#i tried to explain how all consuming shipping these guys is to my sister

[ethereal-night-fairy]

Forgotten Sorrows

Chapter 5

Fae!Soap X Female Reader? I kinda want to ship Witch and Rún not gonna lie. Let me know how you guys feel about that. But I also like soap so idk.

Soap sees Daisy for what she truly is and can't come to terms with how things have unfolded. While Price is overcome with guilt especially after seeing the extent of the damage he has caused.

Warnings: MDNI, dark themes, mention of trauma, bullying, physical and mental abuse, mental health talk unstable emotions, guilt and angst, cursing, hurt/comfort sorry if I missed any.

I'm so sorry I've been gone for over a month again. It was really hard to get back into writing and I genuinely have no clue where I'm going with this story at this point. But I'm trying my best to write. Feel free to send me ideas or questions about the story if you don't understand anything. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. This Fae au belongs to @ghouljams I feature their Oc in my writing, send them some love. This story wouldn't exist without them. Also they helped by giving me tips on how to write Witch more accurately 💗 a big thank you to them 😊.

Forgotten Sorrows Masterlist

Masterlist

Words: 7K

Soap stood outside Daisy’s Apartment building begrudgingly. It had been a few days since the picnic and he took some time to himself to sort out his feelings. Not that your sister would let him. She had bombarded his phone daily with messages until he just turned it off. He hated the fact he couldn’t get you out of his head. You fluttered around his mind like a little butterfly, stirring his emotions. He could still feel the residual warmth of your drawing he left on his bedside table. But his pride came first and he wasn’t about to admit defeat. He had spent too much time isolating your sister to give up now especially after your threats against him. He held the flowers he bought in his hands, perhaps a bit too tightly due to his anger. When he had tried going up to your sister's apartment he wasn’t able to come within a two feet radius of the door. More than likely your doing. The magic seemed somewhat familiar but it wasn’t yours. No, your magic had a more subtle warmth to it. Like the heat of the sun on a dewy spring day, making the bite of the melting winter bearable. Though it was autumn now, mid september to be more specific. Soap stood outside waiting for Daisy to come down. He had texted her that he was waiting on the street to take her out on a date as an apology for being unable to contact her for the last few days because of a family situation, which wasn’t a lie. He was indeed busy doing some errands for Price trying to keep his mind off you.

He had talked to Price about the situation he was in right after the picnic, Price found the ordeal odd too, that you suddenly just appeared with magic. Also the fact that you had no tethers whatsoever. Soap did confess to tapping you and Price concluded that probably played a part in breaking whatever seal you had in place. Soap noticed that when he described what you looked like Price had an odd look on his face. He didn’t bother asking about it, too consumed with his own troubles at the time. He spent the next few days drinking his problems away. He would rather be black out drunk than remember the hurt in your eyes. He found out later that evening that price had met you unexpectedly while visiting his Witch. He also told him all about the insults you were spouting off about him when complaining to his witch, which made him chuckle. At least he had his looks going for him. Price goes on to explain to him how you two had briefly met in your early years of childhood. He seemed relieved you had grown up well rather than perished. Soap hadn’t realized you had such a hard upbringing. He felt kinda bad for causing you more trouble....but he refused to acknowledge any affection he had for you. No you were just a fly buzzing around his head. An obstacle in the way of his meal.

Soap was growing even more annoyed by the second. The chill in the air was beginning to bite yet Daisy still wasn’t ready, she had texted him 20 minutes ago saying she’ll be down in a minute. He occupied himself with admiring the modern building. It was confusing how she could afford to live in the city center on her playwright salary, though he could tell she was lying when he had asked about her job. He didn’t bother finding out the truth since most humans embellish their lives and she wasn’t going to live long anyways. Finally he sees her exit the building in very expensive looking clothes, Soap wore more of a smart casual outfit instead of his usual tight fitted gym clothes. She had on a Chanel two piece tweed skirt and jacket with a blouse and tights to match. He sees her come running into his arms and catches her. He mentally prepares himself to put up an act as she giggles and places a kiss to his cheek. 

“You have a lot to make up for mister”, she pouts. “Especially after ignoring me for the last couple of days”

“Aye lass ah will take ye out tae eat somewhere nice”, he said handing her the slightly wilted flowers. She takes the flowers and makes a face but quickly fixes her expressions not before Soap had noticed. He decided not to say anything. She smiles and thanks him. Another hook in place.

“Hold on, I need to get my favourite lip gloss out of my car”, she says, fixing her makeup then prancing down the street to where her Audi A1 was. She opens her car to grab her lip gloss from her dash compartment. Soap admires the car but is still confused as to where this kind of money was coming from. It was a fairly new car by the indication of the number plate. She walks back towards Soap, extending her hand for him to take, which he does. It was nearing 10 am so he thought to take her to a cute cafe close by for some breakfast. As they walked Daisy started complaining about her boss, and how her workplace was too blind to recognise her talents. That she’s stuck in a rut doing menial tasks rather than writing what she wanted. Soap couldn’t help but ask when she had gotten her car just to have a change in topic so he didn’t have to listen to her whining. 

“Oh.... I bought it as a gift for myself after graduation”, Soap caught the lie again. It was beginning to get on his nerves. But he plastered on his best smile as he replied.

“Oh ye must have worked very hard tae get yourself through university”, her eyes lit up by his praise 

“It was hard but I got through it”, she said, acting bashfully.

They arrived at the very scenic flower cafe. The place was decorated with flower walls everywhere and the chandelier’s had bluebells cascading down from them. They got a table directly under one of the chandeliers. Daisy was overjoyed and was constantly taking pictures, especially when the food arrived. She typed away at her phone for a while before acknowledging Soaps' presence. She did that quite often. He had noticed it when he had first met her. If the conversation wasn’t about Daisy it wasn’t worth her attention. When she did start talking to him it was to pull out her iPad and show him her latest work. He could tell she was expecting praise and compliments as she looked at him hopefully. Soap was just glad to gain some sustenance as he took her tablet in his hands. She enjoyed her food and talked about her new ideas as Soap focused on her writing. But as he read Soap felt like he was consuming cardboard decorated to look like food. Like when children hand you fake food to eat and you have to pretend to enjoy it. Though nothing had changed in her writing to cause such a drastic change. Her writing style was the same, even the types of characters she wrote were the same but he gained little to nothing from it.  The story was all about the main character who coincidentally resembled Daisy with some minor physical changes. The only time other characters spoke or appeared in a scene was to serve the main character in some way. It left a weird taste in his mouth causing him to remember the drawing you gave him, which had such a sweet warmth to it. Like honey melting on his tongue. He returned her Ipad and said it was decent. Daisy looked disappointed by what he said and was slightly vexed by his change in demeanor. Before he would shower her in compliments, now she wasn’t getting the same engagement. Usually he would tell her he’d let his connections know about her work, giving her the false hope that a big theater would call her to collaborate. She gave him a tightlipped smile before going back to eating and talking about her work schedule.

“You know I called in sick so I could spend time with you, even after you ghosted me for the last few days. I have very important projects coming up”, she says, trying to make him feel guilty. 

“Oh? Ya should have gone tae work then”, he says in a monotone voice drinking his coffee.

He couldn’t find it in himself to put an act up anymore. Or to care about her feelings. The realisation was finally hitting him, he had made a huge mistake in choosing his prey. You had told him you’d make him regret coming into your sister's life, and regret was all he was feeling right now. Had he not asked you for that drawing he would have happily gone through with consuming your sister without a care. But now he had a taste of you, had an indication of what he could sink his teeth into, his body refused to consume the cardboard he was being fed. He pinches his nose looking up at your sister's reaction. She definitely wasn’t pleased by him. He could practically see steam coming out of her ears from the anger that was building up. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do now. He couldn’t pursue you even if he wanted to, especially not after the whole picnic incident. He knew very little about you and he doubted you would fall for any of his usual tactics. And the fact you also had magic now complicated things further. He needed to know more and who better to tell him than your sister. He put on the best smile he could muster up.

“Sorry lass I’ve just had a rough couple of days”, he takes her hand into his and runs his thumb over her knuckles. “You know you never told me much about your childhood, i want to know more about the life you lived”

Her anger slowly fades and a satisfied smile appears on her face, finally getting the chance to talk about herself again. Daisy starts her monologue about the difficulties that she faced growing up in the orphanage. Though Soap wasn’t really interested. He kept on a sympathetic smile just to please her, squeezing her hand from time to time. Every time you were mentioned he tried steering the conversation to get to know more about your childhood but that didn’t last long. She didn’t appreciate Soap asking so many questions about you. Daisy would talk about how popular she was when she came to the orphanage and how the number of children dwindled as time went on. She voiced her frustrations with her foster families, how none of them knew how to take care of her needs properly, so she was sent back to the orphanage. Soap could see jealousy in her eyes when talking about other orphans getting adopted. She would talk about you in a pitying tone calling you a loner, a ‘problem child’ more specifically. Saying she felt bad no one would play or talk to you so she had to step up to be the bigger person. She had implied that no one even considered fostering or adopting you because you caused so much trouble. 

“Even our orphanage caretakers didn’t like her. They kept her busy doing some chores to keep her away from the other children. Maybe if she was kind like me they would have liked her too. But I felt so bad for her so I’d talk to her in private sometimes.”

At this point all Soap wanted to do was chew off his own ears. Maybe silence would fill his stomach. She called you clingy and controlling and said that she wasn’t able to set boundaries because she felt bad for you. She spent the next 10 minutes complaining about all the things she hated about you. How you were greedy with your money, and constantly gave out to her about her little things. How you had a pretentious air about you just because you got a scholarship to an art college. How you had made her stay here even though she got accepted into a nicer university in a different city. 

“Like honestly, I could have gone to a way better university if it weren’t for her. I bet it was because she got that scholarship and didn’t want me doing better than her. Or probably wanted to rub in the fact that her painting career was doing so well once she graduated. I have no idea why they thought she deserved that scholarship with her god awful depressing art. While I had to work for small scraps.” 

Soap was completely fed up at this point. He was seriously considering sewing her mouth shut. Perhaps he’d be able to gain some sanity back. The more Daisy lied the more Soap wanted to find out the truth. He fixes her with his worst glare, using her full name he begins asking her questions and informing her to answer with plain honesty. 

“Tell me the real reason why she had told ye not tae attend the university that ye wanted”.

 His eerily calm voice sent shivers down Daisy’s spine but she was in a hold she couldn’t fight. Like her limbs were immobilised by thread. She felt like a insect wound in webs unable to escape. Waiting for the beast to bite and snap her neck. She saw the danger that threatened to bubble up in his alluring eyes. For the first time she was seeing him for what he truly was, a monster. Her mind glazed over as she was lulled into a false sense of security as her bounds squeezed her tighter looking for answers.

“She couldn’t afford to support me financially, the tuition and housing was too expensive”, she answered in a monotone voice not fully comprehending what she just said. 

“But Ah thought ye said ye worked and saved from a young age tae support yourself?”

“I lied, I only started working after I graduated university, Rún paid for my tuition and bought a condo near the campus so I didn’t need to pay rent.”

“The same condo she lives in now?” 

“Yeah” 

“What else did Rún pay for?” 

“She bought me my current car after I had begged and guilt tripped her before my graduation. She paid for all my school supplies and necessities. She’d give me extra spending money in university when she could afford it. She also sends me money monthly to pay for rent and bills since I can’t afford it on my current salary. Especially after I got fired from my last job.”

Soap could feel his hands ball into fists but kept a controlled expression on his face. He didn’t want to create a scene so he opted to drink his now cold coffee. He hadn’t realised how much of a self-centered bitch she was until now. His hunger had clouded his judgement. He wonders how and why you dealt with her all these years. Why do you have such fierce loyalty towards her? Especially when she treated you like utter shit under her feet. She’s just using you for money. Did you know what she really thought about you?

“Why did ye get fired? 

“Because I was caught having an affair with my boss, his wife had found out when my coworkers complained that my plays were being chosen even though I was only a playwright assistant. So I had to get a job at a different theater.”

“How was Rún able tae pay for everything?” 

“Rún began working when she was 16. She wanted to attend a private art college so she began saving early on. She had quite a lot saved before she graduated from secondary school and worked throughout her time in college. She won some art competitions in school and in college which added to her funds. She started her own online art shop at the end of her degree which generated her more income. But it wasn’t enough to put me through the university I wanted to go to. I told her art wasn’t going to be enough to sustain her life or me through university, that she should keep it as a hobby if she really wanted to do it. So she got a well paying job as a gallery curator with the help of her college. She continued to sell her art on the side and got commissions when she sold other people’s artworks at gala events. She still wasn’t able to afford to pay for my tuition so she asked if I could just stay here unless I wanted to work and take out a loan while in university and she’ll help out as much as she could. I didn’t want to work or take out a loan so I went to the local university instead. Since it was cheaper she used the extra money to buy me whatever I needed in school supplies and other stuff.”

“Sae what ye’re telling me is that yer sister gave up her life sae she could support yer ungrateful ass?”, he looked at her with a stare so hot you’d think the sun took residence in his eyes. Like he was about to burn her very existence. But Daisy was still in a slight trance to fully comprehend the danger she was in, yet Soaps words vexed her greatly. Her anger brought her out of her haze before she went on a rant. 

“She went back to her art eventually, She even got a huge commission from the local library soon after quitting her previous job. They were going to pay her in 6 figures to paint her God awful paintings. I fully supported her pursuing art again even though her art wasn’t even good. Not forgetting all the support she got from her delusional mentors in college. I never understood why she gained so much fame for her paintings. On top of that she had a surplus of money saved that she didn’t even need for college because she got that scholarship. She won so many awards with her mediocre art! I don’t understand why people like her weird art. Her art isn’t even that good! She got a scholarship that she didn’t deserve, she got a great job right after graduating because of her connections. I had to sleep with that bald idiot of a boss to get my work noticed then got fired when I was finally gaining some recognition! Now I have to work as an assistant at a low grade theater that doesn’t even have a good budget for productions. Her life couldn’t be more easier!! Why is it that she gets everything!? What’s wrong with her helping me when she has so much and I have nothing. She made a promise to support me as her sister, she should fulfill it! With the money she’s getting soon she can help publish and promote my work. It’s the least she can do'', she says spitting venom and out of breath from her rant. 

Soap put her back in a stronger trance just to stop himself from attacking her. If he could rip out her throat right this instant he would have but people were starting to look now due to her outburst. So it was better for him to talk to her another day before trouble started brewing. Any guilt he felt about consuming Daisy because of your relationship with her quickly vanished in an instant. You might hate him for it but he was going to get rid of Daisy one way or another. He told Daisy to forget the conversation they just had as he got up to pay. When he came back she was gathering her thoughts. She looked at her phone confused where the time went. He put his ever so charming smile back on as he said he had errands to run and had to leave but the bill was paid. She leaned in for a kiss but Soap didn’t want her anywhere near him so he gave her a pat on her shoulder before leaving. Ignoring her hurt expression. He’ll keep Daisy around for now since he needed more information from her, but by the Seasons he was so fed up with her. He really shot himself in the foot by asking for that drawing or maybe it was a blessing he saw your sister for who she is. He needed to blow off some steam after what he just heard so he went looking for Gaz. He might get drunk later to vent out his frustrations. Might need to go to Price again for advice as well, he should do that first.

-

You had slowly started drifting into a slumber from sheer exhaustion. Your mind was spinning from all the feelings and memories you were trying to suppress. The guilt was eating away at you for having caused another incident but you felt safe in her arms. Witch continued to hold you gently, wiping away the last of your tears. She cradled your head to her chest and she whispered sweet reassuring words as you eventually fell asleep not before whispering something to her. Witch’s eyes shot up to Price, who was still propped up against the wall. At least he had the decency to look guilty. As much as Witch cared for him she couldn’t let this go unpunished even if you had whispered for her not to get mad at him. She looks at the brass watering can laying on the grass empty. She had gotten it in your favourite colour after you had hurt yourself with the iron one a couple years back. She watches your breathing steady as you relax further into her arms. You were littered with small burns everywhere and your choker had gotten damaged too. She felt herself lamenting the current situation, she should’ve just stayed. You already had a rough morning and she was only just able to calm you down. Seeing you in so much pain made her heart ache, especially since she felt like she wasn’t able to help you adequately. Whatever Price had said to you must have pushed you over the edge. Though she was angry she didn’t have the energy to give Price an earful at the moment so she settled on ignoring him. She was about to use magic to carry you inside when Price spoke up, sensing he was in alot of trouble from his love. She had never given him the cold shoulder before.

“Let me carry her inside luv, it’s the least I can do”, Price tries offering but he can see he’s on thin ice.

“I think you’ve done enough”, she said in a clipped tone while she inspected Rún carefully. 

“I’m sorry....I wasn’t tactful when i spoke to her, I should ‘ave waited for you to be home sweetheart. My intention wasn’t to hurt her.”

He hadn’t meant to be so blunt when talking to you. After his conversation with Soap earlier that morning he thought it would be best if you heard the truth and let go of your narcissistic sister. He wanted you to feel more welcome in the fae world especially after hearing about the way you were treated in that orphanage. He hadn’t realized your mental health had deteriorated so rapidly. Looking back at the interaction, you did look more fatigued than last time and your eyes were red from crying. He should have acknowledged the signs before he spoke. He should have been gentler.

He came to see his witch almost every day. He should have known if you were staying, whatever it was that you were going through must have been serious. Today was the first time since Sunday he saw you outside for longer than a minute. Whenever he was around you tended to find an excuse to return inside leaving him and Witch to talk in private. Witch had informed him on Monday that you were resting until you felt better. He had felt your magic within the house, more so when you were awake. It definitely had different characteristics to Witch’s magic but it somehow blended seamlessly into hers with ease. Like spring bleeding into summer. Over the next few days he would hear you mulling around the house doing small tasks peeking your head out when you needed to ask Witch something. You wouldn’t come out to greet him though just quick glances from the back door and then you’d scurry away. He found it cute so did Witch she would smile at your introverted tendencies. He truly felt bad for causing you unnecessary pain.

“I’ll explain what happened.... Please let me help. Using magic on her now might worsen her condition”, he bargained.

Witch felt conflicted. She didn’t want to cause you more pain, on one hand Price was the cause of your current state but on the other she knew in her heart he would never intentionally hurt someone dear to her. Yet she couldn’t help but get angry even after you had told her not to. You were always taking the blame for things that weren’t your fault. It had become a habit by now to diffuse any difficult situations like this. She held you closer as she watched Price approach the back gate, waiting for permission to be allowed in. She could see it in his eyes that he felt bad about what happened and she acknowledged she needed more context if was going to try to help you through this episode. She gave him a nod to allow him in and he didn’t waste a second. 

He closed the gate behind him as he made his way to them. Witch pressed her lips to your forehead as she retreated her hands from around you while Price went to lift you, carefully avoiding your burns. You stirred but didn’t wake. Witch could tell by your painful wimpers, you didn’t like being held. She didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. She wouldn’t have been able to carry you herself without using magic. Maybe you didn’t like the unfamiliarity of Price holding you. To his credit he did try to soothe you.

“You're gonna be ok dear, we’re going to have you looked at.”, he shifted his hold trying to make sure he wasn’t hurting you further. 

But you only calmed down once you heard Witchs voice beside you.  She led Price inside and directed him to the room you were staying in. She had pulled back the duvet for him to lay you down on the bed. While he did that she went to get some burn salve. 

Upon her return Price had a lot of guilt written in his face. He could finally see the extent of the damage done to your skin. Though they weren’t serious burns but they would still sting. Witch approached Rún as she slept and began applying the salve very carefully to her burnt skin. You whined in pain when she would touch a particularly sore spot but settle down after some comforting words from her

“I know honey, I know. I’m almost done”, she carefully removed your damaged necklace to see if your neck was burnt, there were some light burns here and there nothing too serious. She tucks you into bed and places a kiss on your forehead before leaving the room with Price. 

Price followed behind her not knowing where to begin, they arrived at her kitchen where she pulled out a stool at the breakfast counter directly opposite to the stove. Price took the hint and sat down as she made her way towards her cabinets.

Many jars and vials adorned the inside of her rustic shelves. With the range of herbs, spices and blends she had, she’d put world renowned apothecaries to shame. Price was in awe of her not that this was the first he was in her kitchen but just the level of care and dedication she put into her craft was admirable. He still felt really guilty about the situation and wanted to clear the tense air that was manifesting but words evaded him when he needed them most. She took out some lavender tea leaves to steep in her glass teapot as she walked towards her fridge to grab some mulled wine to warm up for Price in a copper pot. As the brews warmed on the stove she turned and faced him leaning against the counter not saying anything. Her eyes were downcast, refusing to look at him.

Price could feel the gears in her head overworking trying to find a rhyme or reason for how everything has played out. He wishes he could brush away the creases on her forehead, wish he could kiss away her every worry even though right now he was to blame. She had a distant look in her eyes. He had opened and closed his mouth countless times by now, unable to find the right words. She had poured and served him the mulled wine in his favorite mug as she strained hers and added some honey to the cup. She returned to her previous stance leaning against the counter facing him. 

The warmth of the cup grounded her mind. She took a long sip letting the heat spread from her stomach to her chest. Slowly finding its way to the rest of her, warming her to her fingertips. She finally was able to return to the present and look up to meet Price’s glacier eyes. She could see the guilt dripping off him. His cup was already half empty.

“You hurt her."

“I.....did”, he said, hanging his head in shame. “It definitely wasn’t my intention, I was trying to warn her.”

“Warn her? Is another fae trying to get to her?”, she looked at him confused. You would have told her if someone was following you. 

Price shook his head. He goes on to explain everything he heard from Soap earlier today. By the end of the discussion, Witch had murder written all over face. Like she was about to commit some very heinous war crimes. She took in a deep breath to calm her anger as Price continued to explain what happened when he spoke with you. And what you had to say about your sister. Witch puts down her cup to rub her eyes in frustration. 

“That fucking bitch! I’d curse her within an inch of her life if I could.”, the house shook slightly with her outburst. 

“You can’t?”, he looked at her over the rim of his cup gauging her reaction.

“It would hurt Rún if she found out, that’s the last thing I want to do”

“Why is she so loyal to a person like that?”

“............”

“Her time at the orphanage was less than ideal”, she goes on to explain a rough history of the life you lived in the orphanage or rather the small portion you were willing to share. The “pranks” the fae would play on you that caused you to become ostracized. She went on to expain the punishments that you endured because of them.

“Unfortunately the effects of that continued even after the seal was put in place”, she had a pained expression on her face. Price just wanted to hold her near at that moment but he stayed quiet and saved his questions for later. 

“It was a difficult time for Rún. They would ground her for months where she wasn’t allowed to leave the orphanage except for school. They wouldn’t even let me come see her. It was even more difficult for her, I don't know how she endured it for so long."

She goes on to explain all the ways Daisy used your isolation and low self esteem to her advantage. And how she guilt tripped you into paying for her everything in the name of sisterhood from the time you started working. Your life slowly started revolving around taking care of your sisters every need, despite your own hopes and dreams. 

“This needs to end, it's gone on long enough”, she had so much hatred written over her as she gripped the counter behind her in anger. The stove lit up as did the candles that surrounded the kitchen. Price got up slowly and silently took her in his arms, rocking her to soothe her anger. She allowed it, needing comfort in that moment. When she had calmed down and the fire had burned low she looked up at him glaring slightly. 

“I should be mad at you”, she says scrunching up her nose putting her hands on his chest creating some distance. While still allowing him to hold her.

“You're not?” he asked, surprised.

“Rún said it wasn’t your fault… that she was just unstable and needed to rest. And I don’t think you meant to hurt her, you wouldn’t have tried to help if you did”, she sighs, relaxing her face.  She stares into his frozen eyes trying to thaw away the ice to find answers she was looking for. But they were already melting without her having to do anything. 

“She’s too kind, a lot like you. It was my fault though, I should’ve been kinder in my approach. I’ll apologize when she’s awake”, he lets out a breath he was holding and places a gentle kiss on her nose. 

“Tell me more about the seal and why it was put in place, I want to help in any way I can.” She felt weightless under his loving eyes, like she was about to float away with his warm breath. Good thing he was holding her in his arms. 

-

They had both took a seat on her sofa with the fire burning lightly in the fireplace directly opposite them. Witch rested her head on his lap as he caressed her hair. There was something comforting about feeling his callused hands on her skin, running down her arms. Her favourite blanket was thrown on her as she held onto one of his arms for support. They stayed like this for a while just basking in each other's presence. Letting their magic intertwine and caress each other. His smoke surrounding her in a cloud.

Your seal wasn’t an easy topic to bring up. The events that had led up to you knocking on her grandmother's door in the middle of the night was an awful incident to recall. But she couldn’t just dive into that. She needed to explain what had led you to make such a drastic decision. She explained she had met you shortly after the car incident with another orphan girl. The isolation from everyone had become much worse after that. Things seemed to get even more dire as your magic became more apparent. The attention and harassment you were receiving from the Fae got extremely bad in your early teens. They never came out in human forms; they just caused trouble for you in the shadows when no one was looking. They were burning through wards and protection charms her family would give you or place in the orphanage. During that time your punishments had become brutal. You were grounded for months on end, forced to eat on your own and were locked in your room. On times you were allowed outside aside from going to school the other children would throw rocks and dirt at you telling you to go away. The caretakers were fed up with dealing with everything by that time and just kept you busy by doing chores, often other peoples chores as atonement for whatever you were blamed for doing. She had to specify that this was only a small recollection of the things you endured. That you hid a lot of the abuse you faced unless it was visible, then you’d have no choice but to tell her. 

“This went on for a really long time, it was almost 6 months when I saw her again and it was in the middle of the night on one of the weekends I stayed with my grandmother alongside my sister. The other orphans were fed up with the ‘problems’ she was causing so they had decided to punish her that night. The older kids had dragged her outside by the hair once the adults were asleep”, she pauses as she squeezes his hand for support which Price returns placing a kiss on her hair. The beams of the house creaked under the pressure of her pain. 

“They taped her arms, legs and mouth...Then took turns beating her. They drenched her with the hose on that cold night, they mutilated her hair with scissors….they cut parts of her body. They left her there locked outside in the middle of the night when they were done tormenting her. With no proper clothes or shoes she had limped down the street to this house after getting the tape off”, Witch looked completely exhausted by just telling that first part of the story. The cottage looked gloomier, more stout if that was possible. Like the walls had moved in. Price tried his best to comfort her but his heart was aching too. He hated that you had to go through that, he also hated seeing Witch in this state.  

“The wards had woken me up as I had heard faint knocking on the door. I had recognised her magic and went to open the door without waking my sister and grandmother. I was scared I hadn’t seen her in so long and now she was knocking on my door in the middle of the night. I had a horrible feeling something had happened. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises, her face was swollen and discolored. Her wrists were raw from prying off the tape. She stood outside shivering from the cold just silently crying. I took her inside not knowing what to do”, Witch just buried her face further into Price’s thigh taking a minute to calm down. He ran his hands over her skin to calm her nerves. It felt like the house was taking breaths with her. 

She told the rest of the story quickly, not able to handle the painful recollection of events. She had tried so hard to get you to rest before making such a rash decision. She had tried getting her grandmother too, thinking she could help better but you wouldn’t allow her to leave your side. You pleaded with such raw emotion for help that she had no choice but to bring out her grandmother's magic books. In the end with some help from a fae magic book you had used your magic to seal away any memories involving fae while also sealing your magic. The house shook with the power of your magic when the seal was placed, waking both her grandmother and sister who had rushed down to the living room to find you unconscious in your brutalized state with her holding you on the verge of tears. Her grandmother had taken over after that after listening to her recall everything that happened. She took care of your wounds and put you to bed in Witchs room with her. Both girls were in no state to be given a stern talking to about what they did. 

“My grandmother gave me an earful the next morning after I had woken up. Rún didn’t wake up for almost 3 days. My grandmother had informed the orphanage of what was done to Rún and threatened to inform the authorities if they didn’t let her stay here until she healed. A caretaker had come once to check the extent of the damages and begged for the police not to be involved, my grandmother agreed on the condition that something like this would never happen again. Her wounds took a while to heal and her head had to be shaved but her time spent in the cottage seemed joyful. She laughed a lot more with me and it didn’t seem like the world was holding her down. Things were better after that but she still didn’t have friends when she returned to the orphanage. They left her alone at least, the fae also stopped bothering her when they couldn’t sense any magic from her. Me and my grandmother would still give her protection charms regularly just in case. Daisy would talk to her only when she needed help with schoolwork or chores and Rún welcomed it since no one else would give her the time of day, things got worse when she started working at 16. Daisy seemed more determined to build a bond then and ask her for money”, she sighs finishing the story

It was a lot to recall for Witch, she looked visibly drained. Price pulled her up into his arms as he held her head against his chest. She melted into his embrace feeling his chest rise with every breath. The thumping of their hearts created a soothing vibration, lulling them in a peaceful headspace. They held each other like that until Price heard her stomach growl. 

“Hungry luv?”, Price let out a chuckle. Looking outside the sun had set, the only light was coming from the burning embers from the fireplace. Casting an orange glow on her beautiful face. Witch raised her head from his chest as she hummed a response, flicking her wrist to turn on the lights. Price had placed her gently on the sofa as he got up to stretch. She wrapped the blanket around her not wanting to lose his warmth. 

“I’ll get us a takeaway, I have to have a quick chat with Soap anyways. I’ll be back soon”, Witch just nodded in response and kissed him gently on the cheek before he apparated to wherever he needed to be. She sat in silence just mulling over her thoughts before she decided to go check up on You.

