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mj-ackerman · 1 year

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SxF Light Novel: Family Portrait Translation Mission 4: Portrait of the Forger Family!? (Part 3)

<<PART 2. DO NOT REPOST

“Thank you so much for staying with me today for so long. Thanks to all of you, I feel like I’ve embarked on a new path.”

“...... It's nothing, I’m so sorry for all the mess we have caused.”

Felix bowed his head deeply with a black garbage bag in his hand, and Loid responded with a smile so as not to show the tiredness in his face.

The number of people in the park has decreased considerably, and the western sky was completely tinted with madder red. Loid, who was swept by these and other such gestures, was exhausted. Yor herself looked tired, as if she were an empty shell of a person. Anya fell asleep while the picture was being painted, and she is still sleeping comfortably in Loid’s arms. The only one who was in good spirits was Bond.

When Loid apologized for not being able to go as far as coloring the painting, which was almost solely Yor’s fault rather than them entirely, Felix said,

“No, I already have all of your colors in my mind. I’m going home now. I’ll finish the painting at home.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that then.”

Loid replied vaguely, agreeing with Felix's words.

It was a bit disappointing as he thought that the perfectionist artist might have been disappointed with the unfinished painting and will put it in storage.

They parted ways with Felix, who asked them to come back to this place in a week to show them the finished painting, and with that, they headed home.

Loid has lost the energy to go to the supermarket and cook a meal. However, he was also not in the mood to go eat out.

“I’m kind of tired, is it okay to have the dinner delivered?”

“Eh…Oh, yes of course.”

Yor, who was walking next to him with a heavy heart, answered half-heartedly. Loid did his best to lift his wife’s spirit with his cheerful voice as he said,

“How about we have some pizza? I heard from my co-worker that there is a delicious restaurant that opened recently.”

“Eh? Oh, yes. I think it’s good. I was just thinking of eating some…..steak too.”

Hm? What does she mean by that? Does she mean a pizza with steak on it?

He wondered if the new restaurant would have any, but when he asked,

“When you’re tired, meat is the best after all, right?”

The answer that came back was,

“That’s right…when you’re tired sweet food is the best.”

“Erm..shall we get some cake after dinner on our way home?”

“Yes. Anya already fell asleep too, so I think it’s best if we take a bus home.”

“..........”

Their awkward conversation couldn’t match each other.

Above all, Loid was concerned about her eyes that looked like a dead fish.

I guess she really didn’t want her face to be painted huh?

If that was the reason for all those eccentricities, she must be feeling a deep sense of frustration now that it all ended in vain.

Loid stole a glance at Yor, who was walking next to him, and he told his depressed wife in his mind,

“It’s alright, Yor.”

I can’t say this to you out loud, but our painting will never be displayed in an art museum.

This Twilight will never let that happen.

Loid carried Anya in his one hand and walked away with Bond on the lead as he was mentally devising the best course of action. The easiest way to do it at this point would be to pretend to like the finished painting and purchase it at the organization’s expense a week later, but Loid can’t even imagine how much that would cost. More than anything, if Loid, who is nothing more than a mere psychiatrist, were to pay such a large sum of money out of his own pocket, it would be viewed as suspicious.

If that’s the case, there is only one way left, although it'll be a little dangerous.

He breaks into Felix’s house, pretends to be a burglar and steals the finished painting.

Sure enough, that’ll be the most realistic plan. Once that’s decided, all that’s left is to put it into action…..

Good grief, how did this come to this?

Loid never thought that coming to the park with his family would put him in a situation where his life as a spy would be threatened.

Was today a bad day or something?

Lately, the talented spy, who has been unable to do things without his stomach medicine, let out a soft sigh.

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

“......so, all of the sudden you just made a weird request to check out Felix Curtis’ house huh.”

Franky, a familiar informant at the store front, snorted as if he wasn’t convinced.

“You really do get yourself involved in such weird things a lot.”

“That’s right. What a disaster.”

“I also thought it was another famous painter doing activist work behind the scenes.”

“It would be easier if it was like that.”

Loid chuckled shallowly.

If Felix was a terrorist who wanted to break off diplomatic relations between East and West, and for that purpose he approached “Twilight”, a spy from the West, there would be no other way to deal with the situation. However, Felix was a good painter to the core. And yes, because he was a good person, the situation had come to this.

“Here you go. This is the address you asked for.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Franky gave him a piece of paper with the address of an apartment near the park.

“What about the security system?”

“I’ll be honest with you, his house is full of holes. It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder how someone who is supposed to be super rich could be living in such a rundown apartment.”

Apparently, it was true that most of the profits for his paintings were spent in training future painters.

Loid casually puts the paper into his pocket.

Putting the information fee on the stand as if it were a cigarette free, Loid was about to walk away saying, “See you later then,” but Franky held him back.

“Well, wait.”

“What? Unlike you, I’m a busy person, you know.”

“Stop being so cold. I did a bit of research on him, and I don’t think it’s going to be what you think it’s going to be, maybe?”

As he said that, he flickered another piece of paper.

“What’s this about?”

Frowning, Loid reached for the paper, and Franky lifted it in a heap.

“This will have a separate charge from earlier.”

“Don’t play dirty with me.”

Saying that, Loid quickly took the four folded pieces of paper from Franky’s hand.

“Ah! That’s unfair!!”

“I’ll decide if what I see here is worth paying extra.”

“Who’s playing dirty now?”

Ignoring Franky’s indignation, he looked over the paper. And as he lightly glanced with both eyes,

.......so that’s what it was about?

Loid almost burst into laughter.

“What? That’s disgusting.”

“Nothing. It’s just that you’re right.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah. I should have realized that sooner.”

Loid smiled with a huff and placed an additional fee on the stand. He finally understood why he smelled an oil paint on the head of the painter he met that day in the park.

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A week later, Felix, who was waiting for them at the same spot in the park, showed them a portrait of their family, painted with an incredibly original and bold touch. It was far from being as elaborate as a photograph, depending on how you look at it, it looked like a child’s doodle.

“Huh? Is that a potato?”

“No, that is Bond.”

“This one is probably a shrimp.”

“I’m sorry…..that’s actually Loid.”

The good-natured painter shyly informed them that, having worked with watercolors all his life, he was not yet used to working with oil paints. However, he looked very happy and refreshed.

“Thanks to all of you, I was able to enjoy painting from the bottom of my heart. I’m really grateful to all of you.”

Once again, Loid gazes at the painting he had already seen when he broke into Felix’s house. This is the first abstract painting by the artist who had taken the world by storm with his realistic paintings, and was painted at the end of a slump. No one knows how much it will be worth, or whether it will go unappreciated. But at least with this painting, even if it were to be displayed in an art museum, he was certain that it would not be a hindrance for the mission.

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

“For some reason, I’m feeling kind of hungry. I’ll make dinner tonight, Loid!”

“Huh!? Oh….okay then, go ahead…”

Loid, bewildered, turned his back on Yor, who made a declaration with a smile.

“Well then, let's stop by at the supermarket on our way home.”

Saying so, Yor headed towards the exit of the park with bouncy steps. Her mood had clearly improved after seeing Felix’s painting. Loid was relieved to see a cheerful expression on her face for the first time in a while, since for the past week, she had been so dark and gloomy.

“If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me.”

Contrary to Yor’s smiling face, Anya, who was clearly not very excited, took the precaution of saying,

“.....I’m not really hungry.”

Loid quickly soothed her as he whispered,

“I’ll buy you whatever sweets you like later.”

It was all for the sake of a harmonious family. All for the sake of the mission.

“You know that Yor’s cooking skills are getting better day by day, right? It’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be the food taster then, Papa.”

“I think I’d prefer to have beef…or maybe, shall we buy a whole duck? Some salted pork too….”

She was thinking about tonight’s menu while humming. At that, Loid chuckled.

Even if Felix’s style hadn’t changed so drastically, I would have stolen it and that would have been the end of it.

Well, there was no way that Yor would know about that, and he really felt sorry for her for the past week.

Maybe I should ask her out on a date again? No, but I don’t want her to kick me in the jaw again, so maybe we’ll just go out to eat something delicious together as a family.

While thinking about such things, he let out a sigh of relief, at any rate, this series of turmoil had been successfully resolved safely.

“Nevertheless, that painting was really indescribable…”

Aside from the potato-like Bond, Loid, for example, was even mistaken for shrimp by Anya. But on the other hand, he also thought that there was something in that painting that was not there when Felix was painting those beautiful photograph-like paintings. However, even Loid doesn’t know what it was.

At that, Anya suddenly announced,

“I like that painting.”

With a childlike undeservedness, she added,

“It looked terrible, but I like the warmness of it.”

“..........”

And all of the sudden, Loid felt like she understood something that he didn’t understand. A precious something that was not found in the elaborate, photographic-like paintings that made a full use of wonderful skills. Felix probably had a smile on his face because he was able to find it.

As Loid recalled the painter’s happy smile in his mind, he heard Yor said, “Hehehe, it really was a wonderful painting,” agreeing with Anya.

“It makes me very happy to think that we were so happy in his eyes….”

She smiled shyly as she said that, and Loid smiled at her and said,

“..... You're right.”

There was really nothing more to it. He only agreed to it for the sake of this temporary family’s peace. It was Loid Forger, the entity created for this mission, who agreed to the word’s of his family, not Twilight himself. However, that feeling was delivered with a calmness that surprised even himself. Just like the blue sky today….

“I think it was a very good painting, too.”

Such words flowed naturally, and Bond barked a “Borf!” as if to agree.

Anya laughed as she said,

“Bond said he likes it too.”

Seeing her daughter like that, Yor smiled softly.

Under the blue sky, there was a smile on Loid’s cheeks that wasn’t just a fake smile.

#spy x family #spy x family light novel: family portrait #loid forger #anya forger #yor forger #bond forger #forger family #twiyor #felix curtis #please do not repost

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crushedsweets · 8 months

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tumblr user crushedsweets i am here to ask you another question about toby nat and nina. if nina was able to convince them into having a sleepover, how do you think it would go. what games would they play? what snacks would they make? who would inevitably wind up passing out on the floor with the other two comfortable on the bed? who would fall asleep first? i love them so much and i love your hcs for them

tumblr user anon i am here to cry because this is the perfect ask.... ok im starting now. this is mostly nina-centric cuz toby and nat are just following along. much more playful type headcanons

ok. ok.

toby would totally let nina and nat stay the night at his cabin if the other proxies were gone, he wouldn't need much convincing cuz nat already stays over a lot and ninas ... sweet enough. but in that case he wouldn't let them do any sleepover type stuff bc 'its my house im not watching twilight' (twilight reminds him of lyra). it wouldnt really be a fun sleepover or anything, but they'd bake cookies or something with nina for sure. prob got high/drunk too

now for more cutesy less edgy stuff...... i will be babygirlifying them all for these hcs... sorry not sorry. not canon to creeped(MAYBE).

BUT she'd definitely have to do more coaxing to get toby to come to her apartment. she lives in the city and that's not really his thing, but nat works over there so it's whatever to her.

assuming jeff is gone (only way tobys coming over), nina would be so cute about it. she'd have a blow up mattress set up in the living room, brought several bags of different candies and chips, put up random fairy lights, lit some candles so it smells sweet. her apartment is usually a little messy cuz she's a busy girl but for them . . she cleaned.

i could see nina being a really touchy person, constantly hooking arms with people and hugging them and playing with peoples fingers and stuff. it would take toby and nat forever to get used to it bc its admittedly kinda weird and invades personal space but she's so genuine with it and sweet and like :D theyre like OKAY FINE . so they'd just be walking around doing whatever and nina would pop up grabbing them like 'what r u doing in my kitchen :) the movies still playing :) youre missing the climax :) theres food out there :) youre making me mad :)'. or sitting watching a movie n she dozes off on their shoulder. etc.

nina would be swapping movies between things like 'to all the boys ive ever loved' to like... saw. oddly enough nat and toby are more likely to sit still and watch the romcoms just cuz they get invested in the plot ... LMFAO

i cant see nina actually getting them to play any sleepover games, BUT she'd hook up a switch. she'd try to play smth like overcooked with them but they rage too fucking hard and she has to swap to like. a mario game.

ok maybe she could get them to play like 2 rounds of truth or dare or never have i ever.

nat would like sour and hard candy... toby would like chocolate candy and baked stuff.... so nina would get the candy together and make them all bake some brownies.

she'd also make them make normal sugar cookies and try to decorate them but toby would make the ugliest fucking cookie possible and give up and let the girls decorate.

realistically nat and nina would end up on the air mattress and toby on the couch, BUT if they were stuck with just a bed, toby would take the floor. he'd offer cuz he's not about to share a bed with either of them.. but he'd prob wake up with nina on the floor too cuz nat KICKS in her sleep. nina curls up like a cat

nina falls asleep first. toby falls asleep last.

nina would try to convince them to let her do their makeup but toby would get irritated that she'd even ask. .

she'd defintely make them do skincare with her though .. nina uses snail mucin and the other two think she's weird.

the next morning ninas awake first and making pancakes. she walks away to go to the bathroom and gets distracted by washing her face and doing her hair and stuff and burns them so bad it wakes toby up... he comes in and turns off the stove and just waits for her to come back to call her dumb.

nat wakes up last and is so disorientated for like 30 mins after waking up... she just eats the food like a zombie until nina makes her wash her face again and shes up properly.

she'd try to get them to stay as long as possible, but theyre exhausted and as sweet as nina is, she's a bit much . . so they go home LOL. but nina would send them the cutest little "thank u for coming over i had fun i love u guys :3" text the next day and theyll feel kinda bad for leaving.

nina is just such a genuinely nice girl .... she just wants to live the teenage dream well into her 20s because she was um. Um. she behaved in a way. that um. highschool was not the most pleasant. and threw many of her teen years away for Um. a man. of sorts.

