from the ground, “Daisies mean new beginnings.”

He shifted his weight, "or at least that's what Hermione told me when she showed me how to do the spell."

Ginny’s gut twisted into a knot. "They're beautiful," was all she could muster out. She wasn't sure she wanted a new beginning. She wanted to start all over.

"For you," Harry said, handing her a single flower.

Ginny smiled and accepted the pity flower. Harry didn't believe in the pity flowers either, but it was thoughtful, so Ginny tucked it into her pocket.

When she got home later that night, she tossed it into her windowsill. With hope that maybe the rest of the summer improved from the beginning.

The next several days were spent in mourning. Traveling from funeral to funeral.

Colin’s funeral was hard because she spent 30 minutes before leaving being coached by Hermione on the intricacies of a muggle funeral. Obviously, no fireworks like Fred’s nor an ablaze casket like at Dumbledore’s. But instead a metal contraption that would slowly lower his wooden casket into the ground.

She sat near front on the side with Neville and Seamus on either side of her. Harry with Ron and Hermione in the back, trying to keep attention off of them as much as possible.

Ginny grieved for her friend. Her Herbology partner. The person who never tired answering her questions about the Muggle World. The same sinking feeling that ebbed and flowed in her since the battle came back. She was the reason why he lost half of his first year lying petrified in the hospital wing. Tom was the reason he lost the rest of his life.

Tonks and Remus’s funerals were next. Members of the Order carried both caskets. Kingsley had tears streaming down his face with Tonks’ casket on his shoulders. Her dad looked more tired than usual under the weight of Remus’s casket.

Only one other gravestone stood in the ground on the plot of land. Tonks’ final resting place lay next to the empty grave of her father whose body was never recovered.

In the last row sat Andromeda cradling a young Teddy Lupin. Remus showed her a picture of young Teddy when he visited the Weasley’s at Muriel’s place. Then, his hair was a bright orange. Now, it lacked any sign of vibrance, instead he wore Remus’s signature sandy hair.

Next to Andromeda sat Narcissa, poised, dressed head to toe in expensive black robes. Looking every bit out of place Ginny is sure she felt.

Harry did a double-take after he noticed her next to his godson. Ginny reached forward and laced her fingers with his, offering a squeeze of comfort. On the other side of Harry, Ron pulled Hermione closer to his body.

Instead of the small wizard, Kingsley stood in front of the graves and gave a speech about hope and love and loss. A personal story about Tonks catching a death eater by tripping on top of him was interrupted by wails coming from the back row.

Little Teddy’s uncontrollable sobs echoed in the cemetery. Andromeda tried shushing him to no avail. Narcissa stood, offering a hand, a moment passed before Andromeda passed over her grandson to her sister. Narcissa carried Teddy further away from the funeral and whispers of the guests.

“She has no right,” hissed Ron.

“It’s fine,” Harry replied, his leg bouncing, looking everything but fine.

Kingsley continued on with Teddy’s sobs quieted by distance. Ron kept anxiously looking over his shoulder back at Narcissa while Hermione stared straight forward. Harry leaned forward in his seat, releasing his grip on her hand.

Ginny, for her part, kept listening to Kingsley and silently wondered if she would ever fully understand what happened with those three last year.

The funeral ended with Kingsley and Gawain Robards casting golden sparks at the pair of caskets before they slowly descended into the ground.

Gradually, the crowd began to thin out. Narcissa carefully returned to her sister’s side off in the back, swaying back and forth, cradling a sleepy Teddy in her arms.

Harry stood and started to make his way back towards where his Godson was.

“Mr. Potter. May I have a word?” Gawain Robards asked.

Harry froze momentarily, and Ginny wondered if he was going to tell the Head Auror to fuck right off before he calmly nodded. Robards stuck out his hand, leading Harry away from the crowds, in the opposite direction of Narcissa Malfoy.

Ginny stood frozen next to Ron and Hermione, both just as conflicted as she felt on whether they should eavesdrop on Robards and Harry’s conversation or confront Mrs. Malfoy.

Her mum approached the Black sisters. Ginny snuck over to the back, Ron and Hermione following her closely, ready to witness whatever drama could unfold between Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy. But instead of sharp words or curses shot from wands, her mum swept both Andy and Narcissa into a warm embrace

“I am so sorry about your sister,” Mum said, pulling away from the Black sisters.

Narcissa placed a hand on her mum’s arm, “We do anything to protect our children.” She gave Andromeda a curt nod and took a slender finger to brush Teddy’s cheek. “I won’t intrude any longer than I meant to. It was good to see you, Andy.”

With a pop, Narcissa disappeared.

Harry stormed by a few seconds later, Robards still standing where Harry left him, hand rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Harry?” Hermione’s voice questioned.

“Later,” Harry shortly replied before apparating off, not even sparing Ginny a second glance.

Hermione sighed, turning to Ron. “Ready?” Ron gripped her hand and then both disappeared with another pop.

“Wanker,” Ginny muttered under her breath, “You were supposed to apparate me home.”

Kicking a rock on the ground, Ginny begrudgingly walked back to where her mother was now rocking Teddy.

On the thirteenth, Ginny dressed once again in black. Hermione and her traded their black robes so they were not wearing the exact same outfit to every funeral they attended. By the fourth day of funerals, Fleur was offering her wardrobe to them as well, altering her clothes to fit their bodies.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione attended every funeral, each of them feeling like they owed it to the witch or wizard who lost their life. Just yesterday, they attended the funeral of a Slytherin fifth year girl that none of them had even met. Ginny joined them most days. Harry side-along apparating her to the graveyard. Occasionally, other members of the D.A. would be in attendance and Ginny would stand next to them.

Harry planned on arriving right before the funeral started, but Ginny wanted to be there as early as possible. Hermione’s heels clicked as she walked down the Burrow steps into the kitchen. “Ready, Ginny?”

Together they apparated to a large wizarding cemetery. A place where thousands of purebloods were buried before. A place that currently had an unusually high amount of fresh mounds of dirt and 6 foot holes due to the significant amount of deaths during the war.

Ginny found her dormmates immediately. Jessica embracing Elise with Athena rubbing circles on her back. They all looked up as Ginny and Hermione approached the trio.

Jessica let go of Elise to engulf Ginny into a hug. "I am so sorry about Fred, Ginny."

"Thank you, Jess."

Jessica paused before wrapping Hermione in a hug as well.

Athena pulled something out of her pocket and placed it in Ginny’s hand.

"Here."

Opening her palm, Ginny felt that familiar tug of her gut. In her hand was a green butterfly clip, similar to the ones Sophie often donned in her hair. Looking up, she saw her roommates all had one clipped in their hair as well.

"Thank you," Ginny choked out, clipping her loose strands back.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Athena asked Hermione.

Hermione shook her head, "Thank you for the invite, but Ron and Harry should be arriving soon. I will sit with them in the back. You four should sit together."

Hermione gave Ginny’s shoulder a squeeze before walking to the back row of chairs.

The funeral started not too long later. Ginny pressed between Athena and Elise near the front. The four dormmates held hands the entire time, offering gentle squeezes of support to one another as they buried their friend. Little Samuel Deacon sobbed throughout the entire procession, and Ginny wished nothing more than him to have his sister back.

Ginny stayed back after the funeral to watch Harry approach the Deacon family. It was something he did after every burial, apologize to the family. Ginny wished Harry understood that Sophie’s death was not his fault.

Samuel turned away from his parents and gave her a small wave. Ginny lifted her hand, but turned away. The nausea associated with Sophie was churning in her stomach once again.

That night, with her back pressed against Harry’s chest and one of his arms draped across her churning stomach, she lay frozen still.

"You okay?" Harry murmured in her ear.

She wasn't, but she couldn't admit that secret out loud. Especially to the person who carried so much more guilt than she could even begin to imagine. So she lied.

"I'm fine."

Harry had no reason to believe her lie, since it was his favorite lie to tell too. But he pretended for her, pulling her closer to his chest, pressing his lips to the back of her skull.

Not shortly after, his breaths evened out as he was lulled to sleep. Ginny’s brain was ignited on fire, keeping her awake.

“I know, it’s going to be alright,” Ginny lied. Sophie continued to whimper in pain. Ginny could only bear to look at her face, scared of what the rest of her crushed body may look like.

“I want to go home,” Sophie cried out, tears leaking down her face. Ginny felt tears well up in her eyes too.

A sound from behind her drew her away from her dying friend. Ginny couldn’t see anyone, but something in her wanted to get up and follow.

Sophie’s weak cough drew her back in. Blood tinged on her lips, her face losing color as each second passed. “Will you stay with me until I go?” Sophie asked, her voice childlike. She is just a child, Ginny realized. At 17 years old, there was so much Sophie never experienced. So many people Sophie was leaving behind. Ginny’s gut flipped realizing this is why her own mother wanted her to stay hidden.

“Of course,” Ginny choked out.

Sophie’s fingers managed to find Ginny’s. “It’s okay, Gin. You were one of my best of friends.”

Ginny snapped herself out of the memory. Harry still wrapped tightly around her, his heat radiating off his body suffocating her. She wrestled herself out from underneath him, desperately trying to not wake him. She needed fresh air.

Barefoot in the grass, Ginny padded to the paddock and grabbed her broom. She took flight and hoped the night air could cool the fire she felt in her brain.

As the sun began to crack streaks of light in the sky, Ginny crept back into her bedroom. Harry softly snored in her sheets. Ginny smiled as she slid back into his arms. She had been awake for nearly 24 hours, her brain was finally exhausted enough to finally fall asleep.

With no more funerals to attend, the rest of May trickled by. Everyone was stagnant with grief, finding it difficult to progress on. Charlie was growing restless, staying now at Shell Cottage with Bill and Fleur, but not feeling like he could abandon the family back in Romania just yet. Every time he mentioned the country, her mum would burst into tears.

Percy was just there. All the time. He and her dad would attend work, but then he would always come back to the Burrow instead of his own apartment.

Ginny sat with George most days. They had a quiet understanding that talking was the last thing either one of them wanted to do. A few days a week, they would go to Weasleys' Wizards Wheezes and organize the mess. Some days, Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson would stop by and help up, filling in the silence with endless chatter. Other days, the pair would sit on the front counter, passing back and forth a bottle of butterbeer with the radio blasting Wizard Rock in the background.

Ron and Hermione were wrapped around each other at all times of the day. One couldn't even use the toilet without the other hovering nearby on the stairwell.

She had not seen Harry in days due to conflicting schedules. He would fall asleep in her bed after a long day of performing bullshit politics with Kingsley, and Ginny would join him after her nightly flight. When she finally rose in the late morning, his side of her bed would be cold.

Moments alone were rare, and those moments were spent exploring each other's bodies instead of exploring each other's thoughts. They were two vastly different novels only sharing a page with one another and then snapping the book shut before either one could read any further. So Ginny came to her own conclusions.

The burn marks on his thighs were fresh as though his escape dragon from Gringotts scorched him. The ribs she traced with finger in the dark told her that food was scarce. The lightning shaped scar on his chest told a horror story she didn't want to touch with a ten foot pole. The erythematous circle branded into his chest was the most confusing part of his story.

Ginny hated to think what conclusions Harry was drawing from her body.

On a cool evening in late May, Ginny decided to actually retire to bed at a reasonable time. The sky had opened into a massive thunderstorm which was not relenting any time soon. Harry and her had played a round of Exploding Snap earlier in the day to pass the time.

"Are you falling asleep with me tonight?" Harry asked, bare legs crossed on her bed, his hand propped behind his head. He looked so casual, like her bed was his own.

"Only if you promise not to snore tonight," Ginny teased.

A pillow flew at her face. Ginny snapped it from the air and threw it right back into Harry’s face. With glasses askew and a smile tugging at his lips, Harry reached out a hand to her.

She eagerly took it, being led to her own bed.

Ginny melted into Harry’s side, his hands immediately resting on her hips pulling her close. She tilted her chin to slot her lips against his.

This part was easy. Harry’s body was a map she had traced and memorized a year ago, and, during the quiet dark nights in her dorm room, she recited to herself.

His lips were soft and chapped. Teeth grazing her own lips, threatening to roughen her up with a bite or two. His chest pressed against her own. His hands, one always wrapped around a strand of her hair, tugging her whenever she pressed up against him just right. His strong thighs, one always slotted in between her legs.

That was the mantra she replayed in her head over and over while her fingers wandered down her skin last year.

But now, in the dark of her warm bedroom, it was Harry’s fingers trailing down her body.

“You’re perfect,” Harry murmured into her collarbone as she moaned his name.

Ginny came undone with the touch of his fingertips, her world bursting, once again, into a fire. Her insides ignited for Harry. She felt far from perfect, but with Harry she felt alive.

Her hands worked to remove his faded T-shirt, eager to return the favor. Fingers trailed down his chest, avoiding the new scars on his body. She wrapped her hand around his length and Harry’s breath hitched, a noise escaping his mouth that Ginny wanted to bottle up and savor forever. He never had to say anything to her ever again as long as he kept making that noise.

“Ginny,” Harry moaned, “I don’t think I will last much long-”

Ginny shut him up by capturing his mouth with her own. Teeth grazing his swollen lips. With a few more pumps, Harry shuddered about another moan that made Ginny’s toes curl.

Harry blinked his eyes open, green irises hidden behind his black pupils, staring hungerly at her. He pressed lazy kisses along her jawline, nose, forehead, before finally catching her lips. “You make me forget everything bad,” Harry sighed into her lips.

Ginny’s insides turned cold, the blazing heat evaporated and replaced by an icy tundra. She wasn’t sure why, Harry’s confession or the idea of forgetting, losing memories.

“Goodnight, Harry,” Ginny said, hoping to prevent any more confessions from slipping through his loose lips.

“Night, Gin” Harry replied softly.

