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stepboldlyjess · 3 years

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You may have seen an earlier post with the cover art and description for a new book called “When Will This Be Over?” and this is the first chapter! If you want me to, I will continue to post the chapters here, but the story is available on my wattpad. Let me know what you think of this. I am very excited to keep writing!

When Will This Be Over?

Chapter One

The sound of knocking coming from her bedroom door pulled Morrigan out of her book. She had been in a field, the sound of birdsong filling the air and clouds rolling peacefully through the sky.

As she closed the book she called, “Come in!” to whoever was on the other side of the door. When she heard it click open, she looked up to see bright yellow pants paired with a white dress shirt and turquoise shoes. She looked up at the ginger haired man with a large grin on her face before running over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “You’re home!”

Jupiter chuckled and squeezed her tightly.

“Oh, I missed you,” Morrigan said into his chest.

“Each time I’ve gone away from home over the past five years, your reaction has never changed. You’re sixteen now, Mog! Most sixteen-year-olds are begging for their fathers to leave them alone.”

Morrigan pulled back and looked up at his face. His eyes held a glint of mischief. “No one has a dad like mine.”

Jupiter smoothed the crinkles from his pants with a rather smug grin. “I am pretty cool, aren’t I?”

Morrigan lightly punched his arm, earning a look of mock shock from him. “Don’t get cocky, buddy.”

Jupiter laughed before walking over to her bed and sitting at the foot of it. “So, how’s school? Almost done your junior years!”

Morrigan moved to where Jupiter was and sat down next to him. “Yeah, school is great. Just a lot of work.” She rubbed her hands over her face as she remembered what classes still needed assignments to be handed in.

“I didn’t much like the workload either, but it’s all worth it in the end, is it not?” asked Jupiter.

“I guess so.” Was it worth it, though? Morrigan was constantly being harassed over her knack so she wasn’t even sure if completing her Wunsoc training as a Wundersmith was worth the effort. If she was going to graduate with nothing to do then what was the point? However she didn’t let Jupiter know she was feeling this way and plastered a fake smile across her lips.

“Exactly.”

Morrigan rested her head on her patron’s shoulder. “Hey, Jupiter?”

“Yes, Mog?”

Morrigan looked up at him with a small smile. “Did you bring me anything from wherever you were?”

“Of course I did! It’s in my study, but we have to wait for Jack to come home before you can open it.”

She rolled her eyes and groaned. “I’m always waiting for someone to come home before I can do anything! Whether it’s you or Jack, I wait and wait and wait!”

Jupiter stared at her for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Morrigan giggled and jumped up before walking out of her room and leaving Jupiter to follow her. The closer she got to the study, the faster she walked. Jupiter was constantly telling her to slow down, complaining his body was not what it used to be, but Morrigan wasn’t listening.

She was always excited to receive the presents that came from Jupiter’s trips. The bottom drawer of her dresser was filled with these gifts. Whether they be clothes, or books, or little souvenirs from gift shops, the drawer held them all.

The items always held some importance to the country Jupiter had travelled to. His suitcase once held a replica of the crown that belonged to the queen of the country. That one isn’t in Morrigan’s drawer. Alternatively, she placed it on the head of her skeleton coat rack.

When Morrigan made it to the study she waited for Jupiter to catch up to her and unlock the door. She tried to stay patient but it was impossible; she was too excited for the new present. Instead, she stood rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Quit that,” said Jupiter as he walked up to her. “That’s what I do. That’s my thing. Get your own thing.”

Morrigan playfully rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, alright. Just hurry up!”

Jupiter grabbed keys from out of his pocket and stuck them into the door. He turned them towards the left and pushed the door open.

Morrigan slipped under his arm and sat at the couch she had claimed as hers. It was placed perfectly in front of the fire place. She would get enough warmth while staying perfectly comfortable. On multiple occasions she had fallen asleep in this couch after reading while Jupiter worked.

“You ready, Mog?” asked Jupiter.

Morrigan looked over her shoulder to find Jupiter with his back toward her. “Yup!”

“Okay. Close your eyes and put your hands out.”

She did just as she was told, and after she heard Jupiter’s footsteps coming nearer to her, she felt a weight in her hands. Morrigan kept her eyes closed and squeezed the gift. The wrapping paper crinkled under her fingers which gave her some idea as to what was inside.

“You can look now.”

When she opened her eyes she was met with a somewhat rectangular-shaped package wrapped in brown wrapping paper that featured some gold glitter accents. Morrigan wondered why on Earth people spent so much money on gift wrap if it was only going to end up in the bin.

She flipped the present over and saw a sticker that read “To: Mog. Lots of love, from: Jupiter.”

Morrigan found a taped edge and tore at it. She continued to rip the paper apart until a pile of fabric fell out. She picked it up and fumbled with it until she could spread it out and see it for what it was: a dress. It was black but shone with gold glitter in the light.

She placed it on the couch and ran up to Jupiter to hug him for a second time that day. “I love it. Thank you!”

Jupiter kissed the top of her head before replying. “I’m glad you like it. That dress is extremely special.”

Morrigan sat back down in the couch and waited to hear the story about this certain present. This was always her favourite bit of Jupiter’s return. It was a couple of minutes alone with him. Whether it be with him and Jack, or just himself, it was something she took pleasure in. She enjoyed learning about where the new item came from and the significance it held.

Jupiter took a seat in the couch next to Morrigan and got comfortable. He then began his story.

“Years and years and years ago, there was a Wundersmith.” He paused and watched as Morrigan’s smile grew wider and she sat up straighter. Presents that had something to do with Wundersmiths made Morrigan feel special, like Jupiter had personalised this gift for her.

“Go on...” urged Morrigan.

“No one knew her name, but everyone knew she had a talent for clothes making. She would use Wunder and work it in fascinating ways to make something new. Her most famous works were made for the young children who lived in poverty around her. She would make sweaters and cosy pants and beanies for the winter, as well as cooler clothing for the summer.”

Morrigan was in awe of this woman. Maybe finishing at Wunsoc would be worth it. Maybe once she left, she would be able to do great things like this lady had. Maybe she would be able to make people happy.

“Nobody knew the reason of her death. No one had heard from her for a while, and it was then announced that she had died. A couple of months later, news broke out that there was one more dress that had not been sold or given out. It was found inside her old home and placed in her country’s Wundrous Arts Museum—“

“Hold on. Wundrous Arts Museum?” Morrigan was shocked. Was there a museum in Nevermoor that was dedicated to Wundersmiths? How did she not know about this?

“Sorry, Mog. There isn’t one in Nevermoor,” said Jupiter solemnly. “There used to be but they took it down after the Courage Square Massacre. People thought if you stepped foot in there you would get attacked by a Wundersmith. I would’ve loved to take you there, but unfortunately I cannot. You can thank your friend Squall for that one.”

Once again, Squall had ruined something for Morrigan.

“Okay, so the dress was put into the Wundrous Arts Museum,” prompted Morrigan.

“Yes. Correct,” nodded Jupiter. “It has stayed there since it’s discovery. Well, until now,” he said gesturing to the dress Morrigan held in her hands.

“This is it?”

“Yes.”

“The dress?”

“The one and only.”

“It’s not a replica?”

“Nope.”

“How did you get it?”

“I know people.”

“Jupiter, thank you so much!”

Morrigan sprung up from her couch and jumped onto his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jupiter chuckled, “Mog, you’re gonna have to stop doing that. I’m getting old.”

“Right. Sorry.” Morrigan hastily moved off him and back to the dress. “How do you know it’ll fit?”

“That’s simple. It’s Wunder. You’re a Wundersmith. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Morrigan chuckled before realising something else. “Is Jack’s present as good as mine?”

“Oh goodness no,” laughed Jupiter. “I’m kind of glad you wanted to open them at separate times. I can’t imagine how he would have reacted if he saw the two gifts in comparison.”

“What did you get him?”

“A book.”

“A book?”

“Yeah.”

“Nothing special about it? Just a book?”

“Unfortunately it’s just a book.”

Morrigan’s lips curled at the edges but she tried to hide her smirk.

“What?” It seemed as though Jupiter saw her struggling.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, Mog. You’re doing your weird smile-smirk-face. What is it?”

“It’s just that I sense some favouritism, that’s all.”

Now it was Jupiter’s turn to roll his eyes. “There is no favouritism, Mog. It’s just that there was an opportunity to get you an amazing present, yet I was not able to live up to that standard for Jack. That’s all.”

Morrigan nodded sarcastically. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

“Well, it is the truth, so I will.” Jupiter stuck his nose in the air with what he must have thought was authority. “Now, go put that in your room and wash up for dinner. I’m hungry.”

“Yes, Jupiter,” said Morrigan playfully.

“And I don’t want to hear anymore about this favouritism nonsense.”

“Oh, no, definitely not.” Morrigan shook her head as though to prove a point but as she left the room, she called out “I’m your favourite!” before sprinting all the way to Room 85.

While she was running through the halls of the Deucalion, the dress in her hand, Morrigan let the smile take over her face. She was glad she had found happiness after all those years, but there was one question nagging at the back of her mind that she had tried to forget about for the past five years:

When will this be over?

#nevermoor #wundersmith #hollowpox #nevermoor fan fiction #morrigan crow #jupiter north #jupidad #when will this be over?

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bibliocratic · 4 years

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Aspec Martin Week – Day 4

Martin's first Pride ft. OG Archive Crew. Set sometime during S1.

Martin hangs close to Sasha near a stand selling gaudy accessories and spinning fans while Tim bounds off, shoving cheerfully through the mass of people, promising to search out somewhere that might have something approaching alcohol.

He's been gone a while now, and Martin's been anxiously adjusting his scratchy, over-loose bow-tie to try and distract himself, feeling sweaty and visible and uncomfortable. Sasha and Tim, in their early morning marshalling of their small group, had convinced him to paint his nails in some gauche glittery material that ripples rainbow when the light strikes it. He doesn't like the colour, and he's half ruined it anyway with his picking and fussing. Someone hasn't adjusted the volume controls on whatever system they've set up, and the next song blares out screaming-loud before someone lowers it, and Martin winces at how much it all it, every time someone gets hold of a garbling microphone and hollers something in the distance that gets muffled by a feedback whine.

He keeps checking his phone to make sure his mum hasn't called. He still isn't sure what excuse he'd try.

“What do you think?” Sasha angles her neck up to half-shout in Martin's ear. “For your first one?”

She's better dressed for the day, that's for sure, a flowing cotton summer dress with sewn-on streamers like some particularly striking maypole. She has a fake flower crown and it makes her look like a wispy fae creature. Her earrings dangle and chime, and Martin's glad he's not here on his own.

“Loud,” Martin complains back, and he thinks she laughs and nods in agreement before he's glancing around again at the masses of people. “Are you sure Tim's ok, I really think he should have been back by – ”

“Oy, over here!” comes the shout, and from the assembled gaggle, Tim emerges, looking delighted and smug and red-faced, his cheeks and the top of his nose having caught the sun. He adjusts his cap from where it's been jauntily knocked, and he's somehow gained the most tacky pair of rainbow sunglasses and at least five new roughly slapped on stickers since he vanished.

“Finally!” Sasha shouts back to him. “Took your time!”

“OK!” Tim says, clearly having not heard her or chosen not to. “Firstly, very important, on the alcohol front, ta-dah!” he gestures at his now bulging backpack. “Who's the man, huh, who delivers on his promises?”

“Like some sort of boozy Santa,” Sasha agrees, and unzips the bag to get a better look. “Someone's had a few on the job already!”

Tim makes a face. “Only one!”

“Tim, are you thirteen, what you doing buying us this shite!” Sasha rootles around, pushing the Heineken cans out of the way and pulling half-out the three litre bottle of Frosty Jack's.

“They don't sell White Lightning any more!”

“For good reason!”

“C'mon, it'll be a reminder of old times! A misspent youth...”

“Not all of us hung about the parks getting wankered off cheap cider, Timothy.”

Martin's letting the rhythm of their conversation wash over him. Someone gave him a big beaming grin two minutes ago as they passed, an easy and appreciative look-over, and the heat of that interaction hasn't quite left his cheeks.

“And secondly, if I can be allowed to get a word in edgeways – ”

“You may.”

“A kindness, m' lady.”

“Get on with it, serf.”

“Secondly, guys, look, they were giving them out for free!”

Tim presents his snaffled haul, his palms full of colours and patterns. A collection of cheaply-made paper flags, clearly printed and folded over and stuck onto cocktail sticks. There's a good number of them Martin doesn't recognise, but he doesn't want to feel ignorant by asking, so he keeps quiet.

“Sash, Sash, Sash,” Tim sing-songs at her.

“Tim, Tim, Tim,” she warbles back in a faux operatic voice.

“Got this one 'specially.”

“Charmer,” she smiles, but she allows Tim to stretch up to the height she's achieved with some seriously fuck-off heels, to plant the little flag behind her ear like a flower. She makes a show of preening, twirling it dramatically so the blue, white and pink of the stripes blur together for a moment. “It's acceptable.”

“You're too gracious,” Tim gives a mock bow. He's already stuck his blue, purple and pink flag into one of the belt loops of his jeans, the corner of it already bent slightly at the rough treatment.

He then turns to Martin.

“Let's spruce you up then Marto!”

Martin's in half a mind to refuse. It took a lot for him to even come here, and he's still not quite gotten rid of the tension that's strung across his shoulders. But he sets his jaw and knows he can always pocket them so no-one can see later.

He shyly grabs a multicolour pride flag from Tim's open hands. Then, daring, almost surprising himself, he grabs a second flag.

Sasha gives him an elbow nudge and a smile. Tim gives a whoop and a cheer and attempts to crush them both into a poorly aimed hug, before he shoves the rest of his haul into his trouser pockets.

Martin doesn't stick his own flags anywhere. He holds them fisted in his palm all day, over-aware of them, doing his best to protect them from the tides of people even though they eventually get a bit bashed and crumpled.

Tim's all for spending the night out on the town. But they spend most of the afternoon baking and hot, covered in glitter and day-drinking, finding a park along the way and casting themselves limblessly on the grass, so it's early yet when they start away from the street parties and thumping dance music. Tim ends the day with one cheek striped blue, one pink and his forehead purple, with some face-paint he's somehow gotten somewhere, waxing effusive about someone he danced to Taylor Swift with and didn't get her number: 'stunning, honestly, Martin, she was like one of those hot 1940's Hollywood people.'

“Didn't know you were into grandmas, Tim,” Sasha mumbles, half the words directed into Martin's ruin of hair. She's taken off her heels – which Tim is now holding, having tried and failed to get them to fit – and as the most sober one, Martin's carrying her on his back as she half dozes, sleepy and headachy from the music.

Martin hasn't checked his phone in hours. He's still got the little flags crushed in his grip. Tim keeps trying to hide a bear pride flag on Martin when he's not looking, and giving a giggling squawking protestation whenever he gets caught.

It's been a good day. Martin's head is buzzy on shit cider, and he's lost his bowtie, but he keeps looking at his little flags and smiling.

It's been a really good day, he thinks.

Restored from their dramatic hangovers, Monday comes. Martin arrives huffing and delayed from the Tube to see Tim's stuck his flag so it stands battered and proud over the lid of his laptop. Sasha's made her small desk teddy bear hold hers. And it's the memory of the day, the sun and the heat and the wild dizzying lack of expectations of it all, that gives him the courage to bring the flags he carefully preserved in on Tuesday, to put them jutting out of the mug on his desk that holds his stationery.

Honestly, he doesn't expect anyone to comment on them. It's not like anyone else comes down to their offices anyway.

So it's a surprise when Jon, striding past their desks, stops. Looks at the multicolour flag with its bent edging. Its sister flag, the stripes of grey, white and purple only a little sun-faded.

Tim has been lost to Archive Storage for hours now, Sasha hard cross-referencing over at another department. Martin always feels like he's failed some sort of test he didn't know he was taking, when he's in the room with Jon alone.

Martin stiffens but Jon just looks for moment.

“Where did you get them?” he asks briskly, gesturing.

“Oh!” Martin says, relieved that Jon's not stopped to tell him how poor his filing skills are again. “It was, erm, Pride? At the weekend. Tim, he got some for all of us.”

“Hm,” Jon nods. Still staring at Martin's flags. Especially the one Martin had hesitated over, held that bit tighter in his grip. He has an expression on his face, but Martin doesn't know what it is. He rarely knows how to read Jon.

“I think Tim might still have some!” Martin says, anxious to add something in this interaction he doesn't quite know how to navigate. “If you – you wanted any of your own?”

Jon pauses, gives Martin a sharp look as though annoyed he'd mentioned it, but then his face softens, and he looks at the flags again.

“I'll ask him,” he says, giving a short, hard nod. “No need to disrupt him when he's doing something productive.”

“Right,” Martin says weakly.

Jon gives him another nod, and then he vanishes back into his office, leaving Martin unsure of what's just happened.

(Later that week, Martin sees the flags struck into the soil of Jon's beleaguered desk cactus. The blue, pink and purple flag like Tim's. The grey, purple and white flag like Martin's. He doesn't comment, doesn't think Jon would like the attention. But he smile to see it nonetheless).

#AspecMartinWeek #martin blackwood #tma #the magnus archives #og archive crew #ace!Martin #ace!Jon #bi legend Tim #trans!Sasha #minor mentions of Martin's mum #ask to tag

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jadekitty777 · 4 years

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Doomsday Dinner Party: Chapter 2

Me? Updating a story from 2018? It’s more likely than you think. I’ve been wanting to write a continuation to this one for a long time.

Day 3: AU Day @taiqrowweek

Rating: T

Words: 9,000

Summary: The world might be over as they know it, but that didn’t mean their still wasn’t time for a road trip.

Ao3 Link: Doomsday Dinner Party (This link leaks to chapter 1, since reading it is kind of required and it’s been a long time)

June in the south was miserable and Qrow had not missed it one bit. Especially when that meant waking up with his clothes sticking to him like an uncomfortable, sweat-soaked blanket. It didn’t help that Tai was practically a furnace, and such an extreme cuddler it was as if he was trying to make it into the next Olympic sport.

