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reginaofdoctorwho · 3 years

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weird shit that would probably have something to do with me in a horror movie

no one wanted this but i’m bored and found a bottle so you’re all getting it. yes these are all true. check the tags, if u think i’ve missed something please let me know!

there was a murder (technically, i don’t really count it as a murder) next door when i was four years old on christmas morning

the weird antique glass bottle i found half-buried in the woods in the woods yesterday with living bugs in it that made no attempt to leave it once i uncovered it

there is a local cult in the next town over. this is not the same as the local cult that was in the other town over where my mom grew up

random completed animal skeletons in the woods behind our house, i’m talking prey and predator, both laid out like in a goddamn scientific diagram. for a while there’d be ones in the middle of our yard, always the same type of animal, always just the bones and nothing else, laid out like it was posed. this has been happening for over half a decade and we have no fucking clue how, why, or who is doing it

the screaming from the woods that i’m going to assume is a fox

my sister almost dated a murderer. his niece or something is in my class

there is a house that is now part of a “local ghost tour” that belonged to my great+ grand parents during the civil war where my great+ aunt died allegedly murdered by her husband who is actually blood related to me. family history says she died of childbirth, which given that it was the 1800s... probably is true

there was an actual murderer in our family a few generations back but he married in and killed his wife and her sister. they didn’t find out about it until they read his journals after he died where it apparently told everything he did and they decided. “well, that wouldn’t look good for the family, and they’re already dead anyway” and just kept it hidden??

the fact we have my great great grandmother’s dress from probably 1890s or 1900s. even more so the fact that i fit in it. if this was fantasy horror (vampires, some immortal thing or ghost) i’d be fucking dead or cursed

fairly certain i was possessed by the ghost of a puritan as a kid

my family seems to have a curse with babies and nurses? my great uncle died when he was born because long story short, hospitals were the new hot thing, he was perfectly healthy, then a nurse dropped him and he died instantly. my sister died when she was a toddler and the hospital actively tried to delete her hospital records to cover it up and ended up getting fined by the state for it. the nurses responsible were not arrested or punished in any way.

my family all has fucked up connective tissue, in my brother it was bad enough he had to get a steel bar in his chest so it wouldn’t cave in.

the many times i have almost drowned, sometimes due to intentional actions by humans (my dad, it was my dad)

this in addition to the other fucked up shit he did before the divorce when he still lived here, including but not limited to: killing my mom’s favorite pet goat, hanging its skull in a tree, and leaving the body in the woods. not letting his kids learn how to cook. anytime someone asked him to cook he’d put as much pepper/hot sauce in as he could (even for like, scrambled eggs) and give it to the youngest person, usually a toddler. this was me at times. taking his kids out to the woods and threatening murder. taking his kids out to the woods and threatening burning. purposely locked the basement from the inside so we couldn’t get the gaping hole in the stairs leading to one of three kids rooms fixed. tearing up pictures of the kids whenever my mom did something he didn’t like. i had more here but i tried to cut it down a litttle

people have threatened to murder me before. one time a girl didn’t threaten, and actually acted like she was starting to like me, but her cousin read her diary or something and found out she was planning to commit a lot of murder, and told her parents and she got sent to a psychiatric ward for a couple weeks

my mom lived down the street from a family that got axe-murdered by one of their two sons when she was a kid. the murderer did get out on an insanity plea and is still in the area. also their neighbor’s mom “lost her mind” (how the story was told) when she had to protect their kids while her husband went over to try to protect the non murderer son when he got home from school and ran over screaming about his brother trying to kill him and had killed their parents

also she knew a girl who almost got kidnapped by this really fucked up traveling serial killer that has his own wikipedia page that is,,, lengthy. the girl had [alleged] mafia ties, and the guy ended up dying shot by police despite them being told to bring him in, which sounds kinda suspicious

long story short i’d probably be the sequel where one comes back

apparently i go to the “bad” school, which i found out in a coffee shop when i overheard two girls talking about how one’s dad went there and how horrible and dangerous it is

school fights are weird. either they don’t happen or they come freakishly close to murder. people slam heads into lockers, stomp on bones, drag people by hair along the ground. one time in my brother’s class a 4′9″ girl sent a 6′2″ football player to the hospital. there was video of a fight a couple years ago that’s still around. it was brutal, but also one of the girls fighting was taking one for the team in it and got the other kicked out

we don’t have a ceiling in all of the third floor, and the cafeteria has 2. this is not relevant in any way, but it’s important to me that you know this

also the guys kept ripping the heating vents/radiators/whatever off the walls in their bathrooms and got almost all the bathrooms locked. including the girls’ ones.

also everyone kept punching holes in the walls so on some of them it’s just,,, metal sheeting down the whole hallway

there are so many fucking shootings in the next town over. literally five years ago it was this nice place where kids would go on history tours, i did when my sister worked for that group. now there is pretty much one business that has not been held up at gunpoint, and if u look up to the serial killer bullet point, it is for v similar ties. it’s a pizza place and if u ever stop by u gotta try it

women in my family have weirdly good intuition but every couple generations we get doubtful. my great grandma didn’t want a hospital birth but decided “hey it’s the hot new thing for a reason”, my mom switched churches based on nothing but intuition and it turned out someone was a pedophile there (found out years later), i instantly could tell my friend’s boyfriend was a pos and wasn’t surprised later when he told her he’d murder and dismember me in front of her, and upon meeting him told him he was a fucking coward and couldn’t do it. he broke up with her a month later.

i was really good friends for a while with two guys that burned a building down. yes they were arrested. i was friends before and after the fire. they’re pretty nice, but this girl they used to date (at different times, they were brothers, yes it was fucking weird and uncomfortable for everyone involved except her but that’s it’s own thing) said some fucked up shit and it was the closest i ever got to starting a fight. anyway i’m still friends with both on facebook. one of them shares a lot of king of the hill memes

speaking of that fight, i 100% would’ve tried to kill her in that moment. u know that john mulaney quote like “i didn’t understand how a person could want to kill another person. then i got cheated on, and i was like ‘oh, okay.’”? that was me, but replace “cheated on” with she told me it was good my five year old sister was dead because she was a waste, and told me she hoped i’d die of covid”. it was mainly the sister thing. i couldn’t move because if i did i’d start a fight with the [way] above mentioned shit.

my family has a literal feud with a local farming family. i mean, we keep farm animals (sheep, goats, chickens), these people have that, pigs, and crops too. the feud was because their great uncle (or great grand uncle, i’m a little fuzzy on the details) published an autobiography (despite not being anyone famous/important) and in it talked about when he was friends with my grandfather and how creepy my great grandfather was (this was the one with the dead firstborn son) because he kept newspaper clippings of the Lindbergh baby’s kidnapping and murder pinned to a board on the wall of his office/basement. also because he was a child of german immigrants who wanted to fight against nazis in WW2 (how suspicious [sarcasm]). members of their family are in my grade. they charged my sister for almost half an extra pound of goods, too, which just revitalized it.

i live by corn fields. i am surrounded by cornfields. (joke one)

i was friends for a while with this girl whose baby teeth,,, didn’t really fall out completely? she was 17 the last time i saw her in person, she’s probably 19 now and judging by her facebook pictures they’re still Like That. she had a very symmetrical mouth/teeth, which made it weirder. just to clarify, she had some of her baby teeth pushed forward and up, so they kind pointed out a little? and all her adult teeth. she was literally so pretty.

a teacher who is v sexual with his female students came into my english class (he is a science teacher) to demand why i wasn’t signed up for his class. we then both became increasingly passive aggressive and he told the whole class where i live with specific directions and landmarks. the guy sitting next to me had to try to tone things down despite being obviously confused as to why it was even happening (me too buddy). he lives down the road from my sister. when my niece had her birthday party at our house i was outside setting things up and he slowed his car down and honked at me. fuckin creep

#tw child death #tw animal death #tw arson #i guess?#tw shooting #tw murder #a lot of that one actually #tw child abuse #tw violence #let me know if u think i should tag anything else #no one wanted this #except for me #tw cult

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btsqualityy · 4 years

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I’m so happy for drabble day! Thank you for writing these! Now, I have three words! KINS, MASE and WEDDING! it would be a night to remember! Yoong walking kins down the aisle, a drunk lennox’s best man speech, Spence fighting for the bouquet and extra! Please and thank you! 💜💜💜💜

Another anon also said: Hey! I think it would be soo cute a drabble of Kins dancing with Yoongi and then with Namjoon at their wedding.

I’m not doing all of these because these are just supposed to be drabbles and that’s a lot lol

“Sorry for the language Daddy, but I’m scared shitless,” Kinsley admitted and Yoongi looked over his shoulder at her from where he had been peeking into the church sanctuary, where his family, the members and their families, and extended family and friends were waiting for the ceremony to start.

“No need to apologize,” he chuckled as he walked over to stand in front of her. “But why are you scared?”

“I just can’t believe that this day is actually here, you know?” Kinsley sighed. “What if it doesn’t turn out the way that we think it will?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, marriage is a big step,” Kinsley started. “Me and Mason have just been dating for so long, what if everything changes once we’re married?”

“Well, I’m not gonna lie to you baby girl, things will change,” Yoongi told her honestly. “But if you agreed to marry Mason, then you clearly see something in him that you want for the rest of your life, and vice versa. You just have to keep that in mind.”

“I just hope he doesn’t regret this,” Kinsley muttered and Yoongi smiled softly as he reached down and grabbed her free in his, since she was holding her bouquet with the other hand.

“Sound just like I did on me and your mom’s wedding day,” he chuckled. “Don’t sell yourself short though. You’re a prize baby girl and Mason recognizes that, which lets me know that the both of you will be very happy together.”

“Thank you Daddy,” Kinsley smiled, her gummy smile that was identical to his on full display. “I’d kiss you if I didn’t have this dumb ass veil on.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned, extending his arm so that Kinsley could wrap her arm around it. “Now, let’s go get you married.”

.........................

“Alright, if I could have everyone's attention,” Lennox called out as he stood up from his chair, tapping the side of his champagne glass with his fork.

“No drunk speeches Len,” Mason pleaded, making everyone laugh and Lennox just smiled.

“Lucky for you, I’m not that drunk,” he chuckled. “As the best man though, I feel compelled to say a few words.”

“This should be good,” Ava whispered to Spencer, who nodded with a giggle.

“As most of you guys know, Mase and Kins have been dating since we were all teenagers and admittedly, I felt a little...miffed, when they started dating,” Lennox confessed. “The eight of us have always been the closest of friends and when these two started dating, I felt like they were shitting on that. It also didn’t help that I’ve always been the closest to Mase, so it felt like I was loosing my partner in crime.”

“Did he ever tell you that?” Kinsley whispered to Berkeley, who was sitting next to her, and Berkeley shook her head.

“However, after all of these years and seeing how happy you two make each other, how I could continue to be upset?” Lennox smiled as he looked over at Mason and Kinsley. “I know I give you two a lot of shit for it but I’m so glad that you two, my brother and my sister, are happy and in love with each other. I wish the two of you many years of happiness and I love you both. To Mason and Kinsley!”

“To Mason and Kinsley!” Everyone at the reception cheered as they drunk out of the glasses. Mason stood up, stepping closer to Lennox in order to hug.

“It’s always you and I, ok?” Mason whispered and Lennox nodded before pulling away from the hug. By this time, Kinsley had also gotten up and she stepped over to them, letting Lennox gather her up in his arms.

“I love you Lennox Blake,” Kinsley smiled, leaning up and kissing Lennox’s cheek.

“I love you too Kinsley Reese, but don’t make this weird,” he huffed, making Kinsley giggle as she kissed his cheek again.

.........................

“You know, we’re very happy that you’re officially apart of the family,” Namjoon told Kinsley as they slow danced together around the dance floor.

“I mean, I’ve only been around since my birth,” Kinsley giggled, making Namjoon laugh as well.

“That’s why I said officially,” he nodded. “You balance Mase out a lot. He’s not as stressed or worried about things that don’t matter when you’re around.”

“He balances me too Uncle Joon,” Kinsley replied, glancing over to where Mason and her mom were dancing together. “He’s everything that I’m not.”

“Which is why the two of you work so well,” Namjoon finished. They continued to dance together, until Yoongi walked up to them and tapped Namjoon’s arm.

“She may be your daughter-in-law now, but can I steal her for a dance?” Yoongi grumbled and Namjoon laughed.

“No need to be so mean hyung,” Namjoon responded, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the top of Kinsley’s head before letting go of her and walking off to find his wife. Yoongi held his hand out, which Kinsley immediately took before wrapping her arms around her father.

“So, do you think he regrets it?” Yoongi asked and Kinsley instantly shook her head.

“You should’ve heard him after we ran out of church and got into the limo,” Kinsley giggled. “He definitely doesn’t regret it.”

“Told you,” Yoongi smirked.

“How you holding up?” Kinsley wondered. “You were so against this whole wedding thing and you haven’t even made a joke about it today.”

“I was only against the wedding because I still feel like 22 is still too young to get married,” Yoongi clarified.

“You and Mom weren’t much older.”

“Regardless,” Yoongi continued. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy and watching you throughout today, you beaming anytime that you look at Mase, I can see that you’re happy. And that makes me happy. Probably happier than you could even imagine.”

“I love you so much Daddy,” Kinsley smiled, leaning forward and kissing her father’s cheek.

“I love you too baby girl,” he grinned, the smile never leaving his face as they swayed together around the dance floor.

#btsqualityy drabbles #drabble day #adult mason #adult kinsley

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illh · 4 years

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/walks in late with iced coffee hi i’m yumi (22, she/her) & i am so excited to write with u all, this is il, #07 for the class of 2020 subplot (fc is the biggest qt, jb of got7) ! yes i did in fact plagiarize carter baizen the best character on gg and mixed in a bit of himbo nate and someotherannoyingmediainspos & Here he is. il has a stats and about page up & wanted relationships / assorted plot prompts under the cut. like this post and i’ll hop into your im’s to plot. my tmi today is i hate tumblr im’s and 1000% prefer plotting on discord so msg me with ur discord if u wanna plot over there instead xoxo

also, some major trigger warnings across il’s pages & story : underage drinking, underage drug use, underage gambling, just general underage delinquency, gambling addiction, mention of sexual assault (i will clarify now that he in fact has never assaulted anyone, but he also didn’t go around trying to change people’s minds about it, then he left which made him look more guilty, so opinions are up in the air.)

SNOWCHILD. 25+, went to the same hs you knew him as a good guy. you two had been dating a few months and were starting to get serious when the scandal broke out. he left without saying goodbye, and now he’s back.

FALSE ALARM. 25+, had a serious relationship with him about two years ago you’re the reason he came back to town. or, one of. you fell in love a little bit some time ago somewhere far away, but you had to leave. you asked him to come home with you but he backed out when he found out where home was for you: gosan. so, you two parted ways. but months later, he changed his mind and ran after you.

IN YOUR EYES. signed up to be on the volunteer call list for his church’s gamblers anonymous program he got you off the provided call list from gamblers anonymous. he hated the first two he dialed, so maybe it’s true what they say : third time’s the charm. he only calls you now, and though you’re just a voice on the phone and you’ve never met in real life, you know absolutely everything about him. he trusts you completely, and, in a way, you are the closest family and friend he has. sooooo many possibilities for this. maybe you knew each other but you used an alias on the call list, so he didn’t recognize you when he called (he never would have called anyone familiar.) orrr, maybe you really are a new person in his life. maybe you’ve heard the rumors, maybe not. etc etc etc

BLINDING LIGHTS. 25+ OOOOH a bad influence. a bad, bad, bad influence. maybe you’re a relic from his past, or someone entirely new. whoever you are, you’re gonna make him relapse sooner or later. you bring out the worst in him, and does he hate it? who knows. he certainly doesn’t try to resist.

REMINDER. 20+ (set after il’s inevitable relapse & involves a fair bit of underage delinquency) obviously i have to have the underclassman-who-idolized him-whom-he-takes-advantage-of-and-pulls-into-a-dangerous-game-of-poker plot. he took you to your first club, he gave you your first joint, you think it’s so brave that he gave up his trust, very that kind of rose-colored-glasses disillusioned underclassman-uppperclassman rls

SIDEWALKS. 26-28 you were one of the very few friends he had growing up. you drifted apart in high school, didn’t really have any contact in university. your only silkstring connection now are the rumors you’ve heard about each other. meetcute run-in? accidental reunion?

SIX FEET UNDER. 26-28, went to the same schools you were one of the three kids whose nose he broke when you and your friends tried to push him around. you’ve had a hate-hate relationship since. i’d love for them to have been in the same hs sports teams... the rivalry !

ATTENTION. no specifications open to four. people who came forward (or faked anonymous confessions) after the scandal broke out and before it was proven false, saying il assaulted them too. might be people he did know, or didn’t. he doesn’t know why you did it. and if you did it anonymously, he doesn’t know you did it at all.

ORDINARY LIFE. no specifications you had an extremely wild week somewhere far away some years ago. something happened that you two hold over each other’s heads. the way you two act around this mutual something, it’s like you killed someone and hid the body. . . . wait, did you . . . ?

ALL I KNOW. no specifications you think he’s despicable but he's the only one who can help you with this thing you need help with.

ex-friends who dropped him and still believe the scandal. awkward reunions? friction? mmmm

friends who believe he didn’t do it. far and few but precious to him

customers!!! he is a body piercer and he piercers people in his apartment

you go to the same church. you’re surprised to see him there, to say the least. and so regularly, and on volunteer efforts too.

people he’s in gamblers anonymous with.

i’m sure the church hosts other anonymous programs so maybe people who are in ____ anonymous programs. you come across each other when times overlap, in the church parking lot, waiting in the hallway. crossroads, or grid lock.

he works as a bag boy in a local grocery store sometimes, as an attendant at a thrift store or bookstore or pet store or . . . well, you get it. he has a hundred and one odd jobs. co-workers or customers or someone who has started wondering if he’s stalking them because they see him everywhere.

he works as a delivery guy sometimes too. and you’ve started ordering way too much fried chicken, always hoping to get the cute delivery boy.

tattoo artist working on his big back tattoo.

he has a dog. she’s old, but friendly. pet dates!

people who live in the same apt building!!

he parties nearly every night so party ppl. also this is where he meets most of his hookups so one night stands and fwb’s and all that

you know your parents hate him. purely platonic (possible fwb but doesnt have to be, maybe a fun flirtationship too!) but you take him home to every gala, dinner and charity ball. your parents are seething and you r amused and he gets free food. everyone wins. you two are good friends and have a lot of fun

he gave ur underage sibling/friend drugs maybe in the past or now & u think he is the worst

old money kids where u @

went to high school together. then he disappeared. u were as clueless as anyone until u were sitting in a gender studies class in a uni in another country right beside him.

#♣ 𝖉𝖎𝖆𝖗𝖞 : ooc.#i also love brainstorming and i am up for random starters yes

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b-does-the-write-thing · 7 years

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The House Guest, Completed

It feels fitting to end this story on Friday the 13th for obvious reasons.

December 27th, 2016

Lacey’s thirty-fifth birthday served as a celebration of her life, her victories and her friends.

Granny has closed early to host the proceedings which would also serve as a going away party of sorts for Lacey as well as Ruby. The whole back wall of the diner had crystal vials hung against the wallpaper with blue and white flowers stemming out to transform the wall into a makeshift garden.

At the moment, Lacey sat in a booth near the large twin windows as she listened to the rise and fall of the din. She was taking a moment to let her head clear and rest her feet. Neal slid into the opposite side of the booth and handed her a glass of champagne still fizzing merrily.

“Happy Birthday,” he toasted as he gently clinked his glass against her’s. “Here’s too many more.”

They drank to that before lapsing back into a comfortable silence as they scanned the room. Granny had Leroy’s whole trivia team cornered into helping in the kitchen and occasionally, one or two would appear in the window to look longingly out at the open bar. Leroy himself often corralled them back to work.

In the far corner, Cruella gave a high pitched laugh at something Archie had said, but her smile didn't quite reach her face. She had been cooing over Pongo all evening and the dog eyed her suspiciously where he sat under their table. “Auntie is thrilled to have an excuse to go traveling again.”

Lacey glanced over at him. “And you?”

His eyes moved to where Mary Margaret stood. Eric was bouncing Emma in his arms as Ariel made fishy faces at the infant who giggled in delight at her antics. “I think the world has changed a lot since the last time I saw it,” he said. “It will be refreshing to see it through someone else’s eyes.”

“Talking about me?” Ruby grinned as she nudged Lacey to scoot over. Ruby’s eyes sparkled and her cheeks were flushed. She plopped down three more glasses of champagne with a mischievous wink. “To the future!”

“How many have you had?” Neal asked though he quickly finished his own to grasp her offering. Lacey followed suit.

“Not keeping track,” Ruby informed him. “It’s a party. Don’t be such a stick in the mud.”

He raised an eyebrow and both women giggled in tandem. “What?” he demanded self consciously.

“It’s just...when you do that,” Ruby managed through breathless giggles. “You look just like your father!”

Neal looked horrified as he looked towards Lacey. She could only nod in agreement which elicited a groan from Neal and more laughter from Ruby.

“Not demon Gold,” Ruby finally clarified when she could breath again. “The good looking one.”

“I do not,” he said with a stern glare at Lacey, “want to hear about my father being attractive from either of you. Ever.”

“Deal,” Lacey said before Ruby could protest.

“A very merry unbirthday to you two!” In the booth behind them, Jefferson swung his legs around so he sat just over Neal’s right shoulder. His hat twirled like a top in his fingers as he grinned down at all of them.

“Get off the back of that booth!” Granny hollered from across the room.

Jefferson slunk down to sit beside Neal as he cast wounded glances in the matriarch's direction. “She doesn’t care for me much,” he sighed as he put his elbows on the table to cradle his head.

“She just takes a bit to come around,” Ruby said reassuringly. They all watched as Granny swatted Victor to get his feet off a seat. The zombie reluctantly obliged though he made a face at her retreating back.

“Perhaps I’ll offer my services in the kitchen,” Jefferson mused but they all quickly exclaimed for him to stay. It was not hard to picture the chaos Jefferson might get into in the kitchen full of mortals. Jefferson turned his odd stare to Lacey. “Did he like his gift?”

Lacey nodded with a rueful grin. “He went over to David’s yesterday to watch the next season.”

Jefferson beamed. “How delightful.”

“If you like when your boyfriend disappears to his boyfriend’s all day,” Lacey grumbled with a nod towards where the two of them were huddled up by the bar. Rumple had agreed to wear his mortal form for the event. He was dapper in a three piece navy suit. Lacey looked forward to peeling it off him but for now she was content to look.

Neal stiffened. “Uh, I’m going to go...get some fresh air,” he said. He scrambled out of the booth just as Mary Margaret appeared at the table holding a fussing Emma.

“Did he just run away from me?” she asked incredulously.

Elbowing a quietly giggling Lacey and kicking at Jefferson before he spilled the beans, Lacey gestured to the now vacant seat. “Probably something he ate,” she assured Mary Margaret.

Emma yawned as she curled up closer to her mother’s chest. Mary Margaret patted the downy golden curls absently. “Should probably have gotten a sitter,” she remarked with a look over her shoulder at David.

“Give her to me,” Ruby offered. Mary Margaret leaned past Lacey to deposit the child into Ruby’s arms. Emma complained for a moment but sleep slowly won her back into serenity. “Oh, I’m going to miss her,” Ruby sighed as she brushed Emma’s curls off her forehead.

“Anytime you want to come back,” Jefferson offered, “just say the word!”