Harry’s bare chest rose and fell with each breath, and Ginny wished nothing more than the ability to join him in unconsciousness. Her finger traced the lightning bolt on his chest, her own chest tightening with memories of that day. She thought she lost him. The final blow in a series of blows that kept hitting her over and over again that night.

With everything she lost, she had to keep taking steps. One at a time.

One breath in. One breath out.

Ginny glanced out her window. The rain had slowed to a trickle. The blooming daisy sitting in the window sill caught her eye. She bolted up from her bed, grabbing the flower on her way out the door.

The orchard was still a mess. Her mum had removed the destroyed flowers, but all that was left was upturned earth. Falling to her hands and knees, Ginny dug in the soil. A wand would have made it easier, but she did not want easy.

Taking a step back and admiring her work, the daisy Harry had given her now rooted in the soil of the orchard. Alone. With a promise of growth.

To new beginnings.

The best and worst day of June (chapter 2)

If May trickled slowly like the water on the River Styx, June crashed in like a tsunami under Poseidon's rage.

The back door slammed close after George drunkenly stumbly out

Maps of Australia and pictures of the brain were pinned up on her walls. Gwenog Jones’s face was covered by a colorful poster highlighting the anatomy of the brain.

“Do you need any help?” Ginny asked.

Hermione tutted, wrapping her hair into a bun and sticking her want through it. “I wouldn’t mind a fresh pair of eyes. Thanks.”

Ginny picked up one of the massive textbook with a brain on the cover Charms of the Central Nervous System: Don’t be Nervous! Opening to the back glossary, Ginny scanned the O’s until she found what she was looking for.

Peering over her shoulder, Hermione said “I didn’t obliviate my parents’ memories. I blocked them.”

“What’s the difference?”

Hermione stood from the bed and walked over to the brain poster covering Gwenog’s face. “Obliviation destroys old memories. Burns them. That is why Gilderoy Lockhart will never fully recover because so much of his brain was destroyed. If little bits are taken then there is some neuroplasticity and ability to regenerate what was missing, but if I took 17 years of my parents' lives from them, I would never be able to get that back.” She paused, staring off into the distance, as though she was realizing the challenge she could be facing instead.

Shaking her head, Hermione continued. “So instead of taking away their memories, I hid them behind a wall.”

“The hippocampus stores memories,” Hermione said, pointing to a part of the brain that looked nothing like a seahorse. “So that is where my parents’ memories are being blocked. I just put their old memories behind a wall and put new memories in front of that wall.”

“There has not been a whole lot of research, but in theory, worst case scenario, if I remove their new memories too quickly, I could cause their brain to blow.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Not like pew pew,” Hermione said, mimicking an explosion. “More like, their brains would swell to fill in the space of the memories that I took back. Which could cause their brain to expand and possibly herniate causing a stroke."

She mindlessly flipped through the pages of the textbook, hoping something would give her hints about memory and memory loss.

Ginny drops comments every now and then about memory loss

She is not very happy that Hermione took her parents memories

“What are you planning on telling your parents when you see them?”

“That I am their daughter and I had to keep them safe.”

“Do you think they will understand?”

“From personal experience, amnesia and having your memories taken from you can be very traumatizing.”

“This is different from the diary, Ginny. I was trying to keep them safe.”

As we will find out in a later chapter, Ginny is not talking about the diary

"Are you going to go with them?" Ginny asks on a warm night.

"No, I don't fancy facing another Winter so soon," Harry replied

And there it was. A hint about what he had faced this past year, but neither one pushed forward. She could ask, and he might answer, but then he might ask the same of her. And that was something she did not want to answer. Some Gryffindor she is.

Harry tells her everything about the horcruxes and how we was one for the last 16 years of his life.

Ginny tells Harry very little about what she experienced this last year.

Hermione goes up to switch beds like they do every night and when Harry is lying next to her, she dreams about him. But when he talks she hears Tom. When she wakes and Harry is laying right next to her, she freaks the fuck out.

The next day she runs away to Lunas

Luna “I always liked being outside. Now I love it even more. It is open, and bright. I’m not a big fan of the dark right now.”

“If you want to talk about it, I will happily listen.”

“Ginny, you are such a good listener, but not a very good talker.”

“You should tell Ron that. He says I never shut up.”

“Oh no you talk, you just don’t talk about what is bothering you. You ask questions about me or how other people are doing, but when people ask how you are doing. You deflect. You talk about how Quidditch is going, or how your family is. But never you.

A few nights later, Harry joins her out flying, and that is when she admits that she is afraid that she was never in love with Harry, but she was attracted to the horcrux within him this entire time.

Harry has to put his big boy pants on and try to be emotionally mature hearing that from her. (Boy does not do a very good job, but at least he is trying)

He tries to get her to open up more about what happened to her and slowly we start to see some things

She picked up a strand of grass, carefully pulling it apart into two separate pieces. A simple distraction. "What do you know of last year?"

"Only what little Neville has told me."

"I'm sure what he told you paints the picture of what happened," she shrugged. She couldn't meet his gaze, she stared at the grass in her hand, delicately tying it into a knot. His hand reached for hers, fingers intertwining. He squeezed her hand gently, reassuringly. Offering support.

---

She is hiding. She doesn’t want to talk to Harry, or see her mum’s broken face. So she is hiding in the one place no one would look.

Laying on Fred’s bed, she could finally be alone.

***enter depressing thoughts here***

---

On June 22nd, she dreams of Tom. She always dreams of him on this day. Their anniversary of meeting face to face in a chamber meant to be a secret. She wants to ask Harry if he remembers, but she doesn't dare for the fear of what he might say.

I forgot.

Lucky you.

So she keeps this nightmare to herself just like she kept the past year to herself. She felt like she was slowly becoming a chamber full of secrets herself.

That night, with her back against Harry’s chest and one of his arms draped across her stomach, was the first time she felt brave all day. In the dark where he couldn’t see her face, when they were alone, unlikely to be overheard since the house was asleep. She finally muttered the truth that haunted her.

“I'm the reason Sophie's dead.”

The only indication that Harry heard her was the pause in his breath. Harry’s arm tightened, pulling her impossibly closer to his chest. And because he understands her perfectly, he does not suggest that she possibly could not be a murderer, he asks a different question.

“Why do you think so?”

She inhales slowly, calming down her nerves. “I left her on the courtyard. We were fighting together, Colin and Seamus were also there. Spells were flying everywhere, and I lost her in the crowd. There just was so much chaos. Then a death eater was in front of me, I think it was Avery, firing curse after curse at me,” Ginny paused, flashes of that night playing over and over in her mind. “I fired a reducto at the arch above his head and it collapsed on top of him. But it caused a lot more damage. It wasn’t much later that Voldemort called for a pause.

“After, well after, I went inside,” Ginny said, skipping over finding out about Fred’s death, “I went out to the courtyard to find survivors. To help. That is where I found her. Underneath the rubble that I caused.”

"You couldn’t have known.”

But Ginny felt like she should have known better. She knew innocent actions have consequences after surviving her first year

I've been down since July

In the cracks of light, I dreamed of you

The Great Depression

Pieces of her life were black. Dark and missing and forgotten. She had soared to unimaginable heights to try to find them, but every time she thought she heard a whisper of a memory, it turned into his voice mocking her, or worse, her own voice laughing at her.

Hermione and Ron come back from Australia

Hermione apologizes to Ginny because her mum cannot forgive her. Her dad had to play mediator in the argument.

Her parents are coming back to England eventually, but not yet. They wanted more time before returning home.

Ron and Ginny conversation

"It's supposed to be easy. Harry and me. How it was before."

"What did you used to talk about."

"I tried prying once to know what he was up to with Dumbledore, but Harry not so subtly shut that down quickly. So we stuck to safe topics. Quidditch, O.W.L.s, how maroon definitely isn't your color."

Ron scowled.

Criminal Trials get announced for the Death Eaters and the date

A brown owl flew into the kitchen, dropping off the newest edition of the Daily Prophet on Hermione’s plate. She reached into her shorts pocket to trade a knut for the paper. Ron fed a small piece of his breakfast sausage to the owl as compensation as well. The owl gave a satisfied hoot before flapping its wings and flying out of the kitchen window.

Ginny pointed her fork at her brother. "Who was the person I suggested you snogged for practice?"

"Are you seriously asking me security questions right now?"

"The Ron Weasley I know would never voluntarily give up some of his breakfast."

Ron stabbed his fork in another piece of sausage, taking the whole thing in his mouth, "Yeah well I've matured."

"Oh! They released the dates for the trails!" Hermione shouted, interrupting them.

Ron looked away from her and turned back to his girlfriend. “When’s Malfoy’s?” He asked, kindly swallowing his food before asking.

The Carrow trials get announced for like August 13th, making sure that they are AFTER Ginny's birthday which makes her an adult, therefore, she is required to speak at them if they summon her as a witness

yeah this was done intentionally, fuck the ministry for forcing my girl to have to relive her trauma

Harry’s birthday

Ginny gets drunk at Harry’s party

I love you, ain't that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?

August slipped away

Ginny’s birthday

Carrow trials

Amycus was a man. He only understood pain in tears and in blood. He didn’t understand that to girls blood meant nothing more than washing their sheets that night before bed. He didn’t understand that girlhood was pain, or that tears could be shed from grief or laughter.

Alecto was a woman. She understood that trauma of girlhood because no matter how horrid she currently is, she was a victim of it too. She understood how to torture a young girl scared of her past. She knew how to weaponize memories, or the lack thereof, so that Ginny could continue to torture herself without Alecto lifting another finger.

Ginny turned to the other side of the courtroom where Amycus Carrow sat. His face emotionless, but his muddy eyes filled with glee, like her reliving her torture was *erotic* for him.

She felt her heart quicken. Calm down.

Breathe in and out.

"Her brother told me."

Her mind brought her back to the floor of the DADA classroom. Those same hungry brown eyes staring down at her, his wand still raised. Every one of her nerve endings felt like it was on fire, every synapse filled with ice. Her mind bounced from one area of her body to the next, unable to focus on what body system hurt the most. Amycus lowered his wand and sneered down at her, "I know Alecto makes you forget her detentions, but I want this one to be unforgettable."

The courtroom was silent. The judge leaned forward in his chair, "Can you please further explain, Miss Weasley?"

Breathe In.

Out.

In.

Out.

• So since I never actually wrote what happened to Ginny during her time with Alecto, I will tell you all now. Alecto would erase Ginny's memory after every detention. Often times, the detentions were tame, because the punishment was the fact that Ginny was slowly losing her mind and she felt like she was reliving her first year at Hogwarts. Alecto figured out that Ginny was the girl in the chamber (because how would people not know this information? like Ginny wrote her suicide note on the wall in red paint) and used that to torment her. Also tying in the fact that Amycus was still torturing my poor girl with the cruciatus curse, Ginny was going through it. And it is not like she could really tell anyone what was happening to her because she didn't know what was happening to her. She eventually pieced it together.

• The coming together of Harry and Ginny officially

You'll Have New Septembers

The epilogue where Harry sends Ginny off on the Hogwarts express

#graveyard fic #hinny #ginny weasley #i could just upload the first chapter.... but that also feels like a disservice to the rest of the fic #Spotify

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cryptidsmoocher · 11 months

Text

FNAF SPOILERS

okay so, i know everyone is talking about it already but I'm just gonna do a quick list of my theories n beliefs bc i want to keep em all together and also why not so here we go!!

mike and garret's father is henry emily! hes the same man working on the animatronics on the training tape, and it makes sense that william would kidnap him and that garrett would be so unphased and willing to get into a vehicle with him.

garrett will be the puppet. im loving the theory that instead of michael being an afton like he is in the games, he's an emily. garrett in this instance would be charlie's replacement in the movies. his story follows the same timeline that charlies does: locked away from their protector (mike/the puppet), taken in by someone they know (william) and then killed by him. the puppet music plays at the end of the film, and right after that, letters spell out "come find me." this is garrett, who has possessed the marionette and is speaking to mike!

the nevada dream isn't real. dreams can be foggy, memories can be worse. mike tells vanessa and his coworker that theres a dream theory, where he can go back into his memories and look for details. but what if hes so focused on trying to get to the details of the car and the man that he's forgetting the big ones? what if he never actually went to nevada? it might seem silly and farfetched but there was a lot of emphasis on the soda spilling, the ketchup spraying, etc. i kept thinking it would go back to the pizzaria. so what if michael blocked out the pizzaria entirely? what if he saw garrett be taken by william? in the games, william comes out of his car, kills charlie, and leaves. what if in the movie universe he instead took garrett and left with him in his car? what if that part of the memory is true, but in a. desperate attempt to block the memory of freddy's he forgot it entirely? he seems unfamiliar when talking to vanessa, who is shocked he's never heard of it, since it was so popular. what if the reason she was shocked was because she knew he had been here before?

vanessa and mike knew each other as kids. vanessa is very vague about her childhood and about her knowing garrett, but she does reveal that she not only met him, but was at the pizzaria often (hence the photo and all her seemingly good memories, like being excited about the band playing). if mike is an emily, it would make sense that he was at the pizzaria with garrett and his parents, and that vanessa had known him. which leads to the question of: did she see when william killed garrett? did she help him? she's smiling in the picture with her father and his plane. did she have no idea until it was too late?

henry emily will come back. mike says that his mom died and his father couldn't handle it, so he left. im not sure how they're going to fit so much into three movies, but my hope is that the trilogy they've planned will end with Pizzaria Simulator. and if this is the case, henry emily would have to be present for it to happen.

abby will possess baby. i really dont have much on this i just think it would be super sick if it followed what would have been her fate if she was an afton, and if she's elizabeths movie counterpart it would make sense for her to have the same ending.

i have a lot more theories and hopes, im actually working out a mini timeline for what i think will happen in the movies bc i think it would be super cool but!! for now thats all i got thats super major to me. im so glad fnaf has had this resurgence in theories im having the time of my life i love thinking about this kind of stuff

#fnaf movie spoilers #fnaf #fnaf movie #five nights at freddy's #fnaf spoilers #william afton #springtrap #fnaf mike schmidt #mike schmidt #abby schmidt #vanessa afton #fnaf vanessa #fnaf theory

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rainydaydream-gal18 · 2 years

Note

Hello! If requests are still open (if not please ignore ) May I request cute parental moments each bad batch member has with Omega with reader included? For example, Tech and Reader helping Omega with her first pilot lesson?