He carefully wiggled his way out of the other’s grip, his efforts proving successful when he stirred but didn’t wake. As he sat up, he bit back the groan as his entire body ached in protest, every muscle sore from last night’s desperate escape. His shoulders were particularly knotted up, but he didn’t dare try to rub at them. Not with his fingertips still scraped raw from the failed attempts to grab the edge of the concrete wall he’d tried to vault himself over.

Qrow glanced over at Tai, still slumbering away.

He remembered that split second of dread that had shot through him, when he called for Tai’s help and the man, already safely straddled on the fence, looked the other way. He had thought, this was it. Tai was going to jump to the other side and leave him to die. He couldn’t describe the feeling that overwhelmed him when Tai only chucked their bags over before joining him back on the ground to help him over, putting himself in danger to save him.

After every other loss Qrow’d endured – friends, coworkers, his father, civilization itself – he was certain that nothing else could faze him. Oh, how the universe loved to prove him wrong. For the dread he felt when he was in trouble was nothing compared to the all-encompassing terror that engulfed him when it was Tai’s life on the line instead.

He’d almost lost him last night and the thought alone still shook his very soul.

It wasn’t even supposed to be like this. His plan had been simple: Team up with the trained soldier and travel from Montana to Texas. Try to locate his sister in Wichita Falls. Then, get a free pass into the military safe haven in Archer City. He was just supposed to use Tai’s connections to save his own skin, not fall for the guy.

And yet, here he was, a foolish man gently stroking his knuckles across Tai’s face, heart jumping at the little smile that elicited.

Damn it.

Qrow pulled away, before getting to his feet and picking up his scythe as he headed for the door. He opened it only a crack at first, listening carefully for any out of place noises – shambling feet, hissing breath. Anything that might indicate a Stalker nearby. When nothing caught his ear, he widened it, took a quick visual sweep of the area, before determining it was safe and walking outside.

Though he had no skill in reading it, the sun wasn’t too high yet, so he guessed it was only a bit past eight. Despite the early hour though, the summer heat was already settling in thick. He turned on his heels, getting another gander of the area. Even in the light, there wasn’t much to the facility. The wall surrounded the perimeter, only broken by an iron wrought gate that was probably only ever opened for vehicular traffic. He spotted nothing beyond the metal bars, so the horde that had chased them had thankfully continued on, rather than lingering in wait for them. Within the walls, there was only the small office building they’d holed up into and the white tanks that potentially held some water.

Possibly a back-up supply in case of a tornado emergency? He wasn’t sure, but it would be worth investigating after Tai got up.

For now, he had a different task in mind as he settled on the ground in the shade of one of the tanks and rested his weapon in his lap. Having been so exhausted, he hadn’t cleaned the blade last night like he should have. It was going to be a chore to do so this morning, now that the blood had had time to dry and crust over. It would have to be done before they moved out though, so he set himself to work on the arduous task.

It wasn’t until he was nearly done that Tai finally emerged, lumbering his way over to sit down beside him.

“Breakfast?” He greeted, shaking a bag of almonds at him.

“Sure.” Qrow accepted a handful, throwing them all into his mouth before picking back up his grit stone and moved it along the sharp end of the scythe. With the sound too grating to talk over, they shared the meager meal in silence. Not that there was much left to sharpen. Only a few more strokes and the task was done.

It was worrisome that the bag was empty in just as little time.

To avoid thinking about it, he rapped his knuckles on the tank behind them. “Was thinking there might be some water in here.”

“Doubt it.” Tai said, appraising the unit with a skeptical eye.

“Oh yeah?” He challenged. “What makes you so sure?”

Without breaking eye contact, Tai pointed to something above Qrow’s head. “Well that, for starters.”

He looked up at what he was indicating, spotting the bright yellow sticker with big, bold letters that said: Caution – Fire Hazard.

Not missing a beat, he said, “Could still be water. It’s a hazard to fire.”

Tai chuckled. “Oh, I see. It’s one of those badly translated stickers from Peru then.”

“Peru? Why not China?”

“Because my people have standards.”

“Your people?” Qrow arched a brow. “Tai, you’re like the whitest Chinese person to ever exist.”

He gave him a once over. “Kettle, black. Or in this case, white.”

“Hah. Clever.” He mocked. “Least I got the Asian eyes.”

“And they’re very pretty.” Tai reached out, roughing up his hair until most of the shaggy locks were covering his vision. He laughed Qrow off when he tried to swipe at him in retribution, scuttling back and getting to his feet. “Come on, we should get moving before the sun gets too high.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He stood as well, pushing his hair back into place, grimacing at the grime and grease that kept it into place like a self-made hair gel.

God, what he wouldn’t do for a shower.

As they headed back to the little metal building, he said, “So my thought is we head back to the car. Salvage it if we can. Ransack it if we can’t.” They’d left a lot behind in yesterday’s escape, including a canister of gas and some spare water.

Tai nodded stepping inside just long enough to grab their packs. “Shouldn’t be a problem. The freeway should be mostly clear now, so we can probably hotwire something new if need be.” He headed towards the gate, handing Qrow’s bag over as he passed. “We can probably go scavenging in a few of the small towns on the way, but if all goes well, we can definitely make it to Wichita before nightfall.”

Qrow froze.

It took the other man almost a dozen steps before he noticed. He paused, glancing back, “Qrow?”

He shifted his weight uncertainly, dropping his gaze. “Yeah, ‘bout that. I was thinking maybe we should just… skip Wichita and head straight for Archer City?”

The silence that followed allowed Qrow to feel lower than the dirt he was staring at. And though Tai wasn’t a violent man by nature, at least where the living folks were concerned, he still flinched all the same when the man approached him.

But the most Tai did was lay a hand on his shoulder, voicing softly, “Are you sure?”

“Last night was the first time we’ve encountered a crowd of that size. We barely made it.” He replied. “If we couldn’t handle that, how are we going to handle Wichita being like that from end to end?”

“You don’t know that.”

He finally rose his gaze. “No, but I do know better than to gamble on a losing hand.”

“But,” It was hard to catalogue the pinched expression that formed on Tai’s face. “But she’s your sister.”

He swallowed down the sudden grief that was trying to crawl its way out of his throat. “Yeah. Truth is though, I know she’s not there. She either got out, or she didn’t. I only wanted to go for me. To find peace with it, I guess.” He laid his hand over Tai’s, feeling the scars on the knuckles and the warmth of his skin. Alive. Here. “But I don’t want to lose you by chasing ghosts.”

Those soulful, blue eyes searched his face carefully. Then, for no reason at all, Tai pulled him into a hug, whispering into his hair. “Okay.”

It was almost like he was trying to comfort him. He didn’t know why though. He was fine.

Qrow buried his head into Tai’s shoulder.

…He was fine.

Qrow was nothing if not masterful at ignoring his own emotions.

“What do you think?” Qrow asked as he splayed himself over the hood of a Ferrari. “Perfect for the next calendar?”

“Qrow no.” The smile gave his partner away.

“Oh you’re right, the ladies like the open shirt look.” He teased, reaching up to undo a few of the top buttons.

Tai shoved a hand in his face, pushing him. “Cut it out porn star. We gotta actually work.”

He gave a mournful sigh. “My career, ended before it could take off.”

Qrow hopped down from the car, trailing after the other man. As they’d feared, their little hit and run last night really did a number on the Camry. The back wheels were now pitched up on a hill of squirming, hissing Stalkers. There was really no hope of getting it loose without a tow and even if they could, the potential damage the vehicle sustained probably negated the effort.

So they made their way to the freeway as planned, now eerily empty except for the few dead still stuck in their seatbelts. They made sure to avoid those ones.

“Oh, what about this one?” Tai pointed out a Jeep Wrangler, eyes practically sparkling. “Be good for some off roading, yeah?”

“Yeah, ‘cept that gas guzzler ain’t going to get us very far.” He nudged him onwards, peering into the windows of the cars they were walking by, trying to see if there were any abandoned snacks or water bottles to snag. Unfortunately, the best he could seem to find was a pack of Winterfresh gum, the sticks so old they crumbled.

They ate them anyways.

After about an hour of scouring their options and many failed attempts to get something working that hadn’t had something wear out from disuse and time under the hot sun, they finally managed to get a little Hyundai purring to life. Qrow eased it down the grassy slope, the whole frame shaking roughly as they made their way to the side road they’d been traveling on. Once they hit it, it was smooth sailing from there, Qrow pulling down the window to stick his hand out while Tai hummed showtunes beside him and mapped out the safest route to their final destination.

They reached Sterling within the first ten minutes. The small town, boasting only an original population of 800, was like a ghost town to drive through. A shambling straggler could be seen here or there, but mostly they went through uninterrupted – stopping only to check an already well-ransacked Dollar General. Temple, the next village down the 65, was not much more impressive and with tiny stores just as empty. They pulled over halfway down on the 70 to wash up in the Red River (not quite the shower he’d been hoping for, but it would do). They collected some spare water to boil later, before moving on.

Soon enough, they were turning onto the 79 and crossing the state border, driving through Byers, a town so miniscule, it wasn’t worth touring.

“Maybe we should just keep going.” Qrow said as they entered Petrolia, finding the show to be the same as the rest: lifeless streets decorated with only the occasional Stalker and nothing else. “We really aren’t getting anywhere with all these stops.”

Tai ran a hand through his hair, already dry as the early afternoon sun bore down from above like a heat lamp. “Suppose so. We’re only an hour or so away. Turn right here.”

He did as told, eyeing the signs as he did so.

Tried to ignore the heaviness in his heart as he realized they were turning away from Wichita Falls.

He focused twice as hard on the asphalt stretching for miles before them, avoiding the occasional abandoned car or, in one case, tractor. There wasn’t much to see on the countryside of Texas, even less so now. It was nothing but wide, open fields, overgrown with weeds that had gone untilled, interspaced by the occasional barn or house. Any livestock there had been seemed to have escaped from their pens or frozen during the winter season.

They both looked away from the dead horse still tied to its post in the corral.

It took only twenty minutes to hit the next city. Despite it being three times larger than the other towns, they made it through Henrietta without incident.

They were just going under the overpass of the freeway when Tai suddenly exclaimed, “Wait! Turn around!”

“What? What is it?” Qrow asked, U-turning in the middle of the road.

“We need to go there!”

He followed the direction he was pointing, eyebrows going up to his hairline. “Pecan Shed? The fuck you want to go there for?”

“It’s a gift shop.”

He waited a beat. “And?”

“It has things… and stuff?”

Qrow rolled his eyes. “What a concept. Next you’ll be telling me hardware stores have nails.” He turned onto the side street all the same, pulling into the parking lot within seconds. He gave the building a once over as they got out of the car.

It was a fairly large. Two stories tall and long as a barn, with a fancy awning in front that mimicked a shed roof and a patio with seating that stretched all across the front and down both sides of the property. The name of the place was in big red letters at the top story, something that would be easily visible from the freeway when passing by. The front doors were made of glass, surprisingly still intact and, more importantly, unlocked.

They stepped inside with caution at first, but a quick sweep of the open floor and a few calls to garner attention with no response told them they weren’t in any immediate danger.

Which meant…

They shared a glance, before immediately tackling the still semi-stocked junk food station in the middle of the room. He ripped open a package of Ruffles, stuffing half the bag in his mouth at once. It tasted like heaven. Stale, over-salted heaven.

Beside him, Tai was inspecting a bag of what appeared to be shelled peanuts while tipping back a bag of Fritos.

He swallowed down another handful, saying, “Save those.” They would keep better longer and they were good fillers when they had nothing else.

“Ye’I’no.” Tai garbled out, his normal southern politeness completely abolished in the sightline of food.

Qrow, who had no politeness at all, just tossed the empty bag over his shoulder and reached for the Funyuns next.

By the time they had their fill, there was a small collection of litter at their feet. He sighed, plopping down onto the nearby checkout counter, smoothing a hand over his belly. They’d had to ration for so long, he couldn’t even remember the last time he felt safe to overindulge. Too worried about what he’d need tomorrow to worry about the ache in his stomach today.

“Sir, how much will this cost?”

Qrow looked up, smirking as Tai stood before him with two hand baskets full of goods. “For what? The food or my sexy ass?”

He winked. “The food. Your ass is priceless.”

“Least you know quality when you see it.” He hopped down, taking one of the baskets and following the other out to the car.

They fell into an easy rhythm, scouring the shop top to bottom for anything worth nabbing. Drinks, trail mixes, jerky, matches, candles, blankets, batteries, knives. Even things like books and magazines were useful for campfire tinder – and maybe a bit of reading for those really boring nights.

Then again, Qrow thought as he placed a few shirt-wrapped bottles of wine in the back, there were always other methods of entertainment.

He slammed the trunk closed, before heading back in for one last sweep through of the back aisles. He zigzagged around the store, triple-checking the sections they’d already emptied. A selection of colorful novelty mugs caught his attention and he chortled over the one with the cartoon Corgi surrounded by a heart and flowing text framing it that said, ‘This is the Corgkey to my heart’.

Tai had always said he wanted a dog, hadn’t he?

He plucked it off the shelf and made his way towards where he could spot the familiar head of blond hair peeking above the displays. He wheeled the corner, about to call out – only for it to choke in his throat when he realized what the other man was doing.

Tai stood in front of a rack of wooden baskets, each one filled to the brim with stuffed animals. He seemed to be in a silent debate over whether to take the fuzzy teddy bear or the brightly colored unicorn, as if it were the most important decision of his life.

He looked so… lost.

Qrow inched forward hesitantly, moving loud enough that he knew he was there, but quiet enough to not disturb him.

It seemed Tai wasn’t completely stuck in his own head though, for when he finally stood at his side, he spoke, “I used to bring Yang here a lot.”

He tilted his head, surprised. “Your daughter?” Tai hadn’t talked about his girls much; whether it be out of a simple habit of privacy or a necessity to keep himself focused on survival instead of agonizing over his children’s fate was unknown to Qrow, but either way he’d never pried.

“Yeah. When I’d take her to go visit her mom, if the trip didn’t go well – and it rarely did – I’d bring her here. She loved the dinosaur exhibit that’s in front of the truck stop. I’d let her play there as long as she wanted and then we’d eat at the Steak N’ Shake.” He waved a hand at the store around them. “Then we’d come here, get some of the specialty fudge to bring home and Yang would pick out a stuffed animal for Ruby. Somehow, she always knew which one she’d love the most.” He laughed. It was a strained, wounded sound. “I’m afraid I don’t have her intuition though. I can’t even remember if Ruby was still in her unicorn phase before I left.”

Qrow swallowed down that same, awful grief from before that was trying to escape. Instead, he forced some cheer into his tone as he said, “Well you know what I do when I can’t make a decision?” He turned to the baskets in front of them and pulled one right off the rack, dropping it down between them, “I get them all.”

Tai blinked down at it, before a genuine smile broke free. It was like watching the sun come out after a rainstorm. “Qrow, we can’t bring them all.”

“Watch me.” He pulled another one free and balanced it against his hip as he hefted it towards the car.

Ten minutes later, they were peeling out of the parking lot, about a hundred pairs of eyes watching the road go by from the backseat.

And Tai didn’t stop smiling.

A semi-truck was parked sideways along the two-laned road that cut across the lake on the 172, it’s front fender partially submerged in the murky water, effectively blocking the way. Qrow didn’t think much of it as he turned them around to take another route.

He grew more suspicious when they encountered multiple semis parked in a line across the 174.

Tai lent forward, eyeing the trucks with narrowed eyes. “These are barricades.”

“And people don’t set up barricades if they aren’t trying to protect something.” Qrow determined, switching into low gear. “Come on, we can drive around it.”

“Wait!” He grabbed his wrist, keeping it from touching the wheel. “If the military set these up, then the fields are probably mined.”

He considered that for a moment, before shifting into reverse. “Alright then we’ll try up the highway.”

Around they went, the detour taking them nearly a half hour – and sure enough, right at the juncture that converged the highway with the freeway, another blockade halted their forward motion. But this time, there was a message left for them in bright red paint along the bodies of every truck:

TURN AROUND OR DIE

“The fuck,” He breathed, a shiver running down his spine. He looked to the man beside him, whose face had gone white. “Tai?”

Tai set his jaw, before pulling out the map. “Come on, let’s get closer than we’re walking it.”

“And what are we doing about that?” Qrow snapped, pretending his voice didn’t hit the octave of a screeching bat.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

The words were like a blow to the face. “What?”

He pointed out the frontage entrance a few miles south. “I’ll go, and then I’ll come back and get you if it’s safe.”

His heart slowed down from its 100-mile a minute pulse line to only about 80. He pulled the car around, grumbling all the while, “Like hell you will.”

Despite his words though, as they neared the off ramp, the desire to just hit the gas and keep going overcame him so strongly, it was like his foot was fighting against a two-ton weight. He looked again to the man beside him, tried to draw strength from his unwavering nerve. Tai had the look of a man who was about to go to war with the whole world if it dared stand in his way of him and his kids – and if Qrow just became another obstacle, he had no doubt on where he’d end up on that side of the battle.

He wished he’d had even an ounce of that same backbone for his sister.

He beat down his shame and jerked the wheel to the right, heading down the ramp and following the way back up to where the street met another. He turned onto it. The road was immediately rough, more dirt than asphalt, rattling the frame of the car harshly as they slowly trudged between the empty farming fields.

Halfway down the road, they came to a pair of dead ash trees, one on either side. Hanging from their blackened and brittle branches were about half a dozen empty nooses. But one was not.

Instead, in its snare, was the body of a decaying crow.

A promise and an omen.

An eerie silence fell between them as they passed underneath it, the air stifling, suffocating.

Qrow coughed and said, “I think that was my cousin.”

Tai snorted, smacking his arm. “Shut up.”

His own snickers were practically hysteric. The buzzing that had started in his nerves from the first warning sign had turned into a crawling feeling, like a line of ants were marching along his skin. To combat it, his grip on the wheel tightened.

This was insane. People had done all this. Blocked the roads, painted the warnings, hung the signs. All in an effort to keep other survivors from coming close. Was it all just the military’s doing? Scare tactics because they were overcrowded? Or was it something worse?

Just what were they walking into?

“Hey.”

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath, looking down at the hand now covering his own.

Tai ran a thumb over his knuckles, the movement as gentle as his voice, “It’s okay if you want to stay back, really.”

“Fuck that.” He snapped. “You would of come with me to Wichita, no matter what, right?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Was the immediate assurance, followed shortly by, “But that doesn’t mean you owe me your life.”

He thought, again, of last night. Their shared panic as they ran across the fields. The wall that loomed ahead, cutting off their escape. Tai’s frantic orders as he helped him over.

Had he been alone, that would have been it.

He couldn’t stomach the thought of Tai being in a similar situation – needing him to look out for him. And him just not being there.

“No.” He avowed, meeting his eye. “We’re in this together. So unless you’re gonna throw me out of this damn car, you can cut it out with the martyr shit. Okay?”

The hand over his pulled his off the wheel, Tai clutching onto it almost fiercely. “Okay.”

Qrow let him keep it, slipping his fingers between Tai’s own as he turned back to the road.

As they neared its end, he noticed an assortment of industrial standard wind turbines. Perhaps once in use to provide power to the few speckled barns and homes on the horizon. He turned north, driving between them, peering up at them. The blades were whirling lazily in the breeze as the metallic forest caught the bright, summer sun, gleaming harshly bright.

He had to wonder if the buildings out here still had power. Or, if not, if a bit of tweaking to the structures might be able to bring them back to life. He was long removed from his university days when he would dabble about in engineering, and he’d never actually studied the ins and outs of wind energy converters, but the temptation to try was irresistible. To be able to cook their meals on a stove again or, god, have a hot shower. He had to bet there were some independent water wells out here and the land was still prime for growing too; it wouldn’t be hard to get their own crops growing. With time, they might even be able to find some livestock again. And a dog, too.

Qrow got lost in the fantasy of it.

So much so, Tai almost made him jump when he suddenly spoke up, “Here too?”

He blinked away the afterimages of him and Tai playing house during the apocalypse, focusing on the reality before him.

Scoffed at the sight of the pickup truck parked sideways across the road. He rolled to a stop, eyeing a side street in the rearview mirror a short-ways back. It was even less maintained than the ones they’d been traveling down so far, promising a ride that would rival a go around on some bumper cars.

“What do you wanna do? Walk it or keep going?” He asked gruffly.

Tai hummed thoughtfully, eyeing the map once more. “We’re not too far off at this point. Ten miles at most.”

“Not far off, he says.” Qrow mocked under his breath, even as he parked the car.

His partner laughed, undoing his seatbelt. “It’ll be good for you. Your scrawny legs could use some definition.”

He opened his mouth to retort, reaching for the keys to turn off the car –

When the one in front of them roared to life.

They froze, staring at the truck.

“What?” Tai whispered.

To assure they hadn’t misheard, the engine revved loudly.

Then, the wheels rotated towards them, the axles squealing as the truck came barreling towards them.

“Oh shit.” Qrow barked, throwing them into reverse and slamming down on the gas pedal.

Tai yelped as he was thrown into the dash as they rocketed backwards several meters. Another quick gear shift, and Qrow twisted the wheel around, flying down the road he’d spotted before. They hit a pot hole hard enough to throw them up from their seats, but he didn’t dare slow down.

His arms trembled and sweat started to bead from his brow. “What the fuck.”

He looked at the rearview, seeing the truck taking the same corner, gunning after them.

“What the fuck!” He shouted again.

“I don’t know!” Tai shouted back, scrambling to get his seatbelt back on.

“There’s someone in there.”

“You think?!”

He smacked the wheel. “Well what the fuck do we do!?”

“Calm down.” Was the sharp reply, Tai twisting around in his seat to keep an eye on their pursuer. “We just need to lose him.”

“Oh, that’s all? Brilliant!”

“Qrow.” The commanding tone shut him down immediately, his partner leveling him with a look. “Listen to me. We’re going to be fine. Just focus on driving. We’ll find a place around here, a home, a barn whatever. Just something with some cover.”

He took a few deep breathes, trying to steel his nerves. “Alright, alright.”

Except, it became abundantly clear that plan was sunk, as they sped past the first side street, completely blocked off by rubbish and vehicles. It was the same story with the next one.

Tai cursed under his breath. “He’s corralling us.”

“Maybe we should ditch the car? Head out into the field and make a run for it?” Qrow suggested.

He shook his head. “We’ll be too exposed. I think our better bet is to figure out where he’s leading us.”

“And then?”

“Then we’ll talk this out with whoever this guy is.”

“And if he doesn’t want to talk?”

Tai’s expression smoothed out into something cold. “Then you’re lucky I’m a good shot.”

Qrow swallowed, not arguing further.

He knew Tai could do it, if he had to. That’s how the military had trained him. But he hadn’t had to go through any of those tough regimens like his partner. Hell, up until eight months ago, he’d been living a rather lavish, uncomplicated life helping his old man upkeep the business fixing transmissions and rotating tires.

He was a mechanic! How the hell did he end up in a high-speed chase in the middle of fucking nowhere?

A blare of the truck’s horn made his heart jump into his throat. What was this guy gonna do, once he got them where he wanted them? Would he really start shooting?

God, he didn’t want to kill anyone. Not someone alive at least.

Another rough bump shook the thought down, so he tried to focus on keeping them steady instead. Another mile on, and the road ahead became blocked by another pickup truck, forcing them to take a hard right.

As he turned, he spotted movement in the front seat of the car.

A sense of foreboding swept through him and once they got far enough down the road, he braved a glance. Sure enough, the rearview told him they were now being pursued by two cars.

“Tai.” Qrow hissed in warning.

But Tai wasn’t looking at the situation behind them, instead pointing forward. “Look.”

He did, squinting a bit. Though still a good few miles off, he could just barely make out the shape of a large building of some sort – taller than any of the other buildings around these parts. Unnatural and out of place.

“What is that?” He asked.

“Dunno. But I have a feeling we’re about to find out.”

The suspicion turned to truth as they continued down the road, the structure looming ever closer. Until he could make out it wasn’t a building at all, but rather a massive fence, at least two stories tall. It was made of a mismatch of materials, including timber beams, chain link mesh, and aluminum sheet metal.

It had to be sturdy though, because as they rolled up to the front gate, he could spot half a dozen people standing on platforms attached to it, three on either side of the gate.

Every single one of them held a rifle.

“What now?” Qrow barely got out around the knot in his throat.

“I…” Tai looked frantically from side to side, as if an escape route would just materialize from thin air. When nothing did, he looked to him, and for the first time since this all started, Qrow could see the fear in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

They both looked back as they heard the sound of car doors closing, the drivers of either car stepping out and heading towards them. One was a man with short brown hair, the front of it pulled up like a plumage of feathers. His shirt was sleeveless, boasting well-toned arms that promised an ill-fate for his opponents. Yet, even he seemed slightly dwarfed by his companion – a tree of a woman, solidly built, and tall. She was swinging around a giant mallet like it weighed nothing.

The two of them split, flanking their car from either side.

The man knocked on Qrow’s window, pointing down.

Getting the hint, he rolled it down.

The man rested a hand along the top of the door, leaning in. “Where y’all heading? The zoo?”

He blinked, confused – and then he remembered the army of stuffed animals in the back seat, and scowled. “Clever, asshole.”

That only seemed to amuse the other, as he chuckled. His voice was smooth and calm. He knew who was in charge here. “This one’s got some bite, don’t he Elm?”

“Sure does.” Elm replied. “And look, they’re just your type. A couple of pretty boys.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up uncomfortably. The fuck did that mean?

Beside him, Tai took a deep breath, saying slowly. “Look, we’re not trying to start any trouble. We were just passing on through.”

“Were you now?” The man drummed his fingers on the roof above him, the noise unusually grating with Qrow’s nerves so shot. “And you just happened to come this way? Didn’t happen to see any of our warnings or blocked roads?”

“You guys did all that?” Qrow realized too late the question only made him sound falsely innocent.

“Cute. Real cute.” The easygoing smile disappeared, replaced with something rigid and dangerous. “Alright that’s enough small talk. So, let me explain how this is going to work. The two of you are going to get out of the car. You’re not going to struggle or try anything stupid, ‘cause if you do…” He lent in even further, as if he were trying to share a secret with them. “You see those people up there? They don’t have the best of aim, but they sure do got a lot of bullets. Quantity over quality and all that.”

Qrow’s hands tightened over the wheel he still hadn’t let go of. Tai’s breath hitched.

Neither of them moved.

The man gave a longsuffering sigh. “Come on now. Don’t make us drag you out.”

Another beat passed.

Then, with a reluctant click, Tai undid his seatbelt. Opened the door slowly.

“Attaboy.” The man praised, before turning his gaze to him. “Now you.”

Qrow shut his eyes, counted down from five, and finally managed to pry one hand loose. Shakily, he pulled the car into park, before doing the same as his partner and stepping out of the car.

“That’s it, nice and easy.” The other coached. “Now, arms out.”

Once, when he was young and stupid, he got pulled over for drunk driving. So, he wasn’t unfamiliar with a pat down. This was a lot more… thorough. The asshole even managed to find the swiss army knife in his back pocket.

From where he was being given much the same treatment by Elm, he heard Tai ask, “Can’t we talk about this?”

“You can sing like a bird, but it won’t do you any good until the chief gets here.” She replied.

The chief? What kind of society were they running? A tribe?

“Alright, this way.” The man tossed all his weapons onto the seat of the car, before clapping a hand down on his shoulder, pulling him forward. “Gonna need you front and center.”

Qrow reluctantly followed, fighting the urge to curl away from his touch. He grunted a bit when the other forced him down, his knees cracking painfully on the ground. Tai was manhandled into the same position beside him, grunting a bit as Elm forced him down even more roughly.

The man called over them both, “Where’s the chief?”

The tiniest of the firing squad, a dark-skinned woman with boyishly short hair, called back, “Almost here!”

“Clover.” Elm said urgently from behind them. There was a light jingling noise that Qrow couldn’t place but recognized as something passed between them.

There was a few short seconds of nothing, and then suddenly Clover was marching around them, kneeling down in front of his partner. In his hand were Tai’s dog tags. “Where did you get this?” He asked darkly.

Tai looked between them and Clover, murmuring, “They’re mine.”

“Really?” He flipped the face of it around, reading it aloud. “So, your telling me your name is Taiyang Xiao Long?”

His lips pressed into a firm, defiant frown. “Yes.”

“Bullshit.” Clover spit in his face. “Who’d you take this from?”

“I didn’t steal it from anyone.”

“Fuck off with that you-”

Qrow’s fingers clenched into fists, his own temper flaring. “Hey! Why don’t you fuck off! It’s called remarriage jackass – or is that too hard a concept for you?”

It probably wasn’t the best thing to do, if the flash of panic that passed over Tai’s face was any indication. But Clover just leveled him with a glare before getting back to his feet, letting the chain dangle from his fingers. “You know, I heard her people liked to take souvenirs from the dead. But a soldier’s tags? That’s just vile. How many of my friends’ bodies did you desecrate back at the base?”

‘Her people’? ‘Bodies’? What was this guy prattling on about?

“Wait. Just wait a second. The base?” Tai took a shaky breath. “Archer City base? You’re from there?”

Elm smacked the heel of her hammer into the ground right behind him. “We both were. It was all real nice, until your little buddies came by and slaughtered the lot of us.”

Qrow felt his stomach plummet at those words.

Tai had gone pale, his composure barely hanging on. Desperately, he croaked out, “How many survived?”

Whatever he thought of his reaction did nothing to temper the acidic hatred Clover stared down at him with. “You’re looking at ‘em.”

Had Tai been one of his actual enemies, Clover may have been proud to know how devastating a blow he’d just delivered. Regardless of it all, the damage was done. And Tai?

Tai broke. It wasn’t loud, like the way glass shatters. Rather it was subtle and unfixable, like the snapping of a flower stem.

Qrow’s own heart fractured at the way he whimpered, curling in on himself. The fleeting sunflower, already beginning to wilt and die, now that his roots were gone.

He reached out for him, hand coming to rest on his back, not caring if the lumberjack of a woman behind him smashed his entire arm flat for it.

“She’s here!” One of the squad from above called. The chain link rattled as someone ascended the platform from the other side.

Qrow paid it all only half an ear and eye, more concerned with the defeated man before him then anything this chief was going to do with them. Though, when he heard the telltale stomp of boots from above, he offered a cursory glance skyward.

She was a tall woman, with wild black hair and a curvy, powerful figure. A bandanna covered the lower half of her face, and she seemed equally disinterested in them, instead speaking with the petite woman who’d spoken before.

“Not much to say about them boss.” Clover reported. “One of them’s got some stolen tags from a Taiyang though.”

That grabbed her attention immediately, her body jerking around as she looked down at them with intense interest.

Even from here, Qrow could tell her eyes were blood red.

And then he couldn’t see them at all as, without warning, she practically raced back to the ladder as she shrilled orders at her people, “LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND LET THEM UP! OPEN THE GATES, NOW!”

There was a sudden, confused cacophony of voices. Another sharp command and then, an equally snappish retort that bellowed above them all, “You heard her, open it!!”

Qrow caught Clover and Elm sharing a worried look between them. He felt his guard rise higher, confusion and fear melding into one. What was going on? Was she coming down there to kill Tai herself? He shifted over, trying to block Tai’s body with his own as he heard the latch of the gate come undone, slowly starting to roll open.

The chief could hardly wait for it, practically squeezing her way through.

Except at some point on the way down, she’d ripped away the mask. This close, there was no mistaking her.

“Oh my god.” Qrow whispered. “Oh my god.”

Then he was on his feet, shoes scrambling for purchase and hands clambering over the dirt to get himself up as fast as possible, taking off at a run. The rest of the world fell away, the only thing left the woman running just as fast for him – and despite it being mere seconds, it was entirely too long when they finally collided.

Her name burst from his lips like a prayer he never thought would be answered. “Raven! Oh god, Raven.”

It was impossible. She was here. She was here!

His heart beat as wild as his sister’s hair, the mane of it seeming the surround him as she buried her face into his neck and sobbed. “Qrow. You’re alive. I never thought – How’d you even get here?”

His response came out in a stammer. “Me? B-But you-! And I, I,” Oh, he was crying too.

So he stopped trying, just held on tight and let the tidal wave of emotion hit him. The grief he’d been ignoring. The guilt of having given up. The hope he never let live. The relief of her being safe. The unbelievable happiness knowing she was actually and truly alive.

“I love you.” The words burst out of him, sudden and uncontainable. As if he needed to make up for lost time. All the years he should have said it more, after the divorce had split them across the country and the forced separation left them bitter even with each other. Until the phone calls went from every day to almost never. Until they only caught up on the occasional holiday. Until he thought there was nothing worse than becoming invested into something he was destined just to lose.

But he’d been wrong. Feeling like he was completely alone was much, much worse.

“That wasn’t an answer.” She spoke around tears. “But I love you too, you stupid idiot.”

“’Stupid idiot’? Really bringing out the big guns with that one aren’t ya?” He laughed and she shoved him a bit. It was just like the old days.

“It’s just such a strong character trait, it has to be said twice.” Raven assured, wiping her face.

He was about to retort when Clover cut in between them. “Hey uh, I don’t mean to interrupt your reunion, but I think there’s something wrong with your friend.”

Qrow’s head snapped around. Like that moment in the gift shop, Tai seemed to be lost in his own head – but even further this time. He didn’t even respond to the way Elm shook him or tried to encourage him to his feet.

“Shit.” He breathed, before racing back to his side. He waved the other woman aside, kneeling down next to him. “Tai, babe? You in there?”

Nothing.

“Come on, don’t do this to me.” He murmured frantically, reaching out to hold his hand.

His sister approached, and though she appeared to be oddly taken aback, her voice was sharp and commanding, “What happened?”

Qrow waved vaguely to his left. “Your little boy scout there is what. Told him his family died.”

“What?!” The soldier barked, holding up his hands, “I did no such thing.”

He leveled him with his best glare. “’You’re looking at ‘em’? That’s what you said about the survivors. His daughters were there, asshole.”

At least, that was what Taiyang was hoping. He had banked everything he had that his little girls had made it to the safe zone and were just waiting for him to return. The unshakable belief had been the only thing keeping him sane.

Now that it was gone, he had nothing left to hold onto. Qrow didn’t know what to do, or even had the faintest clue how to pull the other back from the sea of despair he was drowning in.

Clover looked horrified. “I, but I-I didn’t-!”

“It’s fine.” Raven asserted.

“What?!” Qrow shouted. “How can you just fucking say that?!”

She leveled him with look he couldn’t even begin to decipher. “Just. Let me.”

Without any further context then that, she settled on the dirt next to them. She reached out, gripping Tai’s jaw and turning his head to face her and in a gentle octave Qrow’d never heard her use, said, “Tai, can you hear me? I need you to come back. Yang and Ruby are here.”

At the sound of his daughters’ names, Tai finally blinked, some light returning to his gaze. Encouraged, Raven lent in closer.

“They’re alive. They’re safe. But you need to wake back up if you want to see them. Can you do that for us?”

He felt the hand in his slowly starting to grip back. Whatever his sister was doing was working – and while Tai’s brain was starting back up, Qrow felt like his was doing all sorts of mental gymnastics just to catch up. How did she know Tai’s kids? Were they really beyond those gates? Did they talk about their dad enough that she just knew who he had to be?

