#5 years for her and these very same campers. that's all

[helyeahmangocheese]

hey gays how are we feeling knowing she leads her cabin to change the tide of the battle of manhattan after her patroclus dies in her armor? i feel really normal and ok about it lol.

#5 years for her and these very same campers. that's all #I hope we see more of her and silena before the inevitable end #percy jackson #clarrise la rue #ruegard #pjo #percy jackson disney+ #percy jackson live action #pjotv #percy jackson and the olympians #the last olympian #pjo ep 2

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 5

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (though biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, angst, reference to divorce, kids doing sneaky things, references to babies, Uncle Javy and Uncle Rooster (because they deserve their own warnings)

PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR USE ANY PARTS OF MY WORK

Breaker’s Beach, almost 12 years ago

In…out…in…out…

Jake timed his careful breathing to match the waves as they slowly danced towards the sand, the sky painted a beautiful cacophony of pinks, reds, purples, and yellows as the sun hovered just above the shoreline.

It was done. The papers had been signed and delivered to the courthouse, the judge had signed off on their custody arrangement, and her bags were packed and sitting by the front door of the house they shared – had shared. Now, it was time to say goodbye.

A bittersweet smile tugged at his lips as Abby’s peels of laughter rang across the near deserted beach, her toes being gently kissed by the cool water as Jake held her up over the cresting waves. He never thought it would end like this, not for them. Not for him and his sweet, beautiful wife and their two incredible daughters. They were supposed to be it, endgame, together forever. Whatever you want to call that couple who is just so blissfully happy together that no evil could possibly touch them. But points had been made and things had been said and enough tears had been shed to let him know that it was ending, whether either of them wanted it to or not.

His daughters were his only regret. Not having them, God no, he could never regret that. The very thought made him sick to his stomach. But knowing that this would be the last time he saw Abby for a long time made him…weak. His arms trembled at the notion that he wouldn’t be able to cuddle her against his chest before bedtime and his heart ached knowing that he would miss out on so many of her firsts.

Backing up a few steps, Jake sank down to sit on the damp sand and cuddled his daughter close.

“It ain’t gonna be forever, darlin’,” he murmured, thankful that she was too young to remember his voice cracking. “I’m gonna see you real soon, okay?” He pressed a kiss to her soft baby curls and felt a tear sneak down his cheek. “I’m sorry, darlin’…” His eyes clenched shut as more tears made a break for it and he tightened his hold on her, as though the last rays of sunlight stretching toward them would try to take her away from him, stealing the last few moments he would have with her.

Maybe he could go back to the house and give it one last try. Maybe he could convince her to stay, that they could work it out, that she didn’t have to leave the country, that it would be so much easier to do if they stayed in the same state. But that had been part of the problem, hadn’t it? And the judge had already agreed, with the provision that every effort was made to foster the relationship between the children and their parents. The papers had been signed and stamped, all black and white and professional. Buttercup got Abby, Jake got Charlie, and they would make provisions for visitation once the girls were a bit older and capable of traveling on their own. There was nothing to do now. There was nothing he could do now, no fancy maneuver to bail out at the last second, no nameless, faceless enemy he could strike down to save the day.

Sniffling slightly, Jake adjusted Abby, so she was facing him, and he traced his eyes over her features, committing them to memory. He knew that her features were the same as her sister’s, but she was her own person. The way she smiled and giggled, the way her nose scrunched up when she didn’t like something, it was all her. His Abby.

He trailed a single finger over her chubby cheek and she grabbed it, tugging it towards her gummy smile to gnaw on. Jake pulled her as close as he could to his chest without taking away her favourite teething toy and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then her cheek.

“I love you, Abby,” he whispered in her ear. “Daddy loves you. He always has and he always will. Please never forget that.”

Waco Airport, Now

Abby clutched her passport and boarding pass tightly in her hands as the plane taxied to the gate, her breath quickening as the plane door opened and passengers started to rush out. Just beyond that door, waiting for her, was her father, the man she’d waited her whole life to meet. She felt like she was a kid again, waiting anxiously in line at Disneyland Paris to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time.

Not that her father was a celebrity to her. No, he was way more than that. She loved her small, strange family in London, but she’d always felt like something was missing, and the lack of answers from her mother had left a small, dark hole in her chest. Her uncle had done his best to fill that hole, be the father she always wished she’d had, but it wasn’t enough. She loved him dearly, but it wasn’t the same as having a father to hold you tight or laugh with you or love you without a second thought. The mere thought of finally finding that missing piece had Abby nearly vibrating in her seat.

Finally, the passengers in the aisle cleared out enough that Abby was able to fetch her duffle and start the long walk to the door. She smiled at the flight attendants and the pilot, who was standing just outside the cockpit, chatting with the crew. The sight of the familiar looking uniform sent a pang of homesickness to her stomach. She had missed her family so much over the past six weeks, and now she was passing up the opportunity to go home and see them in order to meet the father she hadn’t seen since she was a baby. She wanted to be the one to meet Uncle Bob at the airport and have him spin her around like he had when she was a little girl and her mother would take her to pick him up at the airport after he had finished work for the day. She wanted to sit on the couch and watch old reality shows with her aunt and eat junk food and giggle about how silly the people were. She wanted to curl up with her mother on the window seat that looked out over their quiet London street and drink their tea while they read a book or watched the rain drops race down the pane of glass. She ached to see her family, and yet…

The thought of her father waiting for her behind those doors was enough to propel her down the plane’s aisle and down the tunnel towards the arrival gate.

As she breached the crowd of passengers, her eyes scanned across the crowd of waiting families until green met green, and she paused.

There he was. Her father. Standing amidst the crowd with military posture and a bunch of purple and green balloons, he was actually there. She was actually seeing him in person for the first time, and he was smiling at her, the crow’s-feet near his eyes deepening and a dimple popping out of his cheek as he waved.

“Charlie!”

“Dad!” She bolted towards him, dodging and weaving between the travellers who didn’t see her, and launched herself into his arms.

He caught her and lifted her into his arms as though she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. “Hey, Charlie-girl,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair as he slowly lowered to his knees, allowing her feet to gently touch down. “God, kiddo, I missed you like crazy.”

“I missed you too, dad.”

His eyes studied her face for a moment, and she gulped. She and Charlie had made sure that they were as identical as they possibly could be, even going so far as to pierce Charlie’s ears with a hot needle and an extra pair of Abby’s earrings. They had done everything they could; the plan couldn’t fall apart now.

“You pierced your ears,” her dad finally whispered, gently brushing her hair away from her ears and she felt her cheeks warm.

“Oh…yeah,” she looked down at her toes. “A girl in my cabin did them for me. Do you like it?”

Jake shook his head. “Charlie, you know how dangerous that can be? What if you got an infection? They look great but I don’t want you getting sick.”

“I won’t!” Abby hugged him. “Amelia helped me take care of them. We cleaned them three times a day with rubbing alcohol and I made sure to keep twisting them so they didn’t get stuck.”

She wasn’t lying, per say. While she had been the one to pierce Charlie’s ears so she could pass for her, Amelia had taken over at once, making sure the new holes stayed clean and uninfected. Once, she had gotten over the shock of it, that is.

Jake sighed. “Alright, baby. I guess I can’t say no when you’ve already done it. But, next time, permission first, please?”

“Okay, dad.”

Jake smiled at her before kissing her on her hair once more and pushing himself up to stand. “Alright, kiddo. Let’s get out of here. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, and your uncle might just kill me if we’re late for dinner.”

Abby grabbed her duffle off the floor and Jake snagged it from her, tossing it over his shoulder casually as she grabbed his hand, and they began the trek through the airport towards the parking lot.

As they passed a large bay window overlooking the runway, Jake’s eyes drifted over and he slowed to a stop as a plane raced by them, slowly picking up speed before lifting off the ground. She felt his shoulders lift and fall with a heavy sigh before they started moving again.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

Abby huffed. “Flying, dad. Do you miss flying?”

Jake hummed as he pushed open the door to the parking lot. “I don’t know. Sometimes, I guess.”

Abby fought back the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that Auntie Nat still practically climbed the walls whenever the urge to fly hit her, and she was always a bit snappish at Uncle Bob when he left for a long haul flight, even though flying a 747 was way different than flying a Super Hornet.

“You can tell me the truth, dad,” she said as they approached Jake’s truck.

“Who says I’m not?” he tossed her duffle in the bed of the truck and opened the passenger side door for her to climb in.

“I am,” she replied simply. “I know I’d miss something if I used to do it every day. So, it would make sense for you to miss flying.”

Jake smiled as he started the truck. “When did you get so wise?”

Abby shrugged. “I don’t know, dad. I guess camp had a good influence on me.”

“That’s another thing,” he said, taking advantage of the pause in traffic to look at her. “What’s with all the ‘dad’ stuff? You never call me dad. And you haven’t roasted me once since you got here, not even for the balloons. Usually, it’s ‘old man’ this and ‘old timer’ that.”

Abby felt even more blood rush to her cheeks. Charlie had told her about the playful relationship between her and their dad, one that led them to being both father and daughter and best friends. She had filled her in on how she razzed their dad about his age and his inability to get a date (though they both theorized now that it was because of their mom and not because their dad had no game), how she called him old man and he called her punk, how they pranked each other and her uncles when things got boring on the ranch.

“I…I mean…”

“You okay over there, punk?”

To her utter embarrassment, she felt hot tears start to slide down her face. She was supposed to be Charlie, and Charlie didn’t cry. Charlie was tough, a ranch kid who had been ready to get into a fist fight with her in the first week they met because they hadn’t clicked.

“Charlie?” She felt the truck pull over onto the side of the road before her dad reached over and unclipped her seatbelt and tugged her into his side. “What’s wrong, Charlie girl? C’mon, talk to your old man.”

Her mind racing, fighting through the embarrassment and the panic that was now coursing through her, she gathered her thoughts and began to speak in a quiet voice, tears still dripping down her face and onto her father’s flannel shirt.

“Th-there was a girl at camp…and she didn’t have a dad. She didn’t know who he was or where he was or even if he was still alive. But even though she didn’t know him, she still missed him like crazy. She said it felt like missing part of her heart.” Abby sniffled. She wasn’t lying. As much as she loved Auntie Nat and Uncle Bob and her mum, it had felt like she was missing part of her heart, not knowing anything about her father. But now? Now it felt like that part was sliding into place, her father the missing puzzle piece in her life. She continued, “And it just made me really grateful to have you, you know? And it made me miss you so much that I wanted to call you dad. Because not everybody has a dad, but I do, and I have the best one ever.”

Jake’s hand rubbed up and down her back as she sniffled into his shirt. “I missed you too, Charlie. More than you’ll ever know.”

Abby pulled back, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “It just seemed really unfair to me that some people don’t get to know their fathers, you know?”

She watched as Jake’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he turned his attention back to the road, pulling on smoothly and continuing the drive home. “Yeah…yeah, honey. I know.”

Almost an hour later, they pulled off the road and onto the long, manicured driveway that led up to Seresin Ranch. Charlie had told her all about the ranch, how her dad and uncles had taken over when Grandpa Wyatt passed away and turned it into a successful working ranch, with cabins for camping and trail riding offered to the public, but nothing could have prepared her for the first sight of the ranch through the trees.

It was huge. And gorgeous. Cabins, barns and stables dotted the landscape; Abby could see horses grazing in the paddock and, when she rolled down the window, she could hear the gentle mooing of cows in the distance. Coming around the bend in the driveway, the main ranch house stood like a shining beacon at the end of the driveway, grand and homey and beautiful. Abby felt a shiver run up her spine. It was better than anything she ever could have imagined.

Abby blinked back the tears pooling in her eyes as two men exited the ranch house and stood on the wrap-around front porch, waving at them. Jake chuckled.

“They just couldn’t wait,” he muttered, parking the truck off to the side of the driveway, next to a baby blue Bronco and a gleaming red motorcycle.

Abby scrambled out the door as her dad grabbed her duffle out of the truck bed and her uncles jogged down the stairs to meet them.

“Charlie girl!” One of them cried, scooping her up into a hug and spinning her around. Abby caught sight of a tattoo decorating his bicep and knew exactly who she was being almost smothered by.

“Uncle Javy!”

His smile grew as she hugged him back, his impossibly white teeth gleaming against his dark skin. “We missed you, kiddo!”

“Speak for yourself,” the moustachioed man quipped, but the smile on his face as he pulled her in for his own hug dulled the sarcasm of the comment.

“Hi Uncle Roo,” she said into his chest, the scent of something delicious wafting off his floral Hawaiian shirt.

“Hey, kid. Made your favourite for dinner.”

Right. Chili was Charlie’s favourite, and she especially loved it when her Uncle Rooster made it for her. Rooster worked as the cook on the ranch, making sure all the ranch hands and ranch visitors were fed three square meals a day. Javy managed the ranch staff and also coached the high school football team in town, something her dad helped out with on occasion.

“Sounds awesome. Thanks, Uncle Roo!”

“Why don’t you go get changed and washed up for dinner while I throw your laundry in the machine?” Jake offered as he slung the duffle over his shoulder and trekked up the stairs.

“Okay, dad!”

Jake grinned, a softness in his green eyes that had her smiling ear to ear. “Dinner in 20, okay?”

“Got it!” Abby turned and, taking a deep breath, walked through the entryway into the ranch house that Charlie had called home for 11 years.

Everything was laid out exactly as Charlie had drawn it. Her dad’s office was through the door on the right, the living room to the left, and the kitchen straight ahead, with a staircase up to the bedrooms through the living room. She knew that Javy had converted one of the cabins into a house for himself but that he spent almost all of his time in the main ranch house, and that Rooster had turned the attic into a bachelor pad.

Charlie’s bedroom was the furthest from the top of the staircase, and everything was exactly as Charlie had described. Purple walls, grey sheets on the bed, photos of Charlie and their dad, Charlie and their uncles, Charlie and the horses decorating the walls and tops of dressers. Ribbons and trophies from horseback riding competitions hung from a corkboard that left Abby’s mouth agape. The thing was practically overflowing with blue ribbons. Abby thought she was a great rider, but Charlie clearly had the hardware to backup her claim.

She pulled out her phone and opened the WhatsApp app, taking a photo of the medals and attaching it to a message that read, “You win. Hope you’re having fun with mum :)”

After a quick shower in Charlie’s ensuite bathroom and changing into jeans and one of her sister’s many t-shirts, Abby skidded down the stairs and raced into the kitchen, where Rooster was just serving up the homemade chili he’d been working on all day.

“Whoa, easy, kid!” he exclaimed as they narrowly avoided a collision that would have left the pot of chili on the floor.

“Sorry! I’m just starving!”

“Then grab a piece of garlic bread instead of trying to tackle me.” Rooster nodded over to the plate of cheesy garlic bread on the kitchen island next to Javy, who was staring intently at his tablet. “Dinner will be ready in fifteen, folks. I just need the hot sauce to really marry into the other flavours.”

Javy rolled his eyes as Abby hopped up on the stool next to him and snagged one of the gooey golden appetizers off the plate. “Yes, chef,” he mockingly saluted, covering Abby’s eyes playfully when Rooster flipped him off.

“I can always grab an MRE from the basement if you’re gonna poke fun, Coyote.”

Javy’s whole body shook with the force of his shudder. “Nope. Never again. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Good plan.” Rooster winked at Abby as he turned back to the bubbling pot.

“What’re you working on, Uncle Javy?” Abby leaned against him, peering at the x’s and o’s that decorated his screen.

“Just trying to figure out a new play for the season, girlie,” he tilted the screen towards her so she could see the dotted lines between the x’s and o’s. “What do you think? Should I have our running back go here?” He pointed at a spot on the screen. “Or here?”

Abby gulped. Charlie hadn’t mentioned anything about football in their preparations. Abby didn’t know anything about American football, only European football. She knew that Uncle Bob wasn’t a big fan, and that Auntie Nat used to enjoy playing football with Dagger Squad before she was medically retired.