Copyright © by ethereal-night-fairy. 2023. All Rights Reserved. Writing not permitted for reposting, transcription, translation or use with AI technologies.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare 2 #captain john price #cod #cod mw2 #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #call of duty modern warfare #john mactavish x reader #john soap mactavish x reader #captain john price x reader #poly 141 #1fae1 #fae au #soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish x reader #soap mactavish x reader #captain price #captain john price x you #fae!au #fae!soap #fae!reader #fae!ghost #fae!gaz #fae!captain #call of duty fanfic #call of duty x reader #captain price x reader #soap mctavish #soap x reader

[charmingly-evil]

I am almost 4500 words into my Bensler update and am no where near done. I did not anticipate it being this long! I hope it’s as good as the first chapter. 

#bensler #i've considered cutting it into 2 #buuuut i want both to be out before the new episode next week #i'm on a ticking timeline people! #and have a 3000 word paper and counselling video due in a couple of weeks that i just have not done #priorities right? #it's okay this is my life now i've accepted that #i tried to explain how all consuming shipping these guys is to my sister #who was confused as hell #and like wouldn't this energy better be spent investing in a real relationship #lol girl you talk about it as if we have a choice #i did not choose to ship Olivia and Elliot #these two just walked into my life and took over it #and i gave it to them gladly #sure ruin it all #but also please don't i would like to past my degree and become a psychologist #okay it is late i am waffling get off the tag girl and go to bed

[mentally-unavailable]

How To Court A Cryptid: 101 Chapter 3

PREVIOUS CHAPTER or NEXT CHAPTER

Content warning: Cursing, threats of violence, minor violence, transphobia and homophobia, leftist/anarchist views (Not really a warning, but for those who don’t agree with those views), smoking

“Hello chat! How are we doing today!?” Tommy yelled into his mic, talking to chat as he started his stream. 

I sat on the side watching him talk to the chat, I couldn’t see chat but I could tell they were questioning why the lights were off, since Tommy kept smiling and trying not to giggle. 

“Why are the lights off?” Tommy asked squinting at chat, I then rolled into the camera’s view.

“Well, typically cryptids like dark places where they can’t be seen” I said rolling in and leaning so I could see chat.

Chat then went 1 million miles per second they were all spamming cryptid and being amazed that I was real. I started to laugh really hard because some of the chats messages.

“Well, chat this is the Dream SMP discord cryptid; also known as- Can I say your name?” Tommy asked looking over at me. I smiled,

“Uh, I prefer Bas or bastard here on the innerwebs, but if you want sure you can say my name. Just don’t give like my home address or whatever” I said looking at chat smiling. 

“what? Why would I- never mind. Okay chat this is Bastard.” Tommy said smiling looking over chats messages “Hey, can we turn on the lights?”

“UGGGHHHH, I guess” I said getting up and walking over to the light switch. I turned it on and saw Tommy walk over to see and stand next to me. I gave him a confused facial expression.

“Chat wants to see the height difference, you goblin” He said smiling looking down at me. I quickly stood my tippy toes, easy with the boots

“Okay, fit check, as you can see I have the superiors fashion sense chat. Tommy here has none, write that down” I said walking back to my chair.

“I do not! I have a great fashion sense!” Tommy said looking at me offended I started to cackle like a hyena

“Yeah, to be fair though, you are a teenager who live that streamer life style so I understand” I said after catching my breathe from laughing, Tommy rolled his eyes.

“Yeah yeah” He said crossing his arms, I looked over at chat

‘Gamer Bf and Alt s/o goals’

‘Are you a boy or a girl? I really can’t tell’

“Ew, I will punt you straight into the sun you heathens” I said with a face

“HEY! Don’t threaten my chat!” Tommy yelled at me

“They were shipping us. Ew, he is like my little brother. This isn’t sweet home Alabama people” I replied

“Okay fair enough, also chat they use they/them pronouns, respect that please” Tommy said looking at the monitor

“Thank you, so what are we gonna do?” I asked leaning back on my chair and grabbing the container of brownies.

“We could go on the SMP and mess with people” Tommy said grabbing a brownie and popping it into his mouth.

“Cool, give me the grand tour” I said popping a brownie into my mouth

Tommy then booted up Minecraft and got onto the SMP server, he made sure to show on stream

“Okay, lets show the cryptid how to be cool” Tommy said moving his character around

I looked over at the camera unamused, I looked at the stream and saw my face. I started to get uncomfortable and looked down.

“I am being perceived and I don’t think I like it...” I said picking at my nails

“You okay?” Tommy said looking over at me, I smiled and shook my head yes

“It’s okay, I’m just use to being blurry not in 4k resolution” I said chuckling

“Oh hey Dream is on” Tommy said looking on the list,

“He’s the sever owner right?” I asked looking on scream

“yes” Tommy said

“So, he’s like a goverment?” I asked smirking

“what are you thinkin?” Tommy asked looking over at me

I smiled before shrugging and setting down the container

“Well, as an anarchist, I don’t really like the government. So, maybe I could attack him while screaming ‘ACAB’ or ‘Down with the government bitches’ idk. Wait- will that get you in trouble. My bad” I said cutting myself off worried I said something that will get Tommy in trouble. He started laughing, more wheezing

“Omg, yes! Let’s do it!!” He yelled moving towards Dream and others of the server. I smiled,

‘Cryptid says ACAB?’

‘Anarchist? Technoblade might like this!’

Some of the chat said amazed I said something like that,

“Yes, chat ACAB all the way, demolish the government! Consume the rich people!!” I yelled excitedly

“Okay, how do you wanna do this?” Tommy asked

“Okay, I’ll attack while you get us into VC and you scream then I yell ‘ACAB bitches’“ I said scooting him over so I can take control of his character

“Okay good” Tommy said getting into the VC “Here we go!”

“By the way, I’m bad at Minecraft” I yelled before we joined and attacked Dream.

“AHHHHH” Tommy yelled

“ACAB BITCHES” I yelled after him attacking Dream

“Huh? Tommy! What the Fuck?” Dream yelled before he pulled out his own sword and started swinging

“Oh fuck!!” I yelled trying to get away

“Move!!” Tommy yelled before he died

“Uhhh, my bad” I said smiling at him, Tommy rolled his eyes

“Tommy what the hell man? Why did you attack me?” Dream asked

We both looked at each other before I smirked and leaned into the mic

“Tommy is no longer with us” I said deepening my voice

“What!? Tommy did you get hacked? I’ll open your stream” Sapnap said with Dream and George agreeing.

Tommy muted himself, turned off the music, then got up and moved the camera zooming in my face and then ran and turned off the lights. My face was only illuminated my the screen light, Tommy then hid, I was confused before he looked at me and winked. I turned and stared into the camera with a dead look.

“AHHHHHH!? WHAT THE FUCK!???” Was all we heard from the others, as we both started laughing

“The cryptid is real!?” George yelled 

“Y’all have Discord Admin energy bitches” I said before we quit the VC and started wheezing. I started coughing and grabbed out my drink from my bag. I opened my Monster and chugged. Tommy kept wheezing so hard,

“Omg, did you guys hear them!? Omg that was so funny!” Tommy yelled, I chuckled

‘Dream: What the fuck!?’

‘Sapnap: GOT EM!’

“Dream is actually our Discord admin” Tommy said between laughing

“Ah, cool. He doesn’t have it actually, but now knowing. HMMMM” I said looking at the camera smirking

“Yeah, and Gogy is his discord kitten” Tommy said putting everything back to normal

“An I oop- Wait, that’s georgenotfound right?” I asked

Tommy leaned back into his chair giggling “yup, he’s the bestest man ever” he said smiling

“I thought that was Philza Minecraft?” I asked having a confused face

“Wait! Phil is on! Do you wanna meet the biggest man? Philza Minecraft” Tommy asked

“I thought you were the biggest man?” I asked smirking

“I am, well- we share the title anyways” Tommy said as he joined the VC

“Tommy, we just had your stream open!” we were met with,

Tommy started wheezing again, I smiled ‘Brothers’ I thought

“You’re going to get banned” A voice said; ‘Technoblade’ I thought remembering his voice from some of Tommy’s streams.

“Chaotic little shit” Philza said laughing

“The cryptid is real! Oh my god I have to tell Quackity, he thought you were using photoshop or whatever!” Wilbur yelled laughing

“God has let me live another day, so, I’m gonna make it everyone's problem” I said snickering, while I felt my face heat up. ‘God I feel like a zoo animal’ I thought smiling awkwardly

I don’t know any of Tommy’s friends really, and they don’t know much about me. Only that I’m Tommy’s scary friend and what they’ve seen from pictures and probably dumb stories he told them.

Tommy took control of the game, making sure the stream was entertained. He answered with giggles.

“Did you really bite a kid in school for picking on Tommy?” 

‘FUCK’ I thought, making a surprised face

“Well you see there! Uhh-” I tried to say

“They also threatened a dude with a Selenite knife once!” Tommy chimed in

“Yeah, that’s true, but both fuckers deserved it okay!” I said as I felt my face get hotter from embarrassment

“God your both equally feral” Phil said laughing, Wilbur giggled and Techno stayed mostly silent besides a small laugh. Tommy explained he was ‘awkward around new people’. ‘Social anxiety. MOOD’ I thought smiling.

“I personally prefer ‘unhinged’ but pop off I guess” I said shrugging

“Feral cryptid! Feral Cryptid” Wilbur chanted, soon the chat also spammed it

“So, this is THE Philza Minecraft” Tommy said as if he didn’t just say I bit a person and threatened another with a knife. “An honor right?”

“Hello, pleasure to meet you” I said smiling awkwardly

Phil laughed, Tommy looked offended “This is Philza Minecraft! Creator of Minecraft! Show some respect!” Tommy yelled

“Didn’t that other dude make the game?” I asked confused

“Yeah, but he was a wrongen. So, we joke that Philza made it instead” Wilbur explained

“Oh, yeah he was a fucking bigot right?” I asked, everyone went quiet “Should I have not said that? My ba-” 

“no, no” Wilbur said giggling “No, that was perfect. I wouldn’t have said it but you hit the nail on the head”

“Ah okay” I said with a small smile

“They are very radical” Tommy said smiling, I laughed awkwardly

“We heard” Techno said when amusement

I ended up taking off my jacket, revealing all my tattoos on my arms

‘WOAH!’

‘Are those real?’

“Yes, chat they are real, some are done professionally, others are stick and pokes. Don’t do it unless you know what your doing” I said raising my arms to show off my art

“Yeah, they piercing their own nose though!” Tommy yelled

“Oh, my god, that is dangerous.” Phil said worried

“Yeah, most I did myself or my sister did. She wanted to be a tattoo artist at one point so I just let her do whatever on me. Don’t worry they were done safely, mostly” I said laughing

“what does the skull say?” Techno piped up, I smiled, showing the camera my tattoo on my right fore arm. It was a leopard skull with grapes running out of the left eye socket dripping liquid. Under was a chalice, the piece was surrounded by a diamond. 

“It’s a piece dedicated to the god Dionysus. One of the first I ever got done professionally. And yes chat it hurt like a bitch” I said showing the tattoo

“Hello!” two voices popped into the call

“TUBBO!” Tommy yelled, I snapped my head towards the screen

“Tubbo? Isn’t that the guy you were calling when you broke your wrist?” I asked, Tommy wheezed

“Oh is that (y/n)?” Tubbo asked, I smiled

“Hey bubbs, how are you?” I asked

“Wait you both know each other?” Ranboo piped in

“Yes, you see some time ago, we were at the skate park. I was skate boarding and Tommy was on the phone with Tubbo. Tommy then wanted to do a trick. So, I take the phone and Tommy then fails miserly and breaks his fucking wrist! We were on call the whole time to and at the hospital” I said laughing

“Ah, sounds about right” Ranboo said

“What does that mean!?” Tommy yelled, Tubbo was laughing

“I’m good (y/n), thank you for reminding me of that” Tubbo said between laughs

“wait your name is (y/n)?” Wilbur pipes in, Tommy looked scared for a second

“Yeah, that is my name. I go by Bas or Bastard on social media though” I said shrugging. 

“Bastard?” Phil asked confused

“Can I promote myself?” I asked looking over at Tommy, he nodded smiling

“Yeah, I go by Cryptid_Bastard. I post art or whatever” I said relaxed

“That fits you” Tubbo said, I smiled

“Thanks bubbs” I said smiling

After a few hours we ended the stream and said goodbye to everyone. Me and Tommy leaned back in our chairs and sighed.

“Well, that was fun. I like your friends” I said smiling,

“Yeah, you can come on another stream another time if you want” Tommy said smiling, I nodded my head

“Yeah, well I need a break. I’m gonna go on a walk if you don’t mind. You wanna come?” I asked as I stood up and stretched

“Nah, I’m gonna chat with Tubbo for a bit” He said, I nodded before grabbing my bag and leaving the room. I walked out and said hi to his parents and informed them I was going on a walk. I walked out the door and towards the street. After getting to the sidewalk I grabbed out a cigarette and my lighter. I lit up, and took a deep draw. I ended walking towards the park while smoking,

*VRR VRR* I heard as my phone started vibrating in my bag. I dug around a pulled it out, it was notifications from twitter. I unlocked my phone and opened twitter, I had a whole wave of people following me and commenting on my art. I smiled before getting ready to tweet. I opened the camera and angled it to show me, I had my cigarette in my other hand making sure not to show it. I smiled taking the picture before typing and posting.

Cryptid_Bastard

*insert picture of you*

Welcome everyone, welcome to my corner of the internet! (:

I turned off my phone before walking towards the park.

‘Chaos isn’t so bad’

A/N: I hope y’all liked this. I’ve introduced SOME of the romantic interests! LET’S GO!! I’m gonna go hibernate for like a million years now. Stay hydrated! :P

TAGLIST: 

@teenage0jealousy

@smolbox-png

@yourimaginaryfriiendd

@venusliily-blog

@mega-trash-cringe​

@jaciahbabes

@ponyboytoddandthebatgreasers

@ahmya-4

If you would like to be added please comment here:  Taglist for HTCAC:101 (How to Court A Cryptid: 101)

#mcyt x reader #dream smp x reader #x reader #x gn!reader #x punk!reader #x alt!reader #Technoblade #Wilbur soot #MCYT fanfiction #dream smp fanfiction #Philza minecraft #Tubbo #Tommyinnit #Ranboo #How To Court A Cryptid: 101

[dylanobrienisbatman]

Omg give us ur rant abt hating d*rklina as a ship.. im petty

Okay Anon, so i saw this the other day and I wasn't in the right headspace to answer but i am now!

So to start off, I am firmly in the ship and let ship category. You like a ship, i don't care. That doesn't mean i won't rag on the ship itself but I don't send hate, I don't really engage with shippers from ships I don't like, and I am liberal with the block button and the blacklist feature. Cultivate your tumblr/online experience, y'all. You don't owe anyone on this hellsite (or any other) a damn thing.

However, I REALLY do hate d*rklina as a ship, and I have a big problem with the way the shippers talk about it, so I hope you were being serious about wanting a rant because here it goes.

As for the ship itself, i feel like the reasons I dislike it are pretty obvious and standard. It's abusive. He is her abuser. He manipulates her. He spends months grooming her and gaslighting her, intentionally trying to get her under his control so that when he literally enslaves her it will go over easier. He never actually loved her, he wanted to use her for her power. It's not complicated, it's not really 'up for debate', that is the way its written, and the author has explained that that was the intended interpretation of her work. I mean he literally sexually assaults her in the second book, and straight up tells her he's going to kill everyone she loves so that she has no choice but to fall to him because she is completely alone in the world. He threatens to skin her alive in the second book when they're on the boat, he has no problem torturing her to get Mal to do what he wants. That's not love. He does not love her. It's pretty black and white, its explicitly written as an abusive relationship. The point was to show how easily powerful men can manipulate and abuse young naive women who don't know any better and try to see the best in people. Alina 'fell' for the version of Darkles Sparkles that he intentionally created to try to control her. Nothing he told her was true, from his backstory, to them both being 'the only one like [each other]' (hello, baghra), to using Genya to convince Alina that Mal had abandoned her, everything he did was manipulation so that he could get her under his control. It is not a romance, it is not 'a ship war', d*rklina is not written as romantic. He is her abuser. Full stop.

There is also the point about him being just a generally horrible person all around. He's not morally grey. He just isn't. He sold an 11 year old into sex slavery, forced her to stay in that situation so he could use her, and then mutilated her when she defied him. He also groomed and abused Zoya, because he saw that she was exceptionally powerful and wanted to use her the way he wanted to use Alina. He enslaved Alina. He blinded and mutilated his own mother. He is a genocidal maniac. He shows no remorse, he doesn't care about anyone but himself and his own power. He is not the type of character that should be romantically shipped with anyone. If you like him, that's absolutely fine! One of my fave characters ever is Kai Parker from TVD. Dude was a straight up psychopath. He tried to kill multiple pairs of toddlers. He brutally murdered his pregnant sister AT HER WEDDING. He is a HORRIBLE person. But I think he's a brilliant character. But do I think he's a good guy, do I want him anywhere near any characters in that show in a romantic way (ehem b*nkai)? Absolutely fucking not. Being a fan of a villain character is fine, but fucking own that shit. Villains can be SUCH good characters, but they're still villains. Erasing the bad they've done so you can justify putting them in situations where they WILL harm the people around them because you can't level with yourself about the bad things they've done doesn't make you 'woke', it just makes you look like you don't understand the media you're consuming.

Which leads me to why I have such a problem with the way D*rklina shippers engage with the ship. They simultaneously wanna say "oh we know it's toxic/bad/abusive/etc., that's why we like it!" and then also they try to claim that it should be endgame, they romanticize scenes where he is abusing her (and by romanticize I mean they literally try to frame his abuse as romantic, not like "oh yeah my ship is interacting!!". those are different things. You can be excited about ship interactions without trying to say that things he is doing to her are actually romantic), they try to argue that he is morally grey/misunderstood/etc., and they straight up try to lie and say he's not her abuser.

If you wanna ship an abusive ship, own it. Be straight up about why you like it. It's okay to be into dark shit, y'all. It does NOT make you a bad person to be into dark shit. But this idea that fiction doesn't impact real life, and that people can't call the ship out for what it is is a problem is a very troubling trend in fandom. Nobody is saying you can't ship it, do what you want. But this idea that these people are 'oppressed' because fans of the show/book continue to point out the facts about the way the story was written and how the relationship is actually presented is fucking insane. Someone saying that D*rklina is abusive is not calling you out, they are stating a fact. It's the story as it was presented. You trying to say it's not makes it look like you have no reading comprehension. And this idea that 'well i'll be on the lookout for evil shadow wizards in real life lol' is such horse shit too. His shadow wizard powers aren't the issue. He is a powerful man who grooms and abuses young women. You're telling me you lived through the Me Too movement and you wanna act like thats not a real threat that young women face every day? You're telling me that you can't see that the actual real life connection you're supposed to be making here? Okay, well you should maybe deal with that and come back to me, because that's an issue.

Fiction is meant to teach us lessons. Darkles is meant to teach us something. He is meant to show us that sometimes, powerful men lie to, manipulate, groom, and abuse young women, and we should be aware of that. The story is about a young woman who is sucked into an abusive situation, and then she breaks free and in the end she is able to defeat her abuser. That is a really powerful story, and one that millions of real life women can relate too. To pretend that that story doesn't have real life connections makes you look insensitive and frankly, kind of cruel.

So basically, in the end, my biggest issue is that D*rklina shippers love to spout this nonsense about 'knowing' it's bad and that he's a villain, and 'that's why they like him', and then turn around and try to say that he's not actually the villain, he's not actually bad, and the things he does to Alina that are abuse are actually romantic and sweet. You wanna ship an abusive ship, you do you, but lets not pretend it's anything other than what it is, but romanticizing and normalizing abuse tactics so you can feel, what? morally superior? Cool? edgy and different? That has real life impacts. You are normalizing abuse. Real people will engage with that rhetoric, and it will make it difficult for them to see abuse when it happens to them or the people around them because they believe its romantic or normal to be treated that way.

You wanna be a villain stan? You wanna ship dark ships? Good on ya, but fucking own your shit, y'all.

#anti darklina #the darkling #shadow and bone

[hurricanery]

If the Sun Comes Up - pt. 1

Apologies for the long A/N: This is the start of an AU fic inspired by this prompt & this prompt. It follows Amelia & Link, along with many others, in their first year as interns at seattle grace hospital. Thank you for sending character requests about this one! I settled on a few, but other characters are likely to show up later on as residents/attendings. Also, sidenote: this is completely an AU, meaning I just kind of grouped people together based on my interpretation of age (not that age really makes sense in the greys world anyways). This chapter is somewhat boring, basically just a set up for the characters and dynamic of the story. Thank you as always for feedback and prompts <3

In summary, the main interns in focus are: Amelia Shepherd, Atticus Lincoln, Maggie Pierce, Winston Ndugu, Jo Wilson, & Lexie Grey. The ship this focuses on is Amelink <3

_______

That's how it starts

We go back to your house

We check the charts

And start to figure it out

_______

(Hour 1)

“No, no, no,” she mutters impatiently, hastily climbing out of her car, her jacket catching in the door as she slams it shut. “God dammit, son of a-”

She tugs her jacket free and sighs in exasperation as she begins walking at a pace that could quite possibly challenge olympic level speed-walkers.

Amelia Shepherd was a lot of things.

Sharp. Cunning. Confident. Prepared. Most of the time.

But, throughout her lifetime, she’d also been described in less elevating ways. Unpredictable. Impulsive. Irresponsible. She laughs bitterly when her mind settles on the last adjective, as she scurries through the doors of Seattle Grace Hospital.

Because she was a lot of things. And late for the first day of her surgical internship was now getting added to the list.

_______

“Pierce, Lincoln, Wilson, Ndugu, Grey, Shepherd!” Chief Webber’s voice booms through the chaos of the crowded locker room. Interns begin stepping forward as their names are called. “Pierce, Lincoln, Wilson, Ndugu, Grey, and Shepherd,” he beckons again, “Your assigned resident is Dr. Karev.”

Alex scowls intimidatingly as five out of his six interns approach him by the door.

“Let’s move,” he mutters, starting to walk swiftly through the corridor of the hospital while the interns trail behind him.

“I have five rules,” he stops walking suddenly, and the sound of halting sneakers squeaks behind him. “First rule…” He trails off, turning around to look pointedly at each of their faces. “There are five of you here, who’s missing?”

The group looks between each other in confusion, shrugging amongst themselves. Alex peers down at each of their ID badges.

“Where’s Shepherd?”

More shrugs.

“Where’s Shepherd?” He repeats, louder this time.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Amelia’s breathless voice chimes distantly behind the group as she jogs to meet them. She comes to a stop, huffing out a breath as she pushes strands of her long, dark hair out of her face.

Alex glares at her, arms folding across his chest.

“Okay forget the rules, we’re out of time,” He growls. “You five,” He looks between those of his interns that were on time today. “You’ll be joining me in the gallery for a groundbreaking surgery.”

There’s excited murmurs throughout the group.

“I’m serious. The surgery you’re about to witness….you will likely never see anything like it again. You will be silent. You will take notes. And you will not embarrass me.”

The excited murmurs turn to anxious nods.

“Shepherd,” Alex continues, an evil smirk taking over his expression. Amelia gulps. “Your last name is not going to save your ass right now.” He laughs. “I have this dude who’s taking up a bed down in the pit. He won’t stop throwing up. He’s a junkie. You’re gonna go clean him up, give him an IV, and send him home. And then maybe you can come find us.”

Amelia sighs, stepping forward slightly to defend herself. “Are you sure? Don’t you think I should see-”

“I didn’t ask for a response,” he interrupts her. “I asked you to head to the pit.”

Amelia blinks, her hands dropping to her sides in defeat. She watches as the rest of her intern class hurries off to witness a groundbreaking surgery without her.

_______

(Hour 8)

Amelia slowly shuffles through the dimly lit basement of Seattle Grace, following the sounds of her fellow interns’ voices.

“Ugh, Atticus,” Jo laughs loudly. “Call him Link. I have never heard anyone call him Atticus.”

Jo’s laugh echoes through the hallway and Amelia uses it to guide her.

“Sorry,” Lexie giggles in defense. “It’s not like I knew that. Not my fault you all know each other already.”

Amelia finally approaches. And sees everyone sprawled out across the abandoned hospital bed in the hallway. The bed rests against a large window by the vending machines.

“Who all knows each other already?” Amelia huffs as she slides down against the opposite wall, settling herself on the floor and leaning her head back in exhaustion.

“Everyone, apparently,” Lexie responds as she takes a bite of a granola bar. “Maggie and Winston went to Tufts together. Jo and Link did the same undergrad program, and even worked at the same restaurant. I’m the loner here.”

“Well,” Amelia mumbles, eyes closing as her head rests against the wall. “I’m a loner with you, then.”

“Yeah, except for the fact that you’re a Shepherd,” Lexie laughs.

“And you’re a Grey!” Amelia bites back playfully. “We’re in the same boat here.”

“Wait, you’re a Grey?” Maggie gasps, practically choking on the handful of chips she’d just consumed. Winston leans forward, concern crossing his features as he rubs Maggie’s back. She slowly gets a grasp over her coughs. “You’re a Grey, too? Like….Meredith Grey?”

“Yeah….I’m her sister….” Lexie frowns. And Maggie’s eyes go wide. “What’s wrong with being a Grey-”

“Is everyone here somehow related to an attending or resident?” Jo interrupts, rolling her eyes in disbelief. “What in the nepotism….”

Maggie settles back in her seat, her eyes still wide as Winston watches her. Quiet falls between them all and Amelia resumes her previous position, eyes coming to rest as she leans back against the wall. She listens to the voices among the group as the conversation picks back up.

“I heard that every year, they pick the most promising intern on the first day to scrub in on something.” Jo announces. Amelia’s adrenaline kicks in a little bit at this information, but she keeps her eyes shut.

“During our first shift?” Lexie gasps.

“Mhm.”

“No thanks,” Lexie mutters. “I’d definitely screw something up.”

“I might ask Karev about it,” Amelia can hear the smirk in Jo’s voice. “Try and get a leg up on it.”

“Nah,” Link cuts in. “Don’t do that. Whatever happens, happens. You wanna be a shark about it?”

“Okay, Mr. ‘go with the flow.’” Jo laughs. “That kind of attitude is not going to get you anywhere.”

The comfortable silence that fills the hallway again makes sense. It reflects everyone’s current exhaustion.

But then a question gets voiced, and it takes Amelia a moment to realize that the question is directed toward her.

“How’d your patient in the pit go?”

Amelia’s eyes snap open as she searches for the face that voiced the question. Her eyes land on Link’s bright-eyed and sympathetic gaze.

“I….didn’t end up discharging him.” Amelia mutters. And she watches as Link raises his eyebrows at this information.

“Karev is not going to be happy about that.”

“He….uh,” Amelia sits up, bringing her knees to her chest as she explains. “The patient….he’s not a junkie.” She outwardly cringes at the word. “It’s not withdrawal. It’s something else.”

“What makes you think that?” Jo inquires doubtfully.

“His symptoms,” Amelia mumbles, somewhat self-consciously. “They’re not withdrawal symptoms.”

“Maybe Shepherd’s right,” Link offers, a kindness to his voice that surprises Amelia. She expects him to be more arrogant. Or maybe a little full of himself. Just based on his looks. But, everything she’s heard from him so far, has been nothing but positive.

“You going to tell Karev you didn’t discharge the guy?” Jo questions.

“I am,” Amelia responds matter-of-factly. And the hallway grows silent again.

“I could just take a nap right here, right now….” Winston eventually mumbles out.

And there’s a general hum of agreement. Before the quiet moment is interrupted by a chorus of pagers going off.

_______

(Hour 12)

They finally get a lunch break. And by the time it comes around, Amelia isn’t even hungry. After being vomited on in the pit all morning, her appetite is completely diminished.

She walks through the hallway towards the cafeteria and sees Maggie walking a few feet ahead of her.

“Hey!” She catches up to her.

“Hey,” Maggie smiles. “You grabbing lunch?”

Amelia just groans, shaking her head. “Not after the morning I’ve had, no.”

Maggie gives her a sympathetic look before she stops in front of the bulletin board outside of the cafeteria. Amelia watches curiously as Maggie pins a flyer to the board, then she reads the posting.

“You’re looking for roommates?” Amelia inquires, slowly becoming more animated as the idea settles in.

“Yeah, I have three rooms to fill in my apartment. My other roommates moved out but I want to re-sign the lease.”

“Um, wow,” Amelia is stunned by the obviousness of it. “Okay, me? I will be a roommate.”

They continue walking towards the cafeteria and Maggie turns to her, giving her an incredulous stare.

“We’re in the same intern class….” Maggie frowns. “We’re going to be around each other literally 24/7….you wouldn’t actually want to….live together, too?”

“I would,” Amelia persists. “I’m….crashing on my brother’s couch right now,” she mutters, embarrassed by the confession. “I would quite honestly rather live anywhere else.”

“I barely know you.” Maggie exclaims in disbelief.

“So! I’m great. I’m...I’m the best. Best roommate ever. I promise you won’t regret it.” Amelia grins hugely, wiggling her brows, trying to sell herself. And Maggie laughs, shaking her head.

They sit at a table, and Maggie unpacks the lunch she’s brought with her.

“Really,” Amelia tries again. “I’m a clean person. I do the dishes...most of the time. I pay rent on time. Always. And I’m fun, and-”

“Okay!” Maggie laughs. “Okay. You….you’re overselling it now. You can have one of the rooms.”

“Yes!” Amelia loudly squeals, and the outburst makes heads turn throughout the cafeteria. She quickly pipes down. “Sorry….you won’t regret it.”

Maggie just shakes her head, taking a bite of salad.

“So….” Amelia speaks up again after letting Maggie get a few bites in. “What do you have against Meredith Grey?”

And similar to earlier, Maggie almost chokes on her food again. She slowly works on swallowing her bite of salad before she speaks.

“I don’t have anything against Meredith Grey,” she mutters.

“Ha,” Amelia laughs sarcastically. “Your eyes just about burst through your head earlier when you found out Lexie was related to her. What’s up?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Hey, we’re roommates now. Spill.” Amelia folds her arms across her chest, leaning back in her seat.