The real answer turned out to be exceedingly more simple and absolutely mind-bending, because Tai finally croaked out, “Rae?”

His sister smiled and responded as if it were the most natural thing on earth, “Yeah, it’s me.”

The words echoed on repeat in his ears. Rae. As in, Tai’s first girlfriend Rae. Yang’s mother? Was also Raven, his sister?!

Qrow felt like he was going to need one of these quiet-talk therapy sessions because now he wasn’t sure he was entirely all here anymore.

The world was still intent on moving on whether he was there or not though. Tai inhaled shakily, practically pleading, “And, the girls? They’re really-?”

“Come see for yourself.” Raven stood.

Taking a moment to gather himself, Qrow followed suit, pulling Tai up with him. He led him towards the entrance, shooting a look at his sister that promised they were going to talk about this.

She avoided his eye and fell in step with them, calling first to the firing squad still above them, “Hey, show’s over! Back to your jobs!” Then to the soldiers, “Clover, Elm. Bring in that car and then get back to your posts.”

“Yes ma’am.” Clover saluted. “And uh, Qrow, Tai?” Only Qrow looked back – holding up his hand to catch Tai’s tags when he tossed them his way. “Sorry.”

He nodded, pocketing them. He made a mental note to make sure the other man gave twice as good an apology to Tai when his lover was more present.

They stepped through the gate and it was like entering a long-forgotten world. The road continued on straight – but the acres of fields on either side were busy with tents, motor homes, and even a few trailers, everyone making do with whatever shelter they could find. People were milling about, doing all sorts of things. He could see some older men in lawn chairs, enraptured by a game of Chinese Checkers. A team was working with various gardening tools to clear up some free land. Another team was working on the skeleton of a structure against one of the walls that was looking like the beginning of a home. Pens were built towards the back, a few cows and a chicken coop in view and there were a few fire pits speckled around the facility, once in use as several people boiled and stored water.

A sense of surrealism enveloped him. They’d been on their own so long, he almost forgot what normal life could look like.

“This almost doesn’t feel real.” Qrow admitted, eyeing a young pair sparring in the shade of the wall.

“You get used to it.” Raven replied, leading them towards the west side of the colony. “We all keep pretty busy. Everyone’s got a job here; a way to contribute. We take care of each other, keep each other safe.”

He scoffed. “That why we got chased halfway to hell getting here?”

“It’s… preventative.” She explained. “We just want to make sure everyone comes to the front door.”

“So you can shoot them.”

“If they give us reason to.”

He gaped at her, aghast.

Raven sighed, walking in-between the space of two parked RVs. “This world doesn’t have rules anymore and there are a lot of bad people willing to take advantage of that.”

“Like at the base.” It was a surprise to both of them to hear Tai speak. “What happened there?”

Something dark flittered along his sister’s face, before she looked away. “Another group wanted what we had. So, one night, they rammed down the gates with a few semitrucks filled to the brim with biters to get it. There was over a thousand of us there. Now there’s only a little over a hundred of us.”

“Christ.” Qrow cursed. He couldn’t even fathom it. What kind of mindset did someone have to have to do something so willingly vicious?

“These people already lost everything twice over now. They’re looking to me to make sure they don’t lose more.” She stood a little taller, her voice strong and confidant. A voice people would find faith in following. “So yeah, I’ll scare even God himself away from our gates if that’s what it takes.”

If there was a concern to take away from all that, the day had been much too harrowing and long to put any honest consideration to it. So, he just let it lie, a gnat in the back of his thoughts for now.

He figured any other conversation was probably moot anyways, as when they rounded another trailer home the field opened up to what appeared to be a small picnic and playground area. In the center between the various tables and play equipment was a canopy tent, providing shade to the small gathering of children underneath it. They were all sitting in the grass, listening to the woman before them as she read aloud.

Tai’s grip had become iron tight, breath shallowing out.

As they drew near, Raven spoke up, “Summer, mind if we interrupt?”

The disruption drew everyone’s gaze on them, eyes wide and curious at the strange newcomers in their midst. Their teacher, Summer, seemed as equally spellbound, the book she’d been reading falling right out of her hands.

From the front, Qrow caught movement as one of the students stood, and he saw his niece for the first time. For even if the color was Tai’s, there was really no mistaking that wild mane for anyone other than a carbon copy of Raven’s – no matter how much those flimsy pigtails tried to tame it. She had to of been around eight or nine and she had a gangly appearance about her, the same way he had been during most of his childhood while he was still growing. He hoped she wouldn’t get his outrageously long legs.

Beside her, another girl stood. Had he not already known she was only two years apart from Yang, he would have mistaken little Ruby for being even younger. She was tiny, something that would probably follow her all the way through to adulthood. Unlike her sister, who seemed to be a mismatch of both her parents, she was practically a miniature version of the woman just behind her, right down to the silver eyes.

“Dad!” Yang shouted, shoving her way through the crowd recklessly. With her clearing the path, Ruby had no trouble following, letting loose a shrill cry of her own.

Whatever trance Tai had been transfixed in broke immediately, and he tore away to clear the distance between him and them, falling to his knees as they reached each other. Finally, finally after what had probably felt like an eternity to the father, he was able to scoop both of them up into his arms and hold them close, sobbing with unashamed abandon as he bestowed them with kisses and I love you’s.

Qrow heart melted at the sight, blinking away tears of his own as a delirium of happiness overtook him.

Raven wound an arm over his shoulders, pulling him against her once more. It grounded him, reminding him this was all actually happening. The little farm home he’d envisioned earlier crumbled away. In its place something new and bigger formed. His sister, Tai’s girls, and this little piece of land and community – their Beacon of hope in the middle of nowhere – was all part of his reality. Their reality.

They were home.

#qrow branwen #taiyang xiao long #Taiqrow #taiqrowweek #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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wallstagram · 5 years

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june - july fic rec: month(s) in review

hello & welcome back to the june - july edition of fic rec: month(s) in review! we have a L O T to unpack this time, so let’s dive right in! throughout june & july, we have been blessed with the majority of @larryabroad, as well as the bulk of @hlsummerexchange2019, all of @wordplayfics, wanker’s day fic fest, and many more that i’m probably forgetting. summer was a great time to be a fic reader for sure, thank you to every author who contributed!!

**disclaimer: not all of these fics were written in june/july, it is simply when i read them. however, a lot of them were. ***note: as always, if you do take my recommendation and read any of these works, please bookmark, comment, and leave kudos for these authors!! it is so important that we support the creators in our community. as an author, i know a sweet comment will often spur me to keep writing when i’m stuck. but, without further ado, here’s my recs below the cut!

J U N E : :

You Were Made To Be Mine by lovelarry10 (@chloehl10)

Louis Tomlinson takes his 6 year old son Jacob to see Harry Styles in concert. Jacob has been a huge fan of Harry's for as long as he can remember, so it's a dream come true when Harry notices him in the pit. But Jacob isn't all that Harry has his eye on...

Louis is a bit embarrassed when Harry picks on him from the stage, but when he's invited backstage after the show, he wonders what Harry Styles could possibly want with a single dad and his kid from Manchester...

This was such a cute read! At a whopping 580k, there is a LOT to sink your teeth into. Though I started it at the beginning of June, I haven’t even nearly finished yet, but it’s so good that it’s made it onto my rec list!

Get Off and Vote by haztobegood (@haztobegood)

Niall lets out a loud laugh, “Hey, listen to this. You know how elections are Tuesday? It says the Babeland on the edge of campus is giving out free toys to the first 100 people that show their ‘I Voted’ sticker.”

“How patriotic.” Louis laughs. “Maybe I should go.”

Haha! This one was great. At 3k, it’s a perfect quick read for some sexy, patriotic fun.

Surprise Me, Space Boy by jacaranda_bloom (@jacaranda-bloom)

Louis is a solo officer on Space Station Zeta and the isolation can present many challenges, not least of which is that it’s really bloody hard to date. He’s pinning his hopes on that changing with a fellow solo officer, Harry, from a neigbouring station who gives great banter and has a gorgeous smile. Maybe online dating has its benefits after all?

OR The Space Wank Fic.

Oh, this one was so good!!! The thing I love about literally anything Dee writes is that she just thinks completely outside the box. I feel like I never quite know what’s going to happen (in the best way!) and her originality totally made this fic amazing. (7k)

rivers ‘til i reach you by embodied (@crossnecklace)

Louis can’t begin to understand how he’s always this close and still can’t manage to make Harry his. He stands up and gets another beer. AU. Louis studies astronomy; Harry studies Louis. They spend their summers on the water and it shouldn't be complicated (spoiler: it is).

This was such a good read! It’s written in such a way that you’re utterly sucked into the verse so much that you’re a bit sappy when the fic is over. Kinda makes you feel a bit lovedrunk just from reading it. (29k)

Found My Hallelujah by crimsontheory (@ireallysawanangel)

As an engagement gift from his parents, Harry and his fiance receive an all expenses paid cruise trip for two. But one week before they're set to sail, Harry walks in on his fiance cheating on him. Newly single, with the cruise tickets in hand, and his bags already packed, Harry brings along his sister instead. And maybe the cute bartender on the ship might just be the person Harry needs to help him put back together all of his broken pieces.

I have so much to say about this one! I had the absolute honor of beta’ing this 35k work (which im pretty sure i just cheerlead you bc nicole you know grammar isn’t my strong suit...lmfao) and honestly it has become a fic that i love so much! nicole is such a talented writer; everything she writes just brings out so much emotion from her audience, and she has such a great sense of characterization! if you liked this one, check out its sequel, Now I’m Moving Up because it’s great too!!!!

J U L Y : :

Whisk me off my feet by allwaswell16 (@allwaswell16)

When Louis locks himself out of his apartment in just a pair of novelty underwear, he hopes his new neighbor can come to his rescue.

Haha! This one was so cute! What a darling fic! (5k)

The Charles Compass Trilogy by SadaVeniren (@sadaveniren)

Louis Tomlinson is a successful writer who rents a beach house on the Cape to try and finish the final book in his successful Charles Compass trilogy.

So I’m convinced that any rec list I make will not be complete if Sada isn’t on it. Here’s the thing - I fell in love with this story before she was revealed as the author, and honestly I had no clue. She’s got this amazing way of being able to change her style to fit the kind of story she’s trying to tell. This is such a good look at the writing process, highly recommend! (9k)

From The Heart series by jacaranda_bloom (@jacaranda-bloom)

Every Tuesday, Louis spends his day off holed up in his favorite coffee-come-bookshop, writing his little stories as part of the WordPlay challenge while daydreaming about the resident barista, Harry. Each week a new word prompt is revealed and Louis adds to his series of short stories about Henry, the owner of a B&B in the Cotswolds who has curly hair and dimples, Lewis, his long term guest who just happens to be a writer, and Tigger, Henry’s cat.

As Louis and Harry’s friendship develops, could his fantasy world spill out into real life? And how does that reader who leaves the lovely comments with the teacup emoji seem to be able to read Louis’ mind?

Okay, Dee really killed the game this time. Because I was OBSESSED. I mean honestly checking my phone at work to see what the newest installment was. This series is so fulfilling and so so hot to think about as an author! (25k)

blue eyes, black jeans, lighters, candy by delsicle (@emperorstyles)

Harry is in Madrid and Louis had a hard week.

So, the whole dom on tour series is really good, but this is my favorite work of the two. I love basically anything Delaney writes but this was extremely hot! (4k)

Could you love me anyway by SadaVeniren (@sadaveniren)

Dear Mistress Lorin: I’ve been reading your blog for a couple weeks now and was hoping you’d give me some advice for something that happened with me and my boyfriend. I’m really worried that I hurt him.

aka Harry and Louis begin playing ping pong during the X-Factor Tour. It quickly gets out of hand.

Okay. If you know me at all, you know that the way to my heart is either spanking, kink negotiation, or both. This just delivers on it all, and it catches on some main parts of BDSM-for-newbies and kink-gone-wrong that people often pretend never happens. I could gush so much about this, but go ahead and just read it yourself because it’s too good to miss!! (13k)

you are half of me (and I am all for you) by angelichl (@angelichl)

One Direction, an obscure indie rock band, is about to embark on their first cross-country tour, living out of Louis' beloved van named Patricia.

Harry is in love, and Louis is oblivious. Or is he?

Featuring skinny-dipping in Texas waterfalls, getting lost in the desert, stargazing under the New Mexico sky, performing in front of crowds that grow in size each night, and falling in love on the road during the greatest summer of their lives.

Okay WOW. I have so much to say about this one!!! So first off, the biggest thank you to adri for writing this fic for me for HL Summer Exchange!!! Honestly I feel like you spied through all my hopes and dreams and loves (including parenthesis in fic titles??? love it) and squished it all into this fic. it’s just the best fic, and it feels like warm summer air and tracing constellations in the stars and falling in love. if you haven’t read this already, please do!!!! It was so good I teared up when I first read it! (25k)

Heading for Limbo by kingsofeverything (fullonlarrie) (@kingsofeverything)

Childhood best friends who’ve fallen in and out of touch with each other since Louis’ family moved away when they were thirteen, Harry and Louis find their paths crossing again and again. Each time, no matter how many miles apart or how many years it’s been, it’s as if no time has passed. They fall back into their easy friendship, until life intervenes and sends them on their separate ways once more.

When Harry discovers some life-changing things about himself, Louis is there for him, however he needs. But it’s all temporary because Louis has plans that will move his life from New York all the way to L.A. and the distance isn’t the only thing between them.

The pieces of their twice broken hearts are scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Okay. Okay. This fic literally is one I will remember for the rest of my life, and i’m not even being dramatic about it! So, I really do enjoy leaving authors detailed comments about their fics, but that just wasn’t enough... I really had to message Lauren this whole essay about how Heading for Limbo helped me deal with a lot of emotions I was feeling in my own personal life, and it helped me fully realize that i’m bisexual. (did i just come out?? yikes) it was nice to see a fic where things weren’t perfect over a long stretch of time. It was amazing to see Harry realize his sexuality later in life, because that was one of my main struggles. this fic is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Literally, Lauren, thanks for changing my whole life!!! (101k)

Tell Me This Is Paradise by QuickedWeen (@becomeawendybird)

Harry Styles has been lucky in love but unlucky in the bedroom with all of her previous boyfriends. When her best friend Niall finds out that she's never had an orgasm, she knows just what Harry needs: Louis Tomlinson. Niall sets Harry up to get sorted out.

Okay, if you’re new around here, this fic was also on one of my previous rec lists, but then Molly had to ruin my life and write another chapter of it. Jesus Christ!!!! I literally could read this fic every single day and die happily. It’s so hot, and the characterization is so good. So, I guess this rec is specifically for chaper 2, but you’ve gotta read chapter 1 also! For the betterment of your life, of course. (9k)

Abstract by Star55 (@star55)

After Zayn draws a naked Harry for her art class, she finds that she can't stop drawing Harry and Louis' naked bodies, usually engaged in some form of sexual activity.

Literally - this was hot as balls. Loved it! (8k)

alright guys, that’s it! if you read all the way to the bottom, you deserve a sticker. i hope you guys enjoy some of my favorite fics i’ve read! don’t forget to go bookmark, comment, and give kudos! and just remember: we are all human. if you read a work, and loved it, and didn’t comment, it’s never too late! give your author some loooooooove. my life has been super busy and i really haven’t been in the place to leave the thought-out comments i like to, so most of these authors can expect comments from me soon. thank you to all the authors listed above, have a nice day everyone! also, feel free to send your favorite fics into my ask - maybe they’ll end up on my next list!!!

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sirkkasnow · 5 years

Text

01 Let Trouble Come To You

Ao3 link

06/30/13 Sunday

Stan registered three things as he stepped out into the heavy summer sunshine:

First, there was an old square-sided station wagon smashed nose first into the side of the Shack.

Second, Ford had just wrenched open the driver’s door.

Third, the occupant of the wagon, a well-dressed woman, looked up – disoriented but conscious – eyes flicking to his twin, then to him.

Son of a bitch, thought Stan, pushing himself into a jog across the lawn. He hadn’t made it halfway before the woman in the wagon clapped both hands over her startled mouth and burst into tears. Ford winced, backing off with the penlight he’d been waving in her face. Stan put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and drew him back another step, leaning in.

“Hey. Hey, ma’am, you okay in there?”

He got a shaky nod that did nothing to interrupt a series of faint jagged sobs, the kind of tears you got when you were trying very hard not to cry. The driver curled in on herself, knees tucked up, a ball of misery he had no idea how to unravel.

Mabel popped out of the nearest door and skidded to a halt in open-mouthed surprise. Stan pointed her way. “Mabel! Pumpkin, go get a box of tissues and a cold washcloth, all right? Ford, what the hell?”

“I have no idea! I heard it just when you did. I was in the lab – “

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“ – testing the new safety features I just installed on the magnet gun.” Ford looked over his shoulder in dawning horror. “Which must have pulled this victim of circumstance right into the house.” Mabel was already back, dashing to the driver’s side with tissues and washcloth in hand. Her bright voice rang out in greeting and got a muffled response.

“Sweet Moses, Ford, you’ve done it this time.” Stan pulled himself upright with a sigh, doing the mental math and eyeing the damage to the Shack’s shingling. The wagon had definitely gotten the worst of it, he decided with a twinge of relief. He noted a few details – Colorado plates, occupied bike rack, the clutter of an extended road trip jammed into the rear compartment. “Ma’am?”

The woman in the wagon had uncurled a bit, finally, pressing the washcloth to her face. She lowered it to reveal fine, sharp features, grey eyes pink at the edges. “Clary,” she said, thick-voiced, then cleared her throat. “Clary Merrick.”

Mabel was patting Clary’s knee. “She says she’s okay! Clary, these are my grunkles, you’ve met Ford and that’s Stan. Welcome to the Mystery Shack! I’m really sorry about all of this!” Her eyes tracked over to Ford, who was looking guiltier by the second.

“It’s all good, Mabel. Just an accident, right? We’ll get a tow truck out here for this poor unfortunate – “

“I’ll take care of it,” said Ford.

Stan bit back a laugh. “You, fix this mess?”

“I’ve figured out a few alien vehicles in my time – “

“You kiddin’ me?”

Stan turned away from the car, tugging Ford along with him. “You do see what kinda shape this thing is in, right? This was somewhere between vintage and decrepit before it got friendly with the Shack. I can probably get it runnin’ again, but unless you have an engine-repair gun hiding in that lab of yours, that’s gonna take time.”

“Stanley. This is my fault.” The corners of Ford’s eyes crinkled with distress and Stan swore internally.

“Look. Fine. We can let her stay here for the night and I’ll take a look in the mornin’, but you’re gonna modify that magnet gun to iron out body panels or we won’t get too far.” Behind them, a heavy click marked the release of the seat belt.

“A tow truck would be fine. I’d really hate to impose.” Clary stepped unsteadily out of the station wagon, pushing out behind her with a careless hand to close the door with a firm thunk.

The four of them watched as the S from the Shack sign wobbled, skittered with increasing speed down the roof and thudded with a deep crunch square into the center of the crumpled hood. A last hiss of steam welled, faded and died.

Clary laid a hand over her brow, drew a long, steadying breath and turned away. “I’d be happy to take you up on a spare room for the night. Thank you so much.”

Their guest – Stan had to keep reminding himself, guest and not expensive, potentially litigious annoyance – pulled a small overnight bag out of the back seat and trailed after the family to the house, pausing to swap phone contacts with Mabel on the way. Waddles trotted by to check out Clary’s ankles, prompting exclamations and explanations on the way inside. He couldn’t blame the lady. Few people expected to be accosted by a pet pig.

Clary spent five minutes in the washroom and emerged looking…polished. Eyes clear, tear blotching gone, hair tucked smoothly away into its twist. The jaunty little silk neckerchief wrapped snugly twice and knotted at her neck had been set straight. Her glance drifted across Stan’s without really sticking and she offered a careful smile, tagging along with Mabel for what sounded like a house tour.

Stan recruited Dipper as an assistant. Clearing the spare room went fairly quickly, boxes of old merchandise stacked off to one side. He fished out a marker and tagged a few for later discount – some of this stuff had to be six years out of date by now, not quite old enough for a retro sale.

“ – and here is your room! Which is now almost completely clear of terrifying cursed artifacts and where you are guaranteed to have a great night’s sleep!” Mabel burst through the door and tossed a heap of pillows on the almost-inflated air mattress, ignoring Dipper’s hey! of protest as he labored away at the foot pump.

Clary stuck her head in, then leaned through the doorframe just enough to drop off a pile of blankets, linens and a large stuffed blue whale. “The whale’s on loan,” she said, when Stan shot her a flat look of disbelief.

“We’ll make the bed,” Mabel sang. “You two go get acquainted!” She nudged Dipper aside and took over foot-pump duties with enthusiasm.

“Uh – yeah, I guess we’ll see you guys in a couple minutes?” Dipper scooped up the sheets. “We’ve got this.”

Stan found himself ejected into the hallway. Clary blinked up at him, expression softened by maybe a quarter smile. “Mabel is a force of nature.”

“You said it. C’mon, sounds like you already got a pretty good look at the joint.” Stan tipped a thumb over at the connecting door. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever been to the Mystery Shack before?”

“I’ve never been to Oregon before, but I know the name, at least. Saw a bumper sticker – “

“Ha!” Clary rocked back on her heels in surprise. “Hear that, Ford?” Stan yelled in the general direction of the kitchen. “Those bumper stickers were a good investment! And Sixer says they’re too ‘plain’ and ‘graphically simplistic’ and ‘don’t even have an address on them Stanley how is anyone supposed to find the place’ to attract customers.”

“Well, they are graphically simplistic!” Ford leaned over to call back through the kitchen doorway. “I don’t know how she found the place, let alone thought ‘What is the Mystery Shack’ was compelling.”

“No, no, I liked it. Very minimalist. What’s the point of advertising the Mystery Shack if there isn’t a little mystery to solve on the way? Besides,” her voice dropped into a barely-audible rumble, “I’d say it was the magnet gun that was really compelling.”

She’d said that in perfect deadpan, and Stan’s grin went wide. “I like you, Clary. How about I give you a tour sometime tomorrow, regular price.”

That got him a doubtful sidelong frown, and Stan laughed. “We’ll eat in like half an hour. Feel free to unpack or get interrogated by Mabel or whatever. Congratulations, you’re the most interestin’ thing to have happened here all summer.”

Twenty minutes later Ford had managed to pad out dinner with some odds and ends from the freezer. They swiped a kitchen chair to wedge in at the dining table. Clary now sported a Mabel scarf pinned across her chest, anchoring a dishtowel-wrapped bundle of what had to be frozen peas at her left shoulder. Stan reckoned she was anticipating a bruise from the seat belt. Smart. Mabel, bless her, led in with loud enthusiasm about the pleasures of summer in Gravity Falls, and a round of questions followed as he loaded up his plate.

“I’m a lawyer,” Clary said into a still moment. “I specialize in federal tax work.”

He hadn’t been tuned in to the conversation, but that particular combination of phrases was enough to both douse Stan’s nerves in ice water and trigger a regrettable reflex. He set an elbow on the table, leaned in, and said: “What’s the difference between a lady lawyer and a pitbull?”

Clary’s focus snapped to him. Stan raised an eyebrow.

The professional mask didn’t slip, but there was a spark of hot defiance at the back of her eyes. “Lipstick. Why did New Jersey get all the toxic waste and California get all the lawyers?”

Stan almost laughed – apparently there was something human in there after all. “Jersey got to pick first. What’s the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?”

“Skid marks in front of the skunk. What’s the difference between a lawyer and a boxing referee?” Clary relaxed with an arm draped along the back of her chair, looking at him with her chin cocked the slightest bit in challenge. Mabel had both hands over her mouth, stifling a giggle; Ford and Dipper both looked like they wanted to dive for cover.

“A boxin’ referee doesn’t get paid more for a longer fight.” He’d pinned down the accent now – she sounded like Ford, faint traces of a mid-Atlantic cadence all but buffed off by too much damn education. Not Southern enough for Virginia, so – “You’re a long way from home, Maryland.”

“Could say the same for you, Jersey,” she fired back, lips quirked, aware that she’d had the easier lift. “Long Branch?”

Shit, she had him within thirty miles. Stan rolled with it, slung her a finger-gun and a wink. “Close. Baltimore?”

Clary rolled her eyes in return. “There’s not much else in Maryland, but close enough, hon.”

That took some of the starch out, and the discussion relaxed a little. Clary chatted museums with Mabel and Dipper, displaying all the trademark enthusiasm of a hopeless nerd, which was probably going to make dinner even more exhausting than usual for the next few days.

Stan lobbed an occasional joke at Clary for the rest of the meal. She swatted them back with the easy contempt of a bored tennis pro. He was going to have to do some research, because she definitely knew more lousy lawyer cracks than he did.

They left the dishes for later. Ford perched atop the skull side table, Mabel made herself at home on one arm of Stan’s recliner, and Dipper helped pile up a mountain of pillows for himself and Clary. “Are you all caught up on Ducktective?” he asked as Stan got the TV going and started skimming through channels.

“Never seen it, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve never seen it?! Oh my gosh, there is so much going on this week! Listen up, I’ll explain the basics!” Dipper plopped onto a pillow next to Clary and managed to keep it more or less to a whisper, going squeaky as he got to the really good bits.

The whole room went tense and silent for that week’s reveal, then exploded in groans as Mabel waved a dismissive hand at the screen. “Oh, come on! DipDop called that twist like a month ago.”

Dipper puffed out his bony chest. “Well, Mabel, once you’ve seen real weird, mere fiction gets a lot easier to predict.”

“Uh huh. Those real dishes aren’t gonna do themselves.” Stan headed Dipper off at the pass with a brief glare of warning and hauled himself upright. “Clary, you mind helpin’ me round all that up?”

Ford gently shooed the kids up to bed as Stan and Clary cleared the table and headed for the kitchen. She tossed the bag of peas back into the freezer and headed over to join Stan at the sink, taking up a dishtowel, accepting clean glasses and swiping them dry as he passed them over. “That was an adventure.”

“There’s a ton to catch up on, there. Last season was pretty good. You gotta laptop or somethin’?”

“Mmhm. Not sure how much time I’ll have to spare for binge watching, though. What’s your read on the car?”

“Need to have a look under the hood for that. At least a couple days, and honestly, maybe a little more.” Stan watched her lips compress from the corner of one eye. “That thing’s a classic, if you wanna put it charitably.”

“You’re being charitable. I did have – “ Clary smiled briefly up at Ford as he joined them to start on put-away duty. “I did have some work done on it before I left just to make sure it wouldn’t break down. The plan was for a pretty long trip. Not that it matters much at this point.”

“What’s a girl from Maryland doing out in Oregon with a Colorado license plate?”

“I inherited the car. I’m driving to Seattle to scatter my mother’s ashes in the Pacific.”

And damn, what a way to kill a line of inquiry. She handed a dry plate off to Ford, who put it in the appropriate cupboard, looking a little lost. For a good thirty seconds it was nothing but running water and the clink of china.

“So – does the timin’ matter? We could get you on a bus, hook you up with a rental?” Stan was running the mental math again, and yeah, like it or not this one was going to be on him and his brother. Well, dammit.

“She’s dead, Stan, no one’s in a hurry. Least of all me.” A tiny, bitter twist pulled at one corner of her mouth, but she looked up to Ford and her tone was sincere. “Listen. This was an accident, I get it. A very weird accident. I was already planning to make a sort of travel holiday of this, and I’ve got no issue staying in Gravity Falls for a little while – I’ve got the bike and plenty to read. Can you recommend a hotel? A B&B maybe?”

Yes! thought Stan, then No! as Ford opened his mouth and started playing gracious host, of all things. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Clary. I know it’s crowded, but we already have a room set aside for you, and at the very least I can promise you won’t be bored. You’d be right at the center of activity here! I can suggest some hikes, we have lots of games, there’s the lake and the Shack itself of course. You should be able to reach almost anything with that bicycle.”

Stan did his level best to make please, no, come on already faces at Ford over Clary’s head, which was difficult because she was so damned tall. The twins only had about three inches on her. Ford was either missing the signals or being deliberately oblivious. Stan mentally wagered on the latter.

“I’m tempted,” Clary said carefully.

“Please, just sleep on it. I know it’s been a difficult day, and again, I’m so sorry to have put you in this predicament.” Ford lightly plucked the last glass from her fingers and reached up to set it into its place. “We’ll check on both the car and your shoulder.”

For a moment Clary’s lashes dipped down and her fingers twisted into the dishtowel. “All right. You’re very generous, Ford, Stan, thank you. We can go over it in the morning. I’m afraid you’re right, it’s been one hell of a day and I should get some rest. Good night, gentlemen.”

“Good night, Clary.”

“G’night.” Stan dropped a couple of ice cubes into a glass and lifted it in dismissive salute as she headed out towards the repurposed storage room, then gave Ford his very best ‘What the hell, Sixer’ look. What he got back was wide-eyed mock innocence and a shrug.

“Seriously?” Stan said, letting his brow smack lightly into the freezer door.

“I owe her,” Ford said with as much dignity as he could muster. “And it seems to me that she could use the company.”

Stan tapped his head against the freezer twice more before straightening with a groan.

“You were getting bored anyway.” Ford spared Stan a knowing glance.

“I have not been that bored.”

“You were bored enough to take another shot at Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons last week.”

“Yeah, that ended in flames. Let’s hope this doesn’t.”

“She’s interesting, that’s for certain! Perhaps we can make a few minor upgrades to the engine before we send her out again….”

“Ford. Do not.”

It was too late, of course, it had been too late well before Ford had voiced the idea, and he was already jotting notes in his spare pad as Stan watched him wander down the hallway. He’d be up until two in the morning, as usual.

Stan topped off his glass with water and shuffled off towards his own room. Bored. Pfft.

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Clary is talking to the others at the table, and you think you catch something about her doing federal tax law stuff. Yikes.

Crack a lousy lady driver joke.

Crack a lousy cryptid joke.

Crack a lousy lawyer joke.

#gravity falls #gfdatingsim #DDtMMW #swooning over stans #stanley pines #oclicious #fanfic

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dontshootmespence · 5 years

Text

Supernatural AU: Episode 4 - Devoid

Part 1

For the first time in weeks, Jenna could breathe. The incessant oppressive drowning feeling that accompanied seeing your child in any kind of pain had finally left, dissipating as his smile returned; she and Gavin weren’t fighting about how to help him anymore. Everything was okay again.

At the end of the day all she wanted was for her family to be happy and with the nightmares gone from Thomas’ restful hours, they had that back again. As she flitted about the kitchen, dancing to glorious 90s boy-band music, Gavin walked up behind her grateful to see her happy again. This past month had been very difficult for them.

“How’s he doing?” Gavin asked, his lips curling upward into a sleepy smile. At first, she didn’t notice, almost screaming when she finally caught sight of him. “Sorry,” he laughed. Between Thomas’ nightmares and his own work schedule, he’d been exhausted lately, as had she. “Those vitamins helping?” He’d scoffed at the idea that they’d do anything to help their son, but she insisted it would help and Thomas was doing better, so who was he to question the results?

Since Thomas had come to their room screaming about being chased by a monster in the night, Jenna had been trying anything and everything she could think of to help her little boy banish his bad dreams. After readying Thomas’ pills for the week, she turned to her husband and laughed. “Well, I don’t think it’s really the vitamins,” she said under her breath, not wanting Thomas to accidentally hear her, “So much as the placebo effect. Either way, he said he hasn’t had the nightmare in about four days.” Which was saying something because it had been raging almost every night for a month; it had been keeping him up, making him fall asleep in class and therefore interrupting his school work. He was afraid to turn corners even when he was awake for fear the monster would finally grab him. “I took care of it,” she continued, the smile fading from her face for a moment. “No need to worry anymore.”

“My wife, the miracle worker,” Gavin replied proudly. “You coming to bed soon?”

She kissed her husband’s cheek and told him she’d be right there as soon as she gave Thomas his vitamins and tucked him in for the night. Ever the worrier, she wanted to make sure he was truly okay even though he’d willingly gone into his room tonight.

As she tentatively opened his door, fearing she’d see him shaking up against the wall, she took a cleansing breath. Thomas had a smile on his face again and he was already waiting in bed, tired after a long day of school and play, instead of sitting in the corner of his room, shaking and petrified to get under the covers. He was staring up at the ceiling where the star and moon stickers clung tightly so he could see the universe no matter whether he was inside or out. If Jenna would allow him, Thomas would sleep out under the stars every night. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hey, sweetpea,” she replied. “Feeling okay?”

Thomas nodded and reached out for the vitamins he was more than happy to take if they rid his brain of the bad dreams. He was eight years old; he didn’t want to be sleeping in his mom and dad’s bedroom every night, but he couldn’t help it when that monster lurked behind every corner of his brain.

Tall and slender and covered in bloodshot eyes that pierced into his soul, it wouldn’t leave him be, threatening to eat him and his mom and dad if he screamed, its voice sending shockwave after shockwave up his spine, like ice on a hot summer day. Thomas shook his head, banishing the evil, beady-eyed monster from his waking thoughts so he could swallow his vitamins. “Yea, mom. I’m good. Just sleepy.”

“Okay, then have sweet dreams baby.” Jenna pulled the covers up around her son’s tiny body. “Dad and I will be in our room if you need us.”

Yawning, he pulled the covers around himself, sheltering himself from the chill in the air and smiled. “I’ll be okay, Mom.”

After placing a kiss on his forehead, Jenna left the room and went to join her husband. Within minutes, the exhausted parents were asleep in a dreamland of their very own, where life was content. They had been dying to go on vacation for years and had been discussing the possibility with Gavin’s extra hours at work.

Meanwhile, Thomas tossed and turned for a while. He got what his mom called a second wind, but it didn’t last long and after about 30 minutes he was drifting off to sleep himself.

He hadn’t seen the monster for a few days, so when his brain conjured up a picture of the beach, waves licking at the shoreline as he and his friends made sand castles, he relaxed into his bed.

Heavy footsteps resounded against the confines of the darkness, its body closing in on the place it had been called to visit: ready, hungry, but wary. Night after night, it did as the woman with the soft voice had asked and rid her son of what plagued him, but the nightmares seemed to be gone and it wanted more…

They’d stayed with Bobby for the week while they sought out a case and attempted to figure out where to look for John next. “It’s been dry for a week,” Dean said exasperatedly. He was sitting on the couch, scratching at his elbow, eyes heavy from boredom, fingers still caked with motor oil. When they weren’t watching TV, he was working on Baby. Sam had been pretty quiet most of the week with the exception of watching football, which had never really been his thing, but it brought them all a sense of normalcy so he stuck to it. Bobbie was pretty sure he was in his own head most of the time, but besides that and sports he had his head deep in any and every book on Bobby’s shelves. “And the trail has gone cold for Dad, so what are we supposed to be doing. I feel like shit is going on, but it’s just under the radar so we don’t know about it. Baby is purring and ready to go. I need something.”

He was probably right unfortunately. Unless God decided that he wanted to actually show up and do something and had struck all of the supernatural bullshit from the Earth over the course of the past week, then it was in fact happening under the radar.

Before Bobbie could say anything, a call came in on one of her uncle’s phones. It was actually the one for him and not one of the many law enforcement personas he held in order to help them with cases. “Bobby Singer,” he said upon answering, his eyes immediately darting between all three children. “John, where have you been?”

The copper taste of blood in her mouth made Bobbie unclench the bite hold she had on her tongue. He was alive…and okay…and hadn’t called. “Gimme the phone,” she mouthed, but her Uncle dodged out of the way.