#hcs #ticci toby #nina the killer #clockwork creepypasta #natalie ouellette #creepypasta headcanon

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skyward-floored · 1 year

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i don't know if you're willing to take even more requests, so if not, please feel free to ignore this ask ^^ but if you want to, maybe wild's family dealing with the aftermath of him becoming an amputee just a few days ago (totk whump)? thanks!! 💜

I saw “whump” and blacked out and wrote this lol. It’s been too long since I purposefully gave Wild a hard time. Going back to my roots XD

This was supposed to be more focused on his entire family (...and his arm), but I half wrote out a scene and it just didn’t work so only a few of them are there, sorry 😓 I hope you enjoy anyways though! I had fun writing it hehehe.

...And this oneshot is especially ambiguously canon, since we don’t know if Wild truly loses his arm or it just gets it messed up or what in totk. Speculation yay!

(And in case anyone was worried, there are no totk spoilers present in this fic :)

———

Twilight sat at his brother’s bedside in silence, watching his chest go steadily up and down.

The doctors had done everything they could (as had Hyrule) and now all there was to do was wait for Wild to wake up— truly wake up, not just break into the feverish mumbling that had so far marked every time his eyes had opened.

Twilight sighed, and pressed his wrists to his eyes. It was late, ridiculously late, and almost all the rest of his family had gone home to sleep (despite much bargaining and pleading on his younger brothers’ parts), except for himself and his parents.

And Time and Malon had stepped out to talk privately with each other.

Which meant Twilight was left alone with Wild, watching him lie pale and still in his bed, trying not to think about the fact that his brother was missing an arm.

Wild’s face twitched in his sleep, and Twilight ran a hand over his head, brushing a few loose strands of hair from his little brother’s face. He’d known Wild was on a dangerous mission, but he’d been rather busy with his own work, and while he always worried about his family, he knew that Wild could handle himself.

He’d been concerned when it had been almost a week since he’d had any contact with his brother, but he’d kept his worries at bay, rationalizing that the mission was merely taking its time, and Wild would soon be back with a crazy story and a grin to match.

And then he’d gotten the call that his brother had been found half-dead and missing an arm.

Twilight swallowed and looked down at Wild’s bandaged arm, feeling sick.

The few days since Wild had been found had been a blur of terror and waiting and Hyrule pushing himself until he dropped, worries and questions of “what had happened” overcome by the fear that they would never know because Wild might not make it.

They were out of the worst of the danger now, but his brother was still so still, so lifeless. And he looked small where he was laying in the bed, much smaller than any teenager had any right to, and Twilight almost drew blood as he bit his lip.

Wild hadn’t been able to tell anyone where he was going when he left, only shrugging and saying it was “highly confidential”. He’d admitted to Twilight that it had to do with Flora, but that was the only thing any of them knew about his mission.

Whatever it had been though, it was the reason Wild had gotten an extremely private hospital room the moment Time had found him and brought him here, and Twilight couldn’t be more thankful for the privacy.

The door to the room opened, and Twilight watched his parents come in, both with wearied expressions, though Time was hiding his better.

“Any change?” Time asked as he sat down in a chair at Wild’s bedside, and Twilight shrugged.

“Resting a little easier. But... still not great. His arm seems like it’s bothering him,” he admitted quietly. “He woke up a little earlier, but didn’t say anything. He’s been lying still ever since.”

Malon put an arm around Twilight as she sat down next to him, and he leaned into the small hug his mother gave him, no words needed.

They were silent for a minute, but then Wild suddenly twitched in his sleep, a mumble escaping his lips, and Twilight and his parents both leaned forward hopefully.

“Wild?”

Wild shifted, and Twilight held his breath as his brother’s eyelids fluttered. Then Wild opened his eyes, the lids heavy with exhaustion, and Twilight smiled, and heard his parents exhale in relief. They hadn’t seen Wild awake barely at all.

Twilight carefully leaned over Wild and took his hand, and his brother’s eyes opened a little more, looking more lucid than Twilight had seen so far.

“Hey Link,” he said softly, and his brother’s gaze moved to his face. “How are you doing cub?”

Wild breathed out slowly, and closed his eyes for a minute before reopening them, a bit wider this time. He looked around the room, taking in Malon and Time and Twilight as well, and the slightest hint of a smile pulled at his lips.

“Tired,” he admitted in a raspy voice, and a strained chuckle went up from Time. “Really tired. And...”

He shifted a little, and glanced down at his arm, then fell still as he stared at it.

“...oh. Right,” he whispered.

He seemed to pale a bit as Twilight looked at him, and experimentally moved his arm just a little, face lighting up with a wince.

Twilight awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Does it hurt much Wild?” he asked in a gentle voice, but Wild just kept staring at his arm and didn’t reply for several long minutes.

“It feels like its still there,” he said in a low whisper. He didn’t elaborate.

The room fell still for a moment, but Malon didn’t let it last, coming forward and hugging Wild for a long time. Wild returned it as best as he could, and Malon kissed his head before she pulled back and gave him a steady look.

“Are you okay hon?” she asked in a tone that suggested she wouldn’t settle for anything less than the truth. “How much do you remember?”

Wild hesitated, and licked his dry lips, looking uncertain on what exactly to say. He was silent for a long time, eyes on his lap, and Twilight exchanged looks with his father.

“Link?” Time asked softly, and Wild’s face crumpled, his eyes squeezed shut. He breathed in shakily, and Twilight took his hand again, giving it a comforting squeeze while he got ahold of himself.

“I failed,” Wild finally whispered.

What was left of Wild’s arm twitched, and Twilight continued to hold his remaining hand, gently running his thumb along the back.

“I let her fall Twi,” Wild whispered, voice distraught. “I let her fall, I was so close to grabbing her, I...”

He swallowed, and looked at his arm, eyes staring blankly at the stump.

“I failed her.”

Twilight felt something in his stomach churn at the wilt in Wild’s voice, grief sharp in his eyes. He didn’t know what had happened, but for his little brother to come back so wounded and with such utter defeat in his voice...

...what had happened?

“Wild, you did your best,” Time said sternly, putting his hand on Wild’s chin and gently tilting it so that his son was looking at him. “I know you did. I don’t know what happened, but I know for a fact you did all that you could.”

“I was too slow,” Wild croaked, and Twilight could see his eyes starting to water, “I was too slow and she’s gone.”

He squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to keep the tears at bay, and Twilight sat on the bed next to him and pulled his brother into his arms. Twilight felt him swallow, and squeezed him even tighter, Malon leaning forward and running a hand through his hair.

Twilight didn’t have to ask who “she” was.

He had a feeling he already knew.

“Twi, she’s gone,” Wild choked into Twilight’s shoulder, and his brother began to cry, silent sobs that made his whole body shudder.

“It’s not your fault,” Twilight whispered as he rubbed his back, but Wild only pressed his face into his shirt, grief overwhelming his exhausted body and mind.

All his family could do was hold him.

#incredibles au #lu Wild #lu twilight #lu Malon #lu time #linked universe fanfic #writing from the floor #answers from the floor #anon #hurt/comfort #floras fine btw but Wild doesn’t know that~#it would be interesting to revisit this after I’ve played totk #tweak it so it fits better with the game #but that’s a day loooooong away so for now this is fine :)#incredibles au fic

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yumeka-sxf · 1 year

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A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 11

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

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When the "doggy crisis" is finally resolved and the Forgers are reunited, Twilight rightfully chews Anya out for running off by herself. But he then softens and asks if she's hurt, and when she tells him that Bond protected her, he makes sure to give the dog a sincere thank you for saving his daughter. As I said before, anyone who shows respect to animals gets character points to me, especially someone like Twilight whose line of work makes him distrustful of everyone and everything. It's not like he had any reason to gain Bond's favor at that moment – he genuinely felt gratitude for the dog and wanted to express it.

And of course, in classic Spy x Family fashion, Twilight's fib about being stuck in the bathroom the whole time causes the overly self-conscious Yor to assume it's from the awful breakfast she made (something that will have repercussions later).

When they go on their first outing with Bond at the park, Twilight muses to himself about life post-Operation Strix, something he hadn't done since he first adopted Anya. Compared to back then when he flatly stated that he'll send Anya back to the orphanage when it's all over, this time he says that the agency will do what they can for Anya and Yor even though he won't see them again.

It's obvious that Yor is attached to Anya, so he knows she would have no reason to abandon her even if he left the family. The terrorist crisis that had just occurred made him remember that his ultimate goal of ending the cold war is top priority. He reinforces his utilitarian view that this is what's most important for everyone's future even if it means sacrificing some happiness along the way…like Anya's, Yor's, and, though he won't admit it, his own.

Twilight does seem to feel regret about this as he recalls that he just told Anya that she has a responsibility to care for the newly adopted Bond for the rest of his life, yet he won't be doing the same for the child he adopted.

As for why he says he would never be able to see Anya and Yor again, in his mind, maintaining a relationship that's unnecessary for his work would just be a hindrance. I also think that he wouldn't want to put them in danger by having any association with him – they had just gotten dragged into the terrorist mission he was trying to take care of after all. I imagine he plans to do something like fake the death/disappearance of Loid Forger, or maybe say/do things to Anya and Yor that would make them hate him so he could easily break ties with them (hopefully that's not the case as that would be too heartbreaking! Of course, he wouldn't be able to fool Anya…but I digress). Either scenario would result in him not being able to see them again, at least not as the Loid Forger they've come to know.

Twilight reminds himself of this again soon after when he tries to help Franky woo the girl he has a crush on (which ends in failure). When they're drinking together at the bar, he tells Franky that people like them can't afford to have feelings for others as it would only end badly.

At this point in the series, we know that Twilight has at least some feelings for Yor and Anya (which will be pointed out by Nightfall soon) so perhaps he's saying this also as a reprimand to himself as well as a reminder to Franky? But Franky tends to be a "pot calling the kettle black," since he's the one who told Twilight back when they were pretending to be SSS agents to keep his emotions out of his daily life, yet Franky tries to pursue relationships with women left and right, without any emotional restraint (and will continue to do so even after he and Twilight have this conversation). And then there's Nightfall who, despite her constant poker face, does nothing but imagine lovey-dovey scenarios with herself and Twilight. Seems that, as much as spy people preach about keeping emotions out of the picture, emotions seep through even harder than normal. But while Franky and Nightfall don't lie to themselves about these feelings, Twilight does…will that make it all the more torturous for him when he can lie no longer?

Continue to Part 12 ->

<- Return to Part 10

#twiyor #spyxfamily #spy x family #sxf #spy family #loid forger #yor forger #loid x yor #loidyor #sxf meta #sxf analysis

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lucas-deziderio · 3 months

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Dezi reads Pact: Signature 8.7

Let me tell you something about Maggie Holt. This poor girl's backstory is that she is the survivor of a specially mean episode of The Twilight Zone. And then things got A Lot Worse. But, you know, it isn't all bad. She has some victories to her name. Two loving fathers, a handful of goblins on her back pocket, the friendship of an up-and-coming diabolist...

Now the Girl with the Checkered Scarf is a whole other story! If she were an RPG character I could easily show you her inventory and you would see that the only things she has for herself now are one (1) scarf, one (1) goblin, one (1) gender and a dream. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but my girl do is struggling as reality is trying to shake her off itself.

This chapter starts with a very interesting conversation with Johannes, the sorcerer famous for having a demesne big enough to fit your mom in it. Up until now he had come off as some kind of secondary or maybe even primary antagonist that Blake would have to face against at some point, but now I'm not so sure. His perspective does make sense and the fact that he's being so kind to the underdog that is our current protagonist does make him more endearing.

The first thing I want to discuss is the idea of demesnes; places a practitioner has claimed for themselves and now have full control over, being able to draw energy from it to power their practice. One of the big three milestones a person in this world must achieve to be considered a grown-up wizard.

To me, the process of claiming a demesne seems to equate the process of forming a nation or kingdom. Through the ritual, a practitioner takes over an area that was until then public and makes it their own. But to do that they need the approval of all Others, spirits and even practitioners in the surrounding region. Or, at least, to overpower them through the challenges that are part of the ritual. If successful, what was once free range becomes infused by the identity of its new ruler. We have seen before practitioners both bargaining for and coercing Others into lending them power, but this is different. This ritual is both way broader in scope and way narrower in what it rewards: a geographical, almost political, type of power.

The main rule of this magic system is so maintained: all power comes with a price. In this case, the practitioner scrapes off bits of the liberty of an entire group to make themselves the sovereign monarch of their own kingdom; a social contract born out of the rules of magic itself. As time goes on, Laird Behaim's metaphor about countries becomes poignant once again.

Still, the mystery of how Johannes was able to conquer such a large territory remains as he refuses to concede us any details. Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll become essential later. Considering Blake's streak of luck, he'll probably need to use this secret to stablish a demesne for himself.

After a very interesting game of 20 questions, our protagonist manages to get some necessary resources basically for free and steps back into reality to put her plan into action. Except that reality is kinda fed up with her. She dodges the cracks in existence, bombs a handful of goblins and starts to jury-rig a variation of the demesne ritual to claim a new name for herself.

That makes me think that, just like political power, identity itself is something that is determined by our relationship to others. Sometimes it's something we can agree upon, and sometimes it's something we must fight to stablish against discordant voices. Luckily, the girl in the checkered scarf spent this entire arc making all other powerful practitioners of Jacob's Bell pity her. She finishes the ritual, craps in a bucket and wills a new place for herself into existence. I'm proud of Mags.

