#you do not understand how much I love silly wizard outfits

[emily-mooon]

Doodled The Party in silly wizard outfits because it brings me joy.

[vanilladaises-rp]

(tw: mentions of food, lmk if there is anything else! I worked a lot harder on this one so I hope you all enjoy it! Don't be afraid to ask questions! Also I'm so fucking happy I learned how to use the "keep reading" feature! Thank you for your support! 🫶🏻)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥

✧ 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢 ✧

Taking out the last batch of gingerbread cookies with a sigh, "Finished, now we wait." Felix said wiping his forehead with a "phew" motion. He had been working all afternoon on pastries and activities for the ball, baking desserts, setting up the ballroom and making any last minute adjustments. Earlier this week, him and Princess Chungha had decorated the whole castle inside and out, it was perfect, like a castle you can only dream out. It didn't matter how much time had passed, every time the castle was dolled and lit up it made his heart flutter. It may sound weird but he loved his kingdom and loved the history and memories it held within the walls.

This was no time to reminisce though, In just an hour his guests would arrive and begin to fill the empty festive halls. Once Felix was content with each room, he was lead to his chambers to change into his attire for the ball. It wasn't anything too flashy, he didn't want to overdress, afraid it may overwhelm his guests. It's silly, but Felix is an overthinker, he couldn't help but over observe every detail. The seemsist left his outfit displayed in his room once he arrived and left him with his dressers to change. It was a simple white button down with a brown sweater, and black shoes.

After adding some accessories, Felix headed down stairs and greeted his first guests. Princess Chungha, Jennie and Miyeon all three dress in beautiful dresses, colors canon to the theme of the ball, "Hello handsome Prince" Miyeon cooed dragging her finger across his cheek, sending him a wink. It had been awhile since they saw each other and with Irene out of the way, this was the perfect chance for her to have some alone time with him, "How about you show me around your castle?" She smiled linking her arm with his, making Felix's face heat up. Miyeon was stunning and confident but she secretly intimidated him and a was a little scared of her, "U-Um sure, I'll show both of you around" He quickly linked Jennie with his other arm, giving her a scared look with made her scoff and role her eyes, "This way" the poor prince gulped. He was already expecting to see (😆) tonight, so he didn't want Miyeon to get the wrong impression

While he was showing them around, a few more guest had arrived in some in sexy and some in cozy attire, "Wow, and I thought the outside was breathtaking . . . Look at this place" Agaped, Henry stood in shock staring at the castle's spectacular interior, smiling with stars in his eyes looking adorable in his cozy sweats. While on the other hand, Queen Sunmi stood their in her sexy fitting dress narrowing her eyes at the wizard as he gawked at Felix's decor, "Tch, I could do, . . No, correction, I have done better, this" she traced a circle in the air with her finger, referring to the decor "Is just a sliver of my capability" she scoffed in "as a matter of fact" tone with her arms crossed. "Don't listen to him" Jiwoo spoke up joining the two in her dress and black beret, "Henry is amazed by light switches, I know your ball would have been way better" She winked, linking arms as the Castle's Steward intrusted to sit in the dining hall, Henry stuck in a trance before following them.

"Anal makes your hole weak?" Seulgi repeated with furrowed brows trying to understand the punchline of Jungkook's joke. He chuckled at her puzzled face as she continued to think about it, "Cute" Jungkook mumbled, reaching to caress her face, that was until Soyeon pulled her back, "Sorry dear" She gritted her teeth, kicking Jungkook's shoulder blade making him fall forward and grunt in pain, "It seems I forgot to take out the trash before you came" hearing Jungkook groan in pain made her smirk, taking his place where he was sitting with Seulgi. She furrowed her brows but nodded with a smile, "Okay!" She agreed giving Soyeon a hug, making the tattooed women's eyes widened but soon she obliged and hugged her back "I'm Soyeon, what's your name dear?" She asked once pulling away, "stealing" Jungkook's move by caressing her hair, while an upset Jungkook sat there glaring at his friend "Fucking cockblocker" he spat , making Soyeon Scowl. Jungkook rolled his eyes until he realized, (🖕🏻) was coming tonight. They weren't super close yet, but he was excited to see her outside of the shop.

"How long are you going to stare her down? Lee know chuckled at Irene, the two of them sitting on one side of the carriage while Sana was on the other. Irene had pick the two of them up, insisting she'd give them ride, once they arrived, she park the car and rode the carriage up the hill to Felix's castle, "Until my eyes can burn holes in her skin" She mumbled back, making Lee Know laugh some more, Sana being completely oblivious of her staring as she was too in awe at the pretty scenery. Irene was very much aware that (🗝️) had been giving the pretty psycho more attention, following her like some lovesick puppy. It was revolting to say the least, after everything she had done for him, this is how he repays her? No, she will not accept that, Irene would set the whole world on fire if it meant having you to herself, "Well, I'll tell you one thing" spoke Lee know, breaking Irene away from her thoughts, "Sana may seem harmless, but she is more psychotic than she appears to be" He warned. Irene scoffed, rolling her eyes at his words, Irene didn't care how crazy the pink princess was, if blood needed to be spilt, so be it. "So am I" she whispered in Lee Know's ear as they arrived.

Entering the common room, Princess Chungha sat down on the couch with a sigh of relief, "See it's much more warmer in here" She smiled looking over at the fire. The princess had just arrived after picking up her two vampire friends, "Are you sure we won't get in trouble?" Mina chuckled sitting down next to her. The princess rolled her eyes and smiled back at Mina, "Don't worry, I helped him decorate and we're friends so he won't mind us snooping around" She grabbed Mina's hand to reassure her. The two chatting and giggling as Chungha told her how flustered Felix was when decorating "He was running around like chicken with its head cut off" Mina chuckled. While the two were conversing, Leo sat on the couch on the other side of the coffee table, he didn't seem shy or awkward, just quiet, "Your friend okay?" Chungha asked sending Leo a smile. The man was tall, handsome, and definitely her type, but he seemed a little too "tsundere" for her "Yeah he's fine" Mina looked at Leo, sending him a concerning look, wanting to make sure he was okay. In response Leo gave the two a small smile and nodded at Mina, assuring her he was fine "Just not much of a talk" She added.

"Awe she's your girlfriend?" Hongjoong smiled as the wolf showed him a picture of Joey (🥟). Matthew chuckled "No, not yet at least" He smiled "I've only met her a few times but she is sweet and funny" swiping through his pictures he lands one he took at your first dance practice, beaming at how cute you looked "And she's beautiful which doesn't hurt" Hongjoong chuckled and rolled his eyes. Matthew and Joey hadn't known each other long but he really did care for her and was excited to see her tonight, "She is a beauty" said a dark figure coming from behind the two. Bobby stood there staring at the picture on Matthew's phone. The wolf narrowed his eyes, feeling uncomfortable with Bobby's stare and the way he spoke about Joey. "Thanks, um" He looked at Hongjoong who was glaring at Bobby, "Ready to go?" The wolf got up and headed towards the door of Hongjoong's house, his first impression of Bobby was not the best so he made a mental note to keep an eye on him tonight, especially around Joey.

Everyone was almost here, just a few more and then the ball would begin. While waiting, all the arrived guests sat in the dining hall waiting to be served their meals, "You've only kissed her?" Nayeon chuckled, making the poor wolf's ears turn red, he bit his lips nervously "Well yeah, we've only been one date together?" Chan spoke with a puzzled face, he was confused on what the witch was declaring, "And you've only kissed her? Tch, if you don't rail her soon she'll get bored" Nayeon continued to laugh as they enter the dining hall, "Not everyone thinks about sex" spoke up an annoyed Changkyun. Nayeon had spoke the entire way here and needless to say to say, Changkyun wouldn't be upset if he never heard her voice again, "Is that true? Does Emry (🍓) really think I'm boring?" The puzzled Chan thought out loud. He knew things were still fresh with her but he never stopped to think if he was too cautious with their relationship, "If she didn't like you, she wouldn't be coming tonight" Changkyun patted Chan's shoulder, "Plus Nayeon is the worst person to take advice from when it comes to love" He scoffed making the wolf chuckle. His words definitely made Chan feel more relieved, but couldn't shake the thought off.

"We wouldn't have been late if you knew how to fucking give directions!" "It's not my fault you can't fucking hear!" "Would you two stop fucking yelling!?" The tattooed man sighed rubbing his temples. If Woosung would've known riding with two of the toughest men would lead into them arguing like a bunch of kids, he would've just rode with Soyeon. "We're in a goddamn castle for Christ's sake, I know were late but we're here now, so shut the fuck up and calm down!" Woosung was never one to yell, but until you have been in a car with Taehyung and Wonho, you won't understand the torture he has been through. "Whatever, I only came here for my friend" Tae rolled his eyes, he has never been good at making friends but tried his best for (🐶). Tae didn't want to cause a scene and embarrass her. "So you came here to fuc-" "Nope, we're not fighting again. You two need to chill" The tattoo artist sighed "Should've just stayed home" he thought. "There you are, I thought you all got lost" Felix smiled interrupting Woosung's thoughts, but his expression soon changed seeing the irritated looks on the mens face "Um, T-This way" He gulped.

˖ ࣪ . 🦢 ࿐ ♡ ˚ .

"Thank you everyone for coming" Felix spoke with a shaky voice, fixing his colar as Chungha smiled giving him a thumbs up. "Food is ready, but you are welcome to roam wherever you'd like" He stated more proudly this time, "We have the ballroom to dance, Projection rooms for films, and the spa is also open" Felix for the first time felt proud of himself for accomplishing such a big event, he planned out every activity, pastry and meal. "Please enjoy yourselves" The night has begun and he only hoped for the best.

tags: @idontlikelizards @honey-beaut @livealittleoc-cb @luxora @halloween-idols @nana-n-nono @angelsxdemons-cb @wiickedxgood @bunnybubchan @lowblotrp @moonlightchn @welcome-to-maniac @dia-oc @writingstuffandmore @zzzhoonie @k-venturetime @badbf-cb @evicted-oc @yanderexmuses @thisisnoteuropeanstyle @oc-honeys

These muses would like to see you under the mistletoe...

(🥟) Matthew, (🍓) Bang Chan, (🖕🏻) Jungkook, (🐶) Taehyung

(🗝️) Sana, (😆) Felix

[localgremlinboy]

just some more silly rouges headcanons! some long ones because I had some specific ideas

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6]

- Riddler attempts to do a DND group with the other rogues but it's a disaster. Joker's character is just him and his backup character is literally Batman but he's determined he can justify either character's existence in the campaign:

"no you cannot have a batarang, this is in a fantasy world!!"

”But what if I can recreate all the materials within the confines of your dumb world?”

but Twoface and Harvey have separate characters (of course one is lawful good and one is lawful evil) and both are convinced they could just flip a coin to determine a dexterity check and dice are stupid. Scarecrow is either playing on his phone or even worse, he’s intently making choices that’ll just bug Riddler and he is always getting 20s somehow. Ivy might be the only person who's taking this seriously, she has a well thought out chaotic neutral druid character and Harley is her chaotic good warrior girlfriend. Clayface comes but to help Riddler by transforming into monsters and npc characters to "flesh out the world" but he's super overdramatic and is having WAY too much fun. Just when Riddler thinks they'll never wanna try DND again, Harley is like "so same time next week Eddie??" And it becomes a regular thing, and it's a mess every time. Batman catches on and busts into what he thinks is a secret evil villain meeting only to find all the rogues arguing on how to kill an evil wizard cult.. then he gets to stay when he makes a legitimately helpful suggestion (they give him the Batman character sheet Joker made)

- Joker has a fashion Instagram where he posts his outfit of the day & other looks. Riddler commented once that he "didn't think those shoes went with that skirt??", he was immediately blocked because Joker is petty

- Catwoman’s secret guilty pleasure is webkinz, she never got to have one in her childhood and decided to just start stealing cat plushes. Yes sometimes she gets online and plays the minigames, they’re fun!

- Riddler is constantly buying Scarecrow new cell phones. When he doesn't want to be bothered, Jonathan just breaks them or hucks them into the Gotham river. Do not bother him while he plays animal crossing! His henchmen saw him once pick up his ringing phone and drop it into a vat of chemicals, all while playing still on his switch

- Ivy can only style her own hair (she's part plant so technically she can just grow it at will and make it go into ponytails/braids). Harley learned this the hard way when she asked for help putting her hair in ponytails and Ivy almost accidentally poked her eye out

- Twoface & Harvey are both very scared of Tiktok and don’t get it. It’s not that he’s against it, he just doesn’t understand it. There is way too much going on and it's stressful

- Scarecrow is the soul reason Gotham has a year around Halloween store. He held one up and refused to yield until they passed a physical law making it year round

- Every Halloween season, Scarecrow makes a goal to give one of the rogues a scare (not with fear gas, direct stuff. Mostly not deadly, just props and fun stuff). Jonathan saves Riddler last every time and he dreads it. Honestly Riddler ends up scaring himself way more dreading the scare

- Killer croc is constantly having to hop into the sewers to retrieve Twoface’s coin when it rolls into a grate. Several times now, Batman has rolled up to Twoface/Harvey hugging waylon and sobbing thank yous

- Scarecrow is one of those people who is completely numb to gore and injury stuff. Riddler will be like "how'd your heists last night go??" And Jonathan just sends him a picture of his fractured leg he took like right after breaking it

- For the holidays, the rogues actually do get each other gifts (Joker freaking loves Christmas/celebrating in general and throws an all holidays party every December) and it's usually chaotic. While Penguin is the kind of person who bought his gifts in March, Twoface is the type of person who went shopping at 6 am on Christmas Eve because he swore he had more time (he pulls it off but definitely had to fight a mom for the boots he got Harley). Scarecrow and Riddler usually get stuck wrapping everything until four am, most of the time scarecrow passes out in a pile of wrapping paper and ribbon, leaving riddler to handle the rest. Harley makes gifts for her friends, she usually gets incredibly obsessed with a particular medium every year. One year it was personalized charm bracelets, it's also been knitted sweaters, ceramic mugs and bowls, etc. Ivy just gets everyone a visa giftcard because she hates shopping. Except she does get Harley something sweet

- Harley likes to play scratch tickets, not for the money but for the fun, but often doesn't have a coin on her person. One time Twoface caught her trying to use a pair of scissors to scratch a ticket and not being able to stand that sight, actually offered her his coin. She actually won!

- Riddler and Joker have had some nasty sibling style fights before but their worst one happened when Riddler decided to just pretend Joker didn’t exist. Joker is going ape shit about being ignored/trying his hardest to push Eddie’s buttons and he’s just filing his nails like “Do you guys hear anything? I swear the floorboards are creaking..”

- Scarecrow keeps all his old costumes and hangs them up in his hideout as actual scarecrows, It's as creepy as it sounds. Jonathan also enjoys perching and pretending to also be a scarecrow to scare the shit out of people. Riddler may have accidentally given him a black eye the last time he tried to grab him

- Harley has a pair of wireless earbuds she's constantly dropping on capers. They're running away and she has to awkwardly run back to scoop her earbuds up

- Catwoman partnered with Ivy to launch their own eco friendly cruelty free makeup brand. She came to Ivy with the idea after getting a brand offer from an unsavory makeup company. They both launched a “hostile” takeover and rebranded the company into their own business. They have their own personal lines but have also done collab lines with the other villains. Twoface’s line came with two different sets of each product that could mix and match into different looks, Harley’s had a perfume called “cotton candy clown sweat”, Riddler’s had a set of question mark shaped makeup brushes, Clayface had a series of facemasks in his line, and many more great products. No one can even be mad about how successful their company is, the makeup is really good and 99% of the profits go to charity

[marbleheavy]

I did Nico so here are some Will Solace headcanons that have bouncing around my brain for a while now

He goes through a sweater phase where he wears almost exclusively slightly too big, brightly colored, knit sweaters with thick collars and cinched sleeves

He read that fact about how if your tongue sticks to a rock it’s actually a bone, and now he licks every rock he finds because “What if it’s the bone of a dinosaur? What if I’m licking part of a T-Rex right now?” (and Nico just lets him do it even though he knows they aren’t bones)

REALLY into pinkie promises. Like, he takes them so seriously. Pinkie promise > swearing on the Styx

He takes a lot of chaotic self timer pictures and always ropes everyone else into them. They always end up looking like an album cover and he looks like he’s the lead singer. It’s not even that he’s always front and center, it’s just the way that he’s holding himself in every picture. When he gets his own apartment or house or whatever, he makes a collage of them all and he has every one of his friends choose a picture and write what the name of the album would be on it.

Going off of that, he is really into crafts but specifically memory crafts (does that make sense???). He makes keepsake boxes and friendship bracelets and so many things because he feels like it doesn’t matter if those things actually look good because the most important part of them is the memory attached.

He uses either 🤠 or ✨ (sometimes 🤪) in almost every text and uses them to convey any emotion. Rachel is the only one who ever understands exactly what he means.

A million friendship and bead bracelets just all the way up his arms. Probably some silly bands too.

He carries a backpack with him almost all the time and it somehow holds every possible necessity but always looks nearly empty. Obviously a first aid kit, but also like snacks and a hat and sunscreen and a million pens and the list goes on and on. It’s kind of in a mom friend way but more of a thing where someone sees “i need x item” and Will just hands it to them wordlessly without even stopping his sentence.

He adores the face masks that are supposed to make you look like an animal but they’re mostly just scary. They make him giggle like a toddler. (Imagine him and Nico with the fluffy headbands with the ears and then the face masks and Will just absolutely losing his shit)

Hozier!! Will loves Hozier!! Also country music (but he has a whole spiel about new age, american exceptionalist pop country because he h a t e s that). Also, and this is the really important one, 80s music but the really synth-y stuff (see my 80s cover band au for more details)

His ideal outfit is a chunky sweater, a jean jacket, jeans that don’t match the jacket, and rain boots. He loves rain boots. He’s got multiple pairs and at least one of them have frogs on them. If he can’t wear rain boots, flip flops in the summer and vans in the other seasons (He’s definitely got a pair of these yellow Vans)

He dresses like a dad but a dad that was born in the 80s and is also three years old

Will has at least three flavors of chapstick on him at any given time

Will Solace with a gun is wonderful, truly. I would like to add to this by introducing the concept of him wearing the side holsters on either this legs or his arms. He wants to go on quests so he can live his dreams of being a cowboy with thigh gun holsters and a hat and boots and all of it. (Also, Nico with knives strapped to his thighs and Will with guns) (Also, also, there’s a Cards Against Humanity card that says “Shooting a wizard with a gun” and that screams Will Solace)

Will is very much a “Let’s not resort to violence” person but in a way where like, Person A tries to punch B and Will is like “hey, we can talk this out” but then B doubles down and says something really out of line and Will just backs up and is like “You know what? Never mind, you do what you need to do” (And also in a “Let’s not fight… except for Nico because isn’t he so pretty with his sword?)

speaking of pretty, Will l o v e s to be called pretty. It makes his sweet summer child heart go brrr

He is obviously very into nicknames and terms of endearment but calling someone “Hon” or “Sweet pea” is always passive aggressive (that’s less of a Will thing and more of a Southern thing)

I would like to bring up the licking rocks thing again because I really do just believe it with my whole heart

For a while, the idea of Will’s grandparents (obviously Naomi’s side) being French has been bouncing around my head and I really do love the idea of Will speaking French fluently but not at all formally. It’s a lot of slang and has a Texas drawl mixed in with it but it’s definitely French (and it definitely makes Nico melt). He will just deadpan look at someone and go “Quoi?” and he counts the infirmary inventory stock in French but only up until sixty, then he switches to English (soixante-dix can suck it, sorry if you’re french but like, just make a new word. there’s no need for me to have to do math while already counting. don’t even get me started on anything in the 90s. quatre-vingt-dix-sept?? excuse me??)