Maggie glances around the room before she leans in, beginning to speak softly. So softly Amelia almost doesn’t hear her. “I came here….to Seattle Grace….I applied for this internship because my birth mother worked here. She was kind of….like a legend here.”

“Okay….”

“And I didn’t think I’d actually land the internship….”

“Okay….”

“And then I got the internship and….and I didn’t think I’d actually see her, or be working with her-”

“Who? Your mom?” Amelia interrupts.

“No,” Maggie breathes. “No….Meredith.”

Amelia just frowns, still not understanding how this ties together.

“Ellis Grey is my birth mother.”

And now it’s Amelia’s turn to choke on her food. Except she’s not currently eating anything. So, it’s more like she’s choking on air as she grips the edges of the table in shock.

But before she can voice her surprise, Winston approaches the table, sitting down to join them. And Amelia breathes out a huge breath. Glancing at Maggie and miming the motions as if she’s zipping her mouth shut.

Winston definitely notices the strange energy, and he looks between the two in confusion.

“I’m….” Amelia pipes up. “I’m going to go check on my patient in the pit. You two enjoy lunch.”

Amelia stands up, winking at Maggie mischievously, before heading for the door.

_______

(Hour 16)

16 Hours in and Amelia finally decides it’s time to eat something. She’s been on her feet all day, running labs and doing scut work for Karev. The patient she was supposed to have discharged earlier, is currently waiting on the neuro consult she’d ordered. So it feels like the perfect time to take a small break.

She’s been so busy, she’s barely even thought about food. Her stomach rumbles loudly as she makes her way back through the dimly lit basement, seeking out the vending machines she knows are down here. She could have picked any of the vending machines in the hospital, honestly, but she’s chosen this route because she likes the quiet, and hopes to have a moment to herself to unwind.

She rounds the corner, letting the subtle hum of the vending machines bring her comfort. But the moment doesn’t last.

“Hey, Shepherd!”

Amelia jumps, clutching a hand to her chest as her eyes settle on Link, where he’s once again sitting on the abandoned bed in the hallway.

“Shit, you scared me.” She exhales shakily.

“Sorry,” he smiles, then turns back to the textbook in his lap.

Amelia walks past him, continuing towards the vending machines. She considers the options in front of her, before deciding on a granola bar and an energy drink.

“You kind of stole my idea,” she mumbles as she turns around to face him.

“Hm?” he looks up from his book.

“I was going to come down here, and be all quiet and alone for a minute,” she smirks.

“Well, great minds think alike, I guess?” He laughs. “You can sit.”

Amelia gazes up at him through a pointed stare, biting the inside of her cheek as she weighs her options. She truly had been seeking a peaceful moment to herself before she realized Link was down here.

“And I can be quiet,” he adds, watching her think it through.

But she decides. She gives in and climbs onto the mattress, resting her back against the wall. She yawns hugely as she settles in a comfortable seated position, legs outstretched in front of her, mirroring Link’s current position.

“Those aren’t very good for you, you know,” he smirks, nodding towards the energy drink in her lap.

“What are you, a doctor or something?” she bites back sarcastically.

“Trying to be.”

Amelia smiles, popping open the drink and taking an exaggerated first sip. Link just shakes his head at her, turning back to his book.

Amelia sighs a few seconds later. “Is it just me....or do you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing?”

Link turns his head to the side, lifting his eyes from his book to her tired expression.

“I get that.”

“I mean,” Amelia lets her head roll to the side too, in his direction. “I was top of my class at Harvard. I really thought I’d have an impressive first day.”

“You….were late this morning….” Link stifles a laugh, squinting at her.

Amelia rolls her eyes. “Yeah….not off to a great start. You’re right.”

A moment later Link slams his textbook closed, muttering something about trying to squeeze in a nap while he can. He leans his head back against the wall, letting his eyes shut.

“Oh, come on,” Amelia mutters playfully. “Sleep is for the weak.”

“Sleep is extremely important,” Link responds, eyes still closed. “And I’m not sleeping, I’m just resting my eyes.”

Amelia laughs under her breath. “Sure.”

“Really,” he continues. “Resting your eyes? Feels fantastic. You should give it a try.”

Amelia doesn’t respond to this, instead taking another sip of her drink.

“Afraid you’ll fall asleep?” Link inquires a moment later, opening his eyes to glance sideways at her.

“No. I can rest my eyes without falling asleep.”

“Sure.”

Amelia watches as he resumes his previous position, his eyes slipping closed as he rests against the wall.

“Is this some sort of competition?” She mutters.

“I’m not competitive.”

He’s smug, Amelia thinks, as she stares at his restful expression. She sets her drink on the windowsill behind her, and lets her own eyes come to rest. It feels good to close her eyes. Way too good.

A moment later she hears Link whisper “I told you.” At least she thinks that’s what she hears. Her consciousness is beginning to slip away from her. And it’s hard to pull herself out of it, or to even think about separating exhausted imagination from reality.

When Link’s pager goes off several minutes later, his eyes shoot open. The sound of it doesn’t even cause Amelia to stir. He turns to look at her. Her long hair covers half of her face, but he can tell by the pattern of her breathing that she’s fallen asleep. Link smiles to himself, deciding not to wake her. She had initially come down here seeking a moment to herself, and Link was going to let her have it. His pager beeps again and he stands up, quickly on his feet and moving through the hallway.

_______

When Amelia eventually wakes up, she has no idea how much time has passed. The first thing she notices is that she’s alone now. Link’s abandoned textbook sits open next to her. It’s much darker in the basement now, with less light coming in through the window. She frowns, checking her pager.

And that’s when she notices the red blinking light.

Signifying her pager is dying. Or needs new batteries. Or something. She doesn’t know. It’s her goddamn first day and she has no idea how this works.

She curses to herself, springing up from her seat and practically running towards the stairwell.

_______

By the time she reaches the pit, she’s completely out of breath. Her eyes scan the ER, trying to locate her patient from earlier. The patient she was supposed to have discharged. But instead of following Karev’s orders, she had called a neuro consult, because she knew that the case was something more. And now, as she stands in the ER, she completely regrets her decision to venture off to the basement and wait for a confirmation page from neuro. That decision was currently biting her in the ass.

Because now her eyes settle on the current situation.

She watches as Karev begins transport of her patient. Her mouth drops open, stunned as Karev kicks the hospital bed into movement, beginning to transport her patient to the OR. She grows even more stunned as she watches Link grab the rails on the other side of the bed, moving with Karev towards the elevator.

“Wait,” she steps forward. “Wait! That’s my patient, what-”

“Not anymore,” Alex growls. “It’s a tumor, Shepherd. No longer your case.”

“Right,” Amelia keeps pace with them. “I’m the one that called the neuro consult. I knew it! I knew that-”

“Shepherd-”

“That’s my patient!”

She stumbles backwards a bit as they navigate the bed to enter the elevator. She makes eye contact with Link as she watches them step into the elevator.

“Like I said,” Alex mutters, pressing the elevator button to the OR floor once they’re settled inside. “Not anymore. Maybe answer your page, next time.”

Her shock turns to anger as she holds eye contact with Link, and Karev’s words settle in.

“Beds 1-4 need stitches, can you manage that?”

The elevator doors come to a close and irritation flashes through her hot and fast. Because Atticus Lincoln, mr. ‘I'm not competitive,’ had just stolen her patient. Tricked her into falling asleep and then stolen her surgery.

_______

She tries to suppress her anger as she does scut work for the next few hours. As the time passes, she focuses on her bedside manner, and tries to improve her suture technique. Her anger subsides, and it gets replaced with disappointment. Mostly disappointment in herself. Because this was nobody’s fault but her own.

This was a surgical internship at one of the top hospitals in the country. It was allowed to be competitive. They were allowed to be sharks.

By the time she discharges her last patient in the pit, she’s feeling a lot of things. The feeling that stands out the most though, is the exhaustion.

_______

(Hour 24)

Amelia basically moves on autopilot as she exits the locker room, shrugging her jacket on and moving through the hospital’s corridor.

Her eyes feel heavy and all she can think about is going home and immediately going to sleep.

Her anticipation is interrupted, though, when she sees Link walking a few feet ahead of her. She stares at the back of his head, trying to remember any of the angry words she’d had for him earlier. But she’s just so tired, and she’s drawing a blank.

He comes to a stop in front of her, pausing in front of the bulletin board just outside of the cafeteria. Amelia slows her pace as she watches him read something on the board, and then he’s ripping off part of a flyer.

She catches up with him, not managing to walk slowly enough to avoid him completely. He notices her approach and almost instantly, a remorseful expression takes over his face.

They fall into step with each other. And Amelia clears her throat.

“Will you at least tell me how it went? With the tumor?”

Link nods sheepishly. “He’s in recovery now. The other Dr. Shepherd, who I’m guessing is your brother?” Amelia nods. “He removed it all, no problems.”

“That’s good,” Amelia mutters.

They approach the exit, and Link holds the door open as they make their way into the parking lot.

“I didn’t mean to steal your surgery, you know,” Link speaks up again, his tone apologetic. “I just….answered the page.”

Amelia smirks.

“Don’t feel bad. If you want to be a shark, be a shark.”

Link genuinely looks conscious-stricken at her words.

“I’m kidding,” Amelia adds. “It was pretty much my fault.”

Link looks down, crumpling the paper he’d taken from the bulletin board, and twisting it in his palm.

“What’s that?” Amelia inquires.

“Roommates wanted,” Link exclaims, smoothing out the paper and reading the brief description.

Amelia’s face falls.

“No,” she’s laughing now. “No way.”

“What?”

“You can’t be one of our roommates.”

“Who is ‘our’?” Link frowns.

“That’s Maggie’s ad,” she laughs. “And I already claimed a room, so I get a say here.”

“Well I think I’m going to inquire with Maggie,” Link smirks. “I just so happen to be looking for a new place right now. So, I kind of feel like I was meant to see this,” he holds up the paper.

Amelia sighs.

“I’ll get to her first,” she mumbles, beginning to turn towards her parked car. “And give her my input.”

The sun is starting to come up. 24 hours since the last sunrise. 24 hours since the start of their first shift. Amelia gazes up at the sky, grateful that it’s over. But grateful that it happened. Grateful to have the first day under her belt.

“Shepherd,” Link interrupts her thoughts. “I think I’ll be getting to Maggie first.”

“Huh?” She turns to him, and notices how he’s started walking in the opposite direction.

She catches up to him.

“We’re going to Joe’s,” he states, as Amelia steps into pace with him. “The bar across the street. Apparently it’s open 24 hours….but that’s on the down-low.”

Amelia halts, coming to a standstill.

And Link frowns, slowing to a stop when he notices her hesitation. “Jo, Maggie, Winston, Lexie….everyone, I mean. To celebrate a successful first shift?”

Amelia’s heart sinks. She hates this part. Hates having this conversation with anyone her age.

“I don’t drink,” she admits, clawing her palms with her fingernails as her arms drop to her sides.

“Okay,” Link says simply. “They have food there, right?”

She has to question whether she’s heard him right. Because she was waiting for the ‘why not?’ For the confused stare. Or for the uncomfortable chuckle. Which he offers none of. She was so prepared for the interrogation, that his reaction actually stuns her a little.

“Or music?” Link adds, when he realizes that Amelia is stuck inside her head a little. “Food. Or music. Or games? Shepherd, I know I said I’m not competitive, but that’s a whole different story when it comes to darts-”

“Okay,” she finally breathes, trying to hide her smile.

“Okay, you’ll come?”

Amelia nods, starting to walk again. Link catches up with her and she guides them towards Joe’s. They cross the street just as the sun comes up.

//

#amelink #amelink fanfic #amelinkfic #amelia shepherd #atticus lincoln #amelia x link #greys anatomy fanfic #greys anatomy fic #grey's anatomy fanfic #grey's anatomy fic #my writing #maggie pierce #winston ndugu #jo wilson #alex karev #lexie grey #amelinkfanfiction #if the sun comes up

[fire-angel]

DRAGON HEART

Hey guys, so the prologue is in my profile, below this part 1. (I'm still learning how to add the link and stuff so bear with me please haha)

PART ONE

Part 1

We're now sitting around a camp fire while we rest for a bit.

"I'm a deciple of a man. More than a man really, he's a myth to others, but he's real, a living legend, Jeong Jeong, Jeong Jeong the Deserter is what they call him. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?"

"He was very highly ranked, we get it." Sokka cuts in.

"Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness any more. He's the first person ever to leave the army - and live. Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened" i say (while doing the hand motion of "imagination" from sponge bob)

"You mean there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" Aang says standing up "We've gotta go see him! He can train me! " says with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"We're not gonna go find some crazy firebender! " said Sokka

Crazy? I stand up "He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar! That's why I helped you escape at the festival. "

Sokka stands up "Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the north pole in the morning. "

"Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me." replied the boy.

Katara standing up as well "It can't hurt just to talk to him.

"That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me!? "

As Sokka turns to walk away from the group, he almost runs right into a spear. In a flash, we are surrounded by men wearing straw hats and armor and wielding spears.

"Don't move!" says one of the men.

"Y/N Jeong Jeong told you not to go to that festival" says Lin Yi.

Sokka looks at us all confused "Hold on, you know these guys!? "

"Oh yeah! Lin Yi's like an uncle! Right Lin Yi?

Lin Yi lowers his spear "Quiet. Keep moving."

I just roll my eyes and follow.

We continue walking, Down the hill, we spot the little hut.

"Go on. He sees you only. " Lin Yi pushes me towards the shack.

I try to hold my ground "Oh that's okay, we can chat later."

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is? I need to talk to him right away. " Aang asks.

Aang begins to move forward, but it stopped by a spear shaft across his path.

"No! You wait" Lin says as he keeps me in "Go now! "

"Okay okay! Don't worry! Everything'll be fine. He's a great man, great man!" I assure them.

I walk into the tent getting ready for the wrath of Master Jeong Jeong.

"Oh hey there Master, hows it going?"

"You disobey my orders and run off into town and for what!?" the flames from his candles gain more flames.

"I just wanted to see what it was like...-"

"And now you bring the Avatar, you know I never wanted anything to do with the boy, he's not ready. He should leave immediately"

"but Master he was in trouble and I knew he would have been safer with us. He's just a boy. Can't you at least see him? He really needs to talk to you. He really thinks you can teach him firebending and so do I"

Jeong Jeong just huffs and turns away.

I head out if the shack to be faced with Aangs hopeful eyes.

"What happened? Can I see Jeong Jeong now? "

I sit down and shake my head. "He won't see you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately. "

"Finally! Let's hit the road." Sokka says as he stretches out his back.

"Why won't he see me? "

"He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet" I explain.

"Wait, how does he know that?" Aang replied with a surprised look.

"He saw the way you walked into camp. He can tell."

"I'm going in anyway!" Aand starts to walk away towards the shack

I try to reach out "Wait maybe you sho- and he's gone. Hey Sokka, Katara, follow me. I'll take you to your shack. You can rest here for tonight."

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

The next morning I go out and I see master Jeong Jeong training Aang. I guess he decided to train him after all.

"Widen your stance. Wider! Bend your knees. Now, concentrate." Jeong Jeong demands. (Aang takes on an expression of concentration) "Good, good! "

Wait! What do I do now? asks the boy.

"Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend, is she talking?" (Then, pointing to Sokka) "Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing!"

Sokka from a far shouts a " Hey! "

"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asks in confusion.

As I'm watching from the side, I decide to chip in. "Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is in complete balance with nature."

Aang looks at the sun then turning back to Jeong Jeong, a large smile on his face "So when do I get to make some fire?"

"Concentrate!" Master shouts.

I can't help but giggle. That's Jeong Jeong for you.

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

Later in the day Jeong Jeong calls me to his hut. I enter and sit down.

"Y/N I'm afraid our time together will be cut short." He says still facing away.

"What? Why? Suddenly?"

"I knew this day would come. For you to join the Avatar and his friends on his travels to restore order to the world. That is why I resisted to meet the boy. I did not want to let you go"

"Master, I'm not ready to leave you. There is so much I have to learn........Have you given up? Just like my teachers when I was young. I know my bending is a bit different and I still need to learn how to control-"

"No of course I haven't given up on you. My child you are more powerful than you think. For this is the reason I have to let you go with them. With time you will see the wonders of your power, not only through bending but through your spirit as well"

I start to tear up when suddenly Aang enters the hut.

"What are you doing here!? I did not tell you to stop!" said Jeong Jeong

"I've been breathing for hours. " Aang replied.

"You want to stop breathing? " Said Jeong

Honestly i kinda wanted to laugh at the moment but Aang seemed so serious that I held it in.

Angrily throwing his hands wide in a gesture of frustration "I want you to stop wasting my time! I already know how to squat and breathe and feel the sun.I want to know how to shoot fire out of my fingertips! "

Jeong Jeong lowering his head "Ughhhh. I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline."

I put my head down as I remember of the stories he told me about this pupil.

"-He was only concerned with the power of fire ,how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path., but fire is a horrible burden to bear. Its nature is to consume and without control it destroys everything around it. Learn restraint, or risk destroying yourself and everything you love"

Aang then leaves the tent and I follow him out.

"Look Aang, Master can be hard on you but he has his reasons for teaching you this way. He really believes in you and just wants to make sure you know what's at stake when you fire bend." I put a hand on his shoulder and give him a small smile "I'm going to go find some wood and fruit for later, see ya"

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

Walking along the river side I see some Fire Nation ships aproaching. This is bad news. I let go of whatever was in my hands and darted towards the huts, I find Master with Aang.

"Master! There is trouble. " I say almost out of breath

"What's going on?" Aang asks with a worried look.

"Concentrate on your leaf. Y/N stay here and watch him" says Jeong Jeong as he leaves.

"This is the worst firebending instruction ever. All he does is leave me alone for hours to concentrate or breathe." Aang tells Katara who is on the river's edge near us.

"I'm sure there's a good reason." She reassured.

"But I'm ready to do so much more." Aang continued.

Suddenly Aang's face lights up. He widens his stance and he begins to breathe. He still holds the leaf, which begins to smoke. Suddenly, the leaf bursts into flame and disintegrates. Aang is now holding a fireball in his hand.

"I did it! I made fire!" He exclaimed.

Katara coming closer " Aang, that's great, but you should take it slow."

Aang's expression gets annoyed at this comment, and the flame instantly gets bigger. He and Katara are surprised

"You should be careful!" I tell the boy.

Aang retains control and reduces the flame to its former size, but not before almost falling into the river

"Now that's firebending! " he says with a smile.

Aang then shoots a whip of flame and then begins to juggle his ball of flame happily

"Aang, you'll hurt yourself! You're still new at this" I try to explain.

Aang continuing to play "Wonder how that juggler did it?"

Aang loops the ball around him. It begins a complete circle around him and he pushes it outward. I was able to extinguish the fire headed towards me. Before I knew it the rest of Aangs flame engulfs Katara and burns her hands which she has raised to protect her face. She cries out in pain. Katara crumples to her knees.

"Katara! " Aang shouts. He hops over to her as she cries "I'm so sorry!"

I head over to Katara and Sokka appears by my side.

"Katara, what's wrong!?" He asks. Now looking at Aang angrily "What did you do? "

"iiiit was an accident! I was... Katara, I'm so - " He says as his voice starts to shake.

Sokka cuts him off as he grabs Aang and tackles him to the ground just as Aang tried to put a hand on Katara's shoulder

"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did! You burned my sister!"

Katara gets up and runs away. Aang who looks on, stunned, as she exits.

I wake up from my state of being in shock and grab Sokka from his collar to lift him off Aang. "Listen here Sokka, we get it that it was his fault but it was his first try" I look at Aang sadly. "I know what it's like to not have control over your power and believe me, he feels very sorry for what happened"

Jeong Jeong comes back right on time but Sokka turns to him and blames him for what happened. Did he just ignore me!? I start to feel my skin getting hot but Jeong Jeong appears and gently grabs my arm, wincing a bit as he does. Sokka takes notice. I try to do my breathing technique to calm down and count to 3 in my head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't...-" Sokka walks away "-I'm sorry!"

Jeong Jeong walks away to find Katara.

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

Moments later Katara comes back

"Katara! Are you all right? " Sokka and I ask.

"I'm fine, we've got to get out of here. Where's Aang?"

Sokka thumbs in the direction of the hut. Katara runs down the hill path to Jeong Jeong's hut to talk to Aang

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

Aang and I head out to find Jeong Jeong and we see him with someone from the Fire Nation.

"Look at you. You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage."

How dare he!

"It is you who have embraced savagery, Zhao." replied JeongJeong

Zhao!? He's that pupil Jeong Jeong always talked about.

"It's Admiral Zhao, now. "

more like Admiral of Side Burns

"That title will not help you against the Avatar. Do not try to fight him! You are no match!"

Zhao starts to laugh "I think I can handle a child."

"I have never seen such raw power. " He replies

"Jeong Jeong! " Aang shouts and I aproach

"We'll see. Men! Take the deserter! "

Jeong Jeong gets surrounded by five of Jeong Jeong's spearmen. Aang tops short in horror as they close in. Jeong Jeong smiles at me and wraps himself in a massive ball of flame. When it dissipates, he is gone.

Zhao angrily shouts "It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" Turning to Us . "Let's find out what my old master has taught you kids"

"YOU were Jeong Jeong's student?" Aang says with a surprise

"Until I got bored." Zhao says with a smug.

He launches a fireball at Aang, who dodges that and another and sends some towards me and I quickly make it disappear

"I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a firebender is truly capable of!"

"Aang, remember what Jeong Jeong said, he has no restraint, lets use that to our advantage, follow my lead" I whisper

He launches another fireball at Aang. It flies over Aang's head as the Avatar produces a flat, spinning whirlwind of air underneath him and balances himself on top of it with one finger.

He fires several more which Aang either dodges or breaks with airbending. Zhao's blasts have torched much of the surrounding forest and the sky fills with smoke.

"Stand and fight!" Zhao demands.

"Oh, were we fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up." I say with a smirk.

"I was!" He says. He fires many more all of which miss.

Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days! " Aang taunts

"Yeah totally, I've seen kids do better"

Zhao launches another errant fire blast with a dreadful noise of frustration. I use my firebending to launch myself up to one of the ships and Aang airbends himself up.

After several failed attempts at attacking us and lots of damage to our surroundings.

"You've lost this battle. " Aang says

"Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow! "

Motioning to my left "No, but you have. " I smile.

Zhao looks to his left and grimaces. Three ships on fire. The first is now sinking fast into the river.

"Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint. " I tell him.

We get off the ship

"Have a nice walk home! " says Aang.

"Aang, come on! " Sokka calls over. Him and Katara on Appa's back.

We run over and hop on.

"Wait! Where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asked

"He disappeared. They all did. " Sokka replied

"Aang, you're burned. " Katara tells Aang.

He looks down in wonder to see that she is right. His sleeves are torn open and there are burn marks.

"Let me help you. " She says.

She opens her water bottle and wraps some water around her hand. It glows white again. She places it over the burned area , breathes and concentrates. When she lets go the wound is healed. Wow, I've heard stories but never seen a water bender heal up close.

" Wow! That's good water." Aang says amused

"When did you learn how to do that? "

Katara shrugged "I guess I always knew. "

"Oh... well then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the grease briar bramble and that time I had two fish hooks in my thumb! "

Appa keeps flying us through the late afternoon sky. Sokka continues.

"-Oh, and the time that big snake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful. "

I sit quietly looking back and whisper

" I hope I get to see you again....

grandpa"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry if this was kind of long, but I hope you enjoyed it.

Oh!! And if you guys want any one shot blurbs for ATLA, feel free to dm. Hope you all have a good day (or night)

#atla imagine #atla scenario #zuko imagine #sokka imagine #aang imagine #atla x reader #fire nation #water tribe #earth kingdom #fanfic #atla au

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 76

Whew!  Enormous Family Dinner is finally done!

This took 2 more chapters than I originally planned, but I feel that holds pretty true for any good conversation you have among your found family... it just never wants to stop!

As always, thank you to @satan-parisienne for being so very, very patient with my ‘hurry up and wait’ style of requesting feedback, especially while you haven’t felt the greatest.  You are far better at pointing out “yeah, but this makes sense to LITERALLY NO ONE ELSE” than anyone I will ever know.  Also, @baelpenrose for helping me nail some of the dialogue, along with keeping me on track with all the bits and bobs I try to include in a single chapter.  Between the two of you, I feel like a better writer every day.

To give an idea of how crazy this chapter was to write, content warnings include mentions of:

Food Painfully spicy food Witches (non specific) Burning witches (the fact it happened) Sex (non explicit) Drugs Paranoia Food aversions

To be clear, none of this occurs on screen with the exception of the foods.  But it is all referenced in the conversation within the chapter, so just in case I wanted to make sure to mention it here. I also tried to tag it all.

I managed to calm myself down while Conor and Maverick dragged Sam to get more food.  As I wiped the last of the tears from my eyes, Alistair was dutifully telling Arthur some of my more humorous antics.  The dry humor and deadpan delivery threatened to put a smile on my long-lost friend’s face.

“It was ginger tea, not green tea,” came Tyche’s voice and she snatched a curried-vegetable wellington out of my hand. Stuffing it in her face, she turned to the teacher-cum-warlord-cum-teacher. “If you ever do or say anything unpleasant to my sister, if you make her even the tiniest bit uncomfortable, I will end you,” she advised jovially.

“I can’t exactly return that threat,” he pointed out, nonplussed. “I probably know more about your reputation than anyone on this ship except Sophia, and I’m not brain-dead enough to think you’re going to hurt her.” He paused before clarifying. “Necessary kicks in the ass notwithstanding. Hey - “

“You have to earn that privilege, professor,” she interrupted.  Draping herself over a chair - there weren’t any arms, how was she doing that? - she turned to me. “I like Parvati.  Guerilla protest artist in the body of a goddess.”

“Fortunately, humanity progressed past a point where we burn witches at the stake,” Arthur rued in agreement.  “Otherwise, I’m pretty sure Ms. Fletcher wouldn’t have made it out of infancy.”

“Certainly no Refugee Guernica,” I agreed with a sigh.

Grey sat down and nodded a greeting before adding “I have come to burn your fields and steal all your women.”

“Our dear Councillor Kalloe certainly seems to worship at that altar,” Alistair commented before I could stop sputtering at the sudden show of humor.  His face was entirely innocent when our heads whipped around collectively. “What? There is not enough soundproofing in the several galaxies - “

A dark hand swatted at his face as Derek objected. “Not in front of the dumplings,” he signed before swatting at Alistair some more.

“As a former warlord, I feel like I should object to that,” Arthur directed at Grey. “I mean, I may have burned a few fields, but I never stole all the women…”

I sighed with feigned wistfulness. “I don’t think Parvati had to steal anyone.  They probably marched behind her happily, with desperately high hopes.”

Several nods exchanged around the table before Arthur cleared his throat. “Speaking of witches…” He glanced pointedly at Tyche. “I managed to find something from Earth already in the consoles, and I am well aware that Sophia is insane about spice.” More than I did, my sister immediately perked up. “This is something I got to try exactly once in the Before, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.”

“Berbere,” I murmured.  I could remember him telling me about it afterward.  It was the hottest thing he had eaten in his life, at least at the time.

He nodded in confirmation. “Exactly.  But, just a warning before anyone rushes off to try this: it isn’t just spicy in the Scoville sense, this is spicy in the Dune sense of the word.”

A few confused looks exchanged around the table.  I threw looks at both Tyche and Arthur asking for permission before explaining. “In the fiction series Dune, there is a drug that is only found naturally on a planet called Arrakis.  The drug is nootropic, anti-gerial, and mutagenic, primarily allowing for expanded consciousness, ability to understand fifth and sixth dimensional navigation, and in limited cases, ancestral memory. Although the actual name of the drug is melange, the common name is simply ‘spice’.”

Arthur mimed applause; he had heard me mention my tendency to spout information like a walking encyclopedia, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.

The confused looks cleared up slightly, but there were still more than I would have liked.  Grey gently raised a hand for attention. “And… You actually want to eat this?”

I nodded fervently, as did Tyche, although Arthur tilted his head back and forth. “I mean… I believe after the meal I… experienced… I used the phrase ‘what unholy fire did I just put into my body’, but hey. It was delicious, even if the experience was a little closer to fiery transcendence than was altogether comfortable.”

Tyche snorted. “Burning witches at the stake, you mean?”

Ahhh… that was why talking about Parvati made him think of berbere.

“Just don’t give it to Derek, I’m begging you,” he responded. “This is not the ‘understanding eyes of kindly folk who burned witches alive to save their souls’ kind of thing. This is more ‘being consumed in the unholy fire of the most delicious thing you can imagine and seeing the fabric of reality in the process’ kind of thing.” Shuddering dramatically, he glanced at Derek. “Something tells me you would try to hack reality, and we kind of need that to just keep working right now.”

A sudden expression crossed Tyche’s face that I could only describe as looking like the physical manifestation of a click-noise. “Transcendent… I’ve noticed several people on the Ark - and I mean easily over a hundred - acting strange lately.  This can’t be related, can it?”

My neck ached in sympathy for the way it would have snapped around, had I not been facing her already. “You’ve noticed it, too?”

Derek tapped the table emphatically, requesting our attention. “Noticed what?”

“People have been unusually antisocial,” Tyche clarified. “Instead of greeting strangers, they look at me skeptically when I say hi.”

I nodded in agreement. “Even people who were very casually friendly in the last year or so, suddenly just nod and duck away to whisper furtively. It would be one thing if I had done something that clearly had a negative impact on the crew, but… I mean, I even see people who are carrying portable habitats for Else eyeing me weirdly.”

If Arthur had cats’ ears, I swear they would have been pricked as far forward as possible - for someone who was suspicious as a default, he looked curious enough to die for the satisfaction of an answer. “How large are these groups? Have you noticed any frequent meetings? Do you ever see people from several groups interacting? Are they quieter when you - or any other outsiders, I guess - approach?  Is it always the same people?”