“Don’t say that too loud,” Ruby said as she glanced around for her grandmother. “Otherwise, Granny will expect me every night for dinner.”

“How was the binge watching?” Lacey asked.

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. “We didn’t get anything done all day. I had to make Gold swear not to bring it back by until tomorrow or we wouldn’t have gotten anything done.”

“This place looks amazing,” Lacey told her friend. “You guys did a great job.”

“Ariel did the back wall,” Mary Margaret said with a shrug. “I just helped Ruby with the shopping.”

“You did the banners,” Ruby corrected as she gestured towards the one hanging over the bar.

“Masterfully done,” Jefferson added as he placed his hat back on his head.

Across the room, Cruella let out another high pitched laugh. Archie looked over his shoulder nervously. “Should someone rescue Archie?” Mary Margaret asked.

Jefferson nodded grimly. “It would be my honor,” he said before he disappeared from the table without even standing.

The trio looked towards where Ariel and Eric stood but they were too busy talking with Gepetto to notice. The pizza shop owner winked knowingly over Ariel’s shoulder. Moments later, Archie staggered over to them to drop down besides Mary Margaret. “That woman is insane,” he mumbled as Pongo licked happily at Lacey’s hands. Ruby grew quiet as she shifted her attention to the child in her arms.

“Good boy,” Lacey enthused as she scratched at the place just behind his ears. Queenie would probably be jealous when she smelled Pongo on Lacey but they’d worry about later.

“Might want to keep Cruella away from Pongo,” Mary Margaret said. “Her fur collection is very monotone.”

Archie’s face went pale as his grip tightened on Pongo’s leash.

“Relax,” Lacey laughed. “I won’t let Cruella turn Pongo into a coat.”

He nodded shakily.

“How’s...everything?” Mary Margaret asked him.

He blinked. “Well… I attended the Christmas mass at the church the other day and...I found it to be rather...comforting.”

Archie had not been raised in any religion. He had once told Lacey he preferred science to faith but that had been a long time ago before witches and demons and werewolves had shown up on his doorstep.

“When do you leave for the seminary?” Lacey asked. Besides her, Ruby grew still as she strained to listen. Reul had failed to mention the process to becoming a priest required an additional four years of school.

“Middle of January,” he replied. “Enough time to start to shut down my practice, get my affairs in order, rent the house out and learn some latin.”

“Who’s taking care of Pongo?”

Archie faltered.. “Oh...I..I hadn’t really decided...”

“Maybe we could?” Mary Margaret offered. “Emma’s so fond of him and we have that whole house with the yard.”

“He’d like that,” Archie said warmly. “Would David mind?”

“Mind what?” her husband asked as he appeared beside them. Rumple leaned down to deposit a kiss to Lacey’s upturned face and when they broke apart the whole table was grinning at them. Save Archie who was busy trying to wrangle Pongo from jumping all over David.

“Taking Pongo in while Archie is at the seminary,” Mary Margaret said. Her smile was infectious and Pongo barked happily as if he too approved of this plan.

“Course we will!” David said warmly. He clasped Archie’s shoulder. “We’ll all miss you, man.”

Flustered, Archie tried to look away but Lacey leaned over to capture his hand. “We’re going to visit,” Lacey told him. “As much as we can.”

“I will too,” Ruby said softly. “If...if you don’t mind.”

Archie struggled to swallow and after a moment was only able to produce a short nod.

“A demon visiting the Vatican seminary,” Rumple mused. “How entertaining.”

“Maybe wait a couple of months,” Archie hurried to add. “Just until...I get used to it.”

Before they could tease him further, the lights dimmed. A soft singing began in the kitchen and then, a massive three layered cake was wheeled out with sparklers fizzing merrily on every tier. The table around her erupted into the chorus of Happy Birthday. Rumple helped her stand up and pushed her gently to the center of the room where Leroy wheeled the cake.

As the song died away, Lacey caught Regina’s eye. With a wink, she politely blew ever so softly towards the closest sparkler as her forefinger twisted behind her back. A gust of wind blew out every sparkler in unison as the entire party clapped and cheered.

After cutting the first slice of cake, Lacey retreated over to sit besides Regina. “Thanks for coming,” she said as she slid the mayor a small slice of cake. “I thought you had plans with Sidney?”

“I moved them to tomorrow,” Regina said coolly as she sipped her red wine. “It’s quite a fete.”

“It is,” Lacey agreed as she looked out amongst her many friends. “So, if I can ask, what’s the plan for Storybrooke?”

“The Coven made it clear they’ll be checking in from time to time,” Regina sighed. “However, there is no law about how many years a mayor can serve.”

Lacey smiled to herself. “Are you going to hire someone to fill my role?”

Regina cast a sideways glance at her. “No. Why?”

Lacey shrugged. “I just know someone looking for a job...she has some experience in magical affairs.”

“Who?”

Lacey nodded to the woman who had just slid into the diner unnoticed. Her mousy brown hair was loose around her shoulders as she looked nervously around the room. Her clothes were a little too small on her and her coat was horribly out of fashion.

“That?” Regina scoffed. “That’s not a prospective employee. That’s a charity case.”

Astrid caught Lacey’s eye and lifted a hand in a tentative greeting. Lacey waved her over though she had to catch Regina’s arm to keep her from moving away. “Just talk to her,” Lacey whispered as Astrid hurried up to them.

Without pause, the newcomer threw her arms around Lacey in a tight hug. “Happy Birthday!” Astrid sang before pulling away. “Sorry I’m late...I wasn’t sure...what to wear.”

“You should have kept guessing.”

“Ignore her,” Lacey told Astrid. “She’s still learning how to make smalltalk. How did it go?”

Astrid blinked rapidly but she managed to put a grimace of a smile on her face. “The sisters were all very sad,” she told her. “But I...it is was the right decision.”

“This is Mayor Mills,” Lacey said with a nod towards Regina. “The one I was telling you about.”

“Oh, yes,” Astrid said with a nod. “I know all about you, Mayor Mills. The Mother Superior was very...vocal about your...accomplishments.”

“You’re a nun?” Regina scoffed.

“Was,” Lacey hurried to correct. “She left the order.”

“You what?”

Leroy stood behind them. He seemed to have forgotten he held a plate of cake which was starting a slow slide towards the floor. Astrid hurried to grab it from him and the shy smile she gave him was answered by Leroy’s look of awed disbelief.

“I didn’t agree with what...the Church’s teachings,” Astrid said carefully. “And I...I couldn’t help but hope”

“Hope what?” Leroy prompted.

“Well...I…I...hoped maybe we might...”

“Come on, Leroy,” Lacey groaned “Are you going to make her spell it out?”

Other had begun to notice the latecomer and the party grew quiet.

“Kiss her!” Jefferson called out.

This statement was picked by various other parties and within moments, the entire party was chanting. Astrid’s cheeks were red and her eyes huge but she did not look away from Leroy for an instant.

“Not with you clowns watching,” Leroy grumbled but he grabbed Astrid’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen. Moments later, his trivia team came spilling out, some with soapy plates still in hand.

“Presents!” Granny decided as the crowd all burst into cheers at Leroy and Astrid’s departure. “Lacey!”

She groaned. “I thought we weren’t doing presents,” she complained as she joined Granny in the center of the room.

“Of course we’re doing presents!” Ariel bubbled as she pushed the first of what looked like many into Lacey’s hands. “It’s your thirty-fifth birthday!”

Lacey did not bother to deny it. She would be having a lot of thirty-fifth birthday parties as the years went on. Might as well get used to it.

Ariel took over handing her each present while jotting down each gift. “It’s learned all about how to do this at my bridal shower,” she said proudly. Ariel’s wedding was fast approaching and Lacey made a mental note to remember to let the Coven know that come hell or high water, she would be in Storybrooke the first weekend in May.

The Nolans gave her a travel book on Europe with emphasis on myths and fairy tale regions such as the Black Forest and the Alps. “Just in case,” David said with a wink.

Ariel and Eric had gotten her a cork map for her to mark all the countries she travelled. “And we want to see pictures,” Eric reminded her with a grin. “I promised to teach Gold how to Instagram before you leave.”

Rumple raised a glass in approval across the room and Lacey gestured for him to join her. He sat down just as she opened Ruby’s gift of a canvas pet tote. It was the perfect size for a feline and the coloring matched Queenie’s odd fur. One side was black and the other a calico color.

“Figured she’d want to travel in style,” Ruby said. Lacey had to get up to hug her friend at this moment, knowing full well that neither Ruby nor Queenie were overly fond of each other, the gift meant all the more.

Granny gave her a leather passport cover. Lacey did not have the heart to tell her that she would not need a passport too often but assured Granny she wouldn’t lose it. Customs, as Granny told her seriously, was a very tricky place.

Leroy did not return when she opened his gift, a leather flask with her initials on it and some numbers just below.

“Latitude and longitude of Storybrooke,” Rumple told her as he peered at it.

Gepetto gave her a recipe book from Italy and when she cracked it open, a small handwritten recipe fell out into her lap.

“For when you miss home,” the elderly man said from where he stood beside Archie. It was a pizza recipe...and Lacey had to swat Rumple’s hands away before she replaced it carefully back in the book for later.

Cruella...Cruella gave her a box of chocolates which looked to be about fifty years old.

“I didn’t have time to go shopping,” she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Open mine,” Neal suggested as he handed a large wrapped parcel to Ariel.

It was heavier than the rest had been but by the time Lacey had gotten one corner unwrapped, the words Nikon stared up at her.

“You got me a camera?”

He nodded, pleased. “Dad said he was getting you a photo album for Christmas, so…”

Granny had Rumple take the camera away from Lacey after a few minutes, though the entire crowd was interested to see it.

“It’s no big deal,” Neal complained as Lacey returned to hug him for the second time. “It’s just a camera.”

“It’s a Nikon500,” Ruby said from where she was holding it. “That’s like saying a Corvette is just a car.”

“Me next, me next!” Jefferson said as he barreled up to her. He nearly knocked Ariel over as he thrust a plain unwrapped box into Lacey’s face. It was a small tea set. A delicate teapot with blue and white vines with four identical tea cups all nestled in among various tea leaves bundled together with different colored ribbons.

“Form all over the world,” he whispered to her with a wink. “It’s for when you come back home in between trips.”

The faint memory of the first time they met came to her mind as she took his hand. “Jefferson, I love it. Thank you. ”

He smiled back down at her before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

The next gift was a black and white satchel. When Lacey peered inside, there was a small slim book that hummed of magic. When she reached down to flip it open, she scanned over a few travel spells that looked particularly useful.

“Don’t hug me,” Regina warned from her place at the bar.

Lacey nodded as she slipped the bag down by her feet to pursue further later. “Thank you, Madame Mayor.”

“Only two more,” Ariel said as she handed her another one. “This one is from Archie.”

“I wasn’t sure what to get you,” he said awkwardly as he pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. “But...I thought it would be useful.”

He had gotten her a kindle. It was already full of books on travel, geography and history as well as a few of her favorite books.

“Archie, this is too much,” Lacey protested as she scanned the countless books he had downloaded for her. Neal, a centuries old immortal, had money enough to indulge in a expensive camera.

“It’s not,” he protested. “You don’t read enough. I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any excuses.”

Beside her, Rumple smiled. “Quite right, Master Hopper,” he said quietly. “It is a thoughtful gift.”

Lacey did not get up to hug Archie as she knew it would just embarrass him further. She made a mental note to get him something equally as thoughtful for his next adventure. The idea of Archie becoming Father Hopper still sounded foreign to her but he seemed to be growing into it already.

Rumple nudged her softly as Ariel handed her the last present. It was black and matte with a gold ribbon wrapped around it. “From me,” he said as Ariel stood up to join Eric.

“You already got me a Christmas present,” she reminded him.

“So?”

She kissed him for that simple sentiment before gently undoing the ribbons.

