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summersnow82 · 2 years

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Evening Walks

Fanfiction _ Once Upon a Time

Fictober 2022/ Prompt #18: “I don’t think this is your problem.”

Summary: Archie comes to the rescue! Takes place during "The Curse."

Author’s Note: I love Archie. I still feel like he was completely underused, and yeah, I’m still bitter about it. I’ve paired him with two different OC’s in the past, but I’m also a huge fan of the RedCricket pairing. This is my chance to dabble. Enjoy!

…...

Dr. Archibald Hopper had a car, but he preferred to walk. It was an opportunity to walk Pongo, enjoy the outdoors, and a chance to say hello to everyone who crossed his path. This preference allowed him to see things others wouldn’t as they went about their day; he knew when Mary Margaret was feeling down, when Granny and Ruby had been fighting, and when Leroy had one too many to drink. He knew Storybrooke like the back of his hand, and the residents knew him as the kind, thoughtful doctor who could lend an ear when needed.

Archie liked being needed, and in this town he was in high demand.

Professionally, at least. For some reason he’d never had a successful relationship since he’d moved to Storybrooke. Hell, he’d barely had a successful date. Frustrating as it was, he couldn’t bring himself to be too upset about it because he knew part of the problem – a big part of the problem – was his infatuation with the lovely Ruby Lucas.

Logically, he knew it didn’t make sense. She was much younger than him, constantly trying to escape the town he adored, and he wasn’t exactly her type of man. She liked them assertive, aggressive even, someone to challenge her in a way Archie didn’t think he could. He’d heard the rumors and the gossip – Ruby was the town bike, call Ruby for a good time, good ol’ Ruby won’t leave you hanging like some girls. He always pushed those thoughts away or shut the conversations down as quickly as he could because he knew if she were a man the conversations would sound very different.

Still, it surprised him to see her in the alley beside Granny’s diner with a man he knew all too well. Liam Brody was a married man known for drinking away his paycheck, stepping out on his wife, and beating the hell out of anyone who looked at him sideways. Archie slowed his steps, refusing to avert his eyes as every red flag in his body went off. Ruby was backed against the brick wall with Liam leaning over her. His free hand brushed up and down her arm, and Archie noticed Ruby shifting her body to pull away from his touch. There was a tentative smile on her face, one Archie knew a woman typically used when she was trying to maneuver out of a difficult spot without escalating the situation further.

Archie had never seen Ruby like this, and he sure wasn’t about to round the corner and leave her with Liam. “Excuse me!” Archie tried cheerful first. “Evening, Liam,” Archie said, walking closer, forcing his smile to remain. “Ruby! I’m glad I caught you. I’ve got the answers for those questions we were talking about earlier.”

Ruby blinked, quickly catching on. “Oh, good. I -,” she moved towards him, but Liam placed a beefy hand on her shoulder, holding her still.

“What kinda answers?”

“Well, that’s,” Archie was having a hard time holding his smile, “that’s a bit personal, Liam. Doctor-patient confidentiality, and all that.”

Liam turned his eyes back to Ruby. “You seeing a shrink, girl?”

Ruby opened her mouth, stammering in a manner Archie knew only came from fear. “That’s really none of your business,” he answered for her.

Liam turned his eyes to Archie, narrowing them enough to send a clear message: leave. Now.

Archie remained firmly planted where he was. Pongo let out a low growl. “The girl and I were having a conversation. You can talk to her when I’m done.”

Archie assessed the situation. Being friendly wasn’t going to work. On to Plan B. “Her name is Ruby. Ruby Lucas. And from what I can gather,” Archie made a clear show of clocking her bloody knees and torn tights. “Your conversation is over.” His tone was cool and low, but firm.

Panic flooded Ruby’s eyes as Liam gripped her shoulder harder than before. “Archie, it’s… it’s okay. I’m all right. You can go.”

Liam shot Archie a cocky grin. “You heard the girl. I don’t think this is your problem.”

“Her name,” Archie said firmly, “is Ruby, and I am making it my problem.”

#fictober22 #fictober #fictober 2022 #once upon a time #red cricket #ruby lucas #red riding hood #jiminy cricket #archie hopper #raphael sbarge #once upon a time fanfiction #ouat #ouat fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #maybe i’ll continue this?