My head spun as I tried to parse out answers. The questions had come rapid-fire, and I realized abruptly that Arthur, for all our digital interaction in the Before, wasn’t used to my auditory processing issues.

Thankfully, our Knights of the Dinner Table arrived from a successful quest, laden with several plates of tidbits and small cups of hot soup.  Tyche and I glanced at each other, silently agreeing to suspend the discussion of odd behaviors, before I spoke. “Soup isn’t on the menu, guys.”

“Special request,” Sam insisted carefully. “We all like miso, and it helps digestion.”  Without waiting for approval, he took one bowl, scooped all the tofu out and added it to a second bowl, and handed the first bowl to Derek. “No mushy,” he promised sincerely.

I restrained the urge to gape.  Never had I seen Sam assert himself like that, and it honestly made me insanely happy to watch.  Looking around the table, I saw the slightest twitch of Grey’s mouth. “It is very healthy to be clear about what you want, and builds friendships when you do so for others.” 

So they were the culprit behind Sam coming out of his shell. Interesting. “Cheers to insurrection,” I murmured, toasting with my half-gone bloody mary.

“And soup,” Maverick added cheerfully as he accepted the cup with extra tofu.

Not even bothering with the spoon, Conor actually toasted with his soup before downing it in one swallow.  “Slainte.”

Thankfully, Tyche and Grey both took much more graceful sips from their small bowls. 

Quickly, I sent a message to Arthur to send his questions in writing so that I could answer them fully.  Derek also made quick gestures with his datapad, seemingly asking the same thing. 

Everyone ignored Derek slipping half his bao back on Sam’s plate.

<< Prev  Masterlist  Next >>

#the miys #humans are weird #found family #original scifi #original fiction #aliens #apocalypse #tw: food #tw: witches #tw: spicy food #tw: witch burning #tw: drugs #tw: paranoia

[rpgays]

goodbye, solider

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 9

Relationship: Jet Rocks and the rest of the pary.

Warnings: Major character death, Suicidal thoughts (for Amethar desire of dying in battle, not really thinking of suicide but stil potentially triggering.

Words: 2k

Summary: War is not fair, and life is even less fair to Candia. Jet is gone, and everyone is heartbroken. An exploration of those moments right before, during and after Jet's quick and senseless death, the families reaction and how much heartbreak one can take.

Link to AO3 version.

Ruby runs away because she knows she cannot save Jet. She needs help. Someone to save her sister. Someone to keep a half of her from dying. Someone to help Jet before it is too late. She fears too late was the moment she convinced Jet to go check the attic. She fears her sister is already gone, although she knows it is not true yet. But she feels time sleeping out, so she runs. Air filling her lungs, feeling like poison. She feels Jet’s poison, in her lungs, in her heart and in her brain. It is killing her too. Not in the way it kills Jet. It kills her souls.

She wants to scream. “Help my sister!”. She wants to beg, to cry, to fall to her knees. But as long as there is a chance, as long as she can get to Theo, or her dad, or anyone friendly, she runs. Her half heart glows up. She knows Jet is fighting. She wants to hold her pinky. She wants to turn around and put them together, help her. She knows she must not. She must run. Run until she no longer can, until she has found help, or until she dies. So, she runs as she feels her heart break. There will be time for tears, but now she must try. Try her best for Jet.

Jet, who is trying her best to stay here. She wants to protect her sister, her dad, her cousin, her uncles. Everyone. She wants to protect everyone. She is happy Ruby ran. Ruby is safe. Liam is safe. She did it, she protected them. Why does it feel so bittersweet? Maybe she is not ready to die. She is trying her best to not die. But poison runs through her body, and she can feel Liam trying to help. Sweet Liam, as much as he says he is a war guy, he still has a golden heart.

She looks at Liam. His eyes clouded with sadness. Jet tries to smile, but the pain stops her. There is so much she needs to say. There is not enough time. Questions run through her head. Will Ruby be okay? Is she safe? Her parents, what will happen now with them? It hurts her more than poison could. She just wants everyone to be okay. No hurt, no heartbreak should come to her family. She loves them all so much. They are her world. All of them. No longer here and no longer moving her mouth Jet talks to Liam.

Liam, a seed guy turned war guy. A young man dealing with pain beyond his age. Bloodied hands way too many times. He could not leave Jet behind. He would not. He wants his friend alive. Too many friends gone. Liam was always alone until he met Preston. Then he met the twins. Two princesses that took him as an equal. Two princesses that when Preston was taken away from him, they kept him close. Two princesses that let him in on their language. Two princesses that became his best friends. And now one of them is dying on his arms.

He feels so impotent. Liam tries his best, but he can not do anything. The poison is far too spread throughout her body. Jet far too weak now. At least she will not die alone. Loneliness is far too close to Liam. He knows this feeling far too well. No way that will be what Jet feels last. Not under his watch. Not when he is here. A war guy does not leave anyone behind. Jet deserves to rest with her aunts. He will carry her home. Saving her was not possible, but Liam will honor her. He honors her by staying by her side. Staying as strong as he can be, making sure Jet’s passing is as sweet as it can be. As sweet as her, as sweet as Rocks. Once Jet is gone, she will take her home. How he wished they had listened to Theo.

Theo. A knight, a protector, a failure. He let traitors come too close. He spent all that time hating on the chancellor but trusting Calroy. He hated a good man; he trusted a snake. Now Sir Toby was dead. He was locked. Did Lazuli die for nothing? Did Lapin die for nothing? He cannot lose anyone else. He has to escape. He has to find the king, the Queen, the princesses, Liam, Cumulus. He has to find everyone. Protect them. Be of use, make their sacrifices worth something. Mean something. He thinks of Lazuli’s sacrifice, and he thinks of his lessons. Knock. He opens the door, sword in hand. He fights for Candia, for the Rocks, for his soul.

He fights with fire on his heart. He will find the King and with Him save everyone. The Unfallen. If he finds Him, everything will be alright. But he needs to be fast, he needs to be quick. Now or never. Now or death. Theo slashes the enemies, angrily. He thinks of Lazuli. He thinks of Lapin. No one else is dying. Not anyone he loves. Not anymore. He tells himself no one else is dying, but then he sees Amethar sfall from the sky.

Amethar. His back hurts. He is still trying to understand what happened. Calroy betrayed him. One of his most trusted allies, one of his longest friends. Stabbed him in the back, like a coward. Murdered two of his sisters, like a coward. Threw him of the castle, like a coward. How he wishes he could have grabbed that stupid snake arm. They would both probably die. He always thought dying was okay if you died winning the battle. This was not winning. Falling to his death, with Calroy roaming his home, was the farthest he could be from a win. He had to live another day, so he could kill that bastard. But poison corrodes his body, and it is so hard. Still, Amethar must try.

He thinks of his daughters as he slowly is able to move his fingers again. He thinks of how graceful Ruby looked as she flew attached to the ropes through the ships. Arrows flying, killing the captain in one shot. He thinks of the pride in Jet’s face as they did the Daddy-Daughter special, how strong she had become. Amethar needs to do this for them. He needs to think of his daughters. Once they are safe, maybe he can die. But first, he has to think of Ruby and Jet.

And thinking of them he does. For a second, the king wants to believe his eyes are lying. The red hue, the glow. He knows is one of the lockets. His stomach turns. Arms awaken. This cannot be happening. Anything but this. Amethar wants to stop time. Run towards them, but he cannot. He is forced to fall as he sees the light of his daughter turn off. Forever. He knows in an instant. Jet is gone. His precious daughter, his precious fighter. She is dead. And he, he is furious. He is raging. He has never felt so angry, at the world, at himself, at Calroy, at who ever did this. He rages with so much ire that he slowly becomes fire. A meteor, ready to strike this planet and destroy it. He no longer is falling. He is coming down with a mission. He takes the damage gladly, not falling to his knees. Why does he never fall, why cannot he die? His sisters, his daughter. Everyone he loves dies. He is so angry. He stands up, and with all the rage he has ever felt he roars. Payment day on his hand, a crater left on impact. He lets out a scream that breaks the sky in two.

When Theo hears the scream, he knows something terrible has happened. He knows he lost someone again. He cannot explain why, but his chest feels it. The air smells like grief. He failed yet again. No time to feel bad for oneself, he thinks. He must find the King, protect Him. Find Liam, and the princesses who he can only pray they are alive. He looks for Cumulous, scanning the area as he runs outside. He needs back up. Sir Toby is dead, someone else is dead. Lazuli, Lapin and now who. He cannot be consumed by grief. He must fight it, and he must protect whoever is left.

Cumulous, who was talking to the Sugar Plum Fairy hears screams. He runs towards them. Death is beautiful, but he is here to protect Candia. To protect the magic of this world. His cousin’s screams, the sound of clashing swords. Something truly bad is happening, and he must save magic. He must save Candia. He could not save Lazuli, it was his time to redeem himself.

Liam stands besides Jet’s body. He hears war happening at the castle. He does not know what to do. Leaving Jet behind, even if it is just her body, feels wrong. Can he do anything else? Liam is so tired of loss, of war, of pain, of loneliness. He wipes his tears of when he hears Jet speaking to him for the last time. “Tell Ruby I love her” her mouth does not move. It is frozen in slightly curved lips, starting a smile. He does not understand, until he looks up. Jet’s spirit talks to him once more “And that she did the right thing.” He wishes he could answer, but all he can do is nod as he sees Jet be taken away by someone he cannot quite see. Tears run down his cheek. He must find Ruby.

Ruby is still running. Every fiber of her being aching from exhaustion, the hits she took and the grief she feels. The Locket of the Sweetest Heart is on her hand, and she can feel it glow. She knows before the light goes out. It is a fragment of a second, but she knows. She feels a part of her die, and then she sees the light glowing no more. How unfair life is. Lapin and Preston hurt, but this destroys. She wants to weep; she wants to wail. For a second Ruby does think she managed to scream. But her lungs are too deflated, her throat to dry. It is her dad. She feels him, and she feels that he knows. A hug is all she wants. Guilt runs through her veins, if only she had listened to Mom. Oh, how is she going to tell mom… Jet is gone, her best friend, her sister, her heart is gone. And she cannot process it beyond wanting to run, kill and cry all at once.

Jet feels herself float away. Her body no longer hurts, and although she is sad she is gone, she is glad Ruby and Liam are safe. She hears a voice, as a hand touches her shoulder. “Good Job solider, you got her home. Ruby is gonna be alright” Rococoa is there, in front of her. Glorious, beautiful and regal. She is smiling at Jet with sadness and love. “Thank you” Jet does not feel scared. She has her aunt here, and she feels calm. “Work is not over, there is plenty we can do from this side. You ready?” Jet laughs. “I mean yeah, that sounds awesome.” Nothing can keep the greatest fighter out of this. Not even death. She is ready to fight for her sister, for her family, for her country. Even beyond the grave. If it is needed, for an entire eternity. Rococoa smiles and looks at Jet in the eyes. “I have bad news. If you thought the adventure was gonna end, it is not. “ Once again, Jet smiles. It is horrible she will no longer see them, but she can still protect them. She was born to protect, and in death, she will save them. “Well if you thought the adventure was gonna die, she definitely fucking wasn’t” A proud smile adorns Rococoa’s face. She kisses Jet’s cheek, and with love and kindness of someone who happily died to protect others she says “Let’s go to work”.

#my fics #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 spoilers #acoc spoilers #a crown of candy spoilers #dimension 20 #d20 #a crown of candy #acoc #jetli #ruby rocks #amethar rocks #theobald gumbar #liam wilhemina #cumulous rock #this is what i do aparently after a character dies #also thinking of writting about caramellinda and lazuli so get ready folks #this is angst train

[theastrophilearchitect]

March TBR/W.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I want to consume in March 2021.

-Hence ‘TBR/W’ - to-be-read/watched.

I’m not usually a fan of pre-planning my media for the month - I plan out all my media obsessively, but doing it by month seems a little too much like setting deadlines for my taste, and I’m sure I’ll somehow manage to turn watching tv into a chore. Regardless, it’s worth a shot, so this is going to be a rough guide - I’m going to pick four of each category, one per week, because I’d rather underestimate and surpass than overestimate and have to defer things to the next month. So let’s go.

Books

1. Skyward and 2. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is set in a future where the human race is on the verge of extinction, trapped on a planet constantly attacked by alien warriors. Spensa, a teenage girl stuck on the planet, wants to be a pilot, but it seems far-off. Then, she finds the wreckage of a ship that appears to have a soul, and she must figure out how to repair it, and persuade it to help her navigate flight school.

In truth, I mainly want to read this because of how highly it’s been praised by Hailey in Bookland on YouTube. I actually tried reading Sanderson’s Mistborn series a couple years ago, and just didn’t click with it. I love fantasy, but I can pretty confidently say epic fantasy just isn’t for me. However, Sanderson’s work is adored by many, and Skyward and its sequel Starsight appeal so much more to me, and I can’t wait to get to them.

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This is Maas’s first technically-adult book; Throne of Glass is young adult, ACOTAR being classed either as young or new adult. I’ve been a fan of Maas for a long time, and, though I enjoy her books less now than I have in the past due to how seriously they tend to take themselves, I’d still love to read this one. Where her previous series were both fantasies, this sits somewhere between that and a sci-fi, but I can’t say as-of-yet what I think, because I haven’t read it yet.

Bryce Quinlan finds herself investigating her friends’ deaths in an attempt to avenge them after they were taken from her by a demon. Hunt Athalar is a Fallen angel, enslaved by Archangels, forced to assassinate their enemies, when he’s offered a deal to assist Bryce in exchange for his freedom.

4. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I listened to this as an audiobook in 2019 as part of BookTuber Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, and didn’t hugely get along with it in truth. The audiobook was excellent as an audiobook, but the story Ian’s I just didn’t really vibe. I think I just want to like this book, so I think it’s worth a reread to see if my opinion changes.

This follows Citra and Rowan, a reluctant pair of apprentice Scythes - in a utopian future where humanity has the means to live forever, it is the job of the Scythes to control the population by essentially reaping the souls of those they choose to die. Neither Citra or Rowan want it, but I don’t remember enough about this book to say any more.

Audiobooks

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you either already know what this series is about, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirteen years. I read this book for the first time nearly seven years ago, and it’s stuck with me. It sent me into a phase of only reading dystopian books (The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was part of this, and was the series that really got me into reading), but this was the main one that stuck with me. 

It contains a powerful message about capitalism and discrimination, and this is the second time I’ve listened to the audiobooks, though the god-only-knows-what time I’ve read the series. I listened to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in February, which automatically puts this on my to-listen for March.

2. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman

This is a novella bind-up set in the Shadowhunters world, that I would imagine has quite a bit to do with the Shadow Market, an aspect of the Downworld introduced in The Dark Artifices, which I finished in January.

In truth, I’m mainly planning to listen to this audiobook because it’s the only Shadowhunters novella bind-up with an audiobook, and I’d just rather read additions to the main Shadowhunters series in this format rather than physically.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

This is a Hunger Games prequel that was released early last year, and I just wasn’t going to read it. I heard several reviews, the general consensus of which was basically that it’s not as good as the trilogy and is somewhat unnecessary, but, in truth, my curiosity’s got the better of me, especially since I started listening to the trilogy’s audiobooks again.

This prequel follows Coriolanus Snow as a mentor in the Games before he became President of Panem and the wonderful villain of the original trilogy.

4. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I mentioned this in my physical TBR post a couple weeks ago, but have decided to listen to the audiobook instead. A few weeks ago, I’d started to run out of audiobooks I wanted to listen to, and didn’t want to read anything on my regular TBR in this format, including this book. But, I went through a load of audiobook recommendations, and this was one of them, so it joined my to-listen.

I’m not hugely into contemporary books, but I’ve wanted to get more into the genre for a while, and this was the first one to join my TBR.

This novel follows Eliza Mirk, your typical high school outcast, who publishes a hugely popular web comic under the pseudonym LadyConstellation. Then Wallace Warland, the biggest fanfic writer of her comic transfers to her school and begins to draw her out of her shell.

TV Shows

Before I go into my list, I’d like to mention that I am currently watching WandaVision and am definitely planning to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, but both come out on a weekly basis, so aren’t being included on this list. Also, I’ve been watching way too much YouTube recently, so I’m not sure I’ll get through all of these this month, especially since I’m watching the Arrowverse shows, which have such long seasons.

1. Love, Victor Season 1

This Love, Simon spin-off follows a character named Victor at Creekwood (I think that’s the name?) High School. I saw Love, Simon twice in cinemas when it was released, and, miraculously, it made me cry. I love that movie.

This series was released last year on Hulu, which is only available in the US, but as of February 23rd, it’s one of the shows that came to Disney+ as part of Star.

2. The Flash Season 1

As mentioned, I’ve started watching the DC Arrowverse shows. I watch tv shows through alternating seasons - as in, I watch season 1 of show A, then season 1 of show B, then 2 of A, etc., then when I finish one, I start watching show C - but I’m treating the Arrowverse as one show (even though it isn’t) so it’s not the only thing I’m watching. So this is technically Arrowverse S3, preceded by Arrow S1+2 (though I haven’t actually started S2 as of writing this because of how much YouTube I’ve been watching, so I’ll be finishing that first).

I genuinely don’t know that much about most DC superheroes, Flash included, but I’m going into this having been assured it takes itself less goddamn seriously than Arrow. It’s my sister’s favourite Arrowverse show, and I can’t wait.

3. Dare Me Season 1

I added this Netflix show to my watchlist when it came out, and my basic understanding is that it focuses on the cheerleaders at a high school, and begins when a new coach arrives. It focuses on the psychological damage behind competitive cheerleading, and I’m not convinced I’m going to love it, but I think it’s worth a shot.

4. Arrow Season 3

I’m so confused by this poster. This is specifically the season 3 poster, and I’m so confused, but I’m sure it’ll make more sense when I watch the season.

I explained the weird way I’m watching Arrowverse (named as such because Arrow was the first show in it) already, but Arrow follows Oliver Queen, the son of one of the billionaires of Starling City upon his return after being stuck for five years on an island when a cruise ship carrying him and his father sunk. His father left him with a list of names of the people ‘corrupting’ the city, and Oliver takes it upon himself to assume a vigilante identity and take them down.

Movies

I’m not a huge movie-watcher, but I end up compiling so many to watch that, to ensure I get round to them, I watch a movie every time I finish a tv show season. I’m also currently re-watching the MCU movies in chronological order.

1. Instant Family

This is just something that came onto Netflix recently and I thought might be entertaining, and so it joined my list.

This follows a couple who decide to adopt a teenager, only to find out she has two more siblings.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 

This is just a continuation of my MCU re-watch - I love this movie. I love Guardians of the Galaxy, full stop (on another note, I just generally don’t understand why British people call it a full stop and Americans call it a period. Neither name makes particular sense). 

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

And here we have another continuation of my MCU rewatch. I honestly think this is my favourite Avengers movie, because the whole teams actually together, and Wanda, Scarlet Witch, is introduced - I love her. I really didn’t like Vision until WandaVision came out, though.

4. Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary

Not technically a movie, but still. (Are documentaries movies? I tend to think of them as separate categories, but I guess they’re both movies. Hm.) I’ve been watching the Try Guys for years, which means I need to convince my sister to give me her Google password so I don’t have to pay for this.

I’m probably not going to stick to this list, and even if I do, I’m either going to also consume things not on it, or just not finish it. But, you’ll have to wait for my March wrap-up to find out.

#tbr #book #books #reading #reader #bookblr #marchtbr #tv shows #movies #review #films #movie #tv show #writerblr #march tbr

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 9

Hey, no narrator explaining the Alchemy basics this time, just straight into the intro song? Last time, the Elrics broke into the Fifth Lab, encountered two Soul Armors, and Pudgy the Jerk made Al wonder about his free will. Here’s hoping that we fix these worries this episode.

Episode 09 - “Created Feelings” Annoyed Ed is Annoyed, scowling in his hospital bed. Ross and Brosh try to stay positive, but have to admit to Ed that the Lab’s kinda gone the same way as the library. And Ed can’t even get properly mad about that, he’s so beat up. So close to finding out the truth… Wait, what are you two apologizing for? If anything Ed’s the one who should be apologizing for running- OH! Ed done just got slapped by Ross, who’s calling him a selfish child, who doesn’t have to do everything by himself. Thanks for knocking some sense into the boy, Ross! Ross and Brosh maintain their professional demeanor (did they rehearse this earlier, their performance is spot on), right up until Ed admits he had it coming and they collapse in relief. Oh hey, explanation that SA’s are equivalent to major, like you guys said. Ed lets them know they don’t have to act so professional around him. Um, but maybe a bit more professional than that? Where’s Al in all this? He got his lecture earlier (and Brosh was the attempted slapper). And speaking of lectures… Uh oh. Ed’s gotta call Winry, tell her that his arm’s busted already. Immediately she remembers that loose screw. Whoops! Still ticked off that Ed got in another fight, but she recovers quickly and makes plans to head for Central. [Brosh]: “Aw, was that your girlfriend?” [Ed]: “My girlfriend? No way!” Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, buddy. Brosh wheels Ed back to the room since Ed’s busted up his stomach injury again, idly trying to talk girls with Annoyed Ed. Oh hey, there’s Al! Whatcha doing in the dark, buddy? Ugh, Al’s still brooding over what Pudgy said. And in a moment of cosmic irony, some kid’s robot toy walks right into him. Seeing an example of what we know he used to be, and what Pudgy said that he is… Damn it. I don’t wanna consider it. But do we know for sure that Pudgy’s wrong? I mean, we saw kid-Alphonse up until he was consumed in the Human Transmutation. And we’ve seen other examples of Soul Armor with Pompous and Pudgy. But do we know for sure that there was continuation of consciousness? You have to admit, it’s possible that Soul Armors create an impression of a person, formulate an identity based on the thoughts of the binder. Al’s thinking of his little brother when he does the binding, and the resulting suit of armor acts like his brother used to. The executioners think about the murderers that they are hanging, and that carries over to the new guards. We haven’t even had a non-Armor perspective of Al, even. I just can’t discount the possibility. At the train station, Winry’s complaining about the seats, wondering how Ed and Al can take so many trips. Looking around the West Exit, she should see someone she recogni- oh hey Armstrong! That was easy enough. But she’s still looking around? Uh oh. She doesn’t understand why the Elric Brothers aren’t there as well. Now Winry’s freaking out at the hospital, staring at the heavily-bandaged Ed even as he snarks that she’ll probably charge him an express service fee. To which she says she won’t charge anything, she didn’t do a good enough job last time? Woof. While she mopes, the others look pointedly at Ed, who starts frantically insisting it’s not her fault. Winry realizes that Ed never noticed the missing screw, really thinks that it’s all his fault. So she’s off the hook! What a relief, now she can treat him like normal! Cue her setting out express fee, chiding him for not drinking his milk, Ed whining that he doesn’t wanna, The Mighty Armstrong being VERY DISPLEASED with Ed’s attitude - yay, we’re back to happy times! But Al was looking through the door, just closed it and walked away. Boo, give me back my happy times! As Winry works on the arm, Ed talks about how Al’s been acting odd lately (Winry takes the opportunity to sneak the missing screw into the repairs). Al’s back in the Shadowed Hallway, looking into a mirror, shattering a mirror with barely any effort.

Repairs are done, Ed’s thanking Winry for the work- Sudden Civilian-dress!Hughes! [Hughes]: “Yo, Ed, my boy! Is it true that you brought a pretty blonde girl into your room to service you?” [Ed]: “*faceplant* She’s my automail mechanic that’s all! Nothing more!” [Hughes]: “Oh… I see. You’ve seduced your mechanic, have you?” Oh jeez. Hope you’re good at dodging, Hughes. I’m pretty sure Winry has a wrench with your name on it. Or rather he’ll just enthusiastically shake her hand. And Ed can’t just tell him to go do his work, he pushed it all off to poor Sheska. But good news, Ed and Al shouldn’t have to be under guard too much longer!... Winry is not to pleased to hear about this “bodyguard” business. Did you seriously not explain how your arm got obliterated before? Nope, he didn’t tell her then, and his stubborn attitude means all he’ll say now is that it “doesn’t concern her”. Jeez, Ed. You don’t make it easy to be your friend. Winry packs up and says that she’ll see him tomorrow, she’s got to find someplace to stay for the night. Oh hey, a new houseguest for Hughes! Brace yourself for photo-albums, Winry. Actually, forget photo albums! How about a whole birthday party for Elicia! (Dang, should have seen this episode yesterday). Congrats on three years! Oh my Leto, the whole “I’m two….. No, I’m three!” is stupidly adorable. NO WAIT even the Narrator just chuckled when doing the halfway “Fullmetal Alchemist” cards! Hurk!

Later that night, Winry’s talking about how she’s known the Elric Brothers for a long time, they’re like her brothers (well, maybe Al. NO I WILL NOT LET THIS SHIP GO). But they don’t talk to her, even when it’s clear things are bothering them. Hughes talks about how guys try to talk through actions rather than words, try not to burden others with their pain. But when a time comes that they do ask for help, Hughes knows that Winry will be there for them. As they finish talking, we get a sweet scene of some little boys asking to play with Elicia… and then arguing about who she wants to play with. Aw, quite the heartbreaker alre- Hughes put the gun down! Quieter actions Hughes, quieter actions! Next morning, Winry’s saying her goodbyes even as the family extend their hospitality. Elicia even huuuuuuurk nope nope too cute, clutching Winry’s sleeve. Hughes remarks that they could be sisters- [Elicia]: “Sissy! Be safe, ok? And come back and visit me real soon!”

At the hospital, Ed is shocked... to encounter milk with his food again. Al tries getting him to drink it, saying that he has “a living body that needs nourishment” (still thinking about Pudgy). Ed just offhandedly remarks that he won’t do it if he doesn’t want to, that he has grown some even if others, like Hughes and Winry who are arriving, keep calling him pipsqueak. [Ed]: “I wish I was like you, Al. You’ve got such a big body now.” [Al]: ”It’s not like I asked for this body, brother!” Oh jeez. It’s coming to a head. Ed starts apologizing, saying that he’ll get Al back in his real body soon. But Al’s not having any of it, yelling that Ed always says that, that he can’t believe anything when he’s stuck in this body, that memories are just scraps of information that can be made up as easily as anything else. Al thinks he knows now what Ed was afraid to tell him. That Al’s soul and memories are artificial constructions that Ed created. Ed slams his hands on the table. Then asks if Al’s finished talking. Then quietly gets up and walks out of the room. Al… Ed… WINRY! Hoo boy, Winry is pissed, smacking Al around with her wrench. I mean, Al did just accuse her, Granny, and Ed of lying to him. Oh. But she’s not upset about that. She’s upset because she knows what Ed was going to say: That he wanted to ask Al if he blames him for what happened to his body. Flashback to injured Ed at the Rockbell’s crying that Al lost his body, it’s all his fault. Al can’t eat, sleep, feel… how could he forgive the one who was supposed to protect him? Granny insists that Al doesn’t feel that way, that if Ed just asks he’ll know the truth. But Ed’s too afraid. Winry keeps striking Al, crying that even as Ed harbored those doubts, Al came and accused him of creating a fake brother just to control. And Winry ask who could do something like that, risk their life to create a fake brother. … That depends, Winry. To create a puppet? No one. To try and bring back what was lost, even if was ‘fake’? … moving on. For now, Winry orders Al to go after his brother. Up on the roof, Ed’s leaning on the railing, Al standing in the doorway. He goes to speak, but Ed cuts him off. [Ed]: “You know somethin', Al… We haven’t had a good fight in a while. I’m starting to get flabby.” The slippers come off. Ed charges, kicking and punching even as Al tells him to stop, that his wounds aren’t healed enough for a spar. Then, sheet to the face! While Al’s blinded, Ed knocks him down, declaring that he’s won. Hey, this would be the first match he’s ever beaten Al in, right? Even though Al argues that it wasn’t a fair fight. Heh. Ed reminisces on how they’ve fought since they were little, over some very stupid things. Like who got the top and bottom bunks? Um excuse you, who gets the top bunk is not stupid thank you very much. And don’t get me started on candy or toys. I’ve had to defend my stuff against a twin and a little brother, that is srus bizness!

[Al]: “We even fought over which one of us would marry Winry someday.” [Ed, panicked]: “What?! I don’t remember that one!” [Al]: “I won the fight… but she shot me down.” [Ed, nonchalant]: “Oh… did she?” Ed challenges Al to discount all those memories as lies, or his determination to regain his body. They’re in this together, remember? They’ll make themselves stronger, faster and better until they get their bodies back. Even if it means they have to drink the dreaded milk. *shudder* As the brothers fist-bump, Hughes and Winry look on from the doorway. (Please, please tell me she heard about their previous fights). Winry remarks that one doesn’t have to always hear something out loud, but it is helpful sometimes. Now, to put Ed back to bed and get some proper rest! [Strong Winds]? Heat-wave desert with a white flag? Oh hey, it’s Scar! [Scar]: “My brother…” Wait. What? Scar has a brother? Oh good grief. First we get the Slicer brothers, now we learn that Scar has/had a brother too?! I swear, and I thought RWBY was bad with sisters. Well anyways, not just his brother, Scar mentions his Master too, saying they’re all gone. Aftermath of the genocide? Sudden intruder! Hey, it’s Smiley/Kimblee, that guy who’s in jail now. He identifies himself as a State Alchemist send to exterminate the sector. He Transmutes from circles drawn on his hands- Scar wakes up, bandaged and under a blanket. A small red-eyed boy cheerfully notes he’s awake, and an older white-haired man tells Scar that he’s in a slum outside East City. Guessing they’re all Ishvalan? Little Kid says that Scar shouldn’t move, they found him floating in the sewers badly injured. Remembering his fight with the Goths, Scar asks if he still has his right arm and oh my gosh are you serious? We’ve already got the brother parallels, you really gonna make him lose an arm to be a more blatant counterpart to Ed? Oh, nevermind, he’s still got it. Lots of tattoos… gift from his family? Post-credits! [Narrator]: “A good friend became a comrade in arms, and over time his presence was taken for granted.” ...wait, what? “Although the future they once dreamed of became bleaker than they had ever imagined, this good friend was always there by his side, where he belonged.” Show. Show, no. NO. Stop implying what I think you’re implying! “Next time, on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-” OH SWEET LETO NO NO NO THAT WAS LUST’S SILHOUETTE NO NO NO Episode 10 - “Separate Destinations” “A friend whose presence comes as naturally as breathing can never be replaced.” NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 9

[gigis-ff-blog]

last time here we go

so you all probably expected this by now. but I’m not uploading this fic series anymore. I just cant find the motivation and with the amount I was planning to write its just became intimidating. I’m also going into my junior year(11th year) of high school, and that’s already stressful. and I’m really disappointed in myself that I never finished even the first book. but if you guys wouldn’t mind I would love to share my ideas and concepts that were supposed to be present. I might work on them in the future though.

CHARACTER DIFFERENCES

so unlike the anime, Dedede and Escargoon were supposed to act as good guys. Dedede was supposed to turn evil after being manipulated by Nightmare, who was so afraid by Kirby that he absorbed to much power than he could handle, became corrupted, and corrupted a king just to get rid of them. NME was supposed to be like a friendly group and were just supposed to be people that others could hire and pay for goods and services. Adaline would have been the salesman’s adopted daughter also. 

Characters like Marx, Dark Matter Swordsman, Dark Meta knight, and other villains would have had redeeming arcs as subplots. Susie was also supposed to have a more compassionate personality, albeit still snarky and all about herself. Necrodeus and Nebula were also supposed to be the co rulers of the underworld at a certain point. Axe knight was supposed to be related to them.

The Galaxia would have also had a spirit form, kind of like FI from Zelda, but more tired and motherly. This would have been the same for the mirror Galaxia as well. Sirica and Joe would have appeared as siblings under Meta’s care. Meta would have also had very cheap disguises (like an old fisherman’s disguise.)

Void would have also been reborn as a baby orb.

PLOT DIFFERENCES

The plot of Meta Knight Returns would have taken place just before that of Amazing Mirror. Where Meta knight would have left for the amazing mirror in hopes of regaining his lost family.However he would have been foiled by Dark Meta Knight and would have been trapped in the mirror world. Dark would have stolen the Galaxia and went to the Halberd to try and take over dreamland. The Galaxia would have been stored in a secret place in the Halberd as Dark wouldn’t be able to wield it. Eventually, the crew and Kirby would find this out and collaborate in taking him and the ship down.

Canvas curse and Rainbow curse would have had Adaline and Bandanna team up with Kirby. the stories would also lead in to Adaline’s past and character development.

A subplot between Morpho Knight and Meta knight would happen within the events of Mass attack. This would lead to character reveals like Aqua Knight being revealed. The Galaxia wielders would have had a big role in this story and it would have been the first time Galacta was seen.

The backstory of Sectonia and Dark Meta would have been explained. Dark would have taught Sectonia how to wield a sword and would have befriended her. Sectonia would have accidentally found a corrupt power within the Mirror that would have changed her to the evil queen bee she was.

Susie, Kirby, and Galacta knight were supposed to be part of a subplot in the Planet Robobot story, which would set up her and Kirby’s backstory which would take place in another dimension. In this, Kirby was supposed to be made of the same matter Void was made of, Except Susie would care for Kirby and tell them stories about her Dad and how she was always told that she was amazing. A cataclysm that would lead to a big crack in Galacta’s seal would have caused them to try and escape as Susie knew about how dangerous Galacta was. They would have eventually escaped on a ship Susie made, eccept she would have been hit off of the ship and found by The Haltman Company. 

Another subplot I Robobot would be how the halberd crew and the clones were both trying to work together and free Meta and take back the Halberd from Haltman. Eventually, Susie would join in becoming disgusted by how corrupt her father and the company were becoming.

Team Kirby clash deluxe would have been in a parallel dream universe visited by Susie

Kirby Star allies would have had each group of Dream friends given their own story in the narrative, eventually leading to a big climactic meetup at the end. Flamberge would have teamed up with Morpho and a fight would break out with the three sisters after Fransisca was hurt about “Why are we even in this cult? For Him. He took our hearts and hurt Fran. He’s not the same.”

The ancients, the GSA, the four heroes, Void and Galacta knight, and Morpho knight would have all had a big story of their own describing a war against Matter, and a gigantic calamity. There would have also been mentions of a war with Floralia and the Underworld. Meta would have been a child and one of the four heroes in the war against matter and an adult during the calamity.The calamity is what would have actually been the death of Garlude and Joes father. The war against matter would have involved the GSA and Nightmare on the same side. Morpho knight would have been related to Meta in some way before their demise. Galacta was also going to become corrupt with to much matter, causing a calamity that would combine all forces against one big death orb. Galacta, Kirby, and Void would have all shared the same person. This section of the story would reveal this. A prophecy involving Kirby’s adventures would have also been mentioned.

An ending was supposed to be written involving Galacta knight and the crumbling of the universe. This would be when they had broken free and started wreaking havoc. This would have painted an apocalyptic dreamland. Galacta would have killed off characters one by one GOT(I don’t watch or like this show) style with epic fights. They would have also consumed Kirby and Voids matters, including their souls. Galacta would have ripped holes in time and space and ruined everything till there was nothing left. Void and Kirby would have fused inside Galacta’s conscience and fought them there, Galacta’s soul would have been fought with Kirby and Voids combined soul. Eventually, all of them would become one and reverse time using the time ability and restore things to the second before the apocalypse started. From then everyone would live normal lives. Susie would also create a machine that would have brought back morpho knight from the dead to they could live a new and better life. 

Kirby café. It would have been a thing.

SAILOR DEE

Sailor dee was supposed to act as a main supporting character and secret Meta Knights spy, who would end up helping Kirby, despite being afraid of them in the beginning due to the GSA records Meta knight gave them.  Sailor’s backstory was supposed to reveal that they left their home and sailed away because they felt as if they were not wanted and forgettable once Bandanna started becoming closer to the kings court after his megaton punch world record break. this would lead to Sailor finding the Meta Knights. Sailor was supposed to get a more major character arc, becoming a more strong and confident person. Eventually Sailor would become the force that leads the Meta Knights when Meta is MIA. Sailor would have also been a Galaxia wielder. 

A feud during Amazing mirror would have led Sailor to go off and try to save the world themself, without Galaxia and the knights, who Sailor feels abandoned them. Sailor would get into a fight with Dark Meta, a fight where Silver Galaxia would create a blast that tried to save Sailor, but knocked them into another dimension with Marx, Dark Matter Swordsman, Nightmare, and Morpho. Together they would all work to make it out. They would all master different abilities. this plot would lead to the Morpho knight subplot in the Mass Attack story. Sailor would become Aqua Knight in the end.

ADALINE

Adaline’s backstory would begin as a lone magical waddle dee artist would travel to Shiver Star to test his artistic ability and reanimate the lost and forgotten life forms using soul matter paint. Adaline would be the waddle dee’s child and would grow up to watch her father figure create new sisters and even planets(patchland) out of magic. Eventually. The painter would become corrupt, and attempt to create a painting army to take over the galaxy. Vividria enlisted the help of NME to stop the galactic takeover before it started by separating paintings and sealing the painter inside the magic brush. The dude would have time to think in there. Adaline would then be taken in the Nightmare family’s care. They would also create a brother to her, Paint Roller. Vividria guards the artists moon.

MORPHO

morpho would have been Meta’s younger sibling. Both would try to escape the All Matter Castle after being hurt by Void after Void-a baby God ho had no idea what it was doing-was manipulated to hurt them. Meta made it out. Morpho didn’t. Morpho was killed and taken to the underworld. there they met Necrodeus, who gave them the role as a grim reaper. Necrodeus always felt sorry for Morpho. 

Morpho was trapped before they were killed. as Meta escaped he promised he would go back. However, Morpho was told in their final moments that Meta left them to save himself. This would spark their revenge.

After Morpho’s revenge failed, they would have had an emotional talk where they would basically hug and cry and clear things up before the light took morpho back. In the series end, they would be reborn with new memories in a new life around people that would love them.

HYNESS

Hyness would have started out as a normal part time cleric / part time nanny. He knew all of the sisters as he was their nanny. when families abandoned in blizzards, infernos took lives, and when all seamed gone. Hyness took them under their wing. But like literally anyone else at this point he became crazy with power. His dark powers left him after KSA and he felt guilty to the point of tears after he realized what he had done. He did everything he could to make it up to them.

VOID

Void would have been a baby God found by the ancients. Their power would be manipulated by other people until they were convinced that what they were doing was ok. The four heroes tried to reason with Void but to no avail.Once Void was sealed their manipulators were ended. Sir Arthur became the new leader and the era of control was over. Galacta Knight absorbed their power however and started the calamity…

GALACTA

Galacta was Kirby from a future time and history that had a cataclysmic event involving the fusion of Void and Kirby. Everything in the dimension was wiped out in this event. This dimension became “another dimension.” Galacta knight absorbed Void’s sealed matter and became overwhelmed with power. Galacta would be sealed tearfully by Meta as they both knew each other because they were both family to one another. Galacta would reawaken themself, and cause havoc throughout time and space. Galacta, Kirby, and Void would all fuse, fixing everything and ending off the series on the same hill Kirby crashed on.

THATS IT I HOPED YOU ENJOYED PLEASE COMENT AND REBLOG I SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS I LOVE YOU ALL AND WHO KNOWS I MIGHT WORK ON THESE AS SIMGULAR STORIES LATER. THIS IS MY FF BLOG NOW. THANK YOU LOVE YOU ALL IM SORRY THANK YOU!!!!!!!!111111!!!!

#kirby #kirby star allies #hoshi no kaabii #kirby right back at ya #kirby 64 #waddle dee #meta knight #king dedede #morpho knight #galacta knight #whew #that was a lot #i might make art on this #but i need to do stuff first #thank you all so much for being patient #im sorry #thank you

[lillaxtrigger]

Young Hope: Chapter 27

The twinkling night sky glistens over the metropolis of Townsville, the Spicer manor lighting through the darkness as the sound of applause escapes its walls. Within the living room of the abode itself, a small crowd of friends and family applaud and cheer surrounding the oldest son of the estate; Kingsley holding what looked to be a gold medal in the palms of his hands. The cheers of the small crowd dying down, the boy genius reads the words engraved in the medals reflective gold; saying: “1st place in the Townsville national gadgeteers competition.” After reading the engraving aloud, Kingsley turns back to the welcoming crowd behind him, announcing to them all that: “An award that I couldn’t have begun to imagine winning these past few days. I can’t thank everyone enough for their love, their smart thinking, and their endless support. I sincerely mean it when I say I couldn’t have won this without all of you. Thank you.” “I was all you, Kingsley. You earned that reward.” Persi compliments. “You did such a fantastic job sweetie.” his mother applauds. “Way to go, Spicer.” Cayenne simply cheers.

Despite the almost overwhelming ovation the boy genius gets, only one among the cheering circle outright refuses to join in; Kingsley younger sister glaring through the crowd with her bleak and contemptuous gaze. Chloe’s sour mood only worsens when she witnesses their father approach her smiling brother take the golden medal from him and claim that: “Beating out the entire gadgeteers expo on the first try ain’t something any genius can do. How bout we put this somewhere everyone can see.” Venturing out to the bookshelf on the side of the living room, the father perches the golden reward right in the middle of the shelf; taking center stage next to a collection of various other award owned by his son. “Aw dad, that hunk of gold ain’t nothing. Its the people that helped me along the way that matter more.” Kingsley’s cheesy line causes the crowd to erupt in a whale of applause and laughter, the cheering proving to be the last straw that his red headed sister can take before taking her leave in a bitter huff; her mother being the only one to notices her departure.

In her stomping huff through the living room, Chloe fails to catch the emergency news broadcast playing on their television; the reporter warning that: “-advise everyone to stay inside their homes for the night. The coma epidemic that has been plaguing the entire city this past week is still ongoing and a plausible source has not been identified. Again, our station advises everyone listening to stay in their homes and lock any and all ways in.”

Reaching the front door of their home, Chloe readies to head out; her hand on the knob right when she hears her mom grab her attention with: “Where are you going, honey?” “I’m...I’m going over to Serena’s for a bit. I promised to help her out with her potions.” “Alright, sweetie. Are you going to be okay?” “I’ll be fine mom. I just need to go.” the red head states before making her exit. As she watches her only daughter close their door behind her, the mother can’t help but let out a worrying groan; knowing full well that Chloe is not as fine as she claims to be.

Strolling down the lonesome darkened streets of Townsville, the young red head can’t help but rant aloud to herself about on: “Stupid Kingsley and his stupid rewards and his stupid accomplishments. Its not like I don’t have any kind of rewards that I earned over the years, no. It’s always just about Kingsley, isn’t it. Of course everything I do just winds up getting swept out of the spotlight. I win the national spelling bee, he wins the science fair project. I take home the gold in the school athletic olympics, Kingsley gets all the praise for his portable fusion reactor. I get an actual A+ on my science test, my brother gets rewards on teaching the whole damn class on fission experiments! It’s not fair! It’s just not fair!” Despite her self pitying cries ringing through the entire block, not a single soul around is there to hear her plea; her screaming eventually dying down into apathetic silence. “You’re right. It certainly isn’t fair.”

The unexpected voice echoing nearby suddenly makes the young girl jump, Chloe’s gaze swiftly scanning through the immediate streets in attempting to find who has shared their sympathy; alas finding nobody else around. “Just keep it together, Chloe. You’re probably just hearing things. Nothing but your own imagination.” “Oh contraire, my young budding rose; I’m no mere illusion conjured by your young adolescent mind. Nay, you’ve been humbly graced by a being from the very heavens themselves; here to free you from your woes and ease your mind.” Despite shaking in her shoes, the young lady stands still in the midst of this new disembodied voice; questioning on with: “Why are you so worried about me?” “Because, dear Chloe; your brother isn’t the only special one in the family. You boast so much more potential than you realize. So much so that it could surpass your own brothers feats, leaving you the shining star in everyone eyes.” “Really...how?” “All that you need is already is already around your little neck.” The voice in her head revealing such, Chloe pulls out the amazon crystal tucked underneath her dress; its pink glow permeating through the surrounding darkness. “My crystal?” “Indeed. That little trinket you have holds underneath its silky smooth shell the awesome power of the gods, awaiting for you to unleash its raw energy into this world.” “It has that much?...I was only able to fly and make such small things with it.” “It can do far more than just that. That stone can do far more than you can possibly imagine. Such potential around your neck could surpass even gods, much less, your own brother. I can show the kind of woman you could truly be with such power under your control, all you have do is open your heart...to me...” Such a golden promise echoing in her head, the red heads entire body ceases to tremble as she stares upon the glimmering sheen of her amazon crystal; the consuming shadows around her fleeing from its growing pink light.

As the afternoon sun bakes down the rooftop of the blue boys abode, both Tore and Mally stand at their mothers own bedside underneath; their eyes locked to her motionless, sleeping body. The dark purple dressed witch doctor slides her hands across the moms body, gliding her finger towards her eyes to open them; the mothers pupils bleak and soulless. “Hmm...this definitely isn’t good. How long has she been like this?” Serena questions. “Mom’s been in bed for a day and half straight. I thought she was just tired, but she been out cold this morning too. We tried everything to snap her awake; shake her, cold water, smelling salt, nothing worked.” Mally explains. “We thought she might’ve been hurt on the inside or something; but no matter how much I heal her, she just won’t wake up.” Tore adds. “We tried phoning for every hospital in town, but they’re too busy to even tell us to fuck off.” “I doubt any of them would be much help anyway. Her body isn’t the problem here.” the witch doctor informs. “Its her soul, isn’t it?” all of them hear from behind.

All in the room glance to the door to find the purple merc leaning against the doorway, Roy staring to the mothers unconscious body. “Roy! You’re back!” Mally exclaims. “How’d your date with Roxy go?” Tore asks. To his blue brothers question, the merc can’t bare to make direct eye contact with either of them; his gaze drifting to the corner of the room. “Oh...that bad huh?”

Fixing his eyes back to the three, the purple merc continues to asses the situation at hand by claiming that: “Her souls isn’t there, is it?” “That’s right on the mark. Even with her body at its healthiest; without her soul dwelling within her, she’ll never wake up.” “No problem then, we just find her soul and put it back in. Should be easy enough.” Tore simply states. “If only it were. You say a day and a half has passed since her souls been taken. If it doesn’t get back to her with two more, then her physical body shall become malnourished and she’ll eventually… she’ll eventually die.” The witch doctors harrowing warning sends the trio in a frightening scare; all three of them gazing upon the comatose body of their literally soulless mother. “Roy, can you tell where mom’s soul flew off to?” the blue boy questions his purple brother. “I might. A few sweeps around the city might give us the clues we need.” “The hell are we standing here like idiotic asshats here? Let’s get lookin!” Mally declares. “First, we need to contend with a couple of migraines ready to bust through our door.” Roy warns. “What migraines?” Right on questioning such, all of them hear a loud crash echoing out from the living room; the sound of wood breaking filling the house before somebody scream: “Knock knock, fuckers! We in the house!” “Cayenne! Why’d you break the door down!? We could’ve just knocked!” “Those migraines.”

Racing into the living room, everyone discovers both Kingsley and Cayenne standing before them; chunks of the front door scattered beneath their feet. “Hey guys, you couldn’t have come at a better time.” the blue angel greets. “Mind if I kindly ask what kind of drugged enchilada dipping sauce you ate urged you two to reduce our front door into an example of cheap wood craftsman ship?” the merc question. “It was me.” Serena points out. The trio glancing to the witch doctor behind them, they find Serena with her phone out; claiming that: “I told them to meet me here.” “This is perfect. We could really use your help, I-” Before the blue boy could finish asking for their aid, Cayenne pushes Tore aside as she approaches Serena; soon questioning her if: “Chloe said she was crashing at your place last night. You seen her?” “What? I’ve just been sorting through potions in my basement the other night. I didn’t hear her say anything about coming over.” “Did something happen to her?” Mally asks. “She went out during a little party we had last night and hasn’t come back home since.” Kingsley informs. “You try reaching her through her cell?” Tore wonders as he rises, dusting off the splinters stuck to his clothes. “We’ve tried everything. Phone, voicemails, e-mail, social media accounts; nothing comes up. She’s never been off the radar on her social for this long before, my parents are going insane; they launched a full blown police investigation just to find her.” “And you sure she’s just not passed out in a ditch crying somewhere, cause a full night toiling in your own overblown teenage drama bullshit can do that to a kid?” Roy wonders. “It doesn’t matter what happened to her now. All that matters now is that you hustle your asses outta here and help us find her. Got it?” the spice queen demands. “Yeah, not to sound like a veiny throbbing cock here; but fuck that. We got our own problems to deal with.” the merc turns down. “Sorry guys, but Roy is right. We don’t have the time. We gotta save our mom before she withers away.” Mally adds. “Its alright guys. We get it. Hope you guys can save her in time.”

Out the broken down doorway, Tore, Roy, and Mally all glide out towards the west side of the city; leaving behind them their three visitors. As they stroll away from the broken down door frame, the witch doctor turns her attention to the boy genius and asks if: “Now Kingsley, do you happen to have anything on you that your sister might’ve worn before she disappeared.” “Uh, yeah. Gimme a sec...” After confirming such, Kingsley digs through his jean pockets to pull out a lone diamond earring; claiming that: “This is what she was wearing the night before the party. Its one of her favorite earrings.” “Kingsley, why did you bring that with us?” Cayenne wonders. “I figured bringing it to police could help them track her down. Couple of sniffs from their German shepherds noses would’ve gotten them running after her trail in no time.” “I can assure you that my magic is far more efficient then any dogs the police may use.”

Taking the small accessory from the genius, Serena clasps the earring in the soft palms of her hands; a soft pink glow leaking out from the cracks of her fingers. This enchanting glow soon ventures ahead through the suburban air, the trio witnessing the pink trail drifting towards the city ahead; the witch doctor declaring that: “This aura trail should reveal to us the path Chloe had taken in the last 24 hours. Hopefully, she hasn’t strayed into a bad part of town and-” Before Serena could explain any further, she feels herself rising from the concrete pavement; glancing to her side to witness the spice queen sweeping her off her feet. Ascending from the roadway herself, Cayenne grabs hold of the boy genius beside her; tossing both him and the witch doctor on her back as she declares that: “The hell we standing around like a couple of jack offs here for then? Lets getting moving!” All three of them left on the clock, the spice queen whisks both of them away from the calm suburban neighborhood and towards the deep urban jungle of downtown Townsville.

The trio flying past the countless towering skyscrapers, the boy genius is left stuck on his phone; quelling the incoherent blubbering sounding out on the other end with: “Mom...mom...mom…please calm down. I’m sure if the police are too busy to help us, then I’m sure we can handle it ourselves. We already have Chloe’s trail and are following it as we speak...Yeah...Yeah...love you too...Bye.” As Kingsley puts his phone away, the spice queen underneath him grabs his attention with: “Think that might take more time then you think.” “Why?” the boy genius questions as he gazes to the skyline ahead of them. Before the airborne trio, they discover another of the red heads aura trail venturing out in a different direction; Kingsley questioning the witch doctor with them if: “Uh Serena, this wouldn’t happen to be part of your spell, would it?” “It certainly looks that way. Maybe Chloe took a little detour.” “Doesn’t matter what the hell she’s doin; we just gotta pick one. Thinkin that the new trail can get us to her faster?” “I don’t think so. For all we know, it could be a route she took before hand. Lets stay on the one were following just to be on the safe side.” Kingsley claims. “Whatev.” Their course fixed, all of them keep to the aura trail they were following; the trio continuing to glide deeper into the urban jungle.

Following the red heads pink aura eventually has them reach Townsville’s city square; Cayenne stops in the middle of the air right before the square, causing her two passengers to nearly fall. “Ah, Cayenne! What happened? Why’d you stop?” her best friend questions. Once getting their grips back on the spice queens back, both Kingsley and Serena gaze out to the site that caused her to halt in her tracks; their collective jaws going agap. Woven throughout the entire city square like a bright pink spiders web, Chloe’s trail venture in and out its countless twist and turns; rising and falling across both its streets and skyline. “Chloe flew this much in just one night? That-That’s insane. What was she even doing going through here like this?” “The fuck is this clusterfuck? How the hell are we supposed to figure out where she went with this horseshit?” Cayenne barks. “This is quite the troubling predicament! I’m not sure any spells I can do right now can sort through this mess.” Serena admits. “You got any that might?” the boy genius questions. “I could whip up a concoction that would be more than up for the job, though it may take some time for me to brew.” “Just give us a call when its ready.” The boy genius suggesting such, the witch doctor leaps off the spice queens backside; dissipating in a wave of sparkles. After Serena leaves them, both Kingsley and Cayenne continue forth with their search; following one of the many aura trails woven through the city square.

Flying out from around the neighboring corner, Tore, Roy, and Mally continue their own search through the depths of the urban jungle; the purple merc concentrating as they glide across the city skyline. “You getting any kind of read yet, bro?” Mally questions. “Nrr...Still nothing…I’m starting to think whoever took moms soul might’ve dragged it outta town by now.” A frustrated growl escapes from their orange haired sisters teeth; the skater claiming on how: “We don’t have that kinda time! If they really did ditch town, then we’ll never find them like this. We need a lead or something to give us an edge in this investigation.” “More like a whole damn police report.”

While both of his siblings continue flying forth, Tore breaks right in front of the massive TV screen beside them, the screen broadcasting the news network as its reporter states how: “The coma epidemic plaguing the city this past week has exploded last night. Cases of over 6 dozen people left comatose in their homes coming in from every corner of the city.” Before straying too far ahead, Mally glances back to discover their blue brother left staring to the city square television; grabbing her purple brother with: “Roy, hol up. Think Tore might be falling behind.” “Dammit, again? Swear to Hera, if he thinks he sees a crack in the road that looks like a third world country again; I’m gonna smack him into it.” The duo retreat back towards their brother’s side, finding him captivated by the massive monitor perched over the town square; the black winged merc claiming that: “Christ sake, man; we’re on the job. Get yer sorry blue ass in gear and-” “Hang on, Roy. Look.” their sister implores; pointing to the oversized TV itself. As all of them gaze upon the ongoing news report, they hear the reporter herself continue her story with: “Hospitals all over town are crowded with all the countless comatose victims coming in, and the increasing numbers not giving them a single break. Even as the police are unfortunately still at a loss on who might be behind these escalating attacks, the boys in blue vow to not to rest until they catch the culprit responsible. I’m Jessie Blankman, signing off.” After the news broadcast comes to a close, a commercial for pine scented baking soda comes on; Mally talking over the commercial by questioning if: “You think all that might be related to our moms soul getting snatched?” “Could be a good place to get a lead at least.” the blue angel claims. “It ain’t like we got anything else to go off of.” the purple merc reminds them. A destination in mind, the trio rocket away from the jumbo sized monitor and further above the skyline; gliding north away from the city square.

“Yeah, no. You guys ain’t getting in.” Out at the front entrance of the hospital itself, a lone police officer prevents the trio from barging inside; standing against the entrance doors. “What!?” Tore shouts. “Fuck off!” Roy bark. “Why not!?” Mally questions. “Its cause the staff and police in there are way too busy taking care of all the comatose patients coming from all over the city. So unless any of you have sustained any life threatening injuries or know any victims inside for visiting hours, I’m afraid I can’t let you all in.” “As a matter of fact, officer, we do know somebody inside and we oh so desperately want to see them in their hour of need.” the blue angel dramatically feigns. “Oh really, mind giving a last name?” “Of course, dear police woman of the law. Its...uh...” While attempting to conjure from the bowls of his mind a plausible last name, the blue boy gazes around for whatever he could for reference; first catching a passing truck with buttered corn on a kob. “Corn...” The next to enter is field of vision be an open manhole, several worker attempting to redirect traffic as one of them accidently falls in. “hole...a...” He manages to craft the final piece of his faux last name by glancing to a sign on the wayside, finishing with: “Sign...” Turning back to the officer with a smile, the blue angel takes in a deep breath and claims to her that: “You’re not really buying this, are you?” “Obviously not.”

“Even if you don’t believe that bullshit, we actually do have somebody that has medical treatment.” Roy suddenly protest. “And that would be-” Before the police woman could finish questioning the merc, everyone proves shocked to witness the young purple teenager slug himself right in the kidney; the self inflicted punch causing Roy to double over in pain. After coughing out pint of blood from his mouth, the merc looks up to the officer as he moans and wheezes if: “Now you mind letting us in.” The officers shock swiftly deflates before the downed purple merc, the police woman dead face demanding that: “Please leave before I have you all arrested.”

Along the opposite side of the hospital behind the dumpster, Tore has his hand firmly placed along his purple brother’s side; a soft white glow enveloping the part of his waist as he screams: “What a big blue bitch! Practically spilling out my own insides on the hot concrete and she won’t ask if I was alright. Outta have her sorry sexy ass fired for turning down somebody in need like that. Fuck her with a barbed cattle prod.” “Since just busting through the front door is obviously not an option, how else are we supposed to get inside?” Mally ponders. “I don’t get it. Can’t we just sneak inside through the roof?” the blue angel wonders. “And have a ton of people wonder who we are. And why we’re there? Face it. There’s way too many staff on hand right now to sneak inside reliably.” “Not to mentions it would eat too much of our time up.  Unless we happen to have a police uniform on hand, getting through would be next to impossible.” Right in that moment does the sharp sound of a brief siren horn penetrate their ears; all of their eyes drawn to the nearby corner. Peeking beyond the hospitals brick corner, all three of them find the back of a lone cop car parked along the side of the building; housing only a single police officer inside. “Guess we found our uniform. Now we just have to find a way to get it.” Tore claims. “I think I might know how.” Roy claims with a devious grin. “Does it involve beating the crap outta that cop?” Mally questions. “Yees.”

From the comfort of his heated cop car, the lone policeman peels back the paper lid of his steaming cup of noodles; the aroma of vegetables and pork filling the inside of the vehicle. He digs his fork into a bit of the soft noodles dwelling within the cup, pulling them up towards his mouth as the steam escapes from within. Mere seconds before he could savor their flavor, a desperate plead for help penetrates the shell of his cop car; the officer hearing somebody cry out: “Officer, help!” Glancing to the side, the policemen discovers an orange haired girl right outside his window; hearing her further plead on how: “My brothers bleeding out behind the hospital. I can’t carry him by myself.” Hearing this, the upstanding officer swiftly puts his cup of noodles away and rushes out the door; promising the girl that: “Don’t worry. I’ll help you carry your brother inside. Where is he?” “He’s around the corner! Hurry!” Claiming such, the kind officer follows the young girl out beyond the corner of the hospital; rushing out to the other side as he informs how: “Hang on, son. The docs inside will patch you right...uh...” Perplexing the policeman, he finds not a single soul awaiting behind the corner; not even so much as a body to discover. “Hold on, where is you broth-” Just before the officer could finish questioning the girl, he soon feels the brunt of the purple angels knuckles punch him square in the face; the blunt strike proving more than enough to knock the man in blue clean out.