Will and Persephone being buddies!! They just get along well and very much understand being summer people in love with anti-sun people and just, ugh, family dinners in the Underworld and Will always, always brings a gift for her. Will and Nico come in and anyone can hear Persephone yell “Is that Will? Is Will here?” and Will just grins and calls back “Yes ma’am, and I brought you some brownies from my Mama and some of the flowers from her garden”

Also, Nico knows all the deities and Will brings them cookies because they’re a team like that

He either plays soccer or lacrosse but either way he’s very good at it and it’s honestly intimidating (jock will solace <3)

Not to say Will isn’t his fair share of chaotic, but he’s friends with a lot of very chaotic or at the least eccentric people (Cecil and his pranks, Lou Ellen and her pig balls, Rachel and herself, Nico and himself, etc.) so he’s very good at turning on the Southern charm and just smiling his way out of any situation so he can get himself and everyone else away without any consequences

I think that’s all for now!! If you have any additions, please feel free to add them on, I love seeing other people’s ideas!

[youhearstatic]

Blupjeans + Megamind

Okay, so here's my thought, and you're gonna read this beginning and say I'm cribbing from The Incredibles but really I think it's more of combining and changing the characters of Roxanne and Metro Man. Also, I'm kinda stirring a lot of things around in order to play better with our TAZ people.

So Lup is Megamind. I think her backstory fits his the best. Here's this brilliant and talented wizard being told everything about her is wrong and bad. So, fine, she'll be bad.

But mostly she's just looking to have fun, right? To use those powers itching under her skin and maybe, just maybe, put on a show in the meantime.

Instead of kidnapping 'Roxanne' though, she finds out about another Superhero crisis and rushes there to 'help.' (She actually does want to help but of course no one sees it that way.)

She arrives at the scene to rescue this little girl, only to find this random guy there and no media. Random guy at the scene tells her, "Actually, it was a false alarm and this kid was trying to cause problems. So maybe don't go rushing to emergencies without getting a little more info."

Lup is annoyed but shrugs it off and leaves. As soon as she's gone, 'random guy' is revealed to be the local Super. He recognized Lup and - more importantly - was still in his 'everyday guy' appearance and couldn't let her find out. He deals with the problem and leaves as well.

Something about this guy sticks with Lup. He didn't seem afraid of her. If anything, he was concerned for her. Definitely weird behavior. So she and her minion (an adorable sentient umbrella) start trying to track this guy down. And then, when she finds him - scientist Barry Hallwinter - she's even more confused. She wants to know more about him so why not kill two birds with one stone? Kidnap him, taunt the local Super to come save him, and in the meantime, find out more about this guy.

Only, the Super doesn't show, does he? So the kidnapping turns into a weird dinner date until eventually she lets him go. He kisses her on the cheek and says, "Thank you."

So now she's a little bit infatuated with Regular Guy Barry and really pretty pissed at Local Super Guy. How dare he not come save Barry?!

So she's gonna get him back. She stages more and more elaborate plans but somehow they never quite work out. She lets Super Guy know she's robbing the museum, somehow Regular Guy Barry happens to be there. (Though no one actually saw him come in. Kinda weird.)

Somewhere in there she finds out that she has a twin brother who, unlike her, was adopted. She looks him up and finds a face that looks familiar but is living a life she can't understand. Taako is a successful chef, has a boyfriend, has a pseudo nephew, and for all she can see is happy and well adjusted.

But then she actually meets him and finds out he's just as big a mess as she is. Only, he says everyone is?

But she's a bad guy! Those are the only people who are attention seeking, showboating, ridiculously dramatic messes, right?

"Ha!" says Taako, "You think that, you should see how Kravitz acted when he thought I forgot our anniversary. And trust me, he's no bad guy." He squints at her. "And neither are you, I think. You just got screwed over." And then he hugs her and adds, "And so did I. I fucking KNEW I had a sibling, someone almost as good looking as me."

"Shutup," she says, hugging him back. "I'm way better looking."

So now she has a brother and she and Barry meet for dinner sometimes and the biggest remaining issues are that she's still widely considered a villain and that Local Super Guy still doesn't seem to give her any respect. He never shows up when she tries things. (Granted, she's staging much less grand stunts these days and in the moment she's never that broken up that Regular Guy Barry always seems to be around. It seems the city isn't as big as she'd thought, is all.)

But then a threat faces the city that isn't Lup's silly stunts and Local Super Guy doesn't show. He's been around all this time, dealing with fires and wrecks and other non-Lup related catastrophes. But today? Nothing. Nada. So what's a super powerful girl to do but step up?

And as she dives in to deal with this threat (insert super dramatic thing I'm drawing a blank on here) she finds... Regular Guy Barry grievously injured...

And he's still partially clad in Local Super Guy's outfit.

She's angry at being tricked but she saves him nonetheless. The threat is neutralized, the city saved, and Regular Guy Barry is left to recuperate in the hospital.

Lup doesn't visit him.

She does however spend more time with Taako and eventually, frustrated with her pouting, he points out that just as she's sometimes a mess with issue and he's sometimes a mess with issues ("I may be nearly perfect but it does happen!") and even handsome Kravitz is sometimes a mess with issues... maybe Regular Guy Barry and Local Super Guy are ... also sometimes a mess with issues.

Everyone realizes they are every bit as good or evil as they allow themselves to be and that being loved and supported makes choosing 'good' a lot easier.

Lup and Barry talk, kiss, and become a crime fighting duo.

Sometimes, though, they pretend to 'save' one another and have a date with Regular and Super.

Kravitz is annoyed to become brother in law to a pair of annoying Supers but also Taako is so happy he kinda can't help loving them too.

He does quit his job in insurance, though.

Send me something to AU and I'll tell you how I'd make it Blupjeans!

[mitamicah]

Spoilers from both Trollhunters the book and Trollhunters the series!

While reading the book I was really impressed with how many differences there were between the character so I have worked on giving my take on six characters from both media, book vs series, and how they differ from each other :3 

I should mention that while there was illustrations in the book I tried for the challenge not to copy those but follow along the describtions in the book - when possible - to give my own interpretation of the characters ^v^ 

Steve

First up we have Steve. Starting out as the stereotypical bully in both version their paths seperates quickly resulting in two different ending for the musuclar blond Jorgensen-Warner is the book version of Steve. Here's how he is described from our first encounter with him: "He was handsome but in the oddest way- He eyes were too small and his nose piggish: he had a ridiculous amount of hair and a couple of teeth that looked like fangs. Yet somehow in combination these features were sort of mesmerising. His unnatural muscular bulk and odd way of speaking -crisply, politely, as if he were a foreign student who had learned English in class - completed the strange package." page 21-22 For his outfit I went with the description of him on page 224 "[my clothes] ... didn't cast me in the best light when compared to Steve Jorgensen-Warner, who looked rather rakish in blue jeans and a shirt - definitely not a blouse - opened to the third button. He dribbled the ball casually with his left hand." The bold passages is added by me   This Steve is later revealed to be a changeling aka a troll   Before we go on: can any of you explain to me what a "ridiculous amount of hair" even means :'D? I had a lot of trouble with this prompt because isn't this so darn subjective :'D? and the official art look way less ridiculous than I'd figure it'll be :'D x'D Palchuk is the series version of Steve. His facial appearance being way less specific (I'd say he has normal sized eyes, a big roman nose and some more or less normal teeth) and his way of speaking is definitely not polite. Like book Steve, this Steve starts out with pushing smaller guys into lockerrooms yet after that he becomes way less of a terrifying bully and much more of a silly goose who brings a lot of the comic relief in my opinion Douxie says it best in Wizards when he calls Steve the "village idiot" x'D I do not recall seeing Steve being that sporty in the show, he is much more interested in becoming homecoming king  no basketballs around x'D While book Steve is revealed to be the enemy (a troll) series Steve joins the "good guys" creating the creepslayerz with the character Eli Pepperjack

Blinky

Blinky is just called Blinky in the book  Here's a bit of description of him "The third [troll] had scarlet eyes, eight of them on long stems. (...) The thing from my house glided toward me with a surprising grace for something with an indetermined number of legs, all of which were hidden behind a patched kilt scaled with layers of medals, prizes and trophies and award ribbons. An incalculable tangle of tentacles twined around one another as if dying to squeese something to death. As it passed the oven, the firelight revealed olive-green skin, reptilian texture, and lacquer of slime lubricating its undulating appendages Its moth a horizontal gash.. " The bold passages is added by me   So yeah this Blinky is quite something :'D I stopped caring to draw tentacles after a while but overall this was silly but fun to draw  since his teeth later is described as big as traffic cones I believe he must be very tall :'D Also he's close to blind   Has a bit of a dirty mouth but in a very "read" way if it makes sense :'D cannot seem to stop calling Jim dimwitted and tiny and Tobias big :'D Blinky's full name in the series is Blinkus Galadrigal  he has six eyes instead of eight and they are all working just fine, thank you very much x'D His tons of tentacles and legs has been replaced by four arms and two legs and while he is still olive-green he is now made of tone like texture just like the other trolls  the kilt turned into shorts and he is quite a bit smaller now not even as tall as Jim  He still has this very academic way of speaking yet he is way nicer to Jim calling him "Master Jim" instead of "the short one" x'D

ARRRGH!!!

Book ARRGHHH!!!s full name is Johannah Mmmm ARRRGH!!! and she is a pretty big deal warrior among the trolls in the book - she's so badass in fact Blinky has decided to call her by her last name to honor her for her deeds for trollkind   Here's a qoute from the book describing her appearance   "The goliath emerged from the tunnel as comfortably as a dog from a doghouse, coarse black fur pouring into the chamber before I could make out any actual arms or legs (...) Even beneath the fur I could see loops of muscles flexing. (...) ARRRGH!!! was built like a gorilla but three times larger: Two arms, two legs, and, thankfully, just two eyes. Horns, curled like those of a ram (...) The thing's orange eyes cast about with animal perceptiveness, and it used its snout and sniffed. Its jaws fell open to reveal a purple, slavering mouth armed with haphazard daggers of teeth." Page 75-76 The bold passages is added by me   (Also worth mentioning: the qoute is from before the protagonist knows of ARRRGH!!!'s gender which is why he calls her an 'it') At other times in the story we learn that ARRRGH! has quite scarred arms and really wishes for better tooth hygeine; so much so that Tobias actually end up making her a brace out of chicken wire :'D Idk I find it quite adorable :'D Now unto the serie's ARRRGH!!! - first up he is male, his name is Arghaumont and he is famous for another reason than Johannah: he was a general of Gunmar but retreated from the war making him a traitor to his people yet a hero for the good trolls in the series. Series ARRRGH!!! is likewise built like a gorilla but made of stone and having a mane long and green like it is moss  his horns is way smaller and less curvy and his teeth hygeine is never brought up  also his face is way less dog like x'D 

Tobias 

Book Tobias' full name is Tobias M. Dershowitz yet he is going by 'Tubby' or 'Tub'. Here is a describtion of him from the book: "You could call Tobias Dershowitz chubby, if you were being cute, or husky if you were being diplomatic. The fact is he was fat, and that was only the beginning of his problems. His hair was a thick, orange, out-of-control hedge. His face spilled over with the kind of freckles that make kids like Tub look like overgrown toddlers. Worst of all were his braces, marvels of modern torment: whips of stainless steel crisscrossing each tooth seperately and lashed to a dozen silver fasteners. The braces clicked so much when he spoke, you expected sparks. At least he was tall..." page 27 The bold passages is added by me   The outfit I went with is described on page 259 like this: "He stood in the driveway decked out in his best approximation of a ninja: black tennis shoes, black sweatpants, a black hoodie, a belt made from a red curtain sash, and an oversize fanny pack holding his gear (...) It was unfortunate that the fanny pack was lime green..." To describe Tub is a bit difficult because sadly he is not much in the story as I'd liked - mostly he is being quite serious and let us know he is not happy by being sidelined not speaking troll nor being invited on hunts which I completely understand tbh :'D What I do find interesting is how Tub and series Jim has seem to have switched roles a little bit: In the series Jim is the one giving a speech about how he is insecure about his place in life and how he wants more - in the book this is Tub in more than one occassion: "We have to accept who we are. And before you ask, I'll tell you. We're nobody. We have no life. We have nothing to look forward to. We're not special. I just want it to go away. All of it. The stupid being scared. Doesn't it seem we've been scared forever?" page 37 "Jim, you're wrong. We were meant to do this. This is exactly what we've been waiting for. They've chosen us. Of all people! Us! (...) Jesus, Jim, take a look at my life! You know what I'm worth! To anyone? Zero! Nothing! I'm a fat loser and will always be a fat loser. Until this. This is like a present. Full of, man, I don't know. Hope?..." page 196 (talking about trollhunting here btw) Oh yeah and book Tobias gets this badass scene where he uses his dentist's tool to kill trolls I loved that   Now series Tobias is way different :'D first up his name is Tobias Domzalski and his nicknames are Toby and Tobes. He is way shorter and has more neat hair (what is it with the series neating up the hair :'D? x'D). He also seems way cheerier and pretty happy with his place in life more or less  Unlike Tub, Toby is in it from the start being an important player in the story   He doesn't have the same drive to be something more than he is as Tub has instead Toby is going with the flow starting out quite afraid of everything troll and ended up being as brave as the rest of the team *tbh Jim's scared out of his wits too so they mimic each other x'D* Where Tub has dentist tools Toby gets a badass hammer so I'll say its an upgrade  

Claire

First off we have Claire Fontaine, a foreign student from no other than Scotland with a taste for military clothing and liqourice   Here's how she's described in the book   "She tucked her long dark hair behind her ear and left ir with an adorable smudge of white dust. I thought she was beautiful, though she wasn't in the classic sense. The popular girl would say she wasn't skinny enough. They would also point to the fact that she didn't wear makeup or do anything to tame that hair. And her clothes -well, what could be said about her clothes? Her boots were not sexy and knee-high: in fact, they were ankle-high and rubber-soled and looked picked from military surplus racks, an array of pea-green coats and multi-coloured slacks, all of which looked as if they'd been through actual World War II combat. And that beret she wore before and after school wasn't of the look-at-me-I'm Frensh variety: it was more in the style of I'm-going-to-invade-your-country-and-be-your-new-dictator. Only one thing didn't make sense: that bright pink, exceedingly girlish backpack that inexplicably hadn't one anti-establidh patch sewn onto it (...) Oh, I forgot to mention that Claire Fontain came from the UK. That's right- the girl had an accent. I think you are starting to get the picture." page 30-1 The bold passages is added by me It is hinted at that Claire is quite tall and a great deal taller than Jim (more when I get to him) and she is actually a whole year older than Jim since they both have birthday May 2 but Claire is 16 while Jim is 15  Since Trollhunters in this story is not a "protected title" (aka the chosen hero type) Claire ends up being one herself even though nobody even herself didn't know: AND. SHE. KICKS. BUTT! She's even better than the guy that had 40+ years experience so yeah safe to say she's badass :'D Even before that she has a hilarious scene calling out Steve in the wildest shitstorm of Scottish slang I lived for it x'D She's described quite a few times with lots of bracelets, sometimes made of wire so I gave her a bit of both   She's not really a part of the popular group but has her own thing going on   Now onto Claire Nuñez the series' version of this badass   Here Claire is hispanic and pretty much one of the most popular girls seen around  her style is way more ... I've called it punk rock in purple but Idk exactly what to call it x'D she's shorter than Jim and slimmer looking than her book counterpart   She enters the story not as a trollhunter but as a victim of having her brother stolen by changelings and as time progresses she becomes a fastlearning and quite competent sorcerer dealing in shadow magic   Unlike Fontaine, Nuñes is seen wearing make up, shorter hair with dye in it and hair clips instead of bracelets  

Jim 

First up we have book Jim. His full name is James Sturges Jr. and lives with his single parent, his dad, after his mother went away the day before his birthday in start May and never returned. Sturges Sr. had been traumatized loosing his brother to trolls although none of the characters didn't know this yet - only Senior had seen the creatures making him paranoid and in turn making Jim very embarrased about his father. At the same time Jim seems to honestly worry for his father and his behavior too makes Jim very cautious and fearful a character. Book Jim is pretty much a typical teenager for the most part  He is seen to be a tad clumsy and not exactly brave really. And the author's choice of basically not describing him anywhere made my job way harder trying to be book accurate :'D So I've mostly inspired him of the official illustrations in the book   Here's what I could find about our little trollhunter   First off: he's a short fellow  that is first mentioned on page 14; "Sunshine is important for growing boys." (...) "I am not growing" I took after my dad when it came to size and was still waiting for that growth spurt everyone kept raving about. "In fact I think I'm shrinking." This is brought up most of everything Jim through the movie from him not being able to reach a point of a chalkboard (page 32) to people's dissapointing sighs taking meassurements when he is chosen as Romeo (107) and him wearing super high heels for the same reason (224) but also Blinky directly calling him a "little fellow" (page 127) On page 27 we learn that he is getting a bruise on his chin after being slammed into his locker by Steve  Lockers he has been thrown into enough to have learned to open them on the inside :'D He is a skinny fella which Tobias so politely call "lack of muscletone" due to "glandular" at page 120 He is not very good at anything describing his room full of stuff from hobbies he tried and failed at (page 63) The longest describtion about his appearance is probably page 105: "I lowered my eyes and regarded the chewed, dirty fingernails holding my script, thes scuffed shoes on my feet, and realized that these were the symbols of my pityful life: worn-out, insignificant, ready to be thrown beneath Dad's industrial mower" It pretty much says it all when this is the longest quite I could find :'D For the outfit I mostly went by the small describtion on page 89-90: "I tucked the medallion beneath my shirt. After a full day of wearing it, maybe the rest of the suffocating fear would go away too. My plan was to dart into the kitchen, grab my sweatshirt and be out of the house. " I added jeans since he is said to wear jeans on page 283 - the medallion sneak out beneath the sweatshirt/shirt on page 97 which is why I added it on top here as well   Now since there's a bit more to both versions of Jim due to their role as the protagonist I've added in a little extra features here being the medallion in the book vs the amulet in the series and the weaponry given to the characters   For Sturges we have the medallion who's described like this: "It was a bronze medallion conntected to a rusty chain. It was engraved with a foreboding crest: a hideous, snarling face; indecipherable markings of a sevage language, and a magnificent long-sword across the bottom." page 9 The medallion is treated like it is a common artefact if a bit rare in the book - its purpose is to translate trollspeak for the wearer. Jim is giving two swords in the book; a rusty longsword he calls Clairesword (do I need to explain this one?) and a cutlass he calls Cat #6 after the one cat at Tobias' house that liked Jim  x'D For Sturges' personality my feeling about him is that he is a bit more ... passive than his series counterpart. He is not really standing up for himself that much and would rather blend into the background. This qoute from Claire sums him up pretty nicely I believe   "You're a good person, Mr. Sturges. A bit gloomy, but good" page 246 I do like that Jim in this version is a Taurus  (I am a taurus too x'D) born on May 2nd so that's a plus   It is probably also worth mentioning that in this world trollhunters aren't a chosen hero type like in the series: trollhunters or paladin was once a title held by many warriors yet now there's very few left. Sturges was a proud paladin family making Jim a chosen candidate for the honor of becoming a trollhunter but he is not the only one - or even the best - in the book. In fact out of the three trollhunters we learn about I'll say Jim is the weakest (and he is not even the least trained; ouch :'D) Jim doesn't get a nice armour like his series counterpart either but is seen in the illustrations wearing a blue hoodie (like the one in the little doodle)   The full name of Jim in the series is James Lake Jr. He is the child of a single parent and lives with his mother whom Jim "mothers a lot" (Tobias' words in the first episode) This Jim is pretty "tall for his age" (Jim's own words uttered quite a few times across all three series) yet with quite skinny legs (he is called out for this by multiple characters). He is much more competent in life than his book counterpart being an exceptional cook, good at Spanish, seemingly alright in PE and at school he seems to stand pretty good if only holding himself back. Unlike book Jim, series Jim seems much more active and longing to be something more than he is - he is seen to be quite brave and protective of his friends, very kind and selfless. Also even from the start he seems much more nimble than his book counterpart being able to climb the robe (a feat book Jim didn't do before later) and with his training as trollhunter he becomes even more badass   Trollhunter status in the series is way more important since the title is given to only one chosen warrior of Merlin chosen by the amulet of daylight (the medallion in the book). This also makes the amulet way more special and important in the series which probably explains its shine up from rusty bronze thing to silver and blue. While Lake Jr doesn't have named sword he does have a magical armour and sword made of daylight   We do not know the exact birthday of Lake Jr but the creators have replied to a fanquestion saying it would be around fall especially October so by that estimate Jim is probably a scorpio  pretty far from the before mentioned taurus in the book   While Jim Lake Jr isn't seen with long lasting bruises in the original series he does get two more permanent scars in Wizards  

[one-leaf-grimoire]

Enough of Me to go Around

More Julius x Reader x Marx. You thirsty anons have me working overtime now lol

Chapter 1 link

Chapter 2/3

Warning: SPICY, angst, jealousy, feelings, everyone is thirsty for Julius oops

Marx didn't really know what to do when he woke up the next morning, so he decided to bottle up his emotions and try and forget about the whole thing (probably not a good idea). Who cares if the possible love of his life was taken by someone else? There are many fish in the sea, after all! Julius could have her, he didn't care, and he wasn't going to let it effect his work. 

"Marx!" 

Uh oh. Marx turned around and spotted her walking towards him through the hallway, waving happily. God, her smile... the way her face lit up when she saw him... "Good morning! What are you up too?"

She was acting like normal, so apparently they didn't notice Marx's intrusion. However, that still didn't help his nerves. "O-o-oh, hi! Um, er-" He couldn't even look her in the eye, bitter emotions swelling up inside once again. "Just... business as usual, hehe." She blinked owlishly, a little confused by his behavior. "S-see you later!" Without another word, Marx spun around and walked away as quickly as possible before he could embarrass himself further. 

damn it damn it damn it damn it DAMN IT!! He cursed in his mind, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to rid himself of the intrusive thoughts in his brain. I can't even stand being around her... Images of that horrible scene flashed through his mind, and he quickly opened his eyes again. Get it together! I need to go see Julius anyway... so I need to act professional!

"Marx! How is my favorite advisor doing this morning?" Julius immediately greeted. He was very chipper this morning, for some reason. 

Favorite advisor? Don't make me laugh! Marx cleared his throat. "I'm fine. I hope you managed to get all your work done last night?"

Julius raised an eyebrow at Marx's flat delivery and suddenly remembered the final report he found last night. Hmm... I should probably say something about that... but would that just make things awkward? I don't want him to scold me or anything. "Ah, yes, I got everything done."

"Good. Because here's your list for today." Marx handed him the file before turning away. "Call if you need anything."

Julius gulped, looking up at Marx's retreating form. "...likewise." He's being a lot more strict than usual... how do I even begin to explain this to him, though? I'm sure he's disgusted. The door closed, and Julius let out a heavy sigh, sitting back on the edge of his desk. Of everyone I know... he's the last person I want to disgust. 

The next few days were agonizing. Marx was paranoid and jumpy around everyone, but especially the two of them. One day, he turned the corner to see them walking towards him, chatting happily. Happily. They both had the same cheery demeanor, they both looked so perfect together. Julius called out to him when he saw him, but Marx was already walking the other way. 

There's other fish in the sea... 

He used to love it when she ran up to him excitedly in the hallways. Now, he dreaded it. 

There's other fish in the sea...

He couldn't look Julius in the eye. He couldn't even find the will to scold him.

There's other fish in the sea...

He avoided the office in the evenings. He knew what they were doing in there, together. Something that he could never be a part of. 

There's other fish...

What was he supposed to do? The man he looked up to more than anything, and the girl he thought could be the answer...

...in the sea...

Marx's only comfort were the hot baths he took before bed. It soothed his aching muscles after a day of frantically running around. However, today, things were weighing him down more than usual. Why?

... this morning... she was wearing the same outfit she wore yesterday. She stayed the night. 

So, now she didn't just get fucked over the desk, but also in Julius's bed?! Marx sunk down into the water until only his face was above the surface, and he scowled at the ceiling. Maybe he should interrupt them one day, act surprised, and scold them both as much as he wanted. "Seriously?! Julius, you're letting yourself get distracted this easily?! How irresponsible! The Wizard King and his Advisor, too... do you have any idea how that will sound?!!"

... unfortunately, Marx knew exactly how that sounded. 

The Wizard King... and his Advisor...

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Marx! I'm looking forward to working with you!"

Marx had never seen such a big smile on anyone's face, at least not directed towards him. This man was the Wizard King? He had heard of this Julius Novachrono before, but never actually met him. He was different than he expected. 

"Likewise. I'm looking forward to serving you, sir."

Julius let out a warm laugh, and suddenly had his hands on Marx's shoulders. "Don't be silly! I'm the only one here who's serving." Marx watched in awe as Julius's gaze drifted to the window. He had such a handsome, chiseled profile, and the sun glinted perfectly on his skin. 

"Yes... I'm a servant. A servant of the whole Kingdom. That's what the Wizard King is supposed to be, right?"

Of course he was right. He was Julius, the most noble, perfect man in the Kingdom. No one else came even close. 

All I'll ever be to him is an advisor. If that's what he wants...

But then, what about what I want?

Marx wanted her, he knew that much. Her kind smile reminded him of Julius, but it was more than that. She faced every day with determination and optimism, something Marx couldn't bring himself to do most of the time. She was everything he wanted to be...

He remembered how helpless she looked, trapped within Julius's arms. How her body was pushed against the wood of the desk again and again, so rough yet so passionate. Marx wanted to be the one doing those things to her, the one using her body for himself. He wanted to touch every inch of her skin, take it for himself, mark it with his lips, then bury himself deep inside her... 

Yet, at the same time, he wanted to be the one against the desk, completely at Julius's mercy. He wanted to feel those big, gentle hands all over his body, while Julius whispered praises in his ear.

"Marx... my favorite advisor... I need you."

The thought made Marx want to reach between his legs and relieve the pent up frustration there, but he caught himself. "NO!" He slapped himself on his face. "No... what am I thinking! He's my boss... and I gave up on that so, so long ago..."

But... why now...

He sat in the tub until the water went cold. Marx didn't notice. He just felt numb. 

As time went on, Julius became more and more worried about Marx. At this point, he knew Marx was upset for some reason, and he had a couple guesses why. In any case, he started to feel mortified that he may have lost the respect of one of the person closest to him. 

I'm the Wizard King... I need to be more responsible than this. But... no matter how I feel about Marx, I have feelings for this girl. And she reciprocates them. I don't want to throw this away...

It was stressing the man out a lot. Luckily, he had a few ways to remedy that. All of his problems flew out of his mind the moment he penetrated her that night, a pleasured cry ripped from her lips. She always looked so delicious like this, bent over his desk with her skirt around her ankles. Julius encircled her waist with his hands, not giving her time to adjust before thrusting into her hard. He didn't stop until she was screaming his name, her body practically melting under overwhelming pleasure. "Hold on a bit longer... I'm almost there, kitten." It wasn't long until his own climax hit, and he allowed himself to slow to a stop.

With a loud groan, he leaned forward and collapsed over her, his arms wrapping around her limp body. "God... look what you've done to me," Julius teased, nuzzling the back of her neck. She was too busy catching her breath to answer. After a minute, Julius stood up to straighten himself out, and she did the same. "Come on... I want to cuddle." She didn't object as he dragged her to the couch and curled up around her. So warm... Maybe I can convince her to stay the night. 

A moment later Julius realized something was wrong: she was crying. 

"Ah! I'm sorry! What did I do?!!" He panicked and sat up, grabbing her shoulders gently and making her look at him. "Was that too rough?! Did I make you uncomfortable?! Please, tell me! I'll make it right!"

She shook her head, wiping her eyes. "No, no, it's not you, it's..." Her voice trailed off and she averted her eyes. "Does... does Marx know about us?"

"... I think he might."

She cringed. "God..." Then she covered her face again. "Fuck!"

Julius blinked, confused. "Hmm?" 

"Marx... he's such a good guy, you know?" She sobbed. "H-he was so friendly and helpful... we were really getting along, but now..." She shook her head. "He won't even give me the time of day. I didn't understand what was wrong, but if he knows..."

"...you think he's jealous?"

"...yeah." She sniffed and lowered her hands, still not looking Julius in the eye. "But... it's not just that. I-I think..." Her face scrunched up again. "I think I felt the same way! And then- then we got together so quickly, but I still feel so bad, and-" Tears stained her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I don't know what to do!"

Julius didn't really know what to say, and he only barely understood what she was trying to say. "Y-you'd rather be with him?" He hoped it wasn't true, he really did... he wanted her for himself. But if she really felt that way...

"No!" She suddenly flung herself into Julius's arms. "That doesn't mean that I don't want to be with you... you're so great, and kind, and- and perfect..." She smiled a little to herself. "I just... I care about you both. And I wish I didn't have to choose..."

...oh...

She froze as Julius's chest suddenly vibrated with a laugh. She looked up and he kissed the tears away. "Dear... you dear thing. That's quite alright." His eyes twinkled. "And I have a confession to make as well..."

Marx found himself in Julius's office the next evening. They were alone. 

"...Marx... are you aware of the relationship between-"

"Yes." Julius raised an eyebrow at the quick response. Marx was staring intensely at the floor. "I-I can-t say I approve..."

"I know." Julius chose his next few words carefully. "Are you... jealous?"

Marx's expression became even more gaunt. "No! I mean, yes, but... but also no..."

Julius was interested, now. "Hmm? What do you mean, yes but no?"

"I mean..."

Don't do it! Don't tell the truth! 

But... I can't keep it in anymore... it's killing me...

"I'm jealous of both of you! I want both of you, but now I can't have either! Isn't that selfish?! Isn't that horrible?!" Marx didn't have any control over his words at this point. "I can't stand it any longer! I-"

He froze as soon as he caught sight of Julius's face. He looked incredulous, shocked...

Fuck...

All color drained from Marx's face. 

"I-I meant..."

There was no salvaging this now. 

God... why do I have to be so pathetic?

"I'm sorry." Marx squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly reached up to undo the clasp of his cloak. "This isn't  behavior becoming of an advisor. I-I'll dismiss myself."

Marx let the garment drop to the floor before turning to sprint away. He didn't have any place to go, but he couldn't stay here, he couldn't face Julius. He had to run, as fast as he could, as far away as he could go...

Julius grabbed his arm. Marx turned around to object, but the words caught in his throat as soon as he saw the smile on Julius's face.

"Marx... do you have any idea how happy I am to hear that?"

...

Huh?

Marx didn't have time to process those words. The next moment, Julius's lips were on his.

[nikkzwrites]

Yesterday Once More | Dark Fix-It Fic Series | Chapter 2

A/N: This fic is one that I started with my OC because honestly, I personally didn’t like how season 3 ended. So I am rewriting all of Dark with my OC Annalise Dahlheim. I hope you all like it. Some things will be expanded more on just for more depth to Dark that season 3 kinda skipped over so…. yeah.

CW: Canon Typical Triggers: Smoking, Sex, Language, Drugs, Drinking, Death, Violence.

Word Count:  5.1k

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Nine hours had passed since Mikkel’s disappearance. A man with an older looking suitcase overlooked the police canvassing. His dirty scruffy face bent down to scoop up a dead bird.

Jonas shot up from his bed. He looked next to him to see Annalise missing. He threw off his duvet. He guessed it must have all been a dream. Tinnitus ringing in his ear caused him to walk towards his mirror. He turned to check his ear to see black liquid flowing out of it. Jonas studied it on his fingers for a moment trying to figure out what exactly it was. It almost seemed like ink or like a waste product of some sort.

“Jonas,” a haunting familiar voice called to him. The boy used his mirror and turned it to be met with the face of his father covered in the black liquid dripping down from him.

Jonas shot up. His breathing was hard and unsteady. He swallowed his breath as he checked his ear to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming again. As he looked down at his hand, he realized there was the sound of soft breathing next to him. He turned quickly to see that Annalise was there. His terror slowly subsided as her gentle energy embraced him once more. His half-lidded blue eyes studied her. They must have fallen asleep not too long ago. As he made a move to carefully leave his bed, Jonas heard a faint whimper.

Magnus stood in the woods. He didn’t know exactly what he was doing there, but he felt like he needed to be there, for Mikkel. He just wanted his little brother back. His heart wounded from despair. He looked up hearing a noise to spy Franziska walking towards him.

Franziska just looked at the boy who stood in her way for a moment. This moment was unwieldy for her. What was she supposed to say to him? What did he want her to say? Those questions rushed around in her head. Instead of trying to dwell on it, she just tried to move past him.

Magnus quickly grabbed onto the smaller girl and pushed her against a tree. “What were you doing there,” he asked angrily. 

The girl complained, “Ouch! Are you crazy?” She studied Magnus’s face. It was full of turmoil. A face that was filled to the brim with emotions he didn’t know how to let out and where to properly put them.

“What were you doing,” He rephrased his question.

Franziska pursed her lips for a second getting more annoyed at his questioning. She stared at him and answered honestly, “I heard you guys talking at school. About the caves… And Erik’s drugs… So I thought… I don’t know what I thought.” She looked down at Magnus’s lips then back into his eyes. 

Magnus started to shake before he let her go. He just stared at her trying to understand his life.

“I’m sorry about Mikkel,” she said finally understanding the words she wanted to say to him. But in the end, Magnus just turned angrily to storm away leaving Franziska there to watch him go.

Annalise wept as she slept. She kept reliving losing Mikkel in between her fond memories with him. First, she woke up in her bed with Mikkel huddled next to her from the night before. The poor young boy had gotten scared from a horror movie the three teenagers had been watching. Mikkel, not wanting to get anyone in trouble, had tried his other siblings who both turned him away before Annalise had welcomed him into bed. She could still remember his squeaked, ‘Thank you, Lise.’ After watching him sleep gently, the scenery slowly changed around them to the two of them in the woods. Mikkel curled up in the dirt and leaves shivering and crying. He was in the red puffy coat and the silly skeleton outfit that he loved so much. Annalise tried to call for him, but her ears just filled with Mikkel’s cries. He never responded to her but just kept crying out for help. Annalise started to see dark liquid start to drain and puddle around him. His cries became more desperate. 

Jonas couldn’t take seeing her crying softly. He gently leaned over her. He rubbed her shoulder. “Annalise,” he whispered her name. He watched as her face contorted into more anguish. Jonas filled with panic. He gently shook her awake and in a harsh hushed voice demanded to her, “Annalise.”

Annalise slowly awakened by a force and voice. Her face was wet. She wiped her eyes and sat up. She looked to her side to realize just what had happened and how close she was to the sweet boy who took her in. She sniffled and scoot back, “sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay,” Jonas soothed, “I had fallen asleep too.” His lips forced a small gentle smile, “I guess we both are having a rough time.”

Annalise forced a small giggle to escape her. Jonas noticed once more that she wasn’t just muted color like everyone else. Her sunset tones filled him with comfortability even as she teased, “Did you just imply that we wouldn’t?”

Jonas actually smiled and nodded, “Yeah. I guess I did.” He laughed at himself. There was nothing else they could have done, he told himself. They sat awkwardly for a moment. He looked her over again. He didn’t know how to feel when he remembered that Hannah had given the girl some of her own pajamas to borrow while there. They were rather baggy and big on the small-statured teen.

Martha stared at the pictures on the counter as she laid on the couch with her head in Katharina’s lap. “When Dad’s brother disappeared, how old was he,” she asked.

The picture of Mads and Ulrich they had given to Jana in 1986 for Mother’s day sat in between the pictures of the Nielsen’s and another with Annalise with the family for Halloween when they all matched costumes from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ for Mikkel. Mikkel had a cool trick to actually simulate the Wizard’s, Martha dressed as Dorothy, Magnus and Ulrich being the scarecrow and tin man in their respective order, Annalise dressed as the Lion seeming to be having a lot of fun, and Katharina as the Good Witch. They all seemed to be having a lot of fun. Mikkel was right in the center of all of them with a giant grin that he had gotten his family to do a giant group. Little did they know that it was going to be his last Halloween. 

Katharina stared at the pictures and said, “Your father was 15. Mads was three years younger.”

Martha looked up at her mother, “And he was never found?”

Katharina started to play with her daughter’s hair hoping to just let the question and the distressing conversation drop.

“We talked about Erik,” Martha continued, “In the forest. Mikkel thought that was the worst. When someone isn’t found.”

Katharina comforted her daughter and herself, “Mikkel’s coming back. Definitely.”

Annalise shifted uneasily under Jonas’s gaze. She asked, “Got a problem Kahnwald?”

Jonas nodded, “Yeah. Those clothes are too big for you.”

This caused the girl to blink. He was just so honest about it. She looked down at Hannah’s sleepwear and asked, “Is it really that bad?” She looked up at him, “I can go change.”

Jonas shook his head, “I think my mom said something about washing the clothes from last night.” He swallowed hard. His mind started to piece together how he was sounding. He blushed and shot up to walk to his wardrobe. He absentmindedly rambled as he looked for some clothes, “I think I have some old clothes that may fit you though. They are from before I went to the hospital so they are a bit too small for me now.”

“You were in the hospital,” Annalise questioned. She started to look around his room. It was messy as normal teenaged boys’ rooms were but something stood out to her. A pill bottle. She studied it for a second before turning her attention back to the blond.

Jonas replied back without thinking, “Yeah. My first day officially back was yesterday.” He finally found what he was looking for and stopped. He turned horrified now fully aware of his mistake.

Annalise blinked, “I thought Bartosz said you were in France.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to put the pieces together herself. It wasn’t long before she gasped and exclaimed, “That’s why you didn’t text Martha or talk to anyone! You couldn’t!” She shook her head then asked, “But, why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Jonas slid himself down to sit onto the floor, “Why would I want to?”

Annalise sat next to him. She sighed and rest her head against his shoulder, “I get it. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”

Jonas nodded. He let his head fall back to look up at the ceiling, “Thanks.”

They sat there in silence for a little bit. Their breathing synchronized. Time stood still as the two teenagers just tried to process their life leading up to this moment. Being together alone with practically a stranger that was somehow closer than any other person in the world right at that moment.

Jonas spoke up first again, “Do you ever feel like you were just meant to meet someone?”

Annalise looked up at the ceiling with him and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Jonas motioned with his hand at nothing, “Just someone that you meet and it changes your entire life. Better, worse… whatever. Just someone who changes you.”

Annalise looked up at the boy and took a deep breath, “My dad used to say, ‘We are lead to those who help us most grow if we allow them and we help them out too.’ So I guess I know the feeling.”

Jonas sighed, “He sounds like a wise man. You must miss him.”

“I’ve missed him every day for a while,” Annalise explained, “My dad died not too long ago too. Probably what drew me to come here.”

Jonas swallowed a breath. Tears started to fall from his eyes, “You think…”He couldn’t complete his sentence. It didn’t seem as though he needed to though.

Annalise nodded, “Yeah.” She turned and reached around to give the boy a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder to hide the fact she was starting to cry as well. She started to laugh though thinking about something Jonas had said the night before. She pulled away from him with a warm smile through tears, “What? Dead dad, bad topic?”

Jonas burst into laughter. His entire body shook with his entertainment. His eye squeezed close from the force of his smile. 

Hannah must have heard the laughing from downstairs because she called “How come I haven’t heard either one of you go clean yourselves up yet? I didn’t offer Annalise to stay here for you two to be joking around.” She puffed out her chest. She honestly had taken Annalise in knowing that Ulrich would come to check up on the teenager eventually. It just gave her even more of an excuse to be alone with the man.