A couple other questions now remain in my head. Had she fallen down into one of those cracks in reality would she end up in the same place Blake is in right now? After all, he also had his connections to reality stripped from him. And if Padraic is still occupying her previous role as the child of a family, would that make of him a changeling? Or would that be a different type of fey?

Previous • Next

#Dezi reads #pact web serial #pactblr #liveblogging pact #wildbow #otherverse #Signature 8.7 #pact spoilers

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tyrantisterror · 1 year

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It might just be me projecting my own bullshit onto something I like, but I think the popularity of both Spy X Family and Chainsaw Man is in part due to how they articulate the modern anxiety of how impossible it seems to live instead of merely existing.

Almost all the characters in Chainsaw Man are struggling just to get by, with Denji being one of the most hard-luck cases of any fictional character ever. Dude sold his organs for money when he was a child, man. The sheer abuse and poverty he’s suffered before the story even starts makes living in a shithole apartment eating ramen noodles seem like paradise, to the point where he’s willing to take on a life-threatening and utterly horrifying monster-hunting gig - one that’s far more dangerous and traumatizing than is normal for the Monster Of The Week genre - just to keep up that bare minimum existence. Denji’s goals in life are incredibly humble - he wants toast with butter and jam, he wants to take baths regularly, he wants to get a kiss from a pretty girl and maybe touch her boob with her consent. It’s, like, basic shit, basic animal desires, and the sheer amount of toil and mortal peril he has to endure get a fraction of that is staggering - and almost every other character around him is in the same boat, from Kobeni who’s taking up the same job not even for her sake, but to support her brother’s hopes of going to college and relieve her family of the “burden” of paying for her existence, to Power, who has to keep working as a devil hunter if she doesn’t want to be executed for being a fiend (i.e. a devil inhabiting a human corpse). Everyone is suffering, everyone is clinging to life by their fingernails, and everyone’s reward for going through all this shit is to barely scrape by.

Towards the end of the first arc of Chainsaw Man, Denji, having finally decided to kill his evil boss who’s been exploiting his basic human desires to suit her own ends, proudly declares that he’s no longer satisfied with the minimum. He wants to eat steaks every day, he wants to date a BUNCH of pretty girls, he wants to live, goddammit! And that passion helps him do the impossible, a passion that everyone should be allowed to feel.

Spy X Family, ostensibly a cheerier series, has its characters begin with even less than Denji in some respects - because while Denji at least consistently hopes for a better, "normal” life, almost all of the protagonists of Spy X Family initially believe that a better life is impossible for them. Twilight/Loid Forger became a spy because he essentially lost everything during the war, and has chosen to dedicate his entire life to this job - forsaking all thoughts of personal happiness in the process - for the sake of making sure no one else has to go through that again. Yor Forger became an assassin at a young age to financially support her brother after they were orphaned, and believes the nature of her work and the blood it’s left on her hands makes a life of personal happiness impossible for her as well. They are both people who think they are beyond saving, and in most stories this would be true - spies and assassins in fiction tend to live pretty unhappy lives, full of peril and loss, never allowed to settle down and live for themselves.

The child and dog they adopt are in similar situations. Anya was experimented on by some shady group of scientists to give her psychic powers, which is a trope that, especially in anime, generally ends with said psychic child going berserk and having to be put down. Bond the dog was likewise experimented on to make him be able to see possible futures, and, as an animal used for a science experiment, was destined to be treated as an expendable resource rather than a pet. None of these four characters had any reason to think they could live a happy life, and all of them have a plethora of reasons to think such a life is beyond their reach.

Yet the great fantasy of Spy X Family is that it isn’t out of their reach. These four weirdos find each other, and though the family they form is started under a pretense, each of them quickly forms a very real attachment to the others, often jeopardizing their own personal responsibilities (whether it’s spy missions, assassin gigs, or concealing their status as escaped psychic science experiments) for the sake of helping each other. And while they struggle to live a “normal” life in the way other, “normal” families don’t, their unique skills ultimately allow them to live a life they enjoy nonetheless. They find their own happiness in spite of a world that’s demanding too much of them.

Like, tonally speaking, Spy X Family and Chainsaw Man are pretty far apart - Spy X Family is a lighthearted slapstick domestic comedy, while Chainsaw Man is pitch-black-as-dark-as-it-gets tragicomedy with a HIGH body count. But they’re both about characters who work their asses off without much compensation from the Powers That Be, and yet, despite everything, manage to reinforce their humanity by coming together and loving one another. And I think that resonates pretty hard in this current climate.

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another-fantasy-world · 2 years

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Grim Reaper's Apprentice

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Title: Grim Reaper's Apprentice

Pairing/s: Rosalie Hale x GN! Reader (Romantic), Alice Cullen x GN! Reader (Platonic), Bella Swan x GN! Reader (platonic)

Summary: in which two lonely mystical creatures find peace and comfort in each other as fate deemed it to be

Warnings: Not detailed violence but violence nonetheless. My own shitty take on Grim Reapers.

Additional Tags: OOC characters, fluff, I am so sorry I haven't watched twilight in a while vurabhvrbhabvr

Reader Pronouns: I think I didn't put any pronouns for the reader honestly-

Word Count: 3358 words

Author’s Note: It's been sitting on my drafts for too long and I've not written for the twilight fandom in so long so I decided why not?

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Grim Reaper. A being that is said to bring nothing but an ill omen.

You didn't really think you'd have the pleasure of meeting the spiritual being and live, but you did. And now they took you in as their apprentice. Which was terrifying at first, but you made it out just fine. And now you also had the ability to gather souls and make their whole life flash before their eyes.

You love your job, you really do, but sometimes it can get lonely. Your guardian was busy, moving from one soul to another and they certainly need your help, which you gladly provide, but you need someone you can talk to, someone who had a mortal life once.

And you found what you were looking for in a blonde girl whose soul was due to travel to the other side of the veil. How? You didn't know, you never knew, you just knew when they'd die and what they did in their life when you watched their memories.

It may be an invasion of privacy, but you have to do it, and over time you were numb to it all. You always ensured that you only showed the happiest memories to those who didn't deserve to die but those who did? You made sure they regret their lifetime of decisions.

This time, a name suddenly wrote itself upon your book, a list of names whose souls need to be retrieved and guided before the end of the day. And while a name suddenly popping up in the middle of a job isn’t unusual, the fact that it’s glowing an elegant shade of gold is.

You quickly guide the ordinary soul through the veil and once that’s done, you allowed yourself to dematerialize and assemble to where the soul was.

And there laid the most beautiful creature you have ever laid your eyes on. You, however, didn’t get to stare at her for too long because you felt a crushing pain in your chest. You gritted your teeth as the pain reverberated and spread all throughout your body. Rosalie’s memories start forcing their way inside your head and you are reliving her life just as she is.

“Child. One wished that fate would allow your meeting with your fated half in a pleasant way, but one sees that it is not the case. You must make a choice, one’s dearest apprentice. Would you allow her soul to pass through the veil, or would you allow her to live as a Cold One?” You feel your mentor’s bony hand on your shoulder

You weighed each option carefully, Once a soul passes through the veil, it experiences the best treatment it could wish for. Basically, heaven as most mortals prefer to call that phenomenon. However, you would never be able to see her again. But if she becomes a cold one instead, she would have to live with the pain of having to consume blood. You had a feeling she would consider that a curse instead.

“Ah, it seems you are too slow when it comes to decisions child.”

Your head shot up at the sound of someone’s footsteps echoing from within the dark alleyway, a cold one. Are they looking for a meal? You scrambled to your feet and attempted to push the blonde man off your fated one, only for you to phase through him. You felt dread quickly filling you up, She doesn’t want this. No one does, she doesn’t deserve to live with the memories that’ll forever haunt her.

Perhaps he’d just feed on her? Or will he change her?

But isn’t that a good thing? You’d have a chance on getting to know her? After all, you’d be contented with just being in her presence.

“Child. One understands your turmoil, however, you must not be too reckless and hasty. Gaze into his eyes little one.” Your mentor sighs as if exasperated by your antics

And so you did as they asked, gazing into this man’s golden eyes. Ah.

“Oh.” you pouted slightly, embarrassment slowly replacing the dread

“As you can see, she’ll be…relatively safe with the Cullens.”

“Do you know him?”

“Why yes, of course. One was supposed to claim his soul but he turned into a cold one before one had the chance to steal his soul.” Your mentor’s cloak shook as if the body under it shrugged

Your mentor’s making your job sound so much more terrifying and evil than it actually is, making you look at them with a scrunched-up face.

They sigh, “She will be safe with the Cullens, you have sifted through his memories so you should know firsthand what he truly is like. One also gives you permission to follow your fated one around when you finished guiding your set amount of souls every day. However, you must remember, child, you are not strong enough to appear in front of those who walk in the mortal plane just yet.”

You know that. You’ve been trying to get past that hurdle for who knows how long. Grim Reapers take souls who have experienced great pain and suffering yet remain neutral, as opposed to the good souls that go up and bad souls that go down, as apprentices. And you were one of the new ones, barely able to force souls through the veil. This is why your mentor always gave you the easy ones.

“Do not worry young one.” Their bony hand petted your hair, “With your work ethic, you’re going to gain that skill in the next few decades” They then turned around, that signature scythe lazily draped over their shoulders.

“Besides, if you manage to capture souls before they turn into cold ones or a creature of the night, you might lessen your sentence.”

And so you did just that. You gently guided kind souls to their destination, helping them fulfill their last wishes before moving on. You not-so-gently kicked cruel souls into your soul jar and threw them through the veil. Your method made your stoic mentor laugh so hard their jaw fell off… literally.

You also (creepily) romantically followed Rosalie around as she navigates through her new life as a cold one. She was particularly attractive when she killed those who led her to her death without even spilling a drop of blood. Only the Gods above and below are witnesses to your feral fawnings over your beloved. Well, except maybe for the souls of the very same men your beloved just killed. They were already in your jar so it’s not like they had any say in it.

So that was how you spent the next few decades, following Rosalie around to make sure she’s safe, doing your job, and practicing how to solidify so that you can finally attend that God-awful school in Forks, where Rosalie and her family are trying to blend in with their God-like looks and their dazzlingly golden eyes. Florescent they say.

You can’t help but laugh as (your brother-in-law) Rosalie’s brother weakly try to explain and defend himself from his blood singer and fated one.

“Hmm. Bella Swan huh. I remember a soul whose last wish was to name his granddaughter after his wife Bella… I wonder…” You shrugged it off, maybe it was a coincidence.

“Woah! So you really are here.” You jumped and screeched when a pixie-like being suddenly appeared beside you.

“Alice? You can…see me?” You waved your hand back and forth in front of her face

“No. I can’t see you. But I’ve seen this vision so many times that I have memorized it down to every last second.”

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed. So tell me, who are you and why do I see you with Rosalie in almost every vision I get. And yes I know the answer I just want to hear you say it.”

“You can’t even hear me.” You sighed, before trying to materialize and succeeding, but you feel yourself struggling and you knew that your time with her is limited.

“Hello.” You tested it awkwardly, then laughed slightly when Alice’s eyes lit up as she bounced on the heels of her feet.

“You’re prettier than when I saw you in my vision-” she then grabs your hand, lightly gasping “You’re cold!! Colder than us, at least.” You chuckled, loving the cheerful attitude that was directed toward you.

“I’m glad that at least one of the Cullen’s like me at least.” You grinned

“I don’t just like you, oh no. We are going to be best friends. And I will be setting you up with Rose sooner or later… Preferably when you can permanently make yourself solid.” She giggled, pointing at your now fading body.

“Oh.” That was the last word you muttered before running out of time, which made Alice laugh gleefully before turning to return inside where her family was waiting for her.

You wondered if they heard your conversation whilst floating to them but it turns out that they were quite worried for Alice since her presence suddenly disappeared. You noted that as one of the things you’ll ask your mentor once they come by for their check-up on you every decade or so.

Days pass by as more trouble finds its way toward the Cullen family, the center of it all would be one Bella Swan and you suddenly found yourself swamped with work, so you could only be there when a certain crazy blonde-haired vampire bit Bella Swan.

“Do I really look like that?” Bella whispers to herself as she gazes down at her convulsing body

“Yes, you do. Now, do you see why Alice insists on taking you out shopping?” You suddenly phased through one of the pillars in her childhood ballet studio.

You just came from Italy, guiding a huge group of souls with 2 more fellow apprentices after a coven feeding. It was easy but tedious and tiring. When you saw that 2 names suddenly written themselves in your “souls-to-fetch” list, you were baffled to see Bella’s name along with some random white dude named James.

Bella took a ghostly step back as you fixed your clothes, ignoring the fighting of Edward and James in the background. She was clearly startled by you but she composed herself quickly

“Excuse me? Who are you? Are you…like a ghost?” She then glances at your scythe and you see her slowly put things together.

“Wow, I can see the cogs turning in your brain-” you spin your scythe around for fun then made it vanish, winking at her before floating towards her “-No, I’m not a ghost. Yes, I am a grim reaper, one of many. And No. You’re not going to die… yet. As if Edward will let you die. The guy watches you sleep for fucks sake.” You huffed out, before shutting your mouth, realizing that you’ve done the same every night, granted that Rosalie never slept… only pretended to do so. Perhaps that doesn’t count.

You see Bella’s soul glow bright red in embarrassment, a tell-tale sign that she’s not meant to be taken through the veil just yet, for she still feels emotion and is still attached to her mortal body.