Hog tied and stripe of his uniform, the unconscious officer is tossed right in the dumpster; the blue angel shutting the lid and turning to his siblings to ask if: “So, you think he’s gonna be okay in their while we “Borrow” his clothes.” “Ah don’t worry. I’m sure the dozens of diseased ridden rats and cockroaches’ll keep him plenty busy.” Roy claims as he dusts off their freshly pilfered uniform. The merc then tosses the blue uniform over to his blue brother and demands that he: “Now get dressed, you’re sneakin in.” Catching the uniform in his arms, Tore wonders: “Me? Why can’t either of you do it.” “Reason Mally can’t do it is cause nobody’s gonna reliably believe that a cop would be that damn short.” This passive aggressive comment gets the purple merc a hockey stick to the head, alongside his sister claiming that: “I’m still growing, asshole!” “And the reason you can’t?” Tore persists. “Agh! Cause strolling around as an officer with one arm is just asking to get ya stopped constantly with: “Oh, how did you lose your arm?” or “You must have been some hero willing to sacrifice your limb to save someone else.” Like “Bitch, I ain’t got any of yo time for your curious bullshit! I’m on the fuckin clock! Move yo sexy ass’s aside; I got shit to do.” I’d just be that kinda Saturday night show on repeat the entire god damn time.” “Alright, fine. Just gimme a couple minutes to get dressed and get in there.” Requesting this, the blue angel ascends to the roof of the hospital with the uniform in hand; parts of his clothes fluttering down to his awaiting siblings.

Coming out from the doorway leading to the rooftop, the blue angel enters the polished white halls of the city’s hospital; tucking in his blue hair underneath the signature police cap. Passing by a hallway mirror, the officer impersonator stops to take a good look at himself in uniform; realizing that he pulls off blue like a beast. Still, that ain’t much of a surprise. We’re talking about the guy that combos with a blazer pretty damn well. Wonder if this uniform comes in white. Interrupting his self reflecting be the harsh sound of a child’s cry; the disguised angel’s eyes drifting off to the nearby door. Glancing through the doors window, he discovers a woman and her child at the beside of a comatose patient; the little boy left sobbing in tears from his fathers unconscious body. A saddening site that further drives the blue boys determination, though urges him to look somewhere else to let his siblings inside.

While venturing away from the occupied patients room, the disguised boy in blue hears a sudden voice underneath him filtered by static; Tore glancing to his belt to find the police radio going off and broadcasting another officer that says: “Officer Barbrady, come in. Do you copy?” Despite his initial nervousness, the indigo angel detaches the radio from his pilfered belt and opens communications with: “Uh...Y-yes ma’am. Just stationed at the Northwest hospital; attempting to interview the families visiting the comatose patients.” “Good. Stay stationed there to keep us updated on how many vacancies are left. Lord know’s there are only so many they can take.”

“Right, I’ll keep you updated with all that. B-Barbrady out.” With her fellow officer hanging up, the police woman puts her radio away as she gazes to the site of the break in before her and her crew; a pair of paramedics carrying an unconscious man out of their home via a stretcher from the broken doorway. Passing the pair of medics carrying the poor man away, the officer takes a good look at the door lying on the porch; taking note the untouched hinges along its side. A peculiar site indeed, especially counting no signs of blunt force or evidence of tools; almost as if somebody was inside and slide the hinges right off and put them back on. The question in mind being why exactly somebody would go through this much trouble just for a break in. As the police woman ponders such, she turns her attention to the other officers exiting the home; questioning them if: “You guys find any else to report? Any prints inside yet?” “Aside from the victims prints, we got nothing. You think with a seamless break in like this, they’d at least steal some loose change from the couch cushions; but absolutely nothing was stolen. No money, no tech, no jewels, no valuables; not even a single cent.” Hearing all this, a small growl escapes from between the police woman's teeth; the officer then claiming how: “That’s over the 50th case like that this week. We practically got the entire city’s force spread thin over this epidemic. Worse off, the docs back at the hospitals ain’t reporting anything wrong with them. It’s just not making any sense.”

Watching their investigation from along the roof of the building across the street, both the spice queen and her boy genius bitch witness something that the police fail to see; the site of their red headed sisters trail leading inside the very home they stand in. “And that would be the forth broken in house her trail has lead us towards. You wanna start assuming the worst or should I?” Cayenne questions. “It’s just not making any sense. What’s Chloe doing breaking into random people’s houses like this?” “You mean more than usual?” “Cayenne, I’m being serious here. We haven’t got a clue what she’s doing flying around town like this to people houses owned by people who’ve been rendered comatose; not to mention the site of police wherever we follow the trail not leaving the best impression.” “Kingsley, chill. I’m sure she’ll pop up on our radar sooner or later. Serena’s already workin on something that can trace her out.” “I’m not even sure we have that kinda time.” “The hell else are we supposed to do beside fuck off with dicks in our mouths?” “Hmm...We might have better luck if we go back home and get better equip. A couple of gadgets in the basement might help us out.” Claiming such, the boy genius rides upon the spice queens backside and take off into the city skies; both of them gliding out back towards the direction of the Spicer manor.

Back inside the white halls of the hospital, the boy disguised in lawful blue peeks inside another patient room; finally discovering one with a patient with no visitors. A rather pitiable site seeing this poor man rendered unconscious without so much as a single visitor by his bedside; but nonetheless making his room the perfect point of entry for his siblings to fly right on inside. The lone mans room proving the perfect entry point; Tore checks around to see if the coast is clear; darting his eyes around the halls for any unwanted witnesses. Finding the halls clear of anyone, the boy in blue rushes inside and shuts the door behind him; soon passing by the bedridden patient and right to the window. Looking beyond its glass, the blue angel glances down to find both of his siblings in waiting; unlocking the frame and sliding the window up.

On the ground floor underneath, both Mally and Roy patiently await for their blue brother to give them a way inside; all the while the orange girl persist on asking her purple brother on how: “So you not even gonna tell me how you lost Roxanne so fast? Cause last I heard, you guys were doing alright at the least. What the hell happened between you that night?” “And I keep having to mention that I don’t wanna talk about it. Seriously, can you at least give me the courtesy of a week to let the scars heal before prying right back in?” “I’m just wanting to figure out how it all fell apart. You were so excited to see her when you left and when you got back, you looked so dead inside. Why?” “What part of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” can I not get through your fucking helmeted skull!?” the merc aggressively questions, his tone taking the young girl back a bit. “Al-Alright, fine. You win. We’ll drop it.” “Egh...Sorry about that. It’s just been a little hard on me to get past; especially since it was about her-” Before the merc could continue to explain, both of them hear their blue brother overhead, announcing to them that: “Hey there kids. Wanna break into a hospital? Get yer 99 cent asses in here pronto.” Flying up to the floor their brother stands with the skater at his back, Roy and Mally climb through the open window; soon finding the comatose patient whose room they broke into. “Nice work, bro.” As the merc passes by his police disguise brother, Roy can’t help but correct him on how: “And my sweet ass is definitely worth more then a fuckin dollar, asshole...Its at least a hundred.”

Coming to the slumbering gentlemen’s bedside, the purple angel takes a quick scan through the man’s comatose body; repeatedly poking and slapping the poor guys face. “You think its like how mom was left?” Mally asks. “Yep, this poor bastard is just like how she was. Dead asleep and without a soul to speak of.” After inspecting the slumbering patient, the merc takes a glancing out the door’s window; his senses picking up a good few people inside the neighboring room gathered over what he finds to be an empty bed. Its probably a safe bet that its a family weeping over the condition of their loved ones; it be pretty damn stupid to believe them to be crying over literally nothing; a pattern that the merc can sense all through parts of the entire buildings. “And if the rest of the patients are anything like this guy, then we might have ourselves a good lead.” Turning back towards his two siblings, Roy goes on to explain how: “Whoever is flying around reapin souls outta people in the middle of the night like some vampiric asshole fresh of the cusp off discovering his crazed soul fetish is the same mofo that ganked our moms very own soul.” “Great, have any idea who it might be?” the skater questions. “Eh, not sure. Only really know a handful of people that can casually pluck souls outta people like a picking fermented apples from the orchard of a drunken fruit farmer.” Taking a turn to peek outside himself, the boy in blue witnesses staff roll in another comatose man through the white halls; a family of a woman and two children tailing the mans bed. A small smile forms between his cheeks as he declares that: “We might be able to find out. Time for this uniform to work its magic.”

Inside the room that the slumbering man had been left within, the doctor tending to the patient turns away from the comatose victim; gazing to the wife and claiming to the family how: “We have no idea what kind of ailment is troubling your husband, ma’am. All the tests we’ve done on the other patients like him have come up completely negative. I hate to say this, but I can’t accurately tell how long your husband may be in this coma for.” Hearing this news causes the wife to look to her two children, streams of tears welling in their eyes. “I’ll give all of you some privacy.” the doctor offers as she leaves the room. The door behind them shutting, the daughter of the two children gazes up to their mother and asks: “Mommy, will dad be okay?” “Oh, daddy will be alright. We just need to give him time to sleep.” “How long will it be until he wakes up?” the brother of the two kids question. “I’m...sure that it won’t be long until he gets right back up and gives us all a big hug.” the mom claims with trembling breath.

From giving her two children this false hope, she hears the door behind them open once more; the family glancing to the doorway to witness a lone blue haired officer coming inside to greet them all with: “Afternoon there, ladies and gents. How are ya’ll holdin up?” “Wait, who are you?” the woman questions. “I’m...with the Townsvilles police department, here under investigation on what’s been causing this comatose epidemic sweeping this fair city’s citizen. You think you’d be comfortable answering a couple questions?” “Oh...yeah, of course.” Once wiping away the tears in her eyes, she looks down to her two children and asks them if: “Kids, can you go to the cafeteria to get some snack so mommy can talk to the nice policeman?” “Yeah, mom.” Upon their mothers orders, the two stroll out the patients room; leaving the woman and the faux officer alone with their unconscious father. “I know how hard it must be talking about all this so soon, but-” “It’s fine, really. Maybe talking about this with somebody like you can at least give my family a little piece of mind. To know that someone out there is at least doing something to fix all this.”

Claiming such, the woman pulls a seat from the edge of the room as the false officer does the same; both taking their seats as the blue hair policeman first starts off with: “Obvious question outta the way: What were you and your spouse doing the night he was struck with a coma?” “M-My husband and I were in bed around 3 in the morning. I was feeling parched and my husband happened to have gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom; so I asked him to grab me a glass of water while he was up. While I was trying to drift off back to bed, I hear the sound of a strong wind blowing across my house; followed by the sound of breaking glass. I thought that maybe the windows broke, so I got myself up to find my husband so we could fix it. When I raced into the kitchen to go grab him however, I found him passed out onto the floor with bits of water and glass. As I looked through my kitchen for what might’ve happened, I look over to the door and I find it pried right off its frame with the hinges still screwed on. It still perplexes me how he wound up like this last night.” After retelling the events that transpired the night her husband was struck with a coma, a harrowing sigh escapes from her lips; further claiming on how: “The kids haven’t been taking it well either. I just don’t know what else to tell them. They love their dad so much, he means the world to them.” Despite his eyes drifting away from the woman’s last comment, the faux officer gazes back to the wife and presses further with: “I don’t wanna cause you any further distress then you must be already going through, but did you happen to notice anything peculiar when you checked on your husband? Something leaving the scene perhapes?” “You mean aside from the door being taken off?” “Clearly.” “Well, there was one thing that I caught the minute I found my husband. When I saw him on the ground, I notices something shining just outside my window. I go outside, thinking that somebodies out there; call the police and get a give them a good description. But the moment I get out, the light was already too far in the sky to see who it might be. All I could make out was a bright pink glow.”

From within the dark corridors of the Spicer abode, a bright pink glow reflects off the kitchen tile as it escapes into the black recesses of the manor; the darkened halls swiftly filling with light as the front doors crack open. Behind the wooden door stood both the boy genius and the Spice queen, Cayenne gazing to the shadowy halls ahead and wondering aloud: “The hell are your lights out for?” As both of them stroll further through the darkened halls of the manor, the son of the abode calls out to his parents with: “Mom, Dad. Any of you home? Did the police call yet?” The young boys call falls on deaf ears however, Kingsley’s voice echoing through the shadowy halls of the manor. “Think they might’ve just fucked off?” Cayenne wonders. Pulling out his phone, the boy genius takes a quick glance to his messages, claiming on how: “I didn’t get any texts. Maybe Dad’s in the basement.” As the duo venture further through the darkness of the manor, both of them turn on whatever lights they can; all the while repeatedly calling for both of the boy geniuses parents. “Mom, Dad! Where are you?” “Mr and Mrs. Spicer? You can put the explosives away, its just us.” In hopes of covering more house, the duo split apart, the spice queen heading towards the kitchen while the boy genius heads for the basement. Cayenne finally glides inside the darkened corners of the manors kitchen, gazing into its shadows to attempt and find a light switch; her eyes drawn to a lone hand breaking from the void. Curious of whose hand it is, the spice queen enters further in the kitchen; a horrified glare forming the further she comes in.

Creaking open the basement door, the light from the hallway above leaks into shadows below; the boy genius standing in the doorframe as he stares down into the black void of his underground lab. “Dad...you in here?” Kingsley calls out to his father, his voice ringing down the steps. With his call baiting no response. The boy genius prepares to descend the steps into the darkness below, carefully climbing down each step at a time. He doesn’t even get to a quarter of the way down before his ears catch the call of his friend crying: “K-Kingsley!” Hearing such, the boy genius himself swiftly climbs back up the bright hallway; soon sprinting across the halls as he shouts: “Cayenne, what’s wrong!”

His urgent question yielding no response, Kingsley hurries through the halls of his manor; following the source of the spice queens call towards the kitchen. The young man finally reach his rough and tough friends side, finding Cayenne left completely paralyzed in horror as her gaze is locked to the shadows of the tiled floor. Gazing into the kitchen himself, the young man is meet with a nightmare of his becoming a reality; a deep and primal glare of incredible dread forming across his face. Before the two teenagers lie Kingsleys own mother, struck motionless upon the kitchen tile and rendered completely unconscious. This dreadful site fresh before him, the young man sprints back towards the basement; Cayenne glancing to her departing friend as he retreats from her side. Rushing through the basement door, the boy genius jumps down the darkened steps in a single bound; landing right at the very bottom. “Dad!” he cries out as he flips the light switch. The lights above flood the entire basement with their glow; illuminating the underground lab and revealing yet another site that conjures the young mans horrible nightmares before him. Kingsley’s own father lying motionless across the workbench; the tools at his side falling to the polished marble floor.

Along the back of the hospital, the blue angel tosses his pilfered police uniform inside the very dumpster they left the hog tied officer in; glancing to his purple brother as he review that: “So all the info we managed to cope outta the victims families all say the same damn thing. That somebody shining a bright pink light around is going around and harvesting souls as fast as a farmer on the cusp of a nuclear winter.” “So we just gotta find and beat the shit outta this bitch and we’ll get everyone’s souls back; even our mom’s.” Tore claims. “If only it were that simple. We still don’t got any clue whose behind this soul stealing spree. All we have to go by is that the thief likes bright pink. Not exactly the best lead to go off of.” Mally reminds them. “Actually, I think I might have a hunch of who our culprit might be.” the merc testifies. “Really?” his sister questions. “Who you think it is?” his blue brother wonders. Just before their purple brother could answer them, the trio hear somebody’s phone go off; the orange skater pulling out her mobile device and checking her messages; claiming that: “Got a texts from Kingsley. Saying we need to come to his place ASAP.” “What for? Don’t they know we’re busy?” Roy questions. “He doesn’t say. Must be important enough enough to type in all caps though.” “The hell are we waiting around for. Let’s move!” Tore declares. Just as the trio take off towards the direction of their friends manor, a dump truck turns the hospital corner and pulls up to the dumpster; the truck grabbing hold of the dumpsters side and pouring its contents in the back, the unfortunate tied policeman tumbling right alongside the miscellaneous garbage.

Resting upon the Spicer’s living room couch, both Kingsley’s mother and father lie peacefully next to each other; all the while their son beside them gazes upon them with a mix of wayward panic and fear. “So, both of them were like this when you came in?” Mally asks. “Yep. Completely out when we got here. Tried everything to wake them up. Even smacking Mr.Spicers face around a couple times. Not even a wink.” Cayenne confirms. “I..I just-I...I don’t know how all this could happen so fast… Just last night, everything was going so well. Surround by friends and family after winning the biggest inventors show in town, I was the happiest I could ever be… Now...and now...my family is practically falling apart before my eyes. And I don’t know how to make it all better. I don’t know how to fix any of it!” In the midst of the boy genius’s panicking episode; his best friend grasps the boys backside; urging him to: “Kingsley, relax. I’m sure we can get through this.” “Who-Why would someone do all this!?”

Approaching the comatose couple, the blue angel gazes upon their still, motionless bodies; opening the fathers eye to find his pupil bleak and lifeless. Once taking a look at the two, Tore turns to his purple brother and questions if he: “Think its the same?” “Exactly the same. Like our mom and all those other patients at the hospital, both of their bodies are completely devoid of any trace of a soul left.” Pulling away from the boy genius, Cayenne turns over to the merc himself, questioning the purple bastard if: “Hold the hell on here people. You tellin me you three know what the fucks going on with this comatose bull?” “Sure do. Whoever stole our mom’s and everyone else’s souls just paid both of Kingsley parents a little visit here.” the skater explains. “And we might have a pretty good guess who might be behind it.” the blue angel adds. “Who you think it is?” Hearing Cayenne question them such, the trio gaze upon one another with worry in their eyes; Mally breaking from their stare and warning that: “You guy might not like hearing who we think it is.” “Please...just tell us.” Kingsley pleads as he pulls himself away from his parents bedside. The spice queen can’t help but look to the boy genius with concern, asking him if: “Kingsley, you sure your up for this.” “All I know is that there isn’t enough time for me to be sure. We need to act now if we wanna start fixing all this. Even if it may seem impossible, we need to keep going.” Her friends little speech makes the spice queen crack a small smile, Cayenne turning to the trio and demanding that: “You heard the man. Lay it on us.” When pressed to continue, a small hiss escapes from between the purple mercs teeth; finally claiming to the two of them that: “We...We think that the culprit might be your little sister.”

This shocking speculation reaching their ears, their determination is swiftly cut short in but an instant; their pupils shrinking to the size of peas. “What?...” “That...That’s….That’s fucking horseshit! Don’t fucking joke like that!” the spice queen screams, seemingly on the verge of lashing out at them at any moment. “Were...being serious here, Cayenne. All the friends and family of the patients I’ve talked to at the hospital gave almost the same story; that shortly after finding their loved ones comatose, they saw a bright pink light leaving the scene.” Tore explains. “I can’t make any sense of this. What would drive her to suddenly go around and take peoples souls, especially from our own parents?” “You two notice anything off about her before she went MIA?” the merc questions. “Well, mom did say Chloe was acting strange before she left, like she was trying to hide the fact that she was upset about something. She didn’t say anything that night cause of the party and thought she needed some time to herself. God, why didn’t I notice anything? I was so busy celebrating with my friends and family that I didn’t even realize she wasn’t with us! What kind of big brother am I!?” the boy genius self deprecates, tears welling in his eyes. In the midst of the boy genius’s potential breakdown, Cayenne grasp his side and urges him to: “Kingsley, relax. I’m sure we’ll find her. There’s still time to salvage all this.” “She’s right Kingsley, we don’t got time to break down and cry here. All of us need to work together if we wanna sort all this out.” Tore explains.

“Mind if I cut in this little moment to remind everyone that we still don’t got a way to tell where our little cherry coke culprit is at and we basically still have next to nothing to go off of?” Roy interupts. “Aren’t you the one with the senses and social decency of a dirty bloodhound? Why can’t you just sniff them out yourself?” the spice queen rudely counters. “That usually be the case, especially with how much power that little necklace of hers is carrying. And yet despite that, I can’t feel a thing. Can really only think of two reasons why; either she got the hell outta dodge and fucked off outta town.” “Or?” Tore wonders. “She found some a way to cover her tracks. And judging from the little soul harvest that happened last night, it’s probably more of the latter than the former.” “So what does all that mean?” the boy genius questioning. “He’s full of shit is what it means.” Cayenne rudely claims. “Still, even with all the people she’s been reaping, I doubt she can carry them all on her at once; especially given the rapid rate she’s collecting them.” the merc continues. “You think Chloe might be stockpiling them somewhere?” Tore wonders. “If that’s true, then how come you can’t find where they’re all that?” Mally adds. “Could be cloaking them all the same way she’s cloaking herself. Don’t know how though.”

“Alright, I had just enough of this bag of prepackage zebrashit. What the hell makes all of you so sure that Chloe doing all this instead of being in the hands of child trafficking psychopath?” “Oh, I’m sorry. You happen to know anybody else that can glow a bright shade of neon pink...No? Well then, may I courteously invite your spicy mouth to taste the jalapeno chili sliding out of my rectum?” “How bout I make you taste something else, you purple prick!?” Before the spice queen could throw a single punch to the merc’s smug ass face, the blue angel gets between the two of them; Tore confessing to the spice queen that: “Look, we don’t know if its Chloe for sure. But given the increase in coma cases since last night, it just something we should keep in mind.” “Imma about serve both of ya’ll a fresh hot can of whoop ass stew if you don’t shut yer damn mouths.” Its then that the entire confrontation is put to a sudden stop when all three of them hear the orange skater go off on them; screaming to them that: “All of you just shut up! We’re all on the clock here and we can’t waist the minutes giving each other piles of crap. If any of you wanna help us get everyone’s souls back and save potential hundreds of live, then can all of you kindly stop flinging yer shit like a bunch of fuckin monkeys!” Hearing such a booming outburst come from the orange skater causes everyone to grow completely silent; the spice queen can’t help but give her a little applause.

To his guest’s loud outburst, the boy genius takes a glance back to both of his comatose parents lying upon the felt of their couch; affirming to all of them that: “She’s right.” Kingsley gazes back to the rest of them with a determined glare, continuing to back Mally’s statement with: “If were actually gonna get anywhere in this mess, we need to stop fighting with each other and combine both of our investigations into one. We won’t rest until we find Chloe and who’s been taking everyone’s soul.” “Guess we know who’s callin the shots here. What you think we should do?” the blue angel wonders. “First thing we should do is try and gather more info on all this. A clue or two to point us in the right direction.” “Didn’t you say something earlier about the police investigating Chloe’s disappearance?” the skater reminds. “The boys in blue are workin on it, but I doubt they’d be much help. And I doubt they’ll be so ready to hand over their confidentials to a bunch of random ass kids.” Cayenne confirms. “Not unless you pull in a couple of favors from the inside.” the purple merc corrects. “From a merc job of yours?” Tore guesses. “Somethin like that. Caught wind of a little scandle involving Townsville’s boys in blue a couple weeks back. They might help us if they don’t want their shit to get leaked. The kinda shit that makes people wanna punch you in the throat and beat the juicy red organs outta you while gasping for air. Calling in a couple of those kinds of favors should get us hooked up with all the info we need on both cases.” “Sorry but, are we really gonna go so far as to blackmail the police to get what we want?” the boy genius questions. “Yes.” the spice queen bluntly states. “I-...Tsk, alright then. Guess I’ll stay here and read what I can from it all. It might be best for the rest of you guys to go around and ask our friends for anything they might’ve saw.” “Sounds like a plan.” Mally claims. “Gotcha, Captain.” Tore salutes. “Right behind ya.” Cayenne states. “Hopefully we can muster enough clues out’ve it all to fix this whole mess before it all comes tumbling down on us.”

Throughout the entire police station, the few officers within scramble through the insides in efforts to manage the oncoming calls and reports; the sound of footsteps and voices ringing inside the entirety of the station as they man the phone lines and carry in new documents. Taking the brunt of all this stress be the very captain of the force himself, glued to his private desk as he looks over the constant cases coming in; taking a couple of ibuprofen pills with his coffee in between his hefty breath. Come on, Captain Blanks; get a hold of yourself. Everyone in the city is hauling in coma reports and counting on you to get to the cause of this epidemic. Hopefully, we can find whose behind all this; for the sake of the city’s sanity...and ours.

In the midst of his constant work on the tablet, the intercom beside him sounds off; somebody on the other end informing the chief that: “Captain Blanks. There’s a private call directed to your office that’s attempting to get through. He says he’s a friend of yours.” “Are you kidding me, Jackson? Do we look like we got time for any kind of prank these teenagers have up their asses? Turn them down!” “Uh, the caller’s saying he want to talk to you about something called, uh...The Strawberry Jamboree of Mildreds farm.” Hearing this bizarrely specific phrase is all it takes to instantly send a freezing chill up the captains spine; the man left standing stiffly silent as the tablet in his hands drops to the floor. “Uh...Sir…Are you still there?” the receptionist questions. “Put him through.” “What?” “Now Jackson, and close the other lines!.” “Y-Yes captain!”

Once the captains receptionist hangs up, the cap’s own trembling hands grasps the neck of the private phone beside him; putting the phone up to his ear and hearing the caller greet the captain with: “Hi, Blanky babyyyy!” “What the fuck are you doing calling me at a time like this, Roy? You realize how busy we all are?” “Chillaz, big guy. I’m just calling in to cash in a little favor we settled on, that’s all.” “I seriously don’t have a single second to spare for you to fling your bullshit at me. The entire police force is up to their necks in constant comatose cases coming in from all over the city and we’re spread out thinly enough as is. I sure as hell don’t need another headache on me to worry about right now.” “Well ain’t that just a big coinkydinky for us all, ain’t it. A couple of my pallies and I are busy looking in the same exact thing; comatose people and all. You know we all have loved ones going through this shit, so you can probably understand. Which is why I’ll be needing to cash in that favor we agreed on a couple weeks ago on the farm; preferably in the form of whatever documents and evidence you guys managed to gather on the whole case. Sound cool?” “Are you being real with me? You’re just expecting me to drop everything we’re working on to sneak out confidential reports and documents with our ongoing case just to hand it all over to some random asshole on the phone? You know what that’ll make me look like?” “Can’t make you look any worse if the news outlets hear about all your little “guests” you took over at the strawberry farm.” “How the hell do you think I can haul out countless documents and reports from a hot ongoing case without getting my blue ass caught?” “I don’t fuckin know. Just copy a bunch and send it my way; it ain’t my problem. But it will be your’s if the entire state catches on with what kind of fertilizer their grocery bought strawberries are grown with.” “Nrrgh! Fine, just gimme a little time to work, kay.” “Thanks, blanky babyyy! Tell yer girl I said hi!” Their little negotiations ending with the purple merc giving a little smooch, the captain hears the line disconnect; the line ringing in his ears as a cold shutter runs down his spine. The captain slams the phone back on his desk as he waltzes out behind his desk; opening his door to face the sectritary on the other side and demanding: “Jackson, grab all the documented files we have on the comatose case, pronto.”

Standing to the face of a house stationed along the suburbs, the orange skater roughly knocks upon the front door; hearing from the other side a familiar voice urging her that: “Hang on a second!” After hearing this, Mally witnesses the door fling wide open to reveal the ice dragon herself; a slightly offput glare forming upon the skaters face when finding her snacking on a lone strawberry. “Oh uh, you. Nnn...Maylord, right?” “That-that’s not even a...” After stammering this, a small sigh escapes from the skaters lungs; continuing past the ice benders excuse to guess her name with: “Just look, I’m tryin to get around a little problem I have going on here. You happen to have heard anything from Chloe in the last 24 hours or so.” “Mind I ask why you wanna stalk her that badly? You that thirsty for cherry red coke?” The icy manipulators accusing questions causes the skater face to glow beat red; defensively flustering aloud that: “No-I-wh-Ju-It’s-it’s just for business reasons, okay!?” “Yuh huh. Sure.” Opal sarcastically agrees as she readies to shut her front door. Before the ice bender could slam the door shut, the orange skater jams her foot in the door frame; admitting to Opal that: “Fine. It’s cause Chloe went missing! She didn’t come home last night and Kingsley and the others are trying to find her.”

The ice bender hearing her sudden visitor claim such, she opens her door for the skater once more; letting out a little sigh before answering her with: “Alright. I might have seen something up with her.” “Like what?” “Well, I was walking back home from the mall last night after getting a pair of cute shoes for only half off last night; figured since I had most of my winter gear on, I might as well take a little stroll along the scenic route cause I haven’t had a good walk in forever.” “Is this gonna take long?” “I’m getting to it. Anyway, I take a little stop over to this small part of downtown; the place with the cute little ramen shop that do the chocolate fortune cookie. I figured why not grab something to eat since I mom wouldn’t be home until ten.” “So where does Chloe come in?” “Patients dammit. Before I could go right in, I look over and see her right across the street all by herself. I figured that she might just been lost or going home so I thought why not grab a bite with her; it’ll give us some time to catch up. As I was walking towards her however, I notices that she was talking to herself; all while holding out that little pink gem of hers from around her neck. And as soon as I found her, the red head just flew off without so much as another word. I’ll be honest, it kinda creeped me out a bit.” “You happen to catch which way she was going?” “If I remember correctly, I saw her heading out towards the east side of town. Don’t really know why’d she want to go there really. I hear its kind of a mess over there.” “Alright, thanks a bunch Opal.” the orange skater claims. Having finished questioning the ice bender, she starts to take her leave from Opal’s home; but not before glancing back to point at her strawberry and warn her that: “By the way, don’t eat those strawberries; they’re made out of dead people.” The sudden warning causes the ice girl to cough up whatever pieces of strawberry she has in her mouth; the pieces falling to her front step as she panics with: “Pffth, ah, cak! What!?”

In front of another home far deeper in the bowls of the city, the spice queen herself gives the door a less than gentle knock; a little green eyed girl cracking its wood open as she gazes to her bigger cousin. “La prima? I didn’t expect you to pay us a visit. Usually its the other way around when our papa needs a babysitter. May I invite you in.” “Hate to rush ya, Bianca; but I don’t got a lotta time on my hands. You all happen to know what’s going down to coma epidemic around here?” “I don’t know about-” “Yo Cayenne, I got somethin! Get yo ass in here!” they hear echoing from inside. “Ty, me hermano! What did I say about shouting in the house!?” A nervous giggle escaping the young girl, she glances back to her older cousin and offers how: “May I offer you some pizza while your here. It came just this momento.”

As Bianca invites the spice queen inside, Cayenne’s eyes venture upwards as she walks into the living room; an impressed whistle leaving her lips. “Holy shit, Ty. I figured you were all over this shit, but god damn.” Standing before the spice queen be an entire wall covered in, documents, notes, records, statements, and plenty and plenty of photo’s; all weaved in a web of countless strings. “Hell yeah, bitches! I’ve been lookin all this from top to bottom like some cracker browsin the wine section at Wal-Mart. I got me some juicy conspiracies here on how all this a ploy by the government for testing some kind of new military weapon on their hands like a bunch of damn guinea pigs.” “Yeah, that’s great Ty, but-” “In fact, the only reason they though of settin it off here is cause they wantin to see how many homies get hit with it. They seein if they can get anyone with super power to fall fo it too, hoping to snuff us out if we catch on to them.” “Ty, I need you to-” “But I’ve been on to those motherfucka’s since this shit started. Right behind them trackin every move they do, takin pic, doc, notes, whateva I got my hands on.” Once realizing she could get her little cousin to stop his indulgent theory ranting anytime soon, the spice queen takes a seat right on their cousins couch; a frustrated sigh leaving her lips as she sits down. Her littler cousin, Lequan soon comes in the living room with a whole box full of steaming pizza and takes a slice as he sits next to his older cousin; the spice queen soon taking a slice of her own as she waits how the storm of verbal diarrhea gushing from Ty’s mouth. Might as well, it ain’t like he’s gonna be stopping anytime soon.

A massive stack of countless files slams itself down upon a wooden desk; the impact of which makes the entire table tremble to its legs. The boy genius is left utterly bewildered by how tall the collection of police reports and documents that the purple merc had promised. “Uhn...not to sound ungrateful for this frightening amount of information to work with here, but mind if I ask which strings you had to pull to get all this?” “Mind if I ask you if your sexy twink ass really wants to know what dark secrets bellow underneath your city’s police forces that they’d kill to keep outta the public eye, or do ya wanna close those cute little blowjob lips of yours and get started on going through all these reports and documents that your precious purple pal got for ya?” It takes the boy genius a good few seconds to think of a response to the merc’s lewd question; constantly opening and closing his mouth until he finally requests that: “Heya, how bout you take the time to search through the city with the others a couple times. I’m betting they could use someone like you to help out.” “Alright, I get it. But just so you know, I’ll be waiting.” the merc claims as he leaves the boy genius with the huge stack of reports. As soon he hears the sound of his front door shutting, Kingsley lets out a spine curdling shutter; quaking in his shoes as he wonders aloud: “It must be a real story on how Mally wound up getting a guy like that as her brother.”

Facing another house nesting in the suburbs, the blue angel frantically beats the face of the homes front door; Tore watching as a small orange haired demon cracks the door open with a less than patient glare. “Heyo Alex! How ya doing, ya little demon? I was wanting to ask you if-” Before even hearing whatever nonsense the blue angel has to spew out from his mouth, the little demon slams the front door right in his visitors face, walking back toward his living room as an annoyed growl leaves his lungs. Seriously, there’s only so much irritating bullshit that a demon can handle at once; and that big pile of it just outside is something no demon should have to deal with. Better off digging through actual manure than delving into whatever kind of migraine inducing nonsense that blue idiot wants subjugate all of us through.

Before Alex could put that potential headache behind him, the sound of breaking glass soon reaches his ears; turning back to find the blue nuisance delving straight through the window. Witnessing his indigo intruder arise from the carpet in a mess of glass shards and blood, the orange haired demon backs away against the wall as the blue angel lumbers over; hearing the bloody blue dumbass ask: “Think I could I could ask ya a couple questions, buddy?” With his blue intruder slowly approaching, Alex forms a sharp blade from his trembling arm and warns him to: “St-stay back, you dimwitted oaf! I’m sharply armed.” “Oh, guessin your two busy to help Kingsley out, huh?” As soon as the demons ears catch the sound of the boy genius’s name, Alex’s frightened demeanor takes a complete one eighty; a sharp gasp escaping his mouth as his blade arm returns to normal. “My Kingsley needs me?” “Um...well, he’s trying to find-” Before the angel could finish explaining, he feels his demonic host grasp the collar of his glass coated blazer; exclaiming that: “What in burning depths of Satans own boiling bathhouse are we standing around like some brain dead urchins here for? If my Kingsley needs me, then there’s no time for us to gawk around! To the manor we go forth!” Declaring such, the little demon races out his front door faster than the angel’s eye could catch up; Tore watching as Alex takes off towards the setting sun in the horizon. Glancing back inside, the blue boy discovers the demons own mother sitting in the living room; staring upon the angel that crashed through her window. “Hi, Ms Utonium. Nice to see your son eager to help! Bye!” Once giving his short greeting, Tore charges towards the neighboring window leaps right through its fragile glass; crashing through as he yells out: “Yeet!” After witnessing the young man casually break through both of her front windows, all that Alex’s mother could muster was a frustrated sigh; pinching her forehead as her gaze drops to her glass shard covered carpet.

Back within the Spicer abode itself, Kingsley continues studying through the dozens upon dozens of police reports and document scattered across his desk space; the constant noise of paper sounding through the house as he scans through the files. The boy genius suddenly stops filing through the reports when inspecting two of them at once; noticing an odd and sudden change in the case reports. This doesn’t make any sense. According to the documents filed before the other night, the reports that came in had the witnesses describe something else leaving the scene; something leaving behind a rainbow like trail while fleeing. Why the change in color? Maybe to throw people off? The suspect might be changing, but something in most of the reports have been consistent all the way through. The vast number of comatose victims that have been coming up from all this have been primarily men, very rarely do any woman seem to have been effected. A rather specifically bizarre demographic to target; could be something to keep in mind when sussing out a suspect. Something else to note is which direction the culprit escapes towards; most of the witness reports claiming that they see them escaping out towards the east. Roy did say something about how they might be stockpiling them somewhere; a likely place they’d store them all in the east side of town. Even if given little clues on whose going around and reaping out people souls, there could still be a way to figure out where the culprit might be keeping them all. With all this, at least we all can wake everyone from their coma’s; hopefully we can do it in time before those not on life support don’t… This thought dwelling in his head, Kingsley takes a glance back towards the living room; both of his comatose parents lying peacefully on the couch next to eachother. No...It won’t come to that. We will wake everyone before they die. Even if it takes every ounce of effort that all of us can spare. This motivation ringing in his head, the boy genius turns back to his report littered desk and pulls out his laptop; bringing up an entire detailed map of Townsville right on screen.

The twilight lit sun shining at his side, the purple merc glides across the sunset kissed skyline; all the while pondering aloud on how: “It just don’t add up here. How can this soul reaping shit stain even hide from my senses. Hadn’t had much trouble tracking people down before. Think you can quit with the “thou must not interfere with the holy plan” bull of an excuse and actually help us out for once, Hera?” “I’ve told you countless time that there are rules that a goddess like myself must abide by. Though that doesn’t mean I can’t relay helpful advice to my messenger.” “And?” “As embarrassing it is for me to admit, I’ve had just as much luck as you have attempting to find this soul snatching suspect...or Chloe for that matter.” “You too, huh? Think they might be some kind of undead robbing people of their lives and eating them like screaming chunky beef stew.” “Believe me when I say that I’d notice somebody like that roaming around. Raising the dead is practically a steep taboo. Shouldn’t be much of a surprise to say how it doesn’t work out as well as people wish. No, I’d wager it be somebody whose capable of high level concealment magic. How else could they hide themselves from us?” The goddess in his head claiming all this, the merc’s gaze drifts towards the streets below; a discomforting groan escaping from his line. “A bit nervous, are we?” Hera wonders. “It’s just the small bits that are getting to me. The fact that I can’t tell where the culprit or the victims are, the sudden and unexplained abductions, the mentions of powerful magic; all if its just screaming to me in loud and weird profanity on how all of this feels eerily familiar.” “You think you have an idea on who might be behind all of this?” These familiar patterns ringing in his head, it quickly dawns on him who exactly fits the bill for it all; Roy’s purple eyes suddenly shrinking as a chill runs down his spine. “Roy?” Before the goddess in his head could speak any further, the purple merc turns a complete one eighty and rockets straight back towards the manor he flew from.

Slumped on the couch at her cousins place, Cayenne is about on her last straw having with Ty’s constantly spewing conspiracy bullshit; hearing the young boy continue on and on with: “That’s why they hopin to use these weapon to take over the African government to line their pockets, the crackers up top tryin to cut my brotha’s from right underneath them.” “Come on...” the spice queen utters. “And once they done with my homies, they gonna go for the Chinese next. Hoping to get their hands on the market and squeeze out as much as they can from their hoods.” “I really don’t give a shi-” “The last part of their plan involves finally makin this whole thing public and reveal what they been doin the whole time. Scarin everyone to do as they say and finally take over the-” “Ty!” His cousins sudden outburst finally gets him to stop rambling on, at last giving the spice queen the time to say that: “I ain’t here to listen to your constant conspiracy ranting. I’m being serious when I say I need actual tangible evidence on this case. Not one of your overblown theories; practical facts.” “Oh ho, you say my conspiracy game is bullshit; but I manage to snag me a couple a good pics. Including one with the bitch behind all this. Saw her sorry ass leavin a scene of the crime just last night.” “Wait, “Her”? Ty, what did you see?”

“Right so check it. I was going around town under one of my investigations into this shit. Trackin the patterns of which homes she was hittin.” “You mean you just stumbled on it?” “While going through one of the neighborhoods, caught myself a little pink light landin nearby, went to check it out. Wind up flying to the next street over and found the glowing girl leaving just as fast from one of the homes. As the pink bitch was flyin off, I pull out my phone and got me a pic of her.”

Gazing upon her cousins phone, Cayenne finds on the screen a sort of blurry photo of a shadowy figure surrounded in glowing pink trail through the night sky. “This it?” she wonders. “I...Well...Th-the hell did you expect in the midst of the action. This line of work ain’t about quality. Lucky I wound up getting what I did before the bitch flew off. Took off faster than a damn Lamborgini going down the hood at night, just racin to get outta there.” Inspecting the photo closely, Cayenne is able to make out some specifics of the runaway culprit; looking around to be a young teenage girl with long hair reaching her mid waist. Though she can’t make out much else from the womans figure underneath the shadows; she can tell that the source of the bright pink glow seems to be emanating from around her neck. These details fail to paint a hopeful picture for the spice queen, the voices of the merc and his two siblings claiming who the culprit may be ringing in her head. “Ty. Could you make out anything else? Like something about her hair?” Cayenne seriously question. “Well, seein as I got your attention. I was think that we could figure out what those CIA bitches be up to-” Interupting her cousins words, Cayenne grabs hold of Ty shoulders and brings him face to face; firmly questioning him: “What color was the hair, Tyquell?” “Damn girl, chill! It was red, kay. The hell’s the big deal for?” Having confirmed a wavering fear in head, Cayenne puts her cousin down and almost immediately sprints for the door; breaking down the door just as Bianca heads inside. “Aw, prima Cayenne leaving already. I was just finished making churro’s for us.”

As the spice queen speeds through the sunset kissed skies, she pulls out her phone and quickly attempts to call her best friend; hearing the dial go off on the other end. “Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up.” Unfortunately for her, Kingsley fails to answer; his phone going straight to voicemail. “God dammit, Kingsley! Why won’t you answer!? This is something you need to hear.”

Dwelling within the dimly lit recesses of the Spicer abode, the young boy genius’s phone is left on silent as he peruses through the dozens of documents littering his desk. On the screen of his laptop lay the map of Townsville, with several lines and points decorating the east side of the city. “It has to be somewhere around there. The reports all mention what direction the suspect is going, all them pointing towards a general direction. But where are they putting the souls, they have to hold them somewhere big enough to fit all of them; somewhere nobody would bat an eye to...Wait...” Its in pondering such that he glances to the papers once more, taking another look at the report to read on the exact directions the witnesses claimed the suspect was heading. It all then dawns on him; rapidly sliding over to his laptop and gliding the mouse to the east part of the map as he claims that: “I know where they are.”

Just before he could circle the location he has in mind, the side of his bedroom wall suddenly busts inward; enveloping the entire room in a thick cloud of wall dust. As he coughs up the puffs of dust, the boy genius races out towards the direction of his door; reaching his arm out to its handle as he sprint. Just inches from the doorknob, a wayward pink beam blasts off the handle; keeping Kingsley from escaping. With nowhere to run, the boy genius gazes towards the light permeating from the dissipating clouds; witnessing a single floating figure slowly glide in. “No...No…Why?” Kingsley utters as he backs against the face of his shut door, the approaching figures bright pink light blanketing his own. Above the brightly lit stone hanging around the intruders neck formed a sinister grin; her red lock flowing along the sides of the young girls pink dress.

#Young Hope #lillaxtrigger

[listenblake]

Listen To Me

Two | B.Blake

Notes | Thanks for the support on the first part and I’m already at 11 followers. I wouldn’t even care if I remained at 11 followers as long as even a few of you read my work. I’m deeply sorry for how long you have all waited, I just started my period but I’ve been PMSing for days. I’ve been all over the place so I hope this chapter doesn’t feel gross or rushed.

Word Count | 1,699 words

How long has it been? A year, maybe? It’s not like I can keep count, they took every small gift my parents ever gave me when we talked. Well, everything besides this photo, I’d never let them take this, they’d have to kill me in order to have it.

My head darted towards the now opened door with two guardsmen walking in with weapons in their hands.

“Prisoner two-five-seven, stand and face the wall.” My eyebrows furrowed and I hesitated to do as they said, which only resulted in them repeating their words. I stood up with wobbling knees and figured I didn’t move fast enough because they strictly gripped my wrists and forced me against the wall as a second guy clipped some bracelet on my arm. Hissing, I chose not to question what it was as I knew it would do nothing since they didn’t seem to be in a mood for explaining.

Next thing I knew, I had a needle in my neck and everything went black…

-

“What th-”

“Morning, sleep well?” A blonde female shot me a thin-lipped smile as I attempted to sit up, “Hey, watch your stitches.”

“Oh, my fuck!” The pain that struck in my side made me feel as if a lion clawed into my skin, “What the actual hell is going on, oh my god, am I dying? The last thing I remember were those guards on the ark, where are we?” My breathing staggered as the discomfort increased, tears pricked my eyes.

“First of all, you’re not dying, on the way down you suffered a minor injury, a piece of the dropship struck your left side during the collision-”

“Dropship? Why were we in a dropship?” I looked upwards at the ceiling, a few tears actually fell before I turned and observed everything around me. The girl sat next to my cot and began to gently push me to lay down, she then proceeded to remove my bandages.

“The council sent us down here in order to test out Earth’s safety levels because there was a massive issue with the population on the ark and not enough oxygen left remaining. We’ve been down here for a few hours and on top of not having any idea what to do, they dropped us on the wrong mountain and lost all communication with them and we’re left with no actual supplies. I know it’s a lot to take i-”

“Let’s go, Princess.” A pale boy with long brown hair popped in the dropship while carrying a backpack. “Oh, she’s awake, how are you feeling?”

I didn’t answer, I was terrified of what was going on. Tears continued to fall when I suddenly remembered my brother might be here. “Is there a Michael (Y/L/N), here? Please, I need to know.” I turned to the girl and my breathing increased once again as she sat there as if I spoke another language. “Tell me!” She flinched before shrugging her shoulders and giving me a small shake of her head.

“I don’t know, I can ask around, but you need to still your breathing. It isn’t good to be like this in your condition. Don’t worry, I’ll look, Let me put new bandages on and then you have to get some rest. I’ll get someone to watch over you while I’m gone.” She did as she said, she fixed me up new bandages and the boy stood there and watched the whole process while I tried to calm my tears and think positive, Michael is probably okay, he knows how to handle himself. “Okay, I’ll send someone in to check on you, please rest.”

They both left and I was okay for a while, but I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried to, I just couldn’t. The thoughts of my brother being floated consumed my head and just as my eyes became watery once again, another guy walked in. He had a slight limp and place his hands up in caution. “Clarke wanted me to check in on you from time to time while they were away, no worries.”

I didn’t really react, but he took that as an okay sign to pick up a first aid kit and sit next to me.

“I’m Monty,” I had met him a few times, in a class we took just before all of this now that I remember, “I’m just going to give you new bandages and treat the wound.”

As he removed the bandages, a familiar face burst into the dropship.

“Y/n? Someone told me you were here.” 

“Hi, Charlotte.” I gave her a tired grin before she realized Monty was there and hesitated to move closer to me. “It’s alright, he’s just fixing up my wound.” She came around the other side and tried her best to hug me, but it was difficult when I was hurt and lying on my back. I flinched when he placed the solution on my wound and it caused Charlotte to give me a worried glance, but I reassured her that it wasn’t her affection that caused my reaction.

“I’m sorry, the sting will go away in a few seconds,” I nodded and turned to look at her, she was so young, too young to be here.

“Lotte, have you seen Michael?” A frown fell on my lips as she shook her head. I sighed but figured it meant he was safe on the Ark, or as safe as he could be at this point. “Alright, ah-!”

“Sorry,” Monty immediately apologized after he pressed harshly on the bandages.

Letting out a shaking breath while shutting my eyes momentarily, I responded with, “It’s fine.”

-

After Monty had left, Charlotte kept me company for a few hours until one of the other kids gave her a job to do. I have been stuck in this cot all day and I might actually go insane. It’s not like I could sleep, I was in a lot of pain. I-

“Hello? Y/~” My head shot up at the sound of a static voice coming from a stray area of the ship. It was dead silent for a few seconds before it made itself known once more, “Y/n, I swear to god, can you hear me?”

“The actual hell?” I tried to sit up, but I felt a sting in my side.

“If that bastard gave me a dud, I’m going to kill him.” I heard the voice again, it was coming from a few feet away from me, from a pile of rubbish. I pushed myself off of the cot and fell to my hands and knees. Crawling to the sound, tears threatened to spill as I tried so hard to ignore the pain. Soon enough I made it to the pile and dug until I found a small radio.

“He-Hello?” I winced as I spoke.

“Y/n? Oh thank god, I missed your voice.”

“Michael?”

“Who else?” I laughed and tears fell this time, tears of happiness. “I miss you so much, little sister. I know that they sent you down to Earth, I made a deal with Shumway to get this radio. I’m not sure how the hell it worked since I heard from Martin that all communication from the 100 was lost.”

“What did it take?” I calmed my breathing as I realized he mentioned Shumway. His silence answered my question, he was trying to make something up. “Michael-” I hissed again at the pain.

“I’m fine,”

“Michael.”

“My rations for the next four days.”

“Damn it, Michael- Ah-!” I cried and lied on the cold floor, the pain being overbearing. 

“Y/n, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” His panic was evident through the radio and I knew he would worry if I took too long to answer.

“A piece of the ship stabbed my side during the landing, I’m fine. I’ll be fine, I have to go, I love you, please be safe.”

“I lo-” And it cut out the rest of his response.

“Help! Please, someone help!” I cried on the floor, tossing the radio back in the pile. I couldn’t take the pain and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own. I couldn’t even sit up at this point. “Help!”

A man rushed in and came to investigate my wound.

“What the hell happened to you? Come on, you can’t stay on that thing, it’ll do more harm than good.” He picked me up in his arms and I let out another cry of hurt, “I know, I’m sorry, come on.” My face stayed in his chest as I tried to make the pain go away, but I yelped when I was being set down. “It’s alright, you’ll be more comfortable here, I’ll grab some extra blankets in case you get cold.”

“Fuck. . .” I moaned as I refrained from holding down the wound as a way of ridding the stinging. Instead, I settled for applying pressure to my thigh, it seemed to ease it the slightest bit. 

“Here you go,” I opened my eyes to get an actual look at the man, tall, tanned skin, dark hair. It was short hair, but the sweat forced it to curl. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared at me for a few seconds, “How are you feeling?”

“Skip the pleasantries and just get to the part when you tell me I look like absolute shit.” I stared up at the ceiling of the tent before he chuckled.

“You said it,” was his answer, and he wasn’t wrong. It caused me to slightly laugh back, but it made him laugh a little more when I flinched from the pain again. I softly kicked his hip, but it made no difference, he continued to find my pain amusing. “Rest easy, you can stay here, I’ll find another place to sleep for a few nights so you don’t have to worry about the others disrupting you.”

“Thank you, I’m Y/n, by the way. . .” I quietly introduced myself, my eyes drooping from how exhausted I was.

“Y/n. . .I’m Bell~” was all I heard before I drifted to sleep.

Bell.

Tag List | @jodiereedus22 @morgannope

#bellamy #the 100 #the 100 bellamy #bellamy blake #bellamy x reader #bellamy x yn #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy imagine #bellamy series #bellamy blake series #clarke #clarke griffin #monty #monty green #finn #finn collins #raven #jasper #jasper jordan #octavia blake #octavia #wells

[suddenrundown]

                     All the Time in the World: Chapter 5 

Read previous chapter

Its what’s on the inside that counts.

A cheesy saying, but one that Barry strived to live by nonetheless. He wasn’t one to make snap decisions about people upon meeting them based of first impressions or appearances. At least, he tried not to. There was some amount of decency in most souls, he believed, and even if it wasn’t obvious immediately, he’d give them a few chances. Obviously, some people really were just miserable beings; he’d run across some, both in his former life and in the past eleven years. But most proved his theory, given the chance, and he’d met and become friends with so many different and interesting people in his lifetime. It made life more fulfilling.

Which was why this particular world made very little sense to him.

Continued under the cut, or you can read it on ao3

“Have you tried wearing something other than jeans?”

“No. I mean, I don’t really have any—wait, what’s wrong with my jeans? You don’t like my jeans?”

“Did I say that? No, your jeans are rad. I’ve never met anyone who could pull off dad jeans as well as you can.”

“Dad jeans? Lup, they’re not-”

Lup looked up from the map she was studying, smirking. “I mean, if you weren’t wearing jeans, how would I even know its you? Oh my god, wait!” she gasped. “Are they like, a talisman or something, that holds in some super power? If you take them off, do you become like Super Monster Barry?”

“Yeah, actually,” Barry confirmed, voice hushed now. “I was trying to keep it a secret all this time, but you caught me. At night in my room, I take them off and I get super buff. Bigger than Magnus. Bigger than that ripped guy who kept throwing boulders at the Starblaster all last cycle. It’s terrifying.”

Lup snorted at that. “Holy shit.”

“Right?” Barry chuckled. Then he sobered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, is there actually something wrong with-”

“Of course not!” she interrupted, looking serious now. “No one who matters thinks there is. It’s just that this place is…judgmental.”

She wasn’t wrong. They’d been in this world for two months now, but it was blatantly obvious that they were being judged the moment the IPRE landed here.

The crew had seen fully functioning cities and humanoid beings as they flew the Starblaster down into the plane, and Davenport had deemed it safe to venture out soon after the ship landed in a wooded area just outside of town. They didn’t make it very far before they were visited by a group of well-dressed individuals demanding to know who they were and what their business here was. Davenport had tried to explain, but he was immediately cut off by a man in the middle, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

“Not you,” he’d basically sneered, pointing at Davenport but not sparing him a glance. His finger slid across the line until it made its way to Taako, and the man’s face had become instantly friendlier. “Him. Or her.” And at this, he pointed to Lup next to him.

The crew had gone silent, and they all stared in the direction of the twins. Barry could see Lup attempting to form words through her surprise, but Taako had gotten there first.

“We’re the IPRE, my dude, and we’re gonna be here for a while.”

Surprisingly, this made the man laugh. “That will be just fine. I would like you to come with me just for a bit, my friend, uh…” The man waved his hand as if beckoning for a name.

Taako cocked his head a bit. “Taako?” It sounded like a question.

“Taako, yes. Just for a bit. I’d like to know more but I’d rather not stand here and chat.” The man looked around as if the scenery of the woods offended him. When Taako didn’t immediately move, the man turned to smile at Lup. “You can come too, Miss.”

“Lup.” Lup offered, hesitantly.

“How lovely,” the man sighed. He then turned around and his group began to walk away “Anyway, come along,” he called over his shoulder.

The twins had glanced down the line back to Davenport, who gestured for them to go ahead.

“Careful,” he warned them. “We’ll be here.”

When the twins were out of sight, the rest of the crew continued to stand in silence, rooted to their spots, until Merle let out a low chuckle.

“What a dick.”

They all laughed at that and agreed, and with the tension broken, they made their way back into the Starblaster to wait for Taako and Lup to return. Barry’s stomach churned with anxiety, but he tried to comfort himself with the fact that if the man had wanted to hurt them, he probably would have done it here instead of taking them elsewhere. Besides, he seemed impressed by them for some reason. Thankfully, his worries were for nothing, as the twins came back in one piece a few hours later with a story to tell that made the everything make sense. In context, at least.

The man they’d met, Delman, was in charge of the city they’d flown over, and he was more than willing to share with Taako and Lup the way things worked, provided they tell him exactly why they were here. The twins were completely honest and took the opportunity to summarize the IPRE’s mission, about the Light, and about the timeframe they had to save this world from the Hunger. When they finished, they sat in awkward silence as Delman seemed to consider their explanation. Then he laughed.

“If that’s the story you’re sticking to, my friends, that’s quite alright with me.” As the twins tried to convince him, he shook his head. “Really, you look nice enough. I’m not sure about this Hunger nonsense, but I won’t stop you and your…associates from conducting whatever business you deem necessary, provided that you all understand how we operate.”

And with that, he told them briefly about the world. It sounded similar to home, except for one key difference: society was basically split up based on beauty.

“He didn’t really say so out right, but I sort of got the impression that if you didn’t have looks, you didn’t have much,” Lup explained, shuffling awkwardly. “People without them have harder jobs and worse living conditions by extension. Apparently, even the ‘pretty’ people spend large amounts of time and money trying to make themselves prettier, whatever that means. Didn’t really ask.” She paused then, clearly uncomfortable. “I mean, isn’t it like, a subjective thing? I don’t really get why-”

“Lup, I’m not offended by what happened earlier,” Davenport interrupted kindly. He gave her a smile. “Not everyone can appreciate such a dignified mustache,” he added, twirling the end of his. “Clearly this Delman fellow didn’t.”

“Sounds like an…interesting culture,” Lucretia said. “I don’t know what the standards of beauty are, but from the welcoming we got today, I’m guessing we might have a hard time.”

“Then again,” Taako spoke up from beside his sister, noticeably posing just a little. “You do have the two of us, and we evidently did pass the beauty portion of this little pageant show, so maybe privileges extend to you by association.”

Oh, well thank God. Barry stopped short of rolling his eyes. It’s not like Taako was wrong. Or not objectively one of the prettiest people he’d ever met.

And luckily, as Taako had predicted, the crew had had a relatively easy time of it so far. As Delman promised, they were left to their own devices as far as looking for the Light went, and they were granted access to the better parts of the city, including job positions, which was necessary for basic necessities and part of the expectations of living here. It wasn’t much of a burden, and in the case of some of them, entertaining. Taako had found a high fashion clothing shop and spent most of his time there, though he didn’t necessarily need to. Lucretia worked in a library, but Barry suspected that she spent most of her time there reading about the world for her own records. The rest of them found part time work in various shops, which allowed them time for their own personal activities. Like finding the Light.

Barry had taken up the endeavor himself this cycle, and as usual, Lup had volunteered herself as well. Luckily, they’d seen it falling this time around, so they had a direction to head in at least. And now that they’d gotten a detailed enough map of the area to search for it, they wanted to start as soon as possible. They hadn’t found it last cycle, and the IPRE had watched as the Hunger consumed the entire plane, growing bigger as it did. Given the resources they had, Barry had a feeling it wouldn’t be too difficult to find this time, so he wasn’t that concerned. His biggest concern was just making it through the year.

And maybe it was a silly thing to worry about. As far as he could tell, this place wasn’t all that dangerous. There were functioning societies, safe living conditions, and nothing that wanted to hunt them down. It’s just that the people here were….

“Judgemental’s a good word for it,” Barry agreed, watching as Lup circled an area on the map.

“My point is that people here are weird. And if you get snubbed, its nothing to do with you, its just them.” She looked up from her map again. “Personally, I think you’re pretty great, jeans and all. Wouldn’t change a single thing.” She winked.

He felt his cheeks turn red, and bent down to pretend to study the map in an attempt to hide it. “Gee, thanks,” he mumbled.

He didn’t do a good job of it. “Nerd,” she grinned.

The urge to say something cheesy and embarrassing was strong, but fortunately he was saved by a shouted greeting from Taako from behind him. Barry turned to find both the elf and a smartly dressed man he didn’t recognize approaching them.

“Playing hooky, Taako?” Lup asked her brother.

“Hell no, who’d play hooky from heaven itself? Nah, me and Flynn are just on break. He’s showing me the best place to eat lunch. The soup’s to die for, apparently.”

“Bring me back some, then.”

“Only if I don’t eat it all.”

Lup made a face, then turned to Flynn and smiled. “I’m Lup.”

Barry held up a hand. “Barry.”

Flynn’s eyes briefly slid to him before focusing on Lup. He smiled at her. “Nice to meet you.”

Barry couldn’t tell if he was mishearing the emphasis or not, but chose to believe it was in his head.

“Well, we’re off to have this life changing soup,” Taako announced with much emphasis that Barry did not make up as he turned to leave. “See ya, suckers.”

Barry watched Flynn as he turned and trailed after Taako, then turned back to the map on the table. “So we mostly have a plan of attack here. I think we should pack a backpack to get us through maybe a day or two, and we can set out tomorrow. And maybe Davenport will let us take the Starblaster at some point if we need to go super far, but we’ll play it by ear.” He turned to Lup. “Shit, all that talk about soup is making me hungry.”

Lup didn’t respond, and in fact gave no indication she heard him at all. She stared off in the direction that Taako and Flynn had gone.

“You there, Lup?” he asked, confused.