Jonas rolled his eyes, “I’ll go first that way I can get the water warmed up for you.” He laughed then walked towards the direction of the bathroom.

Annalise called after him, “That sounds more like you are going to take all the warm water for yourself.”

Hannah looked up the stairs seeing the two teens playfully teasing each other. She rolled her eyes and called to Annalise, “Come here. We need to make a list of what we are going to need to pack from the Nielsen’s to get you moved here for a few days.”

Annalise nodded, “Yes ma’am.” She hurried down the stairs to do the activity Hannah had asked of her.

The cool water was just what Jonas needed to calm down. He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to focus on making sure he was clean. As the shower warmed though, he felt his heart start to race once more. Images of Martha and Annalise spun in his head. He could barely concentrate for long. He quickly turned the water off and panted as he looked at himself in the mirror. He quickly dried off, brushed his teeth, changed, and walked out. He called down towards where he heard Annalise’s voice and called, “Your turn! You need help?”

Hannah blushed. She called upstairs to her son, “What would Annalise need help with? It’s a shower! Not a group project.”

Annalise stifled a laugh. Her snort had caused both Kahnwald’s to look at her. Annalise lifted her hand, rushed past Jonas on the stairs, “Sorry. I’m going to go.”

Jonas watched as Annalise closed the door and argued, “To make sure she knew how to use our shower. Some people have different ones.”

“Oh, you think the Nielsen’s have a different shower,” Hannah replied flushed.

Jonas shook his head, “What are you talking about?” He rolled his eyes. The boy used this time to go into his father’s shop. Talking with Annalise finally made him feel ready to be there again. The boy wanted to have some time to himself just surrounded by Michael. He walked in and sat right in the middle of the room.

Warm water refreshed Annalise more than she could describe. She lathered her hair and body in shampoo and soap to get the grime off of her. The feeling of being clean intoxicated her. She hummed happily as the water washed away the forest from her. As the water started to cool, her brain started to fill with images of Jonas. Her heart raced. Her hand rushed to end the shower to stop those thoughts from happening. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm herself down. She wrapped her hair up and brushed her teeth. Then she got dressed into Jonas’s old clothes and walked out.

Across town, the bearded stranger walked out of the shower. His things scattered across Regina’s eighth hotel room. He dried off his hair as he kept the memory of his loved one close in his mind. She would have been getting out the shower about now right? He looked over to the time. He had timed it right. He hummed to himself pleased with the little luxury he was able to give himself. He threw the towel for his hair onto the bed then went to look at his charts and diagrams on the wall.

Jonas laid on the floor. His legs crossed. From above he was reminiscent of an angel. As the rain started, he decided to start to explore more of his late father’s workspace. He walked around. As he studied the closet, the boy noticed one of the boards slightly off kelter. He reached up to uncover its secrets to reveal a map of the Winden Caves.

As it started to rain, Katharina found herself outside. She was just standing there her mind wandered through possibilities hoping for her baby to come home to her. The rain had forced Magnus to also return home. Katharina turned hearing the noise of someone walking behind her to see the tormented face of her eldest son. She turned back to look out into the rain.

Magnus walked into his room to lament. He finally allowed himself to let out the agony he felt. He walked to his wall and just kept punching until he could feel something on the outside just as hurt as he felt on the inside.

Martha looked out of her window. She longed for Mikkel just to be there and walk past the view of her window again. She looked down at her phone and sent Bartosz’s call straight to voicemail.

When Annalise walked out, she realized she was completely alone. Jonas completely quiet and on his own somewhere in the house and it didn’t seem like Hannah was still there. The list they made was gone as well. Annalise made a face. She looked at her phone and figured now would be the best time to Face chat with her family. The girl holed herself into the room Hannah had put her in and started the call.

Freida answered quickly and scolded her daughter in their native English language, “What is going on over there?! I got an email from Katharina that you are staying with a family friend because her son Mikkel disappeared?! Please tell me you are okay. You weren’t there were you?”

“I’m fine Mom,” Annalise calmed her mother, “I-...” She looked off into the distance hearing shuffling inside of the house. “Hold on,” Annalise put her phone down and walked out to see what the noise was. 

Jonas was trying to scramble into his room without anyone noticing but he heard the door open near him. The boy looked then let out a breath relieved. He smiled, “Hey Lise.”

Annalise smiled, “Hey. I’m on the phone with my mom. Want to meet her? It’s only fair yeah?”

His ears turned red but he nodded, “Yeah. Let me put this in my room real quick then I’ll be right there.”

“I’ll leave the door open,” Annalise slipped her head back into the room. She did just as she said then settled into her bed. She lifted her phone back up. She took a second to remember to speak English again then said, “Sorry Mom. That was Jonas.”

“Oh, the cute one yeah,” Freida laughed forgetting what had panicked her for the moment, “He’s going to come to say hi right? I’ll go get Zayde so he can be here too.”

Annalise blushed, “Mom, really. There is no need.” She shook her head trying to convince her mother not to get her grandfather, “I only wanted him to meet you since it’s only fair because I know his mom and am staying here for a few days.” But it was no help, she had already gotten close to his chair for them to share the screen. 

Jonas smiled as he walked in. He laughed and settled in next to Lise leaning his back on the bed. “Hello,” Jonas tried his best to speak English, “My name is Jonas. It’s nice to meet you.”

David looked at the blue-eyed blond boy sitting next to his granddaughter and spoke in German, “Oh, you think I can’t speak my native language?! Fuck you.”

Freida tried to calm her father down and Annalise laughed. She looked at Jonas and said, “I should have warned you that my Zayde is from Winden, huh?”

Jonas laughed and nodded, “Yeah. Rather than the first words out of his mouth being fuck you. I can see why German terrified you.”

“We can hear you,” David replied. He spoke up again, “Anyway kid, this is my daughter Freida and that’s her daughter Annalise. I’m David. Don’t do anything to her. I know people in Winden.”

“Yes Sir,” Jonas laughed. He looked towards Annalise who was just shaking her head.

Annalise spoke up in English, “Anyway, we are safe. You know where I am and who I’m with. I’ll chat with all of you tomorrow. Bye Bye,” She waved.

Jonas stuck his face in once more to wave bye as well. He chuckled. Just as he was about to say something to Annalise her phone made a small text received tone. He didn’t really want to pry but he was right there. ‘He is cute’ Her mom had texted her. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

Annalise’s face started to glow red she quickly texted back, ‘Mom, if he can speak English, what makes you think he can’t read?’ She looked at Jonas and apologized, “I’m sorry about that. She and I talk like every day so Martha had ended up talking to her at some point too and-”

“It’s okay,” Jonas shook his head. He looked at the girl nervously. They sat there awkwardly for a second before Jonas spoke up, “Martha called me cute?”

Annalise pushed him gently, “Go away, Jonas. God. Is that all you think about? Martha?”

Jonas stood up forcing a laugh, “Sure. Why not?” His plan had worked, now he could go investigate the map on his own without worrying too much about Annalise. He walked out of the room and went inside his own.

Hannah pulled up at the police station. She sighed and waited for Ulrich. He had to be back at his work sometime, she reasoned with herself. The woman walked to the waiting area and crossed her leg over the other. She watched the door.

Drenched, Ulrich walked into the station. He was walking to his office when he spotted her. He turned and asked, “What are you doing here?” His hands finding themselves in his jacket pockets.

“I wanted to see you. We have-” Hannah started.

“Come on.” The man interrupted the woman by grabbing her arm and pulling her down to the archives. Once inside he asked her, “What is this? Why are you here?”

Hannah shrugged a bit and replied, “I’m so sorry.” She stood for a second before she sighed. Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him close and kissed his jaw. She held him close for a second. She then moved to press their foreheads together. “Have you found out anything,” She asked.

Ulrich had wrapped his arms around her in momentary weakness. He really needed to be held close after everything going on. His youngest son, his Mikkel, was gone with no explanation and no trace. Ulrich simply shook his head and tried to hold back his sorrow. He pulled up his face in a moment of clarity. When he did though, Hannah took that as a sign to try and kiss him. As the woman tried to continue, Ulrich whispered against her lips, “Stop it, please.” He pleaded with her, “Please.” 

Hannah pulled her face away in slight annoyance. She took a step back from him and looked up a the tall man.

“I can’t do this,” Ulrich explained, “Not now.” He reached over to move some of the hair out of Hannah’s face. He watched her as she looked around feeling guilty about what had just transpired. His heart still aching, Ulrich reasoned, “I’ll call you, okay?” He pulled away completely and walked out of the room leaving Hannah just standing there.

Annalise used this time to try and text her friend. She really didn’t know what to say other than, ‘I love you. If you need me, I’m here.’ She stared at the picture of her and Martha in her contact picture. Annalise, then, went to the full photo to go and look through the pictures she had with the Nielsen’s. Seeing all of them happy, laughing, completely unaware of the future turmoil made Annalise start to cry again. She zoomed in on Mikkel. He was such a great kid. He had a popsicle stain all around his mouth and a big old cheesy toothy grin. Annalise then allowed more of the picture in the frame to see Magnus holding his little brother up in the air about to toss him back in the water at Martha who was, despite trying to look annoyed, had big sparkles in her eyes. Annalise laughed through her tears.

Jonas’s hands traced over the map he had found in his father’s studio. He carefully started to read all of the text written on it. It seemed as though his father was exploring and trying to make his way through the caves. Something seemed very off to him when he was studying it. His fingers went to the anomaly that read, ‘Where is the Crossing?’

Bartosz was getting frustrated. Martha wasn’t contacting him back. He looked around. The boy hated this feeling. He was alone. Completely alone. He looked at his phone deciding that desperate times meant to do desperate measures. He pressed Annalise’s name and tried to call her.

Annalise stared at the picture only to have a surprising thing happen. Why was Bartosz Tiedemann calling her, she questioned. She declined the call and texted him, ‘What do you want?’

Bartosz stared at his phone. Another straight to voicemail. He growled. He was just about to throw his phone when he saw her text. He walked back to his sofa and texted her, ‘Can you tell Martha to call me back?’

Annalise rolled her eyes. Of course, she thought. She texted the boy back, ‘She hasn’t talked to me either. I’m not there anyway. I’m at Jonas’s.’

Bartosz scrunched his nose. Why was she there, he thought to himself. He shook his head and decided to just investigate and get the answer himself, ‘Why?’

Annalise’s brow furrowed. Did he just, the girl questioned. She rolled her eyes again, ‘Why do you care?’

‘I am worried about my girlfriend, thank you,’ Bartosz replied.

Annalise texted back, ‘I think she needs her family right now. Not either of us. I really don’t think where I am makes a difference right now. Chill out. One of the things she asked us to do is be cordial towards each other so let’s just try to do that and wait for her to talk to us. She will come around eventually.’

Bartosz growled. That girl really knew how to push his buttons. He looked out the window. She’s right though, a tiny voice within him spoke. He shook his head and texted back, ‘Fine. If she texts you first, can you let me know how she’s doing? I’ll do the same for you.’

‘Deal.’ 

Hannah walked into the house to find both teenagers deathly quiet. She called up that she was home and started to make some food for herself. Footsteps started down the stairs. She turned to see her son standing there. He walked over to the counter and sat on it. Hannah pulled herself up and sat next to him to give him some company after lighting a few candles since the power wasn’t working again.

Jonas started first, “Do you think they’ll find him?”

“I hope so,” Hannah answered her son honestly. She stared at the refrigerator with her hands in her lap.

Jonas looked towards his mother for guidance. He sat in silence for a minute before asking, “Do you think he had a secret?” He thought back to the maps that he found in his father’s studio.

“Mikkel,” Hannah asked confused. She looked towards her son for his input. She wondered if he knew more than he let on.

“No, Dad,” Jonas replied quelling all of his mother’s questions instantly but now creating new ones. Jonas thought of how to ask his question then asked, “Do you think he was keeping something from us?”

“Why do you say that,” Hannah asked Jonas. She was growing more concerned for him. Maybe she had done too much or had him come back home a bit too early, she worried internally. 

Jonas sat trying to process everything going on. He let Hannah’s question drop to the floor then questioned, “Do you miss him?”

Hannah lightly sighed, “I think I miss the notion of him.” She didn’t want to lie to her son and tell him she missed someone she really didn’t know if she did. She shook her head and told Jonas, “I don’t know who he really was. Maybe we never know that, what a person is really like.”

Jonas looked at his mother, “Did you love him?” Right when he asked, the lights in the house illuminated once more. 

Hannah looked around noticing the lights then let out a small scoff at how ironic everything at this moment was. 

It wasn’t too long though before the lights of Winden started to flicker leaving most of the town confused. Birds started to fall from the sky once more. Dead instantly.

The Stranger pinned up the news article about Mikkel on his board. The headline read, ‘Where is Mikkel?’ He stared at it, then the boy in the photo. He reached over to scribble his own inscription. He crossed out the ‘Where’ and replaced it with ‘When.’ He stood back to admire the new headline reading, ‘When is Mikkel?’

Mikkel climbed his way through the caves he was trapped in. He limped his way out of the cave. The boy looked around. Something seemed different about it and it wasn’t just because it was the morning. Mikkel just couldn’t place his finger on it. He decided instead to try and run home. He knew everyone would be worried about him. When he finally arrived, he started to notice other strange things. Vehicles parked that he had never seen before. On his way into the house, he stopped to look at an older fashioned motorcycle. He shook his head. He figured it must have just been people who were there helping his family look for him. Mikkel just tried to continue his way inside. When he walked up and tried his keys, it didn’t work. His eyes furrowed. It wasn’t long before a teenaged boy opened the door. Mikkel looked up at him and asked, “Who are you?”

The teenager looked down at the strange boy with scrapes all over his face and chuckled a bit, “Why? Who are you?”

“Mikkel,” the younger boy answered just as confused as the older boy in all of this, “I live here.”

“Ulrich,” the teen laughed, “And I live here.” He watched as Mikkel swallowed hard, “You going to grow roots? You’re at the wrong house, fool.”

A girl’s voice called him outside. She stood in the driveway, “Hey Ulrich. Come on, we need to go.”

“Yes, Katharina, I’m coming,” Ulrich responded.

Mikkel and Katharina stared at each other. Both of them trying to understand why it felt like they knew each other.

Ulrich interrupted their staring content with, “Are you dense? You don’t live here.” He pushed past Mikkel and grabbed his bike.

Katharina looked at Ulrich and asked, “Who is that?”

Ulrich looked back and laughed. He turned to Katharina to tease, “The Grim Reaper. Can’t you tell?” Katharina gently popped Ulrich in the head causing him to complain, “Ouch! Katharina.”

Mikkel watched as the two drove off. Katharina still looking back at Mikkel every so often. The boy then looked at the newspaper on the doorstep. The headline read, ‘Chernobyl - Half a Year Later.’ Mikkel started to panic as he looked at the date of the paper that read, ‘5. November. 1986.’ His mind focused completely on the year, ‘1986.’

[ai-katsuu]

Wonderland Ball (2/4)

Chapters: 1  2  3  4

previous chapter   next chapter

featuring several characters from other fairy tales!!

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The door opened to a maid with a curious face on, “Is everything alright..oh! Miss Audrey, Where did everyone go? I heard something and everything started shaking.” 

“Isabella,” she said, “Um...yeah. Everyone just left.” 

“Pardon?” she asked, still confused. 

Audrey shook her hand, “Nevermind that, we’re spending Christmas Eve without them. So what should we do?” 

Deciding not to press on the matter Isabella asked, “This is your first Christmas here in Golden Goose is it not? Last year you all traveled.” 

Audrey nodded, “What do you guys usually do around here?” 

Isabella smiled “There’s a lovely festival organized by the townspeople! Food as a far as the eye can see, music, children getting presents, colorful lights and trees to decorate...oh my lady, you really must see it, it’s wonderful!”

Audrey thought for a bit before nodding, “That sounds amazing, Isabella. How about a change of location?”

Meanwhile on the far end of the Island the group had resurfaced to a large room. As the purple smoke cleared the group were in their original positions, just in a different setting. 

“Were we just transported here?” Merlin looked around. “Is everyone alright?” 

“Yeah,” Goldie said, fingers on her temples, “Just a little hazy..” 

“This interior looks like the Wonderland Palace.” Gretel said looking around 

“So the cat really did bring us all here.” Arthur said. 

“All our stuff seems to be here too.” Kio walked around. 

“Wait, where’s Audrey?” Jack looked around. The group indeed saw that all of them were here except for her. 

“Do you think she got left behind?” Gwen looked left and right. 

“That Cat was very particular in singling her out when he was greeting all of us.” Pino thought, “Do you think he left her behind on purpose?” 

Jack frowned at that response, to which Pino raised both his hands “I’m just saying that’s a possibility.” 

“The doors are locked too.” Briar shook the handles. 

“You must first change to your proper attire!” 

“Eep!”

Briar jumped back as soon as she saw a little white mouse appear from the keyhole. “Hurry! Quickly! Hastily! The ball is soon! Please change to your highness’ formal attire!” As soon as the mouse had left, thirteen closet doors had opened with their old gowns and uniforms that represented their Kingdom. They always had to wear those whenever there was an audience or social obligations. 

“Uh oh..” Peter frowned at his uniform. 

It took a bit but they were all able to fit in their outfits. The triplets had matching blue, yellow, and brown uniforms, as did Hans and Gretel with their green, yellow, and brown colors. Merlin’s donned blue as well as a red sash. Snow had blue, yellow, and red. Jack had blue, purple and brown. Arthur had red and orange, Goldie had blue white and yellow, and Peter’s was green and brown. Briar Rose’s dress was interesting as it often changed between pink and blue, depending on how you looked at it. 

“Wow, you look like Mama.” Hans looked at Gretel. She looked at him for a bit before looking at herself in the mirror, twirling occasionally, 

“Thanks, you look nothing like Papa.” 

Hans playfully rolled his eyes as she laughed. On the other end of the room stood Goldie helping Peter with his cuffs. “I don’t understand, what’s not to like? I love my dress, always have.” she said.

“Makes me feel stiff,” Peter told her. 

Jack usually looked for any excuse to bring out his uniform, but he wasn’t feeling it very much around this time. And the others could tell once they started making their way to the ballroom and he didn’t gawk at the jewels and roses they had on display.

An uptight looking man donned with a white suit stood beside them as a pair of twins held their hands on the knobs of the double doors. “Ah, finally! You know just because you’re the Island’s greatest heroes, that does not mean you get to be late! Time is of the essence!” the man scolded them. He took out a pocket watch and wiped his forehead, “You just barely made it..” he muttered.

“Get ready,” he quickly made his way to the door as one of the twins opened it for him. The F7 heard his loud voice through the doors.

“Here ye, here ye!” 

“Told him his voice was too loud.” one of the twins holding the door handles said.

“Honestly, never listens.” The other responded. 

The man's voice continued, “Announcing the arrival of Fairy Tale Island’s greatest and bravest heroes. Who suddenly disappeared but have now resurfaced. The princes who heroically protect this land from danger with their strength, prestigious backgrounds, and talents. The princes’ we have all been awaiting, The Fearless Seven!”

“Let’s go, boys.” Merlin told them.

The twins had opened the door on cue, and as if they were used to this, the F7 had walked in the ballroom with an overwhelming amount of presence. Their perfect formation and aura as a group lived up to their reputation. And the fact that they have been gone for years only made their entrance bigger, as this was their first formal reappearance.

“Prince Arthur, Prince Hansel, Prince Kio, Prince Noki, Prince Pino, Prince Jack, and their leader, Prince Merlin!”

 Familiar faces to them were around the room, faces they had only seen occasionally but knew each other from previous balls. Faces that were now in awe, some princes and princesses looking at them with lovestruck gazes, some that were much too happy with their reappearance, and others who couldn’t believe they were in the same room as them. 

And although they knew better now, they would be lying if they said they didn’t miss this just a little bit. 