“Ew, he’s going to suck your blood now, so you’d probably feel a vacuum-like feeling, don’t worry, just let it happen. It’s your body dragging your soul back. Nothing to worry about. Now shoo!” You pushed her towards her body, laughing when her ghostly feet tripped and she fell on top of herself, which prompted the process of soul-attaching. It was just a goofy sight of the soul swirling around like a vortex as they get sucked into their mortal body.

“That’s always hilarious.” You wipe the figurative tear off your eye.

“Now what am I going to do with you.” Your eyes turn into slits as flesh slowly melted off you, revealing the classic bony grim reaper look, your scythe slowly materializing in your hand as you slowly turned towards James, who was struggling to keep himself together since he did just get dismembered and burned into ashes.

He tried to speak but you slashed your scythe into the air once, making stitches appear on his mouth, stitching it shut. He then realized his circumstances and with his dwindling attachment to the mortal plane, he ran in fear. You laughed, floating eyeballs flashing red as you began to chase, toy, and play with him. Hunting him down like prey, just like he did with so many other souls.

Your job comes with such benefits after all.

You might’ve had too much fun with him since the next thing you knew, it was time for Fork’s Prom Night, the night wherein you planned to reveal yourself to Rosalie. Upon realizing that, you quickly jammed James’ soul into a jar and hurriedly threw it through the veil leaving whoever was on the other side with the responsibility of him as you rushed to phase to Forks.

Upon stepping on luscious green grass, its blades still moist from the rain as you breathed in the forest-infused air, you knew that you were in the right place. However, the loud music coming from the school indicated that you were late. You sighed and let your bond with Rosalie lead you to her, your feet soon moved by themselves as gold slowly invaded your vision.

She looked so…ethereal, yet oh so lonely sitting there. The wind pushes her hair back as she sits there, peaceful and alone. Your hand longs to hold hers while you both gaze up unto the starry sky, just keeping her company throughout eternity.

“Beautiful.” You whispered, watching as her eyes shot open, slowly looking around as if feeling your presence.

“You know I can feel you right?” She softly says, her shoulders relaxing as she realizes it’s just you

“I actually didn’t.” You sheepishly say as you materialize, having practiced time and time again, you felt like this time, you’ll be able to last longer than before

“Is that so?” She smirks, before turning to look at you.

She then blinks slowly as if she can’t believe what she was looking at. You quickly looked down and saw that in your hurry to get here, you forgot that you were still in your grim reaper outfit, with your hood down. Which meant that she saw you in all your boney gloriousness. You quickly made yourself invisible just so you could put some flesh into your bones and quickly reappeared, an embarrassed look painted heavily on your face.

“I am so sorry.” You looked away from her, biting your lip hard as punishment for the unsightly sight that she had to see

You then felt the air shift as she suddenly appeared before you, her hands cradling your face as she pulls your bottom lip to stop you from biting them. You felt your mind short circuit and you were so sure that smoke was escaping from your ears.

“Please let me court you.” You quickly blurted out, your mouth letting the words escape before your brain could fully process them.

Her eyes widened slightly, taken aback by the sudden declaration of adoration before chuckling, her face filled with glee as her eyes look at you fondly.

“Only if you allow me to court you as well.” She replies, hand intertwining with yours as she leads you to sit beside her on the bench that she previously sat at.

You two spoke for hours, basking under the moonlight as you play with each other’s fingers. Telling stories and comparing hand sizes, you also let yourself gush over her as you tell her how attractive she looked every time she struts down the hallway or how hot she looked when she played baseball, especially when she stared Bella down as she slowly got up from sliding.

She then told you about all the times she felt your presence, which was frequent. She told you about the time she caught your boney hand emerging from nowhere to put a bookmark on the page of the book she was reading the night before while she was showering for school. She also told you about the time she felt coldness hovering over her and the time that she was sure that you punched someone for gazing at her like a piece of meat. You sheepishly admitted to it and you both laughed about it.

Soon enough it was time for her to go home and you were feeling yourself fade away.

“You don’t have to worry. Although you can’t see me, I will always be right there with you.” You reassured her when you saw the panicked look on her face.

And oh boy did you fulfill that promise.

Your daily life now consists of appearing before Rosalie every morning, inviting her for a walk. It allows her to have time for her to organize her thoughts about the happenings that seem to only happen to her family. It allows her to rant about Bella while you take her hand in yours in silent comfort and support. It allows her to spend time with you as you practice materializing yourself for longer durations.

Your walks always end with that one tree that you deemed as your tree, your initials, and Rosalie’s carved into the wood. You would always sit down on the cloth that Rosalie always carried with your back against the rough bark. You would then open your arms, inviting Rosalie in your embrace as she slowly melts into you. Her head resting on your chest while you place your chin on her shoulders. She would then start to read a book that you both chose with you enjoying the way her voice sounds.

She would never admit it but she absolutely loves the way you hum directly on her ears when she reads parts that you particularly like or the way you would grunt in annoyance when a character does something idiotic.

After perhaps 6 chapters or so, when the sun is fully out, you like to pick her up suddenly, focusing on her as you wave your hand around, your gifts, as she likes to call it, making sure that you put a bookmark on the page you left it, then making sure the blanket was nice and cleanly folded. You would then adorn her with a gorgeous gown from an era of her choice (it really depends on her mood), your black mist wrapping around her before forming into the said dress while you too adorn yourself with the clothing of your choice.

You would then kneel on one knee, asking permission to kiss the back of her hand before asking her to dance. Her skin would sparkle under the sun, the very same sparkle that she used to loathe with her whole heart, she loves it now. Why? It was all because of your expression each and every time you see it. A child-like wonder, your eyes filled with adoration and love as you twirl her with the rhythm that only the two of you can hear.

She could do this for all eternity, she would never get sick of it. Not even when you finally put a ring on her finger.

While there are times that you would miss this morning routine on yours, you would always tell her beforehand, silently cursing your work and only leaving when she tells, or rather, orders you to. She understands how important your work is, no matter how time-consuming it is, she would always wait for you with a cold yet warm embrace as you cuddled the night away. So it doesn’t really bother her when you disappear at random points in time.

Why should it? She knows in her very soul that you would always come back to her, a grin on your face and sometimes you even come home with live animals from wherever you were from for her and her family.

Being a vampire and having a Grim Reaper as a fated one may be unorthodox, but she would choose it over and over again with no hesitation whatsoever.

#rosalie hale x reader #rosalie hale imagines #rosalie hale #rosalie hale imagine #twilight x reader

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pro-gamer-moves · 7 months

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My One (1) Completed Whumptober Fic

Tbh this one is more like slapstick it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Time sighed. Once again, they had been separated by a portal. It had been happening so often lately that he was starting to think they should just tie themselves together anytime they appeared. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now.

He took stock of his surroundings. There wasn’t a lot of light, but the walls looked like they were made out of stone bricks from his position on the ground. He stood up and walked over. Yep, definitely some sort of purposeful construction. They had probably all teleported into different rooms of a dungeon.

If that were the case, there would be a door around here somewhere. It was too dark to see the walls though… he rummaged around in his bags for something to light it up, eventually pulling out an arrow and casting a light spell on it.

Time hummed happily. The illumination had revealed a chest on the floor! This was the fun part of being a hero. He slowly lifted the lid in anticipation, and pulled out a small silver key, lifting it over his head in triumph. Now to find the door…

Tapping the walls with his sword revealed that one of them would crumble in an explosion, so he pulled out a bomb and set it on the floor in front of the false wall. Behind it was a similar, if larger room that had glyphs carved into the stone at random-seeming intervals. It was also full to the brim of Stalchildren.

Not wanting to fight so many monsters, he put on his Captain’s Hat and got work examining the room. After checking the walls with his sword and the Lens of Truth, he concluded that the key to the next room must be connected to the glyphs. Or something. Nayru, this was so much easier when he had a fairy.

He sat down in front of one of them and pulled out the Ocarina of Time. He didn’t see any meaning in the carvings, so he decided he was just going to have to go through his repertoire song by song.