At the sound of her name, she turned towards him quickly. “What? Oh yeah.” She gave him a light punch in the arm. “Soup, I hear you!”

                                                          ~

Day after day spent trekking further south from the main city, and Barry and Lup had nothing to show for it but tired feet and questions that they could answer if they only had time to stop and experiment with the world around them. No trace of the Light, but now they knew where it definitely wasn’t, so neither of them could really write off the month as a waste. Not that Barry could ever consider time spent with Lup a waste anyway.

With no sign of their prize anywhere, they decided to head back to civilization to regroup and gather more supplies before heading back out again. As they entered the city, they spotted Davenport walking through the square.

“Hey Cap’n Port!” Lup called.

Davenport turned at the nickname, and immediately looked relieved to see them. “You’re alive, I see. No luck, huh?”

“Not yet, but we think that based off the Light’s trajectory when it fell, we just have to adjust our course a little,” Barry reported. “According to the map we have, its in the direction of the other city.”

“Sounds like a good place to start. Be sure to rest up a day or two before you go. I’ll see you two in a bit, I’m off to find Lucretia,” Davenport said, giving them a small wave.

Lup saluted him. “Bye, Cap’n Port.” She then turned to Barry. “Let’s stop by and see Taako. Gonna beg him to make some food for us to take.”

“Sounds good.”

As they made their way to the shop, Barry quietly watched the passerby going about their business, feeling the judgment emanating from them. He’d forgotten about it over the past month away from them, but he’d try not to let it get to him while he was here.

“Afternoon, Lup,” came an unfamiliar voice.

They both turned to find an only vaguely familiar face as a tall, well dressed man came walking towards them. Barry remembered meeting him, but couldn’t for the life of him remember-

“Flynn!” Lup exclaimed with an incredible amount of enthusiasm. She then winced slightly, seemingly embarrassed about it.

At least she could remember the guy.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while,” Flynn said.

“We’ve been looking for the Light,” Barry told him.

Flynn glanced at Barry briefly, then looked away. “Ah, Taako mentioned something like that.”

“Do you know if he’s at work?” Lup asked, noticeably quieter now.

“Yes, he is, and I was on my way back there now. I’ll walk with you.”

As the three continued on their way, Barry fell silent as Lup and Flynn talked, feeling awkward. He didn’t see a point in speaking up, as anything he said might be ignored by the latter. Might as well spare himself the effort. When they reached the shop door, Lup turned to Barry.

“Coming in?”

“Nah, I don’t go into clothing shops I can’t buy dad jeans in,” Barry joked.

Lup laughed, and then reached up to pat his head. “That’s cute, good one,” she giggled.

Barry blushed slightly, and Lup laughed again as she headed inside. He smoothed his hair back down as he watched her go. The sound of a scoff behind him reminded him that Flynn was still standing there, and the smile he didn’t know he was wearing faded away.

The man was slightly taller than him, and he stared down to look directly at him now. Scrutinizing, Barry could tell. Like everyone else in this city, he was good looking in an other-worldly sort of way, but it didn’t seem like he’d had enhancements to make himself look like that. He looked like he might be friendly person, if he wanted to be.

He looked Barry up and down once, then smirked in a decidedly unfriendly way. “Yeah right,” he snorted.

Barry watched, confused and uncomfortable, as he opened the door and followed Lup inside.

                                                             ~

Against the urging of Flynn, who said it was “absolutely awful” there, Barry and Lup travelled in the direction of the other city, where those who had been deemed not worthy of living in the main city lived. Both of them were apprehensive, but upon their arrival, they found that, despite looking a little more run down there, everyone was perfectly nice and welcoming. Barry tried not to take it to heart that their worst crime was looking as plain as himself and put his efforts toward searching for the Light.

After a few weeks of searching and asking around, they got a lead that someone on the outskirts of town had possession of an object that sounded like what they were looking for. They followed the directions of the townsfolk to a crumbling little house and found an older woman there, who gladly showed them that she did, indeed, have the Light. She was unwilling to hand it over for free, however, claiming she’d “found the funny thing fair and square, kids,”, but she was willing to hand it over if they worked for it.

With no other option, Barry and Lup spent a few more weeks helping the woman, Myra, fix and clean up her house. Neither complained and they found it fun at times, although Lup occasionally seemed to stress over it.

“We really need that Light, Barry. We need to get it back.”

Barry thought that was obvious and unsure why it needed restating, but he continually assured her they’d have it soon and be back with the rest of the IPRE. They had plenty of time left in the year, after all, and the Light was practically theirs already.

True to her word, Myra, with a safer and more livable house, handed over the Light, and sent the two on their way. Barry and Lup returned to the Starblaster late one evening, and Magnus rushed them both, blubbering and thanking them profusely for “not being dead”.

After untangling himself from Magnus’s bear hug, Barry, exhausted, brought the Light to Davenport for safe keeping, and then made his way back outside the ship to look for Lup. He found Taako hanging out by the entrance instead.

“Barold,” Taako said, drawing out the end of the name.

“Taako,” Barry replied, nodding. “Nice…hat?”

“What, this thing?” Taako adjusted the hat slightly. “Got it at the shop. Someone requested this thing specially made, and then had the gall to say they didn’t like it. But their loss is Taako’s gain. It’s beautiful.”

Barry stared up at it. The bottom of it expanded a few inches passed Taako’s head, and the top of the hat probably reached a foot taller than the elf did, the tip of it bending sharply down.

“It’s very…” Tall? Pointy? Purple? “You,” he finally decided.

“Thank you!” Taako smiled, pleased, then pointed at him. “You looking for Lup?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“I saw her go off with Flynn somewhere.”

“What? He was here?” Barry asked, surprised.

“Sure was,” Taako replied, already sounding mentally checked out of the conversation.

“Is he-I mean, will she um…come back?”

“Well yeah.” Taako turned and stared at him blankly. “Eventually.”

Barry decided not to wait up and head to bed instead, feeling vaguely uneasy for no particular reason.

The next morning at breakfast, Barry saw Lup walk in. Taako waggled his eyebrows at her, and Lup gave him a shove. She made a face at him, then grabbed a plate and sat down across from Barry.

“We gonna science the shit out of the Light today?” she asked.

Barry attempted to shake off the uneasy feeling in his chest. He smiled, but wasn’t sure if it looked right. “Definitely,” he managed anyway.

                                                            ~

The IPRE couldn’t bank on much, but one thing they could say for certain was how much time they had. All of them knew at any given moment how many more months were left, how many days they had to get through, and if they were feeling really precise, how many minutes had to pass before the Hunger came to chase them off to a new world. The other guarantee was the seven of them. After eleven years together, they knew that they were the only permanent relationships they could have, and they knew how to work together and rely on each other.

This of course did not mean they didn’t form connections with the creatures they met, and it made it all the more important to find the Light to save them. They found it impossible to go through life never forming relationships with new people, so they allowed themselves to do so, knowing that there was an impermanence to those relationships. No matter what the type.

Davenport had once or twice gone for tea with a very pretty gnome a few cycles ago, and had come back much bubblier than his usual serious self. Merle had been awfully popular back in the second cycle with the dwarves, Barry remembered, but no one knew any details and definitely didn’t want to ask. Barry knew that Lup had not been the first of them to find a little more than a friendship with someone from one of the different worlds. It just had never been Lup.

And nothing really changed. She was still around, and they still talked and laughed and worked together. It wasn’t like Flynn hung around them, but Barry suspected that he had no desire to be anywhere that Barry was. On occasion though, Lup would be absent, and Barry would work by himself while he tried to shake off the uncomfortable melancholy that seemed to tighten his chest. Still, he had a job to do, and he wasn’t going to sit around and mope just because Lup had a life.

“Barold, buddy, why the long face?”

At least, he tried not to.

“I’m fine, Magnus.”

Magnus sat down across from him, resting his chin in his hands as he studied him. “You sure, man?”

“Yeah, just taking a break. What are you doing here? Don’t you have work?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, but I’m skipping out. Got someone to cover for me.” Magnus leaned back in his seat. “I’m sort of tired of it,” he added.

“What, work?” Barry asked with a chuckle.

“Nah, this place.”

Well that made two of them. “Why’s that?”

“Everything’s like, so clean here. There’s not a spec of dirt on anyone. It’s so weird.”

That would be something that bothered Magnus, who liked working with his hands. Who didn’t need everything to be so damn pretty and perfect. “That’s fair.”

“Also if some guy looks down his nose at me one more time today I might slug him. Or challenge him to arm wrestle me.”

Barry laughed loudly. “Do you think that would work?”

Magnus put one elbow out in front of him and opened his hand toward Barry. “Do you want to arm wrestle me?”

“No thank you,” Barry said, chuckling nervously. “The only possible outcome would be pretty embarrassing.”

Magnus folded his arms and leaned back in his chair again, looking slightly smug. “Yeah, I think it probably would.”

                                                            ~

“It all looks good to me. I checked out the Starblaster pretty thoroughly a couple times now, and we should have no problems taking off in a couple weeks when the Hunger comes.”

“You rock, Cap’n Port!” Lup cheered.

“Oh, well I’m…thank you.” Davenport averted his gaze, looking slightly embarrassed by Lup’s enthusiasm. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, continue to go about your lives for the next few weeks, and try not to do anything...life threatening.”

“Hey, I’ve stayed alive so far!” Merle argued, gesturing to himself for emphasis.

“I wasn’t calling out anyone in particular,” Davenport replied innocently.

“To be fair, Merle,” Lucretia chimed in, “you do have a bad track record.”

“And there’s still a few weeks left, so who knows what could happen,” Magnus chuckled. “Hey, do you need a bodyguard?”

“No, I don’t need a bodyguard,” Merle retorted with a pout.

“Just everyone be careful, please,” Davenport sighed, dismissing them.

Poor Merle; five deaths in eleven cycles was quite a feat. He really should be more careful.

“I think he should take Magnus up on that offer,” Lup interrupted his thoughts, sidling up to him with Taako in tow. “Sounds bad ass.”

“Yeah, it might do him some good,” Barry agreed with a chuckle. Then he sobered. “There has to be some sort of consequence to this whole dying and coming back to life business.”

Taako rested an arm on Lup’s shoulder, leaning into her. “Other than the dying part?”

“Well, I mean…maybe,” Barry said.

“I guess it’s the suffering those of us that are left behind must endure in your absence,” Taako replied dramatically. “Speaking of leaving behind, is there anyone you’ll miss in particular here, Lup?” he asked his sister teasingly.

Barry suddenly wished he was anywhere else but here being a part of this conversation, the familiar unpleasant feeling flaring up in his chest.

Lup shoved him lightly off her shoulder. “No, not really.”

“Not even a certain gentleman, Mr. What’s-His-Handsome-Face?”

She studied her fingernails nonchalantly. “You mean Flynn? Nope. Stopped hanging out with him. He did something I didn’t like.”

Taako’s face quickly morphed from playful to dangerous. “Should I go kill him?”

“Chill out, don’t go wasting a spell. He didn’t do anything, he just said something about somebody I care about.” She made a fist with the hand she was studying. “But I showed him what for.”

“You punched him?” Barry blurted, slightly too loud, suddenly interested.

“A little,” she confessed. “But that’s the thing.” She turned to Barry suddenly, the intensity of her expression demanding his attention. “No one gets to say something bad about the people I care about.”

Taako whistled. “God, what a bad ass, you’re so scary.”

He was clearly joking, but Barry agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly anyway. He’d thought it since day one, although those feelings had morphed into more of an admiration than anything else. It also helped that he knew one simple truth about his friend.

She’s on my side he thought as Lup smiled at him.

                                                          ~

Barry stood outside the Starblaster, watching the sky with the rest of the crew. They’d take off as soon as they spotted the Hunger. It was always anxiety inducing waiting for the dark tendrils to appear, but it made it slightly awkward that they had some doubting onlookers this time around.

“And you just happen to know that this hungry thing is going to come any moment now, is that right?” Delman asked, flanked by a few higher ups of the city.

Davenport sighed. “The Hunger, yes. As we’ve said countless times before, it’ll come. Thankfully, we have the Light and are taking it with us, so it’ll chase us down, but it might cause some problems for you here, so I do urge you to get somewhere safe. You do have time.”

“Doesn’t seem all that necessary.”

“Why are you out here, then?”

“You all look rather ridiculous,” Delman laughed. His friends followed suit.

Barry was alright with the year being up.

“Where are Lup and Taako?” asked Magnus beside him.

That was another cause to his anxiety. “Lup said she was going with Taako to his shop so that ‘he could say goodbye,’” Barry told him. At least it was only a few minutes away from the ship.

“That guy’s not right,” Magnus said.

Hard to argue with that. Barry fell silent and fell back into watching both the sky and the distance for his friends to return.

Thankfully, the latter came first, as he saw both Lup and Taako sprinting towards the ship. Lup slowed as she approached, but Taako ran right by him and through the Starblaster’s door.

He poked his head out. “I’ll be here if anyone needs me!”

Magnus shook his head. “Not right,” he repeated as he turned and headed into the ship himself. Lucretia and Merle followed suit.

Barry turned back around to find Lup standing in front of him now, hands held behind her back.

“Did Taako pay his respects?” he asked.

“Hugged every last one of those gorgeous shirts,” she replied. “He’s keeping that hat though.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Me neither. Speaking of keeping, I actually got you something,” she added.

She pulled her hands from behind her back, producing a dark blue piece of folded clothing. “So I saw this suit and thought of you. I mean you wear jeans exclusively and that’s awesome, but maybe one of these days you’ll have something you desperately need a suit for, and I figured you should have one. If you need it. Or it can hang in your closet. Doesn’t matter, I just want you to—”

“Lup,” Barry interrupted quietly, stopping her rambling.

“Yeah?” she asked hesitantly.

“Thank you. It’s great. I’ll definitely find a reason to wear it someday,” he promised, feeling a little choked up for no reason.

She was quiet for a moment, then punched him in the arm, a little harder than normal. “You better. I bought it for you. Well, bought’s a strong word.”

Barry winced as he rubbed his arm. “What do you mean?”

A distant shout caught both of their attention, and they turned to see Flynn running towards them.

“I actually kind of stole it and he may have seen me do it.”

Barry laughed despite himself. “Oh my god. You should probably…”

“Yep, see ya!” She turned and ran back into the ship, carrying the suit.

Barry watched her go, then turned towards the approaching Flynn, who slowed his stride panting heavily. Davenport looked toward Barry with concern, but Barry waved him off, and the captain continued to watch the sky.

“Morning Flynn,” Barry said when the man was in hearing distance.

“Did Lup just go into that hunk of junk with a suit?” the man asked irritably, ignoring the greeting.

“I don’t know, she’s really fast,” he told him, unable to stop the smile that spread onto his face.

Flynn held a hand to his forehead, exasperated. “Whatever, I can’t be bothered with one suit. It wasn’t expensive or nice anyway, not a huge loss.”

“Sure,” Barry replied innocently. “Seemed nice though. You know, from what I saw,” he added when the man gave him a look.

Flynn continued to stare for a moment, saying nothing. Then he shook his head. “I really don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“You. Her. Have you seen her?”

“Almost every day for eleven years. What’s your point?” Barry asked, a little irritated now.

“My point is that you and her do not make sense.”

Barry sighed, trying to be civil. “Well, it’s been just the seven of us all this time. I sort of doubt we’d be friends in any other life, but I can’t imagine anything else at this point.”

“Friends,” Flynn echoed, smiling disbelievingly.

“Yes, friends!” Barry shot back too loudly, over it. “I don’t understand your confusion.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t,” he laughed. “But I think I now understand yours.”

“What does—”

“Time to go, Barry!” Davenport suddenly shouted.

Barry looked down. He hadn’t noticed how the world looked desaturated until now.

“Shit, what the hell is that?” Flynn asked, panicked, looking up at the sky.

“That’s what me and my friends saved your ass from. You’re welcome,” Barry replied. He found he sincerely meant it. “You have a few minutes, so get yourself somewhere safe. Hopefully there won’t be too much damage down here,” he added, backing up.

Flynn turned and ran, as did Delman and the others, and Barry and Davenport did the same, back into the Starblaster. Davenport headed for the wheel.

“I’d say buckle up, but it doesn’t matter that much!” Davenport called back to them. “Just hold on to something!”

Barry grabbed the bar next to the window and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and trusting that their captain would fly them safely out like always.

“Do I need to go back down there and kick his ass?”

Barry opened his eyes to see Lup in front of him. He smiled at her, the mounting fear he felt dissipating a little. She looked actually willing to do it.

“No, I don’t think he deserves that and the Hunger.”

“He’ll be fine,” she said.

“I think so.”

They both fell silent, concentrating on not being thrown around by Davenport’s maneuvers. The anxiety and fear gripped his heart once more, so he turned to Lup again.

“Lup.”

“Yeah?”

He breathed in deeply, steadying himself. “Thanks for the suit.”

#all the time in the world #the adventure zone #taz balance #blupjeans #taz fic #barry bluejeans #lup #barry x lup #lup x barry

[xwillstudy-blog]

Hidden Messages In Children’s Movies

Movies have a way with presenting messages that we sometimes take for granted or may not fully understand unless there is a super spy facing a relatable villain, a child overcoming a bully, or an orphan child finding his or her place in this world through the most unconventional form of family. Regardless of how, movies are able to speak to us and teach us lessons subliminally. The common themes of friendship, love, and individualism are seen in all forms of movies, but they are especially prevalent in children’s movies. In this analysis, I will explain a few examples of the hidden themes, messages, and lessons children’s movies may be teaching but the expected audience may not grasp upon its viewing.

WALL-E: We Are What We Create

Set in a dystopian future, the viewer follows a trash collecting robot (Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth class). The ideas of this adorable and inspirational movie are that with a little hard work, the world can be healed, and if we aren’t careful, we will be consumed by our consumerism, materialistic, and convenience prioritizing mentality. Four scenes really present these messages: The opening scene of the waste-filled Earth; the scene where WALL-E is sent to the spaceship and he sees the reason why Earth has become a literal dump; the scene where the AI tries to override its master (man vs human) in order to keep the ship from returning to Earth where machines would no longer be needed; finally, the scene where the humans return to Earth, glancing around, afraid of a place that was once their home, while the babies - those that have the least experience at being consumed by convenience, are the ones to begin restoring the Earth. This movie is deeper than the love story between a lonely male robot and a strange female robot. This story - like many other Pixar movies - teach how the little things in life need to be appreciated and not taken for granted. A child may not grasp the full concept of not relying on technology for everything or even, the importance of protecting the environment, but the viewers who are able to look past the obvious scenes in the movie are able to internalize the true meanings the writers of the movie want to establish. Unlike The Lorax and Incredibles 2, WALL-E does not spell out the hidden concerns, and this creates a powerful pull for the viewer who understands the message. We are more likely to remember things that require work rather than something someone spelled out for us.

The Little Mermaid: Teenage Rebellion = No Consequence

Even with the more positive messages children movies want to introduce to their viewership, there is sometimes a disconnect between the intended message and the plot of the movie. Disney movies are known to end with happily ever afters, or at least with all of the introduced problems finding solutions. The Little Mermaid is an example of a hidden message that doesn’t necessarily need to be taught to a younger, more vulnerable generation. The story follows a young (possibly a teenager of 15 and up) mermaid. She is a free and creative soul, wandering around the sea and the sea’s ocean top for all sorts of things that spark her interest. Although the movie portrays her as an adventurer who wants to live her life exploring and learning, instead of being prim and proper like her sisters and father want her to be, there is something that most viewers may overlook.

Without mentioning Ariel’s hoarding problem, the audience members with a sharp eye are able to see three crucial flaws of the heroine of the story. First, she is dissatisfied with her life, ungrateful of the home, family, and privileges she has as being born the youngest of the Sea King’s daughters. Second, she believes in this idea of love at first sight. Although that is a premise most Disney Princess movies followed at the time, it can still be seen as negative today. As we don’t know Prince Eric’s age nor Ariel’s, it is more than a little be creepy that she has such an infatuation with the male. They had never had a conversation, she had only seen his face a handful of times, and he is a complete stranger - a pirate at that! For her to trade her family to even have the chance to meet the guy is beyond reckless, and quite honestly, it is an immature show of hormonal females. Going into the last flaw of our heroine, Ariel’s decision to give up her life (one she has yet to even start living, considering she is only a teen) for a male (one she doesn’t know) makes her selfish, immature, reckless, boy-crazy, and ungrateful - messages we shouldn’t have our young females internalize. A man does not make all of life’s problems go away (in some cases, a man/significant other can make life worse.) Ariel’s impulsive (she was angry at her father), pressured (Ursula - my queen - was rushing her), and love-blind (her only real drive for going to Ursula in the first place was to find a way to bewitch Prince Eric) makes Ariel an example of why we have parents and guardians and rules to begin with. Yes, the guidelines and rules of one’s life can be overbearing sometimes, but rebelling as Ariel did does not make the situation better. Most times it even makes it worse. 

To make the movie’s message even more misconstrued is this idea that someone will always come to protect you from consequences when you are in trouble. Ariel’s father risked his life to save her (Prince Eric too, but that was his own choice.) Ariel was saved and then, after the entire lesson was seemingly learned, King Triton granted Ariel her wish. The entire end scene sets this idea that if a child (a young female) throws a temper tantrum and apologizes (though Ariel never did), the child will not only be forgiven, but will also be rewarded. Yeah, children’s movie are a dangerous collection of story ideas. If the creators of the movies aren’t careful, they could end up with a The Little Mermaid, or worse, a Cinderella. 

The Heffalump Movie

There are countless other movies that contain hidden messages and meanings such as Meet the Robinsons’ “family comes in all forms,” and Incredibles 2’s “the technology we create will soon create us; don’t rely too much on easy access and convenience.” One of my favorite childhood movies has multiple meanings within it, and I had never realized. Winnie the Pooh: The Heffalump is a movie that follows Roo, the baby kangaroo, as he tries to prove he is older than how his older friends and his mother see him. He felt out of place being the youngest, and he wanted to make himself seem responsible, mature, and older, so he sets out to capture this creature all his friends claim to be terrible, horrible, and dangerous. The first lesson in the movie is “Don’t rush through your youth.” The audience only has one life to live, so it shouldn’t waste it, trying to desperately be something he or she is not because all his or her peers are. It didn’t strike me how prevalent in life this message is until I watched certain situations around me recently unfold according to this idea. The second message follows Roo’s decision. He, like Ariel, despite warnings from those who care for his well-being, goes on a journey to find this creature that could quite possibly kill him. The next lesson is based on the stories and descriptions Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, and Eeyore were giving Roo about a creature they didn’t know personally and had never interacted with. They called heffalumps dangerous, scary, terrible, and the like, and this is a parallel to how we often view things we don’t know. Because we are unsure of some things, we tend to automatically believe said creature or object is something negative and could harm us. The lesson Roo eventually learned after meeting and getting to know Lumpy (the baby heffalump) is that although they were different, it didn’t mean they couldn’t find similarities to make them friends. The most important message to me in this movie is to try before you judge. Younger viewers may only apply this to making new friends, but it is an important message that we should all use in our everyday lives. 

      Children’s movies have a profound way of expression different ideas in unorthodox and creative ways. They use completely out-of-the-box scenarios or everyday problems to teach important and necessary lessons to the generation that will ultimately shape the world one day. As children’s movies writers understand who their audience is, they have to be original, inventive, and inspiring techniques, stories, and characters to make their intended messages stick. Children’s movies truly are a not so hidden treasure. 

#hiddenmessages #childrensmovies #wall-e #thelittlemermaid #theheffalump #thelorax #theincredibles2 #littlemr.roo #pixney #disnar

[ayalanaylo]

i’m really confused about the writing in supergirl?

and i’ve tried to google my confusion away, but it led me to places i didn’t intend to reach and tumblr searching is leading me to spoilers (which i don’t actually mind that much, but i’m here for meta answers that i don’t find).

mainly i’m just baffled by james olsen and all the romantic arcs.

i’m turning to tumblr’s fandom expertise for answers but i need you to understand my zero point ground before i ask any substantial q’s - i did not read any supergirl comics before (have read some dc in general and am a huge young justice fan, yes) so comparison to the source material means close to nothing for me. i generally don’t watch superhero related stuff. so why did i even start watching supergirl?

i’m just a Simple Gay™. yeah, i’ve been bombarded for the past year or so with supercop gifs and whatnot - and don’t get me wrong, i absolutely know i’m not going to get any gay content out of this show - but i have a bit of free time and thought i’d give this series a shot because it had wandered the realms of my mind for so long, thanks to tumblr supercop fanbase.

also regarding expectations - i did not expect this show to be a stellar example of top tier writing. i knew this is a light hearted, carefree show i’ll watch for simple fun, and that meets my expectations quite well. i’m not, per se, disappointed of the writing - not every damn piece of consumable media needs to be shakespearean poetry (and people who dismiss those things on the merit of that alone are missing so much, imo) - but it bothers me to the core when i recognize a poor written character being paraded on the plot lines. what i mean by that - a character that seems so meaningless still stands on a pedestal the creators of said character created for it. it’s like a curator putting up his son’s kindergarten crayon doodle on the fine arts exhibition - like, i get that you love your son, but my dude this is so out of place.

i’m 13 episodes in (more than half a season?) and i think this is really early to be frustrated with james olsen, given there are 3 seasons out, but i find myself not indifferent but annoyed with his character and how it affects this perplexed romantic hexagon arc. now, this is the time i worry the thought of ‘you’re only here for the gay’ to come up, so let me put up a disclaimer - the fact that i considered watching this show in the first place because of a non-existent gay ship doesn’t mean i don’t get to criticize an existent (and prominent, mind you) romantic arc. yes, i crave for lgbt content that is not complete crap in mainstream media, but there are so many written and showcased fictional couples i appreciate regardless the gender and\or sexual orientation of the characters involved. but it’s not ‘despite’, it’s because i’m a gay person who lives in a time of decent and even good lgbt romantic arcs representation that i find it very hard to be forgiving for poor written cis-het ones. it’s because lgbt people endured the years upon years of piss writing of lgbt characters in romantic arcs that were generally concluded with ‘this personality-less gay character 1′ and ‘this personality-less gay character 2′ should end up together on the merit of their dictated sexual orientation alone, that i find myself angry of lazy writing of cis-het ones that try to condition the viewer to ship two characters together because the script said they will touch hands and camera direction said to zoom on their face. this is not writing and properly developing a relationship between two characters this is directed instructions from the production down, as opposed to from the writing up.

after my supposed establishment of why i’m an Angry Lesbian™ about hetero ships writing i want to get to the nitty gritty - james olsen and the oh so many other problems with other characters.

i get characters crushing on each other, it’s got real cute potential, but can someone explain to me, enlighten me please - why do i get to live through cringe worthy anguished characters with a crush that doesn’t let me on anything other than ‘okay, i get that they’re attracted to each other’. what is their human connection based on and why the story didn’t bother showing me? because literally every scene he has with kara (that isn’t his given alone screen time or the professional ‘friends helping supergirl with mission’) is either him telling her about superman in the first episodes or him giving her this eyebrow-frown look while she talks. we know nothing about this character and his dialog doesn’t make him voluntarily informative about himself - how am i supposed to connect with him and understand that kara finds his personality endearing if i know zero facts about him as a human being? i know he’s a photographer and he knows superman. when lucy lane is introduced it’s because 1. she was there and he didn’t voluntarily let the viewers know who she is, and 2. she was there to serve the romantic weird entanglement and nothing more. what it did give us? some info about their brake up and life together - it is still nothing about james’ personality traits. i don’t want a sad back-story as much as i want a well rounded character in the present-story.

i was just brushing it off or groaning in frustration most of the time, but somewhere in the middle of season 1 (don’t remember exact episode) alex referred to james as kara’s family. that ticks so many tickey things in me - alex is her sister since she was 13, winn is her good friend for presumably all years she’s working at catco, and james arrived a week ago and suddenly he’s family because kara is crushing on him? no. no. no, story, you need to show me and explain to me in so much detail why a week-long crush is someone’s family along side an actual sister and a very good friend, you don’t tell me about it retrospectively.

and for the ever loving fuck why does he keep advancing on kara when he’s in a relationship with lucy? winn even acknowledges this verbally to his face (episode 12 i think) saying he can go get kara if he wanted to, that he just need to end things with lucy - yet he sees that as a sign to gather up the courage for romantic advancement right after the kara-adam brake up before talking with lucy? that’s a big nope.

and adam. oh, adam, sweet summer child. he really is just a harmless side character who crushes on kara, and she reciprocates, for about an episode and a half - and then comes the time in a superhero’s journey for ‘my identity is known and that puts people in my immediate surrounding in jeopardy’ - ... while she’s on a date with adam? don’t get me wrong, it’s all fine, but it’s just fine. why did this moment have to come when our main hero is in a barely second date relationship? the brake up literally meant nothing to me because we had no time to get to know adam. who is he? he was there to advance cat’s character, we didn’t learn anything about him in his screen time that wasn’t already told to us by cat. we know 1. what cat told kara (that was confirmed in his screen time), and 2. that he thinks kara is amazing. all he talks about is her, never himself. i know gurnisht about this character - why should i care about him when kara brakes things up?

and then we have *spooky voice* the friendzoned guy. first, can someone please make this phrase disappear from existence, yet second, while winn is written with some mistakes (using ‘friendzone’, kissing without confirming mutual feelings) - he is the most developed character of this disastrous romantic blah and he is written is such way that makes me care about him. kara doesn’t reciprocates his feelings? fine and valid, i just wish i could care about who she likes because they would be rounded developed characters as the ones she doesn’t.

in conclusion - please explain to me why should i ship a guy-character and a girl-character if their only connection is shared screen time and not the blessed character and relationship development a lot of lgbt ships get on mainstream media recently?

*banging pots and pans* I’M A GAY WHO’S PRO WELL DEVELOPED HETERO-SHIPS.

#supergirl #james olsen #kara denvers #adam foster #winn schott