Inside was another box. This was navy blue like the twilight sky with a white ribbon.

With a reproving look at him, she tore it apart only to find another box.

“Gold,” she groaned as she held up this silver one with a bronze bow stuck jauntily on top.

“Come on,” Ruby called out. “We’re getting old here.”

“If it’s another box,” Lacey warned him before she popped the top off to reveal...another box.

This one was wooden with no joints or hinges. Lacey shook it but there was no sound from within. “Cute,” she said as she turned to Rumple. “You got me a piece of wood?”

Except he was not there. He was kneeling in front of her now as he gently pried the box loose from her numb fingers, he winked. With a twist of his pinkie, so slight only she saw it, the box blossomed from a plain box into a flower carved of wood and nestled among the petals...

“Now, sweetheart,” he murmured as he lifted it back up to her. “What do you think?”

The diamond ring sparkled as if lit from within but Lacey barely saw it.

She was too busy staring into the eyes of the man she loved.

Towards the future, and all the possibilities it held.

Notes:

First, let me take a deep breath.

Okay. I am composed (enough) to say what I need to say.

This story is dedicated, gifted, in honor of one of the most amazing people in this fandom. @prissyhalliwell has been this story's champion and it's originator. She was the first one to send in the prompt to start it all and has been single handily responsible for at least fifteen of the other prompts. Her ideas and her encouragement were paramount to this story's success and creativity. Small prompts like "a stray cat adopts DoDo" or "Lacey finds out Ruby & Archie have a secret" spiraled into a story about witches and werewolves. For every moment of inspiration, this woman was behind the scenes with pompoms. She is not only a gracious friend and reader but a talented author in her own right so her love for this story shines through all the chapters.

To everyone who has prompted a chapter from on here or on tumblr, you helped this story become real. You helped shape it, you inspired and you challenged and you were here every step of the way with encouraging comments and reblogs and kudos and bookmarks and thank you. This was a fun project that became a real story and it's because of you.

For @nia-nita and @rowofstars and @the1ultimatefan, who made artwork for this story because it spoke to them, thank you. I cried every time I saw my vision realized in graphic form and I saved and hoarded the images in a proud mama dragon kind of way and gazed upon them every chance I got.

To those of you who emailed me, challenged me, spoke to me about these characters, thank you. I loved this story and I loved that you loved it too. From @deweymay's long paragraphs on every chapter, to Ultimate's 10/10s, to @rosexknight to @ctdg to Oriberry and @obxjesse to all the others who left me love. I'm not going to say I'll miss you because I'll see you in other stories and in other worlds but thank you for going on this journey with me.

I still owe @onesionra a follow up answer to her thoughtful theological questions. I have not forgotten.

Okay, I'm crying now and I'm going to go curl up and relish in the fact that this story is complete.

And yes, in case you are wondering, they do live happily ever after.

#the house guest #rumbelle fan fic #it's done #i can't believe it's done #b does the write thing

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silverhands-etcetera · 7 years

Text

Flyin' Shoes.

One day is not enough time to learn about a town, no matter how small- especially when it’s too hot to leave the shadows and your day starts at 9 pm.

Our hostel was on the bad side of Torremejia, that is to say the boring side. As soon as it was tolerable, I took a stroll to the other end of town. Misguided streets at odd angles led me unconsciously to the church, and a familiar burro grazing behind what appeared to be the other hostel in town -a beautiful restored monastery where half of our fellow pilgrims were resting in cool comfort.

Well, what’s done is done and there’s no use in lament. Next time I’m in Torremejia, I’ll know better.

Walking back to the restaurant, Ignacio spotted me & beckoned me to the terraza where he & Riccardo were sitting and “talking” with our Japanese friend, and the Czech peregrina we met earlier in a town I no longer recall.

There was nothing even close to a common language between us all. Somehow we ascertained that the old man called himself Tomi, and he was from Osaka, he was 68 years old and had two grandchildren. Every person, upon seeing him for the first time was certain that he would not live to the end of the day if he continued walking -his pace was so slow to almost be immeasurable, and his skin was pulled tight and dry in a blazing red burn. But once seated at the supper table, he became as sprightly & animated as a child.

When more of his story was slowly extracted, the degree of his conditioning gave explanation to his quiet vigor. -Tomi completed three Caminos last year. Completed. And as soon as he gets to Santiago on the Via de La Plata, he’ll be getting on a bus back south to embark on the Camino Portugués. Seriously.

The first time our Czech friend had been asked “como te llamas?”, she replied by holding up 3 fingers & saying “three”. After clarifying ourselves, we found out her name was Ytka, but Riccardo persisted in calling her “number three” because, well because Riccardo es muy cabron.

Ytka & Tomi had supper with us, and we tried to help Tomi understand what he was ordering, which brought about much laughter from all, especially Ytka. But as much as we tried, we could learn precious little about her Camino, or her life at home. She walks alone during the day, and seeks the groups in the towns. And she’s never without a smile.

Ignacio & I were the 2 diners at that table who were closest to sharing a common language. He expressed to me the marvel that he felt at being at this table of true kinship without any shared words. I knew what he meant, and I envied him as I don’t have the mastery of Spanish to truly express my accord to him with a feeling that sounds like my own voice. But I think he gives me credit for trying, and understands that I don’t talk like a robot in English.

–

The walk into Torremejia was brutal. We were certain that if we didn’t rest in Mérida we’d just be asking for trouble. But when we awoke (last in the house) and hit the road, we felt a lightness on our feet and no burden on our shoulders. Our bodies had finally reached the point of conditioning, this is what we did now- blisters had faded, the labor of walking was gone, replaced with a light, graceful energy. At one point in the day I actually found myself running, a solid steady run of 100 meters or more to catch myself up to the guys after pausing to check on a solo pilgrim.

Only one day before, anything other than a trudging march of absolute necessity was unthinkable. Today we were like kids on the playground.