(The Bad Batch) Batch x Reader: Parent Moments

Author's Note: This is such an adorable request!! Thank you for dropping this in my box! I decided to do little blurbs to answer this. You are free to read each one individually as romantic xReader, or view this as a collection of platonic moments.

This got me thinking about the Bad Batch doing dad stuff, and some of that fed into this XD Will probably make a separate post about it.

Enjoy!!!

Hunter: Teaching a New Skill

"Alright, kid. You ready?" Hunter asked, arms folded as he noted the eager expression on young Omega's face. You lifted your hand to cover your lips, stifling a chuckle as she practically bounced up and down.

"I'm ready!"

"First, you've got to ease up. Tracking requires patience and focus."

"Right." Omega relaxed her shoulders. "Patience and focus."

"That's right. It's about recognizing the signs. You may not be able to pick up on all the signs I can because of my...abilities. Neither can ________, as a matter of fact." He stole a glance your way. His tone was serious, instructive, but you caught the slightest taunting glimmer in his eye as he continued. "But she learned in her own way. And her skills aren't half-bad."

You rolled your eyes playfully, kneeling down on one knee to survey the ground in front of you. "Yeah, sure." You eyed a branch from a shrub that had been bent in half, most likely stepped on by something large.

"I didn't know you knew how to track," Omega said in fascination. She tilted her head curiously as your eyes scanned the area.

"With him around-" you motioned vaguely in Hunter's direction "-we hardly need another tracker. But Hunter thought it would be a good idea to have someone else know a thing or two just in case."

"And since you were curious about it before, _______ and I thought we'd teach you what we know." Hunter shifted his stance. He looked to you again. "So, what do you see?"

"Looks like some sort of large leaf-eating mammal just came through here about an hour ago."

Hunter lifted a brow at you. "And?"

"Right. sorry. Two leaf-eating mammals. One of them is much smaller. Perhaps it's a mother and her young."

He nodded in approval at your assessment. "Good."

Omega's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow! _______! You're really good!"

"Not half-bad," Hunter repeated, his smirk growing.

"Yeah," you chuckled. "What he said. So, let's get started. Hunter, if you would?"

"Rule number one to tracking is..."

- - - - - - - - -

Wrecker: Protective

You, Wrecker, and Omega were walking through the woods of a strange planet one of Cid’s jobs had landed the Bad Batch on. Omega practically begged Hunter to give her a job on the mission. He finally agreed to let her scout ahead, but only if she took someone with. You volunteered to go, and for good measure, Hunter ended up sending Wrecker along just as a precaution. Though Tech voiced that the possibility of encountering a danger was minimal, there was no telling exactly what was out there.

“Keep an eye out, kid,” Wrecker said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t the least bit concerned. There was a certain confidence he had as the biggest and strongest member of the squad. It meant that things were less likely to want to go up against him.

“Don’t worry,” Omega replied, narrowing her eyes as she looked around her surroundings. “I’ve got my eyes peeled.”

You were both proud and amused at how seriously she was taking the task that Hunter assigned her. It was a good quality to have. She didn’t scoff or complain at even the most mundane jobs aboard the Marauder. She preferred anything to being left behind.

Suddenly, you heard the quietest snap, like a twig. You looked over at Wrecker to see he had picked up on a presence as well. Omega hadn’t quite caught on yet.

Another snap.

This time, she heard it. She looked over at you with wide eyes, and you put a finger to your lips as a sign to keep quiet. You then motioned for her to return to your side, and she started taking careful steps in your direction.

The kid was brave. She’d already faced many dangers and handled them pretty well, but in that moment, the worry was evident. She didn’t like the unknown. After some of the things you’d all faced, could you blame her?

And then the threat revealed itself.

It was a beast of some sort, something Tech had warned about in passing. He’d said that the likelihood of them attacking was very low as they were mostly nocturnal. The creature bared its sharp teeth in a fearsome snarl.

You closed the gap between you and Omega in an instant, wrapping your arms around her and pulling her behind you. The creature bounded toward the two of you huddled together, but its was stopped dead in its tracks by Wrecker, whose shoulder collided with the beast in a hard tackle to knock it away.

He drew his blaster and planted his boots in the ground, shielding you and Omega from the danger, and took aim. “Hey,” he growled. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size instead?”

The creature raked its cold eyes over you and Omega once more, most likely debating whether its prey was worth the risk of dealing with Wrecker. It lashed its tail furiously and gave another loud snarl.

Wrecker took one step closer, and it stepped back.

It finally decided to abandon the hunt. The beast turned and sauntered back into the forest, leaving the three of you alone.

Wrecker let out a hearty laugh. “Smart animal. Knew better than to tangle with me!”

A big smile spread across your face. “Thank you, Wrecker.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Omega said. She breathed a sigh of relief, the fear leaving her features and instead being replaced by wonder and admiration for her big brother. “That was amazing!”

- - - - - - - - -

Tech: Bickering

“Very good, Omega,” Tech praised the young Bad Batcher for her ability to follow his instruction. She beamed at the note of approval in his tone. “What next?”

“We take a look at the systems, make sure everything’s operational.” She squinted at the collection of warning lights flashing across the dash. Her lips formed a small frown. “There are a lot that aren’t…”

“Critical systems are,” he said, raising his index finger pointedly. “That’s what’s important.”

You couldn’t help the snicker that escaped you, swiveling your chair in a failed attempt to hide your humor from the pilot. Tech looked in your direction curiously.

“What’s so funny?” Omega asked, amusement creeping into her tone at hearing your laughter snowball.

“Oh, nothing,” you wheezed

“I believe ________ finds humor in how I maintain the Marauder.”

You clutched your stomach. “Sorry. It’s just- you’re teaching her bad habits. We really shouldn’t have so many alerts going off.”

Tech’s voice remained even. “Numerous events and projects have prevented Echo and I from doing proper maintenance.”

“Right, right. I’m sorry.”

Tech held your gaze for another few seconds while you bit your lip to try and cover another laugh. His tone was still calm, though you detected that hint of underlying sass. “I don’t suppose you’d like to assist in repairs? Seeing that it is a concern of yours?”

“I’m just saying,” you replied, internally oooohing at his passive-aggressive comment, “that under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t advise Omega to take off with that many alerts.”

“Critical systems are unaffected.”

Omega glanced between the two of you.

“I know, but-” You sighed, grumbling, “I think I will make some repairs. Where’s the toolkit?”

“Maybe Tech and I could help?” Omega spoke up helpfully. “This way, Tech could show me more about the ship, and we can get caught up with repairs.”

“Excellent idea, Omega,” Tech chimed in.

“Yeah, sounds good!” You exchanged looks with Tech, all sass forgiven and forgotten, before diving into the lesson.

- - - - - - - - -

Echo: Fashion Show

“Hey, Echo!”

He looked up from his data pad at the sound of Omega’s usual chipper greeting. You boarded the ship close behind her and waved. Both of you carried a few beaten-up bags from your trip to the market.

“Hey there,” he said with a smile. “Get anything good?”

“Yes! _______ helped me find some armor!”

“At least for now,” you chimed in. “Until we find something more suitable. The kid needed it.”

Echo nodded in agreement. “Alright, let’s see it then.”

Omega exchanged looks with you, her eyes alight with excitement, happily taking the second bag and hurrying over to her room. While she got ready, Echo turned to you. His brow furrowed in a look of confusion.

“How’d you manage this? We don’t exactly have a lot of credits to spare after that last job ended badly.”

“I have my ways.” Your tone was cryptic, but he didn’t miss the glint in your eye or the pendant that was missing from your neck.

“_______….” he began, concerned.

“Don’t worry about it,” you insisted, giving him a gentle nudge. “She needs this more. The kid comes first. Besides, you saw how excited she is.”

Just then, Omega emerged from her room, donning her new (slightly used) armor that you helped her pick out at the merchant’s table. She held out her arms to show it off as she walked over.

“What do you think?” she asked.

Echo nodded in approval. “You look like a Bad Batcher.”

He was right. The pieces of armor had been scrubbed as clean as it could, though it had its fair share of scuff marks and scratches from previous use. She looked battle-ready.

“It does look pretty cool, doesn’t it?”

You tilted your head to the side. “I’m afraid those boots might be a tad too big.”

“They’re perfect,” she insisted. “Oh! I have to show Echo the cloak!” She climbed back into her room, and you and Echo both shared a laugh.

- - - - - - - - -

Crosshair: The Pet He didn’t Want

“Look, Crosshair!” Omega beamed as she held the pup up towards the sniper. “We found a lost voorpak. Isn’t she cute?”

The pup gave a little bark and wriggled around, sticking its tongue out. Crosshair’s already stern face twisted into a look of mild disgust. “It’s ugly.” The pup looked unaffected as he turned to walk out of range, but Omega followed him, holding the voorpak even higher.

“She is going to be named Brandi. And she is adorable.”

“We could use another girl around here,” you joked, resting your hands on your hips. “Come on, Cross. Even you have to admit it’s kind of cute.”

He sat himself down on a crate and began to inspect his rifle, most likely for cleaning. “Don’t tell me we’re keeping that thing.”

“Hunter said we can look after her until we find a suitable home,” Omega replied victoriously.

“How wonderful,” he muttered.

You and Omega exchanged looks, laughing, and took the pup back toward her room so it could scurry around for a bit.

Over the next few days, the voorpak began growing on the Bad Batch. Even Hunter and Echo would smile in amusement watching Omega play with the creature. Wrecker joined in. But Crosshair preferred to keep his distance. He would roll his eyes and offer up complaints if the creature didn’t do its business outside or was in his way.

It was one afternoon that the others went out for supplies. Omega asked you to keep an eye on Brandi for a while, to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble, since you were staying behind to do a few tasks around the Marauder. Crosshair would be around, but of course, he didn’t like Brandi.

The pup followed you around the ship, barking playfully and smothering you with kisses every time you had to kneel down or crawl into a small space. It was a few hours in, and suddenly, you realized that she wasn’t at your heels.

“I’d better check on her and make sure she’s still on board!” you commented to yourself. So, you set your tools down and went looking. There weren’t too many places for her to hide, but you kept your eyes peeled just in case.

Faint yip-yip sounds coming from down the hall caught your attention. You followed it cautiously, realizing quickly that Crosshair had been down there organizing gear. You didn’t want him to be bothered by Brandi, so you hurried your pace. But when you reached the doorway, you were met with a most unexpected sight.

Crosshair was sitting on a crate, staring down at little Brandi, who was hopping around in circles. There was a small huff of air, like a brief chuckle, and Crosshair leaned down to pat the creature.

It yipped again and cuddled up against his leg. He didn’t say much, but you couldn’t get over the soft expression on his face. “You’re not all that bad,” he commented, scratching the little puff ball with legs. “I suppose.”

You felt a presence appear at your side, and you realized that the others had returned from their trip. Omega was standing next to you and peering through the doorway with a smile on her face. She didn’t look all too surprised to see him being so tender toward the voorpak pu, and neither of you had it in you to taunt. You both nodded and backed away from the doorway, pretending to have just arrived.

“Oh, there she is!” you stated. “She disappeared for a few, and I got worried.”

“There she is,” Crosshair said, standing to his feet with a sigh. He looked at Omega. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry, we got side-tracked. There was a really cool snack stand!”

#the bad batch #bad batch #bad batch x reader #star wars bad batch x reader #crosshair x reader #hunter x reader #echo x reader #wrecker x reader #tech x reader #bad batch fanfiction #bad batch reader insert #bad batch hunter #bad batch wrecker #bad batch crosshair #bad batch tech #bad batch echo #bad batch omega #the bad batch imagine #bad batch imagine

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heavenisaplaceonearth-with-you · 3 months

Text

PART TWO - in which my tc ends up in my room (NOT LIKE THAT I SWEAR)

then he spilled hot chocolate on his shirt. like, everywhere.

me: oh god. it's like having seven children in here.

K: (looks mortified)

me: i'm joking you're fine, come upstairs, i'll find you a shirt.

K: (follows me upstairs)

me: (i swear i had no intentions whatsoever) wait in my room and take off your shirt. you can use the bathroom to try and wash it off so it doesn't stain. i'll go get something from my dad's closet.

K: just my shirt?

me: (very very confused)

K: (realizes what he said) damn - no, i mean i got some on my pants too but it's not as bad.

me: (blushing) oh - oh, alright, i'll see if i have pants, too. and there's soap for clothes washing on the sink, it's the very white one.

i walk back in and i find K looking at my wall of pictures.

K: you put the picture of us up?

me (not looking directly at him because he was shirtless. iN MY ROOM. SHIRTLESS IN MY ROOM.): of course i did. (i put the clothes on the bed) take your time, i'll be downstairs.

K: anastasia?

me: mhm? (looking into his eyes, making a point of not looking any lower)

K: i -- i'm sorry.

me: whatever for?

K: (struggling to speak. he looks very small for a moment. then he looks away) just for all the... trouble you went through.

me: i told you. you'd have done the same for me.

K: (nods) just...thank you.

me: (pause) if it makes you feel better, you can tell me what happened.

K (pause, puts on the shirt thank god i would have had a heart attack): well, she said it was true. that she and her boyfriend wanted to take (son's name) with them to paris for good. i said i'd call the cops on her because this wasn't part of the divorce agreement and she got scared and left after fighting me for about half an hour. (shakes his head) i swear she didn't used to be this way.

me: i know what you mean.

K: it's just that i have rotten luck. the first woman i loved died in a car crash, and then this failure of a marriage. and then...

me: then?

K: nothing, that's the problem (laughs)

me: i'm sorry. i mean, i know... how that feels. my parents died in a car crash.

K (gives me a weird look): yeah, i heard about that. i'm sorry, too.

me: it gets easier. but i didn't know them that well. you knew her.

K: not knowing your parents is difficult, don't downplay your own suffering.

me: well, yeah. yeah. thank you. (silence) well, i'll be...downstairs.

downstairs the kids are looking sad, esp K's kids so i put my (CLEAN fyi) lana playlist on. under the chemtrails over the country club starts playing and i take his son's hand and make him stand and dance, spinning him and then his daughter and then they're all dancing together and it's the sweetest thing i've ever seen.

i turn around and K's watching me dancing with the kids and i call him over. "you're not off the hook. everyone dances."

he takes my hand and then spins me and i laugh. i swear he spun me to him so close i felt his breath on my cheek you guys this is not even a drill --

he and his kids left and then i sat with the rest of the kids and they asked me for the tea on what was happening with that family and i don't like lying to them so i gave them a vague idea and they all felt bad. i feel bad too. i wonder when i'm going to see him again.

#tc crush #teacher attachment #tccblr #teacher crush community #teacher crush #teacher love

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faceeeeee · 11 months

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I wonder if you made backstories for the tadc employees or smh-

(I wanna know Gangle's :3)

I have some concepts and ideas in my mind but it's all very vague and I haven't written anything down so forgive me for any incoherent sentences or messy writting:

Pam:

Ever since she left for college she cut all contact with her family and "friends" (she calls them acquaintances/contacts) and put all of her attention in her studies. She graduated at the top of her class in computer sciences and got hired at C&A almost immediately. The moment she left college she noticed a sudden shift in her routine. She dedicated her entire life into her studies and grades and completely disregarded any social interactions, hobbies.... She excepted that when she got a job, all of her problems would've been solved but she found out that she was wrong. Her first few months at the company were okay to say the least but as time went by she felt more and more empty and depressed. Her lack of social skills and pride didn't help either and rejected all of her coworker's attempts to befriend her. So she spent her time either overworking herself, drinking or sleeping. She worked in that company for 5 whole years: Her sleep schedule was a mess, her salary wasn't exactly ideal and she started taking anti-depresants and a hunch of other stuff and Reggie's disappearance (or "temporary departure") took a toll on her. Not only because her boss decided to make her the head of her department but also because he was the only one who was still willing to talk to her. So now she was left with a bunch of deadlines and work and the only one who even looked at her and said hello every morning was now gone. Her life was shit, basically, so why not try again in a new life, a new world and with new memories?

Reggie:

Good ol' Reggie has been working in the company for 18 years now and he couldn't be happier. He had a decent childhood, a loving wife and a decent job that keeps the both of them stable! And a father-daughter relationship with Genevieve, so he couldn't be more happy with life! The only thing he wishes is that he could have more time to spend with his family and his hobbies (he keeps and collects cool bugs, obviously :) ) and that the company wasn't so strict with deadlines and such. He is the head of the programming department so he has a lot of work on his plate...but it's all for a good cause: the digital circus! In his eyes, it's a magical place that helps people to to distract themselves for a while and to have a little fun before they return to their normal lives! So you can imagine his excitement once his boss told him that they were going to let the staff be actual play testers! He was ECSTATIC! he spent YEARS fixing and refining the digital plains so of course he decided to be one of the first playtesters. Queenie was a little hesitant at first but he told her not to worry! He knew that the code was a little finicky at times but that's okay! He has Pam and the rest of the staff to take care of it if anything goes wrong, after all he wholeheartedly trusts them :) nothing could possibly go wrong right?

Jack:

Dear Jack....the C.E.O's son. He has been wandering around the company for a few years now, working in some low paying positions to earn a little pocket money from his parent. He's known as the office's little miscreant as he just goofs around all day and nobody can touch him or say anything cause if they do they're gonna get fired! Ain't that fun? But his luck runs out when even the C.E.O has had enough of his bullshit and offers him to take a little time off from his studies and work to go and be a beta testers for his folks vr experience. Ain't that idea fun? Just log in, fuck around and then come back for dinner, right?

Agatha:

Agatha, a hard working gal with lots of siblings to take care off. Her folks aren't around to help her so she takes care of em all throughout college until she gets the position in the robotics department! She goes up the ranks and even becomes the head of her department :). She mainly works with the headset design and with the new technology that the company has introduced. She has never seen anything like it: with it you can feel and hear your surroundings whilst hooked to the digital plains. So when she heard that they were offering people to beta test the digital world she couldn't help but to want to experience all of those things herself! She does wonder why they have to have her sign a contract but she trusts the company. She has been with them for some time now and the staff and boss have been nice to her so far, so why wouldn't she trust them?

Genevieve:

Dear Genevieve has had a sort of rocky life. Her mother has been very overprotective over her and that has left her with no real life experiences. She was homeschooled almost her entire life so when she entered college she had a hard time adjusting to her new routines. She's very explosive emotionally and very finicky over her personal space so she couldn't (or didn't want to) make acquaintances and so, she made it to the company with no connections apart from her obsessive mother, just like Pam. She worked a year and a half in the company, and that was enough time to meet and befriend Reggie. At first she was very wary of him and very hostile to him. But good ol' Reggie just keeps saying hi to her every morning, just like he does with every employee he sees. One day, when they were both on break, Reggie tried to break the ice and tried to start some small talk with her. She got scared and basically yelled all sorts of barbaric things to him and he just gave her a warm smile. Nothing can hurt this man, god. Genevieve was surprised that he hadn't yelled back at her or left and stared at him for a while. Then guilt overcame her and she started sobbing. Reggie comforted her as best as he could and since then they formed a bond. So when she learned that he had left to be a beta tester she was again left alone in the office. Desperate for his comfort and precense she decided to follow him to the digital circus...

Zephyr:

They had a relatively normal life (apart from an accident that left them without a bloody leg but it's alright), graduated from art school and started working at C&A. They overestimated the pressure and stress that came with working at the company to the point that they were exhausted. They would've left if it wasn't for the fact that getting a job with their degree was extremely difficult and the chances for getting hired were very slim. So they kept on working. They worked day and night. A million coffee cups had started to pile up on their desk and they had severe bags under their eyes. They were tired, so very fucking tired. Why wouldn't they try to escape reality for a bit? Goof around in the digital plains, maybe use it as some sort of rage room. Maybe they could do all of the things that they had thought of without any consequences. Yeah, just for a little bit....it couldn't hurt, right?

#tadc employee idea #faceee rambles #I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO RESPONDDDDDD As you can see it's a LOT #Also i couldn't edit the timeline so that zooble and gangle meet in the au I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYY #Yuri can only exist in the digital plains #can't have shit in the real world #anyway fuck time they will meet somehow-#these concepts kind of suck.....But i can't come up with anything else IM SORRY #the amazing digital circus #tadc

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yuseirra · 13 days

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what do you think of aquakana chances to be endgame? lately i am wondering and feeling like it wouldn't make sense for them to end up with anyone else as much as i see hate towards them

Hey anon~ :) good to see you!

I'm confident about the predictions I make about my series. I've got so many things right thus far. Here's some (spoilers up to ch 160!)

I predicted that Aqua had feelings for Kana all along. (Ever since I picked up the comic)

I predicted that Ryosuke and Nino would have visited the hospital, not Hikaru, immediately when 155 dropped. (The guy has no reason to kill Gorou, and he wouldn't have had an idea about it if he were to send Ryosuke to Ai on his behalf)

I had a vague idea that Ryosuke and Nino would have been close acquaintances after her mention of him in 158, I was like, wait, why is she talking about him like that? were they dating..? but I didn't write that because it felt like a stretch;; turns out they REALLY were; (I have no idea why the heck would nino wish to date such a guy but I guess...okay..)

I predicted that Hikaru would have only wanted to send the bouquet to Ai, and he never intended to "scare Ai" after I read CH 154.

I predicted exactly what Ai would have said in her video message towards Hikaru, that she lied about being unable to love him and actually had feelings for him all along (when CH 152 was the newest chapter)

I predicted that Ai would have trusted Hikaru with her children and had him in her plans about her future (I had a vague idea of it when I saw her making the the phone call)

I predicted that Hikaru would have wanted to raise his children with Ai but she left him on an abrupt note to "save/protect him from the burden that is her"(after 152)

I predicted that he would have had no idea why she broke up with him, but also that he would have been totally unable to hold her back as it did (also after 152)

These are just some of the things that I was able to guess in an accurate sense (I've been SCREAMING about a lot of these things since June? July? and it's all confirmed now despite Aqua claiming there's somehow more to it)... if my line of thinking is correct, then there's a lot more that I will guess right. I'm looking forward to that being a reality. At this point, I feel like I can predict the "feelings" of the characters of this series if I really set my heart to it.

I can't predict the exact outcomes that'd result from these emotions the characters have, but I still can see the things they have very low chance of doing, to say the least. So, the things that WON'T happen or won't do. It's a bit like erasing the odds, but there are still many possibilities left...

There's hate towards Aqukana?? Why?; I don't really understand why they'd have the hate but I guess it may happen..

However, they're the ones that's got me back reading the series! If you see my older onk fanarts from last year, they were the ones I drew! :)

When I saw that ep where Aqua confesses he had feelings towards Kana all along to his visions of Gorou in.. CH 150? was it? I was like YES!!!! I knew it!! There is no way that it could have been any other way... it's been so obvious... Even before the whole Hikaai thing hit me like a truck, Aqua and Kana was a ship that was just...there. It's something that's very strong in the plot despite you liking it or not.

Aqukana is the endgame ship. They like each other and the feelings they have are mutual, so it's definitely going to be a given that it's going to be the ship for both characters.

However, whether they would actually end up together is a bit ambiguous… I feel there's high chance that they will come to at least acknowledge their feelings towards each other. Aqua's too focused on his parent's affairs right now for him to focus on his own love life, so we first need to get that out of the way.

If onk gets a "happy ending", then they can end up together.

Here's an analysis I have of them: Kana trying to be Aqua's "favorite idol" is actually what keeps her from becoming his lover. The fact that she will graduate from being one is ACTUALLY a good sign in terms of the ship's outcome. Ironically, she has to step down from being one in order to be on an equal standing with Aqua and come to love each other as a person.

The more I read this series, I feel that this work is emphasizing that fantasizing about the other party is not the right way to love. Ai struggled because people failed to recognize her flaws and insecurities as a person, and people like Nino and Ryosuke could not forgive her for being human(which is such... an ugly, and an entitled thing to do. They have no right to have treated her like that.) People send out expectations then get disappointed all on their own because their "idol" could not fulfill their delusions. Even if they're the "good" fantasies, at the end of the day, you have to accept that idols are just people too. I feel that's the message and what onk has been trying to express as a whole.

Gorou's approach from the very first chapter was a lot healthier as a fan, he accepts Ai's feelings when she says she wants her happiness as a mother as well as being an idol, and he's there to support her and her wants. He's the "good fan", while people like Ryosuke and Nino are his polar opposites.

Hikaru's approach about her was actually pretty decent too. In 154, he recognizes that Ai was just an ordinary girl. He STILL loves her despite her flaws and even while believing she didn't love him back. That's why I started to think maybe he really is the right guy. I understood why Ai said all these things about him. I keep stressing this, but he didn't like her because Ai was an idol, he loved her because he thought they understood each other and felt "they were the same". They really are in many ways. I'm going to draw something based on that after I reply to you )

Aqua actually understands Kana really well, as a person. That's a good sign. That part was prominent in the earlier part of the series, when he supports her having disguised as Pieyon in ch 35. He liked her and took an interest in her even before she was scouted as an idol, and that's pretty similar to how Hikaru was towards Ai. Aqua doesn't like Kana because she's an idol, he likes her because she's hardworking, and loves the determination, the strong gazes she has. He's also aware that she's sensitive and has a sharp tongue. (ch 150) These traits of Kana doesn't really go anywhere because that's how she is as a person. He will love her, whether she becomes his favorite idol or not.

So regardless of the fact he does go to watch her concert of not(it would be better if he does), their future is bright, if Aqua decides to accept his feelings and head to the future. I feel like he's working towards that in fact, even in the end of 160, he has those sparkling white star eyes, doesn't he? He's telling his dad to "disappear", and that's a warning, I don't think he's going to stab him. If you're up to actively hurting someone, you don't show off the cards you have. If he was going to stab Hikaru, he would have just gone and done so without a word. What Aqua's doing here is telling him to leave. From Aqua's perspective, if Hikaru would just listen to him and leave on the spot somehow, he'd really just be able to head to the future with Ruby...(I don't think things would go that smoothly since this is a manga and things need drama, though.)

But I don't know just what events would break out in the story just yet. If there's just one ship that'd happen in onk at this point, it'd be Aqukana with all the buildup they have, but there's just so many things that can happen in between that could occur as an obstacle. The author might suddenly? decide that they want the ending to be "bittersweet", "realistic", or have everything turn out to be all "fiction" and end the story on a note that it's the heart that matters no matter the outcome or whatever.. it's really up to them to decide although I really do want them to get a happy ending after all this; I feel like the authors could have this desire to put in a twist to it all and leave a bad taste to it which I really hope not. I wouldn't like to see that happen after seeing all the suffering the characters had to go through.

However, like what you said, it doesn't make any sense at this point for either Kana of Aqua to end up with someone else at this point. At least that much of it is clear. I'm with you on this one, and I can firmly say you're right. So either they do end up together or they end up with no one.

Overall, I predict the chances of them actually becoming a real, happy, loving, dating couple to be about 80%. The other 20% comes off from the authors putting in a twist for.. some value they may have as a creator!