“What the hell?” Sam exclaimed, pushing his hair out from in front of his eyes. “He’s okay?!”

“Why the hell haven’t you called?” Dean screamed. His eyes were full to the brim with tears. They’d called for weeks without any answer from him and now he calls out of nowhere and it’s Bobby instead of one of them.

Bobby tried to get them to shut up, but when the Winchester siblings wanted answers there was no holding them back. With fire in each step, Bobbie grabbed the phone from her uncle and screamed into the phone. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

John hesitated on the other end, like he was truly hoping to not have to have this conversation over the phone, but then he spoke, his voice so soft that Bobbie almost forgot how pissed she was. Almost being the operative word. “Hey B.”

“Hey? Hey is what you have to say? Dean and I have been calling for weeks. Sam is with us now. He’s been calling you for weeks. We’ve left messages. We’ve tried every phone you own and you just call now? Are you serious?” Bobbie could feel her blood boiling in her veins. Sam looked about the same and Dean, well Dean just looked devastated. “Do you have any idea what not hearing from you has been doing to us?” They’d lost sleep. She and Sam had been getting headaches more often. Dean was drowning his sorrows in booze more than usual.

John was be lucky he wasn’t here right now because if he was, she would’ve been hitting the ever-loving crap out of him. “I needed to get answers for us, Bobbie. For all of us.”

“Answers?”

“About Mom.”

“It’s been over 20 years!” She screeched, suppressing the urge to throw the phone across the room. “You’ve never disappeared and not answered our calls before!” Not for this long, maybe a couple days at a time, but it had been nearly six weeks

Dean’s expression had turned from distraught to livid and Sam was on the edge, storming toward Bobbie to rip the phone from her hand. “While you were off chasing a two-decades old mystery, my girlfriend was killed by the same fucking thing! And you were nowhere to be found.” He practically threw the phone in Bobbie’s direction, slamming the door open to the auto lot outside so he could blow off some steam.

“Bravo, Father of the Year. Not here for your kids…again.” When was enough enough? When was it time to let go of the past and focus on the now?

He stammered his apologies but she wasn’t having it and neither was Dean. He screamed again loud enough so John could hear. “Why did you even call?”

“I have a case I need you three to look into while I’m doing this.”

“Oh, the vendetta, right,” she spat sarcastically. “What is the case?”

“I got a call from a friend of a friend that there’s been a string of child suicides in Montana. I’ll send Bobby the coordinates.”

“What makes you think it’s our kind of job?” She asked. She was so tired of this conversation. All she wanted to do right now was to go outside to one of the used, beat up cars and beat the living shit out of it.

His voice was laden with guilt as he explained that all of the children had been under the age of 10, had been ridiculously happy and bright-eyed and within weeks they’d turned into almost zombies, walking around and eating and drinking and going through the motions for the hell of it without any real drive. “I have nothing to go on but my gut, but all of the children being under 10 makes me think it’s something we might be able to handle.”

“Were any of the children bullied?” Bobbie asked. She was numb now, turning around to see that Dean had left, undoubtedly off to find Sam.

“No. That was the first thing I asked. All popular, well-adjusted kids.”

Wonder what that was like.

John noticed the hesitation and smoothed over it. “Please, Bobbie. While I’m doing this, please look into this for me.” As much as she wanted to punch him right now, if he had a gut feeling, they needed to follow it. He was rarely wrong about this kind of thing.

“Fine. Go do whatever the hell it is you’re doing and your kids will take care of themselves. Not like we’re not used to it by now.” When she slammed the phone down, the first hot tears slipped down her cheeks.

“You okay?” Bobby asked, his gruff voice the only thing holding her together.

She shook her head and turned defeated to walk outside. He meant well, but the question, like her, was tired. “No, Bobby. I’m really not.”

Outside, she saw Sam taking a crowbar to an old car on Bobby’s lot. Dean threw in a hit for good measure and once she arrived Bobbie snapped the crowbar away and got in a few hits of her own. “You all feeling better now?” Bobby asked. It was tough love time.

“No.” They all said simultaneously.

Sam huffed and puffed wanting nothing more than to go back to bed. “What did he say?”

“What you heard,” Bobbie mumbled. “And then that he thought there was a job in Montana.”

After Bobbie told them what he’d said, Dean shrugged. “It could be an us thing. It could be nothing, but I was getting antsy before and now I’m pissed and need to refocus.”

“So you wanna go?” Bobbie asked.

“No…but yes. If I sit around here, especially after that call, I’m going to lose my mind.”

Bobbie was pretty sure all of their brains were already mush.

They finally all cooled off enough to the point of thinking rationally and went back inside to grab everything they’d strewn about Bobby’s place over the course of the past week. “Call me if you need anything okay?” He asked as he kissed her forehead before passing her a piece of paper with the coordinates they needed.

“We will,” she smiled sadly.

Dean relented and let her drive. As she hopped in the driver’s seat, Sam and Dean gave Bobby hugs goodbye, holding on just a little tighter than they had before. Hopefully they wouldn’t need Bobby’s help, considering he helped a range of hunters across the United States with his various personas, but if they needed him, Bobbie knew he’d be there.

@remember-me-forever-silent-angel @gaylemonshark @marveldivergentouatdctvfangirl @lalirang @averagekansan @addsomesalt @stusbunker @sebba-hiddles @fanfictionrecommendations-com @hoppy519 @thatwrestlingfan91 @extremeobsessions101 @spence-imagines @bettercallsabs @whaaatthefuuuuck @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @your-imagination-runs-wild @cryinglots @steggy01 @gigilame @sedulous-mind @a-unique-girls-heaven @just-antiyou @rmmalta @original-criminal-fanfics @ties-n-suits @veroinnumera @eurusholmmes @fanficienjoyedreading @astridstark13 @ties-n-suits @demonlover87 @kennybud @shittyafblogwnopoint @pleasantlyfadingpeace @bulldozed88 @a-gir1-has-n0-name

#supernatural #supernatural au #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fic #dean winchester #sam winchester #bobbie deanna winchester #born to fire #devoid #s1ep4

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puerxinsolens · 3 years

Text

{ SEQUENCE THREE: FRAGMENTS }

The train heaved it’s way across the tracks, the industrial London left behind for Scotland’s green scenery. Zach carried his heavy trunk with both hands, cheeks puffed up as he searched for an empty compartment. Above the sounds of the working steam wheels, laughter and chatter of students echoed throughout the long corridor, connecting the private compartments and public booths.

“Need any help?”

She was standing in the doorway to a compartment, unsorted students like himself in the background play fighting, speaking loudly and eating snacks bought off the trolley. Already, she was wearing her plain robes, ready to be sorted into her house. Long and wavy strands of hair folded away from her face and into a braid at the back of her head. Her eyes were wide, but dark around the edges as she raised her brow and Zach nodded.

She pulled the rest of the door open, standing aside as Zach hauled in and slipped his trunk in the space underneath their seats, and she shut the door behind him. Three faces glanced back up at him when he took a seat, exhaling out a breath as he brought a hand to wipe at his forehead.

“I’m Verity,” she told him. Zach’s parents may have mentioned how her parents were murdered. The corner of his mouth curled into a polite smile despite that bit of news. "This is Caius and Ethan.”

“I’m Zach.”

* * *

“Better be... Hufflepuff!”

Zach’s heart sank into his stomach. As McGonagall took the hat from his head, Zach slowly slid from the stool. Despite his ancestors being in the house since the beginning of time, there must have been a mistake. He thought of the fantastic things he had heard about the house of the snake Verity had told him, the wide and proud smile on her mouth as she told him stories of the Founders with such detail, such vigor. He had heard the story of the Founders before, but not like that. Not like anyone has ever told him.

He spotted Caius at the Slytherin table, a small and apologetic smile on his mouth as Zach made his way to the Hufflepuff table. At least not everyone was sorted into Slytherin, Zach thought as he managed to catch Ethan sitting at the Gryffindor table.

When Zach sat, he met Verity’s gaze; her lips together, her eyes incredibly dark in the dimly lit Hall.

The edges of her mouth twitch.

* * *

Hannah and Justin introduced him to girl named Jezebel Higgs in first year. Verity reintroduced him to Jezebel Higgs in second year.

Study Hall consisted of coming up with theories on how Harry Potter was petrifying students and making bets on who would be next. Bullshit spewed from Ernie’s mouth and Zach shook his head, trying to concentrate, muttering excuses to move away from the Hufflepuff table. Caius scoot over enough to make room for Zach as he sat, busying himself in his work in silence.

She sat right across from him, her books making a small clap as she set them down. Her blonde hair bounced on her shoulders as she did and brushed her hair away with her hand, pink polish on her nails. He watched her, quill in his hand pausing. There were pink stickers neatly stuck to the front of her notebook. Their ties the same color.

Verity dropped down next to him with a sigh and Zach snapped out of his stupor, pretending to busy himself again in his work. “Zach, you know Jezebel, right?”

She glanced at him then, smiling. His stomach swarmed with butterflies. Smiling back, he replied, “Yeah.”

* * *

That same year, Justin got sent into the hospital wing. Petrified. The antidote took weeks to be prepared, twice as long to be ready.

Worry sat in Zach’s chest. Despite the constant of Verity and the Slytherin house, he had kept their friendship relatively secret. Hannah had no idea where he would go after dinner, and Ernie always asked where Zach was off too in the middle of the night with his wand in hand. They were suspicious.

“We’re going to see Justin before Transfiguration,” Ernie started, throwing his bag over his shoulder. He pushed his hair back away from his face and waited for Zach to respond. Instead, he kept quiet and packed his own bag. Slow.

Ernie stopped, brows furrowed and expression hard. “You are coming, right?”

“Yeah,” Zach replied. He wanted to be there, he did. He swore. The swelling in his gut told him he was scared for Justin. There was no telling if he would come back from that and if he would be the same. Everything could be different. He met Ernie’s gaze and smiled softly. “I’ll be there.”

Ernie’s own expression softened, the creases in his forehead and mouth thinning. “Okay. Good.” There was a pause as he reached for the door to exit the common room. He looks back over his shoulder, their eyes locking. “I know you’ve been working hard and stuff, y’know, with course work and then tryouts for Quidditch next term, but. We miss you.”

Zach tucked his bottom lip into his mouth. Considering. “I’ll try harder.”

Ernie smiled, nodded and left the common room.

“I can’t hangout tonight,” Zach started, leaning against one of the pillars. Verity frowned, the wind whipping her hair into her face. “I need to go see Justin in the Hospital Wing.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Zach, you don’t have to pretend to be friends with these mudbloods and blood traitors. You may be in their House, but you don’t belong there. And you don’t have to pretend that you do.” She reached for his wrist, collecting his hand in hers. Zach held his breath, assessing her words.

“Okay,” he told her, giving in. She smiled at him, holding his hand in both of hers. Zach mirrors her smile but it doesn’t quite reach his mouth.

Ernie and Hannah ignore him for a week.

They stick together, whisper when Zach wasn’t around and seize whispering when he was. Zach conveniently missed them at breakfast, again at lunch. They don’t meet up for dinner. They don’t ask questions. Ernie couldn’t quite look him in the eye, but he didn’t have to with the glares Hannah gave him her brows furrowed and the lines of her mouth hard.

She cornered him in the common room, grabbing him by the wrist as he ascended the stairs to bed. “I need to talk to you.” Her tone was harsh and Zach knew when he was going to be lectured by her. Hannah never coward away from telling someone when they were fucking up. And Zach was fucking up. She pulled them into a secluded corner, folding her arms across her chest.

“You’re being a shitty friend.” She told him outright, not even bothering to hear his counter argument. There was none anyway. “Justin’s in the hospital wing and you’re acting like you don’t even care.”

“I do care,” Zach started, guilt gnawing at his insides. “I do. We all deal with things differently. And he’s going to be okay. They’re working up an antidote--”

“That we don’t know for sure will work.” There was a pause before, “He could’ve died.” Another pause, the every day sounds of the common room alive. She stared at him, waiting for a response that Zach didn’t have. He saw the way her shoulders softened. Hannah tried to go for comforting, but still had her clip of resentment when she spoke again,“You can have friends beyond your house, just don’t forget about us, too. Okay?”

She let him off easy. He wished she hadn’t.

He canceled on having breakfast with Verity the morning the antidote was finally ready. Hannah and Ernie were already in the hospital wing when he arrived, bright eyes and wide smiles as Justin sat upright in his bed, already talking their ears off.

Sheepishly, Zach strolled in, a gift basket filled with sweets in his arms. He stopped some feet away when Hannah looked up at him in surprise. It was pleasant. She didn’t tell him to fuck off, so that was a good sign. He cleared his throat as he approached the three of them, setting his gift basket on the table along with the many get well soon cards and chocolates that littered the space.

“Zach!” Justin beamed, sitting up a little straighter in his bed. “I was wondering when the hell you were coming.”

Ernie broke out in a smile, laughing a little as he brought his fist up to his mouth. Hannah punched Zach lightly on the arm as he took a seat. They swapped candies, tearing open the lot of the get well gifts, laughing, joking. The tension eased, lifted. Despite Zach’s friendship with Verity and the likes of the Slytherin house, it never felt like this. It never felt like family.

* * *

In third year, Jezebel tried out for the Quidditch Team with him. During a paired assignment in Potions, she whispered idly under her breath she was thinking about trying for Chaser. Zach’s lips twitched, scoffing out a laugh as he shook his head and Jezebel gently touched his wrist.

“What?”

“I was thinking about going for Chaser, too.”

“Well,” she glanced around the room on the lookout for Snape. When she spotted him harassing a pair of Ravenclaws at the far corner of the classroom, she quirked a smile of her own at Zach. “Looks like I’ve got some competition.”

When they both made it on the team, Zach had suggested they practice together after dinner every other night. He had crouched down, approaching her from behind in the Great Hall, whispering close to her ear. She started to smile even before he had finished the question, turning to look at him. He felt her breath on his face when she accepted the offer, “I thought you’d never ask.”

After their first win in a match in April, she bumped her arm into Zach’s sweaty side. “We should celebrate.” Her eyes were wide and flirty, and in all of Zach’s thirteen years, she made his heart stutter. Skip a beat. Made the blush on his cheeks rush to his ears, lower tummy and toes.

He did not think twice about kissing her under the bleachers, the smell of sweat, grass and her invading all of his senses. She put her hands on his ribs and his stomach clenched, and she sighed into his mouth. Her body pressed against his and as he shuffled forward into her. In the distance, a wolf howled.

* * *

Over the summer, she invited him over to her house. The Higgs’ family was prestigious for Halfbloods, expensive taste in their nature with how large their home was, smack dab in the middle of France.

She showed him the Wizarding community there, walking along the busy cobblestone streets, her hand in his as they walked along, peering into the windows of shops for hours. They shared a strawberry macaroon and Zach tasted the jam on her lips when she kissed him under the Eiffel Tower.

After dinner, they climbed the staircase to her bedroom and her parents let him stay a few hours after desert. Her brother reminded her to leave her bedroom door open, and Jezebel cracked the door a little. Zach’s palms sweat in his nervousness, Jezebel tugging lightly on his shirt to pull him closer. They snogged against the back of the door, keeping quiet as Jezebel let him go to second base with her, breathing into each other’s mouths, soft touches against skin.

The feeling on his stomach from where her hands had been doesn’t go away, not even when Zach landed in the fireplace back in London. Goosebumps rose to his skin at the remembrance of the way she gasped his name into his ear.

* * *

In November of fourth year, Jezebel cornered him after her Charms lesson, pulling on his elbow and drawing him away from the crowd of students in the hallway. He had been sitting with a crowd of Hufflepuffs, Hannah and Justin and Ernie, POTTER STINKS buttons pinned to their robes. Her lips were turned down and Zach blinked, having seen the expression before when they were arguing. They were always arguing lately.

The smile that had been on his mouth quivered before fizzling out.

She crossed her arms over her chest, deep lines in her forehead. “What happened last night? You ditched me again. This time I want the truth.”

Shit. Zach ran a hand through his hair, forgetting their planned night in the common room together when Verity sent the owl telling him to meet her in the Restricted Section of the library. ( She had sent the note, a spell that made the letter appear across his parchment paper. Each word burned, fire springing across the page.

Meet me outside the library. Come alone. -V.

He waited. Anxiously. Counting every second. 1:52 am.

She had crept up behind him, a ghostly hand on his shoulder and he fought the urge to jump at her touch, a pleasant surprised. There had been a smirk on her mouth, eyes dark. Mischievous.

“What are we doing?” He asked in a whisper and she grinned, eyes rounding. A childish look about her face. She grabbed his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together and pulling towards into the library, into the darkness. “It’s dark in there.”

“I’ve always liked a little darkness,” she told him, not even bothering to keep her voice to a whisper. He hadn’t noticed until then the bottle of whiskey in her other hand until then. “Don’t you?” )

He groaned then, annoyance licking at his insides at the pressing feeling Jezebel was going to start a fight with him. “I’m sorry. Something came up.”

Her lips turned down, wrinkles on her forehead. “Really? That’s funny, considering I have Charms class with Verity. And she just told me you were with her last night. Again.”

A groan started in his chest, spilling past his lips as Zach’s eyes closed. “Not this again,” he mumbled and Jezebel forced out a laugh, her arms crossed over her chest. He’s caught. Zach’s lips part, but Jezebel holds a hand up to stop him.

“Don’t.” She tells him before turning away.

Hannah, Ernie, and Justin are quiet for a moment before Justin let’s out a low, “Oooooooh.”

When the Yule Ball arrives and it’s time to ask around for dates, Zach has his mind set up to make things up to Jezebel.

“I’m going with Michael Settler.” she replies coldly.

Zach frowns. “Settler? Are you kidding?”

Jezebel gets up from her seat, clutching her books. “You wish.” As she leaves the Great Hall, Zach’s eyes fall upon Charlotte McDonnell.

* * *

“Well, I’m going,” Michael Corner says, folding his arms on top of the table. They are in the Great Hall, chattering over breakfast. Zach attempts to get some homework done before classes, messy scrawl of handwriting across the parchment paper, too busy from another one of Verity’s outings the night before.

“What? Why?”

“Because Ginny is going.” Red dusts over his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Zach shakes his head and sets his quill down. Ever since Umbridge has taken over, Harry Potter has gathered a secret meeting at The Hog’s Head.

“Amazing how much power a woman has over a man.” The corner of Zach’s lips twitch up in amusement and Michael scoffs before reaching over and pushing at the blond’s shoulder with a rough palm.

“Shove off. But seriously, you should come. I don’t want to be by myself.”

“You won’t be by yourself, you’ll have Ginny.”

Michael’s shoulders shrug. “Yeah, but y’know what I mean. S’not the same.”

Zach ends up goes anyway, Justin and Hannah muttering about it in the common room, pulling him into the conversation. He doesn’t want to disappoint them again, not when he’s already disappointed Jezebel, their romance fizzling out until it just wasn’t there anymore.

Dumbledore’s Army is what the formation calls itself, Zach’s name scrawled across the parchment, a pact. The classes in the Room of Requirement are informative, white magic that he’s yet to have learned. It’s Verity that decides it’s not worth it.

“You’re wasting your time,” she says, her mouth a hard line and she crosses her arms over her chest. “You’re with us.” It’s that very night she shows him the tattoo on her forearm that she earned. Zach’s eyes widen at the sight. “We are your family, Zach. Your true family.”

The D.A. is disbanded, Marietta Edgecomb scarred with the word SNEAK across her face in boils.

***

“Wake up!”

Someone is pushing at Zach’s shoulders when he regains consciousness, his cheek pressed against the cold ground. He groans as Darren helps him back to his feet, wobbling with his uneasy footing, head pulsing. “What happened?”

And then he remembers. Being attacked by Death Eaters. Were they even in Italy anymore?

“We were attacked,” Darren explains, looking around them in bewilderment. “Where are we?”

Zach surveys their surroundings. “It looks like a cave...” He remembers suddenly, speaking to his parent’s just after his encounter with Vannah. The caves they were in were familiar, though Zach hadn’t been in this part of Sweden for years. “I know where we are.” He brushes his cloak off, Darren trailing behind him as they walk further into the cave. “Lumos.” The tip of Zach’s wand illuminates the darkness as his other hand scales the damp walls of the caves.

“This looks...familiar,” Darren starts, his voice echoing.

Zach chuckles. “We used to come here a lot when we were kids. Before--” he trails off, wondering how he should put it. “Before they wiped your memory.”

They are quiet for a moment before Darren speaks again, “You really are my brother...aren’t you?” Zach doesn’t respond before Darren has another question, “What are you? How did we get here?”

“Magic,” Zach replies, looking back over his shoulder at his brother, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Darren looks at him warily, though there was no other explanation.

“And the people that were after us?”

“Death Eaters. Bad wizards, basically.”

“Why were they after us?”

Zach pauses. “I...did some bad things.” He stops then, turns to face Darren, shame written on his face. “They’re after you because they want to hurt me. Because you’re not like us. Because you’re--”

“Normal?”

The corners of Zach’s lips twitch. “Yes.”

Footsteps can be heard in the distance and the two boys turn at the sound, their eyes wild in fear, ready to flee. Zach grabs Darren’s hand, ready to apparate if need be, while his other hand clutched his wand tightly.

“Zacharias?”

His parents--their parents emerge from the darkness, tips of their wands lit. Tears swell in his mother’s eyes as she approaches them, their father lingering meters away, a frown set on his mouth though pain and grief shines behind his eyes. Their eyes land on Darren.

“Merlin,” she mutters, reaching toward Darren’s face, cupping his cheeks with both hands. Darren freezes at first, confusion clear on his face, but he melts into the touch and tears spill from their mother’s eyes. “My Darren...I’m so sorry.” She bursts into tears as she embraces him, Darren taken aback slightly, but there is something in his eyes that indicates a faint remembrance. He hesitates before reaching his arms around her and embracing her back, gaze locking with Zach’s.

His father touches Zach by the elbow and he turns to face the man. Maxwell’s face is set in a pained expression, his eyes misty, but he won’t dare to show any more emotion. “Thank you.”

Zach nods, fulfilling his duty to his biological family.

In front of him, a letter appears in fire, Zach catching it just as the flames disappear. he handwriting on the parchment is familiar. The image of a vinyl record gives the sender away. Vannah.

Now, it was time to do right by his found family.

“I have to go,” Zach tells them, tucking the letter inside his pocket.

“I want to help,” Darren offers, their mother still clutching them tight.

“No. There are people looking for you,” He manages a smile, “Plus, we just got you back. We can’t lose you now.”

Darren’s mouth his set hard, glancing between their parents, but he nods nonetheless. “Be safe.”

There was no guarantee, but Zach doesn’t disclose that. They must all already know by their grim faces. Zach nods before he apparates.

#[ fragments; ]#[ fragments three; ]#;; sequence #;; closed #;; para #the ending is kinda meh #but need to put it out there

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ihaveanimagine · 6 years

Note

Uf, us, ut, and fs find out that their s/o is a half monster human hybrid, created in a laboratory. The way they find out is by the numbers tattooed on thebinside of their left wrist, they always wear bracelets to cover it up, when asked about it, they reveal that they can grow wings from their back, and a long tail with fluff the color of their hair on the end. When asked why they didn’t tell, they say that they thought they were an unnatural abomination, and they hate it.

(I’m assuming you mean the skellie bros for this one, if not you can resend the ask and I’ll redo it)

Underfell!Sans (Red)

You both are messing around with squirt guns on no particular summer day when he notices the numbers your wrist after you both took a quick water break. At first, he doesn’t really wanna ask (he’s still got a few secrets of his own after all), but curiosity gets the better of him and he asks what it is.

When you tell him why you never take it off he’s…..a bit silent.Sure, he ain’t gonna judge ya by your looks or abilities, but at the same time, why would you hide anything so incredibly you from him?

Because, sweetheart, you’re his angel, and you have the wings to prove it! He’s not gonna make you show him your cool appendages or anything, he’ll wait to your ready.

oh, and babe? never ever think you are an abomination. you’re his angel, his S/O, his better half, his everything. He’d love ya even if you had giant horns sticking out random places on your head.

Underfell!Papyrus (Edge)

Edge sees your tattoo during one of his suave moments where he takes you in his arms and dances with you around the living room (WHAT??? DON’T JUDGE!! DANCING IS ANOTHER FORM OF ATTACKS THAT CAN BE USED TO LURE UNSUSPECTING TARGETS INTO THEIR DOOM WITHOUT THEM REALIZING IT!!!!)

He doesn’t notice it until the dance is over and he looks down at the right moment to see your bracelets falling down enough to reveal the numbers embedded into your skin.

He’d ask what it is and when you got the tattoo out of sheer curiosity and the fact you’ve never gotten any other tatts before. When you tell him what it meant and what you can do, Edge is split.

Half of him wants to respect your decision to keep this part of you as a secret, but the other half wants to have you sprout your wings and tail right now so you both can go train with these cool new abilities!!!

This boy has never been so suave before this moment, but he takes you in his arms, tilts your head up and presses your forehead together and tells you that no matter what you look like, he knows your SOUL, and that’s all he’ll ever need.

If you decide to walk around with the wings and tail and someone insults you for it, that person will be unalived on the spot.

Underswap!Sans (Blueberry)

You both were having a pillow fight (more like a pillow slaughter) when your bracelets fly off your arm and smack him in the face. Blue’s very calm and even joking about the whole thing and pauses the pillow war long enough to hand you back your jewelry and spots the tattoo on your wrist.

He, never really seeing a tattoo up close before, immediately becomes enamored by this new thing.

WOWIE!! IS THIS THING STUCK INSIDE YOUR SKIN!? IS IT LIKE A STICKER? WH- HEY, DATEMATE? WHY ARE YOU CRYING?

You’ve told him about your past as being raised in a lab, but never really went into much detail. When you explain what you can do, Blue becomes SUPER ECSTATIC!!! DATEMATE, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!? YOU CAN USE YOUR WINGS TO FLY TO THE TOP CUPBOARD SO WE DON’T HAVE TO KEEP ASKING BIG BRO TO HELP US REACH IT!!! WE CAN USE THE TAIL TO HELP HOLD EXTRA GROCERIES!!! OH! WAIT!! WE CAN USE YOUR WINGS TO DIVEBOMB ALPHYS DURING TRAINING SESSIONS, WE CAN-

Someone stop this boy before he hurts himself. You probably won’t be able to tell him about your insecurities with your wings and tail because he’ll be showering affection on them loooong before he sees them.

Did he mention how much he loved you? With or without wings and a tail.

Underswap!Papyrus (Honey)

Honey discovered the tattoo when you were both snoozing and relaxing on the couch. He hadn’t originally known of it until, in your sleep, you accidentally smacked him in the face with your wrist, causing him to wake up and grab it to pry it off.

He was going to head back to sleep (you were so warm and comfy) until he saw your bracelet slink down enough to reveal the black numbers embedded into your skin. At first he was just confused, and held your wrist, lightly brushing his thumb over the numbers.

You woke up real quick after that and nearly launched yourself off the couch. Honey had to calm you down by pulling you into his arms and muttering “it’s ok” and “sshhh” repeatedly before you were coherent enough to tell him about the numbers and your abilities.

Honey’s reaction is a bit……..anticlimactic. You expected him to be weirded out or grossed out by your past, but he kinda just…shrugs??? And then offers you food like you just told him what the weather was!!!

If you ask him why he’s so calm he’ll go deadpan and say “the internet has fried my brain”. When you press for a real answer he just shrugs and places a kiss to your head “hey, sugar, I don’t care if you were a space whale with a claws for hands, I know your SOUL, and that’s all that matters for me.”

Undertale Sans

Sans finding out about your tattoo was completely on accident. You had forgone your usual bracelet because it had been chaffing your wrist and had just hidden it with your sleeve. The deception was revealed when you and Sans were sitting at the table during an “at home” date when he asked you to pass the ketchup, and without thinking, you used your left arm to pass the bottle over, giving Sans a clear view of the tattoo.

“heh, whatever got you to get that tatt must’ve really gotten under your skin, huh babe? babe? are-are you okay? wait, why are you crying? t-talk to me sweetheart!”

Sans is gonna panic and think he said something wrong until you explain your story. Once done explaining, Sans scoots his chair right next to you and pulls you into a hug. “you shouldn’t feel like you’re an abomination, love.” He’d say, rocking you back and forth in his arms, “i love you, no matter what kind of past you have or what extra limbs you got.”

He’s not gonna view you any different, but eventually the curiosity will kill the skeleton and he’ll ask to see your wings and tail. If you comply, he’ll be in complete and utter awe of your wings and tail and ask if he can touch them. If you don’t feel like showing them he just shrugs and loops an arm around you and asks if you want to see his wings and tail.

(he’d been practicing making bone wings and tail so you wouldn’t feel alone if you chose to wear your wings and tail regularly)

Undertale Papyrus

You both were trying out a new recipe when some sauce had splashed all over your arm (I GUESS THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH PASSION WHEN STIRRING) and Papyrus had grabbed a towel to clean it off you. He saw your tattoo and immediately asked about it, thinking maybe it was like an ISBN number for your favorite food so you could always find it!!

Wait, why are you crying? Do you need Great Papyrus Hugs™?? He’ll give them to you anyway!!! Papyrus waits until you can speak before releasing you from his hug but keeps his hand intertwined with yours. You explain to him the meaning behind the tattoo and he just grabs your wrist and brushes his thumb over it while smiling sweetly at you.

DATEMATE, I’M SORRY YOU HAD TO ENDURE SUCH A JOYLESS CHILDHOOD, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ASHAMED OF YOUR UNIQUE ABILITIES!!! But when you tell him how you feel about the wings and tail, Papyrus pretty much makes it his life goal to destroy that opinion you have of yourself.

HEY DATEMATE, DID YOU KNOW THAT COLORFUL FEATHERS ARE A SIGN OF A GOOD MATE IN SOME BIRD SPECIES? DID YOU KNOW TAILS CAN BE USED FOR EXTRA BALANCING SENSES OR IMPROVED SWIMMING TECHNIQUES?? HEY DATEMATE, IT’S A REALLY NICE DAY OUTSIDE, WOULD BE NICE TO GO FOR A FLIGHT, RIGHT?

You’ll probably find yourself in tears from laughter instead of shame or fear whenever your wings and tail are brought up now.

Swapfell!Sans (Raspberry/Razz)

Razz found out when you were patching each other up after a fight. It wasn’t a difficult enemy with the two of you teaming up, but they still managed to get a few good licks in. Razz was checking your arms for any extra damages when he came across the inked numbers.

Immediately he demands to know what this is and its purpose because WHO DARES MARK HIS MATE!!!!?!?!?!?

You’ll probably have to calm him down first before you explain, but once you do he’ll immediately ask you to remove it. He doesn’t want anyone else’s mark on you besides his. When you explain the numbers can’t exactly be removed he demands you wear something of his on it instead.

He’ll probably make you a bone bracelet or something as you explain the extra limbs that come with you. When you express your……dislike for the wings and tail, Razz begins pointing out their usefulness and the advantage they can bring in a fight. NOT THAT HE’S ADMIRING THEM OR ANYTHING!!! HE TOTALLY DOESN’T THINK THAT YOU’D LOOK ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE IN WINGS AND A TAIL!! NOT AT ALL! STOP- WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING AND BLUSHING!! HE’S SERIOUS!!!!

Swapfell!Papyrus (Mutt)

Mutt found it when you were both wrestling for the TV and he had the remote dangling mockingly above your head (curse his unnatural height) when the bracelet slid down and revealed the black numbers. Curious, Mutt lowered the remote and grabbed your wrist and looked at it with a mix of curiosity and possessiveness.

He wasn’t too familiar with tattoos and immediately assumed someone had tried to claim you, despite you being his mate. You might have to reassure him you’re his with a quick kiss or something before you explain the meaning behind the tattoo.

Mutt’s reaction is a bit…..mixed. On one hand, he understands the need to keep that a secret, but STARS you had him worried that someone else had marked you!!! He doesn’t want you to be insecure or hateful of your wings and tail, on the contrary he wants you to be at least comfortable with them (y'all can work on each other’s self-esteem together).

But he also wants you to keep them a secret from everyone but his brother. No telling when an emergency flight is needed, right? Has he mentioned he thinks you’d look hot with wings and a tail???

#Tattoo #Human monster hybrid #underfell #undertale #underswap #swapfell #underfell sans #underfell papyrus #undertale sans #undertale papyrus #underswap sans #underswap papyrus #swapfell sans #swapfell papyrus

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girlscanhaveroboticvillainarcs · 6 years

Photo

So in the last few days I passed 100 followers and I can’t thank you guys enough! Apparently it was my rant about robotics that threw me over the edge–we’re all struggling, huh?

I’ve been trying to think of ways to celebrate and thank you guys, and was going to try and make Valentines, but I’m really busy right now so I decided to do a sleepover. Come talk to me, tell me about your day, tell me about your crush, tell me about anything! It’ll be fun!

It doesn’t really have an end, I’ll just slowly stop answering as quickly if ya’ll actually send in a flood. Feel free to ask me things, too!

To start us off, I’m tagging you all in one of those question things, except you only have to answer one and just send it to my inbox. If you wanna talk about something else, feel free! I just want to get to know y'all and thank you for joining me (especially those of you who’ve been here from the beginning!)