Once they had reached the altar, they knelt on one knee, put their right hand on their chests, and bowed their heads in perfect synchronization to the woman sitting on the throne. 

“Queen Alice, it is an honor to be here. You have my gratitude for extending the invitation to us.” Merlin said with his head down.

Her Majesty warmly smiled, “Nonsense, it is my honor to have you here at my party. I’m glad Cheshire convinced you all to be here, I wasn’t sure if he’d be successful!” she lightly laughed. To her right was the gentleman Chesire Cat who only grinned at her, and to her left was the person who everyone knew to be the Mad Hatter, who rolled his eyes at the man. “Please, raise your heads.” Alice told them. 

They did as she said and stood up from her throne. “Everyone! Please join me in giving a warm round of applause to our Island’s greatest heroes. The Fearless Seven!” 

After the formalities were over, the F7 had made their way back to their friends. “Wow, some introduction they gave you guys.” Gretel rolled her eyes. 

“Oh don’t be jealous, Gret.” Hans handed her a drink.

“I’m not jealous.” she frowned at him.

“She is, she looks at me the same way whenever I finish repairing something faster than her.” Pino laughed.

“Gretel? I’ve missed you!” a woman with the longest braid they had seen walked up to them. 

“Rapunzel? Wow, it’s been so long.” Gretel greeted her former neighbor. 

“Aw Hans look at you!” Rapunzel cooed at the ginger haired boy who sheepishly rubbed the back of his hair, “You’re so big now! I remember when me and your sister used to dress you up in my old clothes when you were a baby. We used to put all sorts of accessories on him,” she then suddenly remembered, “We called him Princess Hannah!” 

Gretel gasped and grinned at her brother, “Oh my god, Princess Hannah. I forgot about that!” Hans’ smile had only morphed in disapproval when he heard the name. Briar Rose listened in to the conversation, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“Wait is this why I get scared when I smell freshly made leather bracelets? And why I hate the sounds of corsets? Gretel that caused me trauma.” he told her.

She scoffed, “Yeah, you're the one who has PTSD between the both of us.” to which Hans frowned at, “Kidding, kidding,” she told him, “So are you here with anyone Raps?” 

“Yeah, my cousins are here. The Snow Queen and her sister.” she gestured to the other side of the room.

“Look at all the royalty here,” Jack said in awe, “I almost forgot what it feels like.” 

Arthur took a sip of the champagne, “Ten o’clock. Snow Queen is approaching you.” 

“Hm?” 

Jack looked towards the woman with the white gown who curtsied in front of him, “Prince Jack, a pleasure to see you.” 

Jack returned the gesture by kissing her hand, “Your Majesty, I am honored by your presence.” 

She smiled and averted her gaze slightly, “Forgive me for being so blunt, but I want to ask, have you met a man that goes by Jack Frost?”

Jack humored her by rolling his eyes, “I want to tell you I haven’t, Your Majesty. Unfortunately the opposite is true.” 

The Snow Queen let out a giggle as her eyes began to quite literally sparkle with tiny snowflakes, “Do you see him often? What is he like? Oh! Does he do that thing where he balances on his staff then pretends to fall, only to surprise you from behind?” 

“I would be mortified if he ever did that to me. Do you know him?” he asked her.

“A little,” she bashfully tucked her long white hair behind her ear. It was a sight for Jack and Arthur as they had always expected the Snow Queen to be serious and formal. “He comes by my castle sometimes, and oh, we have the loveliest conversations but they’re always cut so short.” 

“If I may be so bold, Your Majesty, I’d say you fancy the lad.” Arthur smiled. 

“Fancy? Me?” At Arthur’s suggestion she laughed and accidentally froze his drink with her hands, “Oh, sorry. But I don’t know what you're talking about, Prince Arthur. What a silly imagination you have. Excuse me.” she bowed smiling. But not soon before she mumbled to Jack, “Please mention me next time? Thank you, Your Highness.” and she ran off to her sister.

“I wanted to tell her ‘run away’.” Jack sipped his drink. 

“Arthur!” Merlin called out from behind, “You remember these buffoons don’t you?”

“Shut it, Merlin. I’ll throw you off the balcony again.” Edmund laughed as he gently pushed the wizard. 

“Arthur! You’ve gained weight!” Peter punched his chest, “Oof, nevermind.” 

Arthur laughed and pulled him in for hugs, “Oh I’ve missed you jackasses too.”  

“Hello, Prince Arthur,” two ladies stood beside Merlin. 

Susan smiled, “You and Merlin are still getting along well, I’m glad.” 

“We caught up with Gwen earlier, I’m so happy for you two!” Lucy beamed.

“Ah, meeting the two fairest ladies in all of Narnia, and now their brave and heroic sisters Susan and Lucy. Seeing all four of you brings tears to my eyes.” Arthur dramatically said, followed up by an angry Peter and Edmund trying to bring him down. 

“Well look at that. I��m not surprised to see Arthur being beaten up by a bunch of princes at a ball.” Goldie noted. 

Peter Pan laughed, “I’ll say, it wouldn’t be a shock if he got kicked out early by destroying Queen Alice’s tea set.” 

The triplets let out a loud laughter and spilled their drinks on the carpeted floor. 

“Boys, I am quite disappointed.”

The familiar voice that reached the triplets' ears immediately made them stand up straight as they quickly removed their hats. 

“Honestly, making a scene like that. Your father was right to send me here.” a man in a black coat and blue top hat held his head high as he examined the boys one by one. “Good posture, clear skin...oh your hair is a mess, Kio.” he rubbed Kio’s blind hair with his hands. “Mind your manners, boys.” 

“Yes, Jiminy...” they let out a dragged response to which Jiminy eyed them and they said a clearer response, “Yes, Jiminy, sir.”

“Good, I suppose these are your beloveds, Noki and Kio.” he looked at the pair, “Princess Goldilocks and Peter Pan.” 

“Oh thank god you got my name right.” Peter sighed in relief.

“I hope my boys have been treating you well. I did not raise them to act otherwise. Thank you for blessing them with your affections” 

Noki and Kio flushed a bright red when they heard that, “C’mon, Jiminy. Stop that, nobody says that anymore!” Noki frowned at him. 

“Afraid I’m embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend, Noki?” he raised his eyebrows and proceeded to whisper to Goldie, “When he was younger he had problems wetting the bed at night. Use that information however you please.” to which she let out a laugh. 

“Oh I will definitely use that as ammunition.” she told him. 

“Have you met Gretel, Jiminy?” Pino asked. 

“Oh, red hair, glasses? I met her earlier along with Princess Snow White. Lovely woman, polite manners, well done.” Jiminy responded, “If I’m not mistaken that's her and Princess Rapunzel chasing Prince Hansel, am I right?” 

Pino raised eyebrows before putting his hat back on, “Should probably see what that's about…” and ran off.   

[fallen029]

Open

"How did you get it?"

"Get what?"

"Your scar."

Mirajane stared at Laxus with the same disappointment he'd stared at so many other women, in moments like this, just like this, where they were at their closest, their most intimate, and he began to have ideas and feelings and thoughts and desires for something more, something concrete, something real, but then they'd brush their finger over his most cliché part, the zigzag that laid across his eye, and question him about it. Ponder. Wonder. Ask. Blatantly. Because they thought they could. Because they were in a relationship, or at least something close, they were close and that meant that they could discuss the sorts of things that one discusses when they're close, but they weren't close.

Someone close to you, who felt so deeply for you, everything beneath the surface and in-between the crevices, would never ask something like that. Because they would know. Without ever lingering on it, ever questioning it, they would just know. Be well aware. Without knowing the truth, they would know better than to ask. Something so personal and tragic and...and…

And he thought they were different.

Because they were different.

She was different, than every other woman that thought that because they could bring him to his knees that he should just surrender every hidden part of himself. He was different, with her, than the closed off, distant and expectant, so expectant and rigid, man that he was with every other woman.

If she'd asked him, if she'd really asked him, straight up and honestly, about how he found himself with a lightning bolt scarring his flesh, he would tell her straight up. Not get huffy or defensive. Not give some bullshit, bogus lie about how he'd done it himself, or had it done, maybe, with the help of Freed and Bickslow, to make himself look cool. No. He'd have told her the truth. Not withdrawn or been ashamed. Been angry or defensive.

Mirajane was different to him, than every other woman before, and he loved her, he truly, honestly loved something, someone, for once, and it was so real and raw and it hadn't really been that long, but he'd never felt this way, not really, not even when he'd thought that this was the exact thing that he was feeling, all those times before, but this time was so different and real and special and she was it. He knew she was it.

Perhaps it was his own self-importance, the arrogance and swagger he had, to think that just because he felt this way, just because he'd fallen so hopelessly and madly in love, that without a doubt, of course, Mirajane had found herself feeling the same. That of course, to her, their summer romance while the S-Class jobs weren't rolling in and he was taking a break, while she was finding more time off work as Kinana desired more hours, wasn't going to bloom into something more, but rather die off, fade away, with the long days, like a fling should, like all summer flings should. Because oh, they were the same, of course they were the same, but at the same time, they were so different because he was in love, he knew he was in love, he could tell he was in love, truly in love, but she was not.

Was she?

The way she withdrew then, from him, as he traced a finger across the faded, old, but still prominent scar she had right beneath her left breast, long and crooked, but hidden typically from the world, even with her typical skimpiest of outfits or swimwear, it lay just so perfectly, but prominently, to Laxus, who spent so much of his time with his head buried there now. And he'd traced it before, both with the tips of his fingers and the point of his tongue, but now as he did it with the edge of his fingernail and spoke those words, so softly, that he'd so often heard spoken to him.

Mirajane shifted back from him, a certain look crossing over his previously content expression, and he had to wonder how he'd fucked it up, so quickly, so easily, so obviously, as the moment shattered and he fell away from her as well, both silent now with their own realizations about the other, spawning from a simple question.

Laxus would have told Mirajane anything he wanted. He thought that he did tell her everything she wanted. He'd opened up, in this short expanse of days where it felt much longer than the multitude of years they'd known one another, however sparingly, for the majority of their teenage years and all of their adulthood. He knew so much about her, learned so much about her, from this some odd thirty, sixty days, whatever it was, it didn't matter, all that mattered was how special they were, how important, those days, these days, but if this was fleeting, if she didn't feel that way, if she didn't hope the same as him, that the summer never ended, then…

Then…

"I'm sorry."

"Dragon-"

"No, I shouldn't have ask-"

"It's not that."

Mirajane found that she couldn't look at him. That she didn't want to. Then. He was getting out of bed then, following her silence, and she felt like she should do something, to stop this from happening, but at the same time, she wasn't the one who'd spurred it on.

Was she?

No.

No.

He'd done this, by questioning her, asking her that, and she hadn't mean to draw away, visibly recoil at his words, but it just took her back a bit, his question. In a way she wasn't expecting. It wasn't exactly something she was asked about frequently. If at all. Mira found most everyone had scars, in some way or another, especially given the line of work they were in. And considering so many of the men she did find interest in were also mages, working far more than she did in those days, most of their bodies were speckled and marred by an assortment, some even in awkward places.

But Laxus' was different. She'd give him that. If she knew his hangup about it, then she would surrender that nugget to him, yes, of course, because his was so prominent, so much a part of who he was, brought together his whole facial structure, really.

Plus, well, she knew Laxus fancied himself as different. From the rest of them. His pain and trauma, baggage and backstory were intricate to him in a way the rest of them didn't understand. Laxus lived for his pain and his anguish. The remembrance. He liked to pretend that it was in his past, where it belonged, like the rest of them were forced to do away with their own, but unlike the rest of them, Fairy Tail wasn't an escape, a gateway away from the tragic years that brought them as wayward youths to the guild's sanctuary. It was a constant reminder of all he'd gone through, the enigma that brought about so much strife to his family. Fairy Tail was the Dreyars, but also destroyed the Dreyars.

Even if everything had worked out, when she was young, in her village, she imagined she'd still have left eventually, would have had to, to get away from what it had meant, what she'd felt, all the scenery to remind her, constantly, of when she lost her parents, her childhood, and her freedom. She'd want to be somewhere new, carving a path, separate from the things that had drug her down, even if it wasn't to her absolute degradation, somewhere where she wasn't remind constantly of what she'd lost. Who she'd lost.

Mirajane loved Fairy Tail because all her early memories tied to it involved discovering her magic, battling it out with Erza, watching her younger brother and sister, both ravaged by the world, come out of their shells again, find friends again, discover happiness again.

Laxus' memories, as he'd told her before, in moments like this, where he felt his most open, consisted of all the people he'd known, not just his parents, but all of the people, the past members, who eitehr died out there, on jobs, or just went away, disappeared, gone of to live fulfilling lives separate from the only thing that he could ever imagine being; a Fairy Tail wizard.

A mage.

A fairy.

Laxus lived with his trauma, his past, shoved in his face every single time he walked through the wrought iron gates and into the hall, the one that had changed so many damn times, but still felt the same, no matter it's grown or shrinkage, as the air inside consisted of the exact same presence it always did, all the way back to when he was just a little kid.

The scar cut across his eye was much the same. Plain for everyone to see. But hidden in the fact that he'd never tell, he couldn't tell, anyone anything about it. Refused.

With the power of transformation magic, Mirajane could hide just about any blemish or marking on her body that she wished. And she didn't mostly, usually. It was a nominal amount of magic, it was almost second nature to her. She didn't know what it was not to hide away parts of herself. Not face them. Not force others to do the same.

But it was different. Overnight. Frequent, overnights, which she found herself dealing with then, with Laxus, as they'd lay in bed together, so openly and freely, and she warned him the first time, she let it all down, her magic and guard, but he only laughed and made some passing remark about how silly she was. Feminine. Girly. Womanly. Something like that. Equally dismissive. To be so concerned about appearance.

She laughed too, because it did sound silly, didn't it? All of it? To care about something like that? And it was so hot, that summer, the summer that they were together nearly every night, falling into his bed together, alone in his apartment instead of crammed and hammed up with her siblings back home, that Mira found it best not to wear anything, nothing at all if she could help it, and it felt so freeing for it to occur to the two of them, at the same time, the same thought, without a word spoken between them.

When the guise fell, when the ruse faded her flesh didn't look so pure and white, but nothing about the two of them ever was and Laxus seemed happy and content, in his own way, his unspoken way, for them to be like this together. Open. Unabashed.

Laxus didn't want the summer to end, but Mirajane did. She wanted it to shift to the colder months, where they had to cuddle up together and wait out the heat once more. He didn't want things to change, but she couldn't wait until they did, until they changed into something even more solid and real.

"Seriously, just drop it. I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay, Laxus. Really. I-"

"You don't have to tell me-"

"I know why you asked."

Of course she did.

Of course she did.

Because of all the random assortments of scars she had, from all the battles she'd fought, won and lost, this one was the oddest, wasn't it? All alone? In it's age? It looked far fresher, because it was, than any other she had. In a strange place. He was curious because he brushed against it so frequently, because she talked of her life so frequently, but never mentioned this not yet faded, not truly, still raised somewhat, rough patch of skin. Even without her magic, the others were all at least somewhat hard to notice, as they blended with age, but this one was different.

Why was everything about the two of them so different?

This was hidden because she chose to hide it, she was able to hide it, with or without her magic, and it was separate, from everything, and she knew he'd question it, eventually, he seemed to run his fingers, tongue, everything across it so frequently, and this was just a game of averages, between the two of them. Trying to out play the other. How much could be given up in exchange for silence on the rest?

He meant no disrespect, hadn't considered the possibility of such a negative reaction, but as he sat there then, on the edge of the bed, feet rooted in the floor, he wasn't pushing up, getting away, like he'd seemed to desire the second he realized the err in his delving. Instead, he just sat there, head turned just slightly in the darkness of his bedroom, staring over at her with something of interest, maybe, or perhaps just hopeful acceptance once more. Whether she told him the truth or not, expelled all of her secrets and thoughts and feelings and emotions regarding the scarred flesh no longer mattered; he just wanted her to pull him back down on the bed and banish any fears over misdeed.

But when she reached for him, to pull him back down, into the bed once more, it wasn't to rectify his mistake, but rather to sigh, deeply as they rested their foreheads against one another's, the silence different now, but still hinged on something.

"I just," Mira whispered softly as he bowed his head then, her lips brushing over his golden locks instead, "don't like to talk about it. Think about it."

"That's okay," Laxus assured her, burying his head into her, wishing he could go back to how he was before, when he wasn't absolutely terrified of the thought that she didn't want him, or wouldn't want him any longer, once the summer began its descent. "Really. We-"

"It was...recently, is all." She thread some fingers into his hair then, blinking some as she thought. "And not in...battle or training or anything, so I just..."

He wasn't ready again, so soon, but that was fine because that wasn't what she wanted and when she pushed him back, shoved him really, suddenly, so he was staring up at her, Laxus only blinked sleepily.

Reaching down, Mira traced a finger over the zagging line that scarred his face, made him look so mean, so evil, so much like her Satan Soul take over, but different, because he wore this every single day. Not as a mask, but as a part of himself.

They were so different.

His eyelid fluttered shut, instinctively, void of intention, while the other stayed wide open, watching as she applied pressure, just a bit, while gliding down the lightning bolt-esque marking over his eyes, feeling it, truly, for the first time.

"Who gave you yours?" she asked softly and he didn't even think about it, didn't reflect, just answered honestly.

"Ivan," he replied dryly, but honestly and Mirajane nodded her head slightly as she removed her finger from his cheek.

"I was dating a...jerk, a few months before you first asked me out." She shrugged some, glancing away from him then. "From another guild. It was...different, than how it is, with you and me. And we kind of… He just wasn't someone I should have been with. He had his own stuff going on-"

"Do I," Laxus asked her softly then, his voided gaze turning harder then, "know him?"

"No," she whispered, but she nodded her head, just a bit, and he glared. Then, sighing, she added, "It doesn't matter."

He wanted to argue, she could tell, but relented some as he remarked, "Why did he...cut you?"

It felt blunt, put like that, and Mirajane looked away as she remarked, "He didn't. Not really. We were...fighting, and his magic… It's stupid. His magic just caught me because I wasn't going to, you know, transform on him or anything. I just...and he…he underestimated me. Most men do."

Reaching out, he sat up some as he caught her chin, just slightly, in his palm, forcing her to meet his eyes. They were on even ground again. Finally.

"I don't," Laxus whispered to which she smiled, weakly, distantly, just really.

"I know," she agreed as he fell back then. "Dragon."

They were shifting again, together now, as she slowly fell back into bed as well, and they were together again, settling once more for the night. In the morning, she had to get down to the hall and he'd promised to train with the Thunder Legion, so they needed their sleep, they needed far more than they were typically allotted, but at the same time, in that moment, he didn't want it.

At all.

But she did.

At least somewhat.

"Why do things have to change?" he muttered as his eyes felt heavy and this was all just a dream, almost, kind of, it felt like, but Mia's lips felt warm against his cheek as well as her breath, reminding him that it was all real, all too real.

It felt like a weird thing to say, a very weird thing to say, honestly, but somehow, someway, because they really were connected, maybe, unspoken, but known, and Mirajane understood perfectly.

"Because if they don't," she answered with a yawn, falling back into her side of the bed then as he blinked at her some more, determination the only thing winning out against sleep in the battle to keep his eyes either open or closed, "then they can never get any better."

"Can't get any worse," he reminded, but she only shrugged.

"Sometimes," she told him simply, "it's worth the risk."

And after finding this to be true, following his question that brought about the entire interaction, it was hard for him to do anything other than agree.

[wwoww-au]

West of Yesterday

Jameson sat on the faded couch of the Crime Department's time room, ornate tea cup in hand. It was his routine to arrive early to have his tea, a special blend that would help him gain his strength before the strenuous task of opening a time portal to the distant past. Today he was tasked with opening a portal to the tiny town of Incantation, Arizona, in 1868. At 2:56 pm, to be exact. He looked up from his cup when he heard the door open, Dark striding in with an abnormal look of excitement on their face.