Thanks for the question~ It's been awhile I talked about Aqukana, but they're also something I can talk about! :) I may be able to do that more if the plot touches on their relationship. RN the dad is sort of taking all the spotlight.. but there's going to be more to the plot, I'm sure. I like the dad, but he isn't the main character.

I really do hope they get the development and some proper closure!! The fact that they held out so long to get their screen time means that it's going to be handled in the very end. That's not a bad sign, quite the contrary, actually. If anything, there is going to be more that's going to come out of their relationship, I just don't know if they WILL handle it delicately but I hope they do!

#aquakana #aqukana #oshi no ko #oshi no ko spoilers #oshi no theories #spoilers #hope this helps you anon~#I'm not worried about them at all actually #they're the ship I'm very..confident that will be there as endgame #whether it will be fulfilling enough is another thing but it will be acknowledged #and I really hope they will GET WHAT THEY DESERVE.. and just have some cute and happy moments for once in the very end #aqua hoshino #kana arima #asknreply

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iheartgracie · 6 months

Text

jude duarte sad quotes

“She wasn’t even scared. She wasn’t sure she felt anything at all.”

“She couldn’t imagine how it had felt, and as the years went by, she couldn’t make herself feel it again. The horror of the murders dulled with time. Her memories of the day blurred.”

“I know it’s an honor to be raised alongside the Gentry’s own children. A terrifying honor, of which I will never be worthy.

It would be hard to forget it, with all the reminders I am given.”

“We are getting older and things are changing. We are changing. And as eager as I am for it, I am also afraid.”

“You may think salt is sufficient protection, but you children are forgetful. Better to go without. As for dancing, once begun, you mortals will dance yourselves to death if we don’t prevent it.”

I look at my feet and say nothing.

We children are not forgetful.”

“To go inside, we must ride between two trees, an oak and a thorn, and then straight into what appears to be the stone wall of an abandoned folly. I’ve done it hundreds of times, but I flinch anyway. My whole body braces, I grip the reins hard, and my eyes mash shut.”

“Oriana steps forward, probably to remind Taryn and me of all the things she doesn’t want us to do. I don’t give her the chance.”

“I turn my gaze to the floor. Though I hate it, I sink to the ground on one knee, bend my head, and grit my teeth”

“Valerian gives my braid a hard tug. I wince, useless fury coiling in my belly. He laughs and moves on.

My fury curdles into shame. I wish I had smacked his hand away, even though it would have made everything worse.”

“I want to feel something, something besides a vague queasiness. I want to feel more, but every time I look at it, I feel less.”

“I’m so tired,” I say out loud. “So tired.”

I sit there for a long time, watching the rising sun gild the sky, listening to the waves crash as the tide goes out, when a creature flies up to alight on the edge of my window. At first it seems like an owl, but it’s got hob eyes. “Tired of what, sweetmeat?” it asks me.

I sigh and answer honestly for once. “Of being powerless.”

“He doesn’t understand how much that makes them loathe us.

Not that I am not grateful. I like the lessons. Answering the lecturers cleverly is something no one can take from me, even if the lecturers themselves occasionally pretend otherwise. I will take a frustrated nod in place of effusive praise. I will take it and be glad because it means I can belong whether they like it or not.”

“There is nothing I can say to make them stop, and I know it. I have no power here. But today I can’t seem to choke down my anger at my own impotence.”

“What they don’t realize is this: Yes, they frighten me, but I have always been scared, since the day I got here. I was raised by the man who murdered my parents, reared in a land of monsters. I live with that fear, let it settle into my bones, and ignore it. If I didn’t pretend not to be scared, I would hide under my owl-down coverlets in Madoc’s estate forever. I would lie there and scream until there was nothing left of me. I refuse to do that. I will not do that.”

“When I was little, I used to sit at the bank all day, staring at faerie countenances instead of my own, hoping that I might someday catch a glimpse of my mother looking back at me.

Eventually, it hurt too much to try.”

“I want to scream at him: Do you know how hard it is to always keep your head down? To swallow insults and endure outright threats? And yet I have done so. I thought it proved my toughness. I thought if you saw I could take whatever came at me and still smile, you would see that I was worthy.

You’re no killer.

He has no idea what I am.

Maybe I don’t know, either. Maybe I never let myself find out.”

“I pinch my leg until pain washes everything away.”

“Do you know why Madoc won’t let me try for knighthood? Because he thinks I’m weak.”

“Jude,” she cautions.

“I thought I was supposed to be good and follow the rules,” I say. “But I am done with being weak. I am done with being good. I think I am going to be something else.”

“when the fun wore off and I still couldn’t stop, it was just terrifying. It turned out that my fear was equally amusing to him, though. Princess Elowyn found me at the end of the revel, puking and crying.”

“Here’s why I don’t like these stories: They highlight that I am vulnerable. No matter how careful I am, eventually I’ll make another misstep. I am weak. I am fragile. I am mortal.

I hate that most of all.

Even if, by some miracle, I could be better than them, I will never be one of them.”

“Is this fun?” I call to the shore. I am so furious that there’s no room for being scared. “Are you enjoying yourselves?”

“My foot slips on slick rocks, and I am under, swept downstream helplessly, gulping muddy water. I panic, snorting into my lungs. I thrust out a hand, and it closes on the root of a tree. I get my balance again, gasping and coughing.”

“We can curse you to wither away for want of a song you’ll never hear again or a kind word from my lips. We’re not mortal. We will break you. You’re a fragile little thing; we’d hardly need to try. Give up.”

“Never,” I say.”

“I think about how much I hate them and how much I hate myself.”

“a different person is looking back at me.

Maybe the person I might have been if I’d been raised human.

Whoever that is.”

“But when I see human families all together, especially families with sticky-mouthed, giggling little sisters, I don’t like the way I feel.

Angry.

I don’t imagine myself back in a life like theirs; what I imagine is going over there and scaring them until they cry.

I would never, of course.

I mean, I don’t think I would.”

“Knighthood would have been boring anyway,” Vivi says, effectively dismissing the thing I’ve been working toward for years. I sigh. It’s annoying, but also reassuring that she doesn’t think it’s that big a deal, when the loss has felt overwhelming to me.”

“not giving her the satisfaction of being shocked by what she said about our parents. She acts like we don’t remember, like there’s some way I am ever going to forget. She acts like it’s her personal tragedy and hers alone.”

“A wave of panicky frustration comes over me at the sight of her intent expression. I so badly wanted her to choose me to be one of her knights. And though she can’t now, a sudden awful fear that I couldn’t have impressed her comes over me. Maybe Madoc was right. Maybe I lack the instinct for dealing death.

If I don’t try too hard today, at least I never need know if I would have been good enough.”

“My stomach is sour with the lack of food, but I no longer feel hungry. I feel sick, eaten up with nerves. I try to ignore everything but the exercises I move through to limber up my muscles.”

“There’s no shame in surrender. As Taryn said, they’re just words. I don’t have to mean them. I can lie.

I start to lower myself to the ground. This will be over quickly, every word will taste like bile, and then it will be over.

When I open my mouth, though, nothing comes out.

I can’t do it.”

“I stagger past the tournament tents to a stone fountain, where I splash my face with water. I bend down, starting to clean the gravel from my knees. My legs feel stiff, and I am shaking all over.

“Are you all right?” Locke asks, gazing down with his tawny fox eyes. I didn’t even hear him behind me.

I am not.

I am not all right, but he can’t know that, and he shouldn’t be asking.”

“What happens when they turn out my pockets? What happens when they rip my stockings? What happens when they scatter my salt in the dirt?”

#judeduartequotes #badass jude duarte #jude duarte soft #jude duarte badass #judecardan quotes #jude duarte quotes #judecardan #judeduarte #jude duarte #jude x cardan #the cruel prince #the folk of the air quotes #the folk of the air

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busghost · 2 years

Text

I've been really negative about Honkai recently and I'm sorry about that but with everything that's wrong it gets you thinking about how they could have done it better.

So now I'm wondering what ideas people have for Mei's (gestures at her) everything. Instead of just telling us everything Mei is supposed to be and show us Mei growing as a person.

I do want to see what other people think up because by no means is my idea the only good one.

DISCLAIMER: I'm only throwing ideas out, I'm not claiming to be an actual good writer. I'd be a pretentious asshole to think that if I wrote this in a story format rather than an outline that it'd be any good. It'd be worse than what we got. I'm also not blaming the writers for being crunched so bad. It's just a lot of unfortunate circumstances.

Personally I'd go nuts with the beta Crown of Thorns + the ideas introduced in ch 1-2 of Elysian Realm and the story beforehand (Elysia is "perfect" but acts mean).

Elysia considers herself the perfect human when there's no humanity in her having let the end come because "it's their own fault". As if Mei let Kiana die to her own foolish self sacrificial habits. Her love is a detached one, like she doesn't truly understand what it is to love nor does she understand what she is loving. Humanity is more like a cute plaything than the collection of all people and their hopes and sorrows and hatred and love and everything in between.

The point of the Previous Era was that they were so coldly logical that they lost. They had no love, just look at what happened to RIN, murdered in cold blood and only became a Herrscher because of it. And that basically ALL we knew about the PE for the longest time, the coldblooded murder of a young woman just because she might've been a threat and how Sakura was able to reach RIN and get her to stop killing in the end with love.

Take the examples of love from the PE and crush them under that cold logic. Su being a doctor forced to continually sacrifice the few for the many, going against all he stands for. Griseo growing up in a world so apathetic towards new life. Hua hating Kevin for being Dr. Mei's pawn and killing HIMEKO. Expanding on the throwaway line where she was ostracized for being so close to somebody who became a Herrscher. Eden being so depressed at the loss of art and so much life. Sakura trying to do good by her sister but killing for a living to make it so. I think they really nailed Pardo the first time around. And very importantly, make it clear that MOTH/Dr. Mei's rationality is what caused so much suffering. Despite this, have her thaw out and be understanding even for their worst qualities. As the sims open up, so does she, becoming more like a person again rather than angst with a vague goal.

Contrast all of this with the love Mei has felt through her life. Her few interactions with her father that left a mark on her. Seeing how Hua has changed from the past into the present, finding people that she can openly love and care for. Theresa and Himeko giving her unconditional love and teaching her so much as parental figures. Even the tough love like Himeko slapping her across for face for suggesting everyone else would be better off if Mei killed herself. Kiana and Bronya relying on her and supporting her, her happiest moments being when she was at St. Freya with her family. Even during her short time at Anti-Entropy, Tesla was very kind to her. See the few examples of love that appeared in the Previous Era and realize THAT'S what they're fighting for in the real world.

I forget where it was stated, but I think it was Otto who said that the Current Era has come to a better understanding of what it means to be human and I really like that idea. Herrschers are more capable of being human than some people. That being human and defeating the Honkai isn't based on plans that kill nearly everyone on Earth or making decisions for the people of the future. It's not "PURGE THE HONKAI" as the PE was so fond of saying, it's "Fight for everything beautiful in the world."

With Elysia as the antagonist it doesn't even necessarily need to end in a boss fight against her or anything. But make Mei decide for herself that what she is going to fight for, she isn't "perfect" like Elysia but her love is genuine and she has a deeper understanding than Elysia ever could. She can carry on the memories of the Previous Era, not of all the fighting and plans but of the love people tried to show each other. A rejection of what everything the Previous Era stood for.

Have Mei leave the Realm and World Serpent, not because Kevin said "okay you can go now" but to abandon them to be with the people she truly cares about and believes in because that is what is important now. Maybe have her come to their aid when it's explicitly against WS's interests.

THEN Mei can take Elysia's place as Herrscher of Human/Origin because she truly understands what it means to love people unlike Elysia. How Kiana's arc is learning to accept love and loving herself, have Mei's arc be learning to love the world again.

Also do none of the retconning in chapter 34. Make everything they are doing in the Current Era their own decisions, their own plans. They are supposed to be overcoming Project Stigma through their own determination and knowledge, not because this was the real purpose of Project EMBER. Also just let the Will of the Honkai be something the Previous Era inflicted on the Current Era while tampering with it, not "we were making it easier for the CE the whole time". The Current Era's victory over the Honkai has to be their own.

I'll be first to admit, I haven't thought much into how it's play out and definitely should have more to do with Elysia, the realm is named for her and it's her big secret at the center of it all. You could still pull this off with making Elysia suffer so much for having so much genuine love for everyone in a loveless world or a million other ways. Just not, Elysia decided the future for the Herrschers and everything the CE is doing is actually a PE plan.

#honkai impact #elysian realm #raiden mei

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batpham-discord-highlights · 2 years

Text

Ghostly bats and camera straps

source: #ghosts-and-bats

Danny gets stuck in Tim's camera

Tim thinks the fact that all the photos are in black and white are because he dropped/it broke, and that the people he sees in the photos but swears weren't there when he took the photo, well he blames that on a lack of sleep.

if he takes a photo of Jason's ghost following Batman around, then that's a hallucination caused by grief, nothing else

when he starts seeing neon green words begging for help on otherwise blank walls, he realises something might be up

he'll take a photo of graffiti because wow that's some pretty art of Batman and Robin and over top is just bold, neon green text saying he should smash his camera

it's all a big misunderstanding, but Tim thinks there's some ancient evil being in his camera, so he keeps it to make sure that it can never escape

his parents brought him the camera back from some place they were doing archeology things at, they didn't know it was left by a magician trying to catch ghosts in photographs

alternately: it fell out of the ghost zone and into their site

he sets it up to take a family photo and Thomas and Martha are in the back, standing behind Bruce

shows the camera to Raven or Constantine and they're like "!!!"

they ask if they can use it, and he gets oddly defensive about it

"no, you can't touch my weird monochrome camera, it was a gift from my parents!"

even funnier if some boomerang just comes out of no-where aiming for the camera

follow closely by a girl with white hair yelling, "We finally found the fucker"

Danny's camera got lost in time but they didn't know that, they've only been looking for him for like a dozen hours or so

ooh ooh what if the camera can sorta stun ghosts

Dani just stops in her tracks, staring, until someone tackles her and she snaps out of it

Tim uses the time to run away

que shenanigans of Tim running around Gotham being chased by some weird glowing girl, the only way to stop her being to take a photo of her

even funnier if he's not Robin, and Batman sees this boy running across rooftops screaming bloody murder

maybe Dani can only be seen through the camera lens?

omg she goes invisible to try and get the jump on the twerp

Sam and Tucker are in the Fenton jet and batman is like "wtf is going on here?!?! you are 100% not allowed to do that"

Sam grabs Tim by the scruff and "politely" asks for his camera

Tucker is enamoured by the Batmobile™️

Danny can only see the photos taken by the camera, there's a sudden influx of blurry/poorly taken photos of who he can only assume is his clone and his two best friends

each photo of Dani, he can vaguely make out her stunned expression

the camera takes perfectly normal photos of ghosts, so the fact that Dani comes out blurred means that Tim is not on his game

The messages on walls turn into "those are my friends!"

