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#farmboy AU
starlightshore · 8 months
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AU comic foundation (as I'm still planning it out).
A mix of "Danny is taken in by Aunt Alicia and not Vlad" and "Nobody knows" AUs. Jazz is still alive because losing your parents is already hard enough, I don't want Danny's entire life to be ruined here. That's not to say he isn't completely a wreck though.
After an incident, the Fenton kids and Alicia move to a little town named Amity Park... Surely nothing will go wrong here as well, right?
The comic will be jumping around and dealing with the mystery of what exactly happened to Danny. As well as some new, strange events that affect the town soon after his arrival.
Really, I just wanted to explore a Nobody Knows Au while making Danny a bit more harsh and edgy than usual, haha! I want to try something more dark and serious than what I usually make as well.
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inaris-mage-of-storms · 3 months
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Chapter nine of We Have Taken Different Roads is here, beloved readers. And with it, we finally mark the Strawberry Wine series as Complete. :D
Jimmy pressed his face against Sausage's shoulder while he composed himself. False peered out of the tent, listening to Katherine call something across the way, then tapped Jimmy's arm.
"Time to get moving," she said. "Ready to get married, Sheriff?"
Sausage looked like he was already about to start crying, despite the wide grin stretched across his face. Jimmy took a deep breath, and False squeezed his shoulder.
"You've got this," she encouraged quietly.
Jimmy stepped out into the sun just as Scott stepped out of his own tent. As their eyes met across the clearing, Scott smiled so beautifully, and all of Jimmy's nerves melted away.
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rarepears · 2 years
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Farmboy Sung Jinwoo and Good Boi(TM) Beru harvesting a good field of harvest together
Bringing back that Solo Leveling #farmboy au (where Sung Jinwoo is a farmboy before he was a hunter) because I want to see a very proud good boi Beru harvesting his first pumpkin!
Also imagine how much fun Jinwoo would have using his shadow soldiers to help him with the planting, harvesting, and watering of plants.
Yes. Yes a lot of the crop gets destroyed because the shadow summons don't know how much strength to use in the beginning. Nor what really constitutes as "ripe enough".
BUT IT'S FUN.
And Sung Jinwoo doesn't really need that money anymore because he's now a S hunter, but he MISSES farming.
(Besides, what's really the difference between gardening and farming other than the size of the land being tended to? And Jinwoo has millions of helping hands.)
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hippohopeless · 2 years
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Found these on Twitter layely. My dear @azenshelby I hope this answers whether Luke has six pack or not 😎😎
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anakin-sleepwalker · 5 months
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A lot of the art/headcanons I see for AUs where Luke and Leia grew up together are in agreement that Leia beats the shit out of anyone who's mean to Luke. Which I don't disagree with, but let's not forget how Luke absolutely whaled on Vader at the mere suggestion of turning Leia to the dark side.
My point being that both twins would be ready to throw hands with anyone who upsets their sibling (despite the fact that said sibling is more than capable of doing so themself)
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nastybuckybarnes · 5 months
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Kingdom Fall  -  One
Pairing: Farmboy!Bucky X Princess!Reader 
Summary: When an invading Kingdom forces you to flee your home, you find yourself stranded in an enemy kingdom on a farm, and the farmboy is nothing like you thought he would be. 
Warnings: Violence, Angst, Fluff, Language, More to Come
Word Count: 2.1K
A/n: Gonna spit out part one of this royal AU because im a what? A slut for royal AUs. I have 7 parts of this written lol. I also have more DBF!Bucky on the roster sooooo yeah im excited for that. Also wanna work on a viking!Bucky X reader. I’m also working on a few one shots and teddy bear picnic, so I HOPE to do another 12 days of ficmas or something like that but I'll keep y’all posted
Anywhoodles, I love you all <3 
~*~
“They’ve set fire to the Palace! We must hasten!”
Screams echo from the Palace as you rush through the servants' hallways, your personal guard pushing people aside in his haste to get you to safety.
You mutter out soft apologies to the women you pass, gathering the base of your gown and hiking it up as you sprint after him.
“Come, I can smell the stables. This way!”
You run after him, slowing only when you see your horse.
“Hurry, Princess. Up,” Steve says, helping you up onto your horse and climbing onto his a second later.
“Now we ride!”
As if hearing his command, your mares both start sprinting away from the Palace.
Away from your home, your people.
A risked glance over your shoulder at the flaming building breaks your heart. But, what’s worse, is the group chasing after you and Steve on their own horses.
Following your gaze, the blond glances back and pushes his mare to run faster, desperate to get you to safety, to do his job properly without fail.
“Go, Princess!”
You follow his command, looking back again when you hear him slow his horse.
“Steve!”
With a yank on the reins, you guide your horse back to his, heart in your throat when you see him unsheathe his sword.
He’s sacrificing himself to keep you safe.
“Go, Princess! Now!” He shouts, holding his shield in one hand and a sword in the other.
“No! I won’t leave you!” You grab at your own sword and slide off your mare, stumbling against the uneven ground.
“No! You are of no use to your people if you are dead. You must go.”
You shake your head, tears welling up in your eyes.
“I won’t leave without you, Steve.”
He lets out a sigh and presses his forehead to yours for a brief moment.
“I will find you, Princess. This, I swear. Now you must go.”
“You will find me,” you order softly, pulling away from him and looking into his ocean-blue eyes.
He nods firmly, determination in his eyes as you climb back onto your horse.
“I will,” he promises, turning to the sounds of battle.
Your mare starts sprinting away, and only moments later do you hear the sound of swords clashing.
It takes every ounce of self-control you have not to turn around and fight by his side.
But he’s right.
Only the Gods know if your sisters survived, and if they didn't then you’re the only hope your Kingdom has.
You ride through the night, your mare expertly dodging trees and roots and running far away from the danger.
You’ve no idea how far you’ve gone nor where you are, when your horse stumbles on the uneven ground, launching you off of her back and sending you flying into the woods.
Your head smashes against a tree and you tumble to the ground in a heap as the world around you fades to black.
~*~
You awake with a soft groan, your head pounding and your body aching.
It takes a moment for you to remember what happened, but when you do you’re lurching upright regardless of the pain in your head.
Instead of being on the forest floor, however, you’re in a soft bed. The sky is not above you, instead a roof is.
You push to your feet and examine yourself, noting the lack of bindings around your arms and no pain between your legs.
So you haven’t been taken by someone who wishes to do immediate harm to you, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t hurt you at some point.
After taking a few deep breaths to steady yourself, you slowly open the door, peaking around before fully emerging.
You’re alone.
You explore the small house, keeping your breathing light and your feet even lighter.
It has one bedroom, a small kitchen, and an even smaller bathroom.
Your sword and weapons are all piled on the kitchen table, filling your heart with glee. With quick fingers, you slide them all back into place and hold your sword tightly, then head to the front door.
As you’re about to leave, with one hand on the doorknob, the door gets pulled open from the outside.
A huge body steps through the doorway without noticing you, and then you’re colliding with a hard chest.
“Oof!” You exclaim, nearly tumbling to the floor.
A study arm wraps around your waist, keeping you steady, and then you’re pressed against a warm chest.
“Whoa, easy! You shouldn’t be moving too much! That wound on your head looks pretty bad, you must've hit it hard when you fell.” He slowly drops his arm from around your waist and steps around you to inspect the wound in question.
“I cleaned you as best as I could while keeping you decent and your modesty intact, but I gathered some clothes that used to belong to my sister, and I need only light the embers beneath the tub. Now that you’re awake, you can truly clean, I’m sure you must want to.”
You stand there in the doorway, absolutely flabbergasted as this man drones on and on.
He must not know who you are, then, you decide.
“Here, I'll show you the way.”
You already know the way to the bathroom, but you follow him anyway, leaving a wide berth in case he makes a hostile move.
“Who are you?” You ask skeptically, watching as he keeps his back to you, leaving him vulnerable. He must know how many weapons you have, for he’s the one who took them from you. So why is he trusting you like this?
“My name is James,” he says with a small smile thrown your way.
You nod slowly, assessing him carefully.
“I am (Y/n),” you reply after a moment, waiting for the pieces to click in his mind, for him to realize who you are and try to kill you, but he never does.
“It’s very nice to meet you, (Y/n). The water should warm up soon. Linger as long as you’d like, I’m going to be in the kitchen making some food and a nice warm cup of tea for you.”
He leaves immediately after, pulling the door shut behind him.
You wait for a lock to click, for footsteps to barge into the house, or for some sort of fire to start, but nothing happens.
You wait for half an hour, each second ticking slowly in your mind, your sword held tightly in your grasp. Eventually, you strip down to your white slip and step into the warm water, a dagger held in one hand and a washcloth in the other.
Maybe it is an ambush, but if it isn't, you don't want to waste this opportunity to clean yourself.
Throughout the entire bath, the door stays closed and nobody tries to enter. Not once.
Once you’re finished, you dress in the clothes he gave you. The dress is a little snug, but a tug on the stitches fixes that swiftly.
It’s nothing spectacular, but you can move comfortably and even fight in it if you need to.
With a dagger in one hand and your sword in the other, you slowly emerge from the bathroom and into the kitchen where James is seated, humming softly to himself.
“How are you feeling?” He asks once he notices your presence.
“Better. Thank you.”
He nods, that gentle smile on his face again.
He rises to his feet and motions to the chair across from where he was sitting, then turns and walks to the counter, “the water is still warm. I wanted to wait to have my own tea with you. I have so many questions for you.”
You watch intently as he pours two cups of tea, handing one to you and then sitting back down.
You wait until after he’s had a sip of his to have a sip of your own, and when the flavour hits your tongue you can’t help but relax a bit.
“It’s my mother’s recipe. She used to make it for my sister and me whenever we were sick or upset. I thought... it might make you feel better. I can’t imagine how scared you must’ve been, waking up in a strange place.”
You want to tell him that you weren’t scared, a warrior doesn’t feel fear, but instead, you take another sip of tea.
“What happened? I found you lying in the woods near the creek, a horse protecting you. It took me nearly ten minutes to tame it enough to check you for injuries. Where are you coming from? Your clothes aren’t from Lornilla and I’ve never seen a woman carry so many weapons before.”
His waterfall of questions gives you a few answers.
Your horse is safe, no one knows where you are, and you’ve wound up in the invading Kingdom of Lornilla.
“I am... not from around here. I travelled a great distance, and I was thrown from my horse when she tripped,” you offer only that as your explanation and he nods, beyond curious but not wanting to push you any farther.
“Where am I?” You ask, taking another sip of the tea and looking around the small house again.
“Just outside the village. If you follow the gravel road there it will take you to the heart of Lornilla, though I don’t recommend a woman such as yourself going there alone.”
Your brows draw together, “do you not think me capable of protecting myself?” You question, your ego bruised.
His eyes go wide and he’s quick to try and explain himself.
“N-No! I just... they don’t treat women well there, is all. ‘Specially not women who defend themselves. You look like a strong person, and, based on all the knives you have, I don’t doubt you could defend yourself, but it’s dangerous to speak against men, even as a man.”
Ah yes, the patriarchal ways of Lornilla rage on.
You have to hold back an eye-roll at the thought of such a useless Kingdom treating women terribly.
But that brings you to your situation now.
You remember the smell of smoke and the sound of screams as the Lornillian army invaded your kingdom.
You know not if your sisters survived, nor if your mother did. But, knowing your mother, you know that if she went down it was not without a fight.
“Are you all right?” James asks softly, worry pulling his brows together.
Why does this random stranger care so much?
“Why did you help me? Why not leave me in the forest?” You ask, ignoring his question.
“You... you were hurt. I couldn’t just leave you there.”
“Why not? Anyone else would have. Or done worse, if we’re close to Lornilla.”
He nods, his lips pursed for a moment, “I’m not anyone else. I’m me. And I know that, were it my sister in your shoes, I’d hope someone would help her. You probably have a family... a husband... who would be terribly worried about you. I know that if I had a wife and she went out and were hurt... I’d want to know that there was a good person somewhere willing to help her.”
His answer surprises you and, as you look into his eyes, you see nothing but truth in them.
“I have no husband,” you tell him after a moment. “I know not if my family is alive. There very well could be no one looking for me...” your thoughts drift to Steve and your heart hurts a bit. “Does this change your thoughts at all? Knowing that you could do whatever you please with no consequences?”
A sour expression covers his face and he shakes his head, “It is not the consequences that stop me from doing terrible things, it’s the actions themselves.”
You watch him for a long moment, surprised and intrigued by him, his kindness, though you don’t fully trust it yet.
“If you do not have a husband, do you know anyone nearby? You must’ve been on your way somewhere, is there someplace I can direct you?” He asks gently.
You shake your head, a grey cloud darkening your mood as thoughts of your family fill your mind, worry tying a knot in your stomach.
“I... no. I don’t know anyone nearby. I don’t even know where I’m meant to go.”
He looks at you, at the way your shoulders slump forward slightly, your eyes draw down and defeat colours your tone, and he feels bad that there isn’t more he can do.
“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I hope you don’t think I’m trying to make you leave. As long as you need, you may stay here.”
You smile gratefully at him, ignoring the stinging in your eyes.
“Thank you, James.”
~*~
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bon-sides-sw · 2 months
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Just your Local Farmboy selling some peaches!
Lovely Commission done for @bluemilkstache Thank you so much for commissioning!!
My commission info here!
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It’s not getting better, Leo stop using that patronizing voice he’s gonna deck you
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lidoshka · 2 years
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kill it with Fire!
stranger things and the art from @wilimia have inspired me so have a modern!au + scary movie scene with Twilight, Wind and Wild!
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A Princess Bride au makes so much sense for FirstPrince.
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bibliophilea · 1 year
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tension (release)
Written for the @dpauzine. Special thanks to all the mods for working with me to get this story in the zine on time, and to @ecto-american in particular for being an excellent beta!
And thank you, SleepySpacey, for illustrating this work! All images here belong to SleepySpacey on twitter, deviantArt, and tumbl!
Contains: TUE Farmboy AU, Grief/Mourning, Alicia POV, Alicia and Danny bonding, Danny being a bit of a cryptid, Flynn mention
ao3 | ffn
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“I’m not okay! I will never be okay!”
The outburst is sudden. Explosive. Like the kid’s been holding it in for far too long. Alicia has known this was coming — saw it in the tension in the boy’s shoulders, in the redness of his eyes, in the way he never smiled and never cried and was always terse around her — and yet. And yet. She is not prepared for it.
“You — you don’t get it! You’re strong, and you’re tough, and I’m — I’m not, I’m just not, okay?!” His voice cracks, but the floodgates are open now. Alicia doesn’t think he can stop, even if he wants to. “You’re fine, ‘cause you’re you, and you’re always fine! I can’t — I can’t do that, okay?!”
He glares at her, and oh, he looks just like Maddie. When their momma died, Alicia needed to be strong enough for the both of them, strong enough to carry them through, and Maddie, she cried and cried, but she got angry, and she glared so hard, too hard and too old and it broke Alicia’s heart to see it. Maddie bellowed — Don’t you care?! — and Alicia couldn’t say anything because of course she cared but she had to be strong and she had to be tough and she had to keep going and couldn’t let it get to her and Maddie screamed something fierce, screamed so loud and so long it was amazing her tiny body didn’t give out, she was so small —
Just like her little boy.
He’s so small.
*~*~*
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Alicia needs to find him.
He doesn’t know these woods — probably doesn’t know any woods, and that bit of scrub Amity Park calls conservation doesn’t count. This isn’t some patch of green in the middle of a city where the most you’ll see is a stray cat. This is rural. This is wilderness and farmland, where the nearest anything is two miles away.
And this is nighttime. No local would dare go out at night. Alicia more than anyone knows why. Her city slicker fool of a nephew doesn’t stand a chance out there. And like hell she’s gonna just stand by and wait for it to happen. She ain’t giving up the only family she has left to the woods without a fight.
But she’ll be damned if she doesn’t go out there prepared.
*~*~*
“Danny!”
Alicia knows it’s foolish to call out his name like that. She knows it might not be Danny that answers.
But she’s at a loss.
His tracks should have been easy to follow — and they were, for a time. Danny may be smart, but he’s a city kid. He never learned how to hide his tracks the way Alicia and Maddie had growing up in the backwoods of Arkansas. Never learned to pass through these woods without a sign, like the ghosts in the stories Alicia’s momma liked to tell her and Maddie before she died. Never learned to navigate any woods, Alicia reckons, without help from his mom.