"Good morning, JJ," Dark said. They were dressed in their normal clothes, only today they had added a vest and a bandanna around their neck. They held a black cowboy hat in their hand, cane tucked under their arm. 

"Dark, this is a pleasant surprise." Jameson placed his empty cup on the small table next to him, an amused smile tugging at his lips. "I thought you didn't like dressing up in ‘silly costumes’."

"I grew up watching westerns," they countered with a smile. "There's no way I'm passing up the opportunity to be a cowboy for a day."

“Ah, well history and man made each other,” Jameson chuckled. Dark looked at him with the expression they gave when they didn’t understand what he was saying, but also didn’t want to stick around or try and find out. 

"Let's get that portal open." Dark moved toward the center of the room, placing their hat on their head. "We've got an outlaw to catch."

.

.

.

Dark landed on their feet with a small thud, stirring up the sand underfoot. They looked up to find themselves next to a dusty wooden sign that read Welcome to Incantation. A couple yards ahead was the town in question. It was only a couple blocks of shabby, wooden buildings. A few people milled about in the street, going about their daily lives. From where they were standing, Dark noticed that some of the townsfolk had abnormally colorful hair or clothing for the time. Wizards. Stealing themself, they walked casually into town. 

As they made their way down the street, Dark noticed a few of the locals staring and whispering. This wasn’t too abnormal, they were used to some curious glances, but normally their outfit didn’t gain too much attention, especially from wizards. Wizards were known to dress oddly, it’s what they did, and what Dark was wearing wasn’t even all that odd. The extra attention made them bristle a bit, straightening their posture as they headed straight for the best place to start- the saloon. 

The saloon was an old building, the floor well worn with the traffic it had gotten over the years. It was a fairly lively scene for three in the afternoon, though not completely full. There was a young man in a vest and suit, playing out a bouncy tune on a piano in the corner. A group of about four people by the piano were drinking heavily and laughing at a friend’s failed attempt to dance to the music. Another group was sitting at a circular table in the middle, exchanging shifty glances and smoking cigars as each played a different game of cards. A couple of other patrons were scattered about, some in pairs and some alone. One gentleman in all white sat at the bar having an idle chat with the bartender, who was polishing a glass.

As soon as Dark swung open the saloon doors the room went silent. A dozen pairs of eyes stared at them for an uncomfortable amount of time before slowly going back to their previous activities, but Dark paid them no mind. They were too focused on one of the patrons in particular, sitting on a table and clapping and cheering to the music. Clad in bright pink and yellow and nursing a martini glass that they’d never seen empty, Wilford stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Warfstache,” Dark commanded in a slightly raised voice. The rest of the saloon returned their attention to the two, silently watching as they stopped a few feet in front of Wilford. He noticed Dark approaching, brightening his smile and sitting up straighter. 

“Hello, Darky! Come to join the party? They’ve got some lovely music here, I can show you the main attraction after a song or five!”  Wilford gestured toward the pianoman, signaling a request for the music to continue. Dark sighed, taking a step closer as their hand moved to their pocket where they were keeping their pair of magic handcuffs. They weren’t going to take any risks of losing them again. 

“You know I’m not. Come with me now,” Dark said rigidly. They could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on them, watching their movements with apprehension. They could feel the ripple of unease through the air as hands moved to their holsters in response to Dark’s reach. 

“I’d love to but I’d hate to miss the shooting part! They invented exploding sticks, isn’t that marvelous!” Wilford shifted one of his legs off the table, attempting to take a sip from his martini but largely unsuccessful. “Why don’t you come with me? It’ll be fun!”

Dark stepped forward, bringing out and raising their official WC badge as they pointed a finger at him. "By order of the Wizard Committee you have been-“ 

“How did you FIND ME!?” Came a very loud shout from behind Dark, startling them out of their skin. They whirled around to find themself facing one of the gentlemen from the poker table, with a large mustache and a wide cowboy hat. He was also wearing a pair of old jeans, from a brand that hadn’t been invented yet, and sunglasses also severely ahead of their time. The man had a glass in one hand and a gun in the other, which he was pointing wildly at Dark while slowly backing up towards the door. 

”Whoa whoa whoa,” Dark said, clearly bewildered. They held their hands up next to their head, taking a step back. They looked somewhat panicked, they had no idea who this was but he was clearly deranged. They just hoped he didn’t decide to actually fire the thing. “Look, why don’t you calm down and-“

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” the man shouted, firing off two shots that just barely missed Dark. He ran out the door as everyone else watched him go. The crowd didn’t react much, and Dark even heard a few mutterings of “him again”. Confused, they watched him go before turning back to Wilford. 

“Look, why don’t you just-“ But he was gone. They looked around wildly, but it seemed Wilford had left while Dark was distracted. They cursed under their breath, putting their badge away and walking over to the bar. If anyone could tell them where Warfstache had gone, it’d be the bartender. 

As Dark approached, they saw the bartender and the stranger in white eyeing them suspiciously. They leaned against the bar, avoiding a sticky puddle of some old liquid and the bar stool, clearing their throat and tapping on the bar top to get the bartender’s attention. There was a dirty spittoon that they’d nearly accidentally kicked, they noted, and it smelled something foul. 

“Excuse me,” they asked politely. The bartender looked up at them, putting down the cup he was polishing and walking over to them. 

“Can I help ya, sir?” He asked in a thick western accent, tone tense and neutral. It was clear he was a wizard even though he wasn’t wearing a coat, what with the bright rainbow shoes and the small collection of wizard booze hidden just behind the bar. 

“Not sir, exactly, uh-"

"Sorry; can I help ya, partner?"

“I’m looking for Warfstache. Do you know where he might have gone? He mentioned a ‘shooting part’, is there some kind of event going on?” Dark asked, calmly but a bit rushed. The bartender’s eyes narrowed at them before looking them over. Dark suppressed a small shudder at the thought of how much he must be judging them. 

“You're a Wizard bull, huh?” He asked, eyeing them suspiciously as he set the glass in his hand down, crossing his arms and leaning near the bar top. 

“Yes, I am,” they almost hissed, quickly flashing their badge at him. “I need to know if you know where he went.”

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t, but I reckon that ain’t none of your business,” the man droned. “Now why don’t you head on outta here, we don’t want none of your kind ‘round here.”

"My kind?"

"You Wizard Committee folks, always messin' around with the business of others. Our community is managing just fine without your meddling."

"Okay," Dark rubbed their temples. "If you just tell me where he went, I'll be out of your town as soon as possible. And I'll make sure the Committee doesn't send any more officers this way, alright?"

The bartender stared at them for a minute, sizing them up, before nodding and putting his hands on the counter. “Alright, but if ya cause any trouble I’ll be right there with a big fifty to cut ya a path outta here. He should be heading off to the hill a little ways out of town, they're havin' a shooting contest up there later."

"Thank you," they nodded. With that, they turned and stepped out of the saloon and into the dirt road. Up ahead of them, they could see the hill. A few people milled up top, setting up a row of targets. They strained their eyes to try to spot a blur of pink among the distant crowd.

"What are you looking at?"

Dark spun around to see Wilford, intently staring at the hill, too. "Why you-" they grabbed him by the lapels of his coat. "You're not getting away this time!"

"Of course not, why would I want to get away?" He shrugged. "This town is lovely! I think you agree, you really dressed the part this time. Did you see the horses? I know someone who would’ve loved to see the horses, she- "

"Enough nonsense! You're coming with me!" Another bullet rang out high above Dark's head, prompting them to release their grip on the thief's coat and drop to the ground, hands over their head. As soon as the echo of the gunshot died out, they jumped to their feet and whipped around. "What is your problem?"

The time displaced stranger from earlier stood a few paces down the road, smoking gun still aimed at Dark. "You're my problem!" He took another poorly-aimed shot.

Dark ducked out of the way again, though it wasn’t necessary as the bullet hit a tree a yard to their left. "What have I ever done to you?!"

"Don't play dumb," the stranger began reloading his gun. "I know the Committee sent you to take me in. Well you tell them they'll never catch the great Ed Edgar!"

There was silence as the others tried to comprehend why that name held any meaning. Dark was the first to speak up. "Who?"

"Don't play dumb," Ed sneered. "I was the most feared outlaw of the Dark Ages. I robbed and tricked countless numbers of unsuspecting mundanes into buying useless items! I broke too many laws to count! I robbed the largest wizard bank in the United States! My name was known for miles around!"

This time Wilford broke the silence. "I'm sorry, friend, but I've met plenty of famous outlaws in my time, and it may be because my memory isn't too good these days, but I have no idea who you are."

Ed seemed barely fazed by the comment. "It seems we've reached an impasse. I think there's only one way to solve this little conundrum of ours, a good ol' fashioned wizard duel! High noon, tomorrow when the clock strikes twelve!"

"Well, first of all," Dark began, "anyone familiar with the wild west would know that high noon is not when the clock strikes twelve, but actually when the sun is at the apex of the sky. Second, I'm not interested in participating in some useless duel-" but Ed was already gone from sight.

Wilford clapped his hands together. "Well this is going to be fun! A good old fashioned duel! Haven't been to one of those in ages! Or maybe it was last week? I get time jumbled so much, you know-"

"I'm not going."

"You're not? But it can be so much fun!"

"I don't see much fun in getting attacked by that delusional cowboy again," Dark roughly grabbed the man by the back of the coat. "And I'm here to arrest you, remember?"

"Okay then, I'll make you an offer," Wilford twisted out of their grip and shrugged, bouncing on his heels. "You participate in this duel, and if you win, I'll go quietly."

"You mean that?" They gave him a skeptical glare.

"Sure I do! I may be the wizarding world's most wanted fugitive, but I am a man of my word," he crossed his heart.

They crossed their arms and looked away for a moment, trying to ignore Wilford's infectious smile. "I guess it might be cool to fight a real outlaw in the wild west…"

"That's the spirit!" He patted them on the back. "Now something tells me you've never been in a duel before so I'll give you a few pointers."

"Wait, have you ever been in a duel before?"

"Yeah, I think so!"

"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence," Dark grumbled.

"Well I remember fighting someone outside a tavern in medieval Europe. I got a few solid punches in, before all his buddies showed up and gave me what for."

"That's not a duel, that's a bar fight."

"Close enough, it's all about finding your opponent's weakness. Now this Edgar fellow seems like a time wizard to me, so be prepared for him to use all kinds of portals and time skips to mess with you. But I think you still have a good shot against him. You use life magic-"

"Soul magic."

"Really? I could've sworn- ah, whatever. Soul magic, huh? Oh well, same premise. You've just gotta hit him before he can make a jump."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"Just, hit him? That sounds like bad advice."

"That's the only kind of advice I have!" Wilford said cheerfully. "Now come on, we have all day to rest up before the duel. We could check out that shooting competition on the hill. I know someone who would have loved this sort of thing…"

.

.

.

Dark spent the night in a rented room over the saloon, and spent the whole morning getting prepared for the duel. By the time they arrived on the dusty main street of town, a small crowd had gathered. Mundanes and wizards alike gathered on the side of the road and crowded around windows to see the duel. Ed stood alone down the street, fiddling with his sunglasses.

"Ha," he said. "I figured you'd be too scared to show up."

"Let's just get this over with," Dark glanced over at Wilford, who stood near the front of the crowd. He gave them a thumbs up and a genuine smile. They thought it strange how even after all this time they spent trying to capture him, he still showed them kindness. They shook the thought off as quickly as it came across their mind, they had more important matters to focus on. Like the person on the sidelines who had already begun counting down from ten to signal the start of the duel.

The moment the countdown hit one, an orange portal opened beneath Ed's feet and he vanished. No more than a moment later he reappeared to their right, hitting them hard in the jaw before disappearing through a portal again.

Dark spun in circles, trying to figure out where Ed would appear next. However, it seemed what the time wizard lacked in aim, he more than made up for in unpredictability. He had Dark stumbling over their feet trying to get a hit in, while he pelted them with a constant string of cheap shots. Dark knew he was trying to confuse them, and he was doing a real good job of it too. They tried to focus on a spell, but between Ed’s incessant attacks and the noise of the crowd, all they were getting was a headache. Finally, something snapped, and they cried out, sending out a large shockwave of red and blue magic.

The spell knocked them both down, the impact stirring up clouds of dust. Dark found themself on their back, the pain from the fight making it difficult to find the motivation to get up. As the dust began to settle, they heard people in the crowd gasp and murmur to each other. They looked up to see they were all staring at their face in horror. It was in that moment when Dark lifted a hand to their left eye and realized what had happened. When they fell over from the blast, the bangs that covered their face fell out of place, revealing the scar underneath; a patch of charred skin with unnatural veins of red and blue etched into the flesh. At the center was their eye, clouded and blue.

They quickly fixed their hair over their scar, and stumbled to their feet. With the duel now over, the crowd began to disperse. Wilford was the only one who stayed on the sidelines as Dark limped over to him. He clapped his hands together. "Excellent job out there! You really showed him what for!"

"Let's go," Dark growled, straight to the point as always. They picked their hat up off the ground, dusting it off before placing it back on their head.

Wilford frowned, "Why?"

"I won the duel," they said, pointing back to where Ed began to stir on the ground. "You said that if I won, you would go quietly."

"Yes, but that wasn't really a win now, was it?” Wilford reasoned, leaning back on his heels. “You both got knocked over at the same time and well, that's a draw. Not a win. I best be going now." He turned on his heel and reached into the recesses of his oversized coat, retrieving the Time Wand. With a flick of the wrist, a bubbling portal began to open in front of him. 

"No, you don't get to just walk away. We had a deal!" Dark moved in front of him, blocking his path to the portal. "You're not going anywhere!"

Wilford ignored their yelling, eyes drifting to the portal behind them to catch a glimpse of the scenery of its destination. A surprising look of vague recognition flickered across his face. He grinned, "You're right, I'm not going anywhere!"

Dark couldn't even process what he said before they were shoved back into the portal. They tried to reach out to grab at Wilford, but they couldn't do anything to help themself as they fell back into the unknown.

.

.

.

Dark hit the paved ground hard, only making their injuries worse. They sat up quickly to see the last pink bubbles of the portal spit out their cane before popping out of existence, giving them no other response as they sat yelling obscenities at empty air.

"Dark?" a voice behind them said.

They twisted around to Abe and Mare standing above them, staring in disbelief. That's when they realized where they were. The portal Wilford opened had dumped them onto the steps of Crime Department headquarters.

"What's with the cowboy costume?" Mare said, snickering as Abe bent down to help them to their feet. 

"Never mind that," Abe looked them over with concern in his eyes. "What happened to you? You've been missing for weeks!"

"Yeah, I was hoping you died."

"What?" Dark ignored Mare's comment. "I was only gone for a day." Abe and Mare only looked more perplexed, and suddenly it hit Dark. "That idiot thief pushed me into a time portal. He must've dropped me weeks after I left."

"Well, I'm glad you're alright," Abe said, giving Dark a gentle hug. "I was worried sick about you." He pulled a small watch out of his pocket. "I'll have to let JJ know to call the search parties back, and cancel my meeting with the Committee."

"Meeting?" Dark prompted. They were always anxious when Abe mentioned meetings about them. It was hardly anything good.

Abe hesitated, glancing cautiously over at Mare, whose scowl only deepened. "Well, the search parties haven't been able to find you, and since it's been so long, certain people were starting to presume you dead. I- well, I was meeting with the Committee to see about transferring the case to Mare."

"Oh," Dark glared at Mare. "Then it's a good thing I'm still alive. I can continue working the case as soon as possible. That reminds me, did any of the search parties manage to find Warfstache? It seemed like he was staying in Incantation after he pushed me through that portal."

"No, there wasn't a single trace of him when the search party arrived," Abe shook his head. "But, there was this one time wizard raving about being 'the world's most wanted outlaw'. Turns out he was wanted for some minor thefts back in the Dark Ages, so we took him into custody."

Dark scoffed, “Well at least someone got what they deserved.” They began to push past Abe before he stopped them with one arm.

“No so fast,” Abe said, turning them back around. “You’re not getting back to work yet. I want you to go get those injuries checked on, and then I want you to go home. You need to get some rest.”

“But—” Dark began to protest.

“Don’t make me have Mare escort you, Dark,” Abe threatened.

They huffed out a sigh. "Fine, but not for too long. I've already missed so much time." 

"I'll walk you to Henrik's," Abe looked over to Mare. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah whatever," the other detective crossed his arms, before storming off. Once he was out of ear shot, Abe smiled at Dark, gesturing for them to walk next to him as they began the short walk to the nearby clinic.

"So, how was it, getting to visit the Old West? I know you love westerns, it must have been exciting."

"Besides having to deal with two insufferable time travelers who knew nothing about it, I have to say, I quite enjoyed it." Dark just barely smiled.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Abe nudged them on the shoulder. "Partner."

[nicolemagolan]

Two Cities, One Galaxy: How Star Wars Connects And Divides Us

Early in 2019, I wrote a personal essay about Star Wars. It centered around SWCC (Star Wars Celebration Chicago) and my experience of watching the live stream in my living room at 4am, when the episode IX teaser and title was unveiled. 

It’s about fandom, the internet, and isolation. It’s about how Star Wars impacted my life, and about my relationship with my brother.

It also, eerily, foreshadows the disappointment I would eventually feel about The Rise of Skywalker. So here it is, under the cut. Please give it a read, and let me know your thoughts!

***

My phone blinks 3:30am, April 13th, 2019. In Chicago it’s 10:30am, yesterday. I should be asleep. I should stay present in Auckland, where no one else is awake except the moths gathering on the kitchen window.

My brother is slumped beside me, eyes closed, lost somewhere between sleep and boredom. We sit in the darkness of our living room, outlined by the grey glaze of the television. I’m wearing pyjama pants and yesterday’s T-shirt. An empty bag of chips is screwed up on the carpet, a half-drunk can of Lift Plus sits on the mantelpiece.

I stare at the TV. Waiting. My knee bobs up and down. I glance at my phone, and refresh Twitter. The tweets are coming in a blur: people yelling in caps lock, streaming without punctuation, some of it indecipherable, some of it from me. It’s happening kids / MERRY IXMAS, EVERYONE / I'm trying to remember it's called Star Wars Celebration not Star Wars oh my god I'm so stressed-ebration / I AM READY TO BE EPISODE IXed. The world around me is asleep, but the world under my thumb has never been more alive.

I take another sip of Lift Plus and feel its energy tingle through my bloodstream. Or maybe that sensation is the force.

When I was in class earlier in the day, wearing a Star Wars tee, writing in a Star Wars notebook and drinking from a Star Wars bottle, I was already stewing in anticipation. My mind was in another galaxy; speculation ran through me like shooting stars. My dedication to the Star Wars universe is fuelled not by the incessant marketing or the cheap merchandise, but by the passion I have for stories, space wizards, and the cute-yet-creepy alien bird race known as the Porgs.

 Star Wars Celebration Chicago is set to begin livestreaming on YouTube in just a few minutes. A countdown slowly ticks on screen. This will be the first big panel of Celebration, and the one I am most eager to see. The panel is for Star Wars: Episode IX, consisting of a Q&A session with cast members. Our first real, palpable look at the film, at beloved returning characters, and the new additions, to hear from returning Director J.J. Abrams what his vision for IX is.

But the real reason anyone is staying up all night to watch the livestream isn’t to see Abrams dodge spoilery questions. It’s to be amongst the first to witness the Episode IX trailer. The very first teaser trailer. Imagine a choir singing angelic sounds behind that one word and maybe you’ll begin to understand. What I really want is to catch a glimpse of the upcoming film, to learn the title—oh my goodness, the title—along with thousands of far, far away fans; some watching live in the dead of night or crack of dawn. The lucky few are crowded into the panel room itself. I swipe through pixelated and blurry selfies posted with #SWCC. It’s a big auditorium, packed with media, families, and cosplayers, and many are swinging lightsabers above the crowd’s heads. Purple, blue, green, and red beams of light. The stage itself is lit up with a bright blue backdrop.