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showmethesneer · 7 months

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🎃 Spooky Season 🎃 Halloween-themed fics

10 Things I Hate About You/The Dark Knight

For Kat - crossover Joker origin story

Gotham

Cupcakes - Butch/Tabitha/Oswald torture smut

Jagged Little Pill - Harvey Bullock/Edward Nygma smut

A One-Man Cult - Oswald/Jerome angst

The Haunting of Hill House

When The Party's Over - Hugh Crain/Olivia Crain/Poppy Hill fix-it fic

Helluva Boss

A Sensation - kinky Fizzarolli/Asmodeus smut

Once Upon a Time

A Different Cage For Every Beast - Belle/Ruby fluff

Heartless Animals - kinky Regina/Emma/Huntsman smut

Lycan Subscribe - Belle/Ruby fluff and smut

Pinned Down By The Dark - Ruby/Dr. Hopper smut

Swear Not By The Moon - Ruby/Dorothy/Mulan angst

Voice Of Reason - Belle/Ruby angst; Ruby/Dr. Hopper smut

Stranger Things

Master Of Finger Puppets - Steve/Eddie fluff

A Queer Reading - analysis of queer themes

True Blood

Blood and Rain - Jessica Hamby fix-it fic

The Witcher

The Garlic Bread Song - kinky Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer/Istredd fluff and angst and smut

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shamelessrumbellefan · 7 months

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Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper/Red Riding Hood | Ruby Characters: Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Maleficent (Once Upon a Time), Jabberwocky (Once Upon a Time), Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Captain Hook | Killian Jones Additional Tags: Rumbelle - Freeform, RedCricket, Fluff, Rumplestiltskin in love, The Evil Queen is jealous, the evil queen - Freeform, Protective Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Romance Series: Part 1 of The Realms Series Summary:

3 Months after Rumplestiltskin throws Belle out he crashes her wedding and returns to the Dark Castle with her. Now what was he supposed to do with a woman who was in love with him but couldn't be with him?

*Rating is for chapters six and beyond.

Chapter 12 is here! And it contains some smut. You are welcome. ^_~

#Rumbelle #Rumplestiltskin #Belle #Rumple x Belle #Belle x Rumple #red cricket #Jiminy Cricket #Ruby Lucas #red riding hood #Once upon a time #OUAT #Ao3 #ouat fanfiction #fantasy writing

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renee561 · 7 months

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#its almost to start charging it rent

Holds out hand for rent money 😎😇

(That's totally how that works, right??)

No no no, that means you pay ME rent money for the fact that it's your story in my brain living rent free (rent being you writing the rest of it)

That's how that works 🤣

#red cricket #heatherfield

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torontosquirrels · 2 months

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I've been watching the movies that have been nominated for different awards this year, and while watching Past Lives, I started getting both Rumitch, and Red Cricket vibes, and now I'm trying to figure out how a fanfic with Ruby having fallen in love with Archie during the curse, yet remembering her husband Haymitch after waking up would look like. Who would she choose?

#rumitch #red cricket #would she end up choosing one of them?#wip

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shikoslady · 6 months

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Chapters: 16/? Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper/Red Riding Hood | Ruby Characters: Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Maleficent (Once Upon a Time), Jabberwocky (Once Upon a Time), Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Blue Fairy | Mother Superior, Prince Charming | David Nolan Additional Tags: Rumbelle - Freeform, RedCricket, Fluff, Rumplestiltskin in love, The Evil Queen is jealous, the evil queen - Freeform, Protective Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Romance Series: Part 1 of The Realms Series

Summary: 3 Months after Rumplestiltskin throws Belle out he crashes her wedding and returns to the Dark Castle with her. Now what was he supposed to do with a woman who was in love with him but couldn't be with him?

Chapter 16: The Vow of True Love

Belle and Rumplestiltskin exchange vows.

