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#avalon cross stitch

avaloncrossstitch · 4 months

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Cross Stitch Pattern Red Bauble. This cross stitch pattern depicts a picture of a pretty red bauble for the Christmas tree. If you're a lover of these types of pictures, then this cross stitch pattern is for you. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A DIGITAL CROSS STITCH PATTERN AND NOT A KIT, SO IT DO - Online Store Powered by Storenvy

#cross stitch #cross stich pattern #counted cross stitch #avalon cross stitch #red bauble #christmas bauble #christmas decoration

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dadbastiandisaster · 1 year

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Oh shit it’s finally done

This is fanart for the incredible, amazing, heart-warming-and-wrenching (it has range) Coattails by @pain-in-the-butler which you can read here. It’s one of the best fanfics I’ve read ever, every chapter is an absolute delight, all the characters are so in-character and also so well and interestingly utilised, and if you haven’t read it you absolutely should. It will recover the years of your life that the season 2 rewatch everyone was doing at one point took off you.

So, I am a horse girl, I love horses, and I actually don’t mind drawing them, so obviously I had to do fanart of Ciel with the Irish and Avalon in chapter 23. The horses are truly one of the highlights of this fic: Ciel’s interactions with them are so sweet, and Sebastian’s are usually quite amusing.

Also this did take me literally forever because I took up cross-stitch and then life kept happening and also I struggled with horse shading for some reason

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seventybridgesby70 · 6 months

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Bridge 70, Tintagel, Cornwall

The village of Tintagel is on the north coast of Cornwall, and it has a castle where the ancient kings of Cornwall lived, at least some of the time. The castle was built on a narrow, high, steep-sided promontory poking into the Atlantic Ocean, so was very defensible, though I find it hard to believe anyone could get to it at all, it’s pretty difficult now, and we had a car. Worth it, though, for the fabulous views.

The Atlantic at sunset, from the bridge

Also for the story, which is part of one of the great stories of the made-up history of Britain. In the twelfth century, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote chronicles of the Kings of Britain, and as he did not have access to Google Scholar, invented quite a bit of it. He included King Arthur, the once and future king, from scraps of Welsh legends, which he proceeded to stitch imaginatively into some heroic and magical progaganda, which has since been re-imagined, re-told, and elaborated many times, because the stories are so dramatic and captivating. If anyone is not familiar, or would like a re-telling from the point of view of the women involved, I recommend The Mists of Avalon by Marion Bradley. Anyway, Geoffrey’s tale is that Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur, lusted after the beautiful Igraine, wife of Gorlois, Duke, or possibly King, of Cornwall, who had a castle at Tintagel. Uther was so selfish and arrogant that got his mate Merlin to use magic so that he could impersonate Igraine’s husband and get what he wanted, by means of criminal conspiracy, deception and assault (maybe it wasn’t criminal then, but it was pretty nasty). Arthur was the result of this horror, and so was conceived and born at Tintagel. Merlin compounded the trauma to the young Arthur by abducting him from his mother and taking him to Sir Ector to be brought up, and continued to interfere in Arhtur’s life, usually catastrophically.

The castle that is there now dates from the thirteenth century, a bit later than Geoffrey was writing, so it is definitely not the castle where Gorlois and Igraine lived, but it is a pretty magnificent ruin anyway. The narrow bit of the headland it’s on has since been bashed away by the Atlantic, leaving a steep-sided gorge between the castle and the mainland for about the last 500 years, so getting to the castle was even more difficult, down one side to cross a bridge a quite a low level, then up the other, and it really is very steep. English Heritage now own the castle, and as visitors are more benign, reasonably thought it would be good to improve access to the impressive ruin, so held a competition to design a bridge, won by Ney & Partners Civil Engineers and William Matthews Associates. The new bridge was opened in 2019 by the current Duke of Cornwall, now King Charles. It is an astounding piece of design. The bridge is at the same height – around 60 metres – and the same width – about 1 metre – as the original land bridge, but is arguably even more vertiginous because there is a gap in the middle, so you can look straight down to the beach below. Though it does have quite high sides, which I suppose original didn’t. The bridge is two cantilevered decks that don’t touch in the middle. This is partly to create a physical break between the land and the castle promontory, and partly to allow for a bit of expansion if it gets hot. It’s about 4 cm. Sadly, the beautiful Cornish slate deck is very narrow, and was crowded when I visited, so taking pictures on the bridge was tricky, but here are a few, mostly from other vantage points.

Tintagel was the final bridge, just six months later than planned, and a very spectacular and beautiful one to end. I said when I started out that the best bridges are among the peaks of human achievement, and I’d say this one is among the best.

I have greatly enjoyed visiting 70 bridges, and if you have been, thanks for joining me on the journey.

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t3anks · 1 year

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Have a drink....

Have a drink….

Hair: Wasabi // Mathilda Hair (Fifty)Mesh Head: LeLUTKA. Avalon 3.1Skin: Glam Affair Soleil Skin [Lelutka EvoX] (Fifty)Top: Mug – Chloe Top – Fatpack (Kustom 9)Shorts: -[ vagrant ]- Vivien Shorts (Kustom 9)Beer box: MOVEMENT– Beer lover Backdrop: MINIMAL – Oslo Downtown Scene (Kustom 9)Pose: Lyrium. Lyn Breathing & Static Stand Set (Fifty) floorplan. framed cross-stitch / e-mail (Kustom 9)

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#Glam Affair #kustom9 #LeLutka #Minimal #Movement #Wasabi Pills #{Lyrium}

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andiicandy · 2 years

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Wizard101/Pirate101 OC Template

Thanks to @save-the-spiral for the template! Isador and Ginny under the line.

Name: Isador Marie Nightingale Nicknames: Isa, Isis, My Love (Only by Malory) Pronouns: She/Her Age & Birthday: 37 (Doesn’t Talk about her birthday) School/Class: Formly a Myth Sage/Witchdoctor Occupation: Pirate Captain/Smuggler Gender: Female Sexuality: Bi Hair Color/Style: Shoulder cut Auburn Eye Color: Blue Height: 5’6” Body Type: Curvy Distinguishing Marks (Tattoos, birthmarks, scars): Birthmarks on her hips, Clustered Freckles, Scar on her arm from a sword. Disabilities (Physical, Mental illnesses/disorders? How does it effect their life, what aids do they use to function like medication/mobility aids?): Anxiety: She has many comfort items from back home to ground her, including a carved necklace. Limp: She will use her staff as a cane. Allergies: Seasonal. Ethnicity: White/Irish Religion: Not really Cultural/Religious traditions they follow?: She leaves offerings in the lands that she visits and treats the land with great respect. Languages: English/Gaelic World of Origin: Avalon World they live in now: Skull Island Social Class: Middle Relationships (platonic, familial, and/or romantic): Platonic: Most of her crew falls under this except Gaspard de Vole, He’s like an uncle. Enemies: Captain Avery, Kane’s Court, Morganthe Hobbies: Staff Carving, Gliding, Book Making, Cross Stitch Morality: Chaotic Neutral Fears: Being Buried Alive Character Flaws: Stubborn, Blunt Darkest Secret: She’s had a daughter and never told the father. Greatest Weakness: Her Loyalty to her crew Greatest Strength: Her navigational and sailing abilities. Bad Habits: Tendency to not go to sleep when she should. Pet Peeves: When people stare at her too long. Fashion style/Aesthetic: Valencian/Avalonian. Bits of armada soldiers refashioned with natural cloth. Pets: A Chameleon named: Rosie Mount/Ships: The Golden Immortal: An Aquilian Long Ship Favorite Weapon: Bishop’s Gears of War Favorite Food(s): Fresh Yum Do they follow the canon plot? How do they change it or react to it?: Mostly follows the cannon plot but she’s more determined to find El Dorado to make everything worth it. She’s almost kinda mortified at how little the other pirates care for the common folk. Do they have any goals?: She wants to fully repair her parents ship and permanently end the Armada. -------------

Wizard101/Pirate101 OC Template Name: Genevieve Watcher Nicknames: Ginny. Pronouns: She/Her Age & Birthday: Just turned 16 School/Class: Death School with studies into Ice and Life Occupation: Student/Professional Savior of the Spiral Gender: Female Sexuality: Questioning Hair Color/Style: Pixie Cut Black Eye Color: Green Height: 5’5” Body Type: Stick Distinguishing Marks (Tattoos, birthmarks, scars):Birthmark on her back that looks like a lighting bolt Disabilities (Physical, Mental illnesses/disorders? How does it effect their life, what aids do they use to function like medication/mobility aids?): She’s got troubles maintaining her iron levels and a healthy weight. She keeps iron supplements on her as well as snacks. Allergies: Seasonal Ethnicity: ??? (She doesn’t know. She’s just kinda pale) Religion: None. Cultural/Religious traditions they follow?: Common Holiday ones as well as tending to graves to appease spirits. Languages: English World of Origin: (Techinally: Avalon but) Wizard City World they live in now: Karamelle Social Class: Middle Lower Relationships (platonic, familial, and/or romantic): Platonic: Malorn Ashthorn and Mellori. Familial: Most of her Bio Family is Dead but her adoptive mother: Lauren Grace and Charles Grace. Enemies: Scorpion and Rat Hobbies: Staff Carving, Knitting, Painting and Gardening Morality: Chaotic Good Fears: Dying, Enclosed Spaces Character Flaws: Naivety, A little to willing to not come to violence. Darkest Secret: She didn’t want to kill Morganthe and part of her wanted to pull her out of that darkness. Greatest Weakness: Her Optimism Greatest Strength: Strength with Spiritual Magic Bad Habits: Picks at her nails and hair. Pet Peeves: Micro management. Fashion style/Aesthetic: Avalon style of the druids. Pets: Small scrappy griffon, Miss Roxy Mount/Ships: Skates (Preferably, Roller Skates but ya know) Favorite Weapon: Wyrd Oak Staff Favorite Food(s): Apple Pie Do they follow the canon plot? How do they change it or react to it?: She follows the current canon plot up to the end of arc 2 and by the end of arc 2, she’s feeling very much like she can’t do much to actually save people no matter how hard she tries. Do they have any goals?: Her goal is to learn more about her parents and also one day find her mom.

#askthespartan #wizard101 #pirate101 #wizzy101 #wizzy fandom #pirate fandom #Isador Nightingale #Genevieve Watcher #just some more personal info on the two gals.#Ginny isnt doing well at all

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pastelbatfandoms · 2 years

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Movie Survey

Cause I’m bored.Did not create. Bold the movies you've seen, italic the ones you've seen part of, asterisk the ones you own, and add three on to the end. (Crossing out what I did not like)

01. Trainspotting 02. Shrek 03. M 04. Dogma 05. Strictly Ballroom 06. The Princess Bride 07. Love Actually* 08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings 09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11. Reservoir Dogs 12. Desperado 13. Swordfish 14. Kill Bill Vol. 1 15. Donnie Darko 16. Spirited Away* 17. Better Than Sex 18. Sleepy Hollow 19. Pirates of the Caribbean 20. The Eye 21. Requiem for a Dream 22. Dawn of the Dead 23. The Pillow Book 24. The Italian Job 25. Goonies 26. Baseketball 27. The Spice Girls Movie 28. Army of Darkness 29. The Color Purple 30. The Safety of Objects 31. Can't Hardly Wait 32. Mystic Pizza 33. Finding Nemo* 34. Monsters Inc. 35. Circle of Friends 36. Mary Poppins 37. The Bourne Identity 38. Forrest Gump 39. A Clockwork Orange 40. Kindergarten Cop 41. On The Line 42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 43. Final Destination 44. Sorority Boys 45. Urban Legend 46. Cheaper by the Dozen 47. Fierce Creatures 48. Dude, Where's My Car 49. Ladyhawke 50. Ghostbusters 51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 52. Back to the Future (All 3 parts) 53. An Affair To Remember 54. Somewhere In Time 55. North By Northwest 56. Moulin Rouge 57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* 58. The Wizard of Oz 59. Zoolander 60. A Walk to Remember 61. Chicago 62. Vanilla Sky 63. The Sweetest Thing 64. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead 65. The Nightmare Before Christmas 66. Chasing Amy 67. Edward Scissorhands 68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert 69. Muriel's Wedding 70. Croupier 71. Blade Runner 72. Cruel Intentions 73. Ocean's Eleven 74. Magnolia 75. Fight Club 76. Beauty and The Beast* 77. Much Ado About Nothing 78. Dirty Dancing* 79. Gladiator 80. Ever After 81. Braveheart 82. What Lies Beneath 83. Regarding Henry 84. The Dark Crystal* 85. Star Wars 86. The Birds 87. Beaches 88. Cujo 89. Maid In Manhattan 90. Labyrinth* 91. Thoroughly Modern Millie 92. His Girl Friday 93. Being John Malkovich 94. Run Lola Run 95. The Color of Paradise 96. Ghost in the shell 97. Tron 98. Tomb Raider 99. Almost Famous 100. Alice in Wonderland (Disney Version) 101. Dr. Strangelove 102. Kairo 103. Stir of Echoes 104. Lilo & Stitch 105. Brazil 106. Heathers 107. Talk to Her 108. Memento 109. Young Frankenstein 110. The Rocky Horror Picture Show 111. Mulholland drive 112. Dogville 113. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 114. Lost in Translation 115. Some like it Hot 116. Punch-drunk love 117. Gohatto 118. Full Metal Jacket 119. Death on the Nile 117. Practical Magic 118. Amélie 119. Butterfly Effect 120. Cast Away 121. Tangled* 122. Frequency 123. The Others* 124. American Beauty 125. The Last Samurai 126. Ghost World 127. Taxi Driver 128. The Royal Tenenbaums 129. Cube 130. Nosferatu 131. Nuovo cinema Paradiso 132. Koroshiya Ichi 133. The Thing (John Carpenter) 134. Jûbei Ninpûchô (a.k.a. Ninja Scroll) 135. The Kingdom (all parts) 136. Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo 137. Secretary 138. Hellraiser 139. Avalon 140. Heat 141. Out of Africa 142. True Romance 143. Goodbye Lenin 144. Vengo 145. Pulp Fiction 146. Crazy Beautiful 147. Grease 148. Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels 149. Four Rooms 150. Festen 151. Tillsammans/Together 152. Central Do Brasil 153. Closer 154. Rounders 155. Sliding Doors 156. Stand by Me 157. The Shawshank Redemption 158. The Green Mile 159. Velvet Goldmine 160. Dracula 2000 161. King Arthur 162. Hedwig and the Angry Inch 163. Top Secret! 164. The Virgin Suicides 165. Camelot 166. The Emperor's Wife 167. Gormenghast 168. Shallow Grave 169. Playing by Heart 170. A Life Less Ordinary 171. Garden State 172. Interview With the Vampire 173. The Never Ending Story 174. Corpse Bride 175. Dead Poets Society 176. Imagine Me and You

177. Clueless*

178. Toy Story*

179. Matchstick Men*

#movie survey #bolding

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beverlyhoebillies · 2 years

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Movie Watchlist

Beause I’m bored, and I’ve seen A LOT of movies (did not create)

Bold the movies you've seen, italic the ones you've seen part of, asterisk the ones you own, and add three on to the end. (Crossing out what I did not like)

01. Trainspotting

02. Shrek

03. M

04. Dogma

05. Strictly Ballroom

06. The Princess Bride

07. Love Actually

08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings*

09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*

10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*

11. Reservoir Dogs

12. Desperado

13. Swordfish*

14. Kill Bill Vol. 1*

15. Donnie Darko

16. Spirited Away

17. Better Than Sex

18. Sleepy Hollow

19. Pirates of the Caribbean*

20. The Eye

21. Requiem for a Dream

22. Dawn of the Dead

23. The Pillow Book

24. The Italian Job*

25. Goonies*

26. Baseketball

27. The Spice Girls Movie

28. Army of Darkness

29. The Color Purple

30. The Safety of Objects

31. Can't Hardly Wait

32. Mystic Pizza

33. Finding Nemo*

34. Monsters Inc.

35. Circle of Friends

36. Mary Poppins

37. The Bourne Identity

38. Forrest Gump

39. A Clockwork Orange

40. Kindergarten Cop

41. On The Line

42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

43. Final Destination

44. Sorority Boys

45. Urban Legend

46. Cheaper by the Dozen

47. Fierce Creatures

48. Dude, Where's My Car

49. Ladyhawke

50. Ghostbusters

51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

52. Back to the Future (All 3 parts)

53. An Affair To Remember

54. Somewhere In Time

55. North By Northwest

56. Moulin Rouge

57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*

58. The Wizard of Oz*

59. