#but seriously the books have giant blind spots

[the-feminist-filipino-fangirl]

Climb In: A Rottmnt Fanfic

Author’s note: So… I may have seen a really cute comic about baby Donnie letting Mikey sleep with him after a nightmare, and that combined with my emotional crisis of taking my writing too seriously and 13 straight hours on a plane led to the creation of this adorable little fic. Anyways, enjoy some turtle piles. Spoilers, of course

10 years ago

It was nighttime and Leo laid alone in his bed, squirming like a kid that had too much energy. Probably because he was one. Right before bedtime, he and his brothers had watched the coolest Jupiter Jim movie ever! There was so much action, and fighting scenes! It was awesome!!! The only problem was that it made the turtle tot way too hyper, making falling asleep much harder than usual.

Soon, the silence and his inability to sleep became too much for Leo. Wrapping his blanket tighter around him, the six-year-old hopped out of bed and scurried off in search of comfort, undeterred by his pitch black surroundings.

The little slider stopped outside his older brother’s room. He needed someone to comfort him and this was the first place that came to mind. Leo tiptoed inside. “ Raphie?” he whisper shouted. “Raph.”

The young snapping turtle groaned softly, emerging from his pile of stuffies. “What is it Leo?” Raph muttered, not unkindly.

“I can’t sleep.”

The night was quiet for a second. Raph smiled softly, schooching over and fixing his teddy bears to make room for his brother. “Climb in,” Raph said, patting the spot on the bed.

Beaming, Leo waddled over as fast as he could, dragging his blanket behind him. He hopped into the bed, snuggling close to his older brother. Raph’s arms wrapped around him protectively, hugging Leo like he was one of his teddy bears.

Leo loved the feeling of being hugged by Raph. Even though they were both cold-blooded, Raph was nice and warm, probably thanks to the heat of his stuffed animals. The slider closed his eyes, burying his head into Raph’s chest.

“Goodnight Raphie,” Leo murmured, his brother’s embrace already lulling him to sleep.

“Goodnight Leo.”

When Splinter came to wake them up the next morning, the two of them were still cuddled together, melting the rat man’s heart. He snapped a photo or two to use as blackmail when they were older before leaving the room, letting the brothers rest.

Present Day

1 week after the Kraang Invasion

The world was a wasteland, his surroundings cold, dark and empty. He is hurt. His whole body felt like one giant bruise. Why does it hurt so much? He wants it to stop.

Something was in his hand. Something light and worn. He gripped it with all his might. Warm liquid, tears, streamed down his face. Out of the darkness came a blinding red light, accompanied by a voice.

“WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE”

A powerful explosion shook the empty space he was in. He was thrown back and-

Leo gasped, sitting up straight. His heart was booming in his ears. The images if the Kraang and the prison dimension faded as he looked around his room, taking note of the things there. He looked at his Jupiter Jim posters, then his comic book collection. Then he looked down at his lap, gripping the blue bedsheets in his hands.

He sighed. “It was a dream,” he whispered to himself, clearly shaken. “It was just a dream.”

Leo let out a shaky exhale. He brought his knees to his chest, burying his face in them. It didn’t feel like one though. To him, it was as if he was back in the Prison Dimension, exhausted and terrified, knowing full well he was about to die.

Leo tried several breathing exercises in an effort to calm himself down. None of them worked. Comfort, he needed comfort and fast.

That’s when he heard a startled yell from inside the lair. Leo half jumped out of his bed, ready to fight when he realized where the sound was coming from. It was from Raph’s room. He probably just woke up from a nightmare too.

Leo paused, an old memory resurfacing. He smiled. Hopping out of bed, he picked up his blanket and walked out of the room.

In his own bedroom, Raph was sitting at the edge of his bed, breathing heavily. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the images and memories that kept plaguing him: the sound of his shell breaking, the feeling of Kraang tentacles worming themselves into his eye sockets, his inner voice screaming as his possessed body dangled Leo by the neck, and of course, the explosion of light in the sky as his idiot brother closed the portal, trapping himself in the prison dimension to save them.

Leo approached his brother’s door quietly, softly knocking to announce his arrival. Raph looked up. Even in the dark, Leo could see the exhaustion in his brother’s eyes.

“Hey,” Leo said gently, leaning against the door. “Nightmare?”

Raph nodded, slumping forward a bit.

Leo bowed his head. “Yeah…” he said, letting loose an awkward chuckle. “Me too.”

The words hung in the air for a second, the atmosphere silent. Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his feet. “Hey, um, can I…” he trailed off, clutching his blanket tighter. “Can I sleep with you tonight? Like we used to? I don’t wanna be alone.”

At his brother’s words, Raph’s face lit up ever so slightly. He smiled softly. “Yeah, me neither,” he agreed. The snapping turtle inched back to make more room. He smiled. “Climb in.”

Leo practically flew to the bed, a streak or two of blue Ninpo following behind him. Right when he landed, Raph scooped him up in a bear hug, extracting a laugh from the slider. They landed on the mattress with a huge thud. Now they were both laughing.

Still trapped in the bear hug, Leo curled up against Raph’s plastron. It was just as warm as he remembered. He was tempted to touch the crack left behind by the Kraang before thinking better of it and keeping his hands folded to his own plastron.

But, Raph read his mind. “I’m guessing you dreamt about the same thing I did,” he muttered, his baritone voice gravely.

Leo kept quiet. He just nodded into Raph’s chest.

The red turtle let out a soft, bitter laugh. “Yeah, I thought so.”

No words were needed in that moment. Leo just buried his head deeper into Raph’s plastron. Raph, in turn, tightened his arms around his little brother. No nightmares could get them now.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until light footsteps came padding down the hall. “Turtle pile!” Mikey’s voice exclaimed softly, his eyes lighting up. “Can I join?”

Leo turned to look at the orange turtle. “Get in here, hermano!” he called, grinning, his good humor having returned.

Grinning, Mikey launched himself onto his brothers, earning an oof from Raph. He retracted his legs into his shell as he squirmed his way into Raph’s bear hug, right next to Leo.

“Better not kick me in your sleep,” Leo teased, rubbing Mikey’s bald head.

“Hey!” Mikey retorted, trying not to laugh. “Fine, I’ll keep my legs inside my shell the whole time.”

That’s when Donnie decided to come in, noticeably missing his signature eyebrows. “Reserve a spot for me!” his twin singsonged as he waltzed over to the bed, claiming Raph’s back and using his shell as a mattress. Donnie’s soft shell nestled surprisingly well against Raph’s spiky one.

Leo smiled to himself. Sweet Pizza Supreme, he loved his family.

Raph let out a massive yawn, exposing his snaggletooth as well as his other teeth. “Goodnight, guys,” he sighed, pulling them all closer.

“Sleep tight!” Mikey chirped.

“If anyone snores, they get punched,” Donnie called from his spot on Raph’s shell.

Leo rollled his eyes, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Fair enough,” he said, closing his eyes.

The turtles all fell asleep in seconds, comforted by each other’s presence. It’s safe to say that none of the brothers had anymore nightmares that night.

The Next Day:

“ARE YOU TAKING PHOTOS OF US!?!?”

“POPS!!!”

“HEY, ONLY I CAN COLLECT BLACKMAIL ON MY BROTHERS!!!”

“GET THE PHONE!!!!!”

The End

#coming to ao3 later this week #rottmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt fanfic #fanfic #rise of the tmnt #future rottmnt #leo rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rise leo #leo hamato #rottmnt donnie #donnie rottmnt #rise donnie #donatello hamato #rise disaster twins #rise raph #tmnt raphael #raph rottmnt #rottmnt raph #raph hamato #raphael hamato #kraang #rise of the tmnt movie #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles the movie

[yunhostinyuyu]

bunny, bunny

pairing: friend!yunho x fem reader

gerne: pwp (im sorry), uni au, friends to friends with benefits

wc: 1.8k

synopsis: when your friend and you ended up in a bed in between each other’s thighs, your friendship was in danger of being disrupted. thankfully, you two came up with a solution…

warnings: cock warming, public play, exhibitionism, grinding, descriptions of past sex scenes, use of pet names, orgasm control? a little praise and a little degrading thrown in too because why not

authors note: this is not proof read and I wrote it at 1am please be kind <3

—

It was a summery afternoon, Yunho and you spend it per usual at the park near campus, studying for your final exams. The last rays of sunshine shining though the pine trees that spend shade to the entire space decked in greenery and flowers. It was especially quiet at this time, which was the reason you went there regularly. Yet the specific place in the very back spend and enormous amount of silence that the both of you enjoyed thoroughly.

But despite the breeze that fanned over your legs and arms, your insides were burning. As if someone poured hot chili sauce in your gut, focus not present and the notes you compared and tried to burn into your memory were wasted efforts. The burn inside churning your stomach in all shapes, trying to sit still - but to no avail.

Why? Because your friend right next to you railed you last weekend, and since then acted as if nothing had happened between the two of you. Never had you ever thought of him like that, but ever since it happened, you couldn’t pull your mind off it. It was a thought chain that disrupted every effort to study, reimagining the things that went down in his bed. But anytime you tried to hint at it or even talk about the incident, he avoided it, changed the topic, or even flat out pretended he didn’t know what you were referring to. And it was exhausting. You were even considering forgetting about the whole thing to continue on with your friendship and not to get the mush of sexual fantasies and your blatant neediness between that.

But still, you thought about it. You couldn’t not think about it. Never had anyone… fucked you the way he did.

“I love the way your boobs bounce, the way you clench around me like that- fuck, like that. You feel so snug around my cock, so good bunny. Just for me.”

Panting. Moaning. Maintaining your rhythm. Repeat. He stretched your walls so well, the constant dragging against your velvet walls make you go crazy. Orgasm pending as your legs got more tired, yet trying your best to continue riding your friend.

“Dumb little bunny, getting tired already? Don’t you want to cum?” He teased, seeing and feeling your struggle, releasing a incoherent chain of moans and complaints. His smirk still ever present on his lips, clearly enjoying himself. After a few more attempts on continuing to get your release on him, he rolled over to change your positions, moments before your thigh muscles would have given out.

“Bunny, answer when I ask you something. Do you wanna cum on my dick, huh? I guess you don’t want to then…” he provoked, knowing exactly what he was doing while slowing his movements. “Yun, no! No I wanna cum, please don’t stop, I’m begging you, please please please, I’m just a dumb little bunny. Make me cum, please Yunho. I need-“ he muffled your pleas with his giant hand, pushing his fingers against your tongue while snapping his hips harder then before, sounds of skin slapping filling the room. Crying as he gifted you with your well earned orgasm.

“Snap out of it, Y/N. You’re off somewhere in Dreamland.” his deep voice woke you from the depth of your naughty mind.

“Fuck- Yunho! Don’t startle me like that!” Playfully hitting his arm as you try to compose yourself again and at least pretend to study, so you can find an excuse to get home and take care of the blinding ache that was slowly bubbling up in between your legs.

Yunho got another book out of his backpack, flipping through the pages as he side eyed you again and again. “What did you think about? You’re been really distant today, I’m almost offended.” His voice sounded calm. And yes, he was right, you acted strange - but to your defense, you didn’t know what the late events made you two. Mind rattling without coming to a conclusion, you simply sighed and looked up from your study material. Rolling over from laying on your stomach, to now rest on your back and searching for Yunho’s attention.

“Yunho, I don’t - no I can’t anymore. You idiot make me crazy, all I can think about is you fucking me and I can’t get this image out of my head. And I can’t stand how you keep on pretending it never happened. I hate this so much. I cannot get over it, and you certainly don’t help with your whole spiel.” words hitting him square in the chest, and even while they came out more forceful than you imagined in your head, it seemed to work in your favor… well more or less…

“Bunny, bunny, if you want me to touch you, just tell me. I can tell by the way your thighs rub together…”

“That’s not what I mean Yunho. You’re doing it right now, again! You’re avoiding the issue at hand, and if you don’t man up I’ll leave until you grow a pair of balls.” You shake your head, denying your arousal pooling in favor of getting your point across. His features turned serious for a moment. Closing your eyes in frustration and hiding your face behind your fingers to avoid his stare boring through your skull. But before he said anything, you felt something along your legs-

“You’re too riled up. But let’s talk this though if it bothers you - which it clearly does. But before that-“ his fingers traveled up until they felt the damp material of your panties, moving it to the side to push his own digits in. Mentally cursing at your choice to wear a skirt today of all days. “- let’s relax. Please, just sit up.”

Trying your hardest to keep any signs of newly found ecstasy to yourself, one hand moving in and out of your hole, the other wrapping around your waist to pull you up from your lying position and bring you onto his lap. His chest pressing against your back, his mouth ghosting over the shell of your ear. Whispering, only for you to hear “good bunny, now-“ he pulled his fingers out of you, which contracted a short whine from your end, and despite trying your best to play coy, you failed. Feeling a grin on his face as he continued to work you up. One hand untucking his half-hard member out of his sweatpants. Your mind went blank as you felt him teasing your entrance, hands searching for him to stop.

“Yunho, we’re in public, someone will see us. Please-“ you whine, slowly loosing control of yourself and almost grinding against him, begging for stimulation. Without answering, he slipped inside effortlessly thanks to your arousal that drenched your core. Lewd moans leaving you as his grip found your hips again, holding you close to him, while not giving you a chance to fuck yourself on him.

At this point all the built up composure was thrown out the window and you tried your hardest to get any stimulation from him, which his death grip on you prevented. “Stop clenching, let’s talk.” He commented, not letting up on you. Brows furrowed in confusion while glancing back at him.

“I didn’t expect you to be this needy for me in public. It explains a lot. But in all seriousness…” he started, and despite everything, you could think clear thoughts again, his rough touch comforting you in a way. “Let’s talk it through.”

Deep sighs escaped while chewing on the inside of your cheek. “You know, I don’t know. It was all so awkward since we… you know, did it. I don’t want to loose our friendship but at the same time my mind is filled with you. But not my friend from Uni-Yunho, instead it’s just ‘bunny looks so good doing this and that’-Yunho.” You found it surprisingly easier to talk your mind without having to look into his eyes. But your voice was thin and could break off any moment to turn into whispers.

“I’m- I don’t know what to say, honestly. Did I ever make you feel uncomfortable, or push you to do things you’re not okay with?” He asked out of the blue, and you shook your head vehemently at his question. His grip on your hips let up, feeling that his hold may cause a few bruises, but that was the last of your concerns. “Never. If it did, we would have never gone that far. You know me, I’m quick to reject people when I feel iffy.”

A soft, breathy laugh left him and you felt his warm breath against your neck. “I know. Suppose I’m lucky then.” Hands coming back to lift you off his cock, and you turned around to face him. Slowly sinking back onto him and finding his hands once you bottomed out.

You both were nervous about this, but nonetheless you were determined to get this topic over with, to come to a conclusion. A proper result to see where you both stand at.

“I have a proposal then.“ he spoke, hands leaving yours again to hold you and make you sink onto his boner once again, this time moaning louder than the first time, and a heat crawled up your neck and cheeks. “What if we…“ he guided you up and down, your hands frantically grabbing onto his shirt to deal with the sudden stimulation. Tiny groans tumbling from his lips as well, “Let’s keep this casual. Make it our thing. We don’t have to get caught up with any feelings or attachments. We can simply keep going as friends, and when… you know. We get desperate, we can play with each other.” He suggested while keeping a steady rythym, bucking his hips ever so perfectly, hitting your spots better than anyone before him did.

“Are you suggesting that we- oh fuck! T-that we… become friends with benefits? Mmmh- you sure about this?” trying your hardest to talk properly without drawing too much attention to your situation. Even if any bystander wouldn’t think you were getting off in public, your skirt hiding both of your private regions perfectly. Your sounds and movements would prove anyone otherwise.

Yunho slowly but surely slacked off and stilled his movements while staying snug inside you again. “That’s what I’m saying. You think you can do that?”

In all honesty, this newly found confidence surprised you, but it suited him so well, ever since becoming intimate with him. And having this side of Yunho, alongside a normal friendship, a friendship you cherished and celebrated? Where he still was that funny, yet slightly clumsy and sarcastic person? It seemed like a jackpot.

Breathily, leaning your forehead against his, and nodding at his suggestion. “I can. I want to. I mean, I wanna try this thing with you. Please-“

Suddenly, lips slotting against your own sloppily. Hands touching you everywhere, heavy breathing and panting.

“Let’s take this back to the dorms then, bunny. Be good and I’ll make you cum as much as you want. Sounds good?”

—

#ateez #ateez au #ateez fic #ateez writing #ateez x reader #ateez smut #ateez suggestive #ateez yunho #yunho x reader

[imgonnapanic]

Third gym squad with a theater kid s/o:

Kuroo Tetsurou

Tbh, he knew what he was signing up for when he started dating you.

He’s just not used to it, because he doesn’t have many extroverted friends who aren’t annoying pieces of-

I can envision you both going on the hub to watch pirated musicals. Hamilton, Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen, you name it.

He loooves your singing voice, even if it’s your nervous purposely bad one.

You love the musicals that include allll the good stuff (trauma, death, tragedy, etc.)

Or the iconic ones. You can’t forget about those.

So you’re less-than-thrilled when your school chooses “Honk! The Musical” for this years play.

It’s a spin off of the ugly duckling that no one has heard of.

And when you come up to Kuroo sulking about this boring play you’re emotionally obliged to do, he can’t help but laugh a little.

But his laughter stops when he sees your eyes down at your shoes.

And then he shuts the fuck up because you’re actually upset.

After assuring that you will still be Broadway material even if you’re dressed up as a goose, you feel a little better.

In the two weeks leading up to auditions, Kuroo is starting to get caught humming “A Poultry Tale” at practice.

I mean, his Spotify feed went from Kendrick Lamar to Legally Blonde within one month of dating you, so cut the guy a break.

The day of auditions, you’re a bundle of nerves as you go over the dumb song again and again.

And Kuroo is like “calm down babe you’re gonna do great.”

That sure did a ton.

“Shut up Heather”

...

“Sorry Heather”

He’s also a bundle of nerves at practice, though. He just couldn’t let you see it.

By now, all of the Nekoma team knows you’re auditioning today, and the minute he walks in he just holds up a hand.

“They’re auditioning as we speak”

He’s not surprised when you get the lead.

He looks like the cat who ate the canary he’s a little amused when he figures out the lead is named “Ugly” but by now he has learned to keep it on the inside.

Your schedule is now jam packed, but that’s okay, because Nationals are also coming up for Kuroo and needs to put in some extra hours at the gym anyways.

You better believe two months later Kuroo is making his entire team buy a ticket.

Kuroo didn’t even get to see you on opening night because of dress rehearsals, but that’s okay.

He cleared his entire schedule that day and now has time to wallow in his own excitement and buy you some flowers.

He’s there with the squad team at 6PM sharp, dressed up, and trying to keep his dignity.

When you first walk on stage, the team snickers a little bit at your costume, but Kuroo was completely enraptured by your singing voice, your blocking, your makeup, everything.

This was much better than the demo CD that they had given you.

Afterwards, he gives you your flowers and is glued to your side for the rest of the night, babbling about how proud he was of you, and how talented you are, Nekoma team be damned.

Tsukishima Kei

Tsukki-poo already had a soft spot for the arts before he met you.

Not that he would tell anyone, ever.

When you started dating him though, it gave him an excuse to share his favorite soundtracks.

“you can hit that note, you know.”

*cue the arguing about how you aren’t Barbara Streisand*

When you two are walking through the hallway with him and you see the poster reading “Auditions for Karasuno High School’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ are open!” You start freaking out.

You love that movie! And Kei tolerates it!

Kei honestly thought you would be Ariel/Prince Eric when he first heard you singing “Part of Your World”

Like, you have the voice of a fucking lark. The directors have to be batshit crazy not to cast you.

In his humble opinion.

So he’s a bit taken aback when you get the role of Flounder, but he’s very proud anyways. Especially after you explain that there’s musical numbers that you’re in that aren’t in the movie.

He just hates your director for no reason now.

Practicing your lines with him in your free time becomes almost inevitable because you both have nothing else better to do.

And he can see how into it you are.

And let me just say that you are killing it.

Seriously. You have no problem getting into character, and Kei doesn’t say this much but-

It’s fucking adorable, okay? He has little goth moths in his stomach.

And he can’t wait to see the show, because then he can show you off.

That doesn’t mean he likes the other first years prying at your progress.

Hinata’s incessant questioning about theater anatomy and the memorization of your lines gets really annoying.

Even for someone with a normal temper like you-

“Yes it’s called the right wing. NOT wing spiker. Yes they’re off book. Now will you shut your trap already?”

Dress Rehearsals come, and you’re spinning around his room, face morphing from complete concentration to happy, go-lucky Flounder.

You, Kei, and Yamaguchi (your little third wheel-) all know the soundtrack pretty much up and down, left and right, backwards and inside out.

He still shivers remembering the time you just walked into his house not registering that Flounder’s makeup looks kind of scary up close-

All of his pride was sacrificed that day. All of it.

On the morning of opening night, Kei was walking you to the school, pretending to be bitchy about it being on a Saturday.

“C’mon, what am I supposed to do all day?”

As luck would have it, he’s stuck sitting next to one Hinata Shoyo. Lovely.

So he sat down next to him, and ignored him the whole show. I mean, it worked, he shut up after thirty seconds.

After the show, Kei has to wait a bit for you to take your makeup off, but when you come running out, he can’t hold back a tiny grin.

“That was good. I’m proud of you.”

And then he took you to dinner because singing makes a bad bleep hungry 😌

Bokuto Kotarou

Listen, you’re loud, Bokuto’s loud-

So basically you two are on a mission to not annoy Akaashi for as long as you can before inevitably getting yelled at for your affection and love and shit.

Now, both of you would love for this to be possible.

But the Frozen soundtrack makes it too difficult.

Especially when you can edit the lyrics just to piss off Konoha.

“Turn away and slAm the door *on Konoha”

“The wind is howling like the storm inside *of Konoha”

The possibilities are endless, really.

The game changer is when you two are belting out the song where Elsa and Anna are arguing.

And you accidentally hit the “I-i-I CANNNNT”

Akaashi is like for the love of GOD just audition for the play.

He quickly realizes that his suggestion was not a good idea.

Since guess what the musical is.

You’re auditioning as a joke, okay? You love Frozen, but this is a Fukurōdani Academy level play.

You didn’t expect to land the role of Olaf.

Your director sat you down and bluntly told you that he thought that you had the charisma and energy to be Olaf, but he knew that you were auditioning for a joke.

He needed you to be committed.

And hell yeah, you were gonna be committed.

At first, Bokuto was super proud of you! His s/o as a lead role? So impressive!

You even taught Bokuto your choreography for “In Summer”

He only retained half of it, but eh.

He’s a volleyball player. He tried.

As rehearsal times became longer and longer, Bokuto was a little upset at himself because he didn’t realize how committed you were until it hit him in the face.

Akaashi is there to get him out of his funk when you aren’t, though.

“They feel the same way when you need to be in the gym longer. It’s just a part of having a passion. Just utilize your time with them wisely.”

This bitch knows full well Bokuto doesn’t do ‘wise’ though, so he also sets to him a little more.

Dress rehearsals start, and Bokuto is always waiting for you to come out of the auditorium to ride the bus home.

You’re just bubbling over with stories about the magic of being on stage.

The lights, the microphones, the costumes, just talking about it makes you nostalgic already.

On opening night, Bokuto and Akaashi are there in the front row, going through the program.

“There’s y/n!!!!”

And you can’t see him because of the blinding spotlight, but you can hear Bokuto cheering for you after you finish “In Summer”

Afterwards he gives you a big hug, and you guys go home and watch Frozen.

Akaashi Keiji

When you start dating Akaashi in your second year at Fukurōdani, you’ve been on stage for the last ten years of your life.

Singing, acting, dancing, you love it all.

You’re even considering making it your career.

Akaashi doesn’t know much about theater at all, but he makes sure to do his research since it’s such a big part of your life.

The company you take acting classes with is having their winter show soon, and you couldn’t be happier when you figure out it’s ‘Into the Woods.’

Akaashi makes the mistake of asking the plot of the story.

“So basically there are these two infertile bakers with dead parents and there’s this witch that’s old and wrinkly and she comes to their house because fifty years ago the bakers dad stole her veggies and took the magic beans that made her look old and wrinkly-“

(A/n: this isn’t even half the plot)

He decides he’ll figure it out when he sees the play.

Akaashi knows that it’s a difficult one, though.

Sondheim doesn’t fuck around.

So you shouldn’t be beating yourself up about cracking on some of the high notes and screaming into your pillow.

He feels like an idiot every time you ask him to give you constructive criticism.

He doesn’t know what to say. “That was good” is obviously not what you want to hear.

When the date of your audition rolls around, he has early morning practice.

So he sends you a text saying how far you’ve come already and he’ll be proud even if you end up being a tree and break a leg (he’s very proud of that part. Theater lingo with Akaashi 101)

He’s very pleased to hear through your extremely fast and animated chattering that you killed it.

You were going to be Jack from “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

He’s still not sure how that correlates with infertile bakers, but he’ll go with it.

You also have a notoriously hard solo, “Giants in the sky.”

Akaashi is very impressed.

All you two do is practice that song, until Akaashi is half sure he could sing the song if he really gave an effort.

(He tries seriously one time. He can’t sing. To save his life. Sorry Keiji and RIP y/n’s ears.)

“Maybe you’re just not a soprano?”

“I’ll leave the limelight to you.”

Rehearsals always leave you drained. There are so many dance numbers in the play that you have to go over.

And songs, oh god, the songs are pieces of work.

But you wouldn’t trade it for the world, so Keiji stays close, and is endlessly supportive.

You sent him a picture of your Jack costume, and Keiji is like that is kind of adorable ngl-

He walks into the auditorium you’re performing in, and even he’s nervous to be in there. It’s huge.

But when you walk on the stage, and start belting, all the breath leaves his lungs.

Oh. Ohhhhhhh. He understands the plot now.

#kuroo #haikyuu headcannons #tsukishima #akaashi #bokuto #kuroo x reader #tsukishima x reader #akaashi x reader #bokuto x reader #kuroo headcanons #tsukishima headcanons #akaashi headcanons #bokuto headcannons #haikyuu

[celestial-books]

I’m not scared when I’m with you.

Marauders and lily x reader platonic, Sirius x reader.

Summary : Reader, lily and the marauders decided to go at the forbidden forest in their 6th year since it was Halloween and they had to do something cool based on Sirius opinion. Well that didn’t go as planned because reader has a slight fear of the dark.

Warnings: ahhh maybe arachnophobia and idk mention of fear of the dark,swearing.(comment if I should add more pls)

English is not my first language and I haven’t got the proficiency yet(a certification in my country) so there are probably many mistakes mainly in grammar. I’m sorry.❤️

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“Meet us at the common room at 12 after everyone is at their dorms.” Sirius whispered in your and Lily’s ear while you were eating at the dining hall.

“Uhh what do they want now?” Lily asked looking at you as you finished dinner and walked back to your common room.

“Idk can’t we have a nice and peaceful Halloween for once ?” you said not a spark of annoyance in your voice though.

You looked up to see 4 figures exiting the great hall, the marauders , your best friends since the end of 5th year.

You loved these boys you couldn’t lie about that . Some times you and Lilly liked to pretend you didn’t tho.

“I guess nope” she said and giggled.

You said the password and enterred the full of people common room. How did they want you to sneak out with them when the common room was full and it was 10:30. You could only hope they would have gone to their dorms by 12 because you really wanted to find out what the marauders wanted.

They were nowhere at the common room , they must have gone to their dorm already you thought .

You and lily sat there and do some homework when you decided to go to sleep and make up your minds later if you would bother to get down again at 12.

[...]

“Lily”

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah..”

“Should we go ?”

“Oh fuck it let’s go”

You quickly put some better and warmer clothes on and went quietly across the room, not to wake the other two girls , to the stairs.

The common room was empty , you thought for a moment they had let you down. But then you remembered James invisibility cloak.

“Okay put it off of you , it’s us” you said , looking around to spot their shoes.

“Well hello ladies” James said put off of them the invisibility cloak and let it on the couch. There was Remus , Sirius and Peter standing besides of him with their leather jackets and Peter also with a beanie.

“What did you want ?” Lily questioned looking at James. These two were friends ? Well yes since lily forgave him at the start of the term and he finally matured A LITTLE, he was a potter after all.

“ well , well as you know today it’s Halloween and we decided we should have some fun and do something cool.” Sirius answered.

“Actually James and Sirius decided” Remus said” we just were forced to follow because they don’t have othe friends”

“Yes” Peter said.

“That doesn’t sound like a good start to convince us about whatever stupid think you want us to do” you said looking at Sirius who was looking at you too. That stupid git made your stomach have butterflies.

“But you can’t say no I’ve dreamed of doing that since I came to hogwarts” James pouted.

“Seriously prongs your dream when you were eleven was to go to the forbidden forest at 12 o’clock at night.” Peter said.

“YOU WHAT?” Lily and you screamed at the same time.

“We will have a great time come on” James said and made puppy eyes to the group .

“No” you said but at the same time Lily said “Fine” .

“What? Why do you want to go to the forbidden forest” your asked Lily with wide eyes.

“Idk I guess it won’t be that bad” she said and shocked everyone in the room, James was already looking her like he was going to purpose to her at any minute.

“Come Y/L/N , have some fun” Sirius said.

After some seconds of silencer.

“Okay” you gave in.

“But there is something you might want to know before going, I really don’t like dark places” you said.

“Oh great, I’m sure the forbidden forest will be full of light at 12 am” Remus said and face palmed.

“Oh come on, you’re going to be with us” Sirius said and put the invisibility cloak under him, Remus and Peter.

“You stay here I’m going to come back for the rest of you.” Sirius said and they went out of the common room.

You sat at the couch with James and Lily.

“Do you think I should get another jacket ?” You asked Lily.

“Probably” she said and you got up to your room and let James and Lily down there alone.

You checked your clothes and you decided to put a jacket you really liked because it was really warm.

You went down the stairs back to the common room . Lily and James were talking about something and when you approached them they suddenly stopped and got up from the couch . You raised a brow at them and wore your jacket.

“So are you ready?” James asked . You nodded and he got a paper out of his pocket. He tapped his wand to it and looked at soemthing it wrote .

“Sirius is coming” he said and Lily looked like she wanted to ask something but then the door opened.

“Get in” Sirius voice called and a hand from under the cloak appeared motioning to come there.

“We will not fit , we are too many people” Lily said .

“It’ll be fine , Y/L/N is so small it doesn’t count as a whole person” he joked and you smacked him at the arm playfully.

Lily and James shared a look but you didn’t noticed.

[...]

“Be careful with your hands Black” you whispered after the third time Sirius hand almost touched your ass.

“I’m sorry”

“Just keep moving , we are almost at here”

“Finally” lily said and moved the cloak off her.

You were at Hagrids hut were Remus and Peter waited for you.

Remus put the cloak in his bag.

You walked into the forest and got your wands out of your pockets.

“Lumos” you whispered and a small hall of light appeared from the top of your wand.

The others did the same and you looked around you .

“Well what a nice place to be” You said and looked at something that moved in the forest.

“Stop moaning Y/n, we haven’t even waslked one metre in the forest” James said.

“Really? It felt like a kilometre” you said and the others snickered.

“Do you things there will be any evil spitits out here like they say in the books” Peter asked.

“The only spirit that could be here is the Bloddy Baron who wanted to eat a doe or something” Lily said and everyone laughed.

You had actually become a little more scared with that Peter said. You didn’t know what could be in the Forbidden forest. Maybe it had something that students should not go near and that’s why it was forbidden.

You spotted Sirius walking a few steps ahead and you walked faster to keep up with him.

“Everything fine?” He asked and turned his wand on you.

“Yeah” you said slightly blinded from the light in your face.

After a little you started getting cold and the jokes James said didn’t make you laugh the same due to your freezing face. If Peter hadn’t forgotten to put soemthing warmer on you wouldn’t be freeezing right now . But Peter came to the forest in November with only a T shirt , and because you pitied him a little you decided to give him your coat so he would stop trmebling. Now that some minutes had passed , found out that it was a really bad decision cause it felt like the temperature had fallen more.

“Are you cold?” Sirius said from behind you.

“Nah , just a little.” You said trying to stay warm.

“You’re trembling.” Sirius said and started talking off his jacket.

“I had to give my jacket to Peter, he was cold” you said and looked at his hand that was the nice leather jacket he had.

“Here take mine” he said and handed you the jacket.

“Thank you”you said and took the jacket and slowly put it on.

If you hadn’t been mistaken Sirius eyes scanned your body but it could be just the darkness that made you think so.

Sirius jacket was warm and fit you very well. It smelled mint and a cologne.

“What are you wearing ?” Lily said quietly and came besides you. Sirius had already gotten with James to talk about something , but nevertheless you looked if he was near before responding to Lils.

“I was cold and he gave it to me” you responded.

“Hmmm I see” she said and smirked.

Then she caught up with James and whispered something to his ear. Weird.

After some seconds that you were looking at the ground you noticed that it had been quiet for too long so you looked up to see Sirius walking with his head down too. But what conceded you was that you couldn’t spot the others.

“Sirius” you whispered-shouted .

“What happened?” He said and stopped to look at you.

“Where has everyone else go?”you said and became really scared for a moment.

“What do- Where the heck are they?” He was now too Loki g around him but it was only Y/N and the nature.

“I’m sure they will be somewhere close let’s just keep walking.” He said but he didn’t sound too confident. And then he did something that took you off guard , he took your hand in his. Something that made you skip a heartbeat.

You slightly relaxed in his touch but you really were worried about your friends. And now that it was just the two of you, the light wasn’t as much as you would like. Panic appeared and made your throat go sore.

“I-it’s really dark” you said and he squeezed lightly your hand.

“You don’t have to worry, you’re with me” he said and turned to look at you. You had both start to lean in but the moment was ruined with James screams.

“RUN THERE IS A GIANT SPIDER” he yelled and he appeared with Lily, Remus and Peter from some θάμνους.

“A what?” Sirius shouted.

“NO TIME TO EXPLAIN RUN” Remus yelled and they ran past you .

You and Sirius were too shocked to react fast but then you heard noises from behind you and a pair of eyes looking you .

Then everything happened so fast. Sirius grabbed your hand for the second time that night and you ran faster than ever before .Lily and the others were infront of you running too, lily almost tripled and Jame took her hand and started running again.

You had gone deep into the forest so it was a long way back to the castle. None of you slowed down even when the noises stopped. The image of huge spiders following to eat you alive and Sirius hand in yours gave you courage to keep running.

Finally you saw the smoke from Hagrids hut and stopped running. You fell on the ground trying to find your breath. Peter and Remus were laying already in the grass. You were at Hogwarts grounds now and you were safe.

“WHAT WAS THAT?”” Lily screamed .

“Evans don’t you think if we knew we wouldn’t go to irritate them in the first place” Sirius said .

Silence followed. But you couldn’t help but think all this was really funny ,you had almost got killed by a giant spider in Halloween. So you started laughing . Probably if others would think you were crazy but the situation had something surreal.

“Why are you laughing ?” Remus asked catching his breath.

“Well if you think about it , you don’t get chased by a giant spider every day with your friends” you said and continued laughing. You and Sirius had almost kissed and then a terrified James Potter who was hand in hand with Lilly Evans burst thorough the trees to tell you you were being chased.

“She’s right” Sirius said and started laughing too. Soon all of them joined.

“Well where had you gone, we thought you were in danger. ?”you asked the others except Sirius after you calmed down .

“Well we actually were in danger “ James said.

“And all of it just for nothing” Lily said looking disappointed.

“All of what ?” You asked .

“We got away from you two, so you could finally be alone for a while but then Peter fell into soemthing that it was not a branch but a spider’s leg and then three huge spiders started chasing us, so I guess you cousins say that the plan didn’t work.” Lily said and you were at a loss of words.

Was that why they were whispering previously ? Obviously . But now that they had told you how would Sirius react , would he laugh at them for doing something like that, would he get angry for letting him alone with you?

Bu Sirius did neither of these, he just remained quiet and all of you headed back to your common room.

You started believing that the almost kissing part was just in your head and that Sirius would never want to kiss you.

By the time you returned to the common room it was 3 am and a very angry Fat lady allowed you to enter the common room after apologising to her for waking her up at that late hour.

Lily, Remus and Peter had already say goodnight and walked up to their rooms and it was just you Sirius and James that we’re still at the common room.

“So I’ll see you in a minute” Sirius said at James and he nodded and walked up to their dorm.

“Tonigh , was fun” you stated saying but before you could continue , his lips were crashed into yours in a passionate kisss.

When you parted due to lack of air both your cheeks were flushed and his hair messy from your hand.

“I really like you and you probably don’t feel the same way but I had to tell you some day” he said.

“I literally just kissed you back, of course I like you too Black” you said and smiled.

A smile appeared on Sirius face. “So Hogsmeade next weekend?” He asked.

“Sure” you said and started getting his jacket off.

“Oh no you should keep it , it looks way better at you than me anyways” he said and with a wink left to his dorm.

That was for sure a night you would never forget .

#sirius x you #hp marauders #marauders era #james & peter & remus & sirius #lily evans #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black x reader

[spookyspaghettisundae]

We All Pay for Power

Even at sunset, the yellow fireball in the sky was scorching hot. Not a single waking soul around for miles, save for a dusty old pickup truck roaring down the lonesome road. Its driver and passenger traveled closer and closer towards an even dustier, even older tour bus. The unforgiving desert winds swept over them.

Layers of grit and grains of sand caked the windows of what looked like a steel whale, beached in the Nevada desert. Far away from the road, in a circle of cacti, resting in a place invisible to natural eyes.

But the truck’s driver knew how to find it. The wheels spun and screeched as she veered off the thin strip of cracked asphalt, cutting through the landscape of red sand, sparse vegetation, and rocky hills. The tires found traction and dug into the dirt, carrying the truck closer to the old abandoned bus.

With each inch the truck drove closer to the bus, the sky darkened. Defying nature’s laws. Devouring the sun before it even set in due time. The black void of a nightly sky opened up overhead, and the darkness between the stars loomed ever-darker in between the tiny lights.

Watchful, and hungry.

The driver cut the engine. The pickup truck continued rolling until she hit the brakes and rocks and dust ground underneath the wheels, stalling the machine till it lurched forward and fully stopped.

She was the first out of the vehicle, grabbing a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun and slamming the car door shut behind her—the noise echoing through this pocket of Otherworld, hidden away in the desert. Paying no mind to how the starry sky had appeared before sunset and the sun vanished. This was not Kim’s first time of crossing over into another dimension that looked similar to our own on the surface.

Unlike Javier, who hopped out of the car next, leaving the passenger seat open. He stared up at the sky in disbelief.

“The fuck?” he asked. Getting no answer.

Kim did not reply. She approached the dusty old tour bus with steady steps.

Javi’s gaze wandered, coming to rest on the cacti nearby. Their thorns took the shape of wicked little knives; crooked and jagged and sharp-edged. Their stalks twisted to elongated, thin shapes that did not belong on Earth.

“Hey, Kim, seriously. What the fuck?”

He got no answer from her. She held the shotgun in her hand and slowed down before she arrived by the tour bus’ open door. Something echoed through space and time, as if it had just burst open mere moments ago. But now, the door leading inside the bus swayed gently in the wind. The metal of its hinges creaked eerily.

A dark presence waited inside. Palpable. Watching. Born from the void between the stars, coalescing in the bowels of this steel giant, taking familiar shapes. Silver eyes that peered outwards, that Kim could not yet see, but eyes that saw her clearly before she entered. Piercing through matter, through the veil between worlds.

Having spotted something that vaguely resembled a vulture, Javi backed away from the truck and towards the bus, following Kim without looking where he went. The winged creature on the rocks glared at him and he broke out into a cold sweat as their eyes met and the thing’s stare locked onto him.

It crept closer, like a four-legged predator, crawling over the bend of the rock, stopping on its perch and flapping its leathery wings twice. It didn’t look too much like a vulture anymore, owed to many sharp teeth in its beak and the eight eyes on its unfathomably hairy face.

Kim raised her weapon and entered the bus, oblivious to Javi’s panicked breathing as he stumbled backwards and caught up to her. He had his hunting knife and revolver out, ready for the winged thing to pounce, but it just waited. And watched.

Like the entity inside.

They entered the bus, back to back.

Plastic clicked, and Kim swept her flashlight’s cone of illumination across the darkened interior of the abandoned bus. The leather on the seats had been chewed up by time and tiny teeth. Piles of trash littered the place all over, making it look like a hurricane had hit someone’s belongings and scattered them about.

Someone had pinned vast amounts of newspaper clippings to one wall. Everything from serious reporting to lousy tabloids had found its way here. Reports of two missing men, Brent Carver and Rick Sutton, members of the indie rock band The Lost Number. The only remaining person in the group was Kevin, whose mugshot adorned one of the cut-out articles.

Kim remembered the story from her research: how two of the three band members vanished mysteriously out here in the desert, how no bodies were ever found, and how the police eventually released Kevin into the wild where he started a new life.

The punchline of the articles continued on from there, following Kevin’s ensuing career trajectory. The flamboyant, cross-dressing bassist player of a dead-end rock band had transformed into a successful stage magician on the Strip with a cult following. A snippet from a Rolling Stone interview book-ended the assortment of notes.

In red color, someone had spray-painted over the tail end of this creepy collage:

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Javi gasped when something cracked and he spun around. The plastic of a CD case broke underneath his boot; an autographed copy of the EP, Sexy Vampire in the Basement by The Lost Number. He stepped away from it, stumbling over empty cans of beans and bacon and other assorted canned food, kicking loose a brief cacophony of clattering and clanking.

Kim glared at Javi, silently imploring him to stop being so jumpy.

The wind outside picked up, resembling a coyote’s howl. But unlike a natural animal’s howl, it petered out into a ghastly screech. Something flapped its horrid wings to underline the ungodly origins.

From the darkness, deeper inside the bus, silver eyes stared out, watching the two new arrivals.

“Did he live here?” Javi asked. His voice trembled. So did he—his entire body.

Even if he couldn’t see the presence, he felt it.

Kim refused to answer. This was not a place to answer redundant questions.

“How can anybody live like this?”

Kim set her jaw, shining the flashlight down the narrow corridor of the bus into its deepest parts, where the silver eyes awaited them.

Finally, she answered, “Power always has a price. We all pay for it in our own ways. And this—this was his way.”

Someone cleared his throat and Kim pointed her gun in that direction. The darkness swallowed the cone of light, though a set of two eyes reflected it back as they blinked. A man in black sat there, in the bedroom at the end of the bus. Lounging on the beds, legs crossed, hands folded behind his head. Not a care in the world.

Bright white, clean teeth bared, a wide grin plastered across a face of handsome features. Chiseled, sharp jawline, symmetrical. A glint of the devil’s own confidence in his eyes.

“Can I help you?” he asked. Smooth voice—like smoke and velvet rolling over sanded stone.

Kim and Javi approached with careful paces, stepping over the trash heaps strewn about the floor. Both of them had their guns pointed at the stranger.

He budged not one bit, sitting like he belonged here. Garbed in black leather boots, dark jeans, and a crumpled old duster over a fancy black cowboy shirt with red patterns on it, this guy had the air of both a rich man and a vagrant.

“Are you Michael?” Kim asked him.

“No,” he lied. His smile widened. His steel blue eyes turned silver for a split second of the flashlight blinding him. He didn’t even blink this time. Lapped up the attention. Drank in their anxiety, thirsting for their fear.

Sprawled out in front of him was a circle of odd objects. Kim scanned over them with a quick glance, not quite registering what all of them meant or represented.

A circle of rice grains outlined the circle clearly, framed by a square of metal legs broken off a chair. In a pattern inside these shapes rested a tourist trap postcard from the Grand Canyon, a coyote’s skull, a tiny crucifix fastened to an old-timey alarm clock, a pill bottle of Alprazolam filled with black-painted fingernail clippings, a spiked dog collar, a folded piece of paper stuffed with a dark powder spilling out of the seams, and a pile of paperback novel covers glued together. Blue paint chippings covered the various objects.

“Please, let me know how I can help. Are you looking for Kevin?” asked Michael. “So am I. Perhaps we can help each other.”

“Don’t listen to him. He’s fuckin’ lyin’,” Javi said. He emphasized that by taking a threatening step towards Michael, but Kim elbowed him to stop him in his tracks.

“Stay outta the circle,” she growled at Javi.

Michael raised his hands, displaying his open empty palms. He brought his hands together and steepled his fingers like some sort of discount villain.

“You might as well put those lil’ peashooters away. Even if you manage to waste me, you gotta deal with Smokey out there,” Michael said, gesturing at the way they had come from.

The cawing shriek pierced the air, followed by more flapping of the wings. Something heavy landed on top of the tour bus, thumping. Sharp claws scraped over the metal, and one of its many beady red eyes peeked in through an old bullet hole in the roof. It kept moving, thumping until it stopped, out of sight. Right above them.

Both Kim and Javi found they had been holding their breath all the while.

“You spill one drop o’ blood in here, then Ol’ Smokey’s gonna be all over this place like flies on shit. And none of us are gonna look pretty at the end of it,” Michael said. The smile slowly faded from his visage, lending credence to the visceral danger lurking just outside.

“We can find your friend if we join forces. Work together,” Michael lied again.

Javi’s lips curled into a sneer but he swallowed any remark, and Kim picked up on the subtle cue. He could sense Michael’s lying. He smelled bullshit five miles against the wind, which is why she had brought him along.

“Alright, whaddya got?” she asked the sorcerer.

Michael smiled again. Like the wolf inviting Little Red Riding Hood inside.

He raised a hand, index finger outstretched, cautioning them away from shooting him and indicating that he was not about to draw a weapon. Digging his other hand into his coat’s pocket, he produced a small silver object.

A flip-top phone from the early 2000s. He held it out for a second, and then gently tossed it across the room to the two. It clattered onto the ratty carpeted floor in front of Kim’s boot. She handed Javi her flashlight and picked up the phone.

Flipped it open. Didn’t question why it still had juice, because nothing needed to make sense in this pocket space adjacent to Earth. No network, all sorts of little arcane symbols blinking on the display. Memory full. The buttons triggered ridiculous little beeps as she thumbed her way through the phone’s storage, browsing through a set of photos.

Kevin was on each of them, striking different poses in front of a mirror, dolled up with make-up and wearing women’s clothes. She always knew him from his stage performances as a magician to pull off the androgynous look quite well, so it did not surprise her that he looked rather pretty as a woman.

Without looking up, continuing to click through them in hopes of finding anything unusual, she asked, “Anything else?”

Michael pointed to something behind the two.

“Yeah. What do you see in there?”

She clapped the phone shut and pocketed it in her jacket then followed the cone of light that Javi shone on the object behind them.

A heavy-looking safe with a digital lock, its display dull and deactivated, its door open. It was empty except for a mirror sitting in it, pushed up against the back wall of the safe’s hollow belly. Kim and Javi only saw themselves inside of it.

Then Kim spotted the silver eyes creeping up behind them, closer and closer. Shining out from a cloud of darkness, billowing out and growing and preparing to engulf them.

She spun around and the deafening shot from her gun made way for a vicious ringing in their ears. Kim frantically pointed the gun around, looking for a target, but she had hit no person, only blown a hole through the back wall of the bus where Michael had been sitting mere seconds before.

“This how you thank me for helpin’?” Michael’s voice spilled out. Everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. Like a voice in the back of their heads, like he was telepathically communicating with them.

“Run,” Kim breathed.

Javi didn’t need to hear it twice. He tripped over some of the junk on the way out but was out of the bus within a matter of heartbeats, kicking up sand as he sprinted towards the pickup truck.

The cloud gathered, swirling and pooling in the corners inside the bus where silver eyes opened in its center, staring at Kim.

“You’re just as messed in the head,” Michael said. His laughter erupted, revolving and booming and growing in volume like the stifling black fog that filled the bus.

Kim coughed and held her breath, stumbling away from the bedroom. The thing outside cawed. Thumped, thundered, as it climbed down the side of the bus. Claws sliced through steel, causing the metal to screech under the pressure of the creature’s tremendous weight.

Michael’s laughter swelled to a crescendo and stopped abruptly.

His voice right in Kim’s ear, “He tried to cheat his way outta the deal. And if you try to help him, you’re just gettin’ in on the cheatin’. And you don’t wanna know how I’m gonna deal with you. You girls don’t know what repercussions you’re lookin’ at.”

She fired another shot, blindly at where his voice had come from. The wind howled, and so did Michael, one of them expressing otherworldly hunger, the other incredible pain. He tripped and slipped on old magazines and fell. Blood had sprayed against the walls inside the bus and he coughed.

“Bitch—”

He groaned and held his side, collapsing onto one of the chewed up couches. In his hand he held a mean-looking knife—something straight out of a horror movie, all jagged and meant for unholy rituals.

“See you in hell,” Kim muttered, scrambling away from him. The junk around her clanked and she tumbled down the short set of stairs leading out of the bus.

The pickup truck’s engine roared and its wheels kicked up sand as it spun around, sliding to a halt next to her. Kim’s eyes went wide but she hoisted herself back up onto her feet. Ripped open the passenger door as it banged against the frame without engaging and Javi hit the gas pedal, making the ragged old engine growl and roar again.

The truck sped off before she even slammed the door shut, and the vehicle kicked up more sand. The distance towards the bus rapidly grew. The winged thing peered after them with its eight red eyes.

With trembling hands, Kim blindly reloaded both barrels of her still-smoking shotgun, craning her neck to observe what the creature would do next.

It defied her expectations—did not leap or fly after the pickup truck. It instead swung around the edge of the bus, moving like molten, living shadows. Folded its wings up behind its back and crawled inside the yawning door, leading into the bus.

Michael’s screams of agony pierced the heavens, louder than the wind, and the old tour bus of The Lost Number shook violently as a struggle for life and death ensued inside there.

The radio in the truck screeched, almost like the creature, followed by garbled static and white noise. Kim hit buttons on it until she silenced the device.

A gust of wind kicked up a huge cloud of sand, sweeping over the truck and causing both driver and passenger to cough until the air cleared.

The sky had changed, the starry night making way for the warm orange tones of the sunset. The natural one. Earth.

Kim and Javi looked into the rear view mirror, seeing no bus, no alien-looking cacti, no winged monstrosity that belonged in another world.

They allowed themselves to breathe, emitting sighs of relief, knowing they could put this experience behind themselves. Maybe get a good night’s sleep some day.

They wouldn’t even talk about it for the next ten miles. Dealing with these sorts of things took it out of you. The unnatural always gave you that extra little oomph to unpack later on.

For the entire ride back to Vegas, they failed to notice the disgusting, football-sized egg stuck inside the back of the pickup truck.

They would only find it after it had hatched.

—Submitted by Wratts

#spoospasu #spookyspaghettisundae #horror #short story #writing #my writing #literature #spooky #fiction #submission #Real Magick #Kevin #Kim #Javi #Micheal #surreal #hyperrealism #occult #supernatural #unnatural #demon #Lovecraftian #void #otherworld #dimension #Unknown Armies #otherspace #magick #spell #sorcerer

[savrenim]

Hey mx savrenim its me again and I'm wondering: how you maintain tension in a story with characters with future vision? Especially in a story with no guaranteed future, where seers can ensure the best possible future for themselves

oooooh v v good question, once more under the cut

so there are a lot lot LOT of ways to do this that all depend on the tone that you want your story to go for, and Imma reference a few pieces of media that do this in various ways, but this is pretty much a subset of the question “how do you maintain tension in your story when your character is very overpowered”

1. Just very realistically explore that “in theory able to do things perfectly” and “in practice able to do things perfectly” are very very different things.  Another Faust by Daniel Nayeri had pretty much someone with Seer-like capabilities (namely, the ability to loop back I thiiiink as far as they wanted in time?) that they could use to make sure they always said the right thing, got the right answers on tests, etc etc, and it just.... didn’t work out for them perfectly. Because perfect knowledge didn’t fix everything. If you know how every single play is going to work idk in a baseball game, that gives you an edge, but it doesn’t actually mean you win the game unless you are good enough at baseball to hit that ball and run those bases

In that case, the more effective the Seer wants to be, the more they have to actually train the skills that they care about, so that they can carry out the actions physically that lead to their ideal future. And building physical skills is hard and takes work and practice, and anything you have to work to get better at to reach a goal is the starting point of tension. 

Also to continue the sports metaphor, having perfect knowledge of a baseball game and even being the best player in the world doesn’t guarantee you a win because you cannot play every single position, there are other people on the team who are going to be doing actions that at most can have secondhand versions of your knowledge. Trying to manage the human aspect leads to human error. So maybe there is tension because the Seer aggressively self-isolates so that Other People Will Not Fail Them and tension comes from interacting with other people they have extreme trust issues. Maybe the tension comes from them playing puppetmaster and trying to figure out which people they are willing to sacrifice for their goals, which people will fail them and which people they can and should hold onto, and from nobody really trusting them because everyone is well aware that the puppetmaster is willing to make sacrifices.

And finally -- just knowing the future doesn’t mean you can fix it. I don’t know about you, but even if I had perfect foreknowledge of the future, I would not be truly happy just personally thriving as idk rich and a famous mathematician and physicist and married to my fiance and maybe the books that I want to be published published and enough money to give to all my friends too and maybe can we have warp drives I want to go to space and inventing some solid if not immortality-tech then life-extension tech would be cool -- which, like, is everything I could personally wish for from life and more -- but in the world that we have? like, climate change SUCKS. fascism SUCKS. racism SUCKS. sexism and homophobia and poverty and class wars disguised as generational wars and all of the existing structures that reinforce all of these things SUCK. and even personally having perfect foreknowledge of the future enough to either start with or build up a bunch of political power and money, to try to change any of that would mean going against incredibly entrenched institutions that I honestly have no idea how effective one person could be at changing. Like if B*zos suddenly decided “wait let’s save the world and make a socialist utopia” do you actually think he would succeed? or even get very far? even applying every single resource he commands? or would he just.... lose a lot of his money and power trying to do that and then someone else becomes the richest person in the world who does want to maintain the system. because a lot of that power are things that do not exist, like stocks, it’s imaginary money that the moment you stop playing the game you get kicked out of the game and maybe you can make tiny changes but the game itself doesn’t stop

so baaaasically consider making your Seer a radical anarchist or at least someone who cares about tackling large-scale problems that one individual will never be able to solve, to play the “well if a very powerful individual had a single-minded focus on trying to fight these things could we at least get further than every single powerful person wanting to screw us over or just not caring?” game -- that creates tension because global problems can only be solved by global and communal actions, and one individual, no matter how perfectly they can see the future, cannot do that on their own

2. “Psychic powers don’t make you popular.” This is my obligatory “I just rewatched Mob Psycho 100 and am obsessed with it seriously consider watching it if you haven’t.” I know I keep bringing up MP100 but hear me out my favorite media is where the main character is stupidly overpowered so I don’t have to be stressed at all consuming it and MP100 maybe is the most touching but also well thought out and interestingly plotted version of that I’ve ever seen  But the basic premise of Mob Psycho 100 is that the main character, Mob, is a middle schooler with the most powerful psychic abilities in the world. The tension comes from: (1) Mob is not in total control over his powers and feels really really bad when he loses control and for example uses his powers against another person even in self-defense because that’s a Rule he made for himself that he really doesn’t want to cross ever. Which with a Seer, maybe you have a Seer that Cares Deeply About Other People’s Privacy, or who Cares Deeply About Having Real Relationships That They Do Not Manipulate, or who Cares Deeply About Their Achievements Being Their Own and so they don’t use their powers in everyday life out of moral considerations, except sometimes gods in stressful situations you just want everything to be okay so the tension of “do I fix this right now or is this crossing a line” drives your story. (2) because Mob isn’t using his powers in everyday life, while he is having these giant badass psychic battles with ghosts and evil psychics as a part-time job after school and yeah yeah you know he’s going to win, the tension and growth in the story comes from the gains that he is making in his personal life of, like, “oh he made a friend!!!!! oh he stood up for himself even though that’s really hard for him and he set a boundary!!!! oh he’s working really really hard towards his goal of being better at running!!!!! oh look he’s grown so much at episode 1 he didn’t talk to anyone his own age or have anything to do and now he’s doing things for himself!!!” Having your Seer take the ethics of not using seeing into the future to manipulate the people around them really really seriously, working very hard at tiny life things and then being a complete fucking badass that is putting down world-threatening threats as hobby that they kind of don’t view as that important in defining them as a person or defining their accomplishments or how they feel about themselves means that it doesn’t matter how overpowered they are in terms of their abilities, your audience will care and be invested in the tiny life accomplishments that they are working so hard to do on their own, and will be proud of their personal growth.

3. Blind Spots. Exactly what it sounds like, can your Seer really see everything? Perfectly? And if they do see everything do they know the exact effect that acting differently will cause? Or are they limited visions -- they only come at certain times, they only are about very specific things, the Seer cannot control when they happen, etc. The more specific and limited your visions are, the harder they have to actually work to figure out how to interpret them and best play the cards that they have, so maybe finding that perfect happy life isn’t actually all that easy. 

Alternatively, your Seer can only see the natural future, what would happen if they do not change their actions. If they change their actions, they can’t re-glimpse the new version, so it’s up to their best guess as to whether or not their plans to make things better will actually make things better. You can create a shit-ton of tension there if only because Plans Never Go Perfectly. Honestly at this point you’re just writing a slightly different version of those “MC is a Super Genius” books that instead of them making good plans because they are a Super Genius, it is good plans because they can see the future, I stand by childhood me that the first three Artemis Fowl books are great and honestly I’m pretty sure the plot wouldn’t really change too much if you added “Artemis can see what future would happen if he didn’t take any actions to interfere” and it would just be another interesting trait that was a part of his planning process.

And even if your Seer can see re-glimpse the new version, they are human. They have only a finite amount of time, and a finite amount of brain space. You don’t need to make the rules of Seer powers be that “they can see all of spacetime and all possibilities of the past and future perfectly all the time.” They can miss things by not thinking something is important and looking in a different direction. You can build up tension around they can only look into the future, not the past, they missed something, and now they don’t know what they missed and what to target to fix it. Or play the finite amount of time bit very hard: if they see the effects of deciding one particular course of action, it takes [x] time for the vision to complete, then they need to try to see the effects of one other particular course of action, and they can only effectively run a handful of simulations -- or even hundreds or thousands, but the answer is still a finite number of dear gods is nature chaotic / the butterfly effect is built into every single physics equation that there is that describes the world -- so tension comes from even if they can check that a plan is good, they still have to come up with a plan to change the future, and can only come up with so many plans in the time that they have. 

4. Existential Crisis. You made Seer powers “they can see all of spacetime and all possibilities of the past and future perfectly all the time.” idk I would find life terribly boring and have an existential crisis over that probably? of am I even human? does anything I do matter? does anyone else exist, really, since I can see and control every aspect of their lives? am I a god? how do I relate to anyone? how do I care about anything? 

In this setup, your main character would not be the Seer, it would be a person or group of people who are either trying to Save The World or Accomplish Something Important or even Accomplish Something Selfish who spend the story trying to befriend the Seer and get their help goddamnit because the moment the Seer is on their side, they win. and then the tension comes from the Seer keeps refusing but is ~slowly opening their heart~, jaded older mentor figure adopts tiny adorable hopeful child is the found family JAM and then your main character finally decides they aren’t getting the help and goes off and does the incredibly dangerous thing alone and the Seer realizes too late that oh nooo my tiny son is in danger and at just the last moment decides fuck it and leaps back into the game to try to help and save them and oh both the glorious drama and all the best tropes all of them seriously if you write this book ping me I’ll read it I’m a sucker for jaded old loner adopts Naive Hopeful Hero Who Is Going To Save The World Even If It Kills Them and jaded old loner just spends the entire time going “oh no. oh no tiny child. oh gods I’m coming out of retirement aren’t I. tiny child please. please have you considered just being chill so that I don’t have to come out of retirement” and then just. the SATISFACTION. when they come in at just the right moment and the tension leading up to it when you didn’t know if they were going to or not. it’s poetry.

This can also pretty easily be done without the Seer having godlike powers, just pretty strong powers-- have them have made their life perfect, found it empty, and fallen into a depressive fugue then use the above plot for the same effect. 

5. Make Them Your Villain. The final way of dealing with making tension and having an overpowered character is, uh..... it’s only no tension when your protagonist doesn’t need to struggle to reach their goals. if the antagonist is walking down easy street that only makes things all the more stressful because how do you beat that? and that is all of the tension in your book: figuring it out.

a subgenre of this is Seer v Seer: the best possible future for one Seer is not necessarily the best possible future for another Seer, so if you have multiple Seers, Seers clashing against other Seers that have the same powers which means their powers aren’t necessarily an advantage is a shit-ton of tension. That is.... pretty much the plot of trash novel? So I’d rather not go into detail about how I personally am doing it, but anytime people who have the same abilities fight, they’re on equal ground, you don’t know who is going to win, so boom, tension.

6. Seers are illegal/ kidnapped by the government the moment they are discovered to work for the government only/ targeted for kidnapping by all sorts of powerful groups, so your Seers need to aggressively hide their powers and the more they use them to make their life perfect, the more in danger they are; even if they can use their abilities to avoid ever being captured, they will be on the run their entire lives if they get found out.

#writing advice #there are also a shit ton of combinations of these that you can do #like 2 combines with 4 very easily -- an extremely powerful seer doesnt want to use their powers it crosses a line #vs people trying to convince them to (which also happens in mp100 a bunch) #the latter half of 1 and 5 go together well -- changing global power systems and creating more equality is hard because some Seers benefit #from the existing systems and so don't want them to change #check out gay murder elf bachelorette book 2 of wolves and ravens for a combo of 5 and 3 #it's in my writing tab #and these are just the first six things that came to mind there are so many you can do #there's the typical curse of cassandra bit of 'a perfect seer but no one believes them so getting people to listen is hard #there can even be quasi silly modern versions of that like 'seer visions are not evidence for court so your PI/lawyer Seer needs to figure #out ways to leverage their visions into things that are publicly acceptable proof for what they want' #or scientists who can't just present results bc they saw the results are correct who need to reverse engineer how to get there #.......actually that's just a physicist who am I kidding #anyways yeah that's my advice I guess #I find it really really amusing that I am apparently the seer expert like this is just a plot device that I think is cool #the answers above are just kind of what I'd do

[sherrybaby14]

The Option VI

This is a Dark! Bucky x Naïve!Reader story.  It contains questionable consent.

Warnings:  This is a dark/rape/noncon story.  Please do not read if that offends you.

Chapter warnings:  Smut, rough sex, spanking, (you’re into it, so its not noncon, but I don’t think Bucky really cares if you’re into it or not).

Words: 5k

Summary:  You get a break from domestic bliss that does not go as planned

Bucky ground his hips and you moaned, wrapping your legs even tighter around him, pulling him in deeper as the orgasm sent vibrations down your body.  

“Ugh!” Bucky spilled inside of you, pressing his forehead to yours before giving you a kiss.  

Both of you tried to catch your breath as he rolled over onto his back next to you.  

“Good morning.”  You turned to look at your grinning man.  

Bucky popped up on his metal arm and used the other to trace circles on your shoulder.  You still wondered what happened, but never asked the question again.  You didn’t want to risk upsetting him, those disappointed looks always killed you.

“Am I getting dressed today?”  The last few days every time you tried to pull a shirt on Bucky was there in a second to take it off.  

“Hmmmm…” He continued to run his finger over your skin. “Unfortunately I have some things I have to take care of today.  I don’t really think it’s fair to make you stay in bed waiting for me all day.”  

“I want to get back to the clothes making. I’m finally getting the hang of that old machine.”  You started to sit up, but Bucky’s hand was on your shoulder pushing you down as he climbed back on top of you.  

“You sound a little too eager to leave the bed.”  Bucky kissed your neck. “Maybe I should keep you here all day.  Remind you of what’s more important.”  

“A girl has to have some hobbies.”  You laughed. “It can’t be all sex all the time.”  

“I’m your hobby.”  Bucky kissed up your ear and lightly bit the lobe. “And I want sex all the time.”  

You felt his cock hardening against your thigh.   The vision of leaving the bed was fading, but Bucky’s face went in front of yours, his blue eyes electrified you.  Maybe you could waste another day with the man.  

He pressed his lips to yours as he lined up with your entrance and slid inside of you.  

Bucky had spent the last few weeks getting to know every way to push your buttons and master your body.  You didn’t think it should be legal for a man to have this much bedroom skills.  

“What a good girl you are Peach.”  Bucky bottomed out.  “So eager to please.”  

You moaned at his praise, hoping he wouldn’t leave the bed all day.  

~~~

Three hours later you found yourself walking back upstairs after eating breakfast.   You were in an oversized sweater and a pair of Bucky’s pants you’d managed to alter enough to fit you.  Still hadn’t tried to make any panties, but over your time here you’d gotten used to going without.  

You got the vibe Bucky liked having easier access and didn’t even think he would approve if you told him you were interested in wearing them again.  

You popped open the door to the small attic and walked inside.  It was hard to believe this was the same room you found.  You’d cleaned the whole thing out and made it your personal space.  The sewing machine and fabrics were in the corner, there was an old radio on a small table, the loveseat was cleaned and prominent.  You’d even hung some of the photographs of what you assumed were the previous owners.  

There was a stack of books you planned on using to make some sort of decoration.  You wished they were in English so you had something to read.  You laughed at the idea, as if you had free time for something like that.  

Bucky pretty much consumed you.  You figured you had two hours tops until he was back, carrying you to bed.  The man was insatiable and you had grown accustom to having sex at least four times a day.  It was almost like his stamina was superhuman.  

Thinking about him made you clench your thighs together as a wave of heat come over you.  You shook your head.

“Relax Peach.  Enjoy the break.”  Your words startled you, it was the first time you used the nickname out loud.  

But it was all Bucky called you and now you were more used to that than Y/N.  It made sense to refer to yourself by Peach.  There wasn’t anything wrong with it.  You reassured yourself and went to the sewing machine, sorting through the pile of clothes.  

“Hey.”  Bucky walked in the room, hands in his jeans.  

“Did you change your mind?”  You stood up from the machine, ready to strip at his command.  

“You are so beautiful and it drives me crazy when you look at me like that.”  Bucky folded his arms across his chest. “Come here.”  

You didn’t think you were looking at Bucky any differently than you always did, but if he was pleased you were happy, so you kept your eyes on him as you walked closer.  

“You really are perfect Peach.”  Bucky wrapped his arms around you and you draped yours around his neck. “My perfect Peach.”

He kissed you and the tingle between your legs flared.  

“Mmmm.”  He pulled away.  “I did come up here for a reason though.  I’m going to run into town.”  

“You’re leaving?”  Your eyes went wide. “How? The snow.”  

“Apparently we weren’t the only thing heating up the past few days.”  Bucky 

took your hand and led you down the steps and into the bedroom.

You went straight to a window and peered through the blinds.  Sure enough there were patches of grass and mud visible through the piles of white, everything looked wet, but all the animals were out enjoying the sunshine.  

“Is this normal for November?”  

“It’s December fourteenth and no.” Bucky was right behind you.  

“It’s December?” You did the math, six weeks and two days.  “Why didn’t you say something?”

“You never asked.”  Bucky shrugged. “But I’m going to use the opportunity to go restock, because trust me, more snow is on the way.  I’ll be back in a few hours.  Can you be a good girl while I’m gone?”  

You nodded your head, almost in shock over the passage of time.  Bucky placed a kiss on the top of your head.  

“Lock the doors after I leave and stay inside.”  Bucky opened his closet and pulled out the giant backpack.  

You remembered wearing it when he drove you on the motorcycle to this place.  When he saved you.  The thought made you hug yourself and filled you with a bit of dread.  

“Can I come with?”  You knew what the answer would be, but still needed to ask.  

Bucky looked up at you with smooth features, but then he bit down making his jaw clench.  Disappointment.  Your heart hurt and you looked away.  

“You’re safe here Peach.”  He sighed. “It’s too big of a risk…if the wrong people saw you.”  

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have asked.”  The idea of being trafficked was fading away and feeling like less of a threat.  

“It’s alright.”  Bucky stepped forward and kissed your head again.  

“What are we going to do?”  You’d already disappointed him once, but there were so few opportunities to get Bucky to talk about anything except for you.  “When the snow melts?  I can’t hide here forever; my uncle is probably terrified.”  

“Are you happy here Peach?”  Bucky put a finger under your chin.  “Are you happy with me?”  

“Yes.” You blinked several times, not sure you understood the question or what it had to do with your uncle.  “Of course.”  

The last thing you wanted was for Bucky to think you were ungrateful.  The corners of his lips started to rise, but he kept the smile down.  

“When the time comes, I’ll figure something out.”  Bucky dropped his hand. “I promise.  Until then, keep being my good girl.  Let me do the worrying.”  

You nodded your head and looked at the floor.  That single flash of let down on Bucky’s face was going to haunt you all afternoon.  

~~~

When he left you did as you were told and locked the door behind him.  It was strange being in the house all alone.  The farthest Bucky ever went was the animals.  

He didn’t seem upset with you when you left, but you’d known asking to come was a bad idea.  All it did was put him in an awkward spot.  Bucky deserved better than that.  

Maybe you could do something to show him you were sorry?  The thing he would like the most was your body tho, and he was welcome to that whenever he liked.  A thought crossed your mind and you licked your lips.  

He’d walked you through oral a few times, maybe when he got home you could drop to your knees and take the lead.  

You imagined your mouth filled with Bucky’s cock, his hands in your hair helping you to take more of him.  

“That’s it Peach, what a good girl.”  

You nodded your head and shook the fantasy away.  Once he got back you would show him what a good girl you could be.  

The minutes felt like hours and you needed something to do with your time or else you would go crazy waiting for him.  

A present.  That was another way you could show Bucky how grateful you were.  After all, Christmas was eleven days away.  You didn’t know if he celebrated or not, but you really didn’t know much.  

That wasn’t true.  You knew he was kind, gracious, caring.  So what if you didn’t know details about his life before you?  Did any of that matter?  

This situation is seriously screwed up Y/N.  You pushed away the thought before it surfaced all the way.  

You wondered what you could get him, obviously you would have to create something with what you had.  It would have to be something you could hide and work on in your alone time.   But what did Bucky like outside of you?

The two of you had played cards a few nights, and some other weird games he had in the basement, but that was always just a way to pass the time until he carried you up the stairs or took you on the hardwood floor.   A smile came to your face; Bucky really did like you.  

It was like a lightbulb went off.   You didn’t want to make underwear, but what about lingerie?  There were a few dresses in the attic that were too small, but maybe they could be altered quite a bit.  

You glanced toward the basement.  You hated it down there.  It was too creepy, but you knew Bucky took all the extra stuff you didn’t want in the attic to the far side.  You’d only been over there twice.  It reminded you of a prison cell, but you didn’t have much choice.  It wasn’t like you could wait for Bucky to get home and ask him to get the dresses.  He would want to know why and that would ruin the surprise.  

You tried to picture the design in your head to distract from the creepiness of the bottom floor.  You turned on the light and took the stairs two at a time, then didn’t stop as you rounded the corner to the other side.  

There was a light hanging and you pulled the string, putting the room in an even eerier glow.  There were several shelves with Bucky’s stuff and extra supplies, in the corner was a freezer too.  There was also a toilet sitting out and a shower built into the wall.  It wasn’t a second bathroom since it was so public, which again made you think at some point someone was locked down here.  

A chill went down your spine and you turned toward the storage space.  That was where you discarded dresses would be.  It was a crawl space, but one you could reach from your feet since the basement was so short.  

You grabbed the first bag and opened it up.  No dresses, but you pulled it out to get it out of the way so you could go further.  The next two bags had the same thing.  There was a box toward the front right you knew wasn’t from the attic.  But it was big and in the way, when you tried to yank it down it was heavier than expected and hit the floor with a thud.  

“Shit!” The top came off and some of the contents spilled out.  

When you bent to put it away you froze.  Your eyes went wide and mouth hung open.  A black gun was half out of the box.  

You looked inside and saw there were cases of bullets and a few other guns.  There was also thousands of Euros. More money than you’d ever seen. Why was there a box of weapons in the basement?  These were hand guns, not the kind used for hunting.  

The sense of safety you’d crafted started to slip away.  Why the guns?  Why the secrecy?  Why wouldn’t Bucky tell you a damn thing about himself? Why all the cash? Who was he?  

If this place was so bad, why was he here?  

Much like the night you sprinted out in the snow the dam you’d built in your mind broke and all the questions flooded in.  You felt yourself hyperventilate and had to get out of the basement.  

~~~

Did Bucky put the box away?  The thought kept gnawing at the back of his mind.  When he saw the weather he was so shocked he regretted staying in bed all morning.  

That was a lie.  He never regretted any time with Peach, but he was scared about stretching the food all winter and now he wouldn’t have to worry.  

But he would never leave the house without protection and he needed money to buy the stuff.  He kept that stuff hidden though, and for some reason he thought he may have been in such a rush he left it out.  

Not that it mattered, Peach hated the basement anyway.  Just thinking her name made him smile.  He was going to the closest town.  It was about 20 minutes away.   He didn’t like the idea of visiting one so close to his house in the event he was followed, but he liked the idea of leaving Peach alone less.  

She was so helpless.  It was endearing, but if someone happened on the house while he was gone Peach wouldn’t know the first thing about defending herself.  The thought didn’t sit well with Bucky.  He would have to teach her some basic fighting moves.  

But that would involve keeping his hands off of her for longer than five minutes and that was becoming harder and harder to do.  Everything about her turned him on.  

  He parked his bike at the end of the downtown area and got off.  All these little towns operated the same way. One grocer, a few restaurants, some bars, a few specialty shops, and a farmers market on the weekend.

  To an outsider it would look like a simple poor place, but living in this country was expensive. There was a fee just to cross the border, and there was no overnight shipping.  The people who lived here chose it for a reason and odds were they’d done something horrible in their past lives.  Just like Bucky.

  He thought about the way Peach looked at him, so intent and almost proud.  Would she still give him those longing glances if she knew what he had done?

  It wasn’t worth the risk finding out, and he didn’t want to lie to her either.  She seemed to accept his silence though.

  Before he left she asked what were we going to do. We. He liked that.  Even though it was unspoken she realized that they were a package now.  When it was time to move on they were staying together.

He hadn’t decided what would be better, climbing the mountains into Romania or smuggling her out the other direction.  

  Either way they had to wait until at least April. He hoped by then her traffickers had moved on to other prey.  

  He pulled open the door to the first shop. It was the clothing store.  Even though he wasn’t thrilled with the idea maybe it was time to get Peach some panties.  She could use a pair of boots and a winter coat.

  Bucky couldn’t remember the last time he celebrated any holiday, but maybe he would pick her up a gift too.  He hoped they had some lingerie options. Then it would double as a gift for him.

  The shopkeeper nodded at him and Bucky responded.  He didn’t like to speak to anyone, but decided maybe asking would be the easiest way to get in and out.  

He spoke the local language easily enough.

  “Hello. I was wondering if you could help me...” Bucky trailer off when he saw the sign behind the register.

  It was a normal piece of paper, but in the center was a big picture of his Peach.  Missing, Beloved Niece. 10,000 Euro reward for any information. 100,000 Euro reward if found alive.  There was a contact number.  

 “That sign catches everyone’s eye.” The shopman pulled it off the wall to see another behind it. He set it on the counter. “Big reward.”

  “Yes.” Bucky tried to hide his reaction.

  This was too close to their home, and with this sort of money everyone was looking for his Peach.  

  He wondered how many people in the other town had described him, his motorbike, at least he had his hair piled under the hat today. He would cut it as soon as he got home.

 “She’s probably dead, but that doesn’t stop people from looking. Pretty girl. Someone must have some major plans for her.” The shop keeper smiled. “Keep it, and good luck. Now what can I help you with?”

  Any idea of buying Peach anything went out the window.  He imagined purchasing anything for a female may result in this man calling up the tip line.  

 “I need black t-shirts, some thermal wear, and socks.” Bucky folded up the paper and shoved it in his pocket. “All for me. My size.”

  The shopkeeper walked around the counter to start grabbing the stuff.  Bucky channeled all his rage and fear into keeping cool.  But right now all he wanted was to get home to his Peach.

  The fantasy bubble he’d been living in popped.  And the reminder of how much danger she was in flooded him. But he would protect her. No matter what. Nobody was taking his Peach.

~~ You paced the kitchen, unable to stop crying.  Who was Bucky?  Where were you?  What sort of life were you living?  All the false justifications you were using came crashing down.  

When the sound of keys fitting in the front door came you paused, a shake in your arm.  You were in line with the door and when it opened Bucky walked inside.  His eyes were downcast as he took off the pack on his back.  

He looked up and you locked eyes with him.  At first there was a smile on his face, but it soon dropped.  

“Peach…what are you doing?” He took a step forward.  

“That’s not my name.”  You gave a sniffle and wiped your nose, wishing you had the strength to say these things without tears.

Bucky’s eyes got wide and he held his hands in front of him.  

“Whatever you’re thinking, we can work this out.”  He took small steps.  

There was fear in his face, the way his brow wrinkled.  You were expecting anger, and disappointment.  That would’ve made you crack, but you could deal with fear.  

“Who are you?”  You started pacing again, throwing your arms in the air.  “Why do you have a box filled with guns and money?  What is this place?  Am I prisoner?  Are you the trafficker?  Did you buy me?”  

“Peach, you need to calm down.”  Bucky continued to move slow. “You can hurt yourself.”  

“Are you even listening to me?”  You wanted to scream in frustration.  “This isn’t about me.  It’s about you.  Who are you?”  

“Who am I?”  Bucky was a few feet from you now.

You locked eyes with him again and gave a nod.  You wiped your tears, imagining what a mess you looked like.  

“I am someone who takes care of you.  Who protects you.”  Bucky was about an arm’s length away.  

“NO!” You pinched your eyes shut. “Who were you then?  I have a right to know.”  

Bucky paused, his arms still in front of him.  He was approaching you like you were some sort of wild animal.  It made your resolve falter.  Maybe you were wrong to demand answers.  He kept his eyes on yours as he moved forward again.  

His hand slowly moved toward you, but not like he was going in for a hug.  Then you looked down and saw it.  The gun.  

“Shit.”  You were so into your own head you hadn’t realized you were holding it.  

Before you could react Bucky grabbed your wrist.  He put pressure on it making you cry out and drop the weapon.  He snatched it up and put it on the stove then grabbed your waist and spun you around, slamming you against the counter.  

“I…I…didn’t mean…” You didn’t know how to explain that.  

“SHUT UP.” Bucky growled next to your ear. “Do you want to hurt me?  Or do you want to hurt yourself?”  

You replayed wiping away the tears and your nose, throwing your arms in the air.  You had just been waving around a weapon.  One that was incredibly dangerous and you had no clue how to use.  

“I’m sorry.”  There was a quiver to your voice.  

“Very bad Peach.”  Bucky put his arms over yours and grabbed your wrists, pining them to the counter top.  “Bad.”  

All of the questions you had, your demands on him amounted to nothing.  You shut your eyes as a tear fell.  He was so close to you, if his fingers weren’t bruising your wrists you would say it was almost a protective stance.  You tried to relax your body into his, scared that if he let go he would never touch you again.  That was what you deserved after screwing up this bad.  

“You want to know who I am?”  He bit down hard on your neck.  

You squealed as pain set in.  His teeth vanished and you felt the spot pulsing.  

“I am someone who doesn’t take well to having a gun pointed at them.”  He let go of your wrists and started to stand up.  “Don’t you think about fucking moving from this spot.”  

Your legs wanted to give out and your arms weren’t strong enough to support you, but you forced yourself to stay against the counter, bent forward with your arms in front of you.  

“I am someone who cares about your life more than you do.”  His hands were on your hips and he yanked your pants down.  

He stepped on them with his boot and nudged your foot to step out of them.  You were a mix of emotions, scared of what was happening, angry at yourself for the situation, but most of all hopeful that he was going to touch you. Stripping you was a sign he wasn’t finished with you yet.

“I am someone who corrects poor behavior.”  SPANK!

“Ahhh!” You lurched forward on the counter top when his palm contacted your ass.  

He grabbed your bum and sunk his fingers into the spot he just spanked, making you whimper.

“I am someone who is in control.”  SLAP!  Pain exploded on your other cheek.  

“Oww!” It stung, but the humiliation you were feeling was worse than the spank.  

“I am NOT the type of person who purchases people.”  SLAM!  

That one hurt the worst so far and you cried out again as a new batch of tears came.  How could you have ever thought that?  Bucky would never have bought you.

“I am someone who you NEED to listen to.”  SPANK!  

This time he brought both hands to your ass and again sank his fingers into your burning cheeks.  It made you shudder and fall forward.  Then he was gone again and you tensed, unsure of what was to come.  

“I am someone who knows what is best for YOU.” SLAP!

Your body trembled and you cried again.  He was right, he was so right.  You were a mess and you would be lost without him.  How could you ever think such horrible thoughts about this man?  

He leaned over your body and put his mouth next to your ear.  

“Now, are you my Peach?” Even though it was a question there was no doubt of the answer demanded.  

“Yes.” You nodded furiously.  “I’m your Peach.”  

“Do you want to be my good girl again?”  There was almost a playfulness to his tone now.  

“Yes.  Please, let me be your good girl.”  If said no, you were pretty sure your heart would stop beating.  

He stood back up and the sound of his zipper going down brought your relief and a whole new type of crying.  

Bucky stood behind you and placed one hand on the small of your back before slamming into you in one stroke.  

You gasped and raised your neck.  He slid in with ease.  You were turned on.  From the spanking?  From the dominance?  You didn’t have time to think about it before he started thrusting in and out of you with speed.  There was no warm up or teasing as he pumped you.  

Fingers fisted in your hair and he arched your neck back.  You groaned at the strained position.  

“You are mine Peach.”  He fucked you furiously, slamming his pelvis into your abused rear.  “If you EVER think about hurting yourself, you have no clue what I’ll do to you.”  

It was never your intention to shoot anyone, but you could have.  He sped up and you lost any train of thought as your insides came to life.  You felt the start of an orgasm building, but then he pulled out, leaving you empty and wanting.  

His hand left your hair, but before you could hit the counter he grabbed you and spun you around.  

His face was tight and his blue eyes looked like the devil himself.  There as no forgiveness in him as he grabbed your chin with his metal hand and squeezed slightly too hard.  

“Do you understand?”  He focused on you and you nodded as you whimpered.  

He dropped your chin and his hands were on your shirt, he pulled it over your head, but didn’t take it off.  Instead he twisted in behind your back, essentially binding your arms.  Then he picked you up and set you on the counter.  

“Very bad Peach.” He dropped his vision to your pussy and slammed back inside of you again.  “VERY BAD.”  

You nodded in agreement, unable to come up with an excuse.  His fingers dug into your thighs as he railed into you again.  He put his mouth on your neck and sunk his teeth back down, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough for your to feel the pinch.  

You didn’t deserve it.  You didn’t deserve him, but the orgasm came back.  You couldn’t roll your hips to meet him in this position, but it didn’t matter.  You wanted to touch him, wrap your arms around him for support, but that wasn’t an option either.  You had been so bad, he was right not to let you.  

“I’ll be good.”  You let your head go limp, giving him easier access.  “I’ll be so good for you.”  

He grunted in approval and then dug his fingers harder into your thigh and bit down further.  You cried out, but the mix of pain with the pounding of his cock was enough and your pussy fluttered around him.  Clenching and unclenching as the orgasm shook through you.  

Your vision went dark, but not enough to lose consciousness.  

“Ugh!” Bucky lifted his mouth and jammed inside of you one final time.  

You dropped your head forward on his shoulder, the tears still falling.  You were sorry.  You would show him.  

“Are you okay?”  He brought his hand to your back and pulled your shirt off.

“Yes.”  You through your arms around him, not wanting him to let you go.  

“That was scary Peach.”  He let out a sigh.  “Never again.”  

“Never.”  You squeezed him tighter.  

He pulled out of you and scooped you up in his arms.  Your body was still shaking, but he was so strong.  You felt his gaze on you and looked up.  There was sorrow in his eyes and you hated it that it was your fault.  

“I wanted to see that look one last time.” He swallowed and carried you up the stairs. “I was born March 10th, 1917.  My full name is James Buchanan Barnes.”  

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky fanfic #james buchanan barnes #James barnes x reader #marvel fanfic

[birdsthatsingaftermidnight]

So, we’re watching Return of the Jedi

The alarm going off has nothing to do with the force field being down and everything to do with Darth Vader arriving. AWOOOGA AWOOOGA WEAR LOOSE COLLARED SHIRTS SO AS NOT TO GIVE HIM IDEAS.

- - - 

"I hope so, Commander, for your sake. Don't make me promote you to Admiral so I can kill you and promote someone else to Admiral in your place!"

- - -

"Ne wanga wanga" tentatively translated as "We don't buy at the door."

- - -

"Look, R2! It's Captain Solo! And he's no longer frozen in carbonite! Now he's stored in a massive Irn Bru bottle as a conversation piece!"

- - -

Enter Princess Leia - Space BADASS. Seriously, I watched this when I was five or so and she made such an impact on me.

- - -

Whatever language that is, it doesn't half make "yoto" work for it.

- - -

It's Lando Calrissian! Cunningly disguised by covering his chin. Well DONE, Lando!

- - -

Han Solo falls to the ground, blind and shivering. "I can't see." "Shh. You’re over-reacting to the flu. Take some paracetamol and GET UP."

- - -

"Ho ho ho!" "What's that?" "Oh no! It's SANTA!"

- - -

Chewbacca: "Rarrr!" Tentative translation: "It's only a COLD! Will you PLEASE stop going ON!"

- - -

Luke's not doing anything to the Space D&D Orcs - they're just painfully shy and don't like being pointed at.

- - -

Luke's soft voiced instructions and Bib Fortuna repeating them is great.

- - -

Why doesn't Huttese have words for "Old", "Mind" and "Trick"? I can buy not bothering to translate "Jedi" but otherwise it's just plain lazy.

- - -

I always felt sorry, even as a kid, for the Rancor keeper. I mean, yes, he does enjoy watching the beasty eat people up, but he's SO SAD that his pet is dead! I hope he got a puppy or something to keep him company.

- - -

And where on earth are they going to find a shoe box big enough to bury him in the sad patch behind the shed?

- - -

What makes the Sarlak all-powerful? It's a toothy hole in the ground. It's not like he's going to come over there and get you if you don't stop talking shit.

- - -

Han Solo's dialogue from "I think my eyes are getting better" to "he'll get no such pleasure from us. Right?" is beautiful.

- - -

Bobba Fett - terrifying bounty hunter or space idiot? YOU DECIDE!

- - -

PRINCESS LEIA.

SPACE.

BADASS.

- - -

"Let's go. And don't forget the droids. And somebody lend Leia a t-shirt."

- - -

Yoda: "Twilight is upon me. Read them I have. Will to live lost. Mmmm."

- - -

Why does Luke have to confront Vader again in order to be a Jedi? It seems so arbitrary. Luke: "Instead of confronting Vader, can't I do like three moderately difficult things instead? Drain the swamp. Give you a mani-pedi. I don't know, bake you a cake?"

- - -

Luke: "You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father." Obi-Wan: "Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. Because he was a twat."

- - -

Luke: "Leia. Leia is my sister... but... we..." [Luke vomits in swamp.]

- - -

Mon Mothma, in a haunted voice: "Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

"Maybe we shouldn't have written it on Bothan hide."

- - -

General Madine's fake beard is INCREDIBLE.  Do you think he's on the run and thus in disguise?  If so, I really hope Madine's not his real name, because if it is Mon Mothma just outed him to EVERYONE.

- - -

I love that Han and Chewie bicker like they're a couple on a road-trip and one of them wants to stop and ask for directions.

- - -

"We're all in camouflage, blending in superbly with the Forest Moon landscape. This is excellent! No one will spot us! Let's just remember to bring our pessimistic, anxiety-ridden, SHINY GOLDEN droid with us! That will help us blend in YET MORE BETTER STILL!"

- - -

Finally, a Stormtrooper that hit something!

Seriously - you're going at a MILLION MILES AN HOUR on the Forest Moon of Endor, which is stuffed with Giant Redwoods.  WHY WOULD YOU LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER INSTEAD OF IN FRONT OF YOU? WHY?  That guy is now the poster child for speeder bike safety.

- - -

"Take the squad ahead! You don't need leaders! We're not necessary! You do your thing and we'll go rescue Leia from the Space Bears."

- - -

"Freeze!" [Leia removes poncho. It’s cold on that there moon.]

- - -

Space Bears, sir! THAAAAAAAZANDS OF THEM!

- - -

Why is Princess Leia not getting cooked?  Because, as previously discussed, she is a Space. Badass.

- - -

Ewoks: "We think he's a god. Just a really rubbish one."

- - -

"Now, C-3PO, if someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!"

- - -

By the look on Princess Leia's face, she's just remembered the few times she kissed Luke.

- - -

Emperor: "You want this, don't you?" [Strokes lightsaber suggestively.] Luke: [shudders]

- - -

Emperor: "You, like your father, are now MINE." Me: "It's all going a bit Hugh le Despensers in here." Him: [Knows better than to risk an impromptu history lesson by asking.]

- - -

Everything Admiral Ackbar says is golden. Everything.

- - -

Darth Vader: "It is too late for me, son. Several books I took out of the Naboo library are twenty years overdue and I can't afford to pay the fines. The Emperor is not generous with his pay scales."

- - -

Imperial Officer, thinking: “We’re winning! But ooh… hang on. Ooh, no. The rebels are scary and they have guns and… hold up! I’ve got Stormtroopers! STORMTROOPERS! ADVANCE! Get them surrounded. More surrounded… bit more… Point your guns at them! Oh my good gravy, yes! YES! They’ve surrendered! NOW’S MY CHANCE! Imperial Officer, out loud: "You rebel scum!” Imperial Officer, thinking: "I AM THE GREATEST MAN ALIVE! YESSSSSS!!!!!"

- - -

Lando: "Only the fighters are attacking. I wonder what those star destroyers are waiting for?" [Cuts to star destroyer] Officer: "I wonder what we're waiting for?"

- - -

Alternatively: Lando: "Only the fighters are attacking. I wonder what those star destroyers are waiting for?" Emperor: "You may fire once peak electricity time is OVER, and NOT before!"

- - -

[Speculatively]: "Do you think Stormtroopers are like tortoises? It's not that the Ewoks are so mighty that pushing people over kills them, it's just they can't get up again."

- - -

I don't know why Darth Vader doesn't go down the route that Palpatine did when converting him. It worked well enough to convince him to do any number of rotten things!

"Give in to the dark side, Luke! WE HAVE COOKIES and the Emperor lets you stay up ALL NIGHT if you want!"

- - -

The saddest part of this movie is when one ewok tries to wake the other ewok then realises the other ewok is dead.

- - -

The Emperor does brilliantly evil enunciation.

- - -

The Emperor: "Your feeble powers are no match for the static generated by my polyester robe!"   [shuffles feet on carpet; zarks Luke.]

- - -

The guards the Emperor sent away when Luke arrives, peaking around the corner 1: "It's okay, Darth Vader will protect the Emperor. Yup. There he goes. Oh. Oh, he's lost a hand! Oh, no! It's okay! The Skywalker chap's given up! Oooh! Tough break with the lightning! It's okay though, I reckon we can relax. Darth Vader's not going to grab the Emperor and throw him down that- oh. Oh buggery fuck." The guards the Emperor sent away when Luke arrives, peaking around the corner 2: "Reckon it's time to join the Rebellion, Pete." The guards the Emperor sent away when Luke arrives, peaking around the corner 1: "Yup."

- - -

Darth Vader: "Do you think killing the Emperor is enough to get those library fines taken off?"

- - -

When is an A-Wing not an A-Wing? When it's suddenly a flaming Ford pick-up truck slamming though the window!

- - -

...do you think Darth Vader has to take vitamin D supplements in order not to get rickets?

- - -

Luke's plan: "Look everyone! I saved him! He's back to the light side!" Everyone else: "That's... Darth Vader." Luke: "Yep! And he's a goody now! Isn't that BRILLIANT?" Everyone else: "...um..." Luke: "Let's have a PARTY! Then we can find something for him to do! Isn't this GREAT?" Leia: <facepalm> Darth Vader: "I'm good with children. I have experience. Any you want getting rid of?" Luke: <beaming happily> Everyone else: <stunned silence> Darth Vader: "I'm good at making sure they don't get out of hand."

- - -

Luke: <sadly sets fire to Darth Vader.> Han Solo, downwind: "Could anyone else really go some barbecue right now?"

- - -

Ewok playing music on stormtrooper helmets: "There is a more than zero percent chance that we cooked and ate the previous inhabitants of what is now my new xylophone."

- - -

Force Ghost Obi-Wan: "Wait a minute. How did he get to come back as a young, handsome version of himself? WHY DIDN'T I GET TO COME BACK AS EWAN MCGREGOR?!"

#Star Wars #Return of the Jedi #RotJ #Leia Organa #Princess Leia #Luke Skywalker #Darth Vader #Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #Han Solo #Emperor Palpatine #hilarity

[entomycetic]

BUST AU - Timeskip Moon Base (+other headcanons)

(Made a previous post about my The Space Between Us AU that I’m now calling BUST AU; all you need to know is Steven grew up in the Moon Base, which was remodeled over time to look more like a proper home.) “Here’s an AU that I won’t develop beyond this synopsis!” *immediately spends the entire night world building* ....Seriously its almost 8am, I haven’t left my computer since I made the first BUST post like 9 hours ago or somethin oops- Anyways, I really wanted to design how the moon base house looked in my head! Though after I drew it out, I realized it might be more suitable as a timeskip, when Steven had more say in how it was constructed, and was held more responsible for taking care of himself. I SUPER wanna revisit this and actually make a background for each room, but now is Not The Time, so here’s the general idea!

I wanted to get a sense of scale first, so here’s just the practice of getting the interior down! I used a bunch of screenshots to make an educated guess on the measurements, and boy howdy that is a LOT of room...

And here’s the (timeskipped) house version! (The holes on the far wall allow a platform elevator to efficiently transport people up and down the house, courtesy of Peridot and Pearl’s handiwork.) I went HAM on the decoration man, I’ll explain this chicken scratch bottom to top:

Warp Room

The entrance and exit! The warp pad was placed in its own room so the warp light doesn’t blind anyone. It’s a personal theory that the farther the distance of warping, the stronger the light; and the moon is pretty far!

The Gems bring back as many cool finds as they can to help decorate the space (making sure the sharper things are securely fastened out of reach). Along with this, Steven decorates with his own art and posters that he buys online. 

The Gems made sure to insulate and wall up the murals; they didn’t need him asking about the Diamonds so soon. Some furniture lines the outer wall with maps and books strewn all across them; Steven prefers to be home schooled down here, and it’s also where the Gems usually plan for missions that they want Steven to join. Steven also brought a bunch of flowers down, helping fill in the giant room.

Next to the door is a pair of homemade (but reliable) astronaut suits; they aren’t used very often though, since there’s not much to see outside. The main door used to be locked entirely, until a second airlock was fitted inside.

Kitchen/Living Room

To the left is the general living room area, to the right is the kitchen. The Gems were able to set up electricity, water lines, sewage, the WHOLE package!

The dining table usually has 5 chairs set up, but they keep some extra foldable chairs leaned against the cabinet- just in case.

A large rug, coffee table, two mismatched couches, and a cluttered bookshelf in the living room; long counters, overhead cabinets full of canned goods, a fridge, sink, and microwave oven in the kitchen.

Bathroom/’Shed’

For the sake of privacy, this floor is separated into two rooms with a hallway in the middle. Steven took the liberty of decorating it with a nice table and a flower.

As standard a bathroom you can fined on the moon, on the left- tub/shower combo, a short counter with a sink, a mirror, toilet, standalone closet with ‘typical’ bathroom supplies

Currently, the ‘shed’ is full of books, games, and beanbags; whatever Steven’s family think he might find fun usually ends up here. 

Steven built a little loft area as his first big addition to the house, which he’s proud of; only him and Amethyst have the guts to hang out up there, though. A small TV is used for his video games and movies; he can’t really get a signal for cable on the moon, but he can always watch new movies in theaters in the observatory.

Greenhouse

As it’s titled, where at least half the plants in the house are kept!

This area might have gotten the most upgrades, with Peridot’s help; with regulators and efficient plant lights, this farm and outdoor area is much easier to take care of nowadays.

The first ‘layer’ is a grassy area with a small oak tree and a pond with a few fish.

The ‘shelf’ floors act as a farm, with a variety of crops growing all year round in assorted wall hanging planters.

Plant lights hand down from the shelf floors; the brightest hang above the open area, so the tree gets enough light. Solar panels now line a majority of the outer walls of the base to power the house.

Observatory

Almost the same as it was when the Gems first started renovating; the only difference being the entrance/exit being changed to a different spot. Steven uses this room less ever since he’s been able to visit Earth more, but before then it might’ve been the room he spent the most time in.

Bedroom

The diamond seat was turned into a bed; with some custom-made support between the edge of the seat and the edge of the control panel, a mattress was able to be placed inside; the back of the seat and the control panel acting as the head and foot of the bed. As cool as the view is, Steven placed a removable veil over his bed for when he wants to pretend he isn’t entirely isolated from humanity.

I like to think it’s similar to the conservatory seen in the movie, with beanbags and flowerpots.

Furniture like a dresser and bookshelf was placed on the wall facing away from Earth; his desk faces the Earth. He also made a removable background curtain, so when his friends that don’t know he lives on the moon decide to video call, he doesn’t have to answer many questions.

He has a few hundred feet of string lights hung above everything, kind of like a spiderweb. Pearl calls it a fire hazard, Steven calls it necessary for the aesthetic

There’s all the rooms, now time for some other random headcanons!

Can you tell that I like Steven likes beanbags?

Steven picked up a LOT of hobbies since he had so much alone time; his most frequent being singing/playing instruments, gardening, reading, and art. The gardening helps him take care of the greenhouse, and his art decorates a lot of wall space. He’d have probably picking up cooking if he didn’t have to rely so much on others getting the ingredients for him.

Steven keeps a beanbag in the observatory; he could and does spend hours sightseeing. As fascinated as he is by society, he tries to respect peoples’ privacy as best he can, and doesn’t spy on his friends and family altogether.

A lot of the stuff to build was stolen or taken from garbage; Greg was impressed, exasperated, and afraid for his son when Amethyst told him this. (Amethyst still brings stuff for the house to this day; the foldable chairs, some of Steven’s posters, the living room rug,etc.)

The amount of hours he’s sunk into people watching has inadvertently made him REALLY good at lip reading.

Steven isn’t entirely vegetarian, but a good majority of what he eats comes from the farm in the greenhouse; it’s easy to tend to and is right at home!

The greenhouse used to be Steven’s favorite place to hang out, but seeing the human zoo kind of disturbed him; he still loves it since it’s his home and he likes tending to his plants, but he subconsciously avoids staying there for as long as he used to. (...remind me to never try to do half-assed-and-failed gravity math at 4am ever again. also. heheheh could write some fluffy qpr connverse....or something dramatic like the warp pad breaking...hehehehehehe maybe later tho when i aint dead)

#steven universe #su #steven universe au #the space between us #su bust au #mycoart #mycoau #mynotatian

[yunsoh]

some yukeru headcanons 

- yuki’s first impression of kakeru was primarily annoyance, but also jealousy that he could just sleep wherever he wanted. god_i_wish_that_were_me.jpg

- kakeru doesn’t realize how much yuki actually sleeps until they live together and he just kind of passes out wherever, whenever. this makes for a lot of dual naps because kakeru has always been that bitch.

- granted, they don’t always nap together. most of the time they’ll pass out unprompted in completely separate rooms; they didn’t even know how in-sync they are until one of them is like “so what have you been up to” “sleeping” “what.....me too.........” 

- (i mean, that’s love....... in-sync naps.........)

- kakeru tries getting him into rock music but yuki just isn’t about it. when kakeru asks what music yuki is into, he’s just like “none, i guess?” and kakeru cries a little. 

- but then he makes yuki a lot of playlists of different genres to see what he likes, and all the ones yuki enjoys he saves to another playlist titled “yun-yun ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ has no taste :)” (but he likes listening to it bc it reminds him of yuki, ofc)

- when kakeru asks yuki on a date, yuki’s just kind of like “okay play it cool play it cool,” until they get to their destination and ayame is just. there. kakeru didn’t specify what kind of date it would be, but apparently it was of the “you and your brother need more bonding time” variety. kakeru and ayame are thrilled to see each other again. yuki wants to die the entire time.

- that said, yuki very seriously tells him to never do that again, and kakeru upholds that promise because serious yuki is scary. he does do his damnedest to get yuki to spend more (willing) time with ayame, though.

- it takes a long time for yuki to really tell kakeru why he’s not very close with ayame, which unravels a lot of discussion about his childhood. kakeru’s very gentle and patient with him during these moments, but he’s quick to pick yuki’s mood back up again because “a sad president is unacceptable” 

- kakeru still calls yuki president after they’ve graduated. it’s more or less just a nickname. this confuses their college and post-college friends but it’s literally just second nature to them.

- when yuki starts visiting ayame on his own terms, or starts calling him first when he’s in a pinch/just wants to talk, kakeru brims with excitement. and then takes all the credit, at which yuki tells him not to get a big head. yuki’s often somewhat private about these talks, but kakeru hears about them all anyway from his daily ayame email update. 

- sometimes kakeru just watches yuki garden from afar. something about watching how gentle yuki is with his plants makes him tender. yuki is almost completely oblivious to this, but got startled once because he turned around to find kakeru staring at him. it would have been romantic if kakeru didn’t literally look like that one scene in the office where michael is staring at ryan through the blinds.

- kakeru is more forward in regards to most things, but yuki was the one to kiss him first. kakeru is really flustered about it because he was “building up to it,” and yuki just kind of revels in the fact that kakeru was actually a little shy about something for once. after that, though, kakeru just whines that he wasn’t the one to do it first, and yuki is just like, “does it really matter??”

- actually the first time kakeru so much as kissed his cheek was back when they were still in high school, when kakeru was in ultra pining mode and yuki was none the wiser. it was done playfully (like, jump on yuki’s back and smack a giant kiss to his face playful), but yuki legit almost threw him to the ground lmao. boundaries, kakeru, boundaries.

- kakeru helps yuki with staying tidy, but learns that there are just some things that yuki is more comfortable with leaving messy. yuki’s kind of got his spots where he’s free to do whatever. (it’s not like kakeru’s the pinnacle of cleanliness either -- he’s mostly just attuned to cleaning up from helping machi.) 

- yuki really likes kind of walking in on moments where kakeru is just naturally being quiet -- when he’s studying, or practicing guitar, or just kind of laying there with his headphones on enjoying himself. he tries not to interrupt these moments very often.

- also kakeru plays guitar idk. it seems like one of those hobbies he’d probably pick up. he tries wooing yuki with it sometimes, but it’s usually just to get out of doing something. “do we have to have lunch with my mom :(” “yes, we already told her we’re going, come on we’re going to be late.” “but what if i--” *strums guitar* “kakeru put that thing back from where it came from or so help me” 

- they end up getting involved in a lot of projects together... kakeru’s the brute force and enthusiasm while yuki’s the brains. straight up they probably have a podcast where kakeru always starts with some cold open that blindsides yuki and ends up being their topic. they’re naturally funny together.

- neither of them really proposes to the other. marriage is kind of off-book for them for a little while because of their respective upbringings, but eventually they’re like “you know we’ve practically been married for like five years anyway let’s just do it.” everyone’s really happy for them, but a lot of them thought that they had gotten married a while ago and just didn’t say anything. 

#fruits basket #yuki sohma #kakeru manabe #yukeru #anyways.......i love them #fruits basket spoilers #headcanons

[the-sky-is-awake]

“Forest of Shadows,” Prologue-Chapter 6

I’ve decided to tackle this one after my first post on Conceal, Don’t Feel partially because it’s tougher to summarize and I felt like I should take it slower; for the same reason, I’m not beginning with the sort of general plot summary I used with the shorter book. (CDF is significantly shorter—312 pages to FoS’s 405.) I’ll go straight to the chapter breakdown, then talk about general points at the end.

I will mention just one thing, for those who don’t know: This story is 100% told from Anna’s point of view.

The Prologue begins with young Anna playing with Elsa in the woods at night, only to encounter a white wolf instead:

*****

Anna’s sister turned her head, and that’s when Anna realized her mistake. It wasn’t blond hair she had spotted in the shifting light.

It was white fur.

Anna’s scream stuck in her throat as a giant white wolf prowled out from the thicket with unusual grace, its long limbs uncurling like smoke. Its fierce yellow gaze fixed on her, and Anna’s eyes ran down its huge, horse-sized body… to see four fearsome paws, each the size of one of the large shields of her father, King Agnarr. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

No, the worst was the red-stained fur around its claws and jaw.

Red. The color of blood.

What had happened to her sister?

*****

Impressively scary description, and it shows how the author works from the very beginning to make this strange, magic-centered plot work.

For now, the wolf is just a nightmare, and Anna wakes up in her bed with her parents watching over her (narrative clues suggest this is the night she was struck by Elsa’s powers and taken to the Trolls, but Anna no longer remembers that). Her mother tells her a story and puts her back to bed, but she still can’t sleep.

Chapter One begins “Sixteen Years Later”—weeks before the beginning of Frozen 2—with Anna rushing to meet Elsa one morning. She runs into Kristoff first, then finds Elsa surrounded (as usual) by villagers with problems for her to solve. (Elsa is preparing to leave by ship for a “grand tour” of foreign kingdoms, and Anna secretly, desperately wants to be asked to come along.) Anna manages to get her away, and they go horseback riding through the outlying parts of Arendelle. They run into trouble when one villager flags them down to explain that her cattle have contracted a sleeping sickness whose main symptoms seem to be a spate of blind panic followed by extreme lethargy, black pupils, and fur turning white.

Anna and Elsa promise to help, and go home to search the library for clues to identify the sickness. When Elsa is called away by more cases of the sickness, Anna continues alone—until Olaf shows up.

Olaf’s depiction is one of the interesting aspects of this book, IMO. I read on online review complaining that he seemed “out of character” from the first Frozen, but I thought it was clear the author was trying to show his development leading up to F2:

*****

“It seems that you could use some help,” Olaf said, straightening a coal button. “And in the wise words of many a philosopher, four eyeballs are better than three.”

“Is that what they say?” Anna asked, resting her head on her palm.

Olaf whipped out his favorite pair of ice spectacles, specially made for him by Elsa. “Indeed,” he said.

*****

And later:

*****

She tapped at the title and read it out loud to Olaf. “The Alchemist’s Almanac: A Guide to the Care and Keeping of Fields, Accurate Accounting of the Weather, and Wheat.”

Olaf looked down his pair of ice spectacles at Anna. “Not exactly my genre.”

Anna smiled.

*****

He attends literary lectures (on Dante’s Inferno—“the hotter the tale, the better”), reads “thick tomes of philosophy,” and uses big words correctly. Most of all, the narrative itself—which could so easily have used his new interests as joke material—treats him with deadly seriousness. (It makes me wonder whether, as in the first Frozen, Olaf will turn out to be key to the plot and/or theme of Frozen 2.)

Climbing on a stone statue of a horse made of water(!), Olaf triggers the entrance to a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf, and much of the next few chapters is given to describing the room and Anna’s reaction to it. Gorgeous description, some of the best in the book, and highly significant to the plot, as the room is full of items and books about magic that were mainly studied not by Agnarr, but Iduna (Anna finds them full of notes and translations in her handwriting). And there are relics of a character named Aren, legendary founder of Arendelle, who was supposed to have carved the fjord with his magical sword. (More about him later.)

Anna searches the magic books for something about the animals’ disease (a.k.a. the Blight) and finds a familiar prop—Secrets of the Magic Makers, written in ancient runes but partially translated by Queen Iduna. (More about this later, too.) It contains the map to the Trolls from Frozen, lots of foreshadowing for Frozen 2, and a spell that purports to “make dreams come true.” Anna’s fascinated by everything, and the author does a great job of conveying her curiosity to the reader.

Elsa returns and has a different reaction—she’s disturbed by “all these things in jars… contained and locked away” and wonders why their parents kept their magical studies secret. After a very dense worldbuilding discussion about Aren, she tells Anna to close up the room and leave it alone.

*****

“Stay away from this room, Anna,” Elsa continued, turning away from her and stepping toward the library. “It was left hidden for a reason. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Elsa—”

“Leave it alone.” And when Elsa spoke in that tone, more like a queen than a sister, Anna knew there was no point in arguing.

*****

But Anna, at her most Anna-like, rationalizes her disobedience:

*****

Elsa might be really upset with her if she found out what Anna was thinking, but Elsa would be even more upset if the animals kept getting sick. It would be worth it, Anna told herself firmly, when everything had been fixed—when Anna had fixed things. Besides, Elsa had only said that Anna needed to stay out of this room, but she hadn’t said—or at least, hadn’t said specifically—that Anna couldn’t take some of the room with her.

*****

The piece she takes, of course, is Secrets of the Magic Makers. The description in the next chapter focuses on the book and its contents, which are pretty interesting in themselves but pale in comparison to Anna’s discovery of the loose page whose title Iduna translated as “Make Dreams Come True.” Anna thinks about Elsa’s magic--how it has nothing to do with words or incantations--and puts the page aside. 

She falls asleep, and her dream begins with the sisters dancing at a party and ends with the return of Anna’s childhood nightmare about the wolf. (It’s impressive writing; dream sequences are tough, as it’s hard to make them as properly surreal as this one feels.) When she wakes up she goes looking for her sister, but Elsa’s not in her room (working late, presumably). Anna goes back to her own bed, feeling lonely and reflecting that Elsa will be gone on her grand tour in a few days.

The next morning (Chapter Six), Anna rushes to tell Elsa about the “Make Dreams Come True” spell from the book, thinking it might help with the Blight. But Elsa is already besieged by villagers complaining about a whole new version of the disease, one that destroys plants and is threatening the kingdom’s food supply. Elsa promises to distribute supplies from her own ship and the castle’s kitchens—then Anna interferes and promises, in everyone’s hearing, that Elsa will fix everything within three days (before she leaves on her tour). This pushes Elsa over the edge; she orders Anna out of the Great Hall and—I think for the first time since her coronation ball—yells at her. “Elsa didn’t raise her voice,” the text specifies, but... yeah. Definitely yelling. 

With impeccable timing, Anna presents her solution to the Blight in the form of the magic book. Reigning in her temper, Elsa takes the book and promises to look it over, though she says, “I don’t think magic is the answer to all of our problems.” (Anna later finds the book left behind, unopened, after one of Elsa’s meetings, and feels hurt all over again. She’s especially disappointed because she thinks if she can “prove herself” to Elsa, she can get herself invited on the grand tour.) Trying to make herself useful, Anna volunteers to take on some of Elsa’s paperwork, and they both go off to their separate tasks.

General Comments:

--When the plot summary for this book was released months ago, people puzzled over its strangeness (a new disease, a giant wolf, Anna working magic?), but the author works hard from page one to make it feel plausible. The nightmare is a quite realistic holdover from Anna’s childhood, and I love how, even within the nightmare, Anna’s greatest fear is that the wolf has gotten Elsa.

--I found Olaf to be one of the most pleasant surprises in this book, especially since his depiction seems to mirror what’s been done in Frozen 2 (e.g., “How do you handle the increasing complexity of thought that comes with maturity?”). I was intrigued by his ice spectacles too; were they just for show, or has Elsa become some kind of optics expert with ice?

--Although the author takes almost a quarter of the book to build up to the plot’s leap forward in Chapter Seven, she keeps things interesting on the way. Anna spends from pages 40 to 80 (in my print edition) researching diseases and magic in the library and the secret room, with the narration dropping continuity details and magical worldbuilding hints left and right. 

We’re told about the nervous habits that have taken the place of Elsa’s gloves (and Anna’s reaction to them), Anna’s apprehensions about travel by sea (hers or Elsa’s), what happened to Olaf’s flurry, when and by whom Arendelle Castle was built, and lots of information about the country’s legendary founder, Aren (a Viking—although the author doesn’t use that word—with a legendary sword and his own saga in rhyming iambic tetrameter, which Elsa knows by heart). He’s supposed to have carved Arendelle’s fjord and become one of the great leaders Elsa compares herself unfavorably to (“History seems to be full of great leaders,” she says pensively, obviously including herself out). It was here that the tone of the book really began to remind me of the two Tangled YA novels I read earlier this year (Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon and Rapunzel and the Vanishing Village, both by Leila Howland). This book builds the world of Arendelle in much the same way those two build Corona, with a bunch of secret, lost, or mythical items, stories, and poems, carefully built into a rather Disney-ish legendary history that later becomes key to the plot. (I don’t mean “Disney-ish” in any bad way, btw... I like Disney-ish stuff. It’s cute.) 

--Aside from a bunch of Chekov’s Gun details about Aren and Arendelle, the other major worldbuilding effort centers around Iduna’s magical research (and I was intrigued by its being Iduna who took the lead, if only because Agnarr’s magical inquiries are so prominent in one of my favorite Frozen fic series, the Shardsverse). The book Secrets of the Magic Makers is prominent in Frozen (I really need to dig up a post about that I reblogged some time ago...), and has Frozen 2 connections, so its fascinating to get a glimpse inside it:

*****

Secrets of the Magic Makers was more than just a collection of stories. It almost seemed like a field guide… There were histories of enchanted forests, and things that looked like recipes. And while several of the text passages had not been translated by her mother, many had.

*****

In fact, many of these worldbuilding details have connections to Frozen 2. Aside from the water horse statue and maps (in the text and on the endpapers) that mention a Dark Sea, there are many, many mentions of Earth Giants, forest spirits, and Huldrefolk (who played took the place of the Trolls in the Frozen Broadway musical and become important to this story later). And three times—twice in four pages in Chapter Three, then again in Chapter Five—the narrative references “(dangerous) shape-shifters in a cursed/enchanted forest” (the final reference, on p. 74, says “shape-shifters who lived with herds of reindeer”). Coincidence?

--One more interesting theme is the difference between Anna’s and Elsa’s reaction to all this magical knowledge:

*****

“I need to go.” Elsa’s voice was quiet. “This place creeps me out.”

“What do you mean?” Anna didn’t think she had ever been in a more beautiful room with still so much to explore. The possibilities were endless!... Excitement again rose within her. “The answers to how to stop the Blight could be in here! Maybe there’s even more magic out there, magic that can actually help us!”

Elsa flinched.

*****

Ouch... >_< In fact, throughout the book, Elsa remains extremely sensitive on the subjects of leadership and magic... as we’ll see when we get into the meat of the story, next chapter. 

#Boy is this rambly #Also late :-( #But it's done! #Frozen 2 books #Frozen 2 merchandise #Frozen 2 spoilers #Frozen 2 #Forest of Shadows #Frozen 2 speculation

[enkelimagnus]

A Winx Club Shadowhunters AU - Clizzy, Malec & others

Her name is Clary Fairchild, and she’s an entirely normal 19-year-old human girl.

Except she isn’t. That comes at a complete surprise just as she’s about to die a horrible death at the hands of a yellow ogre. That’s just what she gets for trying to save Isabelle, a fairy Princess from the planet Solaria.

Her life is changed forever as she embarks on a journey that will give her more than she could ever hope for.

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Event - On AO3

Amber Fairchild let her fingers trace over the black smudgy lines of her daughter’s charcoal drawing of a landscape of Gardenia. In particular, it was a drone-view of the area where the Fairchilds’ house was located.

Behind it, on the cork board, was pinned another charcoal drawing, these times of fairies. Amber could only see two but she knew there were 3. They were quite beautiful. Clary was getting better at facial expressions.

On the drawing desk were a couple of more sheets of paper. Two versions of the same castle, a fairytale-worthy structure, complete with thin flags flowing over the towers, from different views. And a portrait of a woman. The woman strangely looked like Clary. Like a family resemblance.

Amber wondered if Clary was drawing what she thought her birthparents looked like. Amber and William Fairchild had never hidden the fact that Clary was adopted from her. It had never seemed to be an issue for Clary, but maybe she was starting to want to know more.

That was knowledge that the Fairchilds didn’t have. William had found Clary in a house fire, eighteen years ago.

Clary had turned nineteen less than a week ago.

It was a bit of a shock, for Amber. Her baby was all grown up now. She was going to start her second year at the prestigious Gardenia Academy of Art in a couple of weeks, and she was growing into a fierce and wonderful young lady.

Amber stepped over the clothing and the books that were scattered over the floor. Clary was maybe an adult now, but she was still a messy teenager.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Amber called, slightly louder than she usually would. "The sun’s been up for ages!"

The dog that they owned, a fawn-and-white one-year-old whippet named Kiko that was surprisingly human some days, was napping in his basket next to the bed.

Clary shifted in her bed, only her red hair visible in between her pillow and the duvet.

"Five more minutes, Mom," she grumbled and buried her face impossibly further into the pillow. Amber smiled widely and moved a little closer.

"You’re late, Clary!" She said softly, in a sing-song voice, right next to her daughter’s face.

There was a second-long beat, during which Clary put two and two together and suddenly she bolted out of bed. "FUCK!" She cursed loudly as she ran around the room. "How the fuck did I miss my alarm?"

Amber winced at the curses. Yes, they had allowed uncensored swearing to Clary on her 18th birthday, but that didn’t mean it was easy to get used to.

"It’s the first day of the school year, none of my things are ready, what the fuck was I thinki-" Clary stopped, one leg down her jeans and looked up.

"Hang on a sec," she said softly, before turning towards her mother. "YOU. That’s SO not funny," she grumbled.

Amber chuckled. School was not starting again before a couple of weeks. "You fell for it, didn’t you?" She crossed her arms.

Clary finished putting on her black croptop and ripped jeans, before falling bad onto the bed dramatically. "I don’t care. I’m going back to bed."

Amber sighed. "It’s 9am. Late enough."

Clary huffed and slid under her duvet again. Kiko jumped onto the bed and snuggled against her.

Amber looked at her softly. "You should try going to bed earlier, you know. You were up really late last night." William and her had gone to bed relatively late, and they had seen the light under the door of her bedroom.

"I was reading..." Clary sighed.

Amber grabbed the book she was pointing at from the floor. The cover had a fairy on it, just like Clary’s drawings. She sighed. This was a little more mature and scientific, if there was such thing as the scientific study of fairies.

""Fairies: Myth or Reality?"" She read out, and huffed. "Urgh, don’t you ever get tired of these silly things?" She asked softly.

Clary shook her head. "I don’t. I like them."

Amber nodded. "Alright then. Who am I to call them silly if you care about them so much?"

Clary sat up on her bed. With her messy hair and her tired look, she still looked like a child to Amber. Her smile was still as contagious.

"Thanks, Mom," she said softly.

Amber waved it off. "Oh, It’s nothing, darling. Now, come get coffee."

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

Since she’d woken up early, Clary guessed she got to be doing some stuff. She’d decided to take Kiko on a trip to the park. The park allowed for dogs to be unleashed, as long as people were careful.

It was Clary and Kiko’s favorite place to go. Usually, Clary would run around and play for a while, before sitting down by her favorite tree and drawing while Kiko either went to run around or laid by her feet.

Clary rode her bike, with Kiko secured in a basket, to the park, where she settled at her usual spot. She put her back against the tree and grabbed Kiko’s toy.

After a few rounds of throwing and running and playing, she decided to sit down. Kiko still seemed to have a bunch of energy so she let him go play."Go on Kiko, but stick around, alright?" She called.

She sat down on the grass and grabbed her sketchpad. She barely had time to get drawing that Kiko came back, howling, absolutely terrified.

"What’s the matter Kiko?" Clary asked, gently patting the terrified animal. She stood up, looking towards the part of the park Kiko had come running from.

It was a deeper, wilder part, where people went a little more rarely. She swallowed and stepped forward, grabbing the pepper spray from her bag and walking into the bushes.

Kiko followed, whining at her feet, almost trying to tell her not to come. Clary stopped next to a clearing, as strange noises were coming from it.

From behind the tree, Clary saw something that she couldn’t really explain.

It was a woman. More exactly, it was the most beautiful woman Clary had ever seen. Her tan skin radiated with a glow that definitely couldn’t come from only body glitter. Clary swallowed. She wore shorts and a one-shoulder crop top, made of a glittery golden orange material, that hugged her curves perfectly. She had matching heeled boots. Her dark hair was parted into two low pigtails, held with golden orange bands.

Clary’s eyes opened wider. From the woman’s shoulder blades sprouted translucent blue wings. They were delicate and beautiful, glittering gently with every motion of her body.

She was fighting, kicking at strange monsters. She had a cyan-blue scepter with a sun-shaped circle at the top, in her left hand, and Clary focused on that rather than the rest of the seriously wrong things happening in front of her.  

"Rising Sun!" The woman shouted, and a blast of blinding golden light erupted from her right hand, sending one of the monsters tumbling down, screaming in pain, before it quickly disappeared in a pile of ash.

"Wow!" Clary heard herself say. She could feel the power that came from the woman. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. "Goodness, did you see that Kiko?" The dog was hiding, trembling, behind a log.

"Solar Wind!" This time, the wave of light was more diffuse, but it still was successful in burning away a number of the small monsters. It was... it was like the woman was doing spells. That and the wings... Clary felt a headache forming between her temples.

“I am warning you," the woman spoke out. Her voice was calmer than Clary’s would have been in the same situation. "Leave this realm now or you will feel the magical wrath of the Sun and Moon fairy!"

The yellow monster erupted in a loud laugh, that turned into an animalistic snarl, and then it charged. It started running, full speed, towards the relatively small - if unnaturally powerful - woman.

She put up a fight, but was violently shoved backwards. Clary saw her fly over a short distance and land painfully on the grassy ground.

"Oh my god!" Clary exclaimed.

The woman wasn’t getting up. She was laying very close to where Clary was still hidden, and she wasn’t getting up. She was trying, but the painful landing had cut off her breath and she was struggling to regain it.

"Your time is up fairy!" The monster shouted. It turned to the smaller monsters, red, ant-like creatures. "Take the scepter! Give me that scepter!"

The small creatures pounced. Clary almost screamed as they attacked the woman on the ground, holding her down and prying open her fingers to get the scepter out of her hand.

They ended up managing to get it from her when they used their paws to block out her eyes and mouth, keeping her from breathing and seeing. She instinctively let go of the scepter, and the monsters took advantage of that.

The yellow monster smirked as the scepter was given to him. "Not so strong now, are you?" He growled, and moved, aiming towards the fallen woman with the scepter.

Clary moved without thinking. She ran out from the trees and stood in front of the woman, standing tall and looking at the monster with a hiss. "Let her go!"

The monster raised its eyebrows. Yes, it had eyebrows. What the fuck?

"Get her!" It roared.

She saw the monsters coming at her. She felt the flame inside of her. It built from her heart to her fingertips, burning, pulsing, wanting to get out. And it did. She felt the flame leave her skin and radiate around her, and the monsters died as they touched it.

She blinked, her fingers tingling. One of the remaining monsters grabbed Kiko’s tail, making him yelp loudly. "Hands off Kiko!" Clary grabbed a branch and beat it off of him.

Well. She wasn’t that bad at self-defense.

A giant yellow hand wrapped around her wrists, pinning both of them in one crushing grip. She groaned loudly in pain and tried to get away.

She felt it again. With the pain crushing her wrists, came also the flame. It burnt again, from her heart onwards. She closed her eyes and felt it escape her body again.

The monster screamed in agony. Clary pried her eyes open, only to be blinded by a too-bright ray of light. She closed them again, but small light spots still danced behind her eyelids.

"Hey, that was... powerful," the woman said.

Clary opened her eyes again, and her vision was back to normal. She could already feel she would have a headache, and she felt absolutely exhausted, but she could see alright.

The woman, with her dark hair, her wings and her orange glittery clothing, was staring at her with awe. She had dark eyes that held a bright spark, her lips were painted red, and it looked like she’d sacrificed at least a dozen children to some dark deities for her beauty.

She walked closer to Clary and held out her hand, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. Her voice was even nicer when she wasn’t yelling.

Even if she was standing in shadows now, she was still glowing.  The Sun and Moon Fairy . If that was true, the glowing would make sense.

"Yeah..." Clary managed to reply, mouth hanging open, trying to  wrap her head around the situation. A stunning woman with wings, who referred to herself as a fairy, was holding her hand like it was something precious, after Clary had protected her from a monster.

Said monster got up from the ground then. The woman - the fairy - turned around. She planted her feet into the ground. "You want the scepter? Come and get it!" She taunted. A burst of golden light caught the monster square in the chest, sending him flying back.

Clary was about to shout at her to watch out for the remaining of the ant-like monsters but the woman was already moving. She snarled with effort, the entire scepter and her hands lighting up with the same gold light that seemed to envelop all her spells.

She jumped, a powerful, unnatural leap aided with her wings’ flying ability, twirled the scepter over her head at lightning speed and suddenly cut through the air.

All around her, following the path of the scepter, light erupted and monsters turned to ash.

She twirled the scepter one more time in her hands, this time more for a flourish, before winking at Clary. Clary swallowed.

"We will meet again, fairy!" The yellow beast warned, before disappearing in a beam of purple light.

A heaviness that Clary had not realized was in the air lifted with the creatures departure.

"Thank goodness," the woman exclaimed. She seemed genuinely relieved, even if she had demonstrated quite the abilities. "They’re gone at last!"

Clary was about to reply, ask questions, do something, but the woman faltered. She crumbled to the ground, and let go of the scepter.

Clary rushed to her side. "Hey are you alright?" She called out.

There was no reply. A bright light enveloped the woman’s unmoving body, and in the blink of an eye, her wings, her costume, and her pigtails were gone. Gone too was the glow that had seemed to radiate from her.

Her boots had changed to less practical heeled sandals, her crop top had changed shapes, with added cyan blue accessories and strings that wrapped around her waist. The shorts she’d been wearing became a skirt, long and flowing, with the same blue strings holding it to her waist.

The bands holding her hair parted were gone, it flowed free against the ground, and on her head rested something Clary recognized as a tiara, a cyan blue headband-like tiara that also had a sun-shaped circle at the back of her head, in the same shape as the top of the scepter.

Panicked, Clary looked around and realized the scepter was gone.

Fuck. She needed to call her parents.

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

Clary stared at the shredded pant leg of her jeans, toying with the straw in her lemonade glass. She hadn’t realized that the creatures had ruined it before she’d been home, with the woman laying on her bed, asleep.

She could hear her mom and dad’s hushed whispers. They were standing in the kitchen, and the kitchen was only a few feet away. They weren’t exactly stealthy.

"Clary," her father started, turning to her and speaking a bit louder. "I’m not sure I understand. Could you run that by me again?"

She sighed deeply, looking up at him and leaning back in her chair. "It’s not complicated. Kiko and I were in the park. He got spooked so I went to see what was going on. She was there, fighting creatures. They called her a fairy. She called herself a fairy."

William sighed. Clary loved her dad, but she knew he was a skeptic when it came to these things. Neither Amber nor William really believed in the supernatural, magical things that Clary believed in.

Clary was very different from her parents. Physically of course, since she was adopted. They were both brunettes, and there weren’t a redhead in their family. Her face was different, her stature was different.

But in their beliefs too. Clary had always like the idea that there was more to the world that the things she could see. She believed in magic, and in the things that went bump in the night.

"Hmm, I see," William mumbled.

"You believe me then?" Clary asked, even if she honestly had little hope that he did.

"No, I don’t! I think we should call the police and take this girl to a hospital."

It was a sensible offer but Clary opened her mouth to refuse. She didn’t have time to.

At that moment, a voice resounded in the room. "No, no please. Don’t tell anyone."

The woman - the fairy - was standing in the doorway to the bedrooms corridor. She looked a bit pale, but perfectly alright. She was still incredibly beautiful.

Amber immediately stood up straighter and walked to her. "How do you feel dear?" She asked softly. She guided her to sit down on the couch. The four of them all moved to the living room.

The fairy sat gracefully, at the age of the couch, back straight and ankles crossed elegantly.

"I’m all right," she said softly to Amber. She then turned to Clary. "Thank you for helping me out."

Clary shook her head. "Why else could I have done? Leave you passed out in the middle of the park?"

The fairy smiled gracefully. "Still. You were very kind to bring me to your home." She looked regal sitting there, in her fancy clothing and the tiara that she still wore. She was silent and elegant.

"I’m Clary," Clary said softly. "Clary Fairchild. And these are my parents. Amber and William Fairchild."

The woman nodded. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Isabelle. My friends call me Izzy." There was more to that, but Clary waved it away. They were strangers, after all.

"Can we drive you somewhere, Izzy?" William asked.

Clary almost glared at him. She could feel in his tone that he wanted Izzy out of their home as fast as possible. Now that she looked alright and awake, there was no reason for her to stay longer, right?

Izzy had a small chuckle. "That would be difficult. I come from a place that’s a bit far from here."

"Fairyland?" William huffed.

Izzy raised a perfectly styled eyebrow in his direction. "There’s no such thing. Maybe the Legendarium World would qualify, but that’s only where the Ancestral Fairies came from, not where they reside. I am from Solaria. Not Fairyland." Her voice was cold.

William opened his mouth and closed it right after. Clary’s head felt like it was spinning. She’d read nothing about the Ancestral Fairies or the Legendarium World. She’d never even heard of those before, in all her research about fairies.

"But you’re a fairy, right?"

Izzy turned to her and nodded, smile coming back to her lips. "I am. The Fairy of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars. One day, I will be the Guardian Fairy of my Kingdom, Solaria."

So Guardian Fairies were a thing. Alright, that was something that Clary understood.

"How did you end up on Earth?" Clary asked curiously.

"I was trying to get to Alfea castle in the realm of Magix... It’s one of the magical dimensions, and Alfea is the College for Fairies. It’s the best school out there for fairies."

Clary could almost physically feel the skepticism and annoyance coming from behind her but sighed.

"Those creatures attacked me and I was forced to land here, on your planet," Izzy continued, before she turned to Amber and William. "Your daughter saved my life. I had never seen instinctive magic quite like that."

Clary shook her head. "I... I don’t know what happened. It all went so fast and the flame..."

"It was similar to the fire magic I’ve seen before," Izzy pointed out. "And you don’t actually need to know how. Instinctive magic exists in all of us magical beings, may we be Fairies or not."

William sighed and looked at both Clary and Izzy. "I don’t... I don’t understand what’s going on."

Amber shook her head. "I don’t understand either. But this..."

"It could be some sort of scheme. Acting."

Izzy stood up gracefully. She slid the blue ring she was wearing off of her finger, and it suddenly changed shapes. She was now holding the scepter that the monsters had been trying so hard to get.

Clary exhaled. Now she didn’t have to break it to her than she had lost her precious scepter.

Izzy planted the scepter firmly in front of her and put her two hands on it, one above the other. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Amber gasped as a bright ball of light came out of the sun-shaped circle at the top of the scepter. It danced around the living room, moving between the four of them with elegance, following motions of Izzy’s fingers.

"Can you believe me now?" She asked softly.

Amber looked over at her. "I think I do."

William stayed silent.

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

Clary sat down heavily on her bed. It felt like so much had happened since she’d left it, this every morning.

Now, there was a fairy in her bedroom. She wasn’t as tall as Clary would have imagined a fairy would be. Actually, Clary and her were about the same height. The fairy was maybe a bit smaller even, was she to take off her heels.

Said fairy, Izzy, was currently looking around Clary’s room. She was especially focused on the drawing table and the drawings that Clary had pinned on the corkboard. She reached up and gently touched the one with the fairies.

“Did you draw these?" She asked, tone curious, as she turned around and looked at Clary. Her eyes were shining.

"Yes. I’m an art student.”

“That’s amazing! And so are those drawings!” Izzy exclaimed. There was a hint of black from the charcoal on her fingertips as she pulled her hand back. “I’m a student too. Guardian fairy curriculum, at Alfea College for Fairies.”

Clary raised an eyebrow. “So there are classes on how to be a fairy?”

“Not exactly?” Izzy hummed. “You take classes to learn how to harness all of your power and make sure you’re using your magic correctly. That’s the gist of most fairy programs in the magical dimensions, but Alfea has a special Guardian Fairy program. You learn how to care for your realms, your planets… And you get pushed to reach the ultimate fairy form that Guardian Fairies have to have. The Enchantix.”

Clary chuckled. “You’re speaking Chinese.”

“I’m not. I’m speaking Earth English,” Izzy raised an eyebrow.

“I meant, I don’t really understand what you’re saying. This is so new to me. Real fairies seem very much entirely different from what we learn about fairies on Earth.”

Izzy hummed, walking over to the book about fairies that Clary had been reading the night before. She picked it up and flipped it open, looking through some random pages.

"Is your world like that?" Clary asked softly. “Do they have some things right?”

The woman seemed to hesitate a little. “They have a few things right. But it’s not as pretty as in this book. Not as perfect. There are issues, like in every other world, every other society. And not every fairy is sweet and perfect. Fairies may use white magic, maybe, but not all fairies are good.”

Clary nodded a little, sighing. “I guess… Yeah. It’s just weird. To think that, this morning, I mostly thought it was a fairytale, a story.”

Izzy smiled softly, looking at her. “And now, there’s a real life fairy in front of you?”

Clary sighed. “And I might be one.”

“Your power sure felt like fairy magic to me. I mean, I’m not a professional, far from it. I did just spend a year at a school full of them though. And grew up around a couple. The King and Queen of Solaria made sure I had only fairy tutors.”

Clary huffed, standing up and going to tidy some things. “The King and Queen had something to say in your education? Damn.”

“The King and Queen of Solaria are my parents.”

Clary turned around and stared at the other woman. So that explained the regal manners, the perfectly polished behavior and the way she spoke. It wasn’t just what fairies were like, it was what a fairy princess was like.

“You’re a princess, too?”

Izzy chuckled. She stood up straighter, taking the ring off of her finger again and looking at Clary. She took a complicated bow, using the scepter for balance, her dark hair flowing over her shoulders. She looked up at her and smiled.

“Princess Isabelle of Solaria, Princess of the Sun and the Moon, and Fairy of the Sun and the Moon. One day, surely, Guardian Fairy of the Kingdom of Solaria,” she introduced herself.

Clary couldn’t help but stare at her. It was… so much. There was a fairy princess in her bedroom, and she was absolutely beautiful. And sweet.

“And you, my dear,” Izzy said walking towards her and gently cupping her cheek. “might just be the Fairy of Fire.”

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

The grass under Clary’s feet felt unnaturally soft. She guessed it was all unnatural, since they were in what Izzy called a bottomless postcard. Clary looked up. There was a rectangle in the sky, an opening, through which she could see the ceiling of her bedroom.

They stood in what looked, felt and seemed like a normal clearing in the some cartoonishly perfect woods. The trees looked like they had been drawn from the dreams of a ten-year-old, and the birds were singing. The rays of sun on Clary’s skin were so bright and defined that they seemed solid.

In front of her, Izzy had her eyes closed, her head tilted back slightly as she let the sunbeam fall on her features. Her skin was golden then, smooth and perfect. Everything seemed smooth and perfect.

Clary wondered whether it was the fact that it was a postcard that made it like this, almost unreal. Maybe it was just how it was in this magic world.

Izzy re-opened her eyes and for a moment, they shimmered gold, the sunray catching directly in them and transforming the darkness of her iris into light.

“So this is Alfea Castle,” Izzy exclaimed. Clary stopped staring at her and looked over where Izzy was pointing. They were close to it.

It was niched in the forest and felt like a safe haven from the world. Nothing imperfect could happen here, she was sure of it. While the roof was blue and almost blended in with the sky, the walls of the castle were a soft pink with purple accents. It reminded her a bit of cotton candy. But elegant cotton candy.

The buildings had a roundness to them that reminded Clary of the ones she would draw as a child. The whole area felt like taking a step back into her childhood, revising the perfect world that she had imagined fairies lived in. She hadn’t been so wrong, after all.

There were tall windows and balconies over the upper levels of the building. “Do people live there?”

Izzy nodded. “It’s a boarding school. Up to six people can share an apartment, itself divided in rooms. Royalty, like me, usually get solo rooms. You’d be getting a room with a roommate probably. “

Clary didn’t know if she would mind. As long as the other girl wasn’t weird with her because Clary was gay, she would love to share a room with someone and live out some sort of collegial dream that her proximity with her school in Gardenia didn’t allow her. Even if she loved the fact that she didn’t have to pay to live at her parents’. Thinking of Gardenia…

“What about my school in Gardenia? I would waste so much money dropping out of there and coming here… It’s free right?”

Izzy shrugged. “For someone like you? Absolutely. We royals pay entrance fees and donate money so others, with less money, can have it for free. It’s also considered a good deed, and charity is a very important value, especially in the fairy world.”

Clary opened her mouth and tried to think of something to say, but all of what was playing in her head was the stupidities and cruel words that politicians said on tv. About not wanting to pay so others can have access to the same things as them, especially things like healthcare or education.

Maybe some of those people existed in this world, but they seemed to be enough of a minority that prestigious schools like Alfea didn’t work with their model.

“I’m sure you’d like it here," Izzy grinned.

“I don’t know… I have to talk about it with my parents. It’s a big change.”

The idea of letting go of her spot at the Gardenia Academy of Arts, the idea of leaving Gardenia behind, leaving the future she had envisioned behind and diving head first into this new world and this new life terrified her.

She could feel a pull in her heart, a feeling that, if she did not take the chance, she would throw away the chance to follow her fated path. But was it strong enough to counteract the rational concerns about money and future?

“Listen, you have a night to think about it. Talk with your parents, think a bunch. When I’m leaving tomorrow, I can take you with me. But after that… I have no idea when you’d meet another fairy able to get you here…” Izzy said softly. “Though I would probably come back for you.”

Clary opened wide eyes at that. “Really?” She whispered and some kind of weird hope and warmth filled her chest.

Izzy nodded, looking at her softly. “Really. There is something about you… I feel like our paths have crossed for a reason. I was destined to crash on Earth, be saved by you, and bring magic into your life. I can’t explain it.”

Clary didn’t know if she could believe her. Izzy was wonderful and beautiful and almost unreal. What if Clary was just hallucinating this? What if this was just a dream?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Izzy taking her hand in hers. Clary looked down at their two hands joined, her skin looking absolutely white next to Izzy’s darker tone.

“Let’s get out of there, alright?” Izzy asked.

Clary nodded.

“All you gotta do is jump up!” Izzy explained and looked up at the opening in the sky. She looked over at Clary for a moment. Clary nodded at her again. They counted to three and jumped.

Clary could feel herself pulled upwards, and it was a bit uncomfortable, but very quick. It passed easily. She shook her head as she resurfaced in her bedroom, struggling a little to adapt.

She didn’t have much time to do the adjustments however, because a few seconds after they had come back from the postcard, there was a loud crash, coming from downstairs. It was followed by a great snarl.

Izzy’s eyes opened wide at that and she turned to Clary. They rushed downstairs immediately.

It was chaos. The small red ant-like monsters were back, and Clary could see the massive back of the yellow creature. There was another one with them this time, it was blue and it was snarling the loudest. They were making quick work of destroying the living room

"Those girls must be around here somewhere," the yellow one growled.

Before he could ask Amber and William where they were, Clary and Izzy came up behind them. There was a fire in Izzy’s eyes that Clary hadn’t really seen before. She’d already been tired when they’d met in the midst of battle.

"We’re right behind you!" Izzy called out. The yellow monster growled in confusion and Izzy smirked. “Let’s end this, shall we?"

Before Clary could say anything, Izzy was standing in front of her, feet planted wide. “Solaria!” She shouted, and a beam of bright light surrounded her in a blinding pocket of light. Clary lost sight of her, but only for a second. Almost immediately, rays erupted from the light cocoon, and the cocoon exploded.

Gone were the royal garments and the tiara, and back were the fairy wings. She wore the same outfit Clary had seen on her in the park, orange cropped top with only one shoulder, short shorts of the same sparkling orange material, and knee high boots. Her hair had magically been divided into two pigtails held by orange tube ties, and Clary felt the power radiating from her. Her first impression hadn’t been mistaken. In her fairy form, Izzy was glowing.

Clary gasped as Izzy immediately flew forward, kicking the blue monster in the chest. She had the time to notice nipple rings on this one. What was THAT about? Clary decided not to focus on the possibly kinkiness of the enormous blue monster that was destroying her home.

"What’s the use of you?” The yellow beast snarled at the blue one. “You got beat by a cutesy fairy!"

Izzy landed on her feet and raised an eyebrow. “Of course he did. But... I’m no ordinary fairy,” she chuckled. “I’m the Princess of Solaria!”

She turned to Clary. “Clary, we’re outnumbered. We’re gonna have to split them up."

Without thinking, Clary nodded. “Alright, I have an idea. I’ll take care of the red ones."

She was running entirely on automatism. She shot a quick glance at Amber and William, nodding at them reassuringly, before she started running out of the house. She ran through the corridor and the kitchen, slammed the door open and ran outside. She shut the door back once she was there, keeping the red creatures outside.

Once there, she froze. “Fuck.” She had no idea what to do.

By her side, Kiko was barking and shaking, in a mix of wanting to protect her and being absolutely terrified. She definitely could relate to that feeling. She wanted to protect her home and her parents, but now she was outside, alone, with four little red monsters that could maybe possibly kill her. She wasn’t exactly comfortable.

She got into position to try and summon the magical flame that she’d felt in the park. She took a deep breath. “Come on, Clary,” she whispered. “You can-”

She didn’t have time to finish her sentence. Out of thin air, the yellow monster had appeared and had crashed down on the red monsters, killing them instantly. The yellow creature itself looked pretty damaged.

Well. Izzy sure knew how to command respect.

Right as she was thinking that, there was a loud crashing noise and Izzy came flying through the glass window. She landed on the ground and groaned loudly.

“Izzy!" Clary exclaimed, running to help her get up. She didn’t look in that good of a state. Her previously so smooth and perfect skin was littered with small cuts from the glass, and she could see a couple of pieces sticking out of some slightly deeper wounds. She was bleeding. There were cuts in her wings too, shredding the delicate membranes.

"Don’t worry,” Izzy smiled a little, but you could see it was painful. “I’ve called the Specialists."

The what now? "Who?"

Izzy didn’t reply. Whoever the Specialists were, Clary sure hoped that they were coming soon. The blue monster - that she’d heard referred to as a troll - was now coming out of the main door. Coming through might be more appropriate, as the beast just forced its way through the wood.

It walked, slowly, and all Clary could do was watch. Izzy seemed weaker even than at the park, and she almost couldn’t sit up. There was no hope. They were going to die in there, because there was no way that people from another dimension would show up THAT fast.

Clary closed her eyes and held Izzy’s hand as the creature loomed over them. “I love you, mom and dad.” She whispered, even if she knew they couldn’t hear her. They’d fled through the back of the house.

She smelled the troll’s nauseating breath on her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She was only 19. She couldn’t even summon the little bits of power she had. She waited for death.

Death didn’t come. There was a loud crack, the crack of a whip, and the troll snarled.

Clary opened her eyes. A thick black cable was wrapped around the troll’s neck, pulling it backwards. She took in a ragged breath, eyes following the cable to where four men were standing.

The one holding the whip had blond hair that flopped over his face. He wore a… bodysuit? With a cape? And very tight, at that. Clary put the outfit in the “WTF - will revisit later and demand an explanation” folder of her brain that was growing fuller by the second, at this point.

"Guys, I’m ready,” one of the other men said. This one had short dark hair and glasses. So there were magical creatures with vision issues. Okay. Good to know, she guessed.

The one in between whip-guy and glasses-guy had dark hair, a bit of a frown and was very tall. Taller by a few inches than the three other men for sure. "Alright, let’s take him to jail where he belongs." He called out. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

Whip guy huffed. "What’s the rush? Don’t you want to have a little bit of fun first?"

Clary almost yelled at him that Izzy was on the floor bleeding and that if they could remove the death threat from their vicinity, that would be great.

The fourth man, who was the only one not to be wearing the tight bodysuit and cape combo, sighed. He was holding a long black staff, leaning against it and waiting. His clothing was just as… unusual as the others’. He wore a purple turtle neck dress-like garment with elbow-length sleeves, decorated with yellow stripes, split open on both sides below the waist, and held at the waist tightly with a red sash. His pants were of the same purple color.

"I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you. After all, this is only your first mission,” he pointed out.

Just as he was saying that, the troll tugged on the whip, sending the one who was holding it flying towards him. Whip-guy let go of the whip then, and landed right next to Clary and Izzy.

The purple-wearing man sighed. "I rest my case."

Clary watched helplessly still as the troll turned to the remaining three and started attacking. The edge of the staff purple-guy was wielding turned into a blade as he switched hands. Now holding the staff-blade in his left hand, he used his right hand to perform a complicated motion. A dark, smokey ball of energy seemed to erupt from his palm and crashed into the ground.

The ground opened up then, and the troll stumbled, letting up his attacks on the others. Its ankle caught in the crack and it howled. The glasses-wearing man jumped into action, closing manacles onto its fists.

“Well done, but it’s not over yet!” The dark-haired leader spoke out.

The red monsters that had been kept had bay by the Specialists were now turning towards Clary, Izzy, and the man next to them. The blond man huffed and got up. He looked dirty and tired and turned to them and sent them a wink.

"I’ll protect you, ladies."

Clary would have spoken up, but she was terrified, and didn’t understand a thing of what was going on, so she stayed silent. He took a strange object, and activated it. A fuschia saber blade appeared, and with that, he started fighting.

Clary didn’t know where to look, but she was pulled back to the situation when she felt fingers intertwining with hers.

“Clary,” Izzy whispered. “We have to use magic on the yellow monster.”

“But… you’re injured and I can’t…”

Izzy shook her head. “Help me up.”

Clary slid a hand around Izzy’s waist and helped her to her feet. The fairy turned to her, looking at her with a firm, stern look. “Magic is often linked to emotion. We need to help the Specialists, or the monsters will kill us, and also your parents.”

Clary opened wide eyes.

"Strong feelings such as fear have summoned up the wonderful powers that are in you once before,” Izzy said, in a hushed whisper. “They were always there, you just didn’t know it. It’s just a question of concentration. With your energy you can do anything.”

“But I can’t, I’ve tried and I can’t…”

“Believe it,” Izzy whispered. “Believe you can produce just one burst… You must.”

Clary closed her eyes. She wanted to believe that she could. She didn’t know about being a fairy yet, but she hadn’t imagined what had happened at the park. If she could do it once, she could do it again.

She felt it. The flame. The built-up was slower and smaller than it had been at the park, it had been a sudden burst of energy. Here, she had to work for it. So she did. She took the spark and pulled. She called it to her.

And just when the yellow monster punched the whip-guy out of the way, the flame appeared in between her hands. Izzy grinned next to her. “Now throw it!”

Clary didn’t know what she meant by that so she just did the motion. She kept the ball of energy, pulled her hands up and threw it, as if she was throwing one of those basketballs in high school P.E..

Izzy had thrown hers at the same time, and they both caught the monster square in the back. It howled in pain and crashed on the ground.

“I told you, you could do it!” Izzy grinned. “I’m so proud of you!”

Clary looked down at her hands. She could still feel it, like a phantom caress on her finger tips, a light tingle. "Wow. Then I’m really a fairy,” she whispered out loud.

"Of course you are, I’m never wrong,” Izzy chuckled. It was a bit of a strange sight, her smile and her cheerfulness, with light drops of blood rolling down her cheek from the cuts.

The Specialists gathered around the weakened yellow creature as it painfully stood up. It seemed to realize that it was cornered as it swore loudly and looked around itself. They didn’t have time to grab it. It clapped its hands a couple of time and bright purple light engulfed it. Once it had dissipated, the creature was gone.

Clary exhaled. Izzy’s knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

“Izzy!” One of the men called out and came running to her. It was the dark-haired, tall and serious one. He easily slid his arms around her and pulled her up to his chest, carrying her bridal-style.

“Alec, I’m fine,” Izzy mumbled.

“You’re not. You’re bleeding and your wings are shredded. We have a medic pod in the ship, you’ll need it.”

Clary watched the scene, a bit perplexed. The purple-wearing man came up to her and smiled. “Are you alright there?”

Clary crossed her arms. She felt exhausted. “I’m… fine. Just tired. Where is he taking her?”

“To our ship. You can come with us, if you want.” The man was Asian, had dark brown eyes, golden skin and dark hair.

Clary nodded. “Sure.”

He smiled. “Alright. By the way, I’m Magnus. We didn’t have time for introductions earlier.”

Clary smiled back a little. “Clary. Clary Fray. I… Is Izzy going to be okay? She was really banged up.”

Magnus nodded. “Don’t worry about her. Even if the medic pod can’t fix her entirely, we can bring her back to the Red Fountain to take care of her. Besides, Alexander will do everything possible to make sure she’s alright.”

Clary guessed Alexander was the dark-haired man that had ran to her immediately. “Are they…”

Magnus laughed. “Oh Gods no. Alexander is Isabelle’s brother. Crown Prince Alexander of Solaria, to be exact. And, Alexander well…” He had a little smirk. “He’s taken.” Magnus sent a look at the man. It was both soft and somewhat possessive and Clary let out a small “oooh”.

Magnus nodded. “Exactly. Now, let’s get you fixed up too, you look exhausted. And I’ll introduce you to Jace and Simon.”

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

The ship was… not what Clary had expected. After the whimsical aspects of Alfea castle, she guessed she had imagined it less modern. It was shaped like a kite, with the cockpit on the top face of the structure, above the rest.

As she stepped into the ship, Clary noticed the stairs leading up to the cockpit. The area below it had a long metallic table, upon which they laid Izzy. Alec grabbed what seemed like a first-aid kit and took out a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

“Painkillers,” Magnus explained, as Alec injected the liquid into Izzy’s arm. “Since we don’t know how bad it is, we’re dosing her now. Best case scenario, we can fix her up here and she’ll just sleep it off at your place. Worst case scenario, we have to transport her to the Red Fountain, Solaria, or the fairy hospital in Magix, and she’ll need it.”

Clary hated to see Izzy like that. It felt like it was all her fault, even if she knew it wasn’t.

Laser-like green and blue lights came out of the fixtures above the table and engulfed Izzy in what Clary hoped was healing magic. The dark-haired man - Alec - stayed by the side of the table, waiting, and watching.

Unlike the last time, Izzy was still in her fairy form.

The blonde-haired man walked up to them and looked at Clary. “Hey, what is she doing on the ship?” He asked Magnus.

“She saved your ass and wanted to watch over Isabelle,” Magnus replied. He smiled at Clary. “So that’s Jace. He’s Alec’s squire.”

Jace huffed. “More like… adoptive brother? I’m a ward of Solaria, and I grew up with Alec and Izzy,” he told Clary. Clary wondered if he was bragging or not. It wasn’t as if she actually cared.

“That’s nice,” Clary said, keeping her tone as devoid of actual interest as she could. “And I’m guessing Simon is the one with the glasses?”

Magnus nodded. “Yes. He’s our tech guy, and maybe the nicest person you’ll ever meet.”

Izzy had been so incredibly nice that Clary wouldn’t really imagine anyone being nicer than her. She was still laying under the lights but the superficial cuts were healing. Some of the tears in her wings were growing back together as well, but not the biggest ones.

“Magnus, could you suit up?” Alec asked over his shoulder and Magnus left Clary’s side with a light pat on her shoulder. She watched him put on some clothes and grab some tweezers. With those, he started taking out the pieces of glass that were still in some of the wounds.

Clary didn’t know how she could stomach this. She normally hated the sight of blood and anything vaguely surgery-related. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe she didn’t want to leave the side of the one person she somewhat knew and trusted. Whatever it was, she seemed bolted into place.

It felt like hours until Magnus was done taking out glass and stitching wings back together enough for the light beams to act. Alec and him talked quietly about what to do, and Alec eventually turned to Clary.

“We’re going to leave her with you for tonight. I’ll alert our family in Solaria and see what they want us to do, but for now, she seems fine. She’ll probably need someone to check on her wings, but the infirmary of Alfea can do it.”

Clary nodded. “Alright. Does she require anything specific?”

Alec shook his head. “She just needs rest. She’ll probably turn back into her human form too. We managed to keep her in her fairy form as long as we could to take care of her wings, but it won’t hold for much longer.”

Clary didn’t know if she was qualified in any way to take care of a wounded fairy. She’d shot some magic out of her hands a couple of times, but that sure didn’t seem like it would be enough.

The Specialists were starting to look tired too, and their uniform was a bit dirty. Clary noticed some light differences, mostly in the weapons they had holstered to their bodies, but also in the brooch that held their cloak in place, over their heart. They all had a different color. Jace’s was fuschia, just like the blade he’d used earlier. Alec’s was light blue, and Simon’s was yellow. She wondered if there was a significance.

Izzy stirred on the table and opened her eyes. She huffed. “Really? Full medic pod?” She grumbled weakly. Clary guessed it was the painkillers that made her a bit loopy. Izzy tried to sit up but failed. She radiated less glow than she had when she’d been fully powered.

They talked and checked her out for a small amount of time, and then got her back to the Fairchild house. Amber and William were sitting on their couch. They seemed quite uncomfortable, looking at their broken up apartment.

As Alec and Clary moved to settle Izzy in the spare bedroom, Magnus, Simon and Jace offered to help rebuild and tidy.

Alec laid Izzy on her stomach, as she was still in her fairy form. It seemed to flicker a little, not being able to completely stay permanent anymore. She was truly exhausted. Izzy grumbled some stuff about not being useless and being able to take care of herself under her breath as they tucked her in.

She was asleep within seconds, and the wings disappeared with the rest of her fairy form. They took off her shoes, her tiara and jewelry, setting those on the bedside table before letting her sleep it off.

Soon after, the Specialists gone, Clary crashed in bed and fell asleep before she could take her clothes off.

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

Clary yawned as she woke up, hours later. The sun was beaming inside her bedroom, and for a moment, she forgot what had happened. It was when she moved that she remembered, because she was aching. She was aching pretty much all over.

And it hadn’t been from a particularly intense gym session either. It had been from using magic. She sat up straight on her bed immediately at the thought of that and regretted it just as fast.

She still pulled herself out of bed. She slid out of the clothes she’d been wearing the night before and had slept in. She walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Everything was still messy.

Amber and William were sitting in the kitchen, around a fresh pot of coffee, discussing something in hushed voices. Her mom’s dark hair and her dad’s blond hair were almost touching from how close they were and how secretive their conversation was.

Clary cleared her throat. They looked up at her. Amber smiled softly at her daughter.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” she said.

Clary walked to the coffee pot, grabbed a mug and poured herself some. “You never call me sweetheart.”

When she turned around, there was a heaviness in Amber’s eyes and in her smile. William sighed and gently put his hand on his wife’s. Clary swallowed. It all seemed so… strange.

“We were talking about… all of what happened last night.”

Clary nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought her home with me, it only caused trouble.”

Amber shook her head. “No, Clary, we don’t blame you at all. We don’t blame her either. She tried her best to protect us, and from what the… men from last night said, she was pretty injured doing so.”

“We’re just thinking about what it means for you. And for this family,” William explained. He looked tired, much more tired than Clary was used to seeing him. He looked like he had just been on a triple shift at the casern. Maybe they had spent all night talking about that.

“We want the best for you,” Amber explained. “And… from what we saw, there is something within you that has been awakened. Something you can’t control.”

Clary sat down on a stool in front of them. She gathered her hands around the burning hot mug. It didn’t feel that bad. It even felt comforting.

“The school Izzy talked about,” William sighed. “No matter how improbable it sounds, how… wrong my head is telling me it is… Maybe it could be a good place for you to learn how to control… all of that.”

Clary didn’t really know what to say. She wanted to go to Alfea, she could feel that it was a right choice. But diving in the strange world of magic and fairies scared her. It terrified her.

“You wouldn’t have to pay for anything… Only the royals pay. The rest can go for free,” Clary said softly. “I…”

“Be honest with us, darling,” Amber asked. “You’re an adult, and this is your life, your future. Does Alfea sound like a good option for you? Do you feel like you belong there?”

Clary’s heart was screaming that yes, she belonged there. But there was still a little voice in the back of her mind. A voice that told her that she wasn’t good enough. That managing to create a couple of fire balls wasn’t the same as using spells and having a fairy form like Izzy had.

“Yes,” she still said. “I… I want to go. I want to try. If I don’t succeed, well, I’ll come back.”

William nodded and rubbed his face with his hand for a moment. “Okay, okay…”

“So you’re leaving…”

“Today,” Clary said. “This morning, even. The term starts tomorrow, I believe.”

She saw her parents hesitate then. It was a sudden change. Clary was afraid of it too. She’d never left home for more than a week of vacation with a girl she’d considered her friend in her last year of highschool.

Amber stood up. “Then,” she said, her voice a bit shakier than Clary wanted it to be. “We need to get to packing.”

Clary stood up as well. She walked around the table and hugged her dad for a moment. He hugged her back quickly, but gently pushed her away afterwards. “Go pack,” he said softly.

Clary nodded and kissed his cheek. Amber and her walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. As they walked past the bathroom, they heard the water running. Izzy was in a good state then, if she was able to shower without issues. That made Clary feel better.

Kiko ran between their legs, yapping as they took out the suitcase and started packing.

“Can I take him?”

Amber nodded. “Yes, we’ve talked about it. We’ve thought it would be good for you to have him, provided that the school lets you have him.”

“I’ll ask Izzy, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

They packed everything that Clary could think of and closed the suitcase. Amber was a little teary-eyed. Clary didn’t know what to do really, so she just hugged her tightly for a moment.

“I’ll come back anyway. There sure are vacations. And I’ll make sure to get a phone that can call you the second I can,” she promised.

They walked back down the stairs where Isabelle was chatting with William. William looked like he was only understanding part of the things she was saying. Amber cleared her throat.

"Clary’s ready,” she said.

Izzy turned around and grinned. She looked much better this morning than she had when she’d fallen asleep. She wasn’t pale anymore, she looked healthy. She wasn’t wearing her royal clothing anymore, nor was she in her fairy form.

She wore a burnt orange jumpsuit, nice and fluid with a v cleavage and thin straps. She had a broad, large, Egyptian-looking necklace around her neck, ornate with orange, gold and blue stones, that Clary recognized from the first outfit she’d seen her in. It was probably something to do with her royal status. Crown jewels maybe.

Clary smiled back at her.

“You look better,” Clary said softly.

“I just needed some sleep and I’m all new,” Izzy chuckled, waving it off. Clary had no way to know if she was still in pain or not. Whatever she was feeling, Izzy was hiding it well.

William sighed. “What will I tell people when they ask where you are?”

Clary hummed. “A boarding school out of state. An Art Academy… prestigious and secretive. That would probably shut them up.”

Her father nodded and came to hug her again. She let go of the suitcase again and hugged him tightly.

“You be careful, alright?” He asked.

“I promise.”

Clary and her parents bid her goodbyes. Clary tried not to focus on it much. She would be back. It wasn’t forever. She hated goodbyes anyway, and she was kinda tearful and hated the idea of being this emotional in front of her new friend, who seemed to be quite the master of her own emotional responses.

Once she was done hugging her parents and Kiko had settled in her arms, Izzy looked at her and nodded. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss on the welcoming ceremony.”

She took the ring off of her finger and it extended into the scepter again. Clary was somewhat started to get used to that particular trick. Isabelle took a deep breath and brandished the scepter.

“Solaria! To Magix!” She shouted, and a bright light engulfed Clary, Kiko and her. She had time to somewhat wave goodbye to her parents for one last time before she felt herself pulled downwards. Clary closed her eyes firmly.

It was a stronger pull than the one she’d felt in the postcard and it made her almost nauseous. It was like being distended, stretched in length in a way. Kiko whined a little.

With her eyes closed, she wasn’t able to tell when they were done with the transport. All she felt was the sudden lack of pulling, and the ground she landed on.

She opened her eyes again. Izzy was standing over her, holding out her hand with a smile. “The first time is always a bit difficult,” she chuckled and Clary rolled her eyes, taking her hand.

The grass was deep and soft, and Clary wondered how Izzy managed to stay upright when walking on it with her uncomfortable-looking high heels. Maybe it was magic. Clary was very glad to be wearing combat boots.

They were back around the area where the postcard had taken them, but this time, they were walking out of it. Izzy was leading the way towards the lavender and pink castle, her steps firm.

Clary sighed for a second. She looked behind her, where she’d landed, where she somehow hoped she would see the line between her old life and her new life. But there wasn’t any line or any doorway to Gardenia. The door had closed already. She’d already chosen.

“Come on!” Izzy called. “We don’t want to be late.”

Clary swallowed and turned towards the castle again. Kiko ran up towards Izzy, sniffing everything he could sniff. Izzy turned around and looked at Clary, holding out her hand again for her to take.

Clary took it.

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

In the next chapter, at Alfea, Clary will discover new life and amazing new friends. But, in the Magic Dimension, she will also meet the witches from the school of Cloud Tower, the first problem she will have to deal with. Peace in Magix will be threatened.

#clizzy #malec #winxaufic #shwinxau #fic #shadowhunters #winxclub

[thefragileblackdahlia]

Heaven: Part four

Chapter Summary:

Anna recalls her past and Sam and Dean understand why Castiel and Uriel want her dead. Anna recognizes Ariel from 'work' but doesn't remember her as the new and improved angel she is now. Ariel and Dean finally steal a moment for themselves

Character(s): Ariel, Dean, Sam, Ruby, Anna, Castiel, Uriel, Lucifer, Michael

Pairing(s): Eventual Dean x Ariel, Ruby x Sam, (former) Lucifer x Ariel

Warning(s): MAJOR Angst, Little bit of Crack, Angelcest??? Typical SUPERNATURAL Violence, Mild Language

A/N: I've been struggling to write this chapter since I have to write more than 3 characters than what I'm used to. Writing for Sam, Ariel and Dean is easy peasy but Ruby, Anna, Pamela, and the others are very difficult. I am publishing this chapter into two parts since I feel like that would be the easiest and because it's very long.

Also, I have no idea how Angel relationships work. They don't share the same DNA at all but only the same creator so under that, they are somewhat 'related' but not technically. Ariel and Lucifer have a strange, toxic, codependent relationship to begin with because of the bond- so I can expect them to be strange and touchy but with Michael and Ariel, she shuns it.

Please feel free to leave feedback.

Beta'd by Zoe (a friend)

Word count: 3,270+

Sam took a step forward, his eyes wide. He doesn't understand why he's fearful for Ariel's life when a regular hunting knife won't injure her.

The tall hunter outstretched his arms, slowly walking toward Anna. "She saved your life- she isn't with them!"

"You heard them, Anna...lower your blade." Ariel delivered those lines coldly, a dark part inside of her awakening.

At the given moment, Ariel wanted to snap her neck like a twig, and get to the next seal but she couldn't. It wasn't the humane thing to do and inside her head, she fought a constant battle between light and dark.

Anna pressed the rigid blade deeper, breaking Ariel's soft skin. She winced only slightly; Angels still felt pain.

The lesser angel turned her head toward Dean, "Like hell, angels like her don't save lives." Anna tried to get through to him but he just stood there, surprised by Ariel's calm demeanor. "She takes them. She came to take mine- she doesn't help at all!"

Ariel looked at Sam with dead eyes, "Get this lunatic off of me, before I seriously hurt her." A complacent smile to match her dead tone.

Sam finally looked Ariel in the eyes, "Wait- What do you mean she takes them?" But if that were the case why didn't anyone else react that way when they met Ariel? There was a small glint of uncertainty in his eyes, almost like he wanted to believe Anna.

Ariel scrutinized the two hunters, wondering what they were going to do. Were they going to let Ariel explain or kick her out? Inside she felt the suffocating darkness, devouring the good in her, and on the outside, she appeared calm.

Anna lowered the knife, "In Heaven- what do you think she did? Think she sat on a chair all day and watched you guys?" She gave her full attention to the hunters in an attempt to sway them to her side. "She was sort of like a dog. Michael says go fetch...she would fetch. Michael says-"

"Kill..." Pamela cut off Anna, stealing Ariel's attention.

Anna nodded her head, "She kills..." She looked at Ariel before continuing, "I used to report back to her... she was Head of my division. She watched humans for millions of years and then one day..."

Anna turned back to the Winchesters, "She smites an entire city- Children, women, innocent people that didn't deserve to die..."

The archangel's jaw tightened as Anna unraveled her ugly past. Her azure eyes met Dean's, his chartreuse eyes giving the angel a once over before shaking his head.

"People change." Dean murmured.

This earned him an incredulous look from Anna and a small smile from his archangel.

Ariel returned her attention back to the aggressive angel, "I saved your life... I have changed.

"Ariel is not innocent." Anna protested, walking over to Dean who just had a weird look in his eyes. He was ready to accept that she changed rather than lose her. Dean had done some horrible things too, did that mean that he couldn't change?

The worst part for Ariel was Dean, him trying so hard to be loyal, with every instinct telling him otherwise.

Sam shifted on his back foot, "And apparently... neither are you, Anna."

Pamela stood from her chair, "Ariel...why does that sound so familiar?" She turned her head in the boys' general direction. It took her only a moment to piece it together, "Why the hell is the angel that almost killed me- here hanging with you like she's family. I would think you'd kick her ass to the curb once she told you God had work for you."

"Don't talk about my Father like that..." Ariel tilted her head up toward the ceiling, inhaling deeply as she couldn't process what the hell she was feeling. Was this anxiety or panic? Maybe a little bit of both. She felt like she was on the chopping block although they couldn't kill her, she still felt like she might die.

"Why? It's not like he is actually there for you." Anna sneered.

Ariel pushed herself up off of the wall and glared at Anna with contempt in her voice, "He brought me back from the dead just so I can save your insufferable ass," She closed the gap between them, now in her face. "So that's a giant fuck you- to your face."

The archangel snatched the hunting blade from Anna's hand, spinning her around and forcing her against the wall with glowing gold eyes; There was a small hint of red in them. She held the blade against Anna's throat as her back was pressed flat against the iron wall. Ariel had no intention of hurting Anna. She just wanted to scare her into submission.

"Ariel!" Dean bellowed.

Ariel flipped her fiery red hair over her shoulder and let out a low huff, "You all have no idea what the hell it is like- to- to have a connection to Lucifer." She said his name with disgust. "Not just body and mind- but Grace. He's... inside of me. I can feel his...claws hooked deep," Her words fell off near the end.

The archangel subconsciously pressed the rigid blade deeper into Anna's neck, it pricking at her skin, drawing blood. "I was young- Dp you know what happens when you disagree with Lucifer? And you're always meant to be together because your Father likes to experiment?"

Ariel finally lowered the blade, turning to face Dean who had shared the same choleric expression as her. "So, don't paint me as this evil archangel-" She paused, peering over her shoulder at Anna and gripped the blade in her hands. Before she continued, she stabbed the blade right beside Anna's head, sticking it into the iron wall with great force.

"Because I am NOT Him," Ariel growled.

Soon after the outburst, Ariel's heels scuffed against the concrete as she walked past the Winchesters and used her grace to unlock the door. It swung open and she stepped through, furiously strutting over to the steps and leaving the basement.

Only a few seconds passed when the sound of a door slamming shut, echoed throughout the house and startling them all.

Dean flinched at the sound, his eyes still glued to the spot where she jammed the knife into the iron wall. His brain couldn't comprehend what the hell just happened before his eyes. The hunter gulped his jaw and shifted his gaze over to the wayward angel that just attacked his 'girlfriend.'

Everything escalated so quickly.

Anna's voice softened, "I'm sorry... But you can imagine why I was nervous-"

Dean cut her off, trying his best to conceal his frustration. He slightly shook his head in response to her half-assed apology, "Don't," He muttered. "She'll be fine...Just try not to attack her again with a knife."

Sam inhaled deeply and glanced at his brother who was just as unsure as him."Let's uh... go upstairs and see if there's anything in Bobby's books." He murmured as he motioned to the stairs,

Anna nodded at this, reluctantly going upstairs with a terrified Ruby.

Sam sighed, "What do we do?" He looked to Dean for help

The short-haired hunter ran his hand over his face. "Not sure." Dean's response was short, but he wore a stoic expression as he was deep in thought.

Today was going to be a long day.

Sam took a deep breath before giving a curt nod and starting for the door. Once he reached the devil's trap he glanced over his shoulder with a wary expression, "Do you believe her? I mean- about Ariel..."

This question earned a soft grunt from Dean, while his eyes were still fixed on the hunting knife. His brows snapped together as he heard a loud "Dean" from Pamela. The jaded hunter turned his body toward the blind psychic and held out his arm for her to latch onto.

"Sorry," Dean whispered.

Pamela held onto Dean for guidance as they left the panic room and headed toward the stairs. She furrowed her brows as Ariel's words echoed in her mind, 'He brought me back from the dead' If she was brought back from death a month later, would she still be the same?

Dean kept his eyes straight ahead as he traveled up the stairs with Pamela. A burning sensation filled his ears, almost like there was something that needed to be said but what? He decided he should now thank Pamela for her help before anything else transpired and he never gets the chance to.

"Thanks-" "Dean-" They spoke simultaneously.

A small smile crept onto Dean's lips at the scenario, "You first." He stated as he helped her up to the top step, watching her turn around to face him.

Pamela took a short breath before placing a light hand on his forearm, "There is darkness there... I felt it." Her comment prompted Dean to push her hand away and attempt to walk past her but she took a step in front of him.

"You have to consider... is Ariel really on your side?" She murmured.

Dean's eyes shot up to her black sunglasses, glowering at her with a clenched jaw. "Sam's waiting." He stepped around the psychic and walked into the library where he was met with Sam, Anna, and Ruby; Pamela close in tow.

BOBBY'S LIBRARY - DAY

For the time Dean and Pamela had been in the basement, Anna had been upstairs apologizing to Sam for freaking out.

Anna paced the room, her arms folded over her breasts as she pondered who might have come after her. "Don't be afraid... I'm not like Ariel or the others," She spoke with uncertainty heavy in her voice.

"I don't find that very reassuring..." Ruby argued with her arms crossed as she leaned against the doorway. She remained outside of the library and near the entrance because of the Devil's trap above their heads.

The cherry red-haired woman stopped in her tracks and glanced up at the Winchesters. "So...Castiel, Uriel-- they're the ones that came for me? Not the archangel?"

Dean's reply was abrasive, "No, she doesn't want to kill you. If her bashing in that prick's head isn't proof enough then I don't know what is." He perched himself against the desk, hoping Ariel didn't think he believed she was like Lucifer.

Sam inhaled sharply at the memory of the small redhead using all her strength to punch Uriel in the face. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he thought of her habit of not holding back, it was scary but also reassuring.

"So, you know them?" The giant asked, his eyes following the fallen angel.

Anna reluctantly nodded her head, "We were kinda in the same foxhole..." She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket as she stopped to think of what to say next. She sighed, "Before humans- before you all... I used to report to Ariel."

"So, if Ariel was your boss... What about Castiel and Uriel?" Dean queried, tapping his fingers on the wood.

Anna smiled faintly at the assumption that those two held rank over her. "Try the other way around...Though I'm sure after my fall, someone put Castiel in charge."

"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela's voice came from behind the angel, drawing attention from Anna to her. She stood leaning against the other side of the door frame but decided it was best to sit down.

Being the gentleman he was, Sam stepped forward to help Pamela into the nearest chair.

Anna let out a small sigh and began pacing the room again, "Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

A small 'Why?' came from Pamela which prompted Anna to stop in her tracks and turn to the group, "I disobeyed..." She started. "Which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do... I fell."

"So like... Ariel?" Sam questioned.

Anna inhaled deeply, "No, that's different-"

"How is it different?" Dean cut Anna off.

"Anna fell to earth... became human." Ariel's sudden voice caused everyone to flinch and turn in her direction, she was walking into the kitchen with a bag of what they assumed to be food.

Food always dissolved tension. Right?

Anna tensed up at her sudden presence while all the others relaxed; There was an obvious shift in the atmosphere. The fallen angel slowly turned to face her former superior officer, her hazel eyes darting between Ariel's eyes and the food.

"You can relax. I'm going to murder you with Biggerson's." Ariel joked as she began taking the fast food out of the paper bags and placing it on the dining table.

Dean watched Ariel, searching her for any hint of sadness from earlier but she looked unbothered. At least on the outside. But Dean knew she was hurting inside.

Sam pursed his lips, "I'm not understanding, If you can become human- why can't she?" He pointed to the copper-haired archangel that stepped past the fallen lesser angel and over to where he was standing. It was odd to have her stand next to him and not next to Dean. Was she mad at Dean, or ashamed to be near him?

Ariel perched herself on the desk, leaning close to Sam, knowing he could relate to maybe how she was feeling with the darkness brewing inside her.

"It's different for archangels- ours refills over a long period of time... but regular angels- lesser angels, their grace doesn't. And removing your grace... it's painful," Ariel informed them.

Anna reluctantly nodded her head in agreement, "Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt." She let out a heavy sigh. "I ripped out my grace."

The righteous man's brows snapped together at that statement, "Come again?"

The troubled archangel drew her lower lip between her lip and shifted onto her less dominant foot. "I told you....grace- it's pure energy. It's what let us use our magic," Ariel explained.

"Right... So, I hacked it out and fell. And my mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle," Anna glanced over at Dean with a faint smile.

Ariel caught this.

"And the longer she stayed Human... she forgot she was an angel," Ariel added with a curt nod.

Dean raised a brow at Ariel's response. He had to be honest, he wasn't listening. When Ariel entered, his attention went to her wings that were draped around her and Sam. Maybe she didn't mean it or she just propped them up behind her- but it bothered Dean. And she didn't look at him once since she had returned and now he felt like maybe there was something wrong between them. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Ruby broke the silence.

"We're screwed," Ruby huffed. She pushed herself up from the frame and shook her head, "Ariel has little to no grace, Anna has NO grace- I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are."

"Ruby's right." Anna paced the room once again before stopping and recommencing, "Heaven wants me dead- and if Ariel has no grace- She can't fight off angels and demons. Maybe one side- but even then..." The fallen angel let out a frustrated sigh and looked to Ariel for guidance, it was a force of habit.

Ariel's eyes were fixed on the carpet as she thought over how the scenario would go, "The only solution would be, to find your grace." She pushed herself up from the desk and walked around the side. "Ruby is basically human besides a few magic tricks and strength,"

The archangel unfolded the map of the USA and stretched it out over the desk as she resumed speaking, "Anna is human and I can't even smite a fly... So we need her to get her grace back, whether it be for her- that is... if she chooses to stay human."

"So, what, one of you just takes some divine bong hit, and, shazam, and you become Roma Downey?" Dean pointed between the two redheads and each of them nodded but one responded verbally.

"Something like that," Anna replied.

Dean straightened and turned around to face his angel that still hadn't made eye contact with him. He opted to ignore her silent treatment and clasped his hands together, "Alright, Red, I like your plan. So where's this grace of hers?"

Ariel shook her head and kept her eyes locked on the map, "Hard to say," She lied. "After I had the job change, I never paid Anna any mind. She fell sometime around the 20th century...because then- I remember speaking with Castiel. He was... heartbroken to say the least."

Sam smiled faintly at her response, "How old are you?" He knew she danced around the topic of age, he wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if they would be repulsed by the fact she is billions of years old. If anything Sam would probably ask a ton of questions.

A quaint smile danced across her lips, "Like I've told you before, I've been alive since creation- not before..." Ariel gazed at Sam with sweet eyes, "But you already knew that- You're just calling me old." She laughed, keeping her eyes on Sam until her smile faltered when she remembered how serious things were at the moment.

"Anyways," She cleared her throat and focused on the map. "We should be able to figure it out depending on where she fell...so?"

Dean watched this exchange with jealous eyes. He remembered that day... Ariel went off with Sam for two days and they came back acting weird as if something happened between them. Sam would always say 'Ask Ariel' and she would just say 'Ask Sam.'

It was an annoying paradox that would have never ended if he hadn't stopped prying.

Glowering at his brother and not even bothering to listen to the plan, Dean was startled when Sam said his name.

"Dean..."

"What?" Dean snapped.

"I asked if you can take Pamela home while Ariel and I figure out where her grace landed," Sam huffed at his brother's obliviousness wondering what the hell had Dean so caught up in his head. Little did he know, it was him.

"Yeah, sure..." Dean toned down his envy and dug through his jean pockets for the impala keys. Once he found them he pivoted on his heel and held out a hand for Pam to take.

Ariel kept her eyes on the map as she sifted through her deepest memories, trying to remember where her grace landed. She was on earth at the time, right? Yes. The guardian's brows snapped together as she could distinctly remember the screaming. God, the screaming.

How could she have done these terrible things?

Was that what God wanted?

'Did you change your mind?' An incorporeal voice reverberated through Ariel's skull causing her to flinch.

Ruby eyed her, "You alright?" She questioned Ariel who seemed a bit skittish.

Ariel parted her lips, taking in a short breath. She went too deep into her memories and came across horrors and regrets.

It all overwhelmed her.

"No," She murmured.

"What's wrong?" Sam straightened as he gazed at the agonized angel. He could tell it had something to do with Lucifer from how she flinched. He now wondered if Lucifer was speaking to her from the cage.

That couldn't be possible, right? Maybe it was just a flashback.

Anna stared at her former boss with furrowed brows."Maybe just go outside- get some fresh air," She murmured.

FINAL PART

SERIES MASTERLIST

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 15: Fight of Uncertain Death

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: It’ s Star vs Toffee, as Marco and the gang rushes to Star’s rescue. Will they make it in time? Can Star beat the monster who is hiding a terrifying secret?

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Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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Every monster blinked, trying to clear their spotted vision from the sudden bright intrusion on their senses, trying to see the condition of their boss after the surprise attack from the princess. Star, as well, had left herself half-blind, but she did her best to not show the disadvantage, staring forward with a hard look, bracing herself for another attack. Though she knew her magical narwhal had to have hit its target, she was confused by the lack of any indication it had met its mark, no scream of pain, no gasp from his lackeys, just silence. A silence that continued to stretch out, unnerving the already panicked girl.

Finally, Star regained some of her senses, able to see the dark forest that surrounded her once again. She did a quick look around to see there were no monsters sneaking up on her, all of them too busy rubbing their eyes to notice her. Star allowed herself a small smile of victory as she turned to the feared lizard once again. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. If she kept her head, maybe she could get out of this fight in one piece.

But any hope she had shattered as she finally saw the condition of her fierce opponent, her mouth dropping open and her eyes widening in fear. Toffee, in fact, had not moved an inch, not knocked down or crushed or even scarred, just standing there, hands behind his back, giving her that same blank look from before, the narwhal she had launched collapsed against the tree behind him. Did he seriously dodge it? Star thought in disbelief. “H-How did-” she muttered in disbelief, looking down at her wand as if it was somehow it's fault she had missed.

“Well I'll admit,” Toffee spoke, sounding unimpressed. “I certainly wasn't expecting that. But I'm afraid if that's all you have, then you are extremely disappointing.”

“Rainbow Fist!” Star screamed firing off another spell, shooting a glittering rainbow in the shape of a fist right at her hated enemy. And again, Toffee did nothing to dodge, just staring blankly at the incoming attack, then at the last second he held a claw out, the enchanted fist making contact with his claw. There was a bright flash of light, followed by a giant cloud of rainbow colored dust settling around the area, leaving several of the monsters coughing. But after a moment the multicolored smoke faded, Star smiling with pride at the sight of the lizard, his arm completely gone, destroyed in the attack.

“How's that for disappointing?!” Star taunted the so-called unbreakable monster, needing to come across as braver than she actually felt. She looked around at the rest of the monsters with a confident smirk, but to her surprise none of them seemed even slightly disturbed by the condition of their leader, in fact, their faces matched her own, even the lizard showing no pain or fear from losing one of his limbs. But before the royal could question the reason for this, Toffee spoke, “Did you really think it was going to be that easy, little princess?”

Star could only stare in horror as the monster leader's severed limb began to regrow itself, stretching and expanding outward at an alarming rate, in a matter of seconds the arm fully reformed. “H-How-” Star stuttered in terror, taking a few uncomfortable steps back, her fear showing once more. The lizard flexed the muscle, clenching his claw into a tight fist, to show the princess how truly futile the attack had been, Star no longer able to recognize any damage having ever been done. “What are you?” she muttered. But the lizard didn't answer, instead smiling wickedly at her, the first real show of emotion since his arrival, and Star felt her heart drop into her chest at the sight, shuddering against her will.

She tried to keep her hands steady as she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Crystal Heart Daggers!” Her wand instantly reacting as it fired off the appropriate spell, the tiny sharp daggers heading right for the lizard. Once again her spell made contact, ripping and poking into the fearsome lizard, who looked more annoyed than hurt. And once again, any damage was repaired almost instantly, as he brushed the tiny crystals off of him and straightened out his suit.

But that didn't stop the frightened princess, as she fired off another spell, then another, and another, desperately trying to wear down the lizard, to make some sort of progress against him, fear for her survival making her lose all self-control as she shouted off every spell she knew or could think of in that panic-filled moment.

Finally, she stopped shooting, as her mind drew a blank on what to say next, having already recited every spell she knew from her book, panting heavily, as she stared hopelessly at the monster leader, his suit slightly singed, small clouds of smoke rising off of him, but otherwise unharmed. Now Star finally understood why no Mewman had ever survived in a fight against him, how he had come to be so feared by the people of Mewni, everything about him shrouded in mystery, not a soul able to tell what made the lizard so deadly and powerful, that secret now known only by Star. Toffee wasn't just tough, he was invincible, any hit someone managed to land on him would be reversed in a matter of seconds, even magic useless against his incredible healing abilities. How was she supposed to win against a creature that was relatively unbeatable?

“Are you finished?” the lizard said in a cool tone and Star only panted in response, glaring daggers at him. “Good,” he continued, taking her silence for an answer, as he took a step closer to her. “Then I think we-”

“Super Glitter Bomb!” Star screamed, firing off a small glitter covered orb, which exploded the second it landed at Toffee's feet. For a few seconds, the forest was silent as the smoke cleared, the monsters staring wide-eyed, surprised by the courage of the young girl, most Mewmans at this point had given up any hope of winning and accepted their fate. Of course, this meant she was foolish as well. Star kept a firm gaze on the lizard as his dagger-like stare narrowed on her, clearly growing impatient with the girl, his body slowly healing from his injuries.

“I'm not giving up,” she explained via hiss.

“How noble,” Toffee dead-panned. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Star found herself surrounded by the monsters, growling as they all began to enclose in on the girl, rushing her from all sides. Star quickly became overwhelmed, as she had to dodge and weave her way around the monsters, shooting off spells when she could, doing her best not to get hit by the unending numbers of claws that swiped and grabbed at her, struggling to hold them at bay. Toffee just watched quietly from the sidelines, the sounds of grunting and screaming from combat echoing through the area, often accompanied by a bright burst from the girl's wand, waiting patiently as his lackeys began to slowly tire the princess, knowing it was only a matter of time before she was subdued. She was strong, yes, but inexperienced, she couldn't keep going forever, eventually the girl would slip up, and once she did then the game would be over. Yes, everything was going perfectly according to his plans, now all that was left was to wait for the final pawn to arrive.

...

Marco heard the explosions even from a distance, the loud booming sound echoing through the thick foliage that made up the Forest of Certain Death, the ground beneath his feet shuddering slightly as he ran. He turned to look behind him, Jackie and Janna still on his heels, the discouragement on their faces telling him they had heard the sound too.

The whole way there Marco had been hoping that he had been wrong about the trouble he suspected Star was in, that this whole thing wasn't a trap set up for his unsuspecting bestie, but he had been unable to shake the feeling that all was not right, the whole thing too methodical and suspicious to be nothing more than a bizarre coincidence. The timing was too perfect, an anti-portal generator going out in that particular forest in the the middle of the night, just after a monster attack, there was no way, it had to be Toffee. And as Marco watched explosion after explosion litter the sky, too familiar to be anything else but Star's wand, he felt a cold twinge of fear flow through him, chilling him to the bone, every step only increasing his worry over Star's safety, as the dark treeline drew ever closer, the same three words looping themselves through Marco's panic-stricken mind over and over again, please be alight, please be alright, please be alright.

“Hey guys, don't look now but I think we've got another problem,” Janna's voice suddenly called out, pulling Marco out of his daze as he looked behind him to see Janna looking over towards town, causing both him and Jackie to do the same.

It seemed the three friends weren't the only ones who had taken notice of the commotion, several of the townspeople coming out of their homes to try and spot the source of the disturbance, looking nervous and agitated as the colorful explosions lit up the sky within the dark forest that bordered their home, shifting uneasily on their feet and pointing to the sky with grim scowls, muttering amongst themselves as they tried to make sense of this seemingly troubling situation.

“Looks like Star's attracting an audience,” Janna finished.

“That can't be good,” Jackie said, her normally smooth tone troubling to the boy.

“Why, do you think their all gonna freak out like before when that statue got broken?” Marco asked worriedly.

“Well they do look like almost mob levels,” Janna said.

There was a short moment of silence as the three ran, looking at the increasingly anxious crowd with concern. Finally Jackie said in a low tone, “We better hurry.”

Marco and Janna nodded in agreement, the hooded boy increasing his pace, the thick treeline growing ever closer, as the ground around him shook and rumbled. He was starting to grow tired, his legs aching and screaming at him to slow down, but he pushed himself on, finding Star more important to him than a little discomfort. He didn't think he would feel comfort again until he found his bestie, until he knew she was safe from all the dangers that he had brought on her. He felt his stomach twist with guilt as a realization came to him, this was his fault. He was the reason Star was probably fighting for her life right then, he never should have come, shouldn't have been stupid enough to think that he could escape Toffee. He needed to make this right. He had to fix this, somehow. Even if that meant facing the dreaded lizard again. Marco held back a shudder as his gaze, once again, drifted upward, just in time to see a bright purple light streak into the sky, the hooded boy quietly muttering something under his breath, as if afraid the forest might overhear, before forcing his way through the thick foliage that bordered the Forest of Certain Death, Jackie and Janna close behind. “Hang on, Star. We're on our way, I promise.”

But, unfortunately for the boy, his whispered vow hadn't gone completely unheard, the small fly monster had overheard every word clearly from his hiding spot in the trees. And what the boy in the red hood also wasn't aware of, was the thousands of tiny eyes trained directly on him as he headed deeper into the forest, Boo Fly needing to make sure to keep a close watch on the young one for what was about to happen next.

…

Star swallowed down the lump in her throat, as she realized how hopeless this situation was becoming. Here she was alone and unguarded, surrounded by monsters, and facing off against an unbeatable foe with no chance of rescue. Not to mention the fact that with every second that passed she was growing weaker and weaker, panting heavily as she desperately dodged and weaved her way around the enemies that scratched and clawed at her, shooting off every spell she could think of, the forest around her growing more and more singed and destroyed, the smell of smoke filling the air. But even with her wand, she was still at the disadvantage, having to be careful not to hit any of the unconscious guards, some of the monsters picking up on this and making sure to stand between the princess and her comatose protectors. One such monster, a big alligator with a very human looking arm, tried this strategy, trying to lung at the girl from her blind spot only to be met with the backside of her wand, as she smacked it as hard into his face as she could, cringing as she hoped she hadn't damaged the magical device from the spur of the moment reaction, stepping out of the way, as the amphibian monster landed hard at her feet.

She was holding her own for now, the monsters becoming weary of getting too close, knowing it would only be met with a supercharged hit from the girl's overpowered wand, instead circling around her, looking for an opening, knowing she couldn't watch all of them at once, all the while Toffee just calmly watched the scene from the background, claws behind his back, a blank, unamused look on his face, which infuriated Star to no end.

He was toying with her, trying to wear her down before going in for the kill, she had no idea what the monster had in store for her, whether he intended to simply kill her right there or try and hold her for ransom or perhaps something much worse, but whatever the outcome, she knew she couldn't allow herself to fail, knowing it wouldn't end well for her or the rest of Mewni. She had to get away, had to escape, or at the very least find a place where she was at a bit more of a tactical advantage and not prohibited from using her wand fully. She needed a plan, but what? Whatever she did, she needed to think of it fast, before she grew too tired, already starting to feel her limbs grow sore from overwork, her panicked adrenaline beginning to wear out as exhaustion took its place.

The girls' thoughts were interrupted as the bear monster nearly got a crucial hit on her, the girl moving out of the way at the last moment, his claws coming inches away from her face, Star feeling the air whoosh past her face as she ducked low to the ground, but she recovered quickly, holding her wand point blank out at the already singed monster and shouting at the top of her lungs, “Cotton Candy Devastation Blast!”

“Not again!” Bearicorn whined, as the magic in Star's wand finished gathering.

…

Marco heard the explosion followed by a loud yell echo around them, a hot air brushing against his face, smiling widely as he realized how close by it sounded, able to pinpoint the location of the struggle. He turned around to yell something to Jackie and Janna. “Hey gu-”

But he never got to finish his sentence, as his foot bumped up against a rope tripping him and sending him tumbling to the hard, forest floor, while behind him a thick net was sent hurtling to the ground, falling right on top of the girls, throwing them both to the ground under its crushing weight.

Marco sat up, staring in horror at his two now trapped friends. “Jackie! Janna!” he yelled.

Jackie coughed, trying to gain some air back in her lungs, all of it knocked out of her from the collision with the ground, her roommate's heavy body squished on top of her making it difficult to do so. “I'm okay,” Jackie managed to squeak out, hearing the boy's panicked voice calling out to them, trying to sit up and get her bearings back. “I think,” she added, upon finding her movements restricted by the net. “Janna you good?”

“Define good,” Janna's labored voice called out, sounding just as breathless as Jackie's. “Because this is not my ideal definition.”

“Can you use your monster strength to get us out?” Jackie asked, ignoring Janna's comment.

“I'll try,” came the strained reply. And in a second, the creepy girl had switched over to her monster form, trying to wriggle her way into a good position to try and pull the ropes apart. But once she had she was surprised to find them far more durable than she anticipated, the beanie-wearing girl grunting as she strained against the thick and tangled web of ropes that currently held the girl's hostage.  “Come. On. Just. Break. Already.” she grunted, gritting her teeth, putting every once of energy in her body into snapping the heavy knots, but found herself unable to get them to tear even a little, in fact the more she tugged the stronger they seemed to become.

Finally, she sighed, letting her aching arms rest, surprised to find the normally-simple task draining to her all of sudden, panting heavily as she rubbed her sore wrists. “It's no good. I can't break through them.”

“What? But how?” Jackie yelled in surprise, unsure how her incredibly strong roommate was unsuccessful in breaking a few simple ropes, something which normally should be second nature to Janna. “How did we even get in this mess?”

“I don't know, considering the way they had this trap set up its an incredible coincidence we even ended up getting stuck in this.”

Jackie gave Janna the stink eye, well as best she could from underneath her, saying in an unamused tone. “Not helping.”

Marco looked back in the direction Star was in, worry still clinging tightly to his insides, he was so close, he could practically feel her presence even from that distance and for a moment he was tempted to run on ahead and leave the other two behind. But he knew he couldn't do that, not to them, as scared as he was for Star, he couldn't just leave Jackie and Janna alone to fend for themselves, they needed Marco far more at the moment than his super-powered princess.

And so with one last longing look, he rose to his feet, calling, “Hang on, I'll get you two free,” before racing over to the two. But as it turned out the weak boy was far weaker than he thought, barely able to lift the heavy ropes much less pull them completely off his struggling friends. “Wow, this thing is heavy,” he said, trying to fiddle with the surprisingly complicated series of knots to no avail. “And these knots are really thick, I'm not sure if I can loosen them.”

“I know,” Janna agreed, trying to help the boy unravel the net, as well. “For a bunch of idiots, they do tie a surprisingly good knot.”

“Maybe you can bite it off?” Jackie suggested, trying to move into a more comfortable position so she could help but her arms were pinned uselessly to her side and her body was still trapped underneath her roommate, making her more dead weight than any form of help.

“I'm not sure my teeth are that strong,” Marco said honestly, trying to concentrate on untying the firm knots.

Janna rolled her eyes. “Uh, Marco...”

Marco stopped for a second looking at the creepy girl, who raised a knowing eyebrow at him, the reality finally sinking in. “Ohhhh,” he said, sheepishly. “She was talking to you, wasn't she?” He slowly pointed to Janna, who nodded.

“Yep,” Janna said. “And in answer to your question, Jacks, that would be a big fat no.”

“Why not?” Marco asked.

“Yeah, come on, Jan. How else are we supposed to get out?” Jackie pleaded, but the half-monster girl only scoffed in reply.

“Do you know how unsanitary that is. We don't even know where this rope has been. Besides, my teeth aren't exactly the strongest part of my body.”

Jackie sighed. “Marco, maybe you should just go on ahead without us,” she suggested, but Marco instantly shook his head.

“No way, I'm not leaving you two here,” he said determined, analyzing the ropes for any weaknesses. But the three were so caught up in their struggle to free themselves, that they didn't even see the shadow slowly darkening over them, as they tugged against the relentless net.

“Well, well,well.” The two girls and Marco looked up from their uncomfortable position on the floor in shock, only to see Beard Deer standing over them, giving the two trapped teens a sinister look. In half a second, he had grabbed Marco by the arm and pulled him to his feet, holding the boy by the hood to keep him from escaping.

“Marco!” Jackie screamed in concern, seeing the boy struggling in the monster's grip.

“Looks like we caught ourselves a little Impure and a Mewman to boot,” the monster continued, sneering at the two girls triumphantly. But neither Jackie or Janna showed any fear over their predicament, glaring at the monster furiously, Janna showing off her fangs in an attempt to psyche the monster out, a thick tension filling the already uneasy forest. “And I can't think you enough for bringing Marco back to us safely.” His eyes for just a second jumped to the frightened Marco, clearly gloating over how easily he had recaptured the child.

“Hey hands off the kid!” Janna screamed. “Unless you want a repeat of earlier tonight, tough guy!”

Beard Deer laughed cruelly at that. “Go ahead and try it, Impure. You couldn't break through those ropes if you wanted to. It's infused with magic, the more you pull the stronger it gets. We had it made special just for you.” Janna said nothing, just glaring hate-filled daggers at the monster, as she continued to struggle against her bonds, ignoring the exhaustion she felt with every tug.

“Beard Deer?” Marco suddenly pitched in, his voice a hurt whisper, looking at the monster with glossy eyes, hoping to try and talk him out of his evil scheme.

But the monster ignored the sharp pain in his gut from the boy's broken stare, having to remind himself that Marco wasn't behaving normally, he was being controlled by the Mewmans, he couldn't let the boy get to him, so instead he shifted his attention back to the two girls, giving them a death glare. “Not now, Marco!” he snapped, the boy flinching from the scolding tone and going silent, unable to think of a time when he had ever heard the monster talk so severely toward him.

“You thought you were so clever didn't you, Impure,” Beard Deer mocked. “So cocky and confident, acting all high and mighty. Well, look where it's gotten you. Completely at the mercy of the very monster you made a punching bag out of not a few hours before.”

Janna's eyes narrowed on the monster with every insult, keeping her mouth sealed shut. “And now, even as we speak, your precious princess is fighting for her life against the most feared monster in all of Mewni.”

Though Jackie hated herself for it, she was unable to stop her eyes from widening in terror and even Janna looked concerned for the princess' safety. But Marco looked the most torn up, his face scrunched up with worry, his own safety forgotten his thoughts only on his endangered bestie, a sense of hopelessness beginning to fill him as he realized he wouldn't be able to reach her in time. He felt hot tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, his gaze looking helplessly in the direction of his beautiful bestie, as he quietly muttered in pain, “Star.”

…

Toffee was feeling confident. Though his outside emotions remained the same, inside he felt a growing sense of pleasure coursing through his veins like fire, as he watched his game slowly growing to a close, the girl obviously on the brink of exhaustion as she did her best to hold his elite monsters at bay, her last attack leaving them all a sticky, pink mess, the bear monster groaning in pain at her feet. He admitted it was surprising how much of a fight the princess had put up, capturing her taking far longer than he would have liked, her wand truly was a weapon to fear... in the right hands, anyways. But he hardly felt she was adequate for the job, her spells rather erratic and lackluster in his mind, more of a hodge-podge of adolescent daydreams than practiced spells. Her brave little attempt to save herself was cute, but hopeless. He had already calculated everything down to the smallest fraction and, though she didn't know it, the girl had lost this fight the second she stepped into the forest.

Suddenly, the lizard heard a familiar buzzing and turned to see Boo Fly approaching, his calculations still on point, as the small fly's appearance confirmed to Toffee that Marco had finally arrived there and that he was behaving as predictable as could be, unable to resist helping his little girlfriend from danger by falling right into the awaiting trap. The lizard turned his attention away from the stubborn, unknowing girl and onto his spy, who was eagerly awaiting to give his report.

“Boo Fly,” he greeted dryly, wanting to get straight to the point as always. “Has our other guest finally arrived?”

“Yezz, Mazzter Toffee,” the fly monster began, keeping his voice at a whisper, so as not to be overheard. “Beard Deer izz already with him azz we zzpeak.”

“Excellent,” Toffee replied, all business. “And the Impure?”

“Taken care of,” his minion buzzed evilly. “She fell for our trick just azz you predicted she would.”

“Good. Then everything is going according to plan.” Toffee allowed himself a small smile of victory. In a matter of moments he would have Marco back and the Princess of Mewni to boot. Yes, everything was coming along nicely.

Star kept a close watch on the lizard out of the corner of her eye, his attention having shifted away from her and to some fly monster thing, the lizard muttering something to the creature under his breath, the look in his eyes giving her the chills. Though she couldn't understand what they were saying, she could tell that the lizard was obviously too preoccupied with his minion to notice what was happening on the battlefield, clearly whatever they were discussing more important than even the inevitable capture of the crown princess, but in Star's mind this was a blessing in disguise, feeling a spark of hope ignite in her, giving her strength. Toffee was distracted and the other monsters were still trying to recover from her last attack, this was it, there would be no better moment to escape.

Now's my chance, she thought to herself, steeling her nerve, her grip tightening on the wand. All she had to do was lure them away somehow and then at least the guards would be safe from harm, Star knowing her men would be easily bypassed over her, Star being the more valuable prize. Still, she had no idea what she was going to do to escape, but whatever it was she needed to do it now while she had the lizard off-guard, her brain trying desperately to think of something to get her out of there.

…

“I warned you before, didn't I?” Beard Deer continued to gloat, his eyes narrowing on the hated Impure with every insult, who had gone completely silent, not letting an ounce of emotion show, giving him an empty stare. “I told you we would be taking back what was ours.” Beard Deer emphasized this point by pulling out a pair of dimensional scissors from his pocket and cutting open the swirling portal.

Marco, feeling a desperate need to act turned to the monster who held him, once again. “Beard Deer, please, you don't have to do this!” he begged, giving him the most pleading look he could muster, the kind of look he knew the deer monster would be powerless to resist.

And in fact he was right, Beard Deer having to look away from the boy and directing his attention to the floor instead. “I know what you and the other monster have been doing,” the boy continued, his voice chocked and tight. “That you've been killing Mewmans and that you choose to keep that from me, and that hurt a lot! But I don't believe for one minute that you're really evil.  Because I know that deep down you would never want to hurt anyone. So please, you don't have to let Master Toffee control you! You can do the right thing.”

For a second, Marco thought he had gotten through to the monster, Beard Deer staring at him silently, the two eyes locked with one another, Marco's pleading and Beard Deer's conflicted, and the hooded boy felt his heart filling with hope. Maybe Beard Deer would listen and let Marco and the girls go. Maybe he would actually turn against Toffee and help join them to stop his evil. And if he joined, then the others might join, too. Then they could all work together and save Star.

But the boy's naive hopes were dashed as the monster finally spoke, his voice a dull mummer of unsettled emotions, “I'm sorry, Marco. But... it's too late for that.”

Before the boy could even react, Beard Deer began pushing him toward the portal, the boy screaming at the top of his lungs, as fear took hold of him once again, closing his eyes tight against the swirling vortex he was about to be consumed by.

…

Star, still struggling to form some kind of plan, suddenly heard a very familiar sound echo through the treetops around her, a loud yelling from a voice she would recognize anywhere. “Marco!” she screamed, her wand reacting to her sudden fear, as the whole thing began to glow pure white, the brightness intensifying with every second that passed. Toffee hearing the girl's scream, hastily turned away from his subordinate to see the girl's glowing wand, his eyes for just a second widening, sensing what was about to happen, trying to shout his warning to the other monsters. “Stop he-” Then suddenly, the world exploded into an overwhelmingly bright light, as the magic in the wand finally released itself, coating the dark forest in its glow, blinding anyone unfortunate enough to be within close proximity of the beam, several of the monsters screaming in pain as their sensitive, night vision enhanced pupils burned from the sudden intensity.

…

The light spread outward at a rapid rate, managing to shine through to the area where Marco and the others were, taking all of them by surprise, the hooded boy the only one fortunate enough to have his eyes closed at the time, the rest all screaming in pain from the blinding beam, Beard Deer dropping the boy to try and cover his shell-shocked eyes as best he could as he continued to cry out in pain. Finally, after an agonizing few seconds, the light ceased and everyone paused panting, waiting for their senses to return to normal. Marco, from his position on the floor took quick note of his surroundings, having to blink a few times to get his bearings, looking up to see Beard Deer above him, his eyes blood-shot feeling around blindly for any signs of life around him, any signs of remorse now gone from the monster replaced instead with pure rage and hate. “Ah, my eyes,” the deer monster screamed in pain, as he stumbled around the forest drunkenly, Marco having to move out of the way to keep the monster from tripping over him. “That was a cheap trick, Impure! And it's gonna cost you!”

Marco, reminded of his two still trapped friends, looked over to the net worriedly, but was surprised to find only Jackie trapped within the compounds of the net, squinting as she tried to get her bearings, Janna nowhere to be found. Marco hoped that maybe Jackie would have some kind of idea of where the creepy girl could have gone off to, but from the looks of it the skater was equally confused as to the location of her roommate, though she did seem far more comfortable without the crushing weight of Janna pinning her down, finally able to move around somewhat freely within the restrictive net.

But Beard Deer was in no way aware of any of this, still spilling out worthless threats to the missing Impure as he tripped his way around the dimly lit area, while Marco did a thorough scan of the forest, looking for any signs of his creepy friend. “All you did was make things a million times worse for yourself! Because, in case you've forgotten, girlie, you're still trapped. And once I get my sight back, I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!”

Marco stood, having no luck in spying his missing friend, and yelled without thinking, “Janna?!” The boy instantly regretted this action, as Beard Deer swerved on his heels in the direction of the sound he had heard, facing Marco, who tried to slowly back away from the now incoming monster.

“Marco? Is that you? Where are you?” the monster grunted, trying to decipher the blurry images in front of him from one another and spot the boy. But suddenly he saw a splurge of red and knew it couldn't be anything else other than the bright red of Marco's hoodie, a style the boy seemed to have picked up at some point while he was away.

Marco felt his heart stop as Beard Deer's focus landed on him and he knew he had been discovered, nervously saying, “Uh no, no it's not me, it's someone else.” He did his best to deepen his voice so as to not be recognized but it did nothing to fool Beard Deer in the slightest.

“Marco get over here right now, young man,” the deer monster scolded.

“Marco run!” the blinded Jackie called, not sure what was going on, but from the sound of it her hooded friend was in trouble again. The boy obeyed the skater's instructions as he continued to back away from Beard Deer, his eyes nervously scanning the forest around him.

“Uh, Janna?” Marco called quietly, still unsure where the girl was or if she was even still around.

Meanwhile, the deer monster eyes finally began to adjust to the dark, seeing the fleeing child clearly again. “Marco I said come here,” the monster said.

“Janna, now would be a good time to help me!” the boy tried again, louder than before, having to jump back to avoid getting grabbed by Beard Deer, who was hoping to catch Marco by surprise. But the action was not without consequences as, suddenly, much to Marco's dismay, his back hit a tree, trapping him as the monster drew ever closer.

“Janna I need you!” Marco cried in panic, trying to push himself as far against the tree as he could in feeble hopes of somehow holding the monster off.

“Enough, Marco,” Beard Deer said, becoming annoyed with the boy's stubbornness. “Stop fight me, you're Impure friend can't save you, that net is made of magic.” He pointed behind him to the trapped Jackie, but didn't even bother to turn around, confident in the half-monster girl's capture. “Not even her monster form is strong enough to get through that.”

“Good thing I have more than one form then, huh?” a smirky voice called from above, Marco overjoyed and Beard Deer dismayed and confused to hear it, the two looking up to see a small purple bat drop down from the treetops, transforming mid-air back into Janna, who landed gracefully between Marco and the awestruck monster.

“Janna!” Marco screamed in admiration, throwing his arms up in air in celebration, moving in so as to give his half-monster friend a grateful hug, the girl somehow sensing this as she turned to him and said, “Not now, Marco! Hugs after the fight!”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” he sheepishly apologized, lowering his hands and taking a step away from the girl.

“What, but how?!” Beard Deer screamed, looking back to the net, then back to the smirking teen, then back to the net with growing confusion. “How did you- Were you just a bat?!”

Janna shrugged, looking as nonchalant as ever. “What can I say, I'm full of surprises.” Then, with lightning speed she swung at the monster, catching him by surprise and managing to send him flying back where he crashed hard into a tree.

Jackie, who had watched the whole thing from her crapped position on the ground, yelled over to Janna with an annoyed scowl, “You couldn't have just done that earlier!”

To which Janna simply shrugged and said, “I was just waiting for the right moment!”

“And two minutes ago when Marco was about to be sent through a portal wasn't the 'right moment'?!” Jackie retorted.

“See, I knew you'd understand,” Janna answered, giving the skater girl a playful smirk. Then, out of nowhere, her smirk dropped as she directed her attention to Marco as if surprised he was still there, shouting, “What are you still doing here, Marco?! Go find Star! I'll handle this guy!” Marco was completely taken aback by the girl's bizarre mood shift, all joking mannerisms pushed aside, as she spoke to the boy in a serious, level-headed tone.

Still, Marco couldn't help but respond by asking, “Are you sure?” Still feeling reluctant to leave his friend alone to fight.

Janna rolled her eyes, before saying sarcastically, “Am I sure I can handle one badly dressed, stupid monster all by myself? Yeah, I'm sure.”

“Hey!” Beard Deer growled, looking annoyed at the comment, slowly beginning to recover from the painful ordeal, shooting the half-monster girl daggers of death, making Marco even more reluctant to leave.

“But what about Jackie?” Marco pointed out.

“Just go, dude,” the skater called, not looking the slightest bit concerned by the situation. “I'll be fine.”

Marco bit his lip, torn between his bestie and his two close friends, not sure who needed him more.

“Look,” Janna said persuasively, seeing the boy's uncertainty, putting a hand on his shoulder to silence his thoughts. “We don't have time to argue about this. Star needs help now and this monster isn't going down without a fight. And to be perfectly honest with you, right now you're more in the way than anything else.” Janna gave him a small, apologetic smile, possibly the most real and genuine one she had ever given him, before lightly pushing him in the direction of Star. “So just go. We'll catch up as soon as we can.”

Marco looked back for a moment, as if seeking permission, asking, “Promise?”

“Promise,” Janna said, with another reassuring smile, which did manage to soothe the majority of the boy's fears... though not all. Still, he knew she was right. Now wasn't the time for him to break down with worry, he needed to focus on the more important task at hand, finding Star, he would just have to trust Janna and Jackie to be able to handle themselves on their own. So he swallowed down the lump in his throat, giving the girl a small nod before heading off after Star and Toffee with no hesitation in his step.

Beard Deer, finally (mostly) recovered from the super-charged hit, spotted the boy's exit and quickly started after him, hoping to stop him before he reached Toffee and made a mess of their careful planning, that was until the hated Impure stepped into his path, looking as cocky as ever as she called to him, “Hey, muscles! Where do you think you're going?!”

Beard Deer felt red hot anger course through him as he stared at his hated opponent, who looked comfortable and relaxed there in the middle of the Forest of Certain Death. “Out of my way, Impure!” he hissed, every word just littered with venom.

“Oh come on,” Janna taunted, shooting him a knowing grin and he felt his rage explode at the look, his teeth grinding together as he growled, his hands clenched into extra tight fists, as he tried his very hardest to remind himself of the mission and not to get distracted on petty revenge. “Didn't I recall you saying something about teaching me a lesson?”

There was a short pause from the girl as she leaned forward, her eyes narrowing smoothly, giving him a deceptive grin, saying slowly but surely, “So then by all means... teach me.”

Beard Deer released an infuriated yell, before running at the girl full-force, while Janna, never losing her smile, just waited patiently as the monster drew ever closer to her, not even bothering to raise so much as a fist against him. Until finally, he got close enough to hit her, sending his enclosed fist right at her face, but found himself hitting air as she cleverly grabbed the monster's wrist, using his weight against him as she flipped him easily over her shoulder, where he smashed hard into the uncomfortable forest floor with a pained grunt. Marco for just a second looked back, hearing the monster's scream and Janna shot him a reassuring smile, giving him a quick thumbs up to let him know she had it handled, waiting until he disappeared into the forest's undergrowth before turning her attention back to the monster, who was struggling to stand after his painful encounter with the ground, holding him arm tightly.

She bent down so she was level with the monster, who glared daggers at her. “So, maybe wanna try that one again, buddy?” Janna asked, the monster finding her tone irritating. He growled, as he swung carelessly at her again, his clawed fist meeting her open palm, pain shooting up his arm as he realized too late how injured his arm actually was and he screamed. “Ow, ow, OW!”

Jackie, watching the whole display with growing skepticism as she tried to untangle the mass of net around her, heard the monster scream and rolled her eyes, saying softly to herself, “Jeez and I thought Tom had a temper.”

...

Star blinked, standing frozen in bewilderment, her wand still raised in front of her, as around her the monsters stumbled around blindly, bumping into one another, as they all either groaned in pain or yelled out their fellow companions names in hopes of a reply, clearly discombobulated from losing their vision and most of them still restricted by the cotton candy that coated the ground. Though they weren't the only ones experiencing confusion at the moment.

As crazy as it seemed, Star had no idea how exactly she had just managed to blind the entire battlefield of monsters, the unexpected spell coming out of seemingly nowhere. It wasn't like she had shouted off any kind of spell or anything, heck she had still been busy trying to think of a plan, the sudden action taking her as much by surprise as it had the monsters, though somehow leaving her vision untouched. Had she somehow performed a spell without having to cast or even think of one at all?

In fact, if she didn't know any better she could have sworn that the wand had acted all on its own, something that should have been impossible, the magical device somehow reacting to her fear when she had heard Marco scream. Wait. Marco! Star felt a new fear cling to her, a sense of overwhelming panic as she remembered the terror she had just heard in her bestie's voice, several worrying thoughts jumbling around in her head for a moment, all of which only managed to frighten her more. What was he doing there?! Why did he scream?! Did the monsters get him?! Was he okay?! That last thought stuck out in her brain, filling her with a deep dread.

And so, without another thought, she held her wand downward toward the ground, shouting, “Bunny Rocket Blast!” A magical stream releasing itself from her wand, boosting her over the blinded monsters, sailing gracefully over their heads, before landing lightly on her feet, racing forward in the direction of the boy... she hoped. “Hang on Marco, I'm coming!” she screamed into the dark abyss around her, pushing herself forward as hard and fast as she could.

“The girl's getting away. Don't let her escape,” Toffee called his monsters to attention, looking the least affected out of them from losing one of his senses, though behind his back and out of the rest of the monster's view his claws had clenched into extra tight fists.

“Yes, Master Toffee,” all the monsters responded doing blind salutes, before growling as they all tried to chase after the runaway princess, which quickly turned into chaos as all they managed to do in their sightless condition was trip and crash into each other, none sure which way the girl was heading, causing several of the monsters to start bickering with anger, giving the princess even more time to put distance between herself and her pursuers.

“Ow! Watch it!”

“You watch it!”

“Hey, get off me!”

“Out of my way, the girl went this way!”

“No, she went the other way, you idiot!”

“You're the idiot!”

“Hey, hey hey, guys, I think I got her, I think I got her!”

“Ow! No you idiot, that's me!”

“Oh, sorry Bearicorn!”

And as the hectic arguing of Toffee's most “elite” monsters filled his ears all the lizard could do was sigh and mumble under his breath, “Worthless idiots.”

He had often times wondered if this had somehow been Buff Frog's way of getting back at him, requesting a bunch of monster with little to no talent whatsoever, just to make his mission a bit more difficult and Toffee felt his anger burn at the thought. You truly believed you had beaten me didn't you, Buff Frog, the lizard thought. Thought you could turn the most feared monster in the world into a laughingstock. But we'll just have to wait and see who has the last laugh once I have you're little Marco in my clutches, now won't we?

…

Meanwhile, a safe distance away from the maddened monsters, Star continued to push her way through the Forest of Certain Death using her wand to light the way, retracing her steps, as she fought against the tangled vines and vegetation that now seemed to constantly block her path, as if the forest itself was trying to keep her from Marco, her thoughts racing as she pushed onward with excess force, worry over Marco making her frantic. She was so focused on finding Marco, in fact, that she barely even noticed as stray bushes and brambles jumped out at her, cutting her in odd places as she went, the adrenaline in her body numbing the pain and her own exhaustion, her heart pounding wildly both out of fear for Marco and from pushing herself to go faster in hopes of reaching the boy quicker.

She turned to look behind her, making sure there were no monster behind her, but it seemed she had actually managed to escape them, for now, but if she wasn't careful they would find her again. Which meant Star needed to get out of the dangerous forest as quickly as possible. Except, Marco was there now too, and she couldn't, wouldn't, leave him behind to fend for himself, not with Toffee still lurking about. Star felt a chill run up her spine at the thought of the lizard meeting Marco again. He had mentioned him by name, did he know he was in the forest, too? Had he come to not only capture the Crown Princess of Mewni, but also exact his revenge on the only Mewman who ever managed to elude him. The thought of it made Star sick to her stomach. If he found Marco before she did...

No, Star told herself, her hands clenching into tight fists, forcing the rebellious thought out of her head. I won't let that happen. I'm not going to let that lizard lay so much as a finger on my Marco. But her determined thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps approaching and the rattling of leaves as someone seemed to be fighting their way through the harsh vegetation in front of her. Before Star could even begin to ponder what that meant, Marco came crashing out of the bushes, screaming as he spotted the girl in front of him. And Star, who also shrieked in surprise, managed to slow her pace enough to keep from crashing into the boy, coming to a stop just in front of him, both lit up from the glow of the girl's wand.

“Marco!” Star screamed, her voice cracking, overjoyed to see her bestie unharmed.

Marco, as well, felt relief flood through him at the sight of his best friend, screaming at the top of his lungs, “Star!”

And then, at the exact same time, the two threw their arms around each other in a tearful hug, squeezing each other tightly, as the fear they had been experiencing finally melted off of them, feeling safe in each other's arms. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, Toffee and the secrets and the monsters and the danger all faded away, until only their hug remained. “I'm so glad you're okay!” the young royal admitted, holding on tightly to the boy she had been afraid she had lost, comforted by the mere feeling of him against her.

“You too,” Marco replied, burying his head into her shoulder. “I was really worried.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“I saw your explosions and followed them here,” the boy quickly explained, Star feeling her heart drop at his words. Suddenly, the fear came flooding back to her, the moment broken, as she remembered where they were, acutely aware of all the dangers and shadows that lurked just out of reach from the two. She broke off the hug, much to Marco's surprise, looking deep into his brown eyes, her happiness replaced instead with fear, which Marco could see shining in her bright blue pupils, feeling his own fear return as he realized this was the most frightened he had ever seen his bestie. “You can't be here,” she said, sounding panicked, looking around her as if afraid something might jump out at them at any minute. “You need to get out of her, now,” she added, giving him a little push away from her.

“No way, Star, I'm not- ” Marco started to argue, but the girl didn't let him finish.

“No, you don't understand, Marco,” Star cried, breathlessly, practically shaking with fear, as she grabbed onto his shoulders. “It isn't safe.” She hesitated, conflicted on telling the boy the truth, unsure on how or if he could take it, before ultimately deciding that like it or not, he had to know. “There... There are monsters everywhere! They attacked me and I managed to get away, but they're still out there, looking for me, right now. And if they find us, they'll, they'll...” Star's voice cut off, unable to finish the chilling thought, having to lean against the boy to keep herself steady.

She let out a shaky breath before continuing. “So you need to get out of here as soon as you can.”

“No.” Star froze, completely shocked by the firmness in the boy's tone and the bravery she saw shining in his eyes, instead of the fearful look she had been expecting. Though there had been a slight quiver in his voice, otherwise he seemed to be taking the news far better than the girl expected, Star sure he would go into a full-blown panic attack upon the mere mention of the monsters in the woods, much less the fact that he and Star were now being hunted by them. “No. I'm not leaving you, Star.” Marco paused for a minute, obviously feeling conflicted about something, closing his eyes tight as he added, “Besides, you're not the only one they want. They're here for me, too. They're here... because of me.” Star felt a lump form in her throat, as the boy's voice cracked, sniffing as he tried to regain his composure. Star thought for a moment, letting the boy's words sink in. So Star's suspicion had been correct. Toffee was planning on doing away with the both of them, luring them easily into his trap, like moths to a flame. Star felt an anger burn through her, frustrated at herself for allowing both herself and Marco to fall victim to the venomous lizard.

Finally, Star took in a deep, shaky breath to try and calm herself, knowing what she had to do, her need to protect the boy far greater than anything else right then, forcing herself to stand up straighter, giving the boy a level-headed stare as she spoke, a grave resolve in her voice. “I won't let that happen, Marco. I'm not gonna let them hurt you. As far as I can tell, the monsters don't know you're here yet, which means there's still a chance for you to make it out of this alive. If I lead them away from you that might buy you enough time to-”

“No, you can't do that, Star. I won't let you. There's got to be another way,” Marco exclaimed, sounding desperate, his brain trying eagerly to come up with some kind of plan. “We can make it through this together. Y'know like we did in that yarn thing's cave.”

And right then, Star had an idea, Marco's words striking some kind of cord in her brain, the girl going stock still, her eyes widening to the size of saucers, her sky blue pupils dazed and out of focus, her cheek marks switching to glowing light bulbs, as a plan began to form in her mind, the little gears in her head going a mile a minute as they tried to work out every little detail of her scheme. Yes, she thought to herself. That might actually work. A small smile graced her lips, as she finally returned her focus onto her friend, who looked very confused and concerned over the girl's odd behavior. “Marco,” she said softly, cupping his cheeks in her hands, her eyes shimmering in admiration. “You're a genius!

“I am?” Marco said, raising an eyebrow, still lost as to what exactly he had done or said that qualified him as being a genius.  

“Yes!” the girl squealed, before grabbing on tightly to his hand, dragging him quickly behind her, as she ran off deeper into the woods. “Come on!”

“Wait, Star, where are we going?” Marco called after the girl, dumbfounded, trying to keep pace with the over-eager girl, having to force his sore legs to keep moving as they cried out for more rest.

“You'll see,” Star yelled over her shoulder, distracted as she tried to recall the path she had taken before, looking around for any familiar clues that told her she was going the right direction.

“But shouldn't we be heading away from the monsters?��� Marco asked with concern.

“Trust me,” was all Star said, but the confidence in her voice silenced the boy's worrying thoughts, Marco deciding to just go along with whatever the girl had planned, knowing she wouldn't lead him astray. Besides it wasn't like he had any kind of a plan. So, he quickened his pace, following after her willingly, having complete faith in his bestie and he squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter to let her know that.  

Star, for just a moment, lost focus, as she felt a gentle squeeze in the palm of her hand, her twin hearts thumping once in response, followed by a soft whisper behind her. “Okay. I trust you, Star.”

…

Janna was definitely winning. Though Beard Deer would never, ever admit to it, he was out of his league, the Impure far too powerful for him to handle on his own, her mutated blood giving her the strength to take on a large group of monster, and he was struggling to gain an upper hand by himself. Even though he was giving it his all, every punch fueled purely by his rage, there was very little he could do to throw off the smirking half-breed, unsuccessful in landing even a single hit on her yet. On the other hand, every unfortunate encounter with the super strong girl's fists was met with a far greater price, as painful vibrations surged through his already sore body. The only reason Beard Deer had lasted as long as he had was the fact that while the girl was strong she was clearly inexperienced in a fight, her technique sloppy and easy to dodge for the already trained killer, but it was only a matter of time before that changed.

Janna took note of her opponents weakening condition, his strength seeming to diminish with every hit, his breath becoming ragged and his eyes pain-filled, and she decided to take the time to taunt the tiring monster, giving him a knowing smile, “What's the matter? Tired? Or are you just now realizing you're gonna lose?”  

In that moment, Beard Deer felt a last wave of energy fill him as a blind rage overtook him, her words striking a nerve in the monster's anger-filled mind. How dare she insult him! This was all her fault, after all. Thanks to her, everything was ruined, all their careful planning meaningless. It wasn't supposed to happen like this, at this point the half-monster girl was supposed to be subdued and Marco recaptured. But thanks to her and her stupid tricks, that had all fallen apart and Beard Deer had no doubt when this was all over Toffee would punish him severely for his failure. Even though she was the one who had taken Marco away from him, having no doubt she was somehow involved in the boy's kidnapping in the first place and all he wanted was to make her pay for her interfering, wanting nothing more than to wipe that annoying smirk off her face, his body reacting to his twisted desire, moving on its own, lunging at the girl with a new ferocity, putting all his anger and hate into the single attack.

Janna seemed genuinely surprised by the tired monsters sudden action and though the girl managed to block it at the last second the impulsive attack had caught her off guard, her shifting feet betraying her as she was pushed back a few inches, leaving her wide open for another attack. Beard Deer, still in his maddened state didn't let up his assault, hitting her with a barrage of blows, too many for his inexperienced opponent to handle, as his one of his fists managed to make contact with her gut, sending the girl flying back, where she slammed hard into the ground, before skidding to an uncomfortable stop right by the still-opened portal that Beard Deer had neglected to close, laying still for a moment, her body shifting back to its Mewman form.

“Janna!” Jackie screamed in fear, seeing her roommate in pain, trying to reach out a hand to her, but prohibited from doing so by the bothersome net she was still trapped in.

Beard Deer just stood in shock for a moment, his frazzled mind having trouble processing what he had just done, in disbelief that he had actually managed to land a critical hit on the pesky Impure. But as he watched the girl struggling to rise to her feet, moving slowly and carefully, the girl coughing as she struggled to regain her breath after losing her precious air flow, the monster felt a dark sense of pleasure rush, as it seemed beneath all that bravado and strength, she was just a weak, little Mewman girl, one that he had completely at his mercy. Even if she could stand, which it seemed obvious she couldn't, the dimensional portal behind her prevented her from escaping him.

“What was that you were saying about me losing, Impure?” he hissed giving her a sinister grin, cracking his knuckles menacingly, preparing to give the annoying brat the pounding of her life.

But, much to the monster's and Jackie's surprise Janna started to chuckle, and Beard Deer felt a moment of confusion. Had she lost her mind? Or did she know something he didn't? “And what's so funny?!” the monster demanded, trying his best to hide his unwanted feelings of reluctance beneath his iron mask, refusing to let her get to him. It was clearly a last ditch effort to save herself and he wouldn't allow one of her little tricks to get the best of him again.

Finally, after a tense moment, Janna looked up at the monster, no signs of pain or fear on her face, just that same cryptic grin that she always had on, Beard Deer only glaring at her in response. “Man you're an idiot,” the girl said, still chuckling at some weird inside joke the monster clearly wasn't aware of, her voice not sounding the least bit strained. She stood easily, forcing the startled monster to take a step back, as she began patting the dust off her clothes without a second thought toward the monster still standing in close distance of her. “I mean, seriously you just fell for the oldest trick in the book.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?!” the monster yelled furiously, outraged as he realized the girl had been faking the whole thing, only pretending to be hurt, though for what purpose he had no idea.

Janna shrugged. “I just mean while you were busy gloating over the fact that you were actually beating the 'helpless Impure',” she explained sarcastically. “That left you too distracted to notice anything else.”

The half-monster girl buried her hands into her pockets, giving him a look just dripping with arrogance. “Which left me plenty of time to swipe these.”

And then, to add even more to the monster's surprise, the beanie-wearing girl pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors from her pocket... his scissors. “What?!” Beard Deer exclaimed, instinctively patting his pockets, frantically searching for the magical objects he hadn't even noticed he had lost. “How did you-”

“Easy I'm a professional pick pocket,” Janna boasted, twirling the scissors expertly around in her hand. She stopped spinning them, pointing them at the infuriated monster, adding, “And you're a dumb monster.”

The monster roared in anger, lunging at the girl once more, trying to grab the scissors out of her hand, shouting at the top of lungs, “Give me those back you little-”

But, before he could finish his insult, Janna just seemed to vanish from sight, turning into her bat form and flying straight up to avoid getting tackled, leaving the monster flying toward the opened portal, swirling menacingly as it waited to swallow him whole. Beard Deer stumbled, his arms waving wildly behind him, but somehow managed to stop himself just in time from passing through the tear in reality, one of his horns phased slightly through the rip in dimensions and he let out a loud sigh. But his relief was broken a second later, as Bat-Jan suddenly dropped out of the sky, shifting back to her monster form as she landed hard on the unsuspecting monster's back, before pushing herself off of him and doing a full flip in the air, landing gracefully on her feet. Meanwhile, the less than graceful Beard Deer was sent hurtling through the portal, his scream cut off as he vanished from view, the forest going surprisingly quiet, as Jackie and Janna were left alone once again.

With the threat now gone, Janna shifted back to her normal, less creepy look as she walked over to the portal and used the stolen scissors to close the tear to prevent the monster from reentering. “Well that takes care of that,” the half-monster girl said, putting a hand on her hip, shooting her trapped friend a confident smirk.

“Yeah,” Jackie agreed. “Now we just need to figure out way to get me out of this.” The skater held up the entrapping rope to emphasis the dilemma she was still in, speaking to her friend in a reminding tone, raising a shifting eyebrow at her friend.

Janna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Uhh, why do you think I went out of my way to get the scissors?” She snipped them together for a moment, to demonstrate her point, before adding, “Pretty sure they function as actual scissors.”

“Yeah, but Heckapoo would be pretty furious if she found out you were disrespecting a pair of her dimensional scissors by using them for this,” Jackie argued, though she did hold out the rope so Janna could cut it better.

“Well if she didn't want them to get used wrongly, then she shouldn't have given them to a bunch of monsters,” Janna pointed out, as she bent down and began cutting the net with the special scissors.

“Good point.”

There was a short moment of silence between the two, as Janna simply snipped away at the thick knots of ropes that held Jackie hostage, the light-haired girl's strength diminishing as she struggled to hold the enchanted net up and the dark-haired girl too focused on her task to say much of anything.

“That was really dangerous y'know,” Jackie finally said in a scolding tone, breaking the silence.

“I know,” came Janna's immediate answer, as if she had been expecting her to say that (which she had), not even bothering to look up from her work. “Didn't see much of a choice.”

“You could have been more careful. That looked like it really hurt,” Jackie said, her tone sounding less scolding so much as concerned.

“Ahh, I can take it,” Janna simply said. “Honestly, for all his talk, he didn't really pack that much of a punch.”

Jackie sighed, before saying in an exasperated tone, “Just next time, maybe think a little, okay? I was really worried about you.”

Janna looked up for a second, seeing the fear shimmering in her friend's eyes and felt her gut clench with guilt. “Sorry,” she muttered quietly, Jackie almost not catching the whispered apology.

“That's okay,” Jackie said, being careful with her tone, knowing how rare it was for her cryptic friend to admit to being wrong, quickly changing the subject as fast as possible. “So how much longer do you think this will take?” the skater asked, beginning to feel impatient.

As if reacting to Jackie's statement, the scissors finally cut all the way through the section of rope Janna had been working on, the mass of knots finally unraveling enough to create a very small opening, probably big enough for Jackie to stick her hand through, the two girls sharing a look with one another, Janna admitting calming, “A while,” causing Jackie to sigh in annoyance.

…

Star and Marco panted as they continued on deeper into the danger-ridden forest, Star in the lead, keeping a firm grip on the boy as she squinted trying to see further ahead, the area around her feeling vaguely familiar. She was pretty sure she was heading the right way, but she needed to be careful, the forest no doubt crawling with monster on the hunt for her, meaning one wrong turn and it would all be over for the both of them. “Come on,” she muttered quietly, trying to urge her feet to move faster, her impatience starting to get the better of her. “Where are you?”

While, behind her, Marco was doing everything he could to simply keep up with the fast-moving girl, his sore legs beginning to wear out from the incredibly long trek, while in his head his thoughts were still continuing to move a mile a minute with no sign of stopping, the still untold secret clinging tightly to his mind and refusing to leave until he confessed to the girl. He knew this probably wasn't the best time to bring up the uncomfortable subject, out there in the middle of the woods, being slowly hunted down by the monsters who had raised him, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out, desperately needing to get the troubling weight off of him. And with every step further into the unknown, his need only grew, still not sure how this would all turn out. So, if he was going to tell her, he reasoned, he had to do it now, while he still had the chance. He was reminded of Jackie and Janna's encouraging words from before, which managed to fill his heart full of momentary bravery, and he decided to use his newfound confidence, as he brought himself to a sudden and abrupt stop, panting heavily as he tried to regain enough of his air flow to talk.

Star was pulled back by the boy's sudden action, his still intertwined hand preventing her from moving anymore forward, causing her to stumble, and she turned to the boy with surprise, about to ask what was wrong. But she stopped, the royal feeling her heart swell with sympathy for the boy seeing his obvious exhaustion, Marco bent over, huffing and puffing, sweat slowly dripping down his scrunched up face as he tried to regain control of his throbbing lungs. She knew he had to be tired from the long run and for a moment she was tempted to let him rest, her eyes jumping back and forth between the waiting woods and the fatigued boy, trying not to think about how close they were to their destination. But she couldn't help it, with every moment that passed she could almost feel the monsters

closing in, a cold chill slowly beginning to creep up her spine, freezing her to the bone, as if the invisible claw of Toffee himself was reaching out toward her, just out of sight, and she knew in her paranoid state that they didn't have the luxury to wait and catch their breath, the little time they had slim, but precious.

“Marco, we really need to keep moving, we can't stop yet, it's just a little further I promise,” Star said hurriedly, pulling on his arm to get him to move, her eyes on the path ahead of them, her feet desperate to continue forward.

“Star,” Marco finally began, the crack in his voice finally managing to gain the girl's full attention, as he cleared his throat before continuing. “There's... something I need to tell you...”

Star, her sky blue eyes locked with his brown, saw the look of worry on the boy's face and asked in concern, “What is it Marco?”

The hooded boy hesitated, not sure where to begin, biting his lip as he tried to work up the nerve to tell the girl his secret, feeling shaky and unsure, terrified of her rejecting him. But he forced himself to bury his fears, squeezing the girl's hand tighter, his eyes shimmering with a thousand emotion, as he sucked in a breath before blurting,  “I-”

“There zzhe izz!”

The two looked up in fright, only to spot Boo Fly hovering overhead, pointing out the two startled teens, the rest of the monsters right behind him, growling in anger at the stubborn royal. “That's her alright!” Bearicorn rumbled needlessly, his eyes narrowing on the princess, who put a protective hand in front of Marco, her other flashing her wand threateningly at the creatures, daring any of them to come closer, as she slowly began backing away from the large group of highly-trained killers with a hard look.

But it did nothing to ward the monsters off, as Three Eyed Potato Baby garbled something hastily, Lobster Claws relating his message to the other monsters, “Yeah, he's right, she's got Marco!”

Star, hearing the mention of the boy, instinctively shouted at the top her lungs, “Jellybean Mist Hallucination!” firing off the proper spell at the monster, as a jellybean filled mist coated the monsters, distracting them and giving her a few seconds of escape.

The determined blond grabbed Marco's arm, the boy looking over to her in daze, mesmerized by the magic display, as she shouted, “Run!” the two taking off together down the familiar path. After a few seconds, Star heard one of the monsters shout, “After her!” looking back for a second to see how far away they were. But she instantly regretted the split second decision, her heart leaping into her throat in terror at the sight of every single monster chasing after her, full speed, quickly gaining ground on her and Marco. So she focused her attention back on the path ahead, trying to pick up her pace a bit more in an attempt to get ahead of the monster's as much as possible, ignoring the tinges of fear that still clung to her, knowing the monster weren't that far behind. Come on, she thought, her eyes scanning the undergrowth in front of her. Where is it? It had to be around there somewhere, right? Unless she had accidentally taken the wrong path. She pushed aside the troubling thought, focusing instead on keeping ahead of the monsters.

Marco, on the other hand, didn't seem to be able to get his mind off the monsters as easily, his eyes jumping back to see his old family gaining ground on them, calling to Star in a concerned tone, “Starrr, they're getting closer.”

But the girl was too distracted to hear the boy, as she spotted a bright flash in the treeline beside her and she felt her heart leap with excitement. There. Star gave the boy a gentle tug to draw his attention, before pointing out the desired direction to him, shouting, “That way!”

Marco didn't argue with the girl, instead nodding once in understanding, obeying her command as he suddenly switched directions, fighting his way through the lush undergrowth, the princess right behind him. Star heard several of the monsters shout in anger and confusion, thrown off by the unexpected action as the two disappeared from their view and she couldn't help but smile at how well things seemed to be going so far.

Marco finally escaped from the last of the entrapping vegetation, stumbling as he escaped from the claustrophobic area, freezing for a moment as he stared up at the gigantic, danger-ridden cave from before, looking as menacing as ever, the entrance still coated in Star's magic, glowing brightly in the low light of the forest, probably caused by its creator's presence. “Come on, Marco,” Star panted, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to draw his attention. “We need to-”

But the girl didn't have time to finish her sentence, as the monster busted out of the bushes behind them, immediately surrounding them to prevent escape. Marco clung close to his bestie, looking scared, as Star gave the monsters a hard look, holding tightly onto the boy's hand from behind her back. The monsters, however, all looked quite satisfied with their cornered prey, creeping slowly forward with sinister grins. “End of the line, princess,” Bearicorn growled darkly.

“Star,” Marco whispered, his voice a scared whimper.

“It'll be okay,” Star said in a surprisingly reassuring tone, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, the hooded boy shocked by the confidence radiating in her voice. “Just stay close to me.”

Star held her wand out, but to everyone's surprise, including Marco's, she aimed the magical device not at the monster's but instead at the cave's glowing barrier, yelling, “Anti-Shield Depletion!”

Before the monster's could stop her, a beam of magic shot out of her wand, colliding with the shield, before it faded from existence, exposing the raw darkness within. A loud chattering noise sounded from within the cave, echoing around the area, making several of the monster's back away in fear. Then, out of nowhere, the same familiar yarn vines shot out of the cave's mouth, spreading out in all directions, taking all of the startled monster's by surprise, Star wasted no time as she immediately slammed into Marco, throwing both of them to the ground, covering her head as best as she could as yarn webs shot harmlessly over their heads. The area turned into pure chaos, as the monster's were suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of webs shooting of the cave, screaming in panic as the thick webs wrapped around them, which only managed to draw more in their direction, pulling and tugging as they tried to free themselves from the fabric's iron grip. No monster was safe, several trying to flee the scene only to be thwarted by the tangle of vines latching onto them and preventing their escape. The yarn creature, becoming frustrated, began to lift the monster high into the air, where they dangled uselessly, their bodies slowly beginning to be encased in the scratchy fabric, the rest being dragged back to the cave's dark mouth.

After a few moments, Star risked a look up, and seeing no monster around turned her attention to the hooded boy, who had his eyes closed tight, feebly trying to cover his head with his hands and Star couldn't help but smile at how adorable he looked. The royal very carefully laid a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention, the boy jumping from the unexpected touch as he looked up at her, his wide, brown pupils locking with hers. She put a finger to her lips to let him know to stay quiet and he nodded. She moved off of him so he could sit up, before pointing to a break in the treeline ahead, then did a downwards gesture with her hands to let him know they needed to stay low to the ground, making sure he understood what needed to be done. Finally, Star took a deep breath, before crawling away on hands and knees, Marco following right behind her.

The two weaved their way through the continuing chaos, the monsters too distracted by their fight with the yarn creature to even notice the escaping teens, the going slow and agonizing for both of them. Until finally, they felt they had reached a far enough distance away without having to worry about being seen, as they stood and began racing away from the monsters and the cave without a second thought, hearing the yarn creature roar behind them.

Star let out a relieved laugh, unable to believe her crazy plan had actually worked. Sure there was still a likely chance the monsters would probably escape the yarn creature's lair, but by that point she (and especially Marco) would be long gone. She would just have to be sure to send more guards in to detain them as soon as she made it back to the castle and reseal that cave so the yarn creature couldn't do any more damage, but that was for later, right then, she felt an overwhelming joy surging through her, her triumphant victory over the evil monsters making her giddy. “We did it, Marco!” the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting the boy a wide smile. “We won!”

Marco smiled affectionately at her saying, “I knew you could do it, Star. You were amazing!”

Star's eyes shined at the praise, her heart filling with joy and love for the boy, as she looked deep into his bright brown eyes. And as she raced forward without a care in the world, heart pumping full of adrenaline, Star felt content with the world once again, the danger at last behind her, her bestie beside her, and their freedom waiting just ahead. Without thinking, she reached out a hand toward him, needing to feel his touch and Marco did the same, everything between the two feeling okay at last.

But just before their hands could touch, Star was hit by an overwhelmingly strong force, knocking the air out of her lungs, leaving her powerless to stop herself from being thrown back, slamming hard into something, making her cry out in pain. The world vanished into a swirl of nauseating colors, as she heard, in her dizzying state, Marco scream her name, his voice sounding faded and far away. After a few agonizing seconds, Star was able to regain some of her senses, the fog in her brain lifting, as she slowly peeled open her eyes, ignoring the ringing in her ears, the world spinning out of control for a moment as she waited for the dizzy spell to pass. She tried to sit up, her body aching as she forced her muscles into action, grunting as she fought through the pain, using the tree she had slammed into as support. “Marco?” she coughed out, her voice strained and tight.

“My, my,” Star felt her heart stop at the sound of the cold monotone, looking up to see Toffee only a few feet away, giving her an empty stare, but she felt shivers run down her spine as his dead eyes dug deep into her skin. But her fear worsened, as she spotted Marco laying submissively at the cruel monster's feet, frozen in fear, his whole body shuddering as he stared up at the lizard with wide eyes, the lizard's tale wrapped around his leg to keep him from running away. “It seems the little princess has fallen,” he continued, in a mocking whine, as if he was talking to a child.

“Stay back,” Star commanded, her voice shaking with fear, as she reached for her wand. That was until she remembered that it had been in her hand when she was hit, meaning it must have fallen when Toffee had thrown her back. She looked frantically around for any signs of the magical object, not bothering to mask her fear, as she scanned the forest floor around her.

Finally, she spotted it laying a few feet away from her, and Star started to make a dive for it, but  felt her heart sink as she realized she couldn't move, her body refusing to budge even an inch more, the hit taking far more out of her than she had thought. Toffee seeing the princess' powerless state, gave a small wicked smile, before hiding it behind his emotionless mask once more. “There's no need to be so rude, princess. After all, you're hardly in the position to be making threats.” Toffee's eyes jumped to Marco for a second, the boy shrinking under his intense gaze and Star felt her heart drop.

“If you lay so much as a finger on Marco, I swear I'll-”

“Now, now,” Toffee interrupted, looking slightly agitated at the interruption and Star felt her skin crawl. “There's no need for that, I have no intention of harming Marco, unless you continue to annoy me.” His voice lost all its hollowness as the true killer showed itself, his voice a cruel hiss, causing Star to go silent and allow the monster to continue.

Toffee seemed to recover very quickly, seeing the girl becoming passive, as his business-like demeanor took over once more, straightening his tie before continuing. “That's better. Now then, as I was saying, you have proved to be more difficult than I expected you to be, princess. Somehow you managed to even best my monsters with a childish trick, but I think you will find that I am not so easily mislead.” Star said nothing, matching his iron stare with the bravest look she could muster, trying her best to mask the fear and helplessness she was feeling as Toffee loomed over her, doing her best to keep her calm as she tried to think of some kind of plan to escape the dreaded monster, or at the very least get Marco away from him, the boy looking more and more panicked with every moment that passed, Star hating the look of terror on her sweet bestie's face.

“Now then, I believe it's time we finally get down to business,” Toffee said, drawing the girl's attention to him once again, trying to ignore the pounding in her heart as the lizard's intense gaze locked with her frightened one. “It's time for you to come with me...” Star's hands clenched into fists, as she awaited her punishment. How could she have been so stupid, thinking she could beat the invincible monster, thinking she could somehow escape his wrath? She had grown cocky, somehow believing she was actually capable of doing anything other than screw up and in the end it had cost her everything.

She closed her eyes, hoping whatever grim fate Toffee no doubt had in store for her would be over quickly. But she doubted it. She was the Princess of Mewni, after all, and he was probably going to make her suffer for her people's crimes. She had failed, miserably, and now it was time for her to pay the price.

“...Marco.” Star's eyes flew open in shock as she saw Toffee looming not over her, but her hoodie-wearing bestie, the boy trying to back away from the cruel monster, but was stopped by the tail still wrapped around his leg. Star felt her blood boil, feeling a new source of energy begin to fuel her tired body, needing to protect her helpless friend from the cold-blooded monster, trying to force her body to stand so she could rush to Marco's rescue, unable to just sit back and watch as Toffee exacted his revenge on her Marco. “Toffee!” she screamed, struggling to rise, her aching muscles refusing to listen to her commands. “You get away from him right now!”

“Now why would I do that, princess,” Toffee said, an almost taunting tone to his voice. “After all, Marco belongs to me.”

Star froze, feeling lost and confused at the lizard's words, her eyes widening as she stuttered out, “W-What?!”

“Oh,” Toffee said in obvious mock shock, looking over to the boy quizzically. “You mean you never told her about the monster that raised you.”

Star felt the world around her crack and break apart, as she struggled to find some sort of meaning in the madness that she was being told, her brain trying to deny the lizard's unexpected revelation. How could that be true? That couldn't be true. There was no way. Marco was such a sweet, kind person, how could he have been raised by such a psychotic creature. It had to be a joke, or a lie. Yeah that was it, Toffee had to be lying, trying to manipulate her for some sinister purpose... right? She looked over to Marco, hoping that he would be able to somehow settle any uncertainty she was feeling, but the guilty look in his eyes silenced any doubts she had, his eyes shimmering with pain and hurt, as he refused to meet her eye.

“Marco?” Star whispered softly, the boy visibly flinching at her pleading tone, still looking away from her direction.

“That's right, princess,” Toffee continued, clearly enjoying every second of this of the uncomfortable confrontation, soaking in the wounded look on the young royal's face. “It seems your little boyfriend wasn't who you thought he was. He's been lying to you all this time, keeping secrets to selfishly protect himself.” He looked down at the still-shaking boy with an iron glare. “Isn't that right, Marco?”

After a moment, Marco slowly nodded his head, finally looking over at his bestie, his eyes full of regret as they connected with hers. “I-I'm so sorry, Star,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “I wanted to tell you so bad... I was just... afraid that-”

Marco was silenced, however, as Toffee suddenly, grabbed onto the boy's arm, onto the boy's arm, roughly pulling him to his feet, Toffee taking no care in the act as his claws dug deep into the boy's skin, causing the hooded boy to cry out in pain, his fragile limb aching from the unexpected tug.

“Marco!” Star cried in concern, trying to run over to his rescue, but all she did was lose her balance without the support of the tree, collapsing hard onto the forest floor, pain shooting through her body from the reckless act, the breath temporarily knocked out of her lungs.

“That's quite enough of that,” Toffee scolded, Marco trying to pry his way out of the lizard's iron grip. “Don't pretend to justify your sins. You've been very bad, Marco. You've caused quite a bit of trouble for your friend, haven't you?” Marco said nothing as he stopped struggling, but the shameful look in his eyes told Toffee all he needed to know. “But not to worry, I'm giving you a chance to make it right, that is if you come back with me without a fight.”

Marco's eyes widened, surprised by the cruel lizard's offer, looking over to his friend for a second, his stomach turning at the sight of her bruised body laying helplessly on the floor, her whole face scrunched up with pain, the guilt he was feeling almost unbearable. This was all his fault. He knew it was. If he hadn't come in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened. It was because of him that Star was hurt, all his lies and deceit endangering her in ways he couldn't have imagined. But if he gave in and obeyed Toffee's wishes then maybe he could make everything right again, maybe he could make it up to Star and the others, his gut twisting again as he remembered his other two friends who were busy fighting off Beard Deer, yet more people he had endangered just by being near them.

So, though he hated doing it, he forced himself to match Toffee's gaze as he said in the strongest voice he could manage, “If I go back with you, Master Toffee, then you have to promise me that you'll let Star go and call the rest of the monsters off.”

Toffee said nothing, his face unreadable, and though Marco felt an uncomfortable tension beginning to grow he kept a level gaze with the monster leader, nervously awaiting his crucial answer. Meanwhile, Star was forced to simply watch as her best friend stared down the most feared monster in all of Mewni, still struggling to regain enough air flow to talk, her voice no more than a breathless squeak, overwhelmed as the alarming situation continued to spiral out of control. She kept gazing longingly over to her discarded wand. If only she could reach it somehow, then she could actually damage the horrible lizard and save her friend. Please, she silently pleaded with the magical object, remembering it's strange behavior before, begging it to act on its own. Do something, anything, before it's too late.

Finally, after what felt to both Star and Marco like a lifetime, Toffee gave his answer, their hearts stopping simultaneously. “Very well, then, Marco. If that's what it takes. I promise you, no harm will come to the girl.”

Marco feeling a mixture of relief and regret, dropped his gaze to the floor, taking in a deep, shaky breath, before hesitantly answering, “Then I'll go with you.”

“No!” Star squeaked, finding her voice once again, as she felt a deep dread overtake her.

“Good boy,” Toffee praised, though his voice sounded far less than enthusiastic, patting the boy softly on the head, Marco holding back the shudder he felt rising inside of him. “I knew you'd see it my way.”

Marco said nothing as Toffee pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors, cutting open a glowing portal, before standing by, awaiting the hooded boy to enter. “After you. The others will be joining with us shortly,” Toffee said, all formalities again. Marco tried to will his feet into motion, his heart beginning to pound in fear, wanting nothing more than to turn back, to escape from the dreaded monster and stay with Star. This is for the best, he reminded himself,trying to coax his heart rate down, his hands clenching into tight fists. I'm doing this for Star. She's better off without me. Finally, he took a step forward.

“No!” Star screamed, her voice a broken whimper, drawing the boy's attention, as she tried to crawl her way over to him, desperate to stop him from going with the awful lizard, she had no idea what was going on, but she wasn't going to just let him walk away like that. “Marco! Stop! Please, don't go with him!”

But Marco merely gave her a sad smile, saying softly, “Goodbye Star. And I'm sorry again, for not telling you the truth. For what it's worth, I had a lot of fun while it lasted.” He took a shaky breath, as if fighting back tears before adding, “I'll never forget you.”

With that, Marco turned away, disappearing into the glowing vortex, lost from Star's sight, the heartbroken royal feeling hot tears sliding down her cheeks, as she stared at the portal in sorrow, unable to believe the boy was really gone. Toffee, smiled seeing the hated princess breaking down into tears in front of him, the look on her face far sweeter than anything else he could have done to her. “Just so you know,” Toffee said, the girl staring at him with a lost look. “If you ever get in my way again or try any sort of foolish attempt to rescue the boy, there will be severe consequences.”

Star's hurt-filled face, turned to one of anger, glaring menacingly at the monster, who merely gave her a blank, empty stare, but she could see the killer instincts in his eyes, as he said in a swift monotone, dropping into a final, mock bow, “It was a pleasure to meet you at last, Princess Star.”

Then, the lizard turned and left through the portal as well, leaving Star alone to grieve and think, barely even hearing the dimensional tear closing as she wept. She couldn't believe he was really gone. Just like that. And all she had done was watch, helplessly, as the most important person in her life had traded himself to the most feared creature in the dimensions just to save her. She was pathetic, how could she have let him down like that? How could she have done nothing? And now he was gone, taken away from her, all because of her uselessness.

“Star!” a familiar voice screamed, breaking into her sorrow-filled thoughts, as she looked up with bleary vision to see Jackie and Janna running over to her.

“Jackie! Janna!” Star squeaked in surprise, her throat tight from crying.

“Star, what happened?!” Jackie asked in concern, seeing her friend's tear-streaked face, helping the blond to her feet, before having to catch her and hold her up, as her legs tried to give out on her. “Are you okay?”

Janna, picked up Star's wand, looking around for any signs of bright red in the dark forest around them. “And where's Marco?” the beanie-wearing asked, handing the magical device over to the blond royal, who took it eagerly, already feeling the magical energy flowing through her sore body.

“Toffee took him!” Star panted, breathlessly, her eyes full of fear.

“What?!” Jackie and Janna cried as one, both with equal looks of horror.

“How?!” Janna managed to add, her cryptic attitude gone as concern for the boy overpowered her casual demeanor.

“I don't know!” Star cried, sniffing, as she wiped the tears from her face in frustration. “It all happened so fast! He-He gave himself up to protect me! Apparently, Marco- he was- was-”

“Raised by monsters?” Janna finished for her, Star looking at the girl in shock.

“You knew?” she looked between the two, before gasping, taking in the guilty look on both of her friend's faces. “You both knew?!”

“Yeah,” Jackie sheepishly responded. “Marco told us.”

“When?” Star asked, unable to believe he had told them such a mind-shattering secret before her and that they had kept it from her for so long.

“Just earlier tonight,” Janna promised, raising her hands in surrender, seeing the hurt on her royal friend's face. “After your kiss.”

“What?!” Star screamed, now even more upset.

“Yeah, some of the monster's tried to kidnap him then, too, after you left,” Janna continued.

“WHAT?!”

“He wanted to tell you,” Jackie took over, before Janna could make the situation any worse. “But he was afraid of how you would react.”

“Yeah, he said something about that,” Star muttered miserably, hanging her head in defeat. “I just, I can't believe he's really gone.”

Jackie, pulled the troubled girl into a hug, as she said in the most soothing voice she could, “I know. But we'll get him back, I promise.”

Star said nothing, feeling almost numb as she looked for clarity amidst the shocking new revelations and bombshells that had just been thrown on her on that awful night, even Jackie's comforting embrace doing little to untwist the tight knots in her stomach as she thought of her missing Marco. Suddenly, everything made sense, every moment she had spent with the boy finally adding up in a new startling way, as memories flooded through Star's frazzled brain, words popping into her mind, one after the other, making her whole head spin. Why would the monsters steal food... No, I don't really have a home at the moment.... She's got Marco... This scar it means I did something wrong... These claw marks could only be the work of Toffee... What happened to you was awful and hard to forget, believe me I get it... Besides, you're not the only one they want. They're here for me, too. They're here... because of me. It seemed like there had been so many signs now, so many clues to the truth and Star couldn't believe she hadn't seen it sooner. It seemed Star had been so busy trying to protect Marco from the truth, that she had ignored the the answers that had been right in front of her, which ironically only led to her inevitable failure to fulfill her self-made promise to take care of him.

Finally, one last memory returned to her mind, that tear-filled night, when Star had poured out her soul to the boy, telling him all the suffering she had gone through, instantly recalling the image of the boy's face and that look of true understanding she had seen in his eyes. At the time, she had mistaken its meaning, assuming it was his traumatic encounter with the feared monster's, but now with the truth finally exposed she finally understood what he had been so upset over. The suffering he truly endured and she knew what had to be done. Her hands clenched into tight fists, feeling a fire beginning to burn within her chest, her wand fueling her with energy once more.

She pulled out of Jackie's grasp, the skater girl temporarily thrown off-guard by the unstoppable determination she saw on the girl, strength and resolve seeming to flow off of the young royal, as she said hastily, “Then we need to get to him, right now, before it's too late. I've seen what Toffee's done to Marco in the past and I refuse to just stand by and let it happen again. I can't. Not to Marco.” She was quiet for a second, Jackie seeing the love shining in the girl's teary eyes. “I don't know how, Jacks. But we have to reach him, somehow.”

“Maybe there is a way,” Jackie said thoughtfully, her voice getting louder and faster with every word. “Jackie stole a pair of dimensional scissors from one of the monsters, we can use those to get to Marco.”

Star felt her heart leap at the news, grabbing on tightly to her friend's hand. “That's perfect!” Star cried, a smile finally gracing her lips. “Okay, then let's get going right now. You guys can tell me everything on the way-”

“Um,” Janna suddenly interrupted, raising a knowing finger in the air. “I hate to burst you two's whole 'rescue mission bubble'.” The dark-haired girl doing air quotes before continuing. “Buttt, there is just one tiny detail you two seemed to have forgotten.” The two gave her a confused look and she sighed. “Those scissors are useless unless we know where Marco is? And last time I checked none of us, not to mention the rest of Mewni, knows where Toffee's base of operation's is even at.”

“I do.” the three girl's all turned on the heels, as they stared wide-eyed at the monster who had just stepped out of the shadow's behind them, his large, muscular frog-like body, looking quite intimidating to the three teens. “And I show you way.”

“Who are you?” Star asked suspiciously, raising her wand, skeptical of the new monster, the amphibian seeming to have just appeared out of nowhere, Jackie and Janna tensing up as well.

“My name is Yvgeny Bulgolyubov,” the monster answered. “You may call me Buff Frog. And I am here to save my son.”

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Light of the Sun and Stars #Starco

[bluboothalassophile]

Matter of Time...

@awesomechick083, I know you have a massive soft spot for the Percy Jackson AU, so I do hope you continue to enjoy! =)

~~~*~*~*~~~

Truths of this life were simple for Victor:

He was a son of Hephaestus and he loved building and inventing things.

He loved the only Daughter of Hades like she was his little sister; they had come to the camp together when she was like five and he was ten, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his baby sis. Even allowing her to sleep in the Hephaestus Cabin for the longest time, because the Hermes Cabin scared her; and until a few years ago, she didn’t have a Cabin.

The idiot son of Poseidon was to be tolerated, but free target practice too when Vic felt the guy was getting a little to lovey-dovey on his baby sis.

He was currently a counselor at Camp Half-Blood, because he still needed to come home for the summer breaks from college; and to make sure his baby sis didn’t need help disposing of any of the idiot Bat’s bodies when they annoyed her.

It was a rare sunny day; rather nice, and he sat in the field near the brook with Rae, as he sharpened his weapons, and she read another book. It was rather peaceful today, and he was liking it, because Boston was always so busy, and getting to hang out with Raven was nice and simple.

There was a rustling in the grass behind him which had him sighing.

“Rae,” he started.

“I hear him.”

“You do not!” the son of Poseidon shouted.

“I do now! For the love of Zeus Jason! Do you EVER stop!” Raven shouted twisting around, he saw the giant water bubble in the air.

“Put it back dude or I skin you alive,” Victor warned.

“You guys are no fun, no fun at all,” Jason huffed flicking his water bubble over the Aphrodite Cabin where Dick and his brothers were sitting.

“Good aim,” Raven remarked.

“I’ve seen better,” Vic said.

“Seriously, what did I ever do to you!?” Jason sputtered.

“You’re friendly with my baby sis and have a massive crush on her; you’re lucky I haven’t kicked your ass to Juptier at this point, or Uranus,” he stated.

“I do not have a crush on Raven,” Jason sputtered.

“I agree, it’d be too weird if he did,” Raven pulled a face the idea. Victor rolled his eyes; he might be a son of Hephaestus, but he wasn’t a blind idiot when it came to love; and Jason and Raven since they’d been twelve were inseparable, it was natural progression at this point.

Also, Raven totally made goo-goo eyes at Jason when Jason’s back was turned, and Jason looked at Raven like she was the universe when Raven wasn’t looking. Victor only tolerated it because his sister’s questionable tastes in me had had her crushing severely on Wally West for a long time; Thank The Gods It was Jason and Not Wally she loved.

“Hey, I got a weird warning,” Raven said.

“From who?” Jason asked.

“From Persephone, a few days ago actually, I meant to bring it up sooner, but…” she held up the book.

“Was it a warning of destruction and doom and our deaths; exclusively; cause those are always fun,” Jason groaned.

“No, it was about Zeus’ sons,” Raven said.

“Zeus doesn’t have any sons,” Victor stated.

“I know, that’s why I thought it was weird.”

“Great, well I’m not tolerating any other Big Three kids, so they can go get eaten by monsters,” Jason shrugged.

“Jason, I have a really sharp, big sword in hand, and if you do not stop hitting on my sister I will cleave you in half,” Victor warned.

“I’m not hitting on her,” Jason snapped.

“Oh, we should go see if we have a quest!” Raven decided.

“Why?”

“Death, doom and destruction, woe us!” Raven mocked hopping off her rock, leaving him her book as she shoved Jason forward.

“What are you doing!?” Jason squawked.

“Saving your worthless ass from my brother before I have to befriend someone else with morbid humor,” Raven huffed shoving Jason towards the camp.

Victor smirked; any day now they’d actually figure it out and when they did he wanted to take a picture and laugh.

~~~*~*~*~~~

“Focus Kara!” her brother shouted below her.

“I AM!” she snarled back.

He said nothing as he watched her with his brothers, focusing on the power of air control and air currents. They were the proud children of Jupiter, and he felt the wind ruffle his hair as he watched them.

His name was Christopher, he was the eldest of his siblings. They all had the same mother, which was rare from one god, but Jupiter was so enamored with Lois, how could he not. And until Jon’s birth, they were protected, then Juno had found out and killed their mother, so here they were at Camp Jupiter.

Chris was the eldest, next were the girls; Karen and Kara, twins, then there was Conner, and finally Jon; the baby of their family.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he sighed, motioning for his younger siblings to come to the cliff’s edge. They were only practicing flying lately because of Jon, however he knew Kara and Karen were hating being dragged off to do this when it was Jon’s fault.

“That’s really hard!” Jon gasped.

“It will get easier as you get older,” Chris promised as he ruffled his brother’s hair.

“And when you get older the monsters fear you more than they want to eat you,” Conner stated.

“Seriously, is that all you care about? Quests and monsters? Karen and I have our SATs to study!” Kara grouched.

“Yeah, because the prophecy says we will come across the shadows and sea and we need them to defeat the earth,” Chris said as Jon hugged his hip.

“Honestly, you’d believe anything from Zatanna’s lips, the daughter of Trivia is always who you swoon for,” Karen stated.

“You got me, Zatanna’s hot, however, her prophecies have never been wrong,” he pointed out. “I battled and defeated a Titan, saved our people,” he pointed out.

“And there are no children of Neptune ever, and Pluto has never strayed from his wife,” Conner chuckled. “However, Jon, we are the five of Jupiter, and it is the greatest of honors.”

#bluboothalassophile #fanfic #one shot #Percy Jackson AU #jason todd #raven #victor stone #christopher kent #kara zor-el #kara danvers #conner kent #jon kent

[itsafunnystory]

Types of Bedrooms

Suburban Beach: Lamp next to the sofa isn’t connected to the switch but you’re used to all the light, extra pillows for friends if they sleep over, satin millennial pink sheets that clash perfectly with the peach velvet sofa, pictures in white mismatching frames cover the walls, Tiffany Blue walls, white window sheers tied back, French closet doors permanently flung open, clean enough to have friends over if they don’t mind stepping over the bra on the floor, queen four poster canopy bed in ash, you did tell anyone you wanted the feel of a Caribbean sunset because it was your favorite family vacation when you were all still together

Tournament Oasis: Three shelves of trophies and ribbons from age three up, green flannel sheets that haven’t been washed for three months at least, one of the closet doors doesn’t close because it fell out of the track and you’re too lazy to be active when you could rather be sleeping, off white walls, full mattress without a headboard or a frame actually... desk lamp is in the shape of a football you mom got you as a joke when you made varsity, even when the room is spotless it still smells like a locker room, windows have blinds that have never been used because the neighbors don’t have a window facing your room, one pillow that somehow always ends up on the floor in the middle of the night, sometimes you lay in bed staring at the ceiling and don’t want to leave because you’re worn out from trying to be the best and never knowing if you are

Average Dorm: The only thing you managed to hang before the semester started was a periodic table chart because you thought it was cool it glowed in the dark, IKEA had a sale on twin extra long and you bought three sets to last between laundry days, wall colour hasn’t changed since the last time the school pained them in ‘88, blinds in the room haven’t worked since ‘91, closet space just fits one-fifth of your total wardrobe, gave up bringing a normal pillow in favour of a back pillow for bed so you can do homework in bed and your roommate can sleep, top bunk all the way, the only hope of passing sophomore year it might come with a murder charge if your roommate doesn’t stop snoring, bypass the lightswitch and turn on the desk lamp, you named the roaches who live next door but visit you from time to time

Post Mod: People have told you that the bright white walls remind them of a psych ward but you like that they look clean, track lighting run along half the walls but they’re so bright they are angled to shine off of a reflective surface so the whole room doesn’t glow, crisp set of solid 50% grey sheets, black bed frame because it off set the room just right, five pillows the small decorative one is for achieving the right body angle to read in bed, glass door to a walk-in closet off of the master bathroom, the original white shears were actually ivory so they were replaced with grey ones to match the bedding, mirrors adorn the walls for the lighting situation not for vanity and catching your reflection in the mirror makes you feel like you don’t match your room, the younger siblings aren’t invited in if there’s food involved, seriously considering getting a plant to give the room some colour but it might ruin the aesthetic

Expert Gamer: Your parents allowed you to have free reign of the basement and you sealed the cement floor with acid green epoxy, black sheets that weren’t put back on the bed since laundry day because you tend to fall asleep in your gaming chair, practically factory fresh memory foam that you adore after too many nights in the fighting seat, walls are still exposed cement but one solid row of arcade games serves as decoration enough, Mom said you don’t see the sun enough so you set up a live cam to feed to a monitor mounted on the wall next to your bed and she didn’t bug you again, original lighting was pretty sparse so you ran up some track lighting that bounces off the floor an makes the whole place glow, everything you own hangs from the exposed rafters on wire hangers, two pillows one for head support while asleep and one for lumbar support while sitting, never quite understand why everyone expects you to live in a mound of wrappers and crushed cans because you definitely don’t because that’s gross, you can be yourself or anyone else here

Bohemian Eclectic: Dinosaur print sheets you found in the bargain bin somewhere, light switch turns on Christmas lights that line the ceiling in place of central lighting, instead of piles of clothes you have piles of books littering the floor, most of the walls are a magenta but one wall is painted with chalkboard paint, got rid of your bed a few years ago when you bought a giant beanbag, the only pillows in the room are the floor pillows you use to sit at the coffee table, collectable movie posters of cult classics cover most of the walls and a hole that mysteriously appeared one day, closet is filled with more bolts of fabric than finished pieces and the sewing machine that you found at a resale place for a fraction of the actual cost, a large swatch of lace is used for the window shear, you were able to find a mini-fridge from the 70’s at Goodwill but you haven’t cleaned out a spot close enough to an outlet to actually use it

Summer Sunshine: Everything has its place even if the place happens to be covered in dog hair, cobalt blue and white chevron duvet with matching polka dot sheet set, honeysuckle yellow walls, closet doors are littered with stickers like one giant scrapbook page, classic daybed, there are a mound of pillows you sleep nested between except for the dog pillow that one stays on the floor, bay window with even more pillows, framed pictures of water colour flowers, daisy shaped night-light because you feel so alone in the dark, this is the space you can actually feel at home

Green Science: Your room is a literal zoo but it’s fine because you hydroponically grow your own lettuce to feed most of the animals, Repurposed a whitewashed door as a headboard, one pillow for sleeping and one decorative pillow with a science meme on it, mismatched set of sheets from a garage sale, walls are mostly blue but it fades to a blue/white ceiling that looks like a cloud, most of the time you don’t use your lights because there’s enough coming from the heating lamps in the reptile and amphibian tanks, closet is stuffed to keep the rest of the room as open as possible, window coverings were removed to allow for easy access to the solar panels mounted outside, the only exposed wall is covered with a cork board of environmental science articles and diagrams for building solar powered electric cars, once the habit was set caring about everything didn’t take as much time as you thought it would

World Traveler: Closet is half empty because most of your clothes are still packed in suitcases, solid frame supporting a full mattress, simple white sheets nothing too fancy, ice blue and navy two tone walls and silver accents, over head light is from a place in Europe that you had shipped back and re wired because you loved it so much, blinds are perpetually left closed out of habit from not wanting anyone to break in while you’re gone, there’s a bookcase on one wall filled with books and collectables from all your trips one shelf for every continent, plushies cover most of the bed but there is one actual pillow in there somewhere, power strip with two phone chargers and a laptop charger, for as much as you call this home it really is just a place to keep a collection from the pieces of home you’ve found around the world

Aspiring Rocker: Closet doors are miss matched and well worn and dad was going to paint them then forgot but that’s fine you don’t mind the way they look, the one outside facing wall is covered in band posters and VIP passes, walls are covered in egg carton foam as sound baffling but it makes the silence feel so close, hand me down twin bunk bed set with a converted lower bunk to a desk, you are forced to empty your garbage daily because everyone is convinced the ants are coming from your room, at one point the sheets resembled a Scottish tartan, only one pillow but you don’t use it because you sleep on your front and feel like you’re suffocating if you use it, the only lighting in your room comes from a ceiling fan missing one of the three bulbs, the blinds used to close until a giant knot showed up but no one’s complained at seeing you change, room looks like the stereotypical garage band moved in even though you make enough off of iTunes royalties to move out on your own

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