#Rumbelle #Belle #Rumplestiltskin #Rumple x Belle #Belle x Rumple #OUAT #once upon a time #ao3 #rumbelle fandom #rumbelle fanfiction #fanfiction #fantasy fanfiction #fantasy #redcricket #red cricket #jiminy cricket #red riding hood

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eirian-houpe · 1 year

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Disparate Pathways - Chapter 49

Read previous chapters on AO3

Chapter 49 - Storm Warning

Gold couldn’t remember the last time he’d hosted a dinner party, let alone had an evening as pleasant as the one he was enjoying with Belle, Miss Lucas and her boyfriend. He had been surprised, and a little cautious and reserved, when Ruby had turned up with the town psychologist, Doctor Hopper as her ‘plus one,’ - a factor that he hadn’t even realized was a part of the invitation. The ice had soon broken though, as much due to his fondness for the friendship Belle obviously had with Miss Lucas, as the undeniably stimulating conversation and good company that Doctor Hopper - Archie, he reminded himself - had proven to be. He smiled as he returned to the lounge to see that the girls had pulled the cushions from the couch and had made a nest of sorts, as was Belle’s wont to do, and couldn’t help but chuckle as Archie looked up at him with a visual, helpless shrug of acquiescence written in his expression.

“It’s cozy if nothing else,” Gold agreed with the doctor’s unspoken amusement.

“Stop being such a tease,” Belle demanded softy, and patted the cushion at her side. “I was trying to make things less stuffy.”

“Stuffy?” Gold almost yelped in mock offense.

“Yes, stuffy,” Belle said, practically sticking out her tongue. “Sitting on the chairs and the couch, facing each other like something out of Pride and Prejudice.”

Gold did laugh then, and nodded to the nearby ottoman, which Archie dragged into their cushioned circle to serve as a makeshift table for the tray of hot chocolate and cookies Gold had brought from the kitchen.

“A little something to warm us even more?” Gold asked as his laughter faded, then looked pointedly toward the liquor cabinet in the corner of the room.

“I think the fire, and the cocoa will quite suffice,” Belle said, raising an eyebrow Gold’s way.

Chuckling again, he teased, “Now who’s being stuffy?”

Belle protested, but all in a playfully exaggerated way, and Archie piped up, “I wouldn’t mind, actually, Gold. It sounds like a terrific idea.”

“Yes please,” Ruby echoed cheerfully, rolling her eyes as Belle gave her a side eyed look of disapproval.

Shaking his head, but feeling more warmed by the companionable banter than he was the fire, the cocoa and the promise of a splash of alcohol in his hot beverage, Gold crossed the room to the cabinet, to pull out a small bottle of fine brandy. For reasons he wasn’t really prepared to fully admit, the evening called for a little celebration.

“What do you think, Gold?” Hopper’s voice pushed aside his contemplation, and he turned with a quizzical look on his face.

“Hmm?”

“Snow or no snow?”

“I’m sure it’s cold enough,” Ruby added, drawing a nod from Belle as Gold returned to the small party and handed the bottle to Hopper with the invitation to help himself. He pulled up one of the discarded chairs for him to lean against, and joined them in the space before the fire. It was a frigid night, and it only promised to get colder.

“Cold enough, perhaps,” he agreed, “but I think too dry. Actually though, Miss Lucas--”

“Oh for the love of— would you call me Ruby already!” she snapped in exasperation, “It’s too late for that kind of Bul--”

“Manners cost nothing, Miss Lucas,” Gold said, with a grin, and leaned over to reach for a cup of cocoa to hand to Belle, and then one for himself, accepting the small bottle of brandy from Archie soon after.

“But—” Ruby’s exasperation, it seemed, would not let her go, however, she was interrupted by Archie’s soft voice.

“Don’t deny the man his perfectly natural affectations,” he said.

“Didn’t we agree you’d leave the psychoanalysis at the office door?” Ruby shot him a look, and Archie held up his hand in defeat, a look of apologetic solidarity on his face as he glanced at Gold.

Gold nodded at the man, then turned his attention to Belle, holding up the brandy bottle. “Are you certain?”

Belle nodded, and with quiet acquiescence, Gold tipped a small amount into his own cocoa, then placed the bottle in the chair behind him.

“As I was about to say,” Gold cleared his throat before he went on, “You are at least partly right, Miss Lucas. Given the lateness of the hour, and the temperature out of doors, I wonder if you and Doctor Hopper would care to—”

This time he was interrupted by his phone, and he frowned, pulling it from his pocket to look on the display for the name or number of the caller.

“Gold?”

He froze, Archie’s soft inquiry lost in a buzz of concern that was starting somewhere in the base of his skull. The number on the display wasn’t Jefferson’s number, and on the phone that he was carrying, it should have been. It should only be. Suddenly breathing faster, his heart began speeding to a painful beat in his chest. He got to his feet faster than he probably should have, almost unbalanced, and steadied himself for a moment on the back of the nearby chair, until Hopper, too, stood and came to his side. Gold murmured a soft apology as he did.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I have to take this call.”