But his tracks disappear.
They stop abruptly, in a small clearing, not too far from the fairy circle she hasn’t had the chance to warn him about because he’s hardly ventured off the farm, let alone this far into the woods and —
She takes a breath, and she realizes she’d been holding it for the past minute. Calm down, Alicia. Panicking here won’t do anything but make her lose him for good. And she can’t have that. She won’t have that. Not again.
She takes another breath, steadying herself, and scans her flashlight over the tracks she can see.
Danny had broken through several branches and a thicket of thorns to get here — then fallen to the ground. Probably tripped on one of the roots that arched just above the dirt, hard to see those in the moonlight. She winces in sympathy — a fall like that would leave a mark.
But even so, he had gotten back up again. She sees it clearly in the footprints that follow the fall — stumbling at first, but they grow stronger as they push on into the clearing. The final tracks he left are the clearest — deep footprints facing the other side, the faded treads of his sneakers’ soles pressed firmly into the soil. It’s like he had jumped into the air.
But there’s no sign of where he landed. No hint of where gravity could have pulled him back down to Earth.
Like the moment his feet left the ground, he had disappeared.
Just like —
No.
She wouldn’t think it.
Not here, out in the wilderness at night, where anything could breathe life into those very thoughts.
Not now, when the only family she has left is all alone out here.
But how is she supposed to find him?
Alicia stands up straight, grimacing in frustration at the pop of her back. She’s getting old. Too old to be out at night searching for her fool of a nephew. Not that she’s any wiser, when she’s the one who drove him away.
She takes a deep breath to call Danny’s name again — then chokes on her voice as a wail brutally murders the silence of the night.
The wail — she can’t call it anything else, the way its cries linger in the air — howls through the night, making the hairs rise on the back of her neck and setting her teeth on edge. It echoes over itself, multiplying into a cacophony of moans and keens and shrieks — voices of the damned, screaming in agony and grief.
And before she can think, she finds herself sprinting towards the ghastly sound, gritting her teeth as it grates at her ears and pierces her soul. But she can’t give up, can’t slow down, can’t — can’t think as the wail fills her head and pounds against the inside of her skull —
Only one thought breaks through the cacophony, tolling like a funeral bell, pushing her to move faster, to get there before she’s lost him forever.
Not again.
Not again.
Not again.
*~*~*
“Danny, I’m so sorry.”
It’s all Alicia can say; but it isn’t enough, and they both know it. She’s losing him, she can feel it — feel the gulf between them stretching further, even when she steps forward, even as she wraps her arms around him, engulfing him in a careful hug — as if holding him too tight would shatter him; as if holding him too loose would let him slip away.
Foolish.
She isn’t much of a hugger, but even she can feel that this hug is awkward and wrong — in the way his muscles tense when she gently pats him on the back, the way she towers over him and holds him in place, the way he holds himself like a wall of ice and doesn’t hug her back.
She finally lets go, and he steps back, away from her, glaring at the floor, shoulders risen to his ears.
Then his eyes snap to hers, and they are icy blue like his fathers, and deadly sharp like his mother’s — but the fire in them is cold, and it chills her to the bone. His voice matches his eyes.
“I don’t need your pity.”
And before Alicia can do anything, he brushes past her, and he storms out the door, into the night. Into the wilderness.
He doesn’t look back as he slams the door shut.
*~*~*
By the time she finds him, the wail has long since petered out, leaving a deathly silence in its wake. She spots him facing away from her, kneeling at the edge of the lake just northwest of her property, the moonlight catching on the edges of his figure but leaving the rest in shadow.
She wants to run to him, to look him over, make sure he’s okay, to bring him back inside. But that’s not what he needs. So instead, she surveys the area, and she approaches slowly, making her footsteps loud in the unnatural silence.
Alicia knows this part of the lake — has spent a good amount of time sitting where Danny kneels, thinking or just taking in the world. There’s always something a little bit different every time she comes this way — some new growth in the plant life, or some new animal tracks after the rain, or even a tree fallen in the wake of a storm. A couple storms have passed since she last came here.
Nothing natural could have changed the landscape to be what it is now.