“Oh, I don’t know…” she murmured, refusing to meet Javy’s eyes.

“You…you don’t know? You, Charlotte Seresin, don’t know what I should do with my running back? Rooster, you hearing this?”

“I’m hearing it but not believing it.”

“What did they do to you at that camp, girlie?” Javy rubbed his knuckles over her hair. “Steal your brain?”

She grinned weakly. “Sorry, Uncle Javy. I guess I’m just tired. It was an excruciatingly long flight from New York to Texas.”

“Excruciatingly?” Javy stared at her. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m calling Penny and demanding your brain back. Since when do you use the word excruciatingly?”

Abby felt her cheeks flush as she opened her mouth to try to salvage the situation, but someone beat her to it.

“Upset that she knows how to use big words, Coyote?” Jake strolled into the kitchen, snagging a piece of garlic bread and kissing her on the head in one fell swoop as his other hand finished tugging on his white t-shirt. “Just because my girl has a better vocabulary than you…”

“Oh, okay. Remind me who did better in Mrs. Stewart’s grade 12 English class? Hmm? What was that? Oh right, I did.”

Rooster snorted as he stirred the chili. “Oh, here we go.”

“Yeah, and who was it that helped you write that final essay? Was it me? Because I distinctly remember it being me.”

“Only after I came up with the idea.”

“Right, just like you came up with the idea for the play against St. Mary’s, but I’m the one who executed it perfectly. Who got the credit for that win again? Hmm?”

“We both did, you dummy.”

“Okay, and what about the evasive maneuvers we came up with at Top Gun? What’re they called again? Oh yeah, The Hangman Maneuver!”

“They should’ve been called the Coyote Maneuver!”

“Oh screw that, it should’ve been called the Rooster Maneuver!”

As Rooster clicked the stove off and turned to join the argument, Abby felt a warmth as familiar as her home in London wash over her like a cool breeze on a warm day. This was home, just as much as her home in London with her mum and aunt and uncle. She belonged here, just as much as she belonged in London. This felt right.

Tags List: @mamachasesmayhem @jessicab1991 @waltermis @buckysteveloki-me @allepaula @yuckosworld @seresinsbrat @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @kim-stark @cierra715 @high-speed-r @helpmepleasethanks @starsrfun @tomanyfandomstrash @averyhotchner @the-blueatlas @princessliz86 @dashes-dizzydisaster @a-girl-who-loves-disney @boiolay @djs8891 @torimcc @tgmreader @kmc1989 @landpiranha-blog @sydthekid1518 @lynnevanss @hello7442 @mackenzieblair @minejungwoo @starset21 @ssa-sadboi @tgmavericklover @dempy @rockbottomphilosophies-blog @lovemarvelousfics @starkleila @magical-spit @whatislovevavy @simplyreading96 @vivalas-vega @itsdesiree86 @inky-sun @books-are-escapes @abaker74

#jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #parent trap au #glen powell #as you wish fic #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman fic #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman imagine

[waitmyturtles]

GMMTV 2024 Part 2, let's go

I've had my MULTIPLE cawfees and I'm watching the GMMTV Part 2 trailers. @my-rose-tinted-glasses, this one's for you!

TL;DR what I'm excited for: Ossan's Love with trepidation; Revamp: The Undead, I'm first in line; The Ex-Morning with open arms; Us, once we have a better sense of the screenplay; Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, drop it like it's hot, Mark; Thame-Po, boys look gewd

****

1) Ossan's Love: THE KEY WORDS BEING "INSPIRED BY"

If I take away the inclination to do any sort of comparisons to the Japanese version whatsoever ("INSPIRED BY"), I'm thrilled that EarthMix get to do romcom. Earth at this level of baka is utterly unbelievable to me, you are too smokin' hot, boy, but try to bring it, because if you do, and it's a success, then I'll be fucking really impressed.

2) Leap Day: Looks scary. Gun!

3) The Heart Killers: ...

Man. Man! First in muscle shirts and an earring, kisses pushed up against walls, etc. Where have we seen this before. Lemme guess, they all get together in the end. I would like to force myself to be excited about this somehow, Jojo on 10 Things, but. I haven't been there with JoongDunk yet, either, so actually, they seemed kinda refreshing against the FK vibes, ha. Anyway, this reignited my OF burnout, which I'm honestly trying to ignore as I get close to re-watching The Eclipse for my Old GMMTV Challenge project. @my-rose-tinted-glasses, my trust issues switch is flipped to "on."

(Get Jojo away from ships, please. He had Tay kissing Joss and Mild in the same year AFTER Dark Blue Kiss. He fucking doesn't need to use ships.)

4) Friendshit Forever: no subs, seems intense, the gals are smokin', NEW AND BOUN?! Hate to say it, but even without knowing what this is exactly about, I'm intrigued? My Boun! New and Boun!

5) Perfect 10 Liners: They're letting New Siwaj do 30 episodes, folks. I have no predictions on this one, y'all will have to tell me if it's good. Perth is back with New Siwaj directing after 2018's Love By Chance. If they give Chimon a little comedy, I'll be happy. I asked for Junior again, but maybe I wasn't expecting him to go to school, but I will admit I like JuniorMark together, and if they get to helm 10 episodes as the center stars, then good for them! Maybe that'll be the bit of this series that I watch.

6) Us: I believe in this screenplay more than how 23.5 is working out. I think Fon Kanittha needs more stuff on her plate to play around with to make a great show. This trailer was great. I'm watching My Precious the Series now (after having watched the movie this past weekend, which I was disappointed by -- the series is MUCH better, and going better than 23.5), and I'm seeing that Fon does stuff very well, background community building that gives us macro- and micro-level understandings of her characters. If those levels are Sing Harit, I'm here for it, that was an unexpected appearance, but if he's recalling the strength he brought to Todd in Not Me, then I'm a happy camper.

7) Hide and Sis: I love Piploy. Wednesday Club was a total holiday trash watch for me last year, but I loved her a lot. Looks like they're promoting this as a multi-generational show with known older actors, the approach of which I like. Everyone hates each other and maybe tries to kill each other; Keeping Up With the Thai Kardashians, maybe? Surprise, Gawin's a cop. Chimon as murderer, I'll support that.

8) Thame-Po: This looks cute. I'll consider a pre-order! Separately, I happen to adore cute Lego from LYKN, so good on those dudes for getting a show, and I like that William is pushing his boundaries outside of music.

9) Break-Up Service: I am happy that Off has gotten this kind of sneaky love romcom (?) role.

10) Revamp: The Undead: I'm here for it. I'm so happy for BounPrem. I'm happy to see some strong support dudes in Kay and Mark in this project. I haven't watched My Only 12%, so I don't know from Santa, but I know a lot of friends love him. I am totally seated. GMMTV is really the BL Machine, huh, absorbing this project.

11) Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist: Do not get me wrong, I am very excited about this; I am just wondering if Baby Ohm needs a little workshopping to get more diversity in his expressions. But I am very excited, Mark looks SO DOWN and ready to lead. View! Jimmy! I'm good with this.

12) The Dark Dice: High School Squid Game, I can't

13) The Ex-Morning: I gotta admit. This kind of moment is one of the reasons why I'm so happy doing the OGMMTVC. The big-ass smile I had on my face seeing KristSingto again, even though I really wasn't the biggest fan of SOTUS -- I've done a whole accountability turn on Krist after seeing him in Be My Favorite, and I appreciate that this show will go meta on the KristSingto background. It fucking sucks that Shadow sucked, because Singto is such a good actor, just seems like his scripts are here and there lately, but anyway. Aof Noppharnach writing this? Last Twilight ended cringe, but I'm still an Aof girlie, so I am 100% excited for this.

14) Scarlet Heart Thailand: That wasn't really a trailer, but considering the reputation the base story has in Asia and globally, I like, business-wise, what this means for GMMTV, a historical that will have appeal to multiple generations. I understand the original novel for this, Bu Bu Jing Xin, isn't translated into English, and that's a bummer, because it seems like this Thai version, which has already been dramatized in China and Korea, is based squarely on the novel. Fuck Win. These were the kinds of shows I loved as a kid when I watched Asian shows with my folks, so I have to admit that I'm intrigued, but I would have liked to see a meatier trailer.

That's it!

#gmmtv part 2 #scarlet heart thailand #the ex-morning #the dark dice #sweet tooth good dentist #revamp the undead #break-up service #us the series #thame po #hide and sis #perfect 10 liners #friendshit forever #leap day the series #ossan's love japan #i am not tagging that jojo show for my damn safety #y'all will have to tell me if that show is worth watching

[tinybro]

thinking about jasico feat. that soulmate tattoo sleeve concept i posted about literally six years ago now, this got so long i'm just putting it all under a readmore to save y'all from having to scroll through it

the tattoos appear bit by bit in real time as someone's soulmate grows up and develop as a person, which means shit's wild when jasico-flavored. nico and bianca both grow up never developing any tattoos the whole time they're living in italy – bianca because she was fated to die young, and nico because jason's decades away from being born. it's not initially odd since people have relationships with age gaps, but the older they get without anything showing up at all the rougher it gets. they both get teased about being forever alone, or future cradle-robbers whose soulmates haven't even been born yet. it's part of why they were so close growing up. but then nico's develops rapidly towards the end of their stay in the lotus hotel, and by the time they get out of the haze of it he's suddenly got a partial sleeve.

bianca can't help but be quietly resentful. she knows it's not his fault, but she's just a kid herself, and they were in this boat together their whole lives and then suddenly her little brother has someone out there and she still doesn't. it becomes part of why she jumps on the chance to join hunters of artemis, eager for some space and rationalizing to herself that becoming immortal would mean she wouldn't be way older than her future soulmate.

meanwhile nico was distracted from bianca's frustration by the excitement of his new tattoo. it means he does have someone out there, someone close to his own age, and he obsessively studies his tattoo's imagery trying to see if it could be linked to anyone he meets. he gets his hopes up meeting percy, but they're dashed pretty quickly – his tattoo is all stormy skies and wolves and eagles, and try as he might he can't justify any of it as being related to percy. it's even more obvious much later when he finally gets a chance to see annabeth's arm and it's so clearly percy-themed. for a while he confusedly wonders if the lightning on his arm could be tied to thalia, and the thought of it is a little suffocating even if it should feel good to know he's "normal". but none of the rest of his tattoo seems to match her, thankfully, and she doesn't have a sleeve at all pointing to him either. for a long time, he figures his tattoos must be the frustratingly metaphorical kind and dismisses the obvious zeus connection.

jason, however, has a fairly developed partial sleeve of tattoos from the moment he's born. it's a little weird that it never changes at all – nico's development as a person is pretty much frozen in the lotus hotel – but jason spends his early years comparing the imagery to all the older campers, curious but never quite managing to link anyone to it. he knows right away that reyna couldn't be his soulmate, because they're the same age and whoever his soulmate is has to be at least 5-10 years older than him. he's still the popular golden boy of new rome, so he of course has other kids crushing on him that try to see themselves in his tattoos. the boldest ones try to claim a connection directly, but he can always shoot them down easily knowing the ages don't line up. and then when he's around 12, his forever-unchanged tattoo suddenly develops rapidly out of nowhere. images of some kind of playing cards appear in it, as nico discovers mythomagic soon after leaving the lotus hotel. ocean waves show up one day only to turn black a few days later. a silver arrow sneaks in soon after. then the imagery starts getting macabre pretty quickly – skulls and bones and graves take over most of it.

nico has an idea of what's up before he even meets jason – from the moment he's told about new rome and lupa and hears they have a son of jupiter, a lot of things feel very obvious. but he's still fighting all that internalized homophobia and feeling the fallout of his doomed crush on percy, so he keeps his mouth shut. he always wears his jacket anyway, and makes sure to wear long sleeves when it's too hot for the jacket. he keeps his tattoos hidden away, and no one's really close enough to ask about it besides hazel, who can tell it's sensitive and so doesn't pry.

but jason remains oblivious for a good while. the newer imagery on his arm has obvious pluto/hades vibes, but hazel or nico are both clearly too young for his false estimate of how old his soulmate would be. he doesn't hear about the lotus hotel shit until he's on the argo ii hearing stories from percy, and that's when he finally starts wondering.

#jasico #pjo #my dumb headcanons #aesthetic soulmarks AU

[supercutszns]

Hello hola bonjour olá 💕✨ something came to mind…!

Sally and Poseidon fell in love 5-7 years before Percy and had Reader, but for fear of Zeus and Hades finding out, he rarely saw her. Years later they meet again and he explains what happened. They stay together and well... Percy happens, leaving Poseidon no choice but to leave completely. Sally married Gabe, but he wouldn't be able to cover up their smell with two poseidon children, leaving her no choice but to send her daughter to camp, even though she was very young. And that's when, years later, PERCY goes to camp (their mother “dies” and all), Luke introduces him to his girlfriend!reader, one of the oldest campers, but not claimed… They have a conection (strong brothers), bur they don't know each other bc Percy never knew he had a sister and the reader didn't know the name of her unborn brother. On the day Percy is claimed at the Capture The Flag, maybe she ends being too and everyone be like “wtf?????????” This leaves her in a state of shock and very sad/upset, because well... She's been ignored her whole life, right... And Luke being the most cute and best boyfriend at the final, but that’s about the poseidon brothers lmao

Sorry, I had to get that out of me and it reminded me of your story about “Luke x Poseidon! reader”, where she is claimed along with Percy and I don't know, I felt like I wanted to share this long monologue here 🫶😔

I know there are a lot of holes, I thought about it for like 5 minutes while I was washing the dishes. Sorry, not sorry 🤭✨

AHH THIS IS SO CUTE my little posally heart would not have been able to handle this at 13. like him already having one kid with sally and coming back anyways…UGH

i’m a sucker for sibling angst luke introducing percy to his girlfriend and them feeling an instant connection without knowing why. luke remarking their eyes are similar. reader not realizing her mother is technically dead. then getting claimed together at the same time and they’re flabbergasted and confused reader does not know what to do with herself. she’s freaking out because where did she ACTUALLY come from?? spiralling bad until luke brings her back and is just like “maybe you should just talk to him”

so she does and they piece together an approximation of their history because they think they’re full siblings but how can they be sure when they can no longer ask their mother? thankfully when sally’s returned to them she’s in tears when she realizes percy has found his older sister and takes her back in instantly <33 this story would’ve made me bawl my eyes out

#perrie’s asks #perrie prattles

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

New-Ish ocs

Eve Dearly ( OUAT ) – Henry's twin sister, was adopted before Regina could get both babies, ran away from home and wound up in Storybrooke, the only person other than Henry to age or to realize that time is passing, adopted by Angel Dearly

Gabriel Whittaker / Klaus White ( OUAT ) – Snow's twin brother, Regina tried to have him killed in the Enchanted Forest and he's believed dead but he survived, lost his memories but is sure that if he can just meet Snow, it'll all make sense

Taken in by the Dumas family (Angel Dearly in the Enchanted Forest) and still lives with them in Storybrooke

Ginevra Maroni ( Gotham / The Batman ); x Bruce Wayne – Sal Maroni's daughter, looking to topple her father's criminal empire but has a very specific plan in mind and buts heads with Bruce over how to handle it

Helena Jackson ( PJO, TV verse )

Kirsi Tremblay ( PJO, TV verse ) – unclaimed camper of 5 years, originally from Quebec, sibling dynamic with Luke, unofficial co-counsellor of the Hermes cabin

Livana Gold / Amaris Pan ( OUAT ) – Peter Pan's daughter with a witch from Oz, she wants a child for bloodline magic & Peter basically wanted this child because he thinks if he sacrifices a child's heart from his own bloodline it will extend his own immortality, her mother found out about Peter's plans and went to Rumpelstiltskin for help, they make a deal for a protective charm in exchange for the child's name, the charm is designed that if she's ever in danger it'll bring her to him so he's raising her in Storybrooke, she ages at the same pace as Henry thanks to the charm