Time sighed again. Maybe one of the others would find him first.

~~~

He was halfway through the Song of Healing when the wall in front of him blurred and distorted. Looks like he had found the right song, then. He kept playing, having learned long ago not to interrupt a song while it was doing its work.

The wall continued to warp in time with his song, then a face appeared. Time looked up in surprise. Was that Twilight? Now he knew he definitely couldn’t stop playing, else the rancher got caught in the wall as it solidified.

Twilight stepped into the light of his arrow, saw Time sitting on the floor with his ocarina, and promptly fainted.

That wasn’t good. Seeing that Twilight was on the floor instead of in the wall, Time hooked the Ocarina back on his belt and rushed over, ordering the Stalchildren to stay back as he did so. Twilight looked fine at first glance, no blood anywhere as far as Time could tell…

Twilight’s eyes opened, focused on Time’s face, and opened even wider in fear. His mouth twisted like he was trying to suppress a cry, and his shoulders hunched under his wolf pelt. What had gotten him so worked up? Was there something wrong with his face?

Time poked his face to make sure it was the one he usually had and almost slapped his forehead at his own stupidity. He was still wearing the Captain’s hat! Of course Twilight would be scared, he looked like a Stalfos right now!

Time quickly lifted the mask to show the rancher his face. “Don’t freak out, it’s just me! I’m wearing a mask to keep the Stalchi—“ he heard bones rattling behind him and put the mask back on. “To distract the Stalchildren. It’s just an illusion, I’m still Link.”

Twilight relaxed. “Old man?”

“The one and only.”

He stood and held out his hand to help Twilight up. “How’d you get in here, anyway? You shouldn’t have been able to get through the wall before I finished my song.”

Twilight held up his wrist, revealing a bejeweled bracelet. “Magic bracelet, found it in a chest. It lets me walk through walls if they have special carvings on them.”

“Ah.”

“You have a song that lets you go through walls?”

“I thought I did, but I guess it was just your bracelet. How are we going to both get out of here?”

Twilight picked up the light arrow and used it to search the room. “We can both go if we’re touching, but I need to find a small key first.”

Time held up the key he had found. “Already got it.”

“Great. Let’s get back to the others then, we still have to find quite a few more Links.”

#lu time #lu twilight #linked universe #whumptober 2023

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g5mlp · 10 months

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imo, what do you think G5 does better than G4, and vice versa

G4 started on a very strong foundation and was the result of a coherent vision being executed with a minimum of corporate meddling. It also was given a lot of time to fully develop its world, and the show's production wasn't transferred to a completely different creative team at any point. It's hard to beat that.

G5 was developed first and foremost with the intention of producing a good story for a good movie that could perform well in theaters, and creating the rest of the franchise seems to have been kind of secondary to that (who cares about the consequences?). Obviously, it didn't get to be released in theaters, but the movie is still probably the strongest part of G5 so far. I haven't watched the G4 movie yet but I think most people who've watched both consider the G5 movie to be better.

G4 benefits a lot from its main characters. Twilight is a know-it-all and she basically allows the show to introduce whatever random advanced magic they want, which is pretty convenient. Pinkie gets to break the fourth wall. All of them have strong unique personalities and are larger than life, and it's great fodder for episodes that explore their flaws and how they handle new or difficult situations. G5 doesn't benefit nearly as much from this kind of energy.

On the other hand, G5's main characters are less likely to get into an argument with each other or get annoyed by each other. They're chill and generally seem more like real people than over-the-top cartoon characters. I think the conflict in early episodes of Friendship Is Magic was for me a bit frustrating to sit through at times, so G5 generally having less intense character conflicts is not necessarily a downside for me.

Some of Make Your Mark's character portrayals are confusing to me. In particular, Sunny's ultimate ambition was achieved in A New Generation and she wasn't given any meaningful goals or motivation to replace that, and Zipp's detective cosplay is shown without any hint of irony or any lampshading, as though she were actually doing a good job. I think Zipp will end up being hired by Hitch by the end of Chapter 6, but they could have picked a better way to get there, like if they properly showed her learning how to be a detective instead of just having her bring out her pointless magnifying glass or recording voice memos. I don't think G4 had these kinds of issues, and it was generally clear what the characters' motivations and desires were.

G4 has better writing, pacing and humor, especially compared to Make Your Mark. There are a number of scenes in the latter where the plot doesn't progress and the characters accomplish nothing.

I liked "Dear Princess Celestia". It seems to have been generally a good way to make sure that each episode actually had a meaningful moral. Make Your Mark is a bit messy on this front, as are some later G4 episodes. I think in some cases Make Your Mark attempted to have two characters independently realize the same moral, but it didn't seem very justified or meaningful.

Make Your Mark's big ambitious idea seems to have been to put Opaline and Misty into basically every episode, even though Opaline stays in the castle and can usually only interact with Misty. It works, and the portrayal of Misty is very interesting and not something G4 was able to do, but there are a few episodes where it's just an unnecessary distraction that doesn't meaningfully progress the plot.

I think it was probably a mistake for them to have two concurrently running shows that needed to be coordinated together, even if it was necessary in order to allow MLP to have some sort of presence outside of Netflix. The need to avoid continuity issues produced weird results like Sparky not appearing in Tell Your Tale until September 2022 even though he was introduced in Make Your Mark in May 2022. Tell Your Tale does demonstrate you can tell a good story in 5 minutes, but it seems to be held back by having to be secondary to Make Your Mark. They don't seem to introduce new recurring locations, for instance, and there are still a bunch of continuity issues in spite of the efforts to avoid creating them. Having concurrently airing shows on YouTube and on Discovery Family worked in G4 because the Equestria Girls shorts were literally in an alternate universe and couldn't really affect the Friendship Is Magic episodes.

G4's music has a certain charm to it, or at least the well-remembered songs do. Sure, it's Daniel Ingram using the same instruments over and over (aside from the orchestral arrangements in seasons 8 and 9), but he didn't otherwise restrict himself to a particular genre or style in his songwriting. The music of Tell Your Tale and Make Your Mark is consistent in terms of production quality, but maybe too consistent. All of it is made to sound like it could have been on the radio in the last 10 years, and some of the songs sound a little too much like they were precisely modeled on, you know, "I Gotta Feeling", "All I Want For Christmas Is You" or "Uptown Funk". A New Generation's music is easily more memorable, but it's harder to compare since it only has a few songs and they're so qualitatively different from everything before and after.

G4 tends to miss the mark when it tries to incorporate allegories for social issues, and it doesn't help that (at least in season 1) they made Pinkie sing about the respective situations. A New Generation does it quite well, but the rest of G5 basically doesn't bring up those themes again (aside from Make Your Mark Chapter 1, and the less said about it the better).

A New Generation's 3D animation is beautiful, but the way they got Atomic Cartoons to use Boulder Media's leftovers was clearly not very good. If Hasbro had kept the animation in-house they might well have avoided some of the silly production problems that Make Your Mark ended up with. The show being 3D also evidently massively restricted what locations they could explore and what non-pony species could be shown, and it was probably pretty expensive too. I think it's probably for the best that Make Your Mark isn't going to be the main show in 2024. Friendship Is Magic's animation did not suffer from this kind of weird inherent logistical flaw. It was simple and not detailed but looked fine, and was appropriate for the resources that they had to produce the show.

I know some people still hate how Tell Your Tale looks but it doesn't seem to be something that Hasbro was ever concerned about, oddly enough, given that the show looks exactly the way that it was internally pitched within Boulder Media in 2019 (even though they didn't end up making the show themselves). I personally don't mind it, although it looked a little weird to me at first. It's nice that they tried something different and gave the ponies stylized and varied body shapes, which G4 didn't have much of aside from, like, Bulk Biceps.

G5's first-party toys generally seem to look better and more show-accurate than G4's, but G4 seems to have had a lot more variety and just generally more stuff in the toy line.

The G5 tie-in video games generally seem to be better and more fleshed out than most of the G4 ones (aside from My Little Pony World, in which nothing of importance happens).

Overall, I think G4 would win in a fight. G5 is only two years old, though, so maybe if we wait a few more years it will be a more even match. Or not.

This post represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the other admins of this blog. I may be biased or wrong and there may be gaps in my understanding. ~overcast

#my little pony #mlp g5 #mlp g4 #mlp

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ask-healthy-light · 3 months

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Though she had often before hoped to meet another Dragon without the ability to breathe fire, Frost had yet to meet one that could tell her more about herself, so when Solar mentioned that there were more Dragons like her to the East, her eyes lit up, and she gasped in awe; and she asked him if she could still join their group, even if only for long enough to see a Dragon like herself personally.

The hope he saw in her eyes warmed Solar and Twilight's heart, which started aching terribly a mere moment later when they finished writing the letter to their friends, and they struggled to think of what to tell Frost, and they did not utter a word; but after Spike grabbed the scroll from in front of Eclipse, he leapt up from where he sat, and asked Frost and them to join him, as he had an idea.

Before the others could ask Spike about his idea, however, the excited Young Dragon flew outside at at winged speed, where he called back to Frost and Eclipse to follow him back to the Great Hall, as he had to ask one of the Princesses for help; and as they slowly got up, Eclipse asked Frost if she was all right, to which the shy Dragoness answered that she was, with a slight quiver in her voice.

Since they struggled to tell for certain whether the quiver in her voice was one of joy or sadness, Eclipse swiftly followed after Frost as she rushed outside, keeping an eye on her just in case; and they sighed in relief, for if Spike had not mentioned his idea, which they hoped could ease Frost's mind and heart, they would have had to disappoint the Dragoness, and they knew not what to do then.

Fortunately, the three winged beings were able to keep up with each other, and they swiftly made it to the Great Hall, before Spike asked Eclipse and Frost to wait for a moment, before he landed next to Princess Luna; and after Luna turned to face him, wearing a small smile upon her face, she asked Spike if there was anything he wanted to ask her, to which he merely looked back, before he nodded.

In turn, he showed Luna the letter that Solar had written to their friends in the East, in which he wrote about Frost, and her abilities, and a thought that lingered in his mind about possible danger ahead of them; for while he was not entirely confident he was correct, he figured that there may be more Dragons like her, and he asked them to be careful, and to be prepared for more than just fire.

After she finished reading the letter, Luna stayed silent for a moment to let Solar's thoughts sink in, before she rolled up the scroll, still without uttering a word, and Spike politely asked her to send the letter to their friends; for although he could send it thither himself, Spike figured that her connection to Nox was stronger than any bond, and it would be safer if she sent it off instead.

But only after Spike gently tapped her on her shoulder was Luna snapped out of her focus, for which she kindly apologised, but before she sent the letter to Nox and their mutual friends, she solemnly asked Spike in return whether he required more of her, apart from the letter; and he told Luna that Frost had requested to join the Eastbound group, as she wished to meet another Dragon like herself.

Knowing how much effort it had cost Starwirl, and her, and all the Princesses to safely translocate so many Guards to the Empire, Spike continued, he quietly added that it was most likely too great a request for her to grant on her own; and even if she could handle it, he understood that they could put their friends in danger by using such intense magic, while they were trying to stay undetected.

But when Spike glanced at Luna's wings, as well as his arms, he paused for a moment, before he said that he knew too well how terrible it was to be where Frost was, and he wanted to help her; so even if she could not send Frost to the Dragon Lands, he asked Luna whether she knew of any quicker ways to let her know about what the group faced there, without needing to write and send a letter first?

As Luna looked between Frost, Spike, and herself, she warmly smiled, and said with a wink:

"I believe I do know of a way…"

(Thanks for reading! And if you enjoyed, please reblog! Thanks in advance!)

Send an ask or request! | Start at the beginning! | Next part!

Featuring: Solar Eclipse and Twilight Sparkle as Twilight Eclipse from @asktwilighteclipse

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janetbrown711 · 1 year

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Money, Money, Money (Must be Funny / In a Rich Man's World)

Pigsy takes MK and Mei out shopping after the previous day's chaos and sudden adoption.

AKA Pigsy realizes he doesn't know what he signed up for when adopting orphaned MK and Mei in a heartbeat, but learns to cope

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Ao3 Link

Work Text:

The cab ride home was short and quiet, as the hour was very late and the kids fell asleep all curled up on each other, which was kinda cute. When they arrived at Pigsy’s apartment, they unfortunately had to wake them up, made them climb a flight of stairs and then it was home sweet home where the kids then promptly passed out on the couch, and Pigsy made a mental note to buy sleeping bags or something because there was no way that was going to last.

“So… um… do you need anything else?” Tang asked, setting down the big case of important documents on Pigsy’s table.

“A bigger place to live, probably,” He half joked, looking around at the studio apartment that had to have a Murphy bed, it was so small.

“I’ve seen worse,” Tang said with a reassuring smile. “Besides, with some of the money that’s been set aside, I’m sure you’ll be able to afford a better place in no time.”

“If I have any left over after paying repairs on the restaurant– that thing crashed right through a wall and damaged my grill pretty bad,” Pigsy went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of his cheapest sake and immediately chugged it down.

“Woah there now– I don’t think ‘recently got bloodwork done’ and alcohol mix,” Tang carefully took the bottle from the counter and put it away.

“Bah,” Pigsy scoffed but didn’t go to get more.

“Well, I’ll help get your bed down, but after that, I guess I’m heading home,” His regular nodded to himself.

“Wait– hey now, you paid for the cab, looked over the documents, protected the kids– I think I can get my own bed down,” Pigsy refused the offer and went to put it down, only for Tang to follow and swipe his arm away.

“You are injured, and risked your life and livelihood for kids you barely knew in a heartbeat– not to mention you let me not pay for my food because classes are expensive– It’s really the least I can do,” He argued. Pigsy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and stepping aside. Tang smiled like an adorable asshole and put down his bed.

“There. Isn’t that cozy now?” Tang adjusted the pillows for Pigsy as his face just got redder and redder with embarrassment.

“Right– well– uh–” Pigsy scratched the back of his neck to force himself to act calm and cool but it wasn’t working. He cleared his throat and forced himself to talk anyways.

“I just wanted to– uh– thank you… for everything. You didn’t have to do any of that today, and it was… nice,” He said, wanting to punch himself with every stutter.