Here are the questions:

1. What is your middle name? 2. Do you have any nicknames that aren’t derived from your actual name? 2. Do you have any allergies? 4. What is the longest your hair has ever been? 5. How well can you write in cursive? 6. Name one item on your bucket list. 7. Have you ever been on a blind date? 8. What is the oldest piece of clothing you still wear and how old is it? 9. How often do you eat out at a fancy restaurant? 10. How grammatically correct are you when you text? 11. Can you drive stick? 12. What foreign country would you most like to visit and why? 13. Nutella or peanut butter? 14. At what age did you have your first kiss? 15. DC or Marvel? 16. Have you ever hosted a wild party? 17. Name/author of the last book you read cover to cover. Do you recommend it? 18. How many of your Facebook friends do you actually hang with? 19. Have you ever donated blood? 20. From 1-10, how much do you like decorating for holidays? 21. Coffee or tea? 22. What is your go-to Starbucks drink? 23. Last show you binge watched? 24. Dogs or cats? 25. Favorite animated Disney character? 26. Have you ever cooked a big family meal by yourself? 27. Favorite winter activity? 28. Have you ever butt dialed anyone? 29. Can you blow a bubble gum bubble? 30. How early in the year do you start celebrating Christmas? 31. What emoji best describes your life right now? 32. Are you fluent in more than one language? 33. What is the longest you’ve ever kept a New Year’s resolution? 34. Have you ever successfully been on a diet? Did you gain any of the weight back? 35. Are any of your grandparents still alive? 36. How good are you at communicating through facial expressions? 37. Have you ever gotten a commercial jingle stuck in your head? 38. Have you ever left a movie theater before the movie was over? 39. Do you consider rapping singing? 40. Does your home have a fireplace? 41. Favorite non-chocolate candy? 42. If you could have only one superpower, what would you want and why? 43. Have you ever locked your keys in your car? 44. Do you listen to any religious music? 45. Do you drink soda? If so, which one is your favorite? 46. What was your ACT score? 47. Rice or quinoa? 48. From 1-10, how good of a driver do you consider yourself? 49. Do you like horror movies? 50. How easily do you cry? 51. Do you have any tattoos? If so, of what and where? 52. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing? 53. Can you handle spicy foods? What is your spice limit? 54. Can you play any musical instruments? If so, which ones? 55. Are you more introverted or extroverted? 56. Last CD you bought? 57. Do you like roller coasters? 58. What day of the week is laundry day for you? 59. Have you ever played spin the bottle? 60. How long have you known your best friend? 61. Can you eat using chopsticks? 62. Do you have any stickers on your laptop computer? If so, what are they of? 63. How often do you say y'all? 64. Favorite flavor of ice cream? 65. How long was your longest relationship? Are you still with that person? 66. Star Trek or Star Wars? 67. How good are you at math? 68. Have you ever acted in a play or a musical? 69. How often do you read/pay attention to your horoscope? 70. What is the shortest your hair has ever been? 71. Have you ever broken any bones? 72. Do you like to go fishing? 73. Do you believe in evolution? 74. Favorite costume you wore for Hallowen? How old were you? 75. Real or fake Christmas trees? 76. How many pillows do you sleep with? 77. Do you live in an apartment or a house? 78. How many of your friends are of the opposite gender? 79. Have you ever had a near-death experience? 80. How long have you been at your current job? 81. What kind of car do you drive (year, brand, model, color)? 82. How flexible are you? 83. Have you ever ended a romantic relationship? 84. Phrase you say the most? 85. Have you ever kissed anyone of the same gender? If so, did you like it? 86. Do you own any homemade clothing? 87. Do you like fast food? 88. Have you ever given anyone CPR? 89. Have you ever learned to do anything from a a how-to video on YouTube? 90. Describe your sense of humor. 92. Favorite cereal? 93. Have you ever auditioned for a reality competition show? 94. Have you ever gotten a TV theme song stuck in your head? 95. Do you believe in ghosts? 96. Do you think there is life on other planets? 97. Have you ever given money to a street performer? 98. Your deepest fear? 99. Pancakes or waffles? 100. Are you still friends with anyone from high school? 101. From 1-10, how good of a dancer do you consider yourself? 102. How much of a patient person are you? 103. Do you know your IQ? 104. Do you eat meat at all? 105. Do you own any clothes from a garage sale or a thrift store? 106. Have you ever bought anything from a flea market? 107. Have you ever quit a job? 108. Have you ever gotten a song you dislike stuck in your head? 109. Any movie(s) you can watch over and over and over again and enjoy just as much each time? 110. Do you or have you ever worn glasses? 111. Have you ever skinny dipped? 112. Are your birth parents still together? 113. Have you ever been in the audience for the taping of a Tv show? 114. Favorite type of cookie? 115. Have you ever been broken up with? 116. How often do you smile when getting your picture taken? 117. Have you ever accidentally dialed 911? 118. Oldest memory? 119. Have you ever been the victim of a nasty prank? 120. How often do you snort when you laugh? 121. From 1-10, how good of a singer do you consider yourself? 122. Favorite Disney song? 123. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? 124. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type? 125. Have you ever had a fortune cookie fortune come true? 126. Name one thing you wish people would stop posting on social media. 127. Last musical artist you saw live? 128. Credit cards or cash? 129. Favorite fandom? 130. What is your astrological sign? 131. Have you ever been fired from a job? 132. Any hidden talents? 133. Can you surf? 134. What motivates you to do well in life? 135. Your worst physical feature? 136. From 1-10, how much are you like your father? 137. How lucky do you consider yourself? 138. Name a moment in your life when you were pleasently surprised. 139. Have you ever been summoned for jury duty? 140. What type of shoes do you wear the most? 141. Favorite summer activity? 142. Favorite song to sing in the shower? 143. Have you ever lived with a roommate you did not get along with? 144. Have you ever lived on a farm? 145. Have you ever kept a diary or a journal? 146. TV show or movie you quote/reference the most? 147. How often do you get mad at yourself? 148. Have you ever gotten any stitches? 149. Have you ever been hunting? 150. Favorite YouTube channel? 151. Have you ever had a pet besides a dog or a cat? 152. From 1-10, how well do you work with others? 153. Are you friends with any of your exes? 154. Apple or PC? 155. Do you collect anything? 156. Have you ever seen any Broadway plays or musicals? 157. Any missed opporunites you wish you had taken? 158. Have you ever uttered a spoken hashtag? 159. Do you have a pool at your house? 160. What is the longest you’ve gone without sleep? 161. Last thing that made you laugh? 162. Disney or Nickelodeon? 163. Name one celebrity you wish was still alive. 164. From 1-10, how much are you like your mother? 165. Your best physical feature? 166. Earbud or earmuff headphones? 167. Have you ever wished you were born the opposite gender? 168. Do you have any piercings anywhere besides your ear lobes? 169. How often do you wash your hair? 170. Showers or baths? 171. Have you ever been a bridesmaid or a groomsman? 172. Bottled or tap water? 173. What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid? 174. Any guilty pleasures you’re willing to discuss? 175. Favorite video game? 176. Have you ever gotten a New Year’s kiss exactly at midnight? 177. How many of the United States have you visited? 178. Have you ever given money to a homeless person? 179. Have you ever gotten a surgery? 180. Your least favorite food? 181. From 1-10, how competitive are you? 182. Do you like wearing hats? 183. How much of a jealous peron are you? 184. What was your SAT score? 185. Have you ever voted for a reality competition show? 186. Does anyone in your family currently serve in your country’s military? 187. Snowboarding or skiing? 188. What celebrity would you most want to play you in a movie about your life? 189. Have you ever been a Boy or Girl Scout? 190. Have you ever dyed your hair? 191. From 1-10, how good of a cook do you consider yourself? 192. You have just opened up a web browser. What is the first site you visit? 193. How many things can you do with your weaker hand? 194. Were you involved in any academic clubs in high school? 195. Have you ever played hooky from school? 196. Are you comfortable with watching rated R movies? 197. Do you root for any sports teams? 198. First thing you do when you wake up in the morning? 199. If you could take home any one animal from the zoo, which one would you choose? 200. Tell something about yourself most people don’t know.

#study #studyblr #100 followers #celebration #sleepover #ask me anything #answer anything #talk to me #girls studyrobotics

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jettremy · 6 years

Note

11 for cas!

( * seven minutes in heaven . )

➥ ( 11. ) needy, hungry kiss.

WHEN YOU LOSE EVERYTHING & all at once, it’s laborious & nearly impossible to escape a mindset so disturbing, jaundiced & detrimental. you morph into an ominous, dark thundercloud, spreading your electrifying negativity like a virus via air particles. those whom you haven’t pushed away yet, you’re poisoning with your blackened blood that’s being paradoxically pumped by the sheer N O T H I N G N E S S between your rotting lungs. you inject your venom into their pristine flesh with every graze of your lips & teeth against their body while hidden beneath thin sheets. all of your friends you’ve abandoned, determining that you’ve acquired a peculiar taste for the menacing touch of self-hatred, the strangling embrace of solitude & the deadly kiss of depression, a taste none of them would understand. you resort to numerous unfit lovers whom you throw away when they fail to make you feel ANYTHING, even if it’s repulsion. you’ve become erratically violent towards your own skin & bones, mutilating & scorching not only your own costume but the world around you as well —— seeing something consumed by flames is comforting & calming, makes you feel as if the destroyed object might sense a sliver of what your insides are going through constantly, or at least when they’re not numbed by the substances that will steal your life away prematurely. all of it jeremy has tasted on his tongue, felt on his skin. all it took was a single summer for him to lose two of the most substantial people of his life and for everything to turn to shit. so far, he’s been through three notable phases & all of them could be linked to a particular love interest of his.

CASSIUS HWANG —— the happiest version of jeremy. back then, everything was normal &, most importantly, easy & painless. he often dreams of the life he used to have & is desperate to experience it all over again.

RHEE TAEMIN —— the worst version of him, one that he wants to erase from his own memory. one that he’s ashamed of, one that he despises with every single cell of his lanky body. occasionally he’s tempted to fall back into his old ways, but, thankfully, he’s regained enough strength to pull himself up every single time & escape his old vices’ vicious claws.

KERRY HIMURA —— the newest version of the artistic male, one that’s yet to be fully explored because he’s stuck healing & finding himself all over again. it’s as if he’s walking on thin ice, deathly afraid of potentially relapsing to his second phase, when all he wants to do is be who he was while dating cas. he masks his true sensitivity with jokes, too busy teasing people to form DEEP, emotional connections with them.

EXTREMELY INFREQUENT ARE THE INSTANCES when the four of them find themselves in the same room, when all of jeremy’s emotions and old selves come crashing together, his various identities colliding and threatening to D E M O L I S H anything and anyone, guilty or innocent, that’s in their way with an overwhelming, disastrous force. he’s on edge whilst appearing to be comfortable on cassius’ sofa, his feelings confusing the living fuck out of him as his wild eyes try to take in everything that’s going on around him. the only indicator that he might be feeling UNEASY is his left leg which is mercilessly bouncing, though, if you know jeremy, you know that’s one of his many, many annoying habits that he can’t seem to shake off. on days when it’s just too hard to breathe, jeremy skips out on these cutesy get-togethers and exchanges them for a night of spray painting and liquor abuse. however, today’s too special for him to ghost on his friends, both in an unexpected, unannounced manner & with a fake excuse. a long time ago, this date used to be one of the most I M P O R T A N T ones to him —— CAS’ BIRTHDAY. days before it, jeremy would prepare gifts for his then boyfriend, little drawings and paintings, he’d rehears playing his favourite songs on his old, beat-up & sticker-covered acoustic guitar, even when he wasn’t the biggest fan of said tunes. he’d treat him like a king on that day, perhaps only a smidge more than he normally would on any other —— he always made sure that cassius was feeling good and was treated properly. whilst recalling some of their joint memories that he holds very dear, like piercing cas’ nose and inking up his skin ( a sign of TRUST in jeremy’s eyes ), or having him lovingly hold remy’s hand when a piercer stuck a needle through his privates, his often red-rimmed, black oak bark orbs are tirelessly following the birthday boy who’s dressed up so nicely. even jeremy found it in him to put on a proper outfit for this occasion —— a dark rose gold silk dress shirt embellished with onyx embroidery on its collar & the very ends of its sleeves ( dae did make him laugh previously by saying it looked like a delicious, mouth-watering raspberry adorn with the sun’s breathtaking golden glow ) paired with tight charcoal jeans that beautifully show that he never skips leg day at the gym. they carry his characteristic edge & rebellion, since they’re tastefully ripped. when he talked to the blond, they might have told him that the fashion major of the group would surely find him attractive in this outfit, which might have caused him to smile secretly. his stomach was tied in knots at the thought of kerry’s reaction & impression of his garments which he assumed she’d keep to herself. chimlin did surprise him with her obnoxious ‘ OMG LEE, YOU CLEANED UP NICELY ’ which earned her a scoff from jeremy who stated that he had a good fashion sense, but that he preferred his cozy, oversized sweatshirts. though, surely everyone would argue that tight-fitted shirts like this one, which show off his lean waist & broad shoulders, suit him far better.

THEY’RE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE pregaming before going out to celebrate cassius’ birthday, but the architect has done his fair share of prepregaming all alone in his bedroom before kerry, bless her heart, came to notify him that it was time for them to leave & go to the mansion next door. though he was, at first, buzzing around the little brunette, complimenting her new hairdo & expressing that he could never in his life decide whether it fits her better than blonde locks or not, once he stepped into his ex’s house, it all stopped abruptly. the two men from his past aggressively dragged his thoughts & feelings away from kerry, mostly because seeing them in the same room always reminds him of how defeating it feels to hurt or be hurt by another person. he realises how badly he’d burn her if she came too close, how she’d get swallowed by his endless darkness if she peeked into his heart —— HE’D DESTROY HER. she doesn’t deserve that. thankfully, he’s not in the limelight tonight, resulting into no one noticing how mopey he’s become whilst sitting on this damned overpriced sofa and gulping some fancy-ass, well-aged whiskey. he’s not sure exactly whose idea was it to engage in many different drinking games, but he sure does pick up on chimlin trying to persuade them to play seven nights in heaven —— sure that childish bitch would propose that, a lover of all things dramatic & secretive. he witnesses her hand the empty whiskey bottle to the peach-haired man, encouraging him to give it a spin. it unsettles the tattoo artist who immediately recalls his ex-boyfriend crawling out of a closet with a blossoming bruise on his neck, made by no other than han yeseul. he’s well aware of the fact that he doesn’t get to be J E A L O U S, mostly because that night he got marked up by kerry and, yes, he fucking liked it, but it still made him feel uncomfortable, tightened his chest significantly. he knows that during these past three years cas must have dated, loved, screwed who knows how many people —— it’s something inevitable —— but the thought of him loving someone else shatters his whole being, mostly because he hasn’t been able to have true feelings for anyone ever since they parted ways. perhaps because he didn’t get proper closure.

HE’S ITCHING FOR A CIGARETTE, a glorious death stick that would ease his nerves while the bottle’s spinning on the floor, making him queasy as he thinks about all the possible outcomes of this situation. he knows that cas doesn’t mind that he smokes, but this happens to be junhyuk’s house as well & he has no fucking clue how the writer feels about having one lit in his home. this is why jeremy ends up anxiously drumming his tattooed, slender fingers on his knees instead. he could deal with cas going into that stupid closet with dae, jaewon, jaesung, dylan and kerry. everyone else ? it’s a strong no from him, considering that yeseul, rin and chim could do who the fuck knows what with him, jun is obviously into him, and … having taemin & cas in a small closet together ? a war would happen and there’d be only ONE survivor ——- yes, he’s the one to blame for that as well. his lids shield his eyes from the bottle, protecting them from what’s about to happen & his head falls back —— he’s not even tipsy at this point which SHOULDN’T come as a surprise to anyone since he’s quite experienced in this domain, his body used to all sorts of opiates that it’s begun to welcome them as if they’re a normal part of his system. having tuned everyone out for a mere second as he braces himself for the worst, he suddenly senses a shove to his ribs —— he’s being elbowed by none other than daehyun for a reason still unknown to the older male. as soon as his chestnuts are revealed, they’re faced with the opening of the glass bottle, which is pointing at him, & numerous sets of eyes boring into him —— F U C K. act cool. act fucking cool. this ? this is the last thing he thought would happen. jeremy forces out an exasperated sigh and theatrically reacts as if he’s done with their childish bullshit when in reality his heart’s shaking in terror in its cavity, like a leaf repeatedly hit with light wind. he pushes himself up & off the elegant piece of furniture casually, his body moving unhurriedly, and refuses to allow anyone to see how solicitous he is about what’s in his and cassius’ near future.

JEREMY’S MASK FALLS AS SOON AS the door closes behind him & he’s all alone with his former lover. his beaming smile lights up the darkness of the tight place they’ve been shoved in, his whole expression indicating that he’s nothing but amused & sated. he reminds himself not to lean back & hit the wood in order to prevent the others from being suspicious of what they’re doing. ❛ oh me, oh my … all alone with the birthday boy ? me ? how did i get so lucky ? ❜ it occurs to him that he has no idea what cas is feeling towards him at this point, or if he has any feelings left for him after all this time. hell, he has no clue what the fuck his own mutilated, bleeding heart wants. still, he takes a courageous step forward, carefully presses the older against the closet wall and snakes his arms around his neck. it feels delightful doing it to someone else for once. although his go to type are petite girls & boys alike ( exhibit a, KERRY —– exhibit b, TAEMIN ), he’s always loved his and cassius’ height difference, basked in feeling small for the first time in his life in the taller man’s arms, adored how he could feel like a protectee rather than a protector, even though cas is much softer & sweeter than jeremy is. it’s good not to get neck & back cramps from leaning down so much, even more amazing having to look up in order to see his handsome features. ❛ this must be the best present you’ve gotten thus far, but the night is full of surprises, cassie. ❜ a whisper taunts cas’ earlobe, along with a set of incisors that graze it dangerously. his desire leads him to the jawline he’s explored many, many times ( much like every other spot of the radio host’s body ), his naturally pouty lips planting kisses on their path to jeremy’s final goal. a pair of nostalgic, desperate hands caresses cas’ sides and then goes all the way down to POSSESSIVELY cup the curve of his back, squeezing hard enough to make their hips clash together, and perhaps earn a gasp. ❛ do you still have that little tattoo i gave you down there ? ❜ of course it couldn’t have disappeared on its own, like cas did from jeremy’s life, and the younger truly doubts cas would go through all that pain just to get it removed, but he needs to ask, his question making his smirking lips brush against the other’s —— he doesn’t cave in just yet, though, he waits for the answer to his teasing. in a pointless attempt to bring his F R I E N D closer, he rests one of his hand on the back of the taller’s neck, and with a hard grip on his thigh, brings his leg up and around his own waist, pressing cas into the wall. immediately after connecting their mouths for the first time after three years, jeremy has to pull back to catch a breath because the overwhelming, much needed contact sucked all the air out of him with its intensity. like a starved animal, he eyes the other’s parted, glossy lips ravenously, along with his somewhat hooded soul windows, & his irresistible expression pushes jeremy into a lip-lock that promises to provoke a spontaneous combustion. his blood vessels are boiling, body shaking as his tongue licks between cas’ precious pillowy softness, tugging on his bottom pinkness afterwards. using his exceptional upper body strength, he picks cas up for a few seconds, just enough for him to crouch and sit on the floor with cas on his lap because ... why exactly would he be standing if he can be comfortable on the ground while sharing needy kisses with the birthday boy ? jeremy slowly dials down on the desperateness, savouring the moment while he can. he pulls away, his hands going up to the other’s face. he brushes his knuckles against his cheek which leads him to gently cradling both of them and tracing cas’ adorable dimple with his thumb. ❛ happy birthday, cas. ❜ he whispers softly, pressing their lips together in a fond, lingering peck. his eyes are shut, his brain going back to the texts they exchanged the other day, when cas asked him whether he was still in love with him. this, this very moment is when jeremy’s insides start PAINING HIM UNBEARABLY.

#i'm sorry #this boy is a mess #and i love the fact that he overthinks yet comes off as a thoughtless idiot ??#( cas. )#riotvcn #( meme: done. )

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