Hopped nodded as he moved away, and vaguely heard Archie suggest to the ladies that they might clean up the cushions and straighten up the room.

His mind was spinning. What if it were Jefferson, calling from another phone out of some urgent need. It would behoove him to answer just as quickly if it were. He crossed the room toward the hallway, and was turning toward the kitchen as he thumbed the button to connect the call.

“What?” he snapped, blood singing in his ears even as he tried to slow his racing heart. As soon as the caller drew breath, he knew it wasn’t Jefferson.

”That’s hardly a polite greeting, now is it?”

His racing blood slowed to an icy crawl that served to finish slowing the frantic beat of his heart. The world suddenly came into a strange kind focus. Bile born of hatred rose in his throat. The mere sound of her voice, laced as it were, with sarcasm, and layered over years of bitterness pulled a flash of memory from his mind; unwanted. Unwelcome.

“Oh, please…” Her voice was mocking, the tone cruel, and she drew out the words. “Let’s finish this!”

She raised her weapon, clubbing Bae hard enough to drive him to his knees. The light left his eyes as he caught himself on his hand, and he turned his own, cold stare toward Gold.

“West,” he snarled into the phone.

"Oh, so you do remember me then,” she said, mocking him with cheerfulness. “You don’t call. You don’t write… So how are things with you - Duneach? Or wait… it’s not that any more, is it? Your nam—”

“What. Do you. want?” he snapped, then matching her in sarcasm, if not in cheer, he added, “And why would you ever think I’d want to fucking hear from you? Unless you’re going to tell me that you’re suffering some kind of incurable disease that’s going to eat at you slowly, because I’d gladly pay to see that.”

“Aww, Gold, I didn’t know you cared,” she sang. “How is that working out for you, by the way? Small town bigwig… So many friends, I’m sure. ”

“You stay the fuck away from me,” he warned harshly, but she laugh, except no, it was a brittle cackle that traveled down the phone.

“Make me,” she spat.

“Oh, gladly, I can assure you.” He bared his teeth to the phone like a wild dog after prey. His voice was a hiss that seeped into the microphone. “If I so much as catch a hint of you coming anywhere close I will end. You.”

“You don’t have it in you,” she jeered. Not trying to hide her mocking behind sarcasm any more. Verbally spitting in his face. “Not any more. You’re soft… soft and slow. How is your son, by the way and where on Earth did you hide him away…?

“You—” he began, but what breath he had that wasn’t stolen by her question was taken again by her words.

“Oh yes, I know he survived. I know he’s still alive... ”

“You dare--!”

“ ...no thanks to you. ”

A part of him wanted to ask her what she meant. No thanks to him how? But his hatred refused to let him give her that power over him.

“Don’t you fucking dare try to blame me for this!” he growled, spittle flying with his temper. He knew it was what she wanted, and he had given her that power he had tried to deny her mere moments ago, but he could no more stop himself than he could have stopped the waves from answering the call of the moon.

“Temper temper,” she laughed. “Whatever happened to the disciplined gentleman I used to know and love?”

“You know nothing about me,” he answered with a laugh half way between derision and hysteria. “You never knew anything about me, and loved…?” He left the rest of that hanging.

“So what’s this,” she demanding, feigning jealousy, “about the sweet young thing I hear you’re dating?” She was taunting him, and he knew it. “Does she know you? I mean, really? Does she know what you were? What you are?”

“I swear on my life, West, you come anywhere near me, or my son, or anyone else I might care about, and whatever rock you crawl under won’t keep me from taking you apart piece by rotten piece and feeding you to the rest of the rabid, neighborhood strays!”

“Promises, promises,” she mocked. “Oh, and by the way, your dear mother sends her love.”

“No,” the word was an inhuman crackled on his lips. “You don’t get to taunt me with that banshee!”

“What makes you think I’m taunting you?” West asked, almost reasonable, but for her smugness. “I’m only stalling, keeping you talking. Milah offered, but we both know you’d hang up on her in a heartbeat.”

Stupid!

The blood that had been pounding in his ears drained from him and he cursed himself for a gullible fool. She was playing him. Had been playing him all along, and he was stupid enough, and blinded by his hate for her, that he’d played right into her hands.

He raced from the kitchen to the basement door, and hardly felt the scrape of skin against the wall, nor cared that he almost fell as he misstepped with his cane. He had to know whether he had been compromised, though he was sure he already knew the answer. It was little enough security as it was.

“Well, I can tell that you’re busy, Gold,” West’s voice held the same, exaggeratedly smug tone, though now he paid it no heed, even when she said, “It’s been good speaking with you though. I’ll see you soon.”

It wasn’t her words that brought the curse to his mouth, that was poised on his lips as she cut the call, but the fact that he found she had indeed kept him talking for long enough for the signal, which had been bouncing around from place to place in an attempt to mask his location was now hovering, steady and exposed… in Storybrooke.

Crushed by self loathing, that he had been so stupid, so careless, he swung at the wall with his fist, ignoring the pain as he connected hard, punching the brick again and again as he punished himself for putting everyone - for placing Belle - in such insurmountable danger. He continued to swing again and again, relishing the pain, even crying out with it, a stifled cry that left him leaning on the work bench that supported all of the electronic devices which had been neutralized by his hatred, and the weakness it had caused.

Breathing hard, he tried to think. Berating himself again. He didn’t have time for this self-indulgence, not if he were going to keep Belle safe, to keep Grace safe, and he had to… wanted to… needed to prove to himself, as much to Jefferson as to Belle, that he was worthy of… of what? Their trust?

He needed to make a plan, but to do that he needed to know just how badly he had fucked up, and just how much of a dumpster fire the whole thing was. Tears of anger made his eyes ache and as the immediate rush of adrenaline faded his hand began to throb with the pain of his self harm.

He didn’t have time for that either. Now, he had to act.

He snatched up his phone again, typing out a hurried text message to MacCalmain, warning him to stay away from Storybrooke… to keep Grace, instead, safe in New York City, where he’d instructed the man to take her, and afterwards, he hit his speed dial and listened, with increasing dread, to the sound of Jefferson’s phone ringing… and ringing… and—

Silence.

Jefferson, or someone in his place, had declined the call. He tried again to the same effect, and then a third time, this time rewarded with a click, and a cough, and then a voice he barely recognized as belonging to Jefferson rasped out two words that left him colder than even the call he’d shared with West.

Just two words.

“We’re... coming. ”

#rumbelle #red cricket #implied noncon #implied torture #implied drug use #drama #angst #romance #violence #gun violence #MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH #disparate pathways #i will always write jefferson

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cricket-approved · 2 months

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tried gelli printing for the first time!

#*cricket noises*#print making #gelliprint #gelli plate #AHH!!#laura palmer #twin peaks #art #print #red #im so happy with how she came out #the owls are not what they seem #david lynch

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llamagoddessofficial · 7 months

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Hey llama, I was thinking about the p&p servant au, and I was wondering how would mc react to all of the guys attending a party she's serving at? Would it upset her to see Sans being haughty with other humans?

HOHOHOHO... I would assume at this point she's not yet one of Skull's servants. She belongs to someone else, someone who doesn't appreciate her like they do.

Sans: As much as he wants to immediately seek her out and take up all of her time, to talk to only her... he understands that it's a very busy party, and she's working. He steals her for a little bit of polite conversation, but he doesn't trap her- he doesn't want her to get in trouble. He's very kind to her, as he always is... admiring her from afar, catching her in quiet corners whenever he can, and openly scowling at anyone who comments about her. She enjoys finding ways to sneak a few hushed words with him in passing, and she loves the genuine delight on his face when he sees her in the crowd.

Would she be upset by Sans being haughty? No, not at all. Sans is only like that with people of his station or higher, never with servants. For her, there's honestly something really enjoyable about watching Sans be shitty to the kinds of people who are often the cruellest to her. He gets to say and do the things she wishes she could.

Red: She loves when Red shows up. All the staff do. Even before she knew him personally, she enjoyed when he appeared at events- Red is the life of the party, and often ends up causing some kind of scene that becomes talk of the town. Excessive drinking, ruinously beating someone at cards, pitting two idiots against each other until they get into a fight... all the servants knew that if Red was there, it was going to be a delightfully gossip-filled night in the staff quarters. Especially since Red was absolutely the type to woo any of the particularly eye-catching servants.

She likes him even more after meeting him. Because Red is excellent at distracting the other party members- most importantly, he distracts the host, usually immediately after shooting her a wink. Without her employer breathing down her neck she can get some rest in the middle of an otherwise completely action-packed night.

Skull: If Skull showed up to a party, that's a huge win for the host, and a ridiculous amount of social clout for them. So if Skull appears at the house, and expresses any open interest in Mc (which of course he will)... her employer will basically command her to be Lord Skull's personal entertainer for the evening. "Do whatever is necessary to keep our guest happy. Understand?"

If Red is there to third wheel and keep the conversations going, Mc and Skull would both probably actually have a lot of fun. Red knows his friend very well, and he can quickly and easily 'translate' for him to keep her engaged and relaxed. She likes getting to chat and eat, and Skull is just absolutely delighted that she's sat close enough for him to see her eyes.

If, for some reason, Red isn't there... it might be a bit more awkward. Skull will follow her around like an overly affectionate cat, but he gets overcome with shyness the moment she tries to start anything resembling a conversation. She'd still enjoy it, though- sitting with a silent guy who likes to stare still beats working.

#llamagines #p&p au #the conversation with red there is lively and kinda adorable...#can watch skull's overwhelming love in real time #see the way he fawns over everything she does #conversation without red has a bit more crickets

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heatherfield · 1 month

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It's telling you to write more redcricket

I mean, you're not wrong.

But if I'm not mistaken, you still have a 160K+ word Red Cricket fic that you have not read.

Just sayin'.

#heather answers #renee561 #user renee561 #red cricket #heather writes #true love comes softly #still can't believe i wrote that much and actually finished it

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raiiny-bay · 3 months

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'cause I am yours and you are mine, I'll never let you go

#ts4 #simblr #ts4 edit #ts4 render #sims 4 #blood tw #myedits #mb #red #teeth #i have not posted the actual monster boyz since november. november!!!!#did you guys miss them. i missed them #i have not worked on their story at all since the cricket post #i have GOT to get to work on the origin stories. oh well. i'll get to it when i get to it lol #n e way i finally remembered to put red's good eye to the camera lol #whenever i make edits i put red on the other side w/out thinking & all you can see is his blind eye #which is fine except it's near impossible to tell where he is looking which is usually important in my edits #he isn't totally totally blind in that eye. like. he can see shadows & light but it's definitely not clear #i actually just realized i don't think i've ever talked about his blindness before #there is a reason he is blind in that eye but it's a bit complicated. it has to do w his life before the apocalypse #the way mutations work in this universe is a bit weird & hard to explain. like there are several factors that determine one's mutations #for red it's mostly based on his trauma & his psychological state during the time of his mutation #his mutations manifest both physically & emotionally #teeth's are mostly physical bc he yk. got the shit beat out of him before he died. but!#becoming a monster also amplified all of his worst traits! like anger. impulsiveness. violent tendencies. he's basically always starving bc #those feelings act almost like a hunger for him. he craves intensity #cricket's is more complicated bc he is not a full monster. his are almost entirely psychological aside from his arm/bits of their face #& he's able to retain most of his human self up until the end #theirs are trauma based like red's but in a different way. it's more a combination of his anxiety & fears rather than lived trauma #if that makes sense. i'm not very articulate about this stuff sorry lol

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summersnow82 · 2 years

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Sins of the Past - Part 2

Fanfiction _ Once Upon a Time

Fictober 2022/ Prompt #16: “You’re looking, but you don’t see.”

Fictober 2022/ Prompt #25: “You know I’d do anything.”

Summary: Archie begins to unravel as his visions persist.

Author’s Note: I’m so sorry, Archie. You deserve better. His parents always struck me as charismatic manipulators. Part 3 coming soon!

TW: Suggested suicide, alcohol consumption, parental abuse/neglect/manipulation

……...

He’d been staring at the bottle of amber liquid for an hour now, debating the pros and cons of drowning his fears in the whiskey. He’d walked home at an unusually fast pace, Pongo trotting by his side, and his parents trailing behind him in an effort to keep up. It became clear to him no one else could see them – that had become very evident when he stood on the steps of Granny’s Diner, staring at a sidewalk all his friends swore was empty.

They couldn’t see his ghosts, and he couldn’t explain why he was seeing them now.