“It’s no problem really, you’ve been so nice to me for like– nothing in return,” Tang looked away from the chef. “A-and remember, I can like, totally help you out with those documents tomorrow, if you’d like!”

“Y-yeah! I’d like that– I could even cook for you since the restaurant’ll be closed probably,” Pigsy offered, kicking at the ground while his face got hotter and hotter.

“O-oh! I’d– yeah-! I’d really, really like that,” Tang smiled.

“Y-yeah?” Pigsy blinked up at him.

“Y-yeah! I’d love to help you out– and free food without guilt? Sign me up,” The scholar joked, which succeeded in making Pigsy snort.

“Yeah, I’m… glad,” He smiled weakly.

The two men stared at each other for a moment, and Pigsy could hear his heart pounding in his ears over the sound of crickets in the twilight. That caused them to look at anything except each other, and it was quiet for a bit.

Tang eventually broke that semi-silence though, with a “Guess I’ll be going then-!”

“Y-yeah! I’ll see you tomorrow-?” Pigsy asked, following him to the door.

“Probably!” Tang laughed a little before remembering the kids were still on the couch asleep.

“Well then I’ll– see you tomorrow,” Pigsy opened the door for his regular.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tang nodded with a smile before heading out, and Pigsy closed the door behind him.

Tang.

It suited him so well.

With a sigh, Pigsy turned away from the door and back at the kids snoozing away at the couch.

God, they were so young, especially for both of their parents to be gone.

And now Pigsy was responsible for them.

Shit– he was going to have to do some serious grocery shopping. He didn’t have any of the kid food except maybe cereal because all he ate was the food he made at the restaurant. He’d also have to get sleeping bags until he could move, and at the very least some blankets. Maybe some toys too– and crayons and– Jesus, kids were expensive.

With a grunt, Pigsy untucked and pulled out the top blanket from his bed and draped it over MK and Mei, content to know that was all he could do for now.

Somewhere in that pile of documents was how their whole schooling dealio was going to work, and when they were expected to go back, but Pigsy was not going to look over any of that right now, he was content to just think and hope it wasn’t tomorrow. If it was, he would demand they get it off anyways, today and the previous days events were too much for kids to handle anyways, mystical or not.

Jesus– was he going to have to drive these kids to school? Or walk them? He supposed the subways were a viable option– Where even was that hoity-toity academy? That information was probably in those documents– lord Pigsy had a lot of reading ahead of him (and then some if there weren’t any parenting books in there).

Pigsy needed to sleep because he was already getting a gigantic headache. He quickly tossed his chef's shirt in the trash, changed into pajamas, checked that the kids were fine, and then promptly passed out on his bed.

.o0o.

Pigsy hated the sound of his stupid ass alarm in the morning.

It was set to its default– he knew it shouldn’t– that it actively caused his brain to feel all glitchy and whatnot but he never actually remembered to change it and so all he did was swipe it away as per usual.

He then grumbled and buried his face into his hot, half deflated pillow for another solid minute before forcing himself to sit up, where he was then greeted by two kids– his kids now– peering at him over the couch, ducking down the moment he made eye contact. Pigsy snorted a little before pulling the thin blanket off of him, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stretching– before being quickly reminded he had a bunch of stitches and bandages in his arm and he winced in pain.

“Morning you two,” He said as the pain mostly subsided.

“Mornin’ Mr. Piggy,” MK sat up and rested his arms on the sofa back, which Mei copied.

“It’s Pigsy, and no need for that ‘mister’ stuff, you make me sound like my father,” He joked to himself as he stood and wandered into the kitchen, where he started to make himself a cup of coffee.

“How long have you two been up?” He asked, rubbing his eyes as he poured hot water into the reservoir and he scooped coffee grounds.

“I dunno, since the sun?” MK looked out the one window, which had a pretty okay view all things considered.

“Eh, that’s not too bad,” Pigsy shrugged, adding the grounds to the filter. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good,” Mei shrugged and sat back down on the couch, staring blankly at his pathetic excuse of a TV, affectionately titled “the Dinosaur” for how old it was by his family.

“I don’t know if I have any kiddie stuff on there– I don’t have cable,” Pigsy apologized.

“S’okay,” The girl said with a little smile. “I’ve never seen a TV so thick and so small.”

“Yeah, it’s old school, but it does the trick when I need it,” Pigsy watched as the coffee brewed.

“So what’re we gonna do today, Mr. Piggy?” MK asked.

“Pigsy, and I don’t know– I need to check on damages downstairs and then make a list of what I can and can’t do, and then we need to go do some shopping– though I’ll need to read over some documents first and–” Pigsy sighed as the machine beeped. “It’s gonna be a long day.”

“All days are long for me,” MK said, sitting back down on the couch and tracing his finger along the threads of the sofa.

“Heard you there,” Pigsy snorted as he poured his coffee into his favorite mug that said “KISS MY BACON” in bold black letters.

“You kids want cereal or something?” Pigsy asked after things felt a bit too quiet.

“Cer…eal..?” Mei looked at him strangely.

MK rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you about cereal– it’s the circles in milk and stuff.”

“Oooh-! Right! Cereal!” Mei snapped her fingers, and Pigsy was reminded once again that she was technically a dragon princess that he adopted last night with no real understanding of what the heck that actually meant.

“Right– yeah– um–” Pigsy went and looked through his cabinets for cereal they’d like. Eventually he found a kind of stale, but still probably good box of “Wukong Os”.

“You kids like Wukong O’s?” He asked as he got it down, as well as two plastic bowls.

“Probably!” MK practically jumped off of the couch to the table.

Pigsy laughed and set down the bowls, then cereal, and then got out the milk before looking at Mei, who was still sitting on the couch.

“You feeling good, kiddo?” He asked.

The girl shrugged. “I dunno. I’m tired.”

“Yeah, yesterday was a lot– I also promise whatever sleeping bags we get will be a lot more comfortable than my couch, haha,” He scratched the back of his neck, before patting the chair next to MK, who was absolutely devouring his cereal. “Here, why don’t you have some cereal? It might make you feel better… or something.”

Mei got up without much expression or thought and so Pigsy went back to his coffee and glossed over that giant stack of papers, especially at that lawyer lady’s business card. If Tang wasn’t going to be available until later, then he’d definitely think about giving her a call to sort everything out more.

“It’s gonna be a long day” was probably the understatement of the century.

The kids eventually finished, and Pigsy told them to just throw their stuff in the sink. He announced he was going to go change in the bathroom, which was when he realized these kids didn’t even have any clothes on them– probably lost in that fire. He was going to have to make a shopping list soon that was going to be longer than the entirety of Journey to the West.

Pigsy quickly splashed some cold water on his face and tried to ignore how much of a zombie he looked before stepping out and grabbing his keys.

“Welp, let's get going,” He said, opening the door for Mei and MK.

The kids quickly left and waited for Pigsy as he locked the door and took them down the stairs to the restaurant. Pigsy first tried to unlock the back but remembered he put a padlock on it he totally forgot to take off in the chaos and so he led the kids around to the front, where he then unlocked that door to reveal…

Wait– nononono– this wasn’t right…

He expected a mess– shattered glass, dented stove, a wall with a big ass hole in it from the tiger demon literally breaking through it. Instead it was– perfect.

No– it was better than perfect, there were genuine improvements– it was cleaner than he had ever seen it be ever. Even the kids were confused as they stepped behind the bar and saw everything so neat and organized and not at all the stick floored place they hid the previous night.

“H-how..? Who..? Why???” Pigsy was too flabbergasted to finish his sentence and had to take a seat at the bar to stop his head from reeling.

“Freaky,” Mei said, looking at her wavy reflection in the grill.

“Ah– don’t mess with that,” Pigsy said, and she instantly took a step back. “I just… I’m not crazy right? You two know this place was a mess, right?”

MK nodded. “It smells different too– like lotuses.”

Pigsy ran his fingers across his bald head as he tried to think of any logical explanation for this but just came up blank again and again.

What happened last night had to have been true– he had the stitches and kids to prove it But the damages-?

Bah, maybe it was just some freaky demon thing he didn't know. Now why a demon would fix up his restaurant, he sure didn't know, but whatever.

"So… does this mean you'll let people in today?" MK asked, flicking a rista of red chili peppers. Pigsy had to think about that.

He certainly could– everything seemed to be in more than just tip-top shape, but at the same time he didn't have a plan for what he expected MK and Mei to do while he worked yet, as he instead planned on thoroughly procrastinating it. Plus, he knew all that shopping was going to take a very, very long time, so it was probably for the best that he didn't.

"No, no, we can head to the shops a little earlier than expected," He decided.

"Sweet!" Mei grinned, "I haven't shopped in forever– usually just the nannies or butlers do it for me. I wanna look at the toys myself!" She said, proudly pointing at herself with her thumb.

"Man, I could use one of those," Pigsy chuckled and opened the door for the kids, who quickly left the kitchen and headed out. Pigsy then locked the door and they made their way to the bus stop, where they sat on the bench

Well– Pigsy and MK sat at the bench, Mei just kind of stood next to her friend awkwardly.

"Kid, what's the matter?" Pigsy asked, eyeing her up and down.

Mei glanced at the bench and took a step back. "It looks… dirty."

Pigsy laughed at that, which he could tell was the last thing Mei expected, so he quickly tried to kill it.

"You know, my folks always said bacteria was good for you– helps build your immune system or somethin."

"Ooh," Mei said, looking at the bench once more.

It really wasn't anything all that bad looking– there weren't even any spider webs or visible gum wads And so after a moment of great hesitation, Mei closed her eyes and sat right next to MK who giggled and hugged her.

"It's so cold," she giggled too.

"Yep! Welcome to bus rider life," MK grinned.

"Ah, so you've ridden before?" Pigsy asked MK. The boy nodded.

"All the time! I'm a master of the bus," He dusted off his shoulders smugly.

"Wait– have you ridden alone?" Pigsy asked.

MK nodded again. "A ton! Ever since I started school."

The chef paused. "When… you were five?"

"Four actually! But I didn't look it," MK was still smiling and Pigsy just looked across the street to hide his horrified feeling.

Thankfully the bus arrived shortly thereafter so Pigsy didn't have to think about that mess for much longer as he ushered the kids on and paid their fare.

MK and Mei instantly made a mad dash for the back of the bus, as Pigsy half expected, and they both crowded by the edge seat to look out the window while Pigsy took a more middle seat.

They both ‘ooh’-ed and ‘ahh’-ed at each construction site or cluster of pigeons they passed (though Pigsy had a feeling MK was really just going along with Mei since he had to be more familiar with all this than she was). The ride wasn't too long, and the kids complained when Pigsy pulled the line and they had to get off.

When they remembered they were there for shopping they became a lot more agreeable as they ran into the thrift store right by the bus stop, both ogling the color coded racks.

"Alright pick out five shirts and pants you like, we'll get some better stuff when I get the money all ironed out," Pigsy said and the kids looked at each other with slight confusion.

“What? I know you’ve never shopped before,” Pigsy gestured to Mei, “But I know you have. What’s the matter?”

“Oh I don’t get clothes that often,” MK shrugged.

“And people always choose clothes for me,” Mei copied his motion.

Ah.

“Well, let’s see here…” Pigsy stroked his chin and wandered over to the kids section and started flipping through boys clothes. It took him exactly two seconds before he found a small boy’s shirt with art from Monkey King the Animated Series and he showed it to MK.

“OMG– that’s so cool!” MK beamed and Pigsy chuckled as he handed it to him. He repeated this process four more times, before handing MK a more simple shirt, saying it was good to diversify a little, and then selecting some shorts he thought might fit.

“Wow– I’ve never had someone buy me this much stuff before. Usually it’s all ‘we just bought you clothes’ and ‘make them fit’ and also ‘quit your whining or else I’ll buy a belt to beat you with instead’,” MK said, shifting his arms under the weight of the shirts. He said it with a laugh too, which was a pattern Pigsy was starting to notice.

“Well, you uh– don’t have to think about that anymore now, okay? I wouldn’t ever say those things,” Pigsy didn’t know whether or not to put a hand on MK’s shoulder. The boy just kind of nodded, still laughing a little, before his face fell slightly.

“Right,” He said, shifting the clothes in his arms, kicking the floor a little bit.

“Look– I– I can carry those for you, kid,” Pigsy offered and MK handed them over. The kid wasn’t being dramatic about the shuffling, it really was a lot, so Pigsy scanned the area until he found a basket and put the clothes in.

“Much better,” He said like he was proud of himself. MK nodded, before glancing away and then even quicker tugging on Mei’s sleeve and pointing to the toy section just a few rows over.

“Ooo– Mr. Piggy, can we look at toys please,” Mei begged. Pigsy gave them a very confused thumbs up and the kids ran off to go look at them.

Man, kids were weird– one second, it's gripping with abuse and finality, then it's running off to go search for those biona-whateverthefucktheywerecalled. Pigsy just hoped that was normal– though it wasn’t like they weren’t gonna need some kind of therapy because of that fire and you know… being orphans…

Pigsy decided to let the two of them mess around in the toy section for a bit while he fingered through clothes he thought Mei might like, though he really couldn’t be certain of anything. Most of the stuff was pink and had hearts or dolphins or boy bands all over them, and he wasn’t sure if she was the type to be interested in that kind of stuff. He tried looking in the green section, which had a bunch of environmental messages also bedazzled with pink hearts and Pigsy started realizing how pathetic this was. He picked out one with green/silver flip over sequins in the shape of a flower and another with green polka dots before going back to the boys section and selecting a few she thought she’d like more– ones with dragons and knights and stuff, and also a bad pun about math. He was unsure with each selection, which was another nagging reminder he was in way over his head about this, but Pigsy just shrugged that off and went back to MK and Mei.

When he returned, MK was out giving some kind of evil villain speech, and Mei was nowhere to be found for a bit– until he heard fits of giggles behind a rack of clothing and he realized she was in hiding. Pigsy observed for a moment, as MK began searching for him with his monkey guy and wondered if he was deaf the closer he got to Mei and the more she laughed. Suddenly, she leaped out and practically tackled MK, sending some clothes flying off the racks and a few dirty looks from other customers Pigsy just rolled his eyes at.

“You foul thing! I’ll destroy your whole kingdom!” MK spat as he got away from Mei and stood up once more.

“You are no match for me and my Ultimate Super Hot Flaming Fire of Death! Muahahahaha!” Mei laughed maniacally as she “shot fire” at Mk’s guy, who raised his arms.

“I surrender– your spicy toss was too spicy for me,” he made his guy fold over into a bow. “You can have my kingdom– everything-! Just spare me-!”

“Die!” Mei cackled and chopped the guys head off with her guys hand.

“Wow– pretty intense game you two had going there,” Pigsy chuckled a little as he picked up some of the fallen items.

Mei shrugged with a giggle. “Could’ve been worse. Could’ve sent him to the council,” she shared a knowing look with MK before they burst into more laughter.

Man, kids are so weird.

“Oh– Mei, tell me what you think of the stuff I picked out,” Pigsy said, picking up the shirts from the basket and handing them to her. Upon seeing the “boys” shirts, she was confused.

“I’m not allowed to wear shirts with pictures,” She said with a slight frown. “They don’t look nice.”

“Kid, you don’t need to ‘look nice’ all the time– I mean– it’s okay if you don’t like em and all, but–” The chef looked away, embarrassed.

“No-! They’re super cool! I-i’m just not allowed to– Mama and Baba say–” She stopped herself.