That doesn't help

How does Tim find out that the ghost in his camera isn't evil?

Oh! Danny is hurt really badly and suffering while in the camera and the writing on the walls is written in his ectoplasm! Just for added angst!

THIS WHOLE IDEA IS WONDERFUL IM DYING

Poor Tim and Danny when Danny finally gets out

It actually causes Danny more pain when Tim takes pictures, but it's the only way Danny can communicate or try to reach out. Tim would feel horrible when he finds out.

I can feel the emotional damage lol

But still

How does Danny get out?

And I wanna know how the conversation goes when they all figure out the misunderstanding.

Sidenote but I vote that we name this AU Ghostly bats and camera straps

Sam punches Tim and Tucker takes the camera

yes

#batpham server #ghosts and bats channel #batman #danny phantom #tim drake #danny fenton #dc x dp #dp x dc #dp crossover #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dani phantom #tucker foley #sam manson

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shroomystar · 3 months

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Do you think anything happened to Mickbell's sister (or do you think she's still out there somewhere)?

hi!!! i actually have thought quite a bit about mickbell's family. i haven't settled ~completely~ on how i want his background to be, but i have a general idea & i'm gonna take this opportunity to rant about it on here after all even though you only asked about his sister (tho she is a part of this). sorry. lol

(tw for mentions of abuse, prostitution and sexual assault)

so first let's look at the info we have: mickbell grew up in the slums of kahka brud, which is not a halfling village like the one chilchuck grew up in, so he, unlike chilchuck, grew up around other races (as a sidenote that's not really important here: kahka brud seems to be a dwarven city, but there's at least tallmen, too, since we see one in the flashback where mickbell rescues kuro. so we have a majority dwarfs, but also tallmen and halflings, and since it seems from that to be a city that's not limited to one race we can probably assume people from all races (except elves and ogres and kobolds and the others that are rarer/usually only live in specific places) live there); we don't know anything about his parents; we know he's been alone for what looks like a long time since he's not old, either (he's about 25 in tallman years; 22 as a halfling of course); and we know him and his sister are "permanently out of contact," which could mean a number of things: that they don't talk anymore because they dislike each other, that she's dead, that they got separated, that they simply drifted apart, or things like that.

my first instinct here was to go "this does not sound like she's dead, i think kui would have said if she was dead" and i still think so, but i do think it'd be interesting if mickbell thinks she's dead... though i also like the angle of "they had a bad fight so now they don't talk to each other anymore".

ok, so now that we've got the facts and my initial reaction to them out of the way, here's what i vaguely put together in my head for mickbell's backrgound (again, subject to change):

i think it's very likely his parents were abusive (or at least one of them). mickbell very clearly is not in contact with them anymore, either (they could also be dead, however! but i think that's not as fun; and i think the abuse angle explains mickbell's general view of relationships and other people and also money a lot better than them simply dying), so they're not in the picture. i imagine that they either abandoned, sold, or kidnapped their children bcuz they've always been very poor and they just did not care that much. i also think that mickbell, as an older brother, probably tried to protect his sister as best as he could and tried to feed them both, having only each other; but as i've said, i think the "they had a fight" angle is fun, too, so i generally think they didn't really ger along regardless, lol. but hey, they were still family!!!

this one is a headcanon i mostly developed because mickbell is so weird about relationships (in canon, mostly with kuro, of course), and because i think it'd be interesting for him to be just as weird about sexual relationships and intimacy: i think he probably sold his body to people (mostly tallman; mostly male; which is also why i think he's mostly into tallmen (though mostly women) bcuz it's some way for him to feel like he has control over that trauma) to have enough so he and his sister can eat.

with that all there, what did happen to his sister? genuinely, the most interesting thing to me (the most important person in the universe), is if mickbell doesn't know. if he came home one day and she wasn't there anymore and she never showed up again and he couldn't find her anywhere and he doesn't know if it's because of their most recent fight, or because someone found her and killed her or worse. i think this kind of uncertainty--while still having the distinct feeling of being left behind--would very much explain why he clings so much; why he isolates kuro and freaks out whenever kuro spends time with others, why he seems so, so, so scared of being left out of nowhere again.

so, yeah, those are my mickbell thoughts!!! i think about him a normal amount!!!

(bonus: as for mickbell's sister, for some reason i imagine her to have a similar personality as mickbell; argumentative and mean and loud and annoying, which is why they did notttt get along whatsoever. i do think mickbell loved her a lot, though, if only because she was the only one he still had (which now is kuro, of course).)

#do i tag this...#mickbell tomas #answered

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randomwriteronline · 7 months

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Hello! This is my main blog! (I'm legend-as-old-as-time.)

So, I've got a favorite. But the other two AUs also fascinate me. I'd love to know what the story is for your G3 of Bionicle? What's the atmosphere like?

BLASTS MY THOUGHTS DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BRAIN TO EXPLAIN THEM FASTER AND POSSIBLY BETTER THAN THROUGH WORDS

as mentioned i have a post in drafts thats meant to be like. a vague skeleton of thoughts and ideas and shit that ive talked about to and with @cantankerouscanuck, mainly introducing the various character groups n the environment slightly, but it does NOT touch on the story much (more the backstory and again only vaguely) so GREAT QUESTION LET ME TELL YOU

thinking of like uhhhh diving this in like. cartoon seasons but old school ones yknow, so LONG ones bc oh boy ADVENTURES

Season 1 starts with that Classic Bionicle Beginning of the toa mata crashlanding on the archipelago of Okoto each on a different island not knowing what the Fuck to do and being welcomed in the villages. like in g2 theyre first tasked with finding some golden relics but instead of being accompanied by the protectors/village elders they go with the local Weird Kids (the chronicler's company) who were the first people they actually met; getting the things lets them reach the island of the mask makers and meet Ekimu (and takua!!!! his apprentice!!!!!!!) and theyre like "so what do we do with these btw" and ekimu looks at the pieces and goes. FUCK

TURNS OUT THOSE RELICS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOLDEN MASKS BUT SOME MF JUST BROKE THEM INTO PIECES and wouldnt you fucking believe it it was the Children Of Makuta, the spirit of death and animals and darkness, who live each on one of the islands except spiriah the baby of the family who roams around bothering literally everybody and ofc dont want the toa to reawaken the Great Spirit whom their parent put to sleep, AND SO BEGINS THE FETCH QUEST OF THE OTHER FIVE PIECES OF EACH MASK WHILE FIGHTING OFF THESE FREAKS OF NATURE WHO ARE TRYING TO EAT THEM AND BUILDING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEMSELVES & EKIMU & TAKUA N HIS POSSE & THE VILLAGERS AND SLOWLY BECOMING A PROPER TEAM N FAMILY which is why they need to be many episodes. i will fucking recreate almost verbatim the tale of the mask kopaka-pohatu story because its already perfect and you will Fucking See It if i have to Kill For It

closes off with a cliffhanger after getting all the masks: during an ambush by Mutran Gali gets dragged off into the sea between the islands to get crushed by the water pressure but whats this??, the pressure suddenly lifts enough to let her breathe as she loses consciousness while strange silhouettes drive off the child of Makuta and catch her in his stead, sinking deeper...

S2 starts off by quickly catching up to the rest of the toa who are SHITTING THEIR FUCKING SELVES ABOUT THEIR WATER-BREATHING SISTER APPARENTLY DROWNING BEFORE THEM

tahu and pohatu decide to look for her in a ball of tempered glass while kopaka, onua and lewa hurry back to ekimu to tell him what happened. back to gali, she awakens to a bunch of... toa???? who know her and her brothers???? personally, apparently????? three of them are like super mad at them for leaving them during their time of need??????? what the FUCK are you people talking about. who are u. how are you breathing under water. why is tHERE A WHOLE FUCKING CITY UNDER THE WATER-

ENTER: THE TOA MAHRI. as it slowly turns out inbetween rounds of beating the shit out of sapient polyamorous seafood that keeps trying to nibble the villagers and the air bubble domes for their crops, they were TRAINED by the mata a few hundreds years ago and were fighting off the cataclysm that broke the continent of okoto into islands and sunk the city of Iniri into the sea together with them before they just Fucking Left, Apparently - which ofc they didnt do for no reason but they essentially got shoved back into the stars against their will. this rightfully rattles the shit out of the mata because What Do You Mean We Have Been Here Before. What Do You Mean You Had Records Of Us Being Here Even Earlier Than That. How Many Times Have We Done This. How Many Times Have We Discovered Kinship And Affection And Had That Stripped Away From Us. I Think I'm Going To Throw Up

while theyre handling THAT they also fill in the mahri on whats been going on and the mahri go oh shit, the great spirit is in a coma and the children of makuta are against you??? bro those guys are super powerful theyve got Crabs, you cant fight em alone. but also if we try to leave the sea the water pressure Will Fucking Destroy Us, so they figure out a way to get out of there and back up and jaller is super anxious bc his mom might be there but like... based on what they said... she might be evil... he doesnt wanna fight her... shes the only family he still has...

S3 AND WE GO BACK TO SEE WHAT KOPAKA ONUA AND LEWA ARE DOING, and theyre off searching the more ruined parts of the city of the mask makers on takua's suggestion - these are the parts of the city that werent very lucky during the cataclysm and are now sacred ground prowled by Krika, daughter of Makuta

at last they find a strange underground chamber with six breathing statues, which, of course, freaky; they manage to thaw one and out tumbles a toa (?) who immediately recognizes onua and starts talking to him excitedly (??) saying that its so good to see him in person for the first time (???) and asking him about the continent (????) and being genuinely distraught that they dont know who he is. same reactions from the other five toa that also get thawed out. ok something is Clearly Amiss pls explain

its time for LOMN...... 2!!!!!! where we learn from vakama abt how Lhikan, who previously filled in ekimu's position, finds out theres Some Shit going down with the great spirit and makuta and tries to call the mata, who however get stuck due to the aformentioned Some Shit. as such she picks out six lads in the city of the mask makers and bestows masks upon them to make them become toa, but on their way to handle the current problem they get werebeast'd and Krika goes oh? free kids? free kids for me? and Lhikan goes NO but its too late. they already have joint custody of the metru. and might be blossoming a lesbian romance but unfortunately due to lhikan being lhikan i have to kill her to protect vakama, leaving krika with him AND his little brother jaller who will inherit lhikan's mask. the metru figure out the way to get the mata in this case is to attempt to contact them themselves, which they manage to do by entering a trance that however slowly turns them into statues: in this trance they are able to speak and train the mata, who also promise to free them once the whole situation is handled

CONSIDERING THE CATACLYSM HAPPENED AND THEY GOT SHOT BACK IN THE SKY AND GOT AMNESIA YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT PROMISE KIND OF WENT TO SHIT

anyways thats A Lot as you can imagine and the time to process it is Not Much bc the other three mata and the mahri are here and (after a round of MASSIVE HUGS for the metru and mahri reuniting and also the metru and Krika) theyve got a plan to beat the shit out of makuta

problem: the children of makuta have realized this is happening and decided to break out The Crabs to beat the shit out of THEM

mahri, metru and krika (and the chronicler's company much to everybody else's heart attacks) hold them off while the mata manage to fight against makuta after being briefly overwhelmed, uniting their powers to uh. Kill Him. which! IS NOT ACTUALLY GOOD. YOU KNOW. BALANCE AND ALL THAT. makuta is saved in the end by The Great Fucking Spirit who wakes up just in time to stop the mata before they murder his brother

the mata awaken before the Great Spirit and after a moment of "where are we? who are you? why didn't you let us kill makuta?" and getting their answers, they realize OH FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO PUT US IN THE STARS AGAIN? AND GIVE US AMNESIA? FUCK YOU YOURE NOT TAKING OUR FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS FROM US

Great Spirit, lovingly: ok :)

and tahu wakes up to ekimu working at the forge and none of his siblings around and he Shits His Pants, but ekimu quickly reassures him that everythings good and its been like, maybe a day or two since they managed to reawaken the Great Spirit. his siblings woke up before him and are probably down at the beach, and Makuta got driven off, all of his children following suit to take care of him, krika included. the mahri and the metru are catching up on the mata's tales from the chronicler's company. things are fine. they wont be like this forever, ekimu tells tahu, but they dont have to live in fear every second of their lives. rest a while. go see your siblings.

and it ends with the mata having a very sweet nap pile on the beach because they FUCKING deserve it after TWO whole generations ending with them not getting to just fucking sleep after EVERYTHING THEY GO THROUGH EVERY TIME

as you can see i have. Enormous Holes in this and theres things i havent explained and stuff (like how i unfortunately had to sacrifice hewkii x macku due to a Very Big age difference but they are still a power pair, just in this case its like older cousin acting as a mentor to the worlds most bloodthirsty weird little girl) but yes. have this. for now. please keep asking questions i love you

#bionicle #random talks #toa mata #toa mahri #toa metru #idk what to tag this as just TAKE IT

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starboy14176 · 3 months

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hi ccan you tell me more about Subject A and Subject B. cause I looked through their tags on your blog and um. 👁️👁️👁️👁️ interested

Hai this ask got lost somehow but I FOUND IT so hello yes I’d love to talk about my special interest

So subject A and subject B are characters from the idkhow arg/concept albums, they are unwilling test subjects of an evil corporation called tellexx and basically tellexx uses them to invent time travel and then go through time performing propaganda music to brainwash people. There is VERY VERY LITTLE canonical information about the subjects as people but we do know that their real names are Dallon and Ryan (just like the band members) and we know that the white shadow (the ghost thing in the videos) was sent by tellexx to monitor them throughout time. We also know the subjects are being drugged using sugar pills but can presume the drugs aren’t affecting B as much as they are affecting A or B is not being given the same amount as A based on B’s general vibe in the videos. Also it seems B is the one who administers tests on A sometimes (ex. New invention and diatt) which is possibly real to why he’s being given less drugs? Thats all stuff from the first too albums though, uh gloom division gets more complicated. The subjects get separated, A gets moved to a new program called the gloom division and basically tellexx turns him into a personification the sin of pride ? And that’s like all we know. I have a lot of thoughts on gloom div but I’m gonna mostly stick to razz because my gloom div interpretations get kinda out there lol. Uhhh I think that’s all the canonical information we have about them?