“Sounds like a guilty conscience,” Martin quipped to Myrna as they trailed behind him.

“Oh, definitely. I mean, plotting to murder his own parents who gave him everything.”

“You trapped me in a miserable life,” Archie grumbled, refusing to turn around and look at them. They were not there.

“Oh, but dear, it could’ve been so wonderful. I don’t know why you had to ruin such a good thing,” Myrna sighed.

“A good thing?” Archie cried, whirling on his heel. His parents were standing beside a startled Belle, looking ever so proud of themselves.

“She’s a pretty one,” Martin said. Myrna nodded her approval.

“Are you feeling all right, Archie?” Belle asked, brows furrowed in deep concern.

Archie went from furious to embarrassed, his features relaxing as he fumbled over his words. “I’m…I’m so sorry, Belle. I’m…,” his eyes flickered back to his parents, and Belle followed his gaze. “I’ve got to go.”

He’d practically run home.

Now, sitting in his library chair, he picked up the whiskey bottle wondering if the alcohol would make his parents reappear or help him pass out first. “It really is a shame about that boy’s parents, isn’t it, Mother?” Archie’s eyes slid closed.

Not again.

“So sad. If only there was something we could do to bring them back.”

“You know I’d do anything,” Archie rasped, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. “Anything to bring them back.”

“Anything?” Myrna asked sweetly, and he could feel her hand on his shoulder.

“There is…something,” Martin said slowly. “But it’s costly.”

Archie’s throat constricted. They weren’t really here: he was having a mental break, there was a new curse, something, anything. “You could trade your life,” Myrna murmured in his ear. “Trade it for theirs.”

His eyes flashed open. He was alone, but the bottle in front of him was open. A tumbler held two fingers worth of whiskey ready just for him. He lifted the glass, watching the liquid swirl as he debated his choices.

Screw it.

He tossed the whiskey back, feeling it burn as it slid down his throat. He threw the glass hard at the fireplace watching it shatter before he reached for the bottle.

……………

“I don’t like this,” David told Emma, pacing back and forth in the Sheriff’s station. “It’s not like Archie.”

“When was the last time anyone saw him?” Emma asked, looking up from her notes. They’d received several calls from concerned friends and neighbors about Archie’s increasingly erratic behavior. According to Leroy, Archie hadn’t been in the office for the past forty eight hours, and he hadn’t bothered to contact one patient to cancel. Ruby had gone by his home several times, but the house was dark, and there was no answer at the door. Archie’s neighbor, Lucinda, had just called about shouts and banging coming from inside his house – she said it sounded like he was arguing with someone.

David didn’t have a chance to answer. Marco was standing in the doorway, holding his cap, and looking devastated. Pongo trotted in behind him, and laid down at his feet with a low whine. “Please,” he said. “Something… something is very wrong.”

Emma was on her feet at the first sign of Pongo – Archie would never let anything happen to his beloved dog. “Let’s go.”

……………

There had never been a good spot to hide in his parent’s wagon so Jiminy had never been able to keep anything precious or special just for himself. Not the stuffed bear a kind old granny had given him when he was no more than six, or the hair ribbon a pretty farm girl had tied around his wrist when he was sixteen. His parents found everything, and it was all humor and ammunition.

His parents never hit him, never touched him, but they used him over and over again; he realized very early on he wasn’t a son to them – he was a tool. Something to use to get them what they wanted, and he was tied to them out of love, commitment, and duty; he would never be free.

He’d had a fleeting dream of running away, marrying a farm girl, and raising a family of his own where each of his children would feel special and loved. He could still remember the strawberry blonde hair of the milk maid who kissed him in the shadow of a barn. She’d taken his hand, led him to the hayloft, and for a blissful few minutes he’d forgotten who he was, and what he did.

He wanted to marry her, to care for her, to make her feel loved in a way he never had. She was gentle, and kind, and his mother made sure he saw his father paying her after Jiminy had gone to pick her wildflowers.

“See, dear?” His mother had said. “You’re looking, but you don’t see. See them for what they are: either wolves or sheep. Which are you?”

Jiminy couldn’t answer; if he tried to speak he’d sob, and his lovely milk maid would hear.

And she’d laugh. Just like his parents always did.

The flowers fell from his hand, and he turned away, walking back to the wagon. That’s where they wanted him, and that’s where he would stay – a bird trapped in a cage until it died.

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