 When I told my parents I was going to camp out in the living room to watch the livestream of Star Wars Celebration, they rolled their eyes. When I asked my brother if he wanted to join me, he cried, ‘Whyyy,’ before revealing his true colours when he showed up on the couch at 2am.

He was all too keen to eat my snacks, but now as time crawls forward, he seems to have come to the conclusion that it is ridiculous to stay up for something you can watch on your phone, from your bed, when you wake up. I have come to the conclusion that he is lying to himself. On the path to the dark side, perhaps.

He’s always joined me on my silly adventures, making fun of me along the way. But the fact that he’s willing to be there is enough, as he is now. Star Wars has been a part of his life as much as mine; we grew up roaring Chewbacca impressions and fighting with cardboard lightsabers; He’d be Darth Maul and I’d be Obi-Wan (so I got to chop him in half every time). Kids would tell me I was a weirdo for liking Star Wars, for playing with Barbies and Darth Vader figurines, blurring the lines between allocated girls’ or boys’ toys. But my brother and I knew: Star Wars is a fun space adventure for whoever wants to enjoy it.

We got older and the movies lost a touch of their magic: the internet revealed the intense hatred shovelled at the prequel trilogy. Little-me had loved the ridiculous Jar Jar Binks, but the middle-aged fans who grew up with the original trilogy saw him as an offence to their childhood obsession. (JUSTICE FOR JAR JAR is the hill I will die on.)

Then Disney bought Lucasfilm and ushered in a new era. I have a series of selfies from midnight premieres—me grinning from ear to ear, my brother with eyes closed and discontented frown (his go-to photo pose)—in the blurry light of the Imax screen on Queen Street. But one glance at his smiling face during the film and you know he loves this galaxy as much as the next fan.

Sometimes that’s the problem: our love for this story is so great and so ingrained, that it can bubble over into endless online debates. Debates become heated, become personal, become hateful. In this era of social media, everyone has a voice, but the ones who spit poison are the loudest. We struggle to find common ground sometimes. But it’s always there, beneath out feet and on our TV screens. We love Star Wars. We love to watch it, re-enact it, dissect it, wear it, read it, and write about it. Whether the common ground we stand on looks like the sands of Tatooine or the lake country of Naboo, it’s all the same galaxy. Even though the galaxy-shattering film The Last Jedi threatened to destroy us, we can find a way to stand together. Because when the fans unite, at movie premieres, or conventions, the fandom can become something worth celebrating.

Like today, right now, 3:59am in my living room.

I look up from my phone. The countdown reaches zero. I hold my breath. A soft echo of music trickles through the speakers, and John Williams’ familiar score wraps around me like a blanket. Goose bumps pop up on my skin.

The Star Wars logo vanishes and the screen cuts to black. I snap up and nudge my sleeping brother’s arm with my toe. He jolts awake, looks at the black screen and scowls.

‘Nothing’s hap—’

He’s cut off by a roaring applause as the blue-lit panel stage lights up the screen. The room around me fades. I’m in Auckland with my brain fuzzy, and I’m transported to Chicago with heart thumping.

My brother jumps up and stands in front of the screen. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’

I babble, ‘butthepanelisabouttostart,’ craning my neck around his legs.

‘Oh well,’ he says. He walks off.

Stephen Colbert is pacing around the stage, babbling on about Dagobah and S-foils, trying to work the crowd up—unnecessary, since we are all waiting for the cast and crew.

I’m leaning forward, straining my eyes, and wondering if anyone actually finds his ‘jokes’ funny. Twitter tells me, yes, they do. The excitement level is high, making everything fresh and exciting, even if it’s a Star Wars pun heard years ago. I almost feel like I could twist my neck and hear people whispering behind me, instead of tweeting alongside me.

 The closest thing to this feeling in my own city is Armageddon Expo, the annual convention at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane. Nerds I’ve never met become my best friends. We jam the halls like squashed-up skittles. I don’t know their names but I know who they are. When I’m dressed in Rey’s dusty scavenger outfit, with staff in hand and hair bunched in three bobbles, young girls point and giggle. I wave at them, their eyes wide with wonder, and my heart is full.

The internet fandom space is a mix of tweet-before-thinking garbage and fun bite-sized meta. The real-world fandom spaces, such as Armageddon, are a big geeky party; no one hiding behind an anonymous wall, and no one left out.

This livestream is somewhere in between. I am connected online from where I sit in Auckland. Reading tweets and writing tweets and liking gifs. Yet I am in Chicago, oblivious to the sleeping city around me.

Stephen Colbert brings out Director J.J. Abrams and head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy, and the content we’re all waiting for finally begins. I take in every detail, every non-answer. I enjoy it. I loathe it. Stephen Colbert asks unanswerable questions, like the fate of Daisy Ridley’s character, or how the relationships develop. No word is uttered more than ‘spoilers’.

The cast members are introduced onto the stage; first is Anthony Daniels who plays C-3PO—one of the remaining few original cast members from 1977. He waves hello to the crowd before looking for the cameras. In his charming British accent, he says, ‘On tweets today people were, all over the world, saying “wish I could be here”. And I know we’re on camera, so I don’t know where the camera is, but whoever is in Australia or…’ He pauses for a flicker of a second, ‘…all the other countries around the planet; I wanna give you a big wave, and you are here in spirit. Okay?’

I grin a little wider. Of course he would mention our neighbour, Australia. So close, and yet so far.

 In New Zealand, despite the growing connections through social media, I feel isolated. Even in the vast Auckland city, where I easily get lost in the busy roads and busy people. New Zealand is separate. And that’s part of what makes it special.

But the isolation is also part of what makes being part the Star Wars fandom special.

It’s a larger world. Out there in space; out there in the world wide web. Legendary or anonymous, you can be a part of something. You can tell your story; you can make one up. After movie premieres, there is a sense of privilege and power in that none of my fellow fans in America have yet seen the movie. The Last Jedi came here a few days early, and I knew all the things before anyone else. We were isolated again. And it felt so good.

Did I go and post spoilers? No, because I’m not an asshole (you know who you are). But I told people they’re gonna love it. I told them the film is exciting and unexpected and dabbles deliciously in subtext in a way that’s fresh for Star Wars. I sign off with eagerness for the upcoming dissection and discussion of the film.

 The next day I’m shocked to learn that many many many people felt it was a ‘betrayal’ of Star Wars. A disaster of a movie. A cluttered mess of a story, an anti-climactic sequel that instead of building on what came before, tore the past to shreds. My brother is one of them.

And the fandom split in two.

But not today. Not tonight. I refuse, and so does everyone on my Twitter feed, because we’re tired of defending Rey, who is not a Mary Sue; and Vice Admiral Holdo, whose purple hair does not make her a lesser fighter; and Rose Tico, who fell victim to dude-bros saying she’s the worst character ever, she ruined their childhood, and Asians don’t belong in Star Wars; until eventually the actress, Kelly Marie Tran, deleted all her social media.

When Kelly walks onto the panel stage, she gets a standing ovation. There are tears in her eyes, and there are tears in mine.

 They introduce the new cast members, and display behind the scenes photos, and babble on about the brilliant practical effects. There’s a touching tribute to Carrie Fisher, an awkward bit about Adam Driver’s chest, and the introduction of new droid D-O. When the duck-inspired droid rolls onto the stage, you can hear cash registers ring.

My brother comes back in the room as the panel is winding up. He flops into the chair and sighs. ‘So, did I miss anything?’

‘You missed everything.’

‘So I didn’t miss anything then,’ he smirks.

Stephen Colbert asks J.J. Abrams if there’s anything he wants to leave with the fans. I lean forward. ‘This is it,’ I screech.

This is it. It boils down to this simple, repeated moment in time: the day, or night, or very-early-morning that a Star Wars trailer is about to debut. I am alone, and yet so very not alone, united in a nerdy passion that doesn’t call for such depth of devotion. But here we all are. Here I am. And here’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (omg).

 I switch off the TV. The darkness eats my eyeballs.

‘How am I supposed to sleep after that!?’ I yell. ‘Palpatine. Freaking Pal-pa-tine! NO! YES! Why?!’

Silence.

My brother is asleep.

I throw a pillow at him. ‘DUDE! Palpatine is back!’

He mumbles, ‘Haha, lame.’ His eyes don’t open.

I slide down the couch until I hit the hard floor. The Rise of Skywalker. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. I sit there in the lonely living room, and let my thoughts trail off into the dark.

[eyoricka]

childish jealousy

This one was requested by ClairesC462 who wanted a jealous Theseus who acts childish.

summary: Theseus gets jealous and pouts like a kid Warning: none

words 1800k+

You heard the referee blew his whistle to signal that someone had caught the golden snitch and you slowly landed on the floor. you smiled widely at your teammates. They were throwing in the air your seeker. You had won by landslide but that weren’t much of a surprise since you had won the British championship the year before and the team against you wasn’t that good. Even if their seeker was rather good, their chasers were so bad that you had caught up the quaffle almost all the time when they had tried to score. As you were making your way outside of the changing room, you noticed your boyfriend grinning at you proudly as the supporter stroke up the song that they had invented for you. in front of the changing room stood an official representant and a group of children and teens. They were the members of the actual teams of Hogwarts. You gently signed them some autographs and discussed with them about why they decided to play that sport, if they wanted to become pro…

You changed yourself and discussed a bit with the other girls of the team. You would join them at 11 in a trendy bar to celebrate your victory. As you left the changing room you spotted Theseus. You walked quickly to join him and threw yourself in his arms. He hugged you and kissed you passionately. You knew that Theseus was rather jealous of all the people that were actually fantasying on you, he never said it aloud but you had noticed that. he would always frown when someone was lurking at you and put an arm around you and kissed you to show him that you were already taken and that made you chuckled. You apparated to your place for a nice dinner that Theseus cooked and you smiled at him. he was so cute when he was doing his best to cook something good even if that was clearly something he wasn’t that good at. Thinking that this man was the terror of the dark wizards but was unable to prepare good lasagna made you giggled. When he heard you he put down the spatula and pouted “You should not make fun of me or else that flour could end up in your lovely face and hair.” You rolled your eyes at him in a comic way and stated “You wouldn’t dare” “and what’s make you believe that Y/N?” “because then I would find myself in the obligation to reply to your war declaration and we both know who would win.” He sighed and you grinned at him. you approached him to see what the food looked like and if he had managed to cook something that you would eat. But as you were leaning to read the recipe on the cookbook that was next to the bowl you felt something running down you neck and your back. You jerked back and saw his proud smile. He had a milk bottle in one hand and was trying to protect his face with his other hand. You grabbed your wand and quickly made a move. Suddenly eggs, milk, flour and sugar where just above his head. You moved your wand to the ground and everything fall on his well-arranged hair and victorious face. he looked at you with his face covered with cake paste. You could help but laugh as he put dramatically a hand on his heart and whispered “that is how I die, losing to an unfair victory, won by cheating. Ô sweet agony, Ô bitter love, that is how I give up on life, killed by the hand of my lover, betrayed by the only one I trusted. There is no worse fate.”  As you were laughing very hard you didn’t see him walked closer to you and it surprised you when he lifted you in his arms. You looked at him with innocent eyes and then closed them as you thought that he would kiss you. but instead he rubbed his face against yours and you immediately felt sticky. “gross” you said in a disgusted tone but he chuckled and replied “Your fault not mine, you should not…” but he never finished his sentence as he saw you put a finger on his cheek and then licked the remaining paste on your finger. “such a tease” he growled against your neck and you smiled expectantly at him.

You looked in your dressing to find the perfect outfit for the bar party and frowned a bit when you saw nothing you like. Theseus was still laying on the bed and he chuckled when he heard you groaned “I have nothing to wear”.  “then maybe you should stay there and join me in the bed.” He subjected smirking. You threw a pillow at him and replied sighing “I wish but I promise to go with them. and I already told you, you are invited so you should get ready too!” He pretended that he didn’t hear you but when you glared at him he stood up and get ready. Few minutes later he was ready but you were still in underwear trying to figure out what to wear. He stood next to you clearly annoyed by the time you were taking to just find an outfit. You finally grabbed a skirt with a nice floral top. You quickly put them on and brushed your hair. You put a bit of make up, grabbed a purse and kissed Theseus cheek. He put his arm around your waist and apparated you in the bar. This latter was fully crowded and you felt like you would never reach the girls. When you eventually spotted them, they practically ran to you to do the celebration dance. After that you grabbed a drink and discussed with them. Theseus was talking with one of your teammate’s boyfriend who was also an auror.

The night was going on and you were glad that Theseus was having fun too. You were in the middle of a conversation with Amy, one of the beater, when someone interrupted you. It was a man, around your age, with a kind smile. He apologized to interpose and simply asked for an autograph. You nicely smiled back and agreed to sign his paper. He seemed genuinely happy and you were glad. Then he shyly asked if he would have the honor to buy you a drink. You politely refused showing that your glass wasn’t empty but Amy accepted claiming that you should never miss an opportunity to get free drinks. You sensed Theseus eyes on you and you reassuringly smiled at him. he looked tensed and you nodded toward Amy to show him that the guy would be hitting on her so no need to worry. You continued to speak with the guy and Amy however Theseus was still carefully watching you. reading him like a book, you knew that once you were home he would pout like a five years old if you didn’t go and see him. you found an excuse to let the two future love birds together and joined your childish boyfriend. But you felt a hand around your wrist and the guy asked you to stay. You gave a side eye to Amy who was slowly losing her composure. You clearly didn’t want to provoke any drama in the team especially for a guy you didn’t care about. You were about to ask him to let you go when you felt a presence behind you. you immediately recognized who it was and the other guy seemed to have done some connections because he let you go. Theseus excused yourselves saying that you really had to go, you wished a good evening to Amy and the rest of the team and disappeared.

Once you were home you quickly threw a PJ on and watched what Theseus was doing even if you knew in advance what he would do. He would stay downstairs eating candies and pouting until you would practically beg him to go to sleep. In your bed he would grab the teddy bear he had since he was a child and mumbled thing like “you are the only one who truly love me” “you would never betray me for another teddy bear… until he falls asleep. And god knows that you shouldn’t laugh at his ridiculous behavior because he would do the silent treatment until you apologize.

When you went downstairs as predicted Theseus was eating some sweet things and mumbling to himself. You smiled at the picture thinking that you were dating a child and that clearly you weren’t ready to be pregnant now, taking care of an adult acting like a kid was enough. You called him and he looked at you with an unreadable face. you threw at him his teddy bear and he couldn’t help but smiled back. When he realized that he was smiling he quickly regained his pouting composure. You chuckled internally and walked to the kitchen. you grabbed chocolate, flour, sugar, eggs, butter and began to bake some brownies. You were silently waiting for the brownie to be baked and warm, lost in your thoughts when you heard small steps behind you. Theseus leaned against the counter hugging his teddy and looking at you with puppy eyes. you opened the oven and took the brownie out of the oven. “Y/N What’s he got more than me?” You cut the brownie in several square parts and simply replied “Nothing, you are far better. I bet he doesn’t have a teddy bear and a whinny childish attitude that makes me melt.” Your boyfriend refrained a silly grin and asked “So why did you spent the night with him?” You sighed at that question but you were fully aware that sooner or later he would ask it “I didn’t because you were talking to someone else certainly about job and it didn’t really interested me. plus I spent the night with Amy and not with him, he was just there, it is not like I particularly liked his presence.” Theseus nodded and hugged you. you were pressed against his teddy bear and you never wanted him to break the embrace. “I love you Y/N” he whispered in your ear. He extended his arm and you quickly replied “Me too but that is not a reason to eat the brownie behind my back.” He looked at you with an innocent smile, like he wasn’t understanding why you told him that. that was too much and you busted into laughter, between two laughs you managed to say “Wait until the Christmas party of the ministry that I told to your colleagues that their feared and respected fellow is just a child in disguise, who pouted, has a teddy bear and can resist to brownie.” He faked gasp “You wouldn’t dare!! Plus I think no one can resist to brownie!”

[amertsi]

Like Magic

Arthur is a wizard. Francis wants them to both dress up as wizards for a costume contest. Arthur hates this idea. The wizard part is less important than you'd expect.

My Secret Spectres fic for @istafen as part of the event run by @hetaliawritersdiscord!

This turned into more of a glance into a much bigger world than I meant for it to, so though this was meant as a stand alone gift fic, I might expand on this world anyway. Regardless, I hope you enjoy, it was fun to write and different form what I normally write. Sorry it's so late though.

Read on AO3

Arthur’s expression was a mix of frustrated and utterly confused, a look Francis had seen multiple times. In fact, it might as well be a part of his daily life, with how often Arthur gives him that look. But even as he was stared at as if he’d grown an extra head, Francis only continued to grin.

“Oh, cher, don’t be such a stick in the mud! Your costume is perfect!”

The look on Arthur’s face fell even more, and something like the groan of a dying animal escaped him. “Francis. For the millionth time. This isn’t. A costume. It’s a uniform. I don’t just dress like this for fun, it’s for--”

“Yes, yes, your little magic club. But Arthur, it’s perfect! If I wear my costume and you wear yours, we’re bound to place first--”

“It’s not a-- good lord, really, Francis?”

They’d had this conversation more times than either of them could keep track of by this point. Ever since they’d received the invitation to Alfred’s annual costume party, Francis had insisted that the two of them go dressed as wizards, much to Arthur’s dismay. He’d tried explaining to Francis on numerous occasions that he was just “dressing up,” he was a member of the High Wizard Society, and it was very important he not tarnish their name! But no amount of explaining would stop Francis from just smiling and laughing that stupidly sexy laugh of his as he patted Arthur on the shoulder and told him to have fun at his Wizard Club. Arthur loved him, really, he did, but good lord, sometimes Francis was actually just a complete idiot.

As he ran his hands over his face from the mental exhaustion of it all, Arthur just barely caught the end of Francis’s rambling. “--nd you’ll have fun, trust me.” He wished he hadn’t bothered tuning in at all.

“No, Francis,” Arthur sighed, exasperated, “I won’t have fun. I’ll ruin my reputation as a well respected mage and then I’ll be kicked from the organization and it will be your fault.” When he looked at Francis, the man was still giving him puppy eyes, so he groaned and rolled his gaze away. “It’s not a good idea! Lukas, back me up here--”

Lukas meanwhile, their ever apathetic roommate, had been sitting on the couch just feet away from them the entire time, watching with an uninterested stare. He was silent a moment before giving Francis a thumbs up. “Sounds great. You should do it.”

“Lukas--!”

Francis was making a poor attempt to hide his giggling behind his hand. Lukas had the audacity to smile. Arthur was going to kill them both with his own hands.

After a long, long pause, in which Arthur thought up at least five different ways he would personally end the lives of his roommates, he finally gave in with a long, winded sigh. “Okay. Okay, fine,” he grumbled. “We’ll go to the blasted party. But I’m doing this only once, you hear me? Come next year I don’t want to hear a word from you!” Francis, clearly ecstatic by this declaration, beamed and clasped his hands together.

“Oh, wonderful! I knew you’d come around~” Francis embraced the still grumbling Arthur and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You know I love you so much, right?”

“Yeah, whatever, shut the fuck up and let’s get ready.”

Getting ready took longer than Arthur would have liked, and it was entirely NOT his fault. When Francis had procured his own costume, he’d been horrified to see that the idiot had purchased a cheap wizard costume from one of those tacky Halloween stores. Needless to say, there’d been much arguing over whether or not Francis would be allowed to be seen in public in such a hideous garment. In the end, Arthur managed to at least convince him to leave the terrible pointed hat behind.

Alfred’s house was only a few walks away, and while Arthur had wanted to drive to avoid being seen on the streets in their getup, Francis had insisted they walk and enjoy the fresh air. And, since he couldn’t actually say no to him ever, Arthur had begrudgingly agreed.