So basically I made it my life’s mission to make up elaborate lore for them and I’ve written a ridiculous amount of fanfics about them. Also I have several OCs in the tellexx universe to fill out the cast a little more, and like the subjects are basically my OCs too at this point because their is little to no canonical charactieztion for them (aside from song lyrics which are vague at best). Ok so let’s talk about the subjects.

I stick the subjects around age 20 when they get kidnapped and then around 24 when they start actually successfully time traveling. Subject A was raised in a doomsday cult and had very abusive parents. He was super sheltered and rarely left the house. When he was 19-20 he decided to run away and tellexx found him after that. Subject B’s dad was abusive and he ended up getting kicked out when he was around 17, he was homeless for a while but he was living with a friend at the time of his kidnapping.

Subject A is autistic and gay, he’s also on the acearo spec and genderfluid but he doesn’t find that stuff out until after escaping tellexx. His special interests are stuffed animals, space, and cats (with a big emphasis on stuffed animals lol). He’s extremely clingy to anyone who shows him affection and I play around a lot with the idea that he age regresses on occasion as a trauma response. (But obviously neither he nor subject B have the language to know that that’s what’s happening)

Subject B is bi and also autistic, he is also on the acearo spec cuz I said so :3 his special interest is the ocean and sea creatures. He has anger issues and major major trust issues. Him and A are very codependent and they both have issues with separation anxiety. He has a history of being violent with tellexx employees and it takes a while for them to get him to cooperate but once he does he’s relatively easy to get to do what they want.

Anyways now to some of my OCs, rapid fire addition

Dr. Adalia (aka Dr. addy): the subjects main handler/tellexx issued therapist. Her job is to keep them compliant and basically gaslight them until they act like good little tellexx robots. She’s super fucking manipulative ‼️

Gloom: a clone of subject A (not the mannequin I made up gloom b4 the mannequin existed ok), he’s the replacement they give B after A has to go get turned into a demon or whatever. Gloom has been watching the subjects on security cameras for like a year to learn A’s mannerisms and stuff and over that span of time got parasocially obsessed with the subjects. He looks like Dallon from the what love music video and he’s very special to me.

Mr. Cain: glooms handler. He sucks we hate Mr. Cain >:[

Rose: breezy’s character from gloom division. Subject A was in love with her b4 he got got by tellexx (?) and now she’s involved with tellexx in some way and it’s breaking A’s brain. Yeah idk about her rlly yet

Dolly: A’s new handler during gloom div :3 she, well not actively participating in the tellexx torture stuff, is complicit in all of it well insisting it’s not her fault and she didn’t realize tellexx sucked so bad until she was too far in to quit. Her and A get into a super weird toxic sort of relationship :( it is hashtag bad

Ok so that’s my tellexx universe. I could probably go more in depth but that’s my attempt at giving a basic run down. 👍👍👍👍👍

#can you tell A is my self insert character be honest #tellexx #idkhow #writing

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nihyunluvskookie · 1 year

Text

and then I met you

[six]

Pairing: Jeonghan × fem reader × Seungcheol

Synopsis: Falling in love with bestfriend’s ex wasn’t something that Jeonghan planned

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warning: mention of pregnancy and anxiety

Word count: 1.4K

Author’s Note: Finally my exams are over and I can write, thankyou to whoever kept waiting and reading this. Sending you lots of love

happy reading~

Taglist: @scarlet789 @jjeongddol @shinetogether17

if you want to be tagged in next part, please leave a reply <3

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Aisha was trying to remove Seungcheol’s memories which were hurting her, never did she think that she would be hurting because of him, that he would hurt her.

Aisha looked at the mirror, a little nervous. She heard a knock on her door, “Are you done?” Aisha turned to look at him, “Yes, I am done and ready”

Jeonghan walked towards her and held her shoulder, “Are you nervous?” Aisha nodded, “don’t worry, and you look pretty” getting compliments and appreciation from Jeonghan was getting normal

“Come to think of it, I never really met your family, not even your sister.” Aisha looked at him and smiled, “But now you’re meeting”

“Are they really okay with me?” he nodded, “They are, trust me, they will love you. You’re lovely” he didn’t lie, she looked pretty in his eyes, he adored her a lot. When Jeonghan broke the news of his marriage, to his family, first they were surprised because no one expected this out of the blue. He tried his best to convince them about being together with Aisha, because when it comes to Yoon Jeonghan, he can convince everyone.

Jeonghan told them about Aisha being pregnant because he wanted this to be clear with his family, he didn’t mention anything about Seungcheol when they asked about him, he replied to them vaguely.

“It’s going to be okay.” Jeonghan wanted her to feel less anxious, knowing that her anxiety can take a toll on her.

Soon, they left.

They reached Jeonghan’s house, he was holding Aisha’s hand because she was nervous and he knew she needed his support without even asking. It was Jeonghan’s idea to call Aisha’s parents over to his house and finalize everything about their marriage. Meeting parents and then deciding everything was a need. Considering the fact, Jeonghan’s parents were happy. Aisha already informed everything and sent her the address, and her parents arrived before them. They were waiting for Jeonghan and Aisha.

Jeonghan rang the bell, “It’s going to be okay” he whispered and resisted giving a quick kiss on Aisha’s forehead, she felt safe with him. Soon, Jeonghan’s sister opened the door.

“Jeonghan!!” Ari, his sister practically jumped on him and hugged him tight; he was taken aback and left Aisha’s hand for a second and hugged his sister back. Looking at them, Aisha felt happy; Aisha was the only daughter, and that’s why she always adored sibling relationships. “I missed you” Aisha smiled at his sister when she got down.

“Hi” she looked at Aisha and was about to hug her tight, but Jeonghan stopped her resulting in her pouting, “Only you can hug your girlfriend or what?”

“It’s not like that, you can hug her but don’t squeeze the air out of her, it’d been three months” Ari nodded at Jeonghan’s words. She gave a hug carefully to Aisha and Aisha hugged back, she felt warm and welcomed.

“Do you plan to keep us here and not let us enter my house?” Jeonghan gave her a look and earned a slight hit on his elbow. Aisha smiled at them. “Let’s go, everyone’s waiting for you both” Ari, led the way, Jeonghan held Aisha’s hand and she looked at him in surprise. Jeonghan smiled at him assuring everything’s going to be fine. Jeonghan’s smile would be the new way of assuring Aisha about everything.

They saw, their parents smiling and laughing, it looked like they were enjoying the company. Both of them bowed to eachother, and Jeonghan went to hug his mom. “Finally you’re back after so many days”

“Blame my company mom” she kissed his cheeks. Aisha was standing beside Jeonghan, Jeonghan’s mom looked at Aisha and gave her a hug, she caressed her cheeks “You are so pretty”

“Thank you” Aisha didn’t feel like an outsider, she felt warm and loved. “Take a seat, and we can talk”

Both nodded and took a seat, Ari went to sit beside her mom. “So, Jeonghan and Aisha… how long have you two been dating or being together?” Aisha, tried to calm her down, she met Jeonghan almost four years ago, after she started dating Seungcheol five years ago, before she could reply Jeonghan did. “a little more than four years ago. I knew her because of our mutual friend and I knew her, but I officially met her four years ago and got together” the whole time Jeonghan was speaking, he was holding her hand, he didn’t care if anyone saw them holding hands or anything, Aisha was the only thought in his mind right now.

“I didn’t know my son was dating such a pretty girl”

“Mom!”

“what? Am I wrong? I should’ve been the first to know about her, she looks so pretty” Jeonghan was about to say but was cut off by his dad, “Jeonghan, I trust you a lot and I know whatever decision you take, you always take the right decision for yourself. And I hope you made all the decisions after thinking about everything. And I respect all your decisions.” He took a pause and then again continued “That’s what I was talking with Aisha’s parents, about everything, why didn’t you tell us? We are your parents. Dating was optional but the moment Aisha got pregnant, you could’ve told us, we are your parents, and the same goes for Aisha. Aisha, this is the happiest news ever, you are going to be a mother, imagine the happiness your mom and dad would feel” Aisha was feeling guilty, the grip of Jeonghan’s hand on her got tighter, and she was trying not to react. “I was the one who stopped Aisha from telling you all because I hadn’t decided the rings and everything yet, Aisha did tell her parents about me but then I got a little busy with work and then they happened to come visit Aisha. But here we are now discussing everything with you all”

“When were you planning to tell us exactly?” The fact Jeonghan was trying his best to convince and cover up everything, he needed to speak up for Aisha because he could feel, she was starting to feel pressurizing and guilt was getting her.

“The next day” he took a pause, “the day Aisha’s parents visited us, just the day after that”

“Perfect then” Aisha’s mom spoke, and everyone looked at her. “Because we already talked about that day, because it felt like Aisha wasn’t ready to share this news with us”

“Mom, it wasn’t like that,” Aisha had to support whatever Jeonghan was saying, “as Jeonghan said, we were planning for the next day.”

“But tell me one thing” It was Aisha’s dad, someone whom she respected a lot and loved a lot. “doesn’t matter how much both you grow, you will be kids for us because you’re our kids. So, tell me one thing, are you happy? I’m asking both of you. Are you ready for the hardships you’re going to face? marriage is a sacred bond. Marriage is a pure bond which ties two people with love, marriage brings two souls closer with love, even if you don’t love eachother, you’ll fall in love, that kind of bond it is.” Everything Aisha’s father was saying, Aisha was trying to hold back her tears, each word was making her realize, which step she was going to take and she was tying Jeonghan with herself in this pure bond, probably without love but for Jeonghan Aisha’s father words were which were making him realize a lot of things.

“We are happy together” It was unexpected but both said in unison and Jeonghan’s hands were still holding Aisha’s hands.

Jeonghan was calm and composed, but Aisha, looked at Jeonghan. She wanted to talk to him, ask him so many things, wanted to ask him, ‘what are we doing here right now Jeonghan?’ everyone looked so happy.

“That’s great. I’m happy that you are happy” Everyone smiled at them as if their smile was enough to give the blessings to them. “Looks like we need to hurry up and prepare for the wedding soon” Ari walked towards her brother and teased him.

“Sure, we were thinking if we could get married next week because Aisha would be entering her fourth month of pregnancy.”

“Jeonghan-

Aisha never talked about her pregnancy openly till now and she was taken aback.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed by Aisha, we should know as well, why would it be only your soon-to-be husband?” Jeonghan’s mother smiled at her.

“So, next week it is” Ari hugged her brother.

“I’m excited to have a sister-in-law” Ari hugged Aisha and she hugged back.

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twoidiotwriters1 · 11 months

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Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I lied -Danny Words: 2,762 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter /Next Chapter Listen to: 'Girls Like You' -by The Naked And Famous

XXX: It's Been (0) Days Since I Almost Died

Ara's parents leave her at camp for New Year's. Lily welcomes her on the hill, along with the Stolls and Nico Di Angelo.

"You piece of sh—" Ara tries to reach for his throat but Lily gets in the way.

"Hey! It's my birthday and you know the rules!"

"I want my dino back!"

"I've no idea what she's talking about," the boy smirks.

"I'm gonna feed you to my lion."

"Mrs. O'Leary and Pollo both said they like me more."

Ara gasps. "Take that back!"

"You know what, Ara, why don't you take a walk?" Travis suggests. "And maybe, by the time you come back to the Big House, your T-Rex will be right where you left it. Right, Nico?"

"Unlikely."

"Nico!" Lily berates him in Italian, to which he replies with an eye-roll.

"Okay. Yeah, maybe."

Ara flips off Nico before leaving, she doesn't want to do this, but if that's what it takes to save her dino, then she's got no choice. The girl walks into the forest and quickly loses track of time.

"...or a raccoon."

Ara stops, there's a group of people a few feet ahead of her.

"With no toes?"

"Piper? What do you think?"

The girl scoffs. "Just because I'm Native American doesn't mean I can track furniture through the wilderness—'Yes, kemosabe. A three-legged table passed this way an hour ago.' Heck, I don't know."

"Okay, jeez!"

"It's probably a table. Which means Buford went across this stream."

"You lost a table?" Ara's voice startles the trio.

"Holy crap!" Leo lands on his butt. "How are you so quiet?"

She points at the tracks. "A table did that?"

A young nature spirit—Ara thinks it's Brooke—comes out of the stream in front of them.