Pigsy looked at her.

Mei quietly stared down at the clothes for a minute, before handing back the “boys” ones to Pigsy. “I’ll stick with the girly clothes for now.”

“Anything you want, kiddo,” Pigsy said softly as he accepted them. He gestured for the kids to follow him as he put the shirts back and then waited in line to make their purchase, where Pigsy also threw in two bags of off-brand gummy bears in attempts to cheer the two up, which kind of worked.

Pigsy was nervous the entire time they were in line that his credit card would be declined or that if he used his debit card, these purchases would be marked off as suspicious, but strangely enough it all went without a hitch and soon they were walking out of there with four bags full of clothes.

They still had to stop at the nearby shopping center for tents, and the kids just trailed behind Pigsy and swapping gummy bears for the specific colors they liked while the pig chef wandered up and down aisles for camping stuff. Didn’t take too long thankfully, and so two more bags of sleeping bags were added to the group, and in a blink the group were on the bus back home.

.o0o.

The ride back was a lot quieter than the previous ride had been, though MK and Mei still talked a little, with the former trying to cheer up the latter with little games. It eventually worked, and Mei was laughing again, which meant Pigsy could relax and stress out about other things.

It didn’t take long for his mind to choose, as when he glanced tiredly out the window, there was a sparkling ad on a billboard for Megapolis City Academy, which he recalled being their school. He was going to have to get uniforms, and books, and whatever fancy people shit he needed to make sure no one else knew they were being raised now by some fat pig fraud… while also somehow dropping them off in all that high society and in front of those pompous assholes and then it’d be high school all over again. Great.

He wasn’t heartless. He was going to do this for them.

Every time he reminded himself he could practically hear his father talking about how crazy he is.

Well… proves him right, he figured.

Pigsy sighed and rubbed his face, before realizing the bus was nearing their stop and he pulled the string. Thankfully it was just in the nick of time and they were able to get off and walk back to the shop and apartment without a hitch.

Pigsy fumbled the door open and the kids immediately set the stuff down on the counters and flopped onto the couch tiredly, which didn’t surprise him at all.

“You can turn on some tv if you’d like– I’m sure there’s cable-free kid programming somewhere,” Pigsy said, gesturing to the remote on the armrest nearest MK. The boy nodded, turning it on and began flipping through channel after channel as Pigsy set all of his stuff down and mentally prepared himself for looking over all those lawyer documents again.

The chef dug through a drawer for a pen and pad before sitting at his table and pulling the massive pile of documents towards him just as he heard the familiar blare of the home shopping network.

“Mr. Piggy, do you have a snuggie?” MK asked, tilting his head at the screen.

Pigsy snorted. “Just wear a sweater backwards, kid.”

“Huh,” was all the boy replied with and Pigsy started looking into the stacks and folders.

First one he saw was labeled “Banking” and had “Contact Gatita” written on a big sticky note when he opened it, which filled him with relief as he pushed it to the side.

“Ooo– Can we get a Heat Surge?” Mei asked.

“We don’t need that kind of junk– besides, there’s no room for one,” Pigsy rolled his eyes, moving onto the next folder labeled ‘Allergens + Medical Records’. Pigsy scribbled a bit to make sure his pen worked before starting to take notes.

“Is that The Monkey King?!” MK suddenly jumped up from the couch and got an inch away from the tv before it shocked him with static electricity.

“Mr. Piggy-! Mr. Piggy-!” MK leapt from the couch and to the chef. “Can I get a– a–” He looked back over his shoulder. “A fushigi?”

Pigsy glanced at the TV, seeing a man in a poorly made Sun Wukong costume dancing around some glass ball surrounded by ‘fascinated’ onlookers and a guy who was way too passionate for what appeared to literally just be a glass ball.

“It’s Pigsy, and no– it looks dangerous,” Pigsy shook his head and got back to his work.

“Aw man– now i’ll never be as cool as Monkey King,” The boy sighed dramatically before taking a seat next to his best friend.

“Get used to it kid, you’ll be better off without all those expectations,” Pigsy joked a little as he jotted down vaccination dates.

There was a bit of peace (except for the commercials that literally never ended) and Pigsy was able to jot down all he felt he needed to before setting it aside and moving onto the next folder.

“Woah-! That cupcake is ginormous!” Mei gasped and pointed at the screen.

“That’s like the size of my head!” MK laughed and agreed.

“Mr. Piggy–”

“No we are not buying some tin to make a big cupcake– if we really needed to, we could manage with what we have,” Pigsy stopped the thought right there and the kids huffed and flopped dramatically back on the couch. For a second, Pigsy worried he was sounding too much like a stickler, but he kept on working.

“Booooo, medicine is boring,” MK blew a raspberry at the tv.

“Finally, some real calm,” He thought, jotting down a few more things. And the kids were indeed calm for a second, before MK asked–

“Mr. Piggy? What’s er–erectile dysfunct–”

“--Okaywellthat’senoughofthatfornowdon’tyouthink–” Pigsy shot up from his chair, taking the remote and immediately changing the channels.

“Aw man, I wanted to see if they’d mention if me or a loved one got mesothemeliomia,” MK sighed.

“Tough luck, you’re gonna watch this public broadcast for children,” Pigsy said, stopping at the channel with a weird green boy and girl and hitting select and going back to work.

Thankfully that worked to distract them for a long, long time, despite the content clearly being a bit young for them. There was a show about some dog that talked, whatever a “zoboomafoo” was, and a math computer smarty pants show– whatever, it wasn’t like Pigsy was paying all that much attention. He was now almost through the entire stack, with only one folder remaining.

Unfortunately, it was the biggest and it was all the information about their schooling.

Yay…

Pigsy was greeted with an eyeful of rich people propaganda that actually made him want to gag for a moment. If it weren’t dead people’s last wishes for their daughter, he would completely disregard this whole academy junk and place them into a public school. If they really wanted her to be ‘normal’ like they claimed, then that would be the best way to do it.

But Pigsy wasn’t a parent, so he had no idea the kinds of real thought and care that goes into these kinds of things, and so dived in anyways.

Uniforms, ¥1716.90 for four sets (jesus fucking christ); Books, at the school (thank god); shoes, had to be black and shiny, roughly ¥233.50 a piece; school supplies varied a lot, especially since there weren’t ‘back-to-school’ specials right now (which was just fun); and then admission in general cost about… holy fucking shit– that was the cost of this building at least three times over-!

Pigsy glanced at that banking stack and knew he’d have to call Gatita soon.

Pigsy rigorously took notes and tried working out budgets to see what he could get done before and after calling, and then tried to figure when he should do the next doctors appointments and needless to say Pigsy was starting to see numbers and yuan signs when he closed his eyes.

Deciding that was probably enough for one day, he rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes, and forced them shut tighter when the previously mentioned numbers started flashing behind his eyelids.

After a while there was a tap on his shoulder though. Pigsy sighed to himself and forced him to lift his head, surprised to find Mei standing there and looking at the ground. “Mr. Pigsy, is there a…” She glanced around the area, gripping her jacket tightly.

“You okay, kid?” Pigsy sat up.

“Oh– yes-! I just wanted to know if there’s a– a bathroom, yes,” Mei nodded to herself.

Pigsy eyed her before pointing. “Just right over there– and make sure the lock really clicks, it’s half broken and god knows my landlord ain’t fixin it.”

“Thank you,” She bowed a little and walked off, leaving Pigsy to rest his head again.

Though he had a bad feeling in his gut he just couldn’t ignore.

With a grumble, he pulled himself up and looked towards the tv, satisfied to see MK satisfied. There was some kind of cartoon about dragons on right now, and it looked fun enough– MK was even humming along to one of the songs.

Maybe it was nothing– it wasn’t like the show was even talking about death and stuff. Right now it seemed to be about learning hopscotch or something– Pigsy was just a worry wart.

…Right?

Pigsy decided his instincts might have a point and so went over to his bathroom and knocked on the door. “You doin’ okay in there?”

A gasp– shuffling noises that made him grip the handle before–

“Y-yes, Mr. Pigsy, I-I’m alright,” Mei’s voice replied.

“You sound hurt– you okay?” Pigsy asked, his grip on the knob softening only a little.

“I-i’m fine, thank you!”

“Kid–”

“I-i said I’m fine!” She shouted a little, which made him step back. If this were an adult, he’d probably yell at them and say something like “fine, see if I care!” but he was starting to realize that that probably wasn’t a healthy way to react to something, and also Mei was a child so he’d definitely have to think before he spoke.

“You know…” He sighed, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, “No one can help you feel any better if you lock yourself in that bathroom– and don’t say you don’t care about that because I care if you feel better so– I already got you there.”

Silence.

A sniffle.

The lock clicked, but she didn’t step outside, which the chef hesitantly took as a sign for him to go in instead, which he did.

The sight didn’t exactly surprise him– Mei was now sitting curled up in the bathtub, hot tears streaming down her face and–

And her eyes were glowing again.

“Are you hurt?” Pigsy asked, kneeling on the ground next to the tub.

She shook her head and hugged her knees tighter.

“Well that’s a little bit good, eh?” He tried joking, but it didn’t work. “What’s the matter then?”

“I-i… I miss them. I miss them a lot– I-i don’t wanna stay here, I wanna go home, with Mama a-and Baba, a-and I want them to eat dinner with me, a-and I wanna tease one of my nannies after school again, a-and I steal cookies with MK from right under Mama’s nose– a-and I don’t want to feel hurt anymore– and that stupid Dragon show just made me think of them a-and– a-and everything hurts just so much,” She spat out all at once before completely breaking into sobs.

“Oh kiddo…” Pigsy felt his heart break and he reached out a pathetic hand towards her, which neither knew what to do with.

“I-i miss them s-s-s-so much, Mr. Piggy– b-but they’re gone now a-and it’s all m-my-my fault,” She covered her face with her hands.

“What-?! No– that’s impossible, it couldn’t be your fault–”

“B-but it was! I-i told Baba I would c-clean the artifacts, a-and I thought I s-saw something, and bumped into the grass cutter sword fell a-and it fell a-and started burning a-and I just r-r-ran away-! A-and now Mama and Baba are dead a-and MK’s mama and baba too-! A-and it’s all my fault!!” She cried more, a gush of hot air shaking the room a bit as her dragon powers were fluctuating.

Shit– there was a folder on the dragon stuff, but that also had a Gatita sticky note so he put it off– now he really could use some of that advice.

“Kid, you’re not– it’s not–” Pigsy kept tripping over his tongue as he felt like such a stupid idiot moron.

Really living up to his family legacy.

Mei just kept crying and Pigsy just sat across the way in defeat.

She was just so young, so small… This guilt was too much for someone her size and age– it belonged to fat, useless pig men like him.

Eventually, he half got up and switched sides so he was closer to Mei, though not facing her. He placed an arm on the tub and tried to speak.

“Kid, I…” he opened his hand a little and examined it, looking at his hair and knuckles and all the little scars he accumulated over the years.

“...I know what it’s like to lose people you love,” He said, letting his hand relax again. “It… it tortures you, you know? All of those ‘what ifs’ and ‘i shoulda’ and ‘I coulda’s… it’s tempting to fall into that little spiral, but it ain’t exactly healthy,” Pigsy looked away, towards the towels, though he could feel Mei’s eyes starting to fall on him.

“My grandmother told me that, ‘bout two years back,” He took a shaky breath. “God, I miss her everyday– my best friend too, but he’s not dead he’s just…” Pigsy looked at the ground.

“What I’m tryin’ to get at here is… it’s not easy– and yeah, maybe there are things that could’ve been different, but wish and wish all you want, that isn’t gonna change anything. All it does is eat you up inside until you’re a husk that haunts your own life, you know?”

“And besides, accidents happen, and it’s a good thing you’re alive, Mei. You have a wonderful best friend who would be absolutely devastated if you tried to fight that mystical fire all by yourself, and he’s very happy you’re okay. You shouldn’t try to fix all the world's problems, and you also shouldn’t try to keep them all hidden and buried, you got that?”

He heard the girl nod, but he still couldn’t really look at her, the idiot.

“ ‘Sides, wherever your folks are, I know they’re proud of you, and they certainly don’t blame you. I mean– they got a whole stack of papers I just sifted through all about how much your future matters to them, and so don’t believe for a second that a freak accident changes any of that, because that’s not how your parents seem to me,” He was starting to get a little choked up himself, and he heard Mei nod again.

“I-i-i just… I really miss ‘em… a-and if I could–”

“–But you can’t, kiddo… and I’m so, so sorry,” He closed his eyes.

The girl was silent, even managing to halt her sniffles. Pigsy was okay with this, listening to the low hum of the cheap light above when suddenly he jolted at something touching his hand– though he instantly relaxed when he realized it was just Mei, whom he looked at.

She was very, very tired looking. The emerald glow finally faded though, which revealed deeply sorrowful brown eyes which were all red and puffy too. He gave her hand a pathetic squeeze and she squeezed it right on back. It made him let out a little laugh, which made her laugh too.

Eventually, the girl managed to muster her strength to say, “You’re really nice, Mr. Piggy.”

Pigsy snorted, thinking back to how his instincts had wanted to yell at her, but he wouldn’t let her know that.

“Thanks, kiddo. You’re really nice too,” He squeezed her hand again. “Which is why I’m sure not a single person blames you for what happened.”

Mei sighed a little. “I-i know… I-i just– I can’t stop feeling like this, you know?” She looked him in the eyes.

“Yeah kid… I know…” He gave a pathetic smile.

“And– hey, it’s okay to feel this way, it’s a normal part of grief for all your emotions to get scrambled up, but just remember what I told you, okay? Accidents happen and you still have people who love and care about you,” He placed the hand on her shoulder and she rested her head on it a little.

“Yeah, I can get that,” She replied.

“I’m glad, kiddo,” Pigsy squeezed her shoulder with a smile.

They sat like that for another minute or so, before the dragon girl muttered, “I’m hungry,” and Pigsy sprang to life, helping her up and out of the bathtub and back into the apartment, where MK immediately hugged her and asked what took her so long. Pigsy chuckled and let them get to talking and playing while he made some chow mein the three of them could share.

It had been a long, long day, and Pigsy knew it was the first of many.

But Pigsy also knew they survived the day, and that was honestly more than he ever really expected, and so he felt kinda hopeful nonetheless.

By the time the chow mein was cooked, there was a knock at the door and Pigsy couldn’t believe he had forgotten his favorite customer had promised to stop by and so quickly scrambled to make him another plate and they all sat and ate together, and for a moment, everything was right with the world, and Pigsy didn’t have a doubt in his mind that everything would be okay for at least today.

And Pigsy was perfectly fine with that for today.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #dadsy #my fics #pigsy lmk #mk lmk #mei dragon #mei lmk #tang lmk #adoptive dadsy au #hurt/comfort #uhhhhhhhh #fuck I've gotten really bad at tagging these things #spoiler free #no season 4 spoilers #freenoodles #pigsy x tang

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hb-writes · 2 years

Text

What Matters

Summary: While Mia’s learning to drive, she gets in a car accident resulting in damage to her sister’s car and the death of a deer in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rosalie and Mia both make some assumptions about one another in the wake of the accident before finding some common ground and understanding.

Characters: Rosalie Hale and Mia Cullen

Request: From anon - Hi I asked for Rose’s one “is that blood?” so you could change it for “You didn’t think I cared about you, did you?” :D

A/N: The day I started writing this idea, I almost hit three deer going out to do the shopping and I was put off the piece for months as a result.