Malia Constantine ( Titans ) – bisexual british witch bitch, youngest member of the original Titans, didn't handle the group splitting up well and went a bit off the rails, now running cons to alleviate her boredom

Maristela Carrillo ( Harry Potter ); x Blaise Zabini & Theodore Nott – Slytherin Queen, knows what she wants and is not afraid to take it, stuck in the longest game of romantic chicken in the world with Blaise and Theodore

Michelle Beaton ( Gossip Girl ); x Blair Waldorf – Catherine Beaton's daughter (with Bart Bass, he doesn't know that), goes to the Hamptons with her mom and ends up in New York, Blair enemies to lovers

Veronica Bacall ( OUAT ) – Jessica Rabbit

Zoe Giardi ( Glee ); x Mike Chang – Kendra (Del Monico) Giardi's eldest child, cheerio, not part of the Unholy Trinity but friends with them, interested in trying out for Glee but her mom would hate it (so she convinces her mom that she should join to make sure Uncle Will isn't having an affair), Quinn would hate it (so she convinces Quinn that not only should she join but so should the Unholy Trinity so they can keep an eye on Finchel), and Sue would hate it (so she convinces Sue that the four cheerios should be her spies), but honestly she just wants to vibe

The Witching Hour ( Teen Wolf ) – extensive supernatural/hunter family verse, characters are still being named but currently have 16 characters cast

Originally part of the Calaveras, one man saw a young witch girl about to die in a witch burning, killed everyone who was part of it and then adopted her More defectors joined, not all related but consider themselves a family Hunt monsters, not the supernatural (would hunt Deucalion or Peter, would also hunt Kate & Gerard), take in kids whose families were lost to the supernatural world (supernatural kids whose families were killed by hunters, also hunters whose parents were killed by supernatural creatures, also kids who aren’t either but whose parents died in the crossfire) Travel wherever they’re needed but home base is in Argentina

Unnamed OUAT ocs:

also, recent-ish plot bunnies so I don't lose them all:

Mimi Morton (Glee)

Sutton Reeves (Glee)

Tracy Sinclair (Stranger Things)

Azaria Lynn (Twilight)

Coralie "Cori" Parks (PJO)

[more to come]

#maddie talks #new oc #new idea #eve blanchard #gabriel whittaker #klaus white #ginevra maroni #helena jackson #helena jackson (tv) #kirsi tremblay #livana gold #amaris pan #maristella carrillo #malia constantine #michelle beaton #veronica bacall #zoe giardi #the witching hour #my ocs #ouat oc #once upon a time oc #dc oc #the batman oc #titans oc #percy jackson oc #harry potter oc #gossip girl oc #teen wolf oc #glee oc

[bennydwight]

TGAMM Observations, Theories, Headcanons Pre Season 2

Long post!

1.      Scratch never tells Molly his name in episode one (there’s a theory on this that his name was divulged to her as part of the curse, since it also gave her the ability to summon him with his name)

2.      In ‘The (Un)natural’, Bartholomew can be seen writing in a cutaway scene, a diary entry saying “Dear diary, I had the strangest dream last night”

3.      In the same cutaway scene, we can see the McGees moved into the house June 2

4.      Other entries in Scratch’s scare report read:

·        06/01 Pizza Steve (I get him every time!)

·        06/08 Kid with Umbrella (Transformed into umbrella. Classic Rainy Day scare)

·        06/15 Wilderscouts (Used Howlin’ Harriet story to scare campers)

5.      In the beginning of Howlin’ Harriet, there’s a brief moment where Scratch puts his hand to his chin, deep in thought. Geoff notices and, a beat later, copies the position

6.      Weird amount of Canada references. Cousin Carl from Canada, Cousin Milly from Canada, in The Lucky Penny there’s a crashed car with a Canadian sticker on the window. When Molly is looking up a Bat Mitzvah there’s a recommended video about ghost hauntings in Toronto (it has four views and was posted eight years ago). The very last moving box in Out of House And Home has a shipping sticker that says Toronto. I’d be tempted to say that’s the last place the McGees moved from if not for Molly knowing nothing of Canada. The syrup bottle in Citizen McGee has a maple leaf on it. I’d be offended at the stereotypes if I weren’t so jazzed for the representation

7.      Despite claiming to be touch adverse, Scratch can be seen instigating physical contact even as soon as First Day Frights, where he puts his arm around Molly and pokes her nose. The touching gets more affectionate as the season goes on, but even at the end of Friend-Off (where he’s arguably ‘known’ Libby less than two days and has been fighting with her for most of that time) he initiates and seems comfortable with friendly contact

8.      Scratch first admits he may be ‘McGee adjacent’ in The Greatest Concert Ever, but (as far as I know) there isn’t a solid moment where he embraces the McGee name fully. It just kinda pops up later on

9.      Scratch is already calling Nin ‘Grandma Nin’ by the end of The Curse (which isn’t groundbreaking, I just think it’s a cute detail that he already calls her grandma)

10.   In The Best Of Nin-tentions he also calls Sharon ‘mom’, but I’m not sure whether that’s because he just does now, or because he was using Molly’s words

11.   The gravestones in Andrea’s film set in Hooray for Mollywood read ‘Howlin’ Harriet’, ‘Howlin’ Harriet’s Toes’, and ‘SK’. I wonder if the last one might be Scratch’s, but that’s just a theory seeing as how we don’t know his surname

12.   Scratch was alive sometime before the invention of the internet (a safe assumption) and after the invention of colour tv. Possibly died in the 70s-80s era?

13.   If the Ghost World doesn’t get anything until after it’s dead, how come they have mochas? Or clubs? Also Scratch is shown with a smartphone at least once in Scarin’ is Carin’

14.   Scratch may also have some variation of size-manipulation power, seeing as there’s a functional pizza box with a to-scale pizza laying around his dollhouse. Maybe it’s just a way he creatively uses curses idk

15.   The. The medical bill in Out Of House And Home guys. It’s just. Look at it. Friggin. Z Ray (x2). Minus $0.49 for insurance. The epitome of America’s medical system. Would be funny if it weren’t so true

16.   Also, hard to see the date on there, but I think it’s 05/14/21 if you’re looking for a timeline. Seeing as we’ve had a Christmas episode, this would probably mean the McGees moved in June 2, 2020

17.   Historically, the larger Scratch gets, the less stable his form is. Might just be for scary effect, but might also be a mass-displacement or concentration thing

18.   But he has no trouble maintaining consistency when he shrinks, so maybe all ghosts just have a maximum comfortable size

19.   Some aspects of transformation appear to be instinctive and subconscious, linked to a ghost’s moods, instead of all shape changes being intentional (most clearly seen in The (Un)natural)

20.   The repossession notice in Out Of House And Home is in Sharon’s name, and I admittedly don’t know a lot about mortgages, but does that mean the house is in her name? Isn’t Pete the primary breadwinner in the beginning of the show?

21.   The McGees have a ricecooker in their kitchen! I thought that was a cool detail

22.   The home purchase agreement is a little hard to read in Home is Where the Haunt Is, but it says “I, [blank], agree to buy the property at [address, I can’t read it] even if it is [a tiny bit haunted]. This contract is legally binding and Candace Green cannot be liable for anything”. Candace absolutely knew about Scratch before he revealed himself

23.   Molly has type A blood, but whether it’s negative or positive isn’t specified (hello, blood poisoning). Also, flyers in the background promote Debate club, which implies she’d donating at school. As USA blood donation requires most donors to be a minimum of 16 years old (with parental consent) or 110 lbs, we can conclude that the school is illegally harvesting blood from the student body

24.   Why do they… why do they draw Scratch’s butt like that

25.   Libby’s left handed!

26.   The cart stunt at the beginning of No Good Deed is referenced in Darryl’s file as ‘Incident 314’

27.   Scratch doesn’t cast a shadow

28.   I don’t know why, but there’s a red sticker that shows up in the school a lot, especially around the lockers, and it just says ‘Souffle’

29.   Apparently Scratch has shared custody of Molly’s phone

30.   Who did the subtitles on DisneyPlus I just wanna talk

Feel free to add on/expand/debate if you feel the desire! I’m mostly just putting these here so they’ll stop swimming around in my head

#the ghost and molly mcgee #tgamm #just ranting #i might add onto these later #i really like reading the background stuff because the artists put a lot of little jokes into it

[theflyingfeeling]

#(today i was distracted by this way too elaborate olli/allu + olli/tommi + allu/joonas murder mysteryAU set in the early 50s i came up with#(which you are welcome to ask more about btw)

oh????? 👀👀 please do tell some details about it if you want to? i'm very interested 👀👀👀👀👀👀

have an amazing day 💖💕

Yes yes yesssss!! 😌 But before I proceed, a couple of disclaimers: 1) the summary below is gonna contain referenced murder and sexual assault (NOT by any of the main characters though and nothing is described too graphically/explicitly), 2) it's rather vague in parts and I'm yet to figure out some of the details, and 3) I'm not planning on ever writing any of this, in fact I think it'd work better as maybe a TV series? I don't know. I for one don't have the skills (or patience) to actually write this (...plus I'm actually terrified by this whole thing myself ngl 😅). I hope you enjoy it though! As much as one can enjoy a murder mystery... 😥

First I'm gonna have to explain what inspired this. I learned today that last week it was the 70th anniversary of one of Finland's most famous cases of unsolved homicide, the murder of Kyllikki Saari. The link will take you to the Wikipedia page of the case (in English), but to summarize it (skip the rest of this bullet point if you don't want to hear about stuff like this!!), a 17-year-old girl was murdered on his way home from a religious gathering and 5 months later her remains were found buried in a bog. To this day, no-one knows who's behind the murder; there have been a couple key suspects, but no clear evidence to prove anything for sure. There's also nothing that would directly prove it was a sexual crime, although it can't be ruled out, since the victim was not wearing any clothes on the bottom half of her body and her other breast was out of her blouse when they found her. Now PLEASE don't take me for some weirdo and think I'm somehow fascinated by the case or think it's cool: I'm creeped out as fuck about this tbh, but ever since I first heard about the case, it's been haunting me a bit. Not daily obviously, but every now and then something reminds me of it. In the late 50s - early 60s there were also two other equally famous, unsolved murder cases in Finland: the double murder of Tulilahti (two young women killed on their bicycle/camping trip, also buried in a bog + a number of other similarities with the case described above) and the Lake Bodom murders (three campers killed inside their tent, one camper in the group survived but suffered injuries that caused memory loss; the link will lead you to Wikipedia). This idea of mine is probably most inspired by the Tulilahti case, but only vaguely.

- So based off the cases I described briefly above, I'm basing this story in rural/countryside Finland in the 1950s or the 1960s (sorry for any possible historical accuracies that may occur 😅) - The story begins with Olli and Aleksi, two friends who want to... explore each other, themselves, and their sexualities, if you get what I mean 😏 They're not boyfriends per se, but they do enjoy each other's company maybe a little more than is appropriate for friends of the same sex (in the context of the 1950s/60s). Of course, this all has to happen in secrecy, and so they seek out secluded places for this purpose - One day they decide to go for a swim in a pond they had found deep in the forest. I know this story is full of plotholes lol but let's imagine it used to be a popular swimming place for kids and that an old, wooden changing room has remained there from those times. I don't know if such things existed in the 50s already, but please humour me a little and imagine a simple wooden hut with two rooms in which to change into your swimwear, yeah? (one for boys, one for girls) - So they go for a swim and have all sorts of fun in the water, and as the sun's about to set (as much as the sun ever sets in Finland in the summer), they head back to the hut. They should be changing back into their normal clothes, as soon it's gonna be too dark for them to easily find their way out of the forest, but they get a bit carried away... 💞 - In the middle of their fooling around, they hear noises from somewhere by the pond. Two people talking in the distance, footsteps, etc. They can't recognize either of the voices from that far. - (plotholes plotholes plotholessssss) - After a while of listening to the noises in terrified silence (afraid of getting caught by whoever's out there), they hear screaming. - There are noises of fighting/struggling. The screams start coming closer to the hut. - The person (a woman, they can tell) is still screaming in terror when she's pushed to the other booth (the one next to Olli and Aleksi) - Then the screams are first muffled, then weakened, until they stop altogether. - Sounds of something being dragged. A man grunting. Steps around the (windowless) hut. Olli and Aleksi are paralyzed with terror and don't dare to even breathe. They stay the night at the hut, awake and trembling until the morning, not daring to sneak out until they're finally sure no one's around anymore and return home. - They find an item on the path from the lake. A watch maybe, I haven't decided yet. They can't remember seeing it before, but of course that doesn't mean it wasn't there already when they arrived. In any case, one of them picks it up and takes it with them. Just in case.

- I'm not sure what either of them do for a living in this AU, but I'm imagining Olli working at some kinda office (at the town hall maybe? I don't knooooooow) and Aleksi maybe as a farmhand with Joonas as his roommate (both details crucial to the plot) - They swear to each other to not talk about what they had heard in the forest to any other living soul, but when Olli returns to his office job the next day and hears that one of his co-workers (a woman around his age, more an acquaintance and a co-worker than a friend) has not showed up for her workshift, Olli gets a bad feeling. - Olli mentions this to Aleksi and says that they should go talk to the police about what happened, but Aleksi forbids him, as he's afraid they might get in trouble, not necessarily because they might be key witnesses to an alleged murder, but because of what they were up to at the time. - "What are you gonna tell them when they ask you what we were doing there, huh?!" - They have a proper quarrel about it and depart on bad terms :( - Obviously the case is bothering them both; even though Aleksi tells Olli to forget about the whole thing and act as if nothing has happened (between them nor in the forest), he has nightmares about the incident. He hears the screams of terror in his dreams and wakes up with a gasp (only to find out the screams had been just a seagull screaming outside at sunrise), which rouses Joonas' curiosity - Cue a side-plot of Aleksi and Joonas lending each other a helping hand/mouth to let off some steam before/after their farmwork (maybe Aleksi tells him he's just stressed about idk??, while Joonas has trouble coping with surpressing his sexuality, which obviously reflects on their thing). I'm not yet sure what's the purpose of this side plot, other than to give Aleksi (and Joonas) something to do during his fall-out with Olli

- Speaking of which, meanwhile Olli remembers that his old schoolmate / childhood friend Tommi works as a police officer in town these days. Olli can't handle keeping the secret to himself anymore, and without Aleksi around to stop him, he decides he can trust Tommi with it, without fearing what he might think if/when Olli needs to spill the truth about why he had been in the forest - Indeed, Tommi is curious to hear why (you know, for the purposes of the investigation), and Olli doesn't explicitly tell him, but rather... implies it. Not saying the words, but it doesn't take a genius to understand what he means - Tommi understands. He undertands perfectly well, in fact - Olli refuses to tell who the other key witness is, but agrees to help Tommi with the investigation as much as he can, if Tommi in turn promises to keep his little secret - Tommi is so into the case that he uses his free time on it as well, and he invites Olli to help him out at his house one evening (he still lives at his parent's farmhouse). - ...which means they have to be extra quiet when making passionate love to each other in Tommi's room 🥺💕 - Usually Olli manages to sneak out at night, but one time he accidentally falls asleep and doesn't wake up until there's a knock on the door - Tommi gestures Olli to stay in the bed and be quiet while he goes to get the door. - There's a man, asking if Tommi borrowed his watch again (he hasn't). Olli recognizes the voice. - When the man's gone, Olli asks Tommi who it was. Tommi's brother. (much older than Tommi and lives out of town, so Olli never knew him - Olli can't wait to get out of the house 💀 - He practically runs to Aleksi to tell him about his discovery, and accidentally spills the whole thing to Joonas too (he didn't notice Joonas was in the room as well (nor does he pay attention to the fact he's half-naked on Aleksi's bed)

Aaaaaaand that's what I have so far 😬 I'm not sure if the plot makes any sense (for example, I have no idea what Joonas' actual role in this is), nor have I given much thought to the motive of the murder (secret lovers who got in a quarrel that was taken too far? a random lunatic losing his temper with a girl who rejected her? I don't knoooooow) or any details as to how the victim and the offender ended up at Olli and Aleksi's hideout (without noticing they weren't the only ones there at the time). I also have no idea how this all will be resolved. Will Aleksi eventually be ready to give his witness's report as well? Will Olli be able to tell Tommi who he thinks is the murderer and show him the watch they had found? What will happen to Aleksi and Olli if they have to publicly confirm they had heard the murder because they had been doing something illegal themselves in the next room? Will the body of the victim be found? I don't know 🤷‍♀️

Also, I'm sorry Joel and Niko are not in this, I just couldn't imagine them with in the 50s/60s setting with their long hair 😂

#long text alert woops #please don't think i'm a creep 😭 #also maybe don't read this late at night if you get scared easily 😅💀 #i had to keep the tv on while writing this as to not become too scared myself 😭 #next i'm gonna go to bed to think about my cute and fluffy olli/allu beach fic as to not have nightmares tonight 🥲 #blind channel rpf

[trillian-anders]

there's no shame (in running) - 1/3

pairing: eddie munson x reader

warnings: descriptive violence, angst, fluff, eventual smut, slow burn

spoilers for season four, incl. vol 2. loosely follows canon.

word count: 6806

description: you'd missed him. eddie munson. best friend for one summer and one summer only. you were fairly certain you'd never talk to him again until he shows up at your place of work and tells you something truly strange.

note: wow an actual post after being absent for a year and a half, what can i say? i actually refuse to acknowledge what very well may be poor writing or set up for season 5. i'm grieving, so i had to write. missed you guys.

Summer, 1978

Hawkins, Indiana. There wasn’t much to it. Not from what you’d seen from the back of your parent’s Oldsmobile. From the beginning of town to your new home was only a few minutes.  You’d passed one large building, City Hall. Local grocer, a hardware store, few schools. 

“Boring.” You muttered. The window fogged with your breath as you leaned your head against the glass. The car rattled along with the hitched camper your parents stuffed to the gills with all of your belongings. 

“You need to be a little more optimistic pumpkin.” Your Dad certainly was an optimist. Cheerful to a fault even. It was his new job that had brought you here in the first place. A promotion he said. Military man. Very serious to others, and in some ways you. The standard in which you were to keep your room. Your personal hygiene. All of it was very important. But he was a softie. Wrapped around your finger, your Mom would bemoan often. “You get to reinvent yourself here,” He took a small turn, “Make new friends, practice some new hobbies, maybe join a club.” 

Yeah, maybe. 

But you already missed your friends from New York. Allen and Grace. You had cried on your front lawn, in a group hug, promising to call. Promising to write. 

Your Parents were “trying it out.” Being back together. A temporary separation from your Mother being aggravated with your Dad switching bases every few months. But now that he’s retired from the military, it’s different. He’s home more. They seem happy. 

You hoped it would work this time. 

The new house was a lot different than your apartment before. That caused a little excitement. 

“Here we are.” Your Mom shifted in her seat, the drive was long, uncomfortable. Your Dad pushed, 

“We’ve got to make good time.” But your Mom figured he had just wanted a few days of relaxing before he started work, so you didn’t really stop anywhere. Your legs were stiff. Not even sure if you could move them anymore. 

The car rocked up beside the house and shuddered to a stop as the ignition was killed. 

It was something called a rancher. Three bedrooms, enough space for you, your parents, and what your Dad was most excited about, a home office. The kitchen had ‘bar seating’ and had a formal dining room, something your Mother had been very adamant about. Not that you thought it mattered. Jogging around your Father opened your door and your Mother’s door at the same time. 

“Alright ladies, go get settled,” A kiss to your forehead as you exited the car, “I’ll grab what’s in the trunk.” 

Your Mom was a beautiful woman. You’d thought so anyway, even if she didn’t. You’d seen how she looked at herself in the mirror, tugging at the skin around her eyes, turning to the side and sucking in her stomach. She was not as optimistic as your Dad. She watched a lot of news. It seemed to always be on. Whether it was on the radio or on tv. 

“No better than the tabloids,” Your Father would rant. The ‘turn that shit off’ was silent...sometimes.

She was worried. A lot. About the course of the country. About what was going on in the neighborhood. About her weight. 

About yours. 

The fridge was constantly full of whatever new diet food was out, and any fad diet she could get her hands on she would constantly try. A little jab here, a little nag there, “Honey I really don’t think you should have another snack today.”

“Sweetie, I really think you need to make a better choice.”

“Love, I really think you can wait until dinner.” 

Always. 

But Dad was sneaky. Before. When he would visit or have you for the week you’d get whatever you wanted. If you wanted to eat hot dogs in central park. He was on it. You wanted ice cream for breakfast. Anything you want. Whatever to make you happy. 

“She’s a kid.” One of the big arguments, “It doesn’t matter.”

The shag carpet shifts under your feet as you enter your new home for the first time. 

“A little musty,” Your Mother’s nose scrunches.

“Nothing we can’t fix with a little elbow grease.” A grin on your Dad’s face as he sets the first box down in the living room. Your Mom wasn’t impressed. 

They’d put you in a free summer program. 

“Something to keep you busy,” Your Mom said. 

“So you can make new friends.” Your Dad said. 

Both were kind of the truth. 

It was like summer camp. But in the gymnasium of Hawkins Middle School. They had activities out in the yard as well as in the gym depending on what you felt like doing. Craft tables, card games, painting, or you could swing outside and play soccer, football, volleyball. Problem with those is you’d need to find friends to play with. Or you’d need to join an existing friend group to play. And that was way too much pressure. 

So you were crafting. 

A girl with braces and hair larger than you’d ever seen was teaching you how to weave on a plastic loom the first time you’d seen him. 

He was shy. From what you could see. Buzz cut, big eyes. Too big for his face. A full mouth. He was painting something on the table. You couldn’t see what it was from your vantage point. But there was no one around him. You swallowed harshly, thinking about what your Dad had mentioned at dropoff. 

“I know it’s difficult.” He’d knelt before you. Car idling beside you, “I don’t expect you to be a social butterfly and come home having made a gaggle of friends and being super popular.” His hands were a comfort, rubbing your shoulders, “But try this.” A little miniature from his pocket. Your favorite. A little goblin you’d hand painted with him. For his game. 

Dungeons and Dragons. 

That’s what he told you it was called. A game he and his friends played. It was a game, he said, “Where you go on a grand adventure, save the world, and defeat the forces of evil.” You’d helped him plenty of times. Creating stories. 

“What if you had a monster with eight arms and one eye?” You’d offer. The grin he’d have, helping you sculpt it out of clay. He said it was good to bond over shared hobbies. Not just for parents and kids, but hobbies were how you made friends. “It’s always good to have something you like to do in common.”

“Try this,” The little goblin. Two oversized eyes, pot belly, and grin with yellowed teeth. “Keep Gargle in your pocket, and when you get nervous, hold it really tight and think of me. And when I get nervous on my first day of work,” Your little monster, one of the monsters you’d created for him, “I’ll hold Magna real tight and think of you.” 

The goblin felt rough in your pocket as you gripped it in your fist. Standing before the boy with the buzz cut. He was painting a box. Something small with a latch. 

“Hi.” Your voice shook. His eyes were bigger up close. His tongue reached out and licked his lips.

“Hi.” Just one friend. That’s all Dad wanted. Just one. 

“I’m Y/N.” His eyes looked down at the box, fiddling with it. The black paint is on his fingers now. Eyes back on you he speaks low. 

“I’m Eddie.” It comes out as a croak. It was kind of instant after that.

Your Dad was so proud. 

And Eddie became a constant at your home. Dinners, sleepovers (much to your Mother’s chagrin), riding bikes through Hawkins. You’d found out he lived with his uncle. Both parents are gone. 

“My Dad’s in jail.” He admitted. But didn’t tell you why. Just that he never wanted to see him again. Eddie was sweet. He was shy. And he did whatever you’d asked him to. 

He told you of his friends, his band Corroded Coffin they’d decided on. 

“I play guitar, obviously.” 

“Why is it obvious?”

“Oh well…” He thought it was the coolest instrument to play, that’s why it was obvious. With complete candor it was a relief. A relief to have met Eddie on the first day of your term at camp. You’d spent the whole summer believing he was the only friend you needed. And you really did everything together. 

From the minute you’d stepped foot into Hawkins Middle you’d be attached at the hip. If you wanted to paint, he’d paint, if you wanted to play cards, he’d play cards. And he’d agreed to making friendship bracelets without question. The braided string tightly wound around each of your wrists. 

“Look.” In your basement. The table was littered with miniatures, tiny goblins, ghouls, monsters you helped create. The light in his eyes. Bright as your Dad ran a mini campaign for the two of you. He’d gifted a copy of the guide and a set of dice to Eddie for his birthday that year. 

“Something to get you started.” The grin on your Father’s face was immense. 

It was the last good summer. You think. The last one. In a long time. 

The last time you felt like a kid. Truly. 

The summer before you lost a key part of yourself. 

It was the summer before your Dad died. 

When your Dad died, everything ended. Everything. 

When school started Eddie tried to include you in his friend group. He did. But they didn’t seem very receptive. As most 12 year old boys wouldn’t be interested in a girl joining the group. But Eddie insisted. Corroded coffin wasn’t having it. And neither was anyone else. 

Your Mom put you in cheer. Maybe that was the turning point. 

You didn’t know whose fault it was. Yours or Eddie’s. But you stopped talking. 

He didn’t even look at you. 

So you didn’t look at him. 

At first. 

You were hurt. Of course you were. You’d written notes. Countless notes from simple ‘How are you?’, ‘I miss you’, to ‘Why are you ignoring me?’.... ‘What did I do?.’

You never delivered them. They sat, much with everything else you had from your time with Eddie, in a black box with a small gold latch, collecting dust. The same box he’d been painting the first day you met. A gift. He’d handed it to you, blushing. Shy. A little figurine your Dad helped him craft inside, along with a drawing he’d done of your half elf ranger. A few rocks he thought you’d think were cool. And a few of his guitar picks. 

He grew more wild. The shy boy you once knew became more outlandish. He started a Dungeons & Dragons club at school. Yelled at jocks. Roughhoused in the halls.

You’d see him from time to time. 

Walking by you in the hall, your eyes would lock. Like a game of chicken seeing who would look away first. 

The friendship bracelets were gone. 

He’d replaced his with rings. Chains on his jeans. Torn jean jackets and patch jobs. His once rich brown hair box dyed a shaggy black.

“Good thing you stopped hanging around that boy.” Your Mom would spit. “Never liked him.” 

Eddie “the Freak” Munson.

A new nickname he wore proudly. Flipping off both staff and students at school. 

You knew he knew, when your Dad passed away. There was a period of time where he’d almost seem choked every time he saw you. And you were clearly not doing well. Your ass was a permanent fixture in the guidance counselor's office. Three days a week sometimes, not by choice. 

“You can talk to me, you know?” Is what she’d say, but you didn’t feel like talking. You hadn’t talked to anyone in a while. You’d see Eddie in the hall and refuse to meet his eyes. The brush of his jacket as you squeeze past. Maybe a brush of a finger. By accident only. A few weeks had gone by before he seemingly had the courage. After school. 

“Hey.” A cleared throat. His voice had gotten deeper but it was still cracking. You looked back at him and shut your locker, lifting your backpack onto your shoulder. 

“Hi.” His eyes seemed glassy, lips bitten red. His tongue darts out to wet them before speaking again. He’s rocking on his heels a bit. Nervous. 

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry… About your old man.” You felt your throat constrict. Like it did when anyone brought him up. You sniff and turn away. 

“It’s fine.” You wanted to leave. You had to catch the bus. There was a small huff behind you and he reached and grasped your arm. 

“Y/N, it’s not fine. I just–”

“Please let me go.” You turn to him with watery eyes. You needed to get out of there. You didn’t know you’d been waiting for him to come talk to you this whole time and now that it’s happening the emotions were overwhelming. His hand slowly releases. And he just lets you leave. 

You wish he hadn’t. Maybe if he had insisted you would have invited him over like before. He could stay with you while you cried. He could maybe help you with all of Dad’s stuff in the basement collecting dust. Untouched from his final campaign. 

Work Related Accident.

That’s what they told you. At Hawkins Lab. You didn’t know what that meant. Did he fall from somewhere high? Was it painful? Did he suffer? No details. It’s a government facility after all. And no matter what questions your Mom had asked, they were quickly hushed with a sum of money she wouldn’t disclose the sum of. 

With lack of income now your Mom was forced to join the workforce. She got a job at The Hideout, a local dive. Asleep when you were getting ready for school, and already gone when you got home. You’d spend most of your nights eating microwaved bagel bites in front of the tv. Scribbling out your homework and falling asleep by nine. 

And it would be years before you’d talk to Eddie again. 

Spring, 1986

The diner was quiet tonight. Somewhat of an annoyance, but also somewhat of a relief. No rowdy kids throwing french fries across the table. No spilled sodas. Milkshakes spewed out of their noses. It was just you and a trucker stopping in for something to eat before hitting the road once more. The news ambled on in the background. Quiet. 

One more hour until you could close it up for good. 

“Pour me one more cup, sweetheart.” Low and grumbly, “Then you can close me out.” The tink of the trucker’s fork against the now empty plate of pie. A glare of headlights hit the front of the diner and your heart sank, it was too late to want to do anything now. You looked behind you at the line cook. John. He’d already begun cleaning up. You topped the trucker’s coffee as the bell rang on the front door. And your heart stopped. 

“Eddie?” He was panicking. Wild eyed. You could see a sheen on his face. Clammy and pale. His knuckles gripped white on the counter. 

“Y/N.” His eyes drifted to the trucker who was now staring at him. He swallowed. Hard. “I need you–your help.” It was startling. And you thought you should be angry. You hadn’t spoken in almost six years. You didn’t even know that he knew you worked here. And now he needs your help? But the panic. The sweat. It gave you a chill. It made your stomach turn. Something was wrong. 

The trucker’s footsteps retreated on the gravel as you locked the door, flipping the open sign to closed. You noticed Eddie’s van, parked haphazardly by the dumpster, almost out of view entirely. You’d sat him in a booth, his hands gripping a cup of coffee he hasn’t taken a sip of. He’d closed the blinds around him. 

“I’m heading out.” A call from the back. 

“See you tomorrow John.” And the two of you were alone. It was then you saw how badly Eddie was shaking. Trembling. As you slipped into the booth he jumped, startled. Eyes drifting slowly from his hands up towards your face. His rings tapped against the mug. “Eddie–”

“I didn’t do it.” Quick, startling, “You have to believe me.” His hand shot out and gripped yours. He felt as clammy as he looked. “I didn’t–” He was crying. 

“Eddie,” You place your hand over his, leaning in. “I need you to calm down and tell me what happened.” His bottom lip trembled. 

“Chrissy…” Eyes rolling up to look at the ceiling. 

“Cunningham?” The cheerleader. She was a sophomore when you graduated. When Eddie was supposed to graduate the first time. You knew her. Vaguely. You had nothing against her. Not really. A sharp pain in your chest whenever you thought about her though. 

The talent show, 1980. 

You hadn’t planned on going. Not at first. But you’d seen Eddie sign Corroded Coffin up to play and you couldn’t help it. You’d wanted to see him play on stage before, never had the chance. You had felt so proud of him. It was the first time they’d performed for an audience. This was pre-Hideout days. Before they started performing regularly at your Mom’s job. 

You’d gone into the hall behind the auditorium. Working yourself up for it. You were going to talk to him. For the first time in a year. You were gonna do it. You had a reason to. To congratulate him on his performance. Let him know you saw it. Let him know how much better he’d gotten since strumming your Dad’s acoustic in your basement. Maybe you could be friends again. This was your in. 

Until you’d seen him with Chrissy. 

He liked her. You could tell. He really liked her. And you didn’t know why your chest hurt so badly. His hand rubbed against his freshly buzzed hair and she gripped her pom poms to her chest and grinned up at him in a way that made you sick. The way he looked at her, it made your stomach turn. Acidic, bubbling up your throat. Your chest was tight. He’d never looked at you that way. As the rest of the band stumbled out the door carrying equipment, Eddie soon dropped off to help them. Chrissy skipped away to join her friends. 

And you left. Without saying a word. 

You didn’t need him. 

“Chrissy Cunningham?” You asked again. His eyes. You’d never seen them so wide. 

“She’s…dead.” And he didn’t do it. He didn’t… The disbelief on your face. You could feel it. And he could sense the fear.

“Eddie–”

“I didn’t. Y/N, please.” You pulled your hands from his and he chased them, abandoning the coffee mug, gripping your right hand with both of his. “I know you’re not gonna believe me, but please. I didn’t do it. They’re gonna say I did it, but I didn’t.” You had to know he didn’t. Not Eddie. No way. He’d cried when he accidentally killed a ladybug. You had to have a funeral. A headstone made out of twigs. 

“What happened?” It was unbelievable. He was right. But you’d never seen him so scared before. And your gut had never been wrong. But her body, levitating? Bones snapping? Her eyes…

“I didn’t know where else to go.” And he came to you. You felt conflicted. But the timer was running out. “Wayne will be home in a few hours, he’ll find her and then they’ll be looking for me.” You had a choice to make. And you didn’t know what to do. Your eyes drifted back out towards his van. The tick of the clock behind you in silence before you decided,

“We’ve gotta ditch the van.” You tug your bottom lip between your teeth, looking back at his glassy and hopeful eyes. “C’mon.” 

Why were you doing this? The early hours of the morning greeted you, Eddie in the backseat under a blanket, van tucked away in the woods by Lovers Lake. There was mud on your shoes from the hike back to your car. Pulling into your driveway with a sigh of relief, “Mom’s not home yet.” As you kill the engine. “Hurry.” 

The basement, untouched. White sheets covered mostly everything, a thick layer of dust on top made the both of you cough as you swept one of them off the couch. The plaid green couch that you’d last sat on the day your Father died. Eddie’s eyes swept the room. 

“Y/N–”

“I couldn’t.” You shook your head. “I couldn’t touch anything.” He nods. It’s an understanding. But so much has happened in the last 8 hours you were pretty sure he wasn’t actually listening anyway. “Mom never comes down here so just don’t make a lot of noise and you’ll be fine.” You could begin to feel how tired you are. The weight in your limbs. Eddie sunk into the couch beside you. A beat of silence, then another.

“Do you believe me?” It was important. You could tell. But you didn’t know. The Eddie you knew wouldn’t have killed anyone. But you weren’t sure if you knew him anymore. Not really. And you weren’t sure if you really were harboring a murderer or not. But it was important for him, to know you believe him. The silence was too loud. “Okay…” He sniffs, “Okay.” 

“Get some rest.” You pushed up from the couch, “When my Mom goes to work we can figure it out.” It had to be enough. For now. And as you started up the stairs you couldn’t help but feel your heart break with the way he looked at you. But you needed sleep. You both did. 

And it hadn’t come easy. 

But in the end it came. And that’s all that mattered. 

Later on that day, Mom had already left before you’d woken up. And you called the diner to let them know that you couldn’t come in. Your eyes couldn’t part with the tv screen. Nails bitten clean off. Down to nubs, painful and a little red. Bacon was frying on the stove. 

“A body was discovered in Forest Hill Trailer park this morning–” Eddie’s trailer not too far in the background. Blurry. Alongside the rest of the trailers in the back. The creak of the basement stairs made you jump, turning quickly to see Eddie creaking the door open. You’d shouted down to him ten minutes ago. He hadn’t responded. You thought he was still asleep. But it didn’t look like he’d slept at all. His eyes instantly shot to the screen where the reporter continued, “Police are asking for cooperation in finding the killer, if you have seen anything suspicious please do not hesitate to call in.” You stepped to the tv and turned the knob, changing the channel to something a little less ominous. 

“Food’s almost ready,” You gesture your head to the bathroom, “Go shower, give me your clothes so I can wash them.” You didn’t know what you were doing. As you shut the lid to the washing machine and cranked the knob. What the hell were you doing? 

Your hands shook as you plated the food in front of him. He was in your Dad’s clothes. Temporarily. Just sweats and a t-shirt, but still. This whole situation was unnerving. 

“Please talk to me.” A whisper. A plea. His voice seemed so soft. You sighed heavily, taking a sip of orange juice. 

“I don’t know what to say.” Which was true. Which was why you weren’t saying anything. What do you say? What could you say? 

“Anything, please.” You watched him push his eggs around his plate. He was nervous. You could hear the clock ticking behind you. The cartoons flashing across the screen not too far away.  And you were sure that your heart was pounding so hard it could burst through your chest at any moment. 

“How is school going?” It felt redundant. Stupid to ask. He’d been held back. Twice. You remember. He tugged his lip between his teeth and shrugged. 

“Thought I was gonna finally graduate.” He thought he was. Who knows what will happen now. “Ms. O’Donnel was giving me some extra credit. Help me get my grade up. All I had to do was pass the final. A 70 or more.” And now he was wanted for murder. “You really haven’t gone down there since…” The basement. 

You cleared your throat, “No.” You wiped your sweaty palms against your shorts, “I couldn’t.” He hesitated and then said,

“I missed you… I missed you a lot.” You scoff. 

“You stopped talking to me.” His brow furrows, 

“No, you stopped talking to me.” You roll your eyes. 

“Eddie–” His fork drops to the plate as there’s a knock on the door. Not just a knock, but a pounding. “My room.” You grab his plate and toss it in the trash, glass in the sink. “Now.” He runs, shutting the door behind him as you step to look into the peephole. You unlock the door and yank it open, stuffing yourself in the empty space, one foot in and one foot out. 

“Harrington?” You were out of breath, needed to calm down, “What are you doing here?” With Buckley and a group of kids you didn’t recognize. You knew Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley only because you’d worked with them for a brief moment before Starcourt burned down. Not really acquaintances at school, not enough to nod.

“Is Eddie here?” A kid with a trucker hat and braces. Your heart begins to race. 

“Henderson, relax.” Steve stood with his hands on his hips, “He means to ask if you’ve seen him.” 

“Why would I have seen him?” You cross your arms, leaning against the door jam. Dustin looks confused, 

“Because he’s in trouble and he talks about you all the time, so why wouldn’t he come to you when he’s in trouble?” The kid, Dustin, steps closer. “We just want to help.” A crash could be heard behind you and Dustin uses that to rush past. 

“Kid!” The rest follow, running in. It doesn’t take long. Dustin enters your room without knocking, with Steve quick to follow. Another crash and you’re running in after them. Eddie had Steve up against the wall. The letter opener from your desk against his throat. Dustin was pushing himself up from the floor where he’d been presumably knocked down in the tussle. “Eddie!”

“Hey, Eddie, it’s okay.” You could feel the audience growing behind you as Dustin began to reason with him. “We’re here to help.”

“Eddie.” You call. His eyes drifted towards yours. Steve is sweating. 

“We’re just here to help.” Robin repeats. You step closer, softly gripping Eddie’s wrist. 

“Here, give it to me.” You can see Eddie’s knuckles are a blistering white against the handle of the sharp letter opener. You could see he’d been going through your desk beforehand. That little black box opened, its contents splayed across the surface. Not really time to think about it now, “Eddie, please.” 

“We just wanna know what happened.” 

His grip loosens on the letter opener, enough for you to slip it from his hand, and he moves. He presses himself into the wall and slides down, resting his forehead on his knees. You squat in front of him, tossing the letter opener on your bed, you rest your hands over his. 

“You guys will never believe me.” It’s mumbled. Shaky. 

“Try us.” It’s the girl. The one whose brother died in the fire last year. You recognize her. She meets your eyes and shrugs. 

It’s unbelievable. But he’s not lying. Not after what they tell you. It kind of feels like a joke. Something sick and twisted from some campaign that’s had nothing but low rolls. Failing at every turn. You feel Eddie’s eyes on you as they talk about the lab. Hawkin’s Lab. What went on there. Something you’re sure your Father knew about. How could he have not? You’re sunk to the floor in front of Eddie. The strength in your legs is long gone. Dustin and Robin are sitting on your bed. Max was still in the doorway. Steve was leaning against your desk. 

“So Vecna…” You began, “Is it just on a list of creatures in the Upside Down?” 

“Not a creature, but… A dark wizard.” Dustin offers. 

“Like in D&D.” Eddie’s hand grazed your arm before settling. It gave you comfort you didn’t know you needed. You read about him. Vecna. In the new book. Briefly. You hadn’t played in a while, but you still kept up on the guide books. The Cult of Vecna. Unfathomable power. 

“So this creature has the power to curse those topside?” You tug your lip between your teeth, “How do they choose? What happens if one of us is next?” 

“It was easier when we had this girl.” Steve offered, “El, she had superpowers. So.” But that didn’t really help us now. Eddie seemed to have some kind of peace with the explanation. It didn’t help his case with local police, but knowing that the government knew about what was going on here in Hawkins made him feel like there could be a way out. 

“If they don’t just pin it on me in a coverup.” Was uttered later. 

But the group decided to go investigate. Leaving the two of you with a walkie talkie and new information you had to mull over. 

After shutting the front door, you made a beeline for the basement. The table in the center, covered for years, you rip the sheet from the surface. Revealing what’s underneath. It looked like a village. Mountains and forest surrounding. Center of town. But now you knew what it was. What it really was. 

“It’s Hawkins.” You tell Eddie. “It was always Hawkins.” The two of you circle to the table. Where your Father would have sat. Where the villains come from. He sat on the edge of the board where the lab would be. “He knew.” You couldn’t help it, bottom lip trembling. “He knew something bad was coming.” 

“They said that the Upside Down didn’t open until 1983.” Eddie reasoned. So what did that mean? He died in 1979. Four years before the Upside Down opened. You shrug. 

“He must have seen something.” You shake your head, looking at the pawns still on the board. “Or maybe he was threatening to tell the truth.” About what was actually going on there. The testing. The kids. Which would mean maybe Eleven knew him. In some capacity. Maybe she would know what happened to him. 

“You kept it.” His knuckles rested on the table. Rings scraping against the surface. You looked up at him questioningly. “The box.” There was fondness there, in his voice. 

“What did Dustin mean?” You ask. “When I opened the door, he said he knew to come here because you talked about me all the time.” His cheeks seemed to flush, he cleared his throat and began, 

“Your Dad introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons, it’s only fair that you’d come up every once in a while.” It wasn’t the answer you’d been hoping for. The disappointment felt high in your chest. It sat like a weight on your heart and you nodded. 

“Makes sense.” There was a pregnant pause. Something that seemed to be itching out of both of your throats, but something that wouldn’t come out. His stomach growled and you sigh, starting back up the stairs, “You never finished your breakfast.” 

He’d changed a bit since you’d last seen him. The chains weren’t new. Neither was the clothing he had on, fresh from the dryer. But his hair was longer. He had tattoos now. His face had lost that last bit of baby weight. He looked almost too thin. But that’s what being poor is like. There wasn’t always food. Which is why he was currently inhaling everything you’d put before him. 

Something in him settled after talking to the group. His appetite came back at least. 

“I’m going to head to the store.” You shuffle towards the cabinet, pulling a coffee tin out of the back behind a box of honeycomb. “I’ll grab some groceries,” You flip through a few bills, “Some snacks for you to keep downstairs.” Because for half the day he won’t be up here. Shoving the coffee can back, you turn to bills being pushed in your face. 

“Here.” One hand outstretched towards you with the money, and the other still holding his wallet open. Empty. This $34 is the only money he had. “Could you grab me a six pack too?” Money exchanged, you looked at him exasperated. 

“I don’t think you should be drinking right now.” 

“Well I don’t have any weed and I can’t calm my nerves.” He exaggerates his hand shaking which makes you roll your eyes. 

“You’re so annoying.” As you slip on your shoes you hear him say his appreciation, muffled by the door slamming behind you. 

It wasn’t far. Two minute drive. There was too much to process as you walked through the grocery store, throwing things in the cart haphazardly. Eddie didn’t kill Chrissy. He was just dealing to her. She was cursed by Vecna, killed. In his trailer. And no one knew where he would strike next. If he would strike next. And your Father… his death was not an accident. 

Government coverup is more likely. 

You stopped in front of the cooler section. The beers in variety staring back at you. You felt overwhelmed. And suddenly, very, very tired. You grabbed the cheapest six pack you could find and hit the register. 

It was as you loaded the groceries into the car that you saw them. Jason Carver was hard to miss with his blonde hair and letterman jacket. Followed by a group dressed the same. He looked devastated. He was Chrissy’s boyfriend. That’s what Eddie told you. When he looked your way you caught a chill. Did he know? How could he know? Were you just paranoid? You tore your eyes away as fast as possible and slammed the trunk. You had to get out of here. 

Eddie was watching cartoons on the couch when you returned. 

“I’d help you, but–”

“Yeah, yeah.” Two trips later the groceries were laid out and sorted. “Take this downstairs.” A paper bag filled with chips and chocolate. Candy. Snacks you could remember him liking. The six pack was placed in the basement’s mini fridge, plugged back into the wall for the first time in a long time. But the beer wouldn’t last long. Eddie had already cracked one open before you’d placed it in there. 

The two of you settled on the couch, staring at what was a Lord of the Rings, rather, a Middle Earth inspired Hawkins. 

“I think we need to talk.” Your admission made him take a deep intake of breath. He took a deeper pull from his beer. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” The two of you sat in silence for a moment. Staring at each other. The sun had set fully just a moment ago. 

“Do you want to start or–” Eddie clears his throat and picks at the torn fabric of his jeans. 

“I’m not sure what to say to start.” He admitted. 

“Maybe why you–” Left me, “Stopped talking to me. All Together.” He thought about it for a beat. Then another. 

“I didn’t mean to.” Guilt. “I didn’t really… I guess I didn’t really fight to keep you around.” When you’d met Gareth and Jeff they’d been apprehensive. They didn’t want you taking Eddie away from them, away from the band. They said you’d be a distraction. “Which I didn’t get because how could you have been?” You’d been such an important part of his life that summer. But like Yoko Ono had broken up the Beatles, you’d break them up too. “Which is crazy because I didn’t even think of you as a girl.” Ouch. “Not that I didn’t know–it’s not that I didn’t see you as a girl–I just never really thought about you like that.” Double ouch. He buried himself. And it was hard for you to swallow. The dead skin on your finger suddenly seemed far more interesting.

“I didn’t exactly put up a fight either.” You’d just accepted it. He started hanging out with Gareth and Jeff when school started back up and that’s when he’d started walking by you in the halls. You’d go to greet him and he’d turn the other way. It broke your heart. But more than that. You had to explain to your Dad why Eddie suddenly wasn’t coming over. That hurt more than anything. You remember how upset he’d gotten for you, but then tried to explain how kids were. 

“He’ll come back around,” Your Dad promised, “He will.” 

“Still…” Eddie continued, “I should have done more.” But he tried. Maybe. The interaction in the hall. Just after your Dad died. 

“You tried to talk to me and I pushed you away.” That one was your fault. No doubt about that. But Eddie shook his head. 

“You were grieving.” 

“And I really needed you.” It came out more of a whimper than you wanted. “And I still pushed you away.” He places the now empty beer can on the floor and leans back against the arm rest, head tipping back to look at the ceiling. 

“I thought about just coming over.” Eddie shrugged, “I think I even got to your door once or twice, but I just couldn’t do it.” His voice was terse, angry. “Which makes sense… I’m a coward after all. I just run.” He was sore over leaving Chrissy’s body like that. She died alone. Afraid. And he ran. “I just run away when things get hard.” Just like when he couldn’t face you in the hall. In middle school, right there at the beginning. He would turn the other way. Avoid. “After your Dad died I kept hoping, maybe you’d come to me.” Maybe you’d seek him out. For comfort. 

“I wanted to.” But you couldn’t. You thought… there was no place for you in his life anymore. You didn’t want to risk the rejection on top of it all. You thought him reaching out to you was just for pity. 

“It wasn’t.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Your Dad… was the best.” His Dad was a jailbird. Teaching him how to steal from when he had honed his fine motor skills. How to hotwire a car. How to peddle drugs. Your Dad though, was everything he had wanted his Dad to be. Everything he could have hoped for in a Father. And your Dad was so giving with the love and approval he had. “I cared about him, and about you.” You waited for the ‘I still do.’ It seemed absent. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” The two of you sat in silence. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” It feels stupid now. In light of everything. You’d both been too scared. You’d both ran away from one another, and for a brief moment your mind wanders to what could have been. You’d have been in Hellfire Club. A founder maybe. Eddie, who you once taught the game, would have been your Dungeon Master. You’d have been together. Through all of it. Maybe you’d have gone to prom together. Maybe Eddie wouldn’t have failed high school had you been there to tutor him. He wouldn’t have been dealing to Chrissy. He wouldn’t have been there when she died and she wouldn’t have died in his trailer. Maybe this is all your fault. 

“Hey.” A touch to your hand. “Where did you go just then?” You forgot how big his eyes were. God, you forgot how big his eyes were. How full his lips were. You shook your head, retreating in on yourself. 

“Just thinking about something stupid.” Pushing yourself from the couch, away from him, you’d fetched him blankets from upstairs. The chest at the end of your bed and spared him a pillow. “This might be better for you tonight.” Hopefully he could finally get some sleep. 

“Thanks.” He settled back onto the couch, feet hanging off the end by a hair. 

“I’ll uh… talk to you tomorrow.” Before you could retreat his hand reached out and grasped yours. 

“Thank you, honestly, for everything.” Your heart skips a beat as he brushes his lips to your knuckles. Briefly. 

“You’re welcome, for everything."

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #joseph quinn #joseph quinn x reader #stranger things

[kingsofeverything]

The lovely and talented @phd-mama tagged me to rec 5 fics of mine that I really like, so here they are:

Have a Nice Trip {6k E}

While Harry and his roommate Louis are stuck at home practicing social distancing, they decide to take a little trip to pass the time.

Harry’s obsessed with Louis’ ass and has a flair for speaking without thinking. My favorite part is the very last few lines, but I don’t want to spoil it, so just read it XD

Always a Bridesmaid {30k E}

While Harry’s friends are all getting engaged or married, he’s nowhere near walking down the aisle to his own happily ever after.

The night before his best friend’s wedding, Harry falls into bed with a silver haired stranger who makes him wonder what his own forever might look like.

I go back to this one often just because Louis and Harry are so smitten with each other. It’s instant! They’re so into each other! Plus Silver Fox Louis! One of my favorite parts:

“You’re telling me you don’t pick up younger men in bars every weekend, Louis?”

“No,” Louis scoffs, but then he grabs Harry’s hand and pulls him to a stop at the edge of the sidewalk. “Would it be a problem if I did?” Harry shakes his head, marveling at the feel of Louis’ hand in his. “Is it a problem that I don’t?”

Harry shakes his head again, staring at the shadow Louis’ eyelashes cast on his cheeks. It makes him feel special, but he keeps that to himself. “No.”

“Should I ask you the same question?”

“You can,” Harry says, though he doesn’t want to bore Louis with the mundane details of his life, he can’t help wanting to tell him everything. “You can ask me anything you want to know.”

Louis glances left and right, then squeezes Harry’s hand and points across the street. “Do you want ice cream?”

No Hold to Hold Onto {48k E}

Injured after being thrown from a bronc, Harry doesn’t know if he’ll ever compete again.

His only hope is a man called Tommo, a world champion rider who retired at the top of his game.

When Harry goes looking for help learning a new way to rope and ride, the last thing he expects to find is love.

My first ever historical fic! AND COWBOYS!!! I love this one so much and I wish it was more popular. One of my favorite parts:

“Sit,” Louis says, taking the chair across from Harry. He reaches for Harry’s hand, touch gentler than Harry expected as he guides him to lay it in the bowl. With the whiskey bottle poised to pour, he warns, “This’ll sting.”

“Yep. Yep, that stings,” Harry says, clenching his other hand into a fist and biting his lower lip as Louis pours whiskey over his blisters.

“You whine like a baby when that bronc busted your hand?” Louis asks, taking a swig out of the bottle and passing it to Harry.

“Ever heard a horse scream?” Harry asks, relaxing as the burning subsides. When Louis nods, Harry says, “Sounded like that.”

“You sayin’ you’re part horse?” Louis asks, and Harry gives a half hearted shrug. “That why your pecker’s as big as it is?”

Someone to Fly Home To {35k E}

Louis. 55 year old pilot who wants someone to fly home to.

Harry swipes right.

Or Louis and Harry’s marriage ended more than a decade ago, but fate keeps bringing them back together.

This fic was just supposed to be a little unfinished story I posted on Tumblr. I saw this post and had to write the scene where they realize they live in the same place. So the Tumblr ficlet is actually pretty far into the fic, but my favorite part is when Harry is babysitting their granddaughter and Louis helps get her to go to sleep. It’s just so sweet and Harry’s still so in love with his ex-husband.

Have Love, Will Travel {97k E}

Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series.

It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there’s something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.

I wanted to write a camper fic for years before I wrote this one and I went through a million ideas. I’m so glad I got so obsessed with this idea lol it was super fast to write and so fun! The research was interesting and I loved watching videos of the parks and the activities that Louis and Harry did on their trip. The first half of this fic is all about pining and the second half is all about good communication! In my opinion, this is the perfect comfort fic.

Tagging these 5 people 💚 @louandhazaf @dinosaursmate @greenfeelings @mediawhorefics @juliusschmidt

[theworldoffostering]

I’m going to give a detailed account of our trip. If you’re not interested in reading about our five week tent excursion, please feel free to skip.

Days 1 & 2:

We started with a tour of Winona State University in Minnesota, and then camped two nights at Whitewater State Park. My college roommate/best friend lives in the Twin Cities, and some of her kids also did the college tour, and they camped with us the first night which was a great way to kick off our adventure.

Days 3 & 4:

We camped at Palisades State Park in eastern South Dakota. That park is so beautiful. We went to a ranger talk about fireflies which was given by a college student and well done. We also did a Charlie Brown movie night sponsored by the park where we indulged in $.25 popsicles and popcorn.

Days 5-7:

We drove to Custer State Park. We did the obligatory stops at the Corn Palace and Wall Drug along the way. At Custer we hiked Sylvan Lake and Cathedral Spires. We also drove the wildlife loop and saw bison, big horned sheep, and lots of prairie dogs.

Days 8 & 9:

We stayed at the KOA in Cody, WY. It’s not very impressive for tent campers. There is ZERO shelter, and we nearly lost our tent in a storm. Thankfully, it stayed intact, but we spent a couple of hours bailing out water. However, it does have a pool which was a hit with the kids. They also offer a free pancake breakfast which was a nice reprieve from cooking.

While in Cody we went to the rodeo (kids loved it), ate really good pizza at a local place, and it is where Ms. 6 took a fall and hurt her knee to the point that she will need an MRI in the next week or two.

Days 10 & 11:

We drove into Yellowstone National Park via the west entrance. The drive from Cody was phenomenal! We saw bison and had lunch next to Yellowstone Lake. Last year we didn’t see the lake at all except for driving by it. I really wanted to spend some time on it this year. Lunch was perfect!

The next day we went back to the lake and did a short hike. Then we went to Old Faithful. I took Ms. 6 to the clinic there to have her knee looked at. We watched Old Faithful erupt, and we got to see the visitor center there and see the Old Faithful Inn which is beautiful. I had not been to either of those spots before despite watching Old Faithful erupt before. We also saw elk on our drive back to our campsite.

We stayed at Grant Campground.

Days 12-17:

We drove out of the west entrance of Yellowstone and headed north to Glacier National Park. We camped at Apgar there. On the drive, we saw several moose and my first bear! I was thrilled!

Apgar Campground is basically located on Lake McDonald which was cold! Every body of water at Glacier was cold! It was a long drive to get there so that first night we basically set up camp, ate dinner, and went to bed.

We hiked Rocky Point Trail, Trail of the Cedars, and Avalanche Lake. We also went to Polebridge and ate the most amazing huckleberry bear claws at The Mercantile. We drove to Bowman Lake and hiked a meadow trail at Polebridge.

The Going to the Sun Road opened while we were there (it was mid-July), and I’m so glad we got to experience driving it. The day we drove it, it was cold and rainy so a good day for it as we would not have been hiking. The views were incredible. We saw our first and only mountain goat on the trip, and two bears! They still had snow in areas, and although it took us the bulk of the day, we still had fun (kids were done though).

Two cousins of mine (siblings but they live in different states from each other and us) were in the park at the same time along with my uncle, and we happened upon them while they were eating dinner one night which was super fun because we did not have cell service to make a connection while there.

Our last night in the area we stayed at the KOA in West Glacier. That KOA is pretty nice, but the day was cold and rainy so we couldn’t take advantage of the pool. We mostly did laundry. I ended up getting a UTI. Ugh. So grateful we had some antibiotics on hand.

Day 18:

We drove to Spokane, WA and stayed in a hotel. The Hampton Inn has never felt so luxurious! Showers and beds for everyone! They had a pool too and we loved spending some time in there before bed.

Day 19:

We drove to Olympia, WA and celebrated DD’s birthday. We did Starbucks, the three older kids saw a movie, and then we went to Chipotle for lunch before heading to Olympic National Park.

Days 20-25:

Olympic National Park. I’m convinced I’d never survive in the PNW. It was 59-61 degrees every day and socked in with clouds most of the time we were there. I knew it would be cold, but didn’t expect it to be that cold (weather app said it would be about ten degrees warmer for the week). The wildlife was amazing, but we actually left one day early because we just couldn’t handle being cold, wet, and without sunshine.

Day 26:

Drove to Cannon Beach! That was one of my favorite afternoons! 70, sunny, tide was going out. I wish we would have caught the sunset. We had seafood for dinner along the shore before driving into Portland for the night. I got to see Mt Hood from a distance.

Day 27:

Portland! We went to the original Voodoo Doughnuts! Then we met up with my cousin who lives there, his wife, and my aunt and uncle who were visiting from NY. We ended up going to the Washington County Fair. My uncle treated all the kids to wristbands for the rides and an epic afternoon was had.

Day 28:

We drove to Sisters, OR. We pitched our tent in the backyard of a longtime friend of DH’s who graciously fed all of us too.

Day 29:

We drove to Idaho Falls, ID and camped at the KOA which backs up to a farm field. We really just needed a place to sleep. This fit the bill.

Days 30-37:

We drove to Grand Tetons National Park. We camped at Colter Bay. I really like it there because they have showers and laundry and that’s nice when you have kids and just need to clean up.

Colter Bay is on Jackson Lake which is part of the charm, but I was super disappointed to see that the lake is very low due to Idaho’s water needs. The marina at the campground wasn’t open due to such low water levels.

Grand Tetons was one of my favorite parts of the trip because we did some excellent hiking and saw so much wildlife which I was not expecting. We hiked Moose Pond, Phelps Lake (and DH did the cliff dive after hiking out to it), Taggart Lake, Bradley Lake, and Jackson Lake. We also did the scenic drive to Signal Mountain.

Days 38 & 39:

Allllll of the driving home.

[sparklezfallsinlovewithbooks]

I posted 6,748 times in 2022

That's 6,748 more posts than 2021!

373 posts created (6%)

6,375 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@thatwasthenightthingschanged

@deyjahvu

@tolerateit

@speaknowtv

@1989tv

I tagged 3,159 of my posts in 2022

#tswift &lt;3 - 318 posts

#midnights live+ - 111 posts

#&lt;3 - 80 posts

#sparklez answers - 55 posts

#percabeth: you'd do the same for me - 49 posts

#them - 46 posts

#annababe &lt;3 - 44 posts

#taylor swift - 39 posts

#yes - 36 posts

#so true - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#this was.... a whole entire journey. an epic adventure. a thrilling saga. an exhilarating experience. a feat. a revelation. a layered and hi

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

just saying that annabeth deserved more male besties. give me leo and annabeth pulling all-nighters and making plans and dumb inventions, give me frank and annabeth talking about their insecurities and frank being annabeth’s soft lil brother she’ll always take care of, give me jason and annabeth being each others’ battle strategy partners, them talking about piper and how awesome she is, give me connor and annabeth being those besties who gossip all the time and people think are drunk whenever they’re together and finally, give me grover and annabeth being siblings because GODSDAMMIT they’re siblings!!!

190 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

#4

my favorite thing in the world is percabeth being besties, even in their relationship. teasing each other, hugs, sparring, joking. just them being best friends is very important to me. honestly, couples who are best friends who sometimes just kiss supremacy

228 notes - Posted September 1, 2022

#3

no thoughts, just the campers pestering percy and annabeth about their crushes on each other

275 notes - Posted September 29, 2022

#2

thinking about how we were ROBBED of more annabeth and the seven friendships!! we know annabeth was in good terms with all of them, as she was the leader and they all liked her. but we never actually saw them bonding, which is just SO upsetting!! like, i wanna see annabeth treating hazel like a little sister and protecting her, and hazel looking up to annabeth, jason being annabeth’s little brother, leo and annabeth being the ✨ chaotic gifted kid duo ✨, frank and annabeth being besties who bond over his shape-shifting because annabeth thinks it’s super cool!!  and of course, pipabeth being chaotic girlfriends <3

395 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

percy jackson is THE main character. everyone loves him in his OWN series. he’s probably atleast one of your favourite characters in the whole series. name one other protagonist who everyone adores and wants in all the books!! 

4,091 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #false #this is the funniest thing ever #i reblogged 6 thousand and something post out of my 6738 #and made 373 posts #this was my first year as a tumblrina #so you BEST believe i'll be here for 2023

[skgenvs3000w23]

Unit 10: My Experience in Nature Interpretation

As the semester and our blog posts come to an end, I’m left feeling very reminiscent after reading the introduction to everyone’s blog posts this week! When I first decided to take this course, it was at the recommendation of one of my roommates who had taken it last year. I needed an elective to add onto my course load and she described her experience in the course and how much she enjoyed it as an Ecology major. I will admit, I was skeptic at first as she explained the weekly blog posts on Tumblr but to my delight, they ended up being a nice way to reflect on my relationship with nature. As I learned over the course of the last 10 weeks what is considered a nature interpreter, I realized that I’ve indirectly been one for a while now. From simpler ways when I was younger such as relaying a fun fact about an animal I had learned at school to my parents, to being the person communicating interesting animal facts to kids of the same age! It took me a few weeks in this course to realize that I had spent an entire summer working as a nature interpreter at the Toronto Zoo through the role of a camp counsellor. My job was to interpret facts about the animals living at the zoo to expand the knowledge of my campers, and also include some environmental concepts as well. This taught me so much about nature interpretation firsthand, and I didn’t even know until 2 years later that this is considered a form of interpretation!