"Could you be any louder? They'll hear you!"

"Are you a naiad?" Leo asks, not caring about the warning.

"Shh! They'll kill us all! They're right over there!"

Ara seizes her compass. "What's out there, Brooke?"

"Brooke the brook?" Jason asks with a grin, Piper hits his leg.

"Okay, Brooke. I'm Piper. We won't let anyone harm you. Just tell us who you're afraid of."

Brooke approaches with wide eyes. "I'm glad you're back, Ara. It's my crazy cousins. None of us is safe! Now go away. I have to hide!"

Brooke vanishes and Ara pinches the bridge of her nose. "I literally just got here."

"Crazy cousins?" Piper turns to her. "Any idea what she was talking about?"

"No, but crazy for a Greek is probably way off the rails."

"Maybe we should keep our voices down," Jason suggests.

"We have to follow the trail," Leo insists. "I mean... we're heroes and stuff. We can handle whatever it is. And Ara's back, so that doubles our chances!"

"Right," Ara turns her compass into Almighty. Jason and Piper draw out their weapons and stand next to her, she looks at Leo and raises a brow. "Still no weapon?"

"I don't need 'em," Leo points vaguely at them. "I brought these two with me and now you're here."

She sighs. "Just tell me what's going on..."

The only good thing about this is that Leo is so caught up in his mess that he's not acting weird around Ara. She's kind of glad Buford ran away. Leo thought she'd get angry, but honestly? She would've made the same mistake, so she's quite understanding.

"Oh," Piper whispers, stopping dead in her tracks. "This isn't good."

"Why?"

"It's bad luck to be here," Jason explains, but to Ara, it suddenly sounds like it's coming from behind a wall. "This is the battle site."

"What battle?"

"I told you," Ara speaks, unmoving. "The Battle of the Labyrinth."

Leo grimaces. "Oh... Great. Buford had to run to the most dangerous part of the woods. He couldn't just, like, run to the beach or a burger shop."

Ara remembers the carnage with ample clarity: the way her clothes ended up bloodstained and muddy after carrying the dead campers out of here. She remembers Michael's vow, and—

"Does Buford have a round tabletop with little steam vents sticking up on one side?" Piper asks.

"How did you know?"

"Because he's right over there."

Ara tries to snap out of her war flashbacks. "Oh... good."

"That was easy," Jason tries to walk to the other end of the clearing but Leo stops him.

"Someone's coming!"

"Leo—"

"Shh!" The boy drags them behind what used to be Zeus's fist.

A bunch of girls skip into the clearing looking very much wasted. "They're just nymphs, Leo," Piper says, but Leo's eyes widen as she tries to stand and keeps her down.

"Crazy cousins!" He reminds them.

"Are they drunk?" Jason asks under his breath.

A drakon slips into the scene and growls at the nymphs, but they keep giggling and fooling around like they don't care at all.

"We've got to help them," Piper urges them. "They'll be killed!"

"No," Ara frowns. No nymph would be so stoic about a drakon crashing their slumber party. "Let's wait."

"Ara, those are just—"

"Be quiet!" She interrupts Jason. "Stay hidden, that's an order."

It doesn't take long before her suspicions get confirmed. One of the girls approaches the creature asking if he's Dionysus, the drakon tries to burn her, and they skin the beast alive like it's a piñata.

"I saw something like this once," Ara gulps. "In that spooky movie with the clown..."

"IT?" Jason asks hoarsely.

"Oh, gods," Piper covers her eyes in terror. "Oh, gods!"

"I read about these nymphs," Leo says, trying to keep it together. "They're followers of Dionysus. I forget what they're called—"

"Maenads," Piper continues, pressing closer to Ara. "I've heard of them. I thought they only existed in ancient times. They attended Dionysus's parties. When they got too excited..."

"We have to get out of here," Jason concludes.

"But they're between us and Buford! And we've only got—" Leo looks at his watch. "Thirty minutes to get the syncopator installed!"

"Maybe I can fly us over to Buford?" Jason offers, but after a while, he gives up. "I don't know... the air feels agitated. Maybe those nymphs are messing things up. Even the wind spirits are too nervous to get close."

"That's encouraging," Ara mutters.

"We should call Pollo."

"He's not going anywhere near those girls! They make sirens look stupid!"

"We'll have to retreat to the woods, then. If we can skirt around the Maenads—"

"Hello!"

Ara lets out a high-pitched scream that Leo is quick to muffle with his hand. The maenad continues like nothing's going on.

"Are you Dionysus?"

"Yes!" Leo pipes in quickly. "Absolutely. I am Dionysus."

He pulls Ara up and places her between him and the crazy girls. Ara's grip tightens around her sword.

"Wonderful! My lord Dionysus? Really?"

"Um, Lord Dionysus, what are you doing?" Piper stands behind them with the dagger in hand.

"Everything's cool! The Maenads are my attendants. I love these guys."

"Lord Dionysus, are these three sacrifices for the party? Should we rip them to pieces?"

"No, no! Great offer, but, um, you know, maybe we should start small. With, like, introductions."

"Surely you remember me, my lord. I am Babette," the girl raises a brow.

"Um, right!" Leo gulps. "Babette! Of course."

She continues to introduce the rest of the girls and Ara studies them making quick assessments. These are a bunch of nymphs that would make Samara Morgan go back to her creepy VHS and never look back. It doesn't look well for them.

"An interesting form you've chosen, my lord," Babette examines Leo uncomfortably close to his face. "Youthful. Cute, I suppose. Yet... somewhat scrawny and short."

"Scrawny and short?" Ara sees his eye twitch. "Well, you know. I was going for cute, mostly."

"So, my lord," Babette grazes Leo's arm with her fingertips and Ara has to suppress the urge to slap them away. "Where have you been? We've searched for so long!"

"Where have I—? Oh, you know! I've been doing, um, wine stuff. Yeah. Red wine. White wine. All those other kinds of wine. Love that wine. I've been so busy working—" Ara shakes her head frantically to shut him up.

"Work! Work!" The Maneads echo his words with horror. "Work! Sacrilege! Kill work!"

"He means partying!" Piper corrects him. "Partying! Lord Dionysus has been busy partying all over the world. He's been teaching the daughter of Olympus how to live life! Right, Ara?"

The girl elbows her and Ara coughs out. "S-Sure! He's the man!"

"Yeah! Ha-ha. Partying. Right. I've been so busy partying."

"Who is this one, my lord? A recruit for the Maenads, perhaps?"

"Oh. She's my, uh, party planner."

"What a shame," Babette is clearly the smart one of the group, which annoys Ara. "We can't allow mortals to witness our sacred revels."

"But I could be a recruit!" Piper insists. "Do you guys have a website? Or a list of requirements? Er, do you have to be drunk all the time?"

"Drunk! Don't be silly. We're underage Maenads. We haven't graduated to wine yet. What would our parents think?"

"You have parents?" Jason pushes one of the Maenads away from him. "So... what are you guys drinking if it isn't wine?"

"The beverage of the season! Behold the power of the thyrsus rod! Eggnog!" Babette slams her staff against the ground and makes a geyser of the liquid burst out from there.

"You're... drunk on eggnog?" Piper wrinkles her nose.

"It's New Year's Eve," Ara points out plainly, as if that would mean anything to crazy people.

The conversation backfires to their detriment.

"Hey, um, Dionysus... maybe we should talk. Like, in private. You know... about party stuff?" Jason tries.

"We'll be right back! Just wait here, you guys. Okay?"

"No, you will stay," Babette glares at Leo. "You do not act like Dionysus. Those who fail to honor the god, those who dare to work instead of partying—they must be ripped apart. And anyone who dares to impersonate the god, he must die even more painfully."

"Wine! Did I mention how much I love wine?"

"If you are the god of parties, you will know the order of our revelries. Prove it! Lead us!"

Ara raises her sword slashing at the air sideways to force the nymphs to backtrack. She also uses her charmspeak. "Step back!"

While the nymphs stumble to get away, Piper shouts "Pollo!" at the top of her lungs, and the Nemean lion runs into the scene roaring like crazy. He tackles a few drunk girls in the process, and Ara jumps on his back.

"Hop in!"

"Kill the unbelievers!" Babette snarls.

Leo grabs a bottle from his belt and throws the contents on the girls. He summons balls of fire and hurls them at the group while the lion takes them away.

The nymphs, of course, are unbothered by this. One of them lifts a rock from what was formerly Zeus's fist and chucks it in their general direction. "Veer left!" Leo shouts.

Ara pulls Pollo's mane to the side and makes him leap between trees. The lion is fast, but the girls have inhuman speed too, and they're not far behind.

"How do we beat them?!" Jason screams. "They're immune to fire—They're super strong."

"We can't kill them," Piper replies.

"There has to be a way!" Leo says.

"No. We can't kill them!" Piper insists, holding onto Ara's waist. "Anyone who kills a Maenad is cursed by Dionysus. Haven't you read the old stories? People who kill his followers go crazy or get morphed into animals or... well, bad stuff."

"Worse than letting the Maenads rip us to shreds? That's just great," Jason scoffs, trying not to slip off Pollo's back. "So we have to stop them without killing them. Anyone got a really big piece of flypaper?"

"A net!" Ara exclaims. "I can make one!"

Pollo stops and they hide behind a large tree, the Maneads seem to have momentarily lost track of them.

"We have twenty minutes until Bunker Nine explodes," Piper announces as she slips off the lion's back.

"It's impossible."

"We're dead."

"Shut up," Ara rummages through her backpack. "Deadlines are my favored stimuli and this one sure is deadly. Leo, I need..." She lists several items that he's quick to pull out from his belt. Five minutes later she's got a shrinking net-trap ready to go. "Beckendorf's finest."

"You're amazing," Leo stares at it and then at her like he can't believe she's real. Ara's creation has given him an idea. "I've got it! Jason, Ara, you'll have to find Buford. You know which way he went. Circle back and find him, then bring him to the bunker, quick!"

"What about you two?"

"We're going to lead the Maenads out of your way," Leo takes the trap from Ara's hand. "Straight to Bunker Nine."

"Excuse me, but isn't Bunker Nine about to explode?" Piper questions.

"Yes, but if I can get the Maenads inside, I have a way to take care of them!"

"Even if you can, we'll still have to find Buford and get the syncopator back to you in twenty minutes, or you, Piper, and a dozen crazy nymphs will blow up."

"Jason, seriously, it's like you don't know us," Ara raises a brow. "We're masters of unlikely."

"Trust us," Leo checks his watch again. "And it's nineteen minutes now."

"I love this plan," Piper grabs Jason and kisses him. "In case I explode. Please hurry."

Ara climbs back onto Pollo and pulls Jason up behind her. "Good luck!"

As they rush up the hill, she glances at Jason over her shoulder and frowns. Before she can even ask, he blabs out an explanation. "Yeah, we started dating last week—look where we're going!"

"I can't believe I missed that!" She pouts. "Did you get thrown into the lake? That's the tradition here, you know?"

"Yeah, Piper's siblings took care of it," he snorts. "I'm sorry, Ara, this isn't how we wanted to welcome you back."

"No worries, I've had worse welcomes," Ara admits, though she's enjoying herself a lot.

"Just hug the table!"

"Don't yell at me!" Jason screams back.

Ara's holding him by the waist while Pollo takes them to the bunker. Buford wasn't that hard to find but it is quite sneaky for a table. Jason had to seize it in a deadlock and now he's trapped in that position while the girl drags him and Buford like ragdolls through the forest.

Pollo storms into the bunker and Jason drops the table as soon as they enter, causing it to slide across the floor making a screeching noise that hurts their ears. Ara drops Jason and jumps off her lion stumbling over her feet.

"Watch the cage!" She orders her pet as she runs past the trapped Maneads.

Leo hugs his table. "I'm so sorry, Buford. I promise I'll never take you for granted again. Only Lemon Pledge with extra-moisturizing formula, my friend. Anytime you want it!"

"We've got two minutes left!" Piper informs them, lifting Jason off the ground.

Ara moves Leo out of the way and opens Buford's drawer. Leo runs ahead and guides her to the combustion chamber. "Help, Hephaestus!" She pleads out loud.

Leo opens a lid once and Ara quickly places the syncopator in position. She seizes tubes and connects them to it as fast as she can with Leo's help. When they finish, she closes the chamber and keeps her hands on the lid, as if fearing it will snap open.

"Guys?" Jason calls from outside, he can't see them.

"Hold on!" Leo responds. "Hey, you're glowing!"

"What?" Ara looks down.

The combustion chamber starts abruptly, the engine roars to life and drops into a steady purring. Leo places his hand on the surface to make sure everything's working, but Ara's the one who speaks.

"No clusters or leaking. Might need to stabilize it properly by hand 'cause some liquids are out of sync," she says, her palms remaining firmly placed on the lid.

The boy stares at her in surprise. "How do you know?"

"He blessed me!" She gasps and looks back at him. "Your dad blessed me!"

"No way!" Leo holds her by the shoulders. "How does it feel?"

"Amazing!" The girl holds him in the same way, her adrenaline is off the charts and it's making her feel more alive than ever, she feels like she can conquer the world. "I'm so glad Nico stole my T-Rex!"

"No idea what that means!" Leo looks at her with pride, his brown eyes softening as he speaks. "I don't care what Hercules and Achilles did to get their titles, you're still my favorite."

Ara kisses him. Leo makes a weird noise and flames erupt from the top of his head, but Ara doesn't move, she can't feel the heat. Buford bumps into her and makes her lose balance, she breaks the kiss and holds onto Leo's forearms to steady herself.

"Guys?" Piper speaks up. "What's that noise? Is it working?"

"Y-Yeah!" Leo replies, keeping Ara in place. "That's the sound of an engine not exploding!"

He faints abruptly, dragging her along.

"Holy—!" Ara tries to stand and pull him back up but fails. "Jason!"

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