Content Warnings: Angst, Grief, Guilt, Car Accident, Animal Death (mentions)

Here’s the AO3 link if you prefer to read over there.

Twilight (Mia Cullen) Masterlist

Angst Celebration Masterlist

Please take a moment to tell me what y'all think! Reviews and comments are always appreciated. 😌❤️

Rosalie sighed and leaned into Emmett's side. She was tired of talking and hearing about her sister’s accident. Tired of them asking after her car. Tired of plotting and scheming on how best to handle the girl's current state. Rosalie didn't often fatigue. She bored easily in some cases, but this was worse. The topic grated on her. While the others were still talking about their next moves, their next offering of comfort, Rosalie idly searched her mind for the last time she’d offered her sister any true relief, the last time she’d done more than scoff at the silliness of one of Mia’s seemingly trivial woes, the last time Mia had come to her in earnest seeking support or care or advice.

Rose found herself coming up empty.

Even if she was the only one there on the scene, the first one to encounter her sister’s tears or quivering lip, or to sense something was not quite right with the girl, the others always descended quickly, Rosalie’s learned hesitation compounded by Mia’s apparent gravitation toward whoever else came next, a cycle solidified between the two of them over several years. It was entirely self-reinforcing, Rosalie and Mia continuously wedged a bit further apart by one of the others stepping in and saving the day—setting kisses to Mia’s literal and metaphorical injuries, talking through her problems, soothing her woes. They were all of the things Rosalie had once imagined herself doing for the girl back in the early days after Carlisle brought her home, back when the mere idea of having a child in their lives made Rosalie swoon.

But Mia would only take Rosalie's approaches as an affront now. The girl’s defenses would draw up, her tears and hurt falling away only to make room for the impassioned fortifications she’d mount, stronger than any she typically set in place to keep the rest of them out. Rosalie now habitually let the others go to her first, let them attempt to soothe the girl without offering an ounce of input, letting them all dote and coddle and comfort her just as they always had, some part of Rose assuming—or knowing, rather—that her sister didn’t need her.

Her sister wouldn’t want her.

Whoever went to tend to Mia first was almost always able to pull the girl around anyway, the person nominated somehow perfectly poised to mend the hurt. It should have easily been Rose every time. She had been that person at one time, back when she had been a human girl with two young brothers. The memories were murky now, the details fuzzy, but Rosalie remembered that she had been the one who swooped in and made things alright for the boys. It was Rose who had tended and kissed their injuries. It was Rose who had soothed the boys’ woes, but had she ever done so for Mia? Rose couldn’t remember the last time she’d been the successful source of comfort where her little sister was concerned.

Rosalie watched Mia come down the stairs now, leaving her room for the first time in days. The whole room shifted in response to her sudden presence—Edward, Alice, and Esme all ready to follow after her as Mia shuffled toward the kitchen, Jasper's peace spreading over all of them except the intended recipient as she moved through the room.

Edward and Carlisle discussed it in silence. Edward's clear distaste for Carlisle's thoughts, for whatever suggestion he'd made, was evident on his face before his gaze fell on Rosalie, with Carlisle's gaze following directly after. Carlisle gave a smile and the slightest of nods toward the kitchen, the gesture coupled with Emmett's fingers kneading the tensed muscles of Rosalie’s neck and shoulder.

"Go on, babe. You got this," Emmett whispered as he tucked a strand of hair behind Rosalie's ear.

Rosalie remained in her seat, already preparing herself to decline the suggestion when Mia shuffled back into the room, a milk carton dangling in her hand.

“We’re out of milk.”

Were those the first words they’d heard from Mia in days? Rosalie imagined so. Four mundane words tied to a basic human need—a want, really—and they were muttered in such a flat, emotionless tone that Rosalie could feel the pain living and breathing beneath them.

“Why don’t you and Rosalie go for more?” Carlisle suggested, stopping Mia before she could mount an argument and slither back up the stairs to the isolation of her bedroom. “It’ll be good for you to get out of the house.”

Carlisle nodded at Rosalie a moment later. She silently moved toward the door with Mia following slowly in her wake. Rosalie had expected some sort of complaint to come from Mia’s lips, a refusal or a request for someone else to come, or at the very least a polite decline, though none of it would do any good. It was too sunny of a day for one of them to run the errand themselves, too risky for any of them to cross the parking lot on such a day though Rosalie wouldn’t have faulted the girl for it if she had fought.

It would have made sense, Mia wanting to stay away from the car, wanting to stay away from Rose, but Mia didn’t say a word, shuffling towards the front door with the empty carton in her hand while Rosalie waited, the car keys wrapped around her fingers, spinning idly as she waited for her sister to slip into her shoes.

Rosalie slipped Mia’s sweater from the hook, sending a raised eyebrow to Carlisle when Mia snatched it from Rosalie’s hand before pushing through the front door with it bundled under her arm.

“Be nice to her, Rose,” Edward called from the living room.

Fuck off.

“You, too,” he answered as Rose shut the front door.

—

Though the car was unlocked, Mia was standing beside the passenger side when Rosalie entered the garage, her sweater sheathed arms drawn tight around her body while she observed the partially patched bumper.

Rosalie pulled the empty milk carton from Mia’s hand as she passed, tossing it into the recycling bin Mia insisted on them keeping. Mia was the only one of them who ever really consumed anything that went into the bin. It seemed to Rosalie an infinitely small contribution to such a big problem and they lived far enough out that there was no collection route in place—they had to drive their recyclables to the collection center. They all indulged her nonetheless. And Rosalie sort of liked her sister being so vocal about it, so insistent. Something always swelled in Rose whenever her sister rose to that level of passion, as if some part of her knew Mia had picked it up from Rose.

Rose stopped when she was nearly halfway into the driver’s side door and glanced back at her sister. Mia was still standing near the front of the car staring at the bumper. Rosalie had started on some of the repair work already, clearing the debris and fixing the dents, just taking care of what she could with the supplies and parts she already had. She’d made progress, but the custom paint color she needed was a special order and the headlights were on backorder. When those arrived, Rose would make quick work of repairing the rest of the damage, all signs of the accident would be removed, and her car would be returned to its pristine condition while they attempted the same type of quick restoration of their Mia.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Rosalie said, though Mia still stared at the spot as if she couldn’t comprehend its current state, as if she still saw the remnants of a massacre—a mix of blood and fur and dirt and debris settled in the car’s grill as it was still settled in Mia’s mind. “C’mon.”

Mia slipped into the passenger seat and Rosalie brought the car to life, the healthy purr of the engine followed by Mia closing her eyes, swallowing down the lump in her throat as she slipped the seatbelt over her body.

Mia looked calm—her eyes closed, her hands clasped in her lap while Rosalie pulled out onto the main road, shifting seamlessly through the gears until they were fifteen miles per hour above the speed limit. Mia had always been good at hiding what was inside, a shield through and through, a picture of neutrality despite a sea of all else whenever she wanted it to be that way, the picture of calm externally while her heart rate soared, her breathing forced to a slow, consistent pace though it longed for erratics, the pooling liquid in her eyes held at bay.

Mia fidgeted with the settings on the console, shifting the heat and the radio before moving on to fiddle with the placement of the vents—manipulations and invasions Rosalie endured with restraint. She wouldn’t normally tolerate it and Rosalie rolled her head on her neck, willing her eyes to focus on the road, though she needn’t bother. She could easily focus on all of it at once.

Mia settled her hands in her lap and Rosalie prepared herself to speak, to put some words into the air between them that would help Mia to settle, and genuinely calm down, to adjust to being back in the car after what had happened. It was the first time Mia had been in a vehicle since the accident, or at least, the first she’d been so alert in a vehicle since then. During the journeys to and from the hospital that day, Mia had been compromised, first by the adrenaline and then by pain medication and exhaustion. And she hadn’t left her bedroom since returning home.

Rosalie knew precisely where it had happened. Even if she hadn’t been there firsthand, observing the damage to her car while Emmett pulled the deer from the road, while Edward took Mia to their father in his Volvo...even if Rosalie hadn’t seen all of that, she knew they were close because she could feel the tension building within her sister, growing as they neared the curve in the road, rising as Mia shifted away from Rosalie, her eyes wide now, her gaze directed out the window to the faded patch of blood that still stained the pavement and the muddy tracks that Mia had forged when she diverted the car from its path. Her first instinct had been to spare the frozen animal—to hell with sparing herself, to hell with sparing Rosalie’s car.

“I’m sorry,” Mia said, her words, barely audible, swallowed down by the coarse sob that followed, the sob that apologized for more than the dented bumper and the scraped paint, so full of anguish, a piece of pain that resonated with some part of Rose, pulling at something she had not troubled herself with for decades.

Rosalie pulled the car onto the shoulder, stopping quickly enough that Mia jolted, her cries a bit louder as her sister cut the engine. Rosalie stretched a manicured hand out to grasp Mia’s, but Mia was busy working on her seatbelt, her other hand already pushing open the door as she gasped for air, pushing herself out of the car, stumbling back towards the curve that was now a quarter of a mile behind them.

Rosalie got out after her, thankful for the thick cover of trees and the deserted stretch of road. She found herself in front of the girl’s intended path within seconds. Mia didn’t fight the obstruction, closing in on herself in Rosalie’s shadow, the essence of her seemingly swallowed whole by her oversized sweater and an invisible weight.

“Oh, Mia.” Rosalie’s hand reached under her sister’s chin to lift her gaze, the touch and voice so gentle that Mia barely registered either, her focus all consumed with the world inside of her, the lonely little world she’d built up there behind her protective walls, so focused on stymieing the spill she’d already allowed, willing herself to put it all back, to stifle her pain and fear and…

Rose reached for Mia’s hand, pulling it away from her body and squeezing her sister’s chilled fingers with her own.

“Hey,” Rose said, the word coming out a bit more forceful, the edge of it pulling Mia out from where she was hiding deep within herself, pulling Mia’s wet eyes up to Rosalie’s as she took a shaky breath. “Talk to me.”

Mia muttered out another apology, the same two words, a pained “I’m sorry,” followed by more tears as she glanced at the car. “I wrecked your car. I...”

Rosalie pursed her lips, sighing. The car was fine, or it would be. It had a little ding. Purely cosmetic. It was a few afternoons' worth of work Rosalie would enjoy doing. But Mia had suffered more than the mild bruising across her body. She held more than the pain from the small bump on her head, and Rosalie was far more concerned about her sister than the car.

“The car’s fine, Mia.” Rosalie caught her sister’s shoulders and pulled her against her chest. “And even if it wasn’t, you’re what matters.”

“But I—”

“Don’t worry about the car,” Rosalie answered. She wanted to tell Mia not to worry about the deer either, but some part of her knew Mia wouldn’t be able to let that go, too engulfed in guilt for the life she had accidentally taken. Rose had never felt the accompanying regret and guilt for the lives she’d been responsible for expending, only ever suffering the pain of loss over a certain piece of herself that had gone from her as she drained the life of Royce and his friends. A piece of Rosalie had been forever hardened and changed—because of what she was or who she’d become as a result of all that had happened to her. She’d never truly know, and maybe it was both, but death didn’t touch her that way any longer. It was nothing more than a fact of life, a bit of the natural order.

“You couldn’t have prevented it,” Rosalie said.

Maybe if Mia hadn’t been a new driver, just learning. Maybe if she’d been a vampire with better vision and reflexes. Maybe if it hadn't been a difficult corner to see around, obscured by lush trees and brush...Maybe if these things were all different, this all could’ve been prevented, but none of those things were real. And Mia was simply Mia, a young girl with a gentle heart buoying in an ocean of grief and guilt.

Mia was mumbling about the car again and then about the deer, the same string of apologies and regrets. Rose gripped her sister tighter. She didn’t usually have trouble with responses. She was usually quite quick with a rebuttal, but Rosalie didn’t know what else could be said to convince Mia that there was no need for guilt or shame. There were no words that could bring Mia around so Rosalie just held her closer instead, letting Mia continue to expend the hurt, letting her get it all out until it finally grew quiet between them.

“I want to go home,” Mia whispered, pulling away from Rose. “I want…” Mia had been about to ask for her father, but her father was too perceptive and she knew he’d not take her home. Carlisle would make her stay. He would help her face this. And maybe that was right. Maybe that was the best way through, but Mia didn’t want to face it. She wasn’t ready. “Edward,” Mia decided, knowing that her brother wouldn’t make her deal with this if she wasn't ready. He would take her away from here and that would be the end of it. “I want Edward.”

Rosalie sighed. “Edward’s not here,” she said. You have me. Rosalie wanted to scream the words, but she kept them closed up in her mind. She held back the anger that flared, the hurt. She tried to remain neutral. “But I’ll take you home.”

Mia gulped. She was grateful that Rosalie had chosen not to be cruel. She was grateful that her sister wasn't short or annoyed. But as Mia glanced back at Rosalie's car, her pulse quickened again, her chest tight. She didn’t think she could get back inside that thing, not today at least.

“I don’t—”

“I know,” Rosalie said, rubbing her hand down Mia's arm. “We’ll walk back.” Rose pressed the lock button on the key fob. “I can come back for the car.”

Mia glanced at the road. She knew she couldn’t pass by it again. She couldn’t walk back toward the house either.

Mia just wanted to be whisked away. She just wanted to be back home, safe within those four walls. She saw the scene enough in her mind. She didn't need to see it in person.

Mia knew she would have to face this eventually. She knew she couldn’t avoid the only road into town or cars forever, but for today? That was all she wanted.

“C’mon. We’ll go through the woods.” Rose stepped into the grass, her heels immediately sinking into the ground, and Mia’s gaze settled there. Rosalie sighed, holding a hand out to her sister. “Don’t worry about the shoes.”

Mia took Rose’s outstretched hand, following her sister into the muddy grass.

“Thank you,” Mia mumbled after a few minutes of silent walking.

Rosalie squeezed Mia’s hand. “You’re welcome.”

“I am sorry about the car…and the shoes…and—”

“Do you really think I care about those things?” Rosalie said. “I’m not mad at you…I don’t care about any of it.”

“You didn’t—“ she started. “I thought—”

“You thought I was angry." Rosalie sighed and stopped walking. She pulled Mia into her arms once again. "And you didn’t think I cared about you at all, did you?”

Mia shrugged in her sister's hold. Rosalie was the only one who hadn’t come to try and pull Mia from her room. She was the only Cullen to wash her hands of the issue, to leave Mia alone with the terrible thoughts swimming in her mind. Mia had assumed her sister was simply too angry to care.

And Mia didn’t blame Rosalie for that.

Rosalie held Mia closer. “I care, Mia,” she said. Some part of Rosalie was telling her to say more, to tell Mia why she hadn’t come to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to set a voice to that particular vulnerability, to say that she feared her sister wouldn’t want her. “I should have—”

"It doesn't matter," Mia answered quickly, hugging Rose back. “You’re here now.”

—

Twilight (Mia Cullen) Masterlist

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