Even with how annoyed he was (pretending to be) with the situation, Arthur and Francis still walked hand in hand down sidewalk. Fallen leaves, brown from the chill of the air, crinkled and crunched beneath the soles of their shoes, creating a quiet melody to fill in the silence. Arthur hated to admit it, since he was still (pretending to be) mad, but the warmth of Francis’s hand against his was comforting. Without thinking, he squeezed his hand and felt Francis squeeze back. Glancing over at him revealed a small smile.

With a huff, Arthur finally broke the silence. “What are you so happy about?”

Francis blinked, then laughed. “Oh, nothing. It’s just a lovely day.” He paused, smirking. “Not as lovely as you though~”

“Oh, shut up,” Arthur chided with a roll of his eyes, lighting bumping into Francis with his shoulder. “You’re just trying to get on my good side.”

“And if I am? What will you do then?” Francis hummed, leaning closer into Arthur, who only grumbled and tried to push him away, lest he see the beginnings of a smile that threatened to curve his lips.

“Don’t test me.”

Francis only laughed. Before Arthur could snap a comeback at him, though, they’d arrived, and he quickly became distracted in his attempt to straighten out his cloak. But Francis smacked his hand away and offered an annoying but somehow still reassuring smile. “You look fine, dear. Come, let’s go in.”

With all their earlier fussing, it seemed they were a bit late. Familiar faces had already gathered in all corners of the house, and Alfred, as energetic as ever, greeted them enthusiastically.

“Hey! Took you guys long enough to get here. Nice costumes! Shoulda known you’d be a wizard, Artie, you always did like that occulty shit.” Arthur was about to correct him, but couldn’t get a word in before Alfred continued. “But hey, you’re just in time, we’re gonna have the contest soon! Kiku’s helping me judge this year, and you know how high his costume standards are! Anyway, I’ll go put your guys’s names on the list, be in the back in like, ten minutes!” And with that, he ran off.

Once he’d left, Arthur sighed, already exhausted. He resisted the urge to sigh again when he felt Francis’s chin rest on his shoulder, warm breath tickling his ear.

“Don’t be so sour, cher, it will be just fine. We’ll just go up, pose, win first place, then be done. How does that sound, hm?”

“It sounds bloody terrible, that’s what.” Arthur wriggled his way out of Francis’s grip. Just when had his arms snaked around him, anyway? “Now get off me. You’ll wrinkle my cloak.”

There was that laugh again. That irresistibly attractive laugh. Francis was really making it hard to be mad about all this, especially when he acted so understanding and let go of Arthur, backing up a step. “Of course, I’ll be most careful. We ought to go get ready for the contest, then, lest you ruin your outfit more.”

It was hard to argue against that, so Arthur simply sighed once more and agreed, and together they went to the backyard.

The costume contest turned out to be nowhere near as simple as Francis had assured it would be. Kiku had his camera, because of course he did, and demanded at least ten photos of each contestant or group that went up, claiming he needed various shots in order to judge fairly. Arthur, personally, hated this, and struggled to come up with more than two poses when it was his and Francis’s turn. Francis, meanwhile, seemed to thrive in the limelight, and for the most part, lead him through it.

As they stepped off the makeshift stage Alfred had set up, Arthur grumbled, shifting his cloak on his shoulders. “That was terrible, dammit, I’m not some sort of model, you know, we’re going to place dead last--”

“Oh, hush, you were fine,” Francis soothed, flicking blond strands from out of his face. “I thought it was quite fun.”

“Well that’s just wonderful. We’ll see what you’re saying when we lose the entire thing.” Plopping himself unceremoniously upon a bench, Arthur snagged a cookie from a nearby table and munched on it angrily.

Dammit, why was it so tasty.

When Francis sat beside him, Arthur looked away, trying his hardest to be mad even when Francis leaned over slightly to peer at him. He expected him to say something, but instead, a silence hung between them for several moments first before the other finally spoke.

“...What’s on your mind, hm? I know you’re usually grumpy about these sort of things, but you’ve been rather adamantly in a bad mood today.”

Arthur scoffed. “Of course I’m in a bad mood. I told you from the beginning this was a bad idea. You know already that these clothes, they’re not... it’s just who I am, it’s not some Halloween costume. But now I’ve made a fool of myself and my art in front of all these people.” He groaned, leaning back against the bench. “It’s not as if anyone has ever taken magic seriously to begin with, I suppose.”

Another silence fell between them, and this time, it was Francis who sighed. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I shouldn’t have pushed you to dress up with me.” He laughed softly. “Perhaps it was silly of me. I thought that, if we did this together, I’d be able to show how much I love your passion for magic, even if I don’t understand it, but I seem to have only made you think the opposite. For that, I apologize.”

A pause, then Arthur huffed, stealing a sideways glance at Francis before staring off towards the stage once more. “...You could have said that sooner, idiot.”

Francis laughed. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“...Maybe. I’m still mad. You’re taking full responsibility when we lose.”

“Of course, this was my idea, after all.” With a soft smile, Francis nodded to the stage. “But still, don’t count us out so soon. Look, Alfred is about to announce the winners.”

Just as Francis had said, Alfred was stepping onto stage, loudspeaker in hand. Arthur cringed. He’d have a headache for sure. Wishing to maintain some of his sanity, he did his best to tune out the third place winner, rolling his eyes as Francis applauded.

“Why are you clapping? We’re definitely not winning now. That’s not even a costume, that’s just how Roderich dresses every day.”

“Oh, hush, you don’t know that.”

“I do though--”

The sound of Alfred’s voice over the speaker cut off the rest of Arthur’s words. “Okay, thanks, Roddi! And now, our second place winners! Give it up for... Arthur and Francis, the two magical wizards!”

Arthur blinked. Beside him, he could practically feel Francis beaming. Oh, he was never going to live this down, was he? Still surprised, he allowed Francis to pull him back to the stage, standing awkwardly as the other man waved to the crowd before leading him back off again. When they sat back down, Francis was still grinning.

“See, what did I tell you? We were not going to lose! And everyone loves your magic theme, no one thinks you are silly or lesser for it.”

Once he’d shaken himself out of his stupor, Arthur glanced at Francis, taking in that grin of his. He really was too sweet. “...You said we’d win first place. Last I checked, second isn’t first.”

Francis only laughed. “Did I say that?”

“Yes, you did!” Arthur huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t act like you didn’t! What are you going to do about this, huh? Where’s my gold medal? And furthermore--”

For the umpteenth time that evening, Arthur’s words were cut off, but this time by Francis’s lips upon his. It only lasted a moment, as Francis soon pulled away, a soft chuckle on his breath. “How about this, then, hm? I’ll make it up to you by getting us first place next year. Is that alright?”

Arthur was definitely not pouting. It was just that expression of his, the mixture of frustrated and confused. He was most certainly not flushing slightly, or feeling as if he was perhaps luckier than he thought. “Absolutely not. This is the last time I’m doing something like this. Make it up to me some other way.”

“Oh, I can most certainly think of other ways~”

Now Arthur really was flushed. With a grumbled, he pulled Francis in for another kiss, one that actually lasted. His hands clenched the fabric of Francis’s stupid, ugly costume even as he pulled away, glaring up at him. “...Shut up.”

Francis’s laugh was just as irritating and stupidly sexy as always.

“For you, happily.”

[thelarryficrecplace]

Do you know of any good Halloween themed fics?

Hello! Here you go, my 2017 Halloween Fics Larry Edition: 

Trick or Die by sweetlullabies:

Summary: “Is that blood on your face?” Louis asks, not even thinking before reaching out and ghosting one of his thumbs over Harry’s chin. He’s not even aware that he’s full on squatting in front of this boy, observing him like a scientist in a laboratory. Louis is just a very curious person, that’s all. “What happened?”

Harry quickly wipes his face with his sleeve, causing the contact between his skin and Louis’ thumb to become broken.

“I fell,” he mumbles, looking down at his lap and furrowing his eyebrows, as though this whole encounter is frustrating him.

Louis remains exactly where he is, trying his best to study this boy and figure out why exactly he’s hiding in some bushes in the middle of the night, as well as why he’s pretending that he’s not that boy in Louis’ class even though Louis knows he is.

the best time of year quickly turns into the worst for Louis once he gets himself involved with things—or supernatural beings, he shouldn’t mess with.

Word count: 39,450

like how your hands feel me up and down by ballsdeepinjesus:

Summary: “How do I look?” Harry asks lowly. He turns around and gestures towards the unzipped back of his skirt for him to help. Louis stumbles forward and places a cold hand on the exposed side of Harry’s stomach, steadying him while he pulls the zipper up the rest of the way. He pushes Harry back into the dressing room and stands behind him in front of the mirror.

“It’s – you’re tight,” Louis chokes. “It’s tight, I mean. It’s. Yes.” His hand is curved around his hip now, squeezing lightly.

“Tight’s good, right?” Harry murmurs, batting his eyelashes. He almost can’t believe himself.

“Very good,” Louis grunts.

[louis works in a halloween shop and harry needs a costume]

Word count: 7,588

Fallen treats by sweariwouldnt:

Summary: Harry hates both Halloween and Louis Tomlinson.

He does, however, love his little sister a lot.

Hence why he puts on his ears and his tail and joins her, her friends and their big brother for a round of trick or treating.

Word count: 6,229

Let You Lick the Lollipop by Anonymous:

Summary: Louis may be throwing a Halloween costume party for a lot of drunk college students, but that doesn’t mean he can’t also hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. He just has to keep people from stealing all the candy–especially the very hot guy in a toga who won’t leave his candy alone.

Word count: 4,429

Eyes Wide Open by Anonymous:

Summary: Louis could only gape and stare, unable to rip his eyes off the man, only now taking in the rest of his outfit. A skin-tight, white T-shirt covered his torso, clinging material highlighting the small dip of his waist. The better part of a muscular chest was prominently on display thanks to a plunging neckline, two tattooed birds on the man’s pecs drawing Louis’ eyes unbidden, not to mention the writing on the shirt - “Lil Monster’s Daddy”.

To say that Louis suffered from visual over-stimulation was putting it mildly. And the other man knew it if the slight smirk and watchful gaze, monitoring every hitch in Louis’ breath and twitch of his body, was anything to go by.

Or the one where wizard Louis gets to experience his first Muggle Halloween and gets more than he dared to hope for in the form of Muggle Harry dressing up as his literal wank fantasy, making it Louis’ best Halloween ever.

Word count: 4,130

it’s only you that matters by togetherwecouldbealright:

Summary: “I never used to care for Halloween, but now it’s my favorite holiday and, fuck, there’s no one else to blame except for you. You’ve made not only Halloween, but every day of the year better for me because I get to spend each and every one of them with you.” 

The one where Harry and Louis meet on Halloween and Halloween somehow becomes their thing.

Word count: 10,692

Kryptonite by Anonymous:

Summary: Louis watches with hooded eyes as Harry’s adam’s apple bobs up and down a few times, before licking his lips and slowly bringing his eyes back up to Louis’. Even in this lighting Louis can see how dilated his pupils have become, and imagines his must look similar.

“Are you wearing lace under your top, Lou?” Harry asks, voice deep with a rough edge that sends a shiver down his spine.

“I’m wearing lace under my everything, Harold.” he says coyly, batting his mascara laden lashes slowly.For the first time in all of the years they’ve been working together both Louis and Harry are single at the same time. With their company’s annual Halloween bash just around the corner, both men decide it might just be the perfect time to take a risk, and maybe get a little risqué with their costumes in the hopes that the reward might be each other.

Word count: 8,571

no grave can hold my body down by soleilouis:

Summary: harry and louis find themselves stuck in an old haunted house. it may or may not be the fault of three friendly matchmaker ghosts.

Word count: 13,198

i’ll fuck you like the devil by crybaby:

Summary: Harry rests back against what he guesses must be Louis’ desk, resting his bum over his notebooks as Louis plucks at the devil ears, tossing them to his bed. ‘So, what’s a little twink like you doing in my flat?’ he asks with a wicked grin as he takes a step to where Harry’s standing.

(Harry is 17, dresses as an angel for Halloween, and attends Louis’ Halloween party. Louis fucks him)

Word count: 8,934

In other words, I love you by sweetrevenge:

Summary: In 2004, the year that they met, Harry kissed Louis for the very first time on Halloween.

Ten years later, Harry has to spend Halloween on bed rest and Louis makes sure that his husband doesn’t miss a thing.

Word count: 3,960

You Are the Moon That Breaks the Night by supernope:

Summary: Harry doesn’t realize he’s been squeezing Louis’ hand until Louis nudges him in the hip and laughs, “They’re just pumpkins, Harry, calm down. Let’s go have a look.”

Harry lets Louis drag him off toward the closest pile of decorative gourds, then tugs him down into a crouch so they can begin to search through them all. He wants carving pumpkins, but he also wants little ones for decoration and a couple of ripe ones to bake with.

Louis does not understand the art of selecting a pumpkin, Harry discovers, and he has to give him a hands-on tutorial that involves way too much touching for such a public, kid-friendly place. Harry wants so many pumpkins that they end up making it into a contest to see who can choose the best ones, both drifting from pumpkin pile to hay bale, turning pumpkins over and pressing on the bottoms like they’re pumpkin experts.

Word count: 4,168

Something Strange by MiniMangaFan:

Summary: “We’re actually ghosts. We haunt the flat.”

“You’re fucking with me,” Liam scoffs, still eyeing them warily. “You’re mad.”

“Remember the shaving cream?” Louis asks, slouching like he’s bored with the conversation. It does get a bit tedious revealing themselves every year and facing the same scepticism. “And the freak internet cut outs and things going missing but you were sure you remembered where you put them and everything else that doesn’t make sense? Ghosts, mate, you’re being haunted.”

Liam frowns again, and then he faints. He actually faints.

Or, Harry and Louis are ghosts who are intent on making Liam suffer.

Word count: 7,092

Float Down Like Autumn Leaves (Stay Now) by hopelesswriter:

Summary: Sometimes life plays more tricks than treats on us. Sometimes we plan our future and hope for the best but our world is turned upside down. Sometimes the crispy air of October brings the smell of pumpkin spice candles instead of dead things- and sometimes, when it’s meant to be, there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it.

Or the AU in which Louis has a 6 year old daughter with a costume emergency that puts her school’s annual Halloween party at risk, Halloween decorated cupcakes are hard to find and tall men look absolutely ridiculously cute in giant vegetables costumes. Co-starring Harry, who makes really good food for the kids. Featuring Niall, who works in a bakery but has a part time job as a babysitter. And as much as he doesn’t believe in love at first (or second) sight, Louis is really infatuated and really wouldn’t mind seeing Harry again.

Word count: 16,624

come on, jump out at me by g_uttertrash:

Summary: Harry is a witch from a long line of power, an ancient line that’s one of the strongest left alive in their hemisphere. He can cast spells without a word if need be, fly on a broomstick, and has a black cat (a kitten, really) named Felix that is his animal familiar. He can shape galaxies in his cupped hands and can destroy them just as easily. He can choose exactly how to use his power, for encouragement and support, or for more nefarious causes if he wishes to.

And as fate would have it, he’s scared of haunted houses.

(Harry is a witch who carries around a stuffed pumpkin, Louis is a vampire with too much time on his hands, and their best mates Zayn & Niall aren’t exactly what they seem…)

Word count: 7,397

make this feel like home by tomorrows:

Summary: He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be graced with a sight cuter than his boyfriend standing in the middle of a pumpkin patch in October, holding the pumpkin version of him against his hip.

Harry wants to be the one held up against Louis’ waist. Not a silly pumpkin.

“Gonna the return the favor or what, curly?” Louis motions to the cute little stocky half of the orange dream team behind him and winks. “I’m a good enough pumpkin for you, aren’t it?”

[harry and louis are 17 and besotted, feat. halloween]

Word count: 4,362

a moth to your flame by sarcasticfluentry:

Summary: Harry attends a Halloween party with his vampire boyfriend Louis and gets more than he bargained for.

Word count: 9,486

An extra special halloween treat by harrysprostate:

Summary: Louis had been so curious about what Harry was going to be for Halloween. Harry was set on not telling Louis his costume until the party, and no matter what Louis did, nothing worked in getting Harry to change his mind. It was obvious that Harry’s costume was going to be a big deal, but Louis did not expect this.

Word count: 10,527

we’ve got unfinished business by suspendrs:

Summary: “Maybe we have a ghost,” Harry suggests, frowning when Louis laughs. “Lots of people have them, you know.”“

Harry, ghosts aren’t real,” Louis snorts, shaking his head as he makes his way back to the kitchen. Harry pouts for a moment, until he hears Louis shriek on the other side of the door.

Or, there’s a ghost in Harry and Louis’s apartment that seemingly just wants them to date.

Word count: 6,910

A gold and green Halloween by Tita:

Summary: “You stare quite a lot, do you know that?”

“Can’t help it,” Harry admits, no hesitation about this at least, “you’re just too pretty to miss.”

Louis rolls his eyes.

“Too smart to fall for your cheesy lines too.”

Harry smiles at him.

“I never expected otherwise from a Slytherin.”Harry and Louis are strangers who, dressed as Drarry, compete on a Halloween couple’s costume contest. It’s exactly as much of a mess as it sounds.

Word count: 8,386

Beep the Horn by kikikryslee:

Summary: “Listen, I’ve tried to be helpful,“ Niall said. "But it’s been three years. It’s time for you to make the move. There’s only so much encouraging I can do before it starts to get repetitive. And annoying.”

“I feel so loved,” Louis deadpanned.

“Of course we love you, Lou,” Zayn said. “We just need you to tell Harry how you feel so you can stop feeling so down on yourself.”Or, the one where Harry dresses as Miley Cyrus for Halloween, and Louis is the tiniest bit in love with him.

Word count: 5,959

[smmarco]

Perspective

There are times in my life I sit here and ask the universe, what have I done to have so many things put on my plate. Why have I been given so many things cause me such pain and frustration in life. I am a good woman, an understanding, sympathetic, empathetic and loving person. Why must I be plagued with so much grief so often.

Then there are the moments that my outlook changes. As I look around my home, at first glance I see mess. Dishes stacked in the sink. Clothes piled up waiting to someday get folded. Toys and clutter everywhere plaguing my sanity. Until I turn inside myself.

I look around a second time and notice a plate from dinner. Dinner that I sat at my kitchen table and ate with my children, laughing at their silly stories from their day. Telling me about their friends and all the fun things they did at daycare today while I worked. Singing songs as we put those dishes in the sink and scoop ice cream into cones for a sweet treat after dinner. A dress of my daughter’s on the top of that pile of laundry. One that I shouldn’t have necessarily spent money on, but one that I knew she would love because it has the wizard of oz on it. Which is Papas favorite movie. A shirt that matches said dress that made my son’s face light up, but not nearly as bright as thwir faces were the afternoo n they proudly showed their Papa the new clothes that made them think of him. The same outfits that every time they wear them, we discuss how much Papa loves them. Magna tiles, matchbox cars and baby dolls strewn all over my home. Every one of them a memory of playtime. Building houses, garages and car carriers, that are delivering cars to dealerships. Baby dolls who have been rocked, and patted. Who have been sung to “sleep” by my daughter, in the same way I do with her every single night.

I stand there looking at the mess. The disaster that is my life, and feel overcome with emotion. The life that not only plagues my mind every single day, is the same beautiful disaster that enriches me and my spirit on the daily. Perspective is a very powerful thing.

When you have moments of weakness and despair it’s okay. It’s healthy to allow yourself to wallow in the pain and self pity that is all to often easier to succumb to than the joy and pleasure that you have to dig deep within you to see. Just make sure that you do take the time to dig. Dig as deep as you may need to to see the beauty in your life. There is always something beautiful in your life each and every day. It just depends if you choose to see it that way or not.