After reading the questions within the prompt this week, I decided to first reflect on my time as an unknown interpreter to see what beliefs, responsibilities and approaches I had used before this course. I found that honesty was an extremely important factor that I tried to incorporate with my audience, especially with a young audience as kids can be very curious. I find this is an extremely important quality for an interpreter of any kind to possess, as honesty leads to further education and interest. Although with kids this can be tricky as sometimes they aren’t ready for the full truth of some topics, it is still important to understand what truth they can handle. An example of this from my time working at the zoo revolves around ecophobia. Ecophobia is essentially the worry over environmental degradation or destruction and can be extremely taxing on one’s mental health. While it is important to educate an audience on the effect of humans or climate change on an area, species, or the planet in general, ecophobia is something to consider when deciding what information to relay to kids. If the conversation becomes too gloomy or depressing for a group of 5-year-olds, this in my opinion is an unsuccessful interpretation. The experience should be informative and honest, but not lead to feelings of helplessness or depression. This leads to my next biggest responsibility of a nature interpreter which is having an overall message or purpose to your interpretation.

As this is nature interpretation, I’ll be talking about interpretating biological concepts specifically, although this responsibility still applies in general. When I think of interpreters of nature, I envision anyone who discusses a natural phenomenon, landscape, species of animal or plant or even an interaction that occurs in the wild. While these can all be explained to an audience for the simple purpose of being entertaining, I think there has to be a reason as to why the interpreter is educating others on these themes. Education is typically one of the most common reasons, although there are many other reasons as well. My personal time at the zoo also had a reasoning, and it was to educate the kids on amazing animal species and the things they do. It was an important responsibility to me that I often tied together any fun facts with some kind of educational factor, such as conservation for example. Having an underlying message like this can help the interpreter tie their conversation together towards the end, and can help them be better in general as they understand the importance of their job.

The approach that I found the most suitable was through having a solid understanding of your information and also being passionate or enthusiastic about it. These two factors go hand in hand and while an individual can be one without being the other, a good interpreter ensures they are both. Being knowledgeable about the topic you are discussing may seem like an obvious responsibility, but it was something that always stuck out to me on days where I felt like I wasn’t being the best interpreter I could be. There were days at the zoo when a member of the public would see me with my campers, wearing a staff uniform and approached me with a question about one of the species. While I was taught a great deal of information on the animals residing at the zoo, it was all at the level of my audience and therefore not always suitable for an adult. There was one day when a parent had approached me while I was working and asked how much an adult orangutan weighs. This was not something I knew off the top of my head, as 5-year-olds wouldn’t typically remember or care about this type of information, I told them I honestly wasn’t sure. They were understanding, thanked me anyways, and moved on with their day but I remember feeling annoyed at myself as an interpreter for not knowing the answer. While this is something that often is inevitable as no one knows the answer to every question that could be asked of them, as an interpreter it can be frustrating. Ensuring that I know as much information about the topic as possible was my best approach to avoid this as well as understanding that there will always be questions that you might not know the answer to! Lastly, being passionate is one of my best approaches to nature interpretation and something that benefitted me greatly. Audiences can tell when someone is actually interested and enthusiastic about something, and it makes it much easier to enjoy and pay attention to. Personally this came very easy to me as I have always loved talking about things I’m interested in and animals happen to be one of my biggest passions! I found this made it more enjoyable for my audience as well as myself and is definitely something I would suggest to future nature interpreters.

Thank you all for reading my posts, I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did reading yours! Good luck to everyone with the rest of their courses this semester!

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.8 smooth like butter

warnings : sword fighting, blood, monster attack, cussing

word count : 4.1k

0.8 My Armor for Capture the Flag is, as BTS Would Say, Smooth like Butter

In just a few days I was able to make a routine for myself. I thanked the gods (which was weird the first few times I said it) for all of the movie training stuff I had to do because it prepared me for all the training the kids at Camp Half-Blood did. 

I was super good at archery, but only because I'd had two years of practice, so when Luke mentioned I might be Apollo's child, I had to tell him I was awful when I first started. Like, my arrow would hit many feet away from the target awful. Since I was pretty good with a regular bow and crossbow, Will Solace took that time to teach me first aid after a few minutes of hitting bullseyes. 

Clarisse taught me hand-to-hand combat, which I loved. While I'd had many good teachers, she was the child of the god of war; she was one of the best. She corrected a few mistakes I made and showed me the best ways to take someone down. I could hold my own for a while, but soon had to face the facts; I might've been 5'10", but I only weighed 115 pounds. Clarisse had to go pretty easy when we fought because otherwise, she would snap me like a twig. I'd win a few, but I was always pretty sure she had let me win them. 

Malcolm taught me Ancient Greek for about two and a half hours a day. Normally Annabeth would be the one teaching new campers, but since she made her hatred for me obvious, Malcolm had volunteered. I was glad about that, though, because even if he did hate me, he kept it to himself. Plus, he was good at helping me understand a few of the phrases that didn't quite make sense. He was quite shocked that I was a quick learner, even if our brains were hardwired for Ancient Greek instead of English. 

However, the moment I really excelled in was sword fighting. I'd even excelled at it when I was first starting a few years ago. I was one of my favorite things to do, even before knowing I was a demigod. Luke, who was the instructor, made a joke about letting me use two swords, like I did in a few of my movies, but it actually became a reality when I'd agreed to it. 

The swords I'd been given weren't very balanced, but I'd learned to deal with it. To be honest, even when I was first learning, those swords hadn't been balanced, either, so fighting with them was pretty much just business as usual. 

Since I already knew the basics, Luke told me to go ahead and show him what I knew. Our fight had ended up lasting almost ten minutes (Travis and Connor timed it) and only ended when I managed to disarm him. He seemed less shocked and more impressed than anything and made me his assistant teacher on the spot. 

Other than that, whenever we all had the same break times, Silena, Katie, Nessa, Clarisse, and I would go out to the beach and gossip. Not that we were a group of the biggest gossip girls to ever grace the Earth, but damn we could talk some shit. 

Katie would braid my hair every morning, while Silena would either pain my nails or help her. Clarisse always had a morning workout, so she wasn't able to attend the early morning gossip sessions we had. Nessa, however, would just do her regular conditioning as we all talked. 

Because Danny was a control freak, he had started waking me up at five in the morning every single day in order to get ready for the day ahead. I learned to deal with it after a few months and now it was something I did without him needing to wake me up. There were very few days I woke up with it not being 5 on the dot. This, however, helped out a lot when it came to spending time with my new friends. Silena and Nessa always had to get up early so they could do their hair and makeup and everything and Katie always had to get up early in order to tend to the strawberries. Our schedules almost always aligned, so we got to know each other super quickly. 

Even though the four of us looked tiny, the people who knew us really well knew we could easily take down most of our opponents. Whenever I thought about it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone ever thought of Aphrodite or Demeter's children as weak.

I'd mentioned this one early morning as Katie finished up the second dutch braid for my hair and Silena was clipping off the acrylics she'd put on last week in order for her to put on new ones. Nessa was nearby, complaining about the push-ups her trainer made her do. They'd all rolled their eyes and scoffed simultaneously. 

"You know, I blame the Athena cabin," Katie finally grumbled. "Normally, a child of Athena's fatal flaw is hubris, so they think they're better than everyone. Not all of them; most are awesome. Like Malcolm and Whitney, for example, they're awesome and not total buzzkills. But then there's Annabeth." 

We all scoffed that time, then laughed at the sync. 

"Chiron and Luke spoil the crap out of her, always have," Silena chimed in. "And she's always whining about how awful her father and stepmother were to her. Apparently, they were so bad she had to run away at seven, and trust, plenty of us come from bad homes, way worse than hers, but the way Annabeth talks, you'd think her parents paying more attention to their newborn twins than to her was the same as beating her with a belt. And honestly, you can hardly blame them for being upset by monsters attacking their home, not that it happened often." 

"Remember when her father asked her to come back like... 2 years ago?" Nessa asked, finishing the last of her workout and coming to sit beside us. 

Silena nodded with another eye roll as she began applying new nails on top of my own. "Okay, so her father's a history professor and doesn't have a lot of time as it is, but he sent her a letter a while ago with his college ring in it asking her to come back."

"She was all dramatic about it," Katie continued, taking the talking stick. "Complained and whined and only gave in when Chiron and Luke pressed her to give him a chance. She stayed for maybe a month. Called twice saying she wanted to be picked up. The first time it was only because she wasn't getting enough attention and when Chiron told her she could only leave if she got attacked she called back a few days later saying she had, by a hellhound. She demanded she be picked up immediately and complained for days after the fact. By the way, I hope you like gold and white, because that's what I brought."

"I don't care. Have at it," I assured her. "She just didn't like me before I'd even said a word. And I'm not very patient, but I was with her and she still didn't like me. Said something about me being too obsessed with myself and then said we'd get along great because of it."

"Oh, yeah," Katie said, finishing my hair and moving to sit in front of me beside Silena. "I heard about that. Apparently, she went to Chiron and said some stuff about you, but he didn't believe it and it's like the only time he ever said no to her. She was all pressed about it and wouldn't leave her cabin for dinner."

"I was wondering why I couldn't feel her negativity while I was eating." I paused for a moment. "Not that I wanted it, but like... it was kind of weird." 

We laughed as Silena finished my right hand and moved to start my left. 

"Anyways, enough about the annoying child. Word around camp is you are a pretty good shot and incredible with a sword. Not to mention you keep Clarisse on her toes. What's your secret, Barbie?" Katie said, still calling me the name she had jokingly called me when we were talking about my awful choice of careers. 

"She's a fuckin' boss bitch, that's her secret," Nessa said, laughing to herself. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Oh, shut up, Ness. Most of the time I do really... I don't know, physical roles. So, I like playing superheroes and characters that generally have a lot of stunts. I don't know if you know, but I've never had a stunt double. Because of that, I have to get a lot of skills your average person doesn't really need. Archery and sword fighting, for example. I only know how to do those things because I had to learn how to for a role." 

Katie and Silena nodded. Nessa gave them a pointed look. "Oh, look. My point still stands."

I rolled my eyes, then finally realized Silena had just finished my nails. "Ooh, I love them. Thanks, Sil."

"No prob," she replied and we carried on with our conversation until we all had to leave to do our scheduled training. 

I actually didn't need to head to the arena for sword fighting for another half hour, so I went and sat by the fire and posted a few tweets so people wouldn't think I was dead. Twitter users are... dramatic, to say the least. And then I didn't have anything to do. My thoughts wandered back to my mother and where she was now. 

"You miss her dearly, don't you?" a voice said, coming from the other side of the fire. Or rather, the dead center of the fire. I tilted my head. I ran through the list of immortals in my head and went with the most likely candidate. 

"Lady Hestia," I gave a respectful and modest curtsy, the proper one I had to learn while on the set of Game of Thrones. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Astraea Jackson," she replied, giving me the same curtsy I'd given her. We smiled at each other and she stood and walked out of the flames to sit beside me. "You know, everyone is so busy now, they don't stop at the hearth to have a chat with me anymore. Most of the time they don't even see me." 

My smile turned to a frown. "I'll stop and speak to you. Every day, at this time, as long as you or I aren't busy," I told her. 

She clapped like she was the eight-year-old girl by which she looked. "Your personality is the perfect mix between your mother and your father, you know. Now your looks." She laughed a little as she studied my face. "They come straight from your father. But you act like the both of them." 

I ignored the part where she mentioned my father because I was more focused on my mother, but I'm like at least 50% sure I would've been able to figure out who he was if I just asked. 

"Did you... did you know her?" I asked instead, caring more about getting more memories that had to do with my mom. 

"A little. She came to me quite often for advice. It wasn't easy for her to raise a demigod child, I hope you know. Especially one as special as you." 

I nodded sadly. "I know I wasn't the easiest. I just wish I could—"

"Allie!" Luke interrupted, jogging towards me. "Our class is about to start. Do you mind helping me get everything ready?" 

I nodded and smiled apologetically towards Hestia. "I'll come back tomorrow," I promised. She smiled happily and stepped back into the flames.

***

The rest of the day went by fairly uneventfully. It was the night everyone was excited about. It was Friday, which meant it was Capture the Flag night. It was all anyone could talk about all day. 

After dinner (which by the way hadn't been very nice, considering Annabeth kept her glare on me as I ate. I suspected it was because Luke still insisted I sit on his lap, but it also could've been because she just hated me. Or both) everyone was bustling around, getting their armor on and arming themselves with their preferred weapon. 

I'd chosen to go with two swords only, not wanting the extra weight of a bow and arrow while I was fighting. Luke told me I looked badass when he first saw me, blue plumed helmet and all. 

Although we were on separate teams, Katie, Nessa, and Silena all made sure my hair and nails hadn't suffered throughout the day and made sure I would go to them once the game was over so they could check again. 

Chiron stomped a hoof against the ground and told us to get to our teams. 

"I promise not to make you look bad for your first game here," Silena joked, seeing how outnumbered my team was. While Hermes and Apollo were definitely the biggest cabins and they combined with Athena would be a pretty good team, the Ares cabin had gotten everyone else. I was honestly worried, considering there's no one at camp I'd call a bad fighter. A lazy one, yes. A bad one, no. 

Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground again to gain our attention. Katie gave me a quick wink and hurried off to join her team.

"Heroes!" Chiron began. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the team. We were going over last-minute battle strategies and once we were done with that, Luke and I started our own conversation. We'd been talking about something random when Annabeth forced herself in between us, effectively cutting us off. 

"Blue team," she yelled, sticking her knife in the air, almost cutting my left braid off. "Forward!"

My job was to keep watch over the creek until Luke came and got me. Then, we'd tag-team our way to the flag and back. At least, that was Luke's plan. Annabeth's kept me at the creek while Luke went to get the flag, but he told me he'd rather have an extra person watch his back. 

We saluted each other before turning and making our way to our assigned areas. The creek was calm and still and it soothed me, preparing me for the game. As soon as the conch horn went off, my veins pumped with adrenaline. I kept one of my swords sheathed and used the other to lean against, at the ready, should I need it. 

A growling coming from the woods distracted me and I almost didn't catch someone running right towards me. Just as they were about to slice my arm off, I parried the attack. I noticed the blue plume on top of their helmet.

"Dude!" I managed to yell as they went into attack mode again. "We're on the same team!"

"I know," he yelled back, barely managing to keep my attacks contained. "Special orders, you'll understand later."

"What?" In my moment of confusion, he managed to cut my arm. At first, I didn't think it was very deep considering it wasn't very long, but then blood ran down my arm and I knew it was worse than it looked. I noticed he didn't draw first blood, though. I'd sliced his wrist, not as deep, but it made me feel better that he wasn't the first to get the jump on their opponent. 

He pushed me back and I hit the creek. Which was pretty good for me, considering as soon as my foot touched the water, the pain in my arm went away and I felt instantly rejuvenated, like I'd just chugged a few coffees. 

His eyes widened as I knocked his sword out of his hand and immediately after knocked him out with the flat end of my sword. 

Luke ran by seconds later and his eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" he whispered, looking at the dude and then to me. He didn't notice my arm. That was good. 

"I'll explain later," I whispered back. "C'mon, we need to get going." 

He nodded and we took off through the woods. I could've sworn I heard the growling again, but between the clashing of swords, occasional cussing, and footsteps, I couldn't be sure. 

We knocked out anyone who we came across, which, thankfully, was only two people. I couldn't see who they were, but I didn't really worry about it too much. 

Finally, we came into the clearing where the flag was. It was being guarded by two Ares kids. Luke and I nodded to each other and we made our way in separate directions to the side. We locked eyes and nodded again.

The two Ares dudes didn't even know what hit them. Literally. Luke and I worked well as a team, so they were down quickly and effectively. Another person from the red team saw us and ran over to try and stop us. As Luke went for the flag, I took down the dude.

He was a hard opponent, but I managed to gain the upper hand and disarm him, taking him down soon after. 

Luke was just standing there staring at me. "I'm both frightened and aroused," he said with a smirk when I looked over to him. 

"Don't take my movie's line!" I yelled, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back towards our side, rolling my eyes all the way. "It only came out, like, two months ago." 

"I know, some of us were allowed to go out and watch it," he replied nonchalantly. 

As soon as the flag was spotted, which didn't take long, all of the red's were after us, while our side kept them at bay. We ran out of the forest and passed Annabeth, who was looking angrily at the boy who'd attacked me earlier. I didn't look back to see how mad she was now, but I knew she would be even worse once everything calmed down. I left what she thought was my spot. I could feel her glare on my back as Luke and I finally got back to our side. Cheers and groans rang through the night as our side surrounded me and Luke. 

Luke and I cheered with the rest of them while the flag turned from red to silver with a caduceus. That is, until Annabeth broke through the crowd, seething. 

"Where were you, Jackson?!" she all but yelled. 

I shrugged happily and laughed a little. "Doesn't matter! We won!" I yelled back, still beaming as I did so. 

"Doesn't mat—" she sputtered angrily. "Doesn't matter?! What if we didn't win, huh?! It would've been because you weren't there!"

"Annabeth! That's enough," Luke commanded. "She wasn't there because I told her to go with me. Malcolm and I reworked the plan a little because there's no way I would've gotten the flag there and back without help. I know you, Annabeth. You wanted her to get pummeled by anyone who came across her. We knew you'd be around in case someone were to get that far. It's not a big deal! You never used to act like this, what happened?" 

"Not a big deal?!" she exploded. "Never used to—?! It's not exactly 'back then' is it?! T— She's gone and just when I think everything will be fine, she—" Annabeth pointed her dagger at me as she spit her words out venomously— "comes along and you start following her around like a lost puppy!"

"Your past is not my problem," I said, calmly. Danny always said I was more terrifying when I was mad and calm than when I was mad and yelling. "Stop trying to blame all of your problems on me. Just because—" I paused when I heard a growl coming from the woods. No one else seemed to hear it. 

"Because what, huh?!" She raged. I shushed her, but that only made her angrier. "No! Because what? Tell me!" 

"Shut up!" I finally snapped. 

She stepped back and shut her mouth, knowing I meant business. I drew both swords as I slowly walked towards the woods.

Luke stepped closer to me. "Allie? What are you—" 

Then they heard it. The campers were dead silent. The growl cut through the silence like butter.

"Stand ready," Chiron called out in Greek. "My bow!"

Luke seemed to catch sight of something because in the silence he yelled out, "Allie, run!" while making his way towards me.

Before anyone else could react, a giant, and I mean giant, black dog— a hellhound— jumped out of the forest and jumped over campers, its eyes set on me. I had both of my swords drawn, ready for attack, but it was smart. Just as I was about to swing, it lunged right for my upper arms, cutting off all chances I had at killing it. Once it knew I was down, it shifted and began clawing my chest open. It was like my armor was made of butter or something, because after one swipe it did nothing for me. With the last remaining strength I had, I swung my arms up and stuck my swords through its neck. At the same time, a dozen of Chiron's arrows impaled themselves into its back.

It disappeared into a cloud of smoke and Luke ran to my side, along with Silena, Katie, Clarisse, Malcolm, and Will. Danny and Nessa followed shortly after, having been towards the back of the group. Danny almost tackled Malcolm out of the way in order to get beside me. 

"Allie!" Luke got my attention. "Holy shit! Can you hear me?" 

Will had to push him back slightly so he could see the extent of my injuries. I knew they were bad, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I could feel the blood spreading to my back, just like my head wound had. 

"Di immortales, Chiron," I heard Nessa exclaim. "How did a hellhound get into Camp?"

"Someone obviously summoned it," Clarisse snapped with a stony voice. "Specifically to go after Allie, by the looks of it. It didn't even glance at the rest of us."

"Is she okay, Will?" Silena's tone was frantic as Chiron made his way over. I barely registered the fact that my head was in the water, but I felt perfectly dry. She along with Katie and Nessa all looked close to tears. 

I met Will's eyes and he looked at me grimly. Somehow, I knew what he was going to say. 

"Luke, get her other side. Help me get her into the water more." 

Luke looked confused at the order, but did it anyway. That was the moment Luke saw the cut on my arm and he understood. 

"Where did all of that blood on your arm come from? It looks fine?" he asked. 

"Got cut a while ago. When I stepped into the river it healed it, mostly, but you found me before it finished. I'm assuming it's not there anymore?" I replied, suddenly feeling my energy return. 

"It's not, you're right, but that doesn't make sense, unless... oh shit." 

Will and I nodded stiffly while everyone else looked on in confusion. 

In moments I was stepping out of the creek, perfectly fine, while everyone watched me. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what was about to happen. Unless luck was on my side and it wouldn't... nope. 

There were gasps from all around and I kept my expression calm and my eyes closed. When I forced them open, everyone was kneeling, even Annabeth, though she looked very peeved about it. I tilted my head up slightly to see it. I was claimed, that was for sure. The golden trident surrounded by a green-blue light, the same color as my eyes, was enough to tell me, and everyone else, that. 

My life was about to get a million times more complicated.

"It is determined," Chiron announced, while I looked into his eyes defiantly. He stared back at me sympathetically. "Poseidon; Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Astraea Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

#asaeato #a story as endless as the ocean #alliejackson #female percy jackson #lukecastellan #lullie #trinitymia

[mollydsails]

October 1. First time in like forever that we actually made our departure date!! It was iffy for a bit as 8 days ago someone who is not me caught COVID. He had a rough 4 or 5 days and is feeling much better, albeit tired, for the last few days. I was lucky, I hope, that I do not get COVID. I got the latest COVID shot yesterday. I am feeling a bit tired and achy from the shot and Advil is taking care of the slight discomfort.

We said our goodbyes to our house around 7:15 and headed to the marina, just a couple of miles away.

Goodbye house. Goodbye car. I will see you again in late December. 😢

Our dock mate Paula and last year’s cruising friend from the same marina were there to see us begin our 3200 mile, round trip journey to Key West and back home. Dennis was a huge help in line handling. I really appreciated that!

Smiling faces.

Will we still be smiling in April/May when we return? You bet we will! After 7 months of living on Molly D ( no hotels!!) we will be so happy to be back home. Any and all disagreements, trip snafus and so on will be forgotten by then.

Goodbye Noank! 😢😢

On our transit today we were fortunate to see 2 submarines! One was just beginning their deployment and the other was ending theirs. For security reasons, the AIS contact lists all naval contacts as “Naval War Ship”. In David’s 40 year career as an engineer/supervisor, he more than likely helped to engineer the building of one perhaps both of those subs. He probably went on their sea trials as well. I am immensely proud of David’s part in building ships for our nation’s defense. I am equally proud of the shipbuilders, non-shipbuilders, and government personnel who tirelessly work on our nation’s defense. As there is a security zone in place around US Naval ships, it is impossible to get a good photo. If you have very good eyes, you will see the sail (conning tower) looming on the left and the rudder just above the water on the right. Can’t see them? I’m having difficulty and I took the photo!

Submarine sail on left, rudder on the right.

Compared to the start of our trip last year, today’s weather was nearly perfect! We had enough wind to sail for nearly 3 hours! Our speed, thanks to the agreeable current topped the upper 7 to low 8 knots. Sweet! Last year we had a near gale blowing, occasional rain, and 3’ plus seas on the bow for 3 FULL DAYS!! We had a schedule to meet (we usually stay away from schedules) so we proceeded through the snot for 3 days and then some. David, myself and Molly D were not happy campers the entire snotty time.

The worst thing to happened to us today were the dreaded biting flies. They were with us for over 2 hours. David used an “electric” tennis racket fly swatter and I used a sturdy old fashioned fly swatter. David zapped more flies than I had swatted. The sizzling sound of the flies sizzling on the racket was so satisfying! Am I sorry for the flies?? Hell no! As cruel as it may seem to swat and kill biting flies , we were happy that there were fewer flies to bite us!

Today’s travel was 56.5 miles, a good day! Tomorrow we will transit to Atlantic Highlands (Sandy Hook, NJ). We will leave between 7:30 and 8:00. Tomorrow’s transit will be 68 miles. This transit distance will be doable, as Molly D will have a favorable current with her. For those of you who are interested, you can follow Molly D on www.MarineTraffic.com. It is fun to see exactly where Molly D is when she is transiting.

Under Sail!!

Anchored in Port Jefferson.

[readingforsanity]

The Last Time I Lied | Riley Sager | Published 2018 | *SPOILERS*

Fifteen years ago, summer camper Emma Davis watched sleepily as her three cabin mates snuck out of their cabin in the dead of night. The last she - and anyone - saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the NYC art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings. They catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of the very same Camp Nightingale - and when Francesca implores Emma to return to the camp as a painting counselor, Emma sees an opportunity to find closure and move on.

Yet, it is immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by surfacing memories, Emma is suddenly plagued by a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting distrust from Francesca, and not disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian apparently left behind about the camp's twisted origins. And as history begins to repeat itself and three girls go missing again, Emma must face threats from both man and nature in order to uncover all the buried secrets - including what really happened all those years ago.

Emma Davis as lived a tumultuous life. 15 years ago, her world came crashing down when 3 girls vanished from her summer camp with whom she had lived with briefly. Accusing the camp owner and director's son, Theo, Emma has spent the last 15 years wondering what happened to Vivian, Allison and Natalie.

Emma, now a painter, continues to paint the three girls before hiding them within her paintings. At her gallery show, Franny, the former owner of Camp Nightingale, returns into Emma's life, offering her a position at the newly reopened camp. Despite her reservations, Emma begins the preparations to take a leave of absence from work to return to the place that changed her life so suddenly.

At first, things seem to be going well. Emma is tasked to room with three girls: Miranda, Sasha and Krystal. The four of them become quite close, Emma being reminded of her closeness with the other three girls but in different ways. When Emma finds Vivian's hidden diary, it leads to more questions than answers. In it, Vivian hints at finding out a secret that she had planned to expose, something about Franny's dark past.

Following the clues, it leads Emma to the library where she finds information on a place called Peaceful Valley. Emma gives this information to her best friend Marc, requesting that he reach out to a former boyfriend who works for the New York City library. In the meantime, someone aware of Emma's return to the camp is messing with her; first by watching her in the shower, and then allowing three crows inside the cabin before shutting the door allowing Emma to find them inside before finally writing the word "liar" in bright red letters across the cabins front door.

It isn't until Emma and another former camper who has returned, Becca, discuss the events of that night that Emma begins to wonder what truly is going on with Camp Nightingale. Emma returns to her cabin, drunk, and confesses to the three girls what truly happened on the night that the former three girls vanished. Emma, having a crush on Theo at the time, was devastated when she found Vivian and Theo having sex in the shower; in her anger, when the three girls slipped out of the cabin in the early morning hours of July 5, Emma locked the door behind her and wouldn't allow them back in once they returned. After that, the girls had never been seen again.

Miranda, Krystal and Sasha are worried about Emma, and when she awakes the next morning to find the new three girls missing with no trace of them, Emma can't help but have a sense of deja vu. Detectives and search parties arrive on the camp premises, the remaining campers begin preparations to return to their homes and families while the mess is sorted out. Suspect number 1 is Emma, having been involved in some way in both of the disappearances having roomed with both sets of missing girls.

Emma is adamant that she is not involved, however, it was revealed earlier in the book that Emma previously went through mental health challenges, and that Franny deemed it necessary to have a camera pointed at the cabin. When reviewed, it appears the girls had only left five minutes prior to Emma waking up to head to the bathroom only to realize they were missing. With no other cameras on the premises, nobody is going to believe Emma when she says she followed them simply to find where they were, and not to hurt them.

On the penultimate night, Emma receives the information from Marc that she was waiting for. Peaceful Valley was an insane asylum on the very grounds that the Harris-White family now owns. Armed with this knowledge, she confronts Franny and Lottie, Franny's trusted assistant. What she learns is far from what she expected: Lottie's grandfather was Charles Cutler, and he created Peaceful Valley in the hopes of giving women who were being treated unfairly in other asylums around New York a place to be safe. Though it got expensive to run, and he tried to sell their hair, with their permission, to make wigs in order to help offset expenses, but this only lasted for a short period of time. Lottie's great-grandfather then met with Buchanan Harris, Franny's great-grandfather and the familial relationship began. There was nothing sinister going on in the asylum.

Emma, without any other leads in the disappearances of either set of friends, heads across Lake Midnight in hopes of searching for more clues on the missing girls. What she finds are comic book pages ripped out, left behind as bread crumbs in the hope of finding their way back. Thankfully, Emma finds them inside of a hut that was buried amongst the rocks, alive though severely dehydrated and ill. Emma is able to save them by removing the boulder from outside of the door allowing them to become free. But instead of this going smoothly, Emma finds Theo following her, having seen her from the Lodge where he resided with his family.

This all but confirms what Emma originally suspected of Theo 15 years ago. She attacks him and attempts to get away, but while hiding, finds herself in a cave where she falls before landing in a smaller reservoir of water. Unable to get out, she realizes that she is just as trapped as the other girls must have been with no way out. She briefly loses consciousness before coming to, finding Vivian there before her, though only in her imagination.

Vivian explains that she has laid out everything for Emma to figure out what had happened. When Emma realizes that the cave is no longer dark and is bright enough to show daylight, she is able to get out by swimming through the hidden lake out into the much larger lake. Although injured and spent from the swim underneath the cave into the open water, Emma is thankful to see Chet, Theo's 10 years younger brother, on his way to rescue her. But instead of doing so, he attacks her.

Chet explains that the events of 15 years ago had completely ruined his family and quite nearly ruined his brother after her accusations. His family lost their fortune, only holding onto the apartment his mother lives in in Manhattan along with the property the lake is on. Although Chet was only 10 years old when it happened, he saw how his family suffered in the meantime, and he felt he needed to do something about it, although he didn't know what. He admits to being surprised that Emma would return after all of this time.

Chet has taken Emma into a part of the lake she hasn't seen before, and to her horror, she finds the remnants of Peaceful Valley underneath the lake, a part of the campfire tale about the property being true. Franny's great-grandfather, who built the lake by hand, had flooded the building leaving it to rot underneath the water for at least a hundred years. When Chet goes to attack Emma again, a gunshot rings out and Emma flings herself from the boat, floating through the water and subsequently through the building.

When she finally stops and is able to look around, she sees the inside of what was once Peaceful Valley but to further her horror, she sees bones of the original missing girls, only confirmed by the locket that one of them wore. Theo saves her, having jumped in after her and Detective Flynn is holding Chet at gunpoint.

Emma spends a few days in a local hospital, recovering along with the new missing girls. When released, she returns to Camp Nightingale, where both the Harris-White families and herself forgive each other.

Later, Emma begins painting again after going through a brief period where she couldn't. She begins painting what she calls the underwater series, this time showcasing the events of what happened to the original missing girls. Theo, whom she would like to begin a relationship, decides to take another year with Doctors without Borders in Africa for at least a year. He comes to this decision after Franny's death from ovarian cancer a few months prior.

At Emma's newest gallery opening, her friends and family appear to show their support. She had only found out earlier that day that the remains found inside Peaceful Valley only belonged to Allison and Natalie, no Vivian had been found. Wanting to cancel but pushing to go forth with it, lead Vivian back to Emma.

She appears at the showing, wanting to play the game that started it all: Two Truths and a Lie. She explains that the untimely death of her older sister Katherine wasn't nearly an accidental drowning everyone believed. Prior to going to camp that year, she had found out that Allison and Natalie had been involved, coercing her out onto the frozen lake, and then doing nothing to save her after she was unable to get out of the water. She researched Peaceful Valley and found the perfect place to hide their bodies after she lured them away, them having confessed to the crime the night they disappeared.

Vivian tells Emma to move on, that Vivian has been "dead" for 15 years and she needs to let it go. But, instead, Emma goes home that night and paints Vivian as she looks now and will give this information to the police, in order to bring justice for what Vivian did all those years ago. Emma refuses to continue to lie.