All the same, when we got to the hostel in Mérida, we paid for two days of beds. It was an odd day, the walk felt like nothing, and we hardly saw a soul on the route. We hadn’t seen Michel for two days, only the notes he left for us on the route. It felt like a different Camino, and here we were in an actual city, with boutiques and pharmacies and beautiful people all around us. I suddenly felt very alone.

Merida has a Plaza de España that isn’t exactly bustling, due to a reconstruction project in the center that is all fenced off, a 5-star hotel taking up an entire side of the square (and denying entry of their terrace to the general public) and another side occupied by empty storefronts & nightclubs that don’t open during the day. The result of this is a corner of the square being packed with people taking a little something in, while the rest of the plaza sits empty.

The fellas stopped at the bank machine & I strolled over to the occupied side of the Plaza. Sitting alone at a table, just paying his bill and set to leave, was Michel. After the days & days of seeing each other, then our separation in Torremejia, followed by our entrance into a city big enough to swallow us, we probably all feared we had lost contact with each other for good. The security and routine of the Camino was enough to keep us bound for the last ten days, and now this brush with culture woke us out of the hazy dream that we’d been in.

I summoned Riccardo & Ignacio over, and we all sat down, relieved to have a quick resolution to our fears of losing our teacher to the trail forever. A round of beers was ordered, which was accompanied by a small plate of fried potatoes & pig face (of which, another plateful would accompany every single new beer or round of beers that was ordered.) We made plans for supper, but all the same, began the exchange of emails & other contact information that betrayed a world outside of the Camino.

The hours between 6 and 9 pm are when the sun is most intense. The people who are out in the streets cling to the slivers of shadows alongside of the building as they walk, as though they were children playing that the sunlight were molten lava.

If you are walking behind someone who is dawdling, and the shade is not wide enough to allow you to pass that person within it, you are more likely to adjust your stride than to step into the sun to overtake them. I really tried to walk around town a bit, but quickly grew weary and went back to the hostel, I napped for a bit on a bench outside, as my nagging cough was surfacing & many pilgrims were asleep inside.

Back inside the Albergue, Tomi greeted me with a big smile and pointed to the bunk above him, saying “number three”, to signify that Ytka had arrived safely. He made the “eat” symbol with his hand & mouth, and pointed to me, and I pointed to my wrist & said “nine” and showed him nine fingers. We both understood, and both laid down for another bit of rest. When I rose at 8:30, Tomi stepped up behind me, and I gave him the “eat” symbol, along with gestures toward him and myself. Yes, yes, off we went.

Seeing Tomi walk is a trip, but actually walking with him -that’s something else entirely. I had to come up with ways to slow myself down. I practiced my saunter, I turned around to look at things. I navigated the long way around groups as Tomi took the straight line through the middle.

On top of his glacial pace, there is his tendency to stop every fifty feet or so, finding something to snap a picture of. When we passed through the playground, I heard an older woman say “mira el Chinito..” and I considered the limits of my abilities in tactfully explaining that he was not Chinese at all, or where the limits of my propriety in this exchange really were. We pushed on and Tomi lightened the mood by pointing at me and making the “walking steps” motion with his fingers and saying “one”, then pointing at himself with the same motion and saying “three”.

I hadn’t estimated correctly for the amount of time it would take to get to the plaza, so we were late, but when the fellas saw me approaching with Tomi, they were all smiles.

Riccardo had seen an Italian restaurant in town, so tonight was pizza night. The food passed muster, but most of our attention was on each other and our soon to be splintered group. We were drawing maps on our placemats, showing the space between Barcelona & Toulouse & Venecia, Osaka & Seattle & Saigon. Tomi took pictures of all the placemats & made us all origami keepsakes and Michel countered with a paper airplane Concorde. We took every combination of photograph we could, and lingered longer than we were probably welcome at the restaurant, but ultimately, Michel was walking tomorrow, and he needed to get to sleep. We said our last goodbyes and saw our teacher off on his way.

Slien had called me earlier in the day to say that she was in a small town north of us, just big enough for a bus station, but too small for a party. If we’d promise to hit the town in Merida tonight, she’d catch the evening bus down to us. She showed up at the restaurant as we were finishing up, with another peregrina from the hostel, Blanka, a young Hungarian walking the Camino Mozarebe (which shares a northern path with the Via de la Plata) backwards, -that is to say she is going south, not that she is actually taking backwards steps.

Our little group had lost our spiritual leader, but not our spirit. And now with the added company of two women, even Tomi decided to stick it out for a few rounds of drinks. The fellas ordered Jameson, Amaretto, and Tanqueray & tonic (I’ll let you guess who was who), the ladies got a couple of San Miguels, and Tomi sat with a coca-cola.

Riccardo was drawn to Slien and eager to charm her with his masculine-forward style, despite their strong differences in worldview and opinions on matters ranging from the Pope to who should be paying the tab. Ignacio obviously has a strong radar for folly, and was lost in conversation with Blanka all evening. Tomi kept a steady steam of origami-related parlor tricks going all night, until he & Riccardo bid us goodnight, leaving the four of us to close down the nightclub.

It was pushing 4 AM, on the way home Slien & I walked out to the middle of the giant suspension bridge across the Rio Guadiana, and even there above the water, with no sun, the air was still hot. There was no hurry to get back to the stifling confines of the hostel, with 24 beds in a common room and a symphony of apnea from every corner, but sleep we must, despite the fact that we would not be walking tomorrow.

In the morning, I drifted through the noises of all the other pilgrims packing up and heading out, catching the unmistakable cadence of Tomi making his steps out the door. When we woke up, Team Macarena was practically alone, just our augmented five-piece line-up and a young Swede who hadn’t slept a wink through the cacophony and rushed out to sleep in the park.

The day was creeping on us slowly as we pondered our places that morning. None of us was in any hurry to move, until the Hospitalero busted in and announced that we’d all have to vacate the premises until noon. We all jumped up and relayed through the showers and gathered our least offensive clothes, to go out and face the sun and find some coffee and breakfast.

We had no itinerary, no schedule, lost and free, but still together. The day was ready to open up or crumble on top of us. Today we had no path to walk, only words to say and emotions to reign.

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