Multiple trees have been torn from the ground, violently uprooted and radiating outwards from the lake. Some of them almost look like they’ve been hit by gunfire — large chunks of them missing, splintered wood clawing outwards from the gaping wounds. Greenish smoke rises from the exposed wood.
The same smoke curls from Danny’s fists at his sides.
Carefully avoiding the craters and downed trees, Alicia makes her way to the edge of the lake. Not too close to Danny — she doesn’t want to spook him — but not too far, either. She wants him to know that she’s there, that she’s there for him, for as long as he needs it.
She lowers herself to the ground with a huff.
And she sits with him, in the stillness of the night.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watches as the smoke dissipates from Danny’s hands; as his fists relax; as he slowly shifts from kneeling, to sitting, to holding his knees. She can’t help the small sigh that escapes her — the way he’s curled up, hugging himself, staring intently at the lake so he doesn’t have to look at her — it’s just like her son.
Just like Flynn.
She sighs again, deep and long. Then she speaks.
“You had a cousin, you know.”
Danny doesn’t respond. But she knows he’s listening.
“Flynn,” she continues. “He was my son.”
She pauses as memories wash over her. “He could name every fish in this lake — and he would, too, when given the chance. Tell you all about the peepers, too. Sometimes, I caught him just sitting and staring into the lake — right where you’re sitting now — just thinking, I guess. He was a smart kid.”
Alicia takes a breath, and can’t help the way it shudders.
“He’s gone now. And it was my fault.”
She swallows, and feels her throat click. “We had a fight — can’t remember what about, it was so long ago — but he ran out of the house. And I went after him, of course I did, but it was broad daylight — he should have been safe — and I didn’t get there fast enough.”
She can remember it like yesterday: the way the sunlight had shown as he ran, warming her skin against the gentle, cool breeze that ruffled the grass and the trees. She’d been glad it was nice out — meant neither of them would catch a cold when she could finally catch up to her fool of a son. She remembers her confusion when Flynn had stopped running — then her dread as the dark green of the forest in front of him had slowly warped to something brighter, swirling and glowing and radioactive and growing with each passing moment — then her panic as she had realized what it was.
“It was one of them ghost portals,” she tells Danny. “I’d never seen one before, but your momma, she’d told me all about them. And she’d told me what all came out of them, too. I ran as fast as I could, and I told Flynn to run; but something reached out and grabbed him. And by the time I got there, it was too late. The portal closed. And my boy was gone.”
She can’t help the shudder in her voice, in her chest as she breathes, in her arms as she tenses them to hold herself together. It’s been a long time since she’s talked about Flynn. Too long. But she can’t break over it. Not yet. Danny needs to know — she gets it.
“Losing Flynn like that — knowing he was right there, that if I’d been a bit faster, or if I’d just listened, he’d still be here — it does something to you. My no good ex-husband, he didn’t get it. I’d be a fool to say he didn’t grieve, in the end — but he wasn’t there. He didn’t see. He didn’t understand.”
She watches from the corner of her eye as Danny stiffens.
“I hunted these woods for anything to get my son back,” she continues. “He just thought I was crazy — me spouting about ghosts and fae, like he knew anything about these woods. It ruined our marriage. And I don’t regret that; but it was a bad time. I had nightmares every night about losing him; and every day I did everything I could to find him. Your parents came out here, too, with all their fancy equipment. Didn’t find a thing. And everything I found out in the woods — none of it helped.”
She sighs and ignores the way her breath shakes.
“I never found Flynn, or the thing that took him. It was my fault. And by now, my son is probably dead.”
Danny’s head lowers into his knees as Alicia speaks. She doesn’t expect him to say anything once she’s run out of words. But a moment later, his voice, hoarse and quiet, echoes out from him.
“How do you do it? Keep going?”
Alicia huffs gently. “One step at a time, I suppose. The world keeps going. No matter how much it feels like it should all stop.” She rubs her face, and she’s only a little surprised to find it damp. “It’s hard, with him gone, knowing it’s my fault. There are times the guilt eats away at you.”
“Does it ever go away?” Danny squeezes his legs to his chest. His voice is small. He’s just a child.
Alicia takes a deep, shuddering breath, then lets it go. “No, Danny. It doesn’t.”
She’s not going to lie to Danny — he deserves better than that.
“Losing someone like that? It never goes away.” She pauses. “It gets easier — or maybe you get used to it. Hell if I know. But it never goes away.”
“Then what’s the point?” Danny sounds… angry. Frustrated. Desperate. He’s on the brink of tears, and he looks tired, so so tired, exhausted even — but it reminds Alicia of… something. Maddie? Maybe Flynn? And she chuckles ruefully.
“See, that’s the hard part. Is there any point to death? To losing someone and knowing it’s your fault?” She sighs. “Danny, I’ve had a long time to think. Ain’t much else to do around here.”
She takes a moment to gather her thoughts.
“You’re always gonna miss them — that won’t change. And they’ll always be a part of you — that won’t change, either. But the world keeps going, one step at a time. And that’s how you gotta take things. There’s work to be done. And there’s people you gotta keep going for. When Flynn was taken, it was your momma that kept me going. Then your sister and you.
“But out here, in the middle of nowhere, that don’t work forever. Here on the farm, you got structure, and you got hard work to keep things going. But mostly, you got solitude. And you got a lot of room for thinking.”
She pauses. “It took a while, but I think I learned how to keep going for myself. Not saying it’s easy — but anything worth doing takes hard work. And I’ll be there for you, as long as you want it, and as long as you need it.”
Alicia looks down properly at Danny then, from where she sits. His face is buried in his knees, and he’s gripping his legs like he’ll fall apart if he lets go. His whole frame trembles with tension.
He’s so small. And it breaks her heart to see him hurting like this.
Alicia puts her hand on Danny’s shoulder, and it nearly engulfs his upper arm. His head shoots up, and he stares at her with wide, glowing green eyes.
Then he starts to pull away from her, turning his head away and blinking his eyes.
“Hey.” Something in her tone makes him stop. She continues. “You don’t have to hide from me, Danny. You can let it out.” And so should I.
Danny searches her face for something — Alicia doesn’t know what. But after a moment, his face crumbles, and he gasps out a sob before launching himself into her arms. Alicia rocks back a bit with the force of it — then catches herself, and holds him tight, rocking him and rubbing circles in his back like she used to do with Flynn.
“I’m here, Danny. I’m here.”
She won’t tell him it’s okay — they both know it’s not.
Maybe they’ll never be okay.
But she’s there for him. And she’ll be there for him, for as long as he needs. Maybe forever, if Maddie was right about ghosts, if Danny is somehow ghostly.
“I’m here.”
She’s there for him when he lets go and leans against her in his exhaustion. She’s there for him when she keeps her arm around him, and they sit, and breathe, and stare out at the lake, under the stars, under the moonlight.
I’m here.
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As Scott woke up, he realized he didn't know where he was.
The double bed he lay on was warm and comfortable, and that was his favorite blanket draped over him. But it wasn't his bed, and, he noted as he looked around, it wasn't his bedroom in the manor he'd built with his own hands.
The colors in the bedroom he knew were rich and the fabrics luxurious, and a thick door and heavy curtains closed it off from the world. This room was bright and airy, and while still full of color, the hues were softer and lighter. The shelves on the wall were full of various trinkets and books and items, some he recognized from his collection and some he didn't.
Morning sunlight filtered in through gauzy curtains and warmed his skin. He climbed out of bed cautiously - he was in his own pajamas, at least - and peered outside. Grassland stretched out to the horizon, some hybrid of dry savanna and green meadow, speckled with wildflowers. A sturdy barn stood not far from the house, a vibrant wheat field built around it on one side and a paddock on the other. Llamas and horses grazed together, and a cat curled up on a fence post to nap in the sun. Flowerbeds lined the foundation of the house as far as he could see, and just below the window was a lovingly-tended honeysuckle bush in full bloom.
Scott didn't know where he was, but it was beautiful, and his heart ached with something he couldn't name.
From the other side of the bedroom door he could hear off-key humming, and the smell of pancakes and eggs and sausages was so strong he wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. The humming was familiar, and with a hesitant hope in his heart, Scott opened the door.
Jimmy turned his head and beamed at him, sliding a pancake from stove to plate. "Good morning! It's almost ready, just need to get the coffee started."
Scott stared at him, then looked around slowly. He could see his own handiwork in the window frames, and Jimmy's in the sturdy walls. He recognized his own stitching in the cushions on the chairs in front of the fireplace, even if he had no memory of making them. Those same chairs had been carved by Jimmy's expert hand, he was sure.
"What is all this?" he breathed.
Jimmy laughed. "Breakfast, of course! You seemed like you didn't really want to wake up this morning, so I let you sleep in while I finished the chores." A basket of eggs sat on the counter, minus the ones Jimmy had already cooked. A pail of cream sat next to the churn, ready to be turned to butter later. Right, he'd mentioned to Jimmy the day before that they were running low on...
No, wait. Yesterday he'd been...what was it he'd been doing?
"Where are we?"
Jimmy chuckled, and Scott's heart swelled at the sound. "Are you still asleep?" teased Jimmy. "We're at home, petal. We're in our kitchen." He turned off the fire under the pan and moved over to stand in front of Scott, taking his face in his hands and pressing a kiss to his lips.
Scott closed his eyes and melted against him. All the questions he had suddenly didn't seem so important, not while Jimmy was standing before him with such a happy look on his face. "Home?" he repeated, some part of him still hesitant to believe it.
"Home," confirmed Jimmy softly. He stroked Scott's cheek, and the only part of the touch that wasn't warm was the cool metal of the gold ring on his finger. "The home we built together, you and me."
Scott smiled and buried his face against Jimmy's shoulder, feeling secure in the arms that wrapped around him and pulled him close. "I love you," he murmured. "Gods, Jimmy, I love you so much, I - "
"I love you too." Scott couldn't stop the sob that tore from his throat, and Jimmy's fingers combed through his hair soothingly. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Did you have a bad dream?" He sounded worried now.
Scott shook his head and clung to him tighter. "How?" he managed to get out through the strangled emotions in his throat. "After everything I - "
"Oh, dear. Is that bothering you again?" Jimmy rubbed a hand over Scott's back. "I'll say it as many times as I need to. I love you, Scott. I forgive you. It's all in the past." He pulled back enough to pull Scott's hand to his lips, brushing a kiss over his knuckles that felt reverent. A ring identical to the one Jimmy wore gleamed on Scott's finger.
"I'm dreaming," whispered Scott. "It...this has to be a dream."
Jimmy laughed. "I still feel that way too, sometimes." He kissed Scott again, then pressed their foreheads together. "If it is, I hope I stay asleep forever," he murmured. "You came back to me, and I don't ever want to let you go again. Dream with me forever."
Scott smiled, basking in the love he felt standing in the kitchen of the farmhouse he and Jimmy built together. "I like the sound of that," he said, and Jimmy's smile was brighter than the morning sun. "You set the table. I'll start the coffee."
He couldn't remember what had concerned him so greatly when he first woke up. What a strange dream he must have had. But it didn't matter now. He put it out of his mind, smiled happily at his husband - his beautiful, loving husband that so easily forgave him for the pain he'd caused them both - and sat down to breakfast.
In Chromia, the morning sun was far less bright. It struggled to break through the thick fog that lay over the land, and the few rays that penetrated through were absorbed into the inky darkness of the sculk that crawled through the meadow and the fields. Scott lay where he had fallen the night before, and the sculk wound around his limbs in a grotesque imitation of an embrace.
He slept on, unaware of the boots that came to a stop in front of him. "Jimmy's over here too," called Shelby's voice from off to the side. "They're both still breathing. Do we...you know...?"
Sausage smirked and knelt down, brushing the hair out of Scott's face. "They're not a threat right now," he said, running a hand over a tendril of sculk that crawled up his leg like a pet asking for attention. "We'll come back once we've confirmed everyone else is neutralized too." He patted Scott's cheek. "For now? Let them dream."
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localravenclaw · 10 months
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Farm boy Sebastian all grown up ♡
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Dedicated to @lilac-crown and @xantineverdoer 😘
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brokestrapmountain · 1 year
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luke shivering in the snow: hey are you sure you’re not cold? din wearing basketball shorts: why would you think im cold
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little-laurance · 7 months
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Aphtober day 7: In Another Life
(song is n/a I just like consistent formatting)
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they put him in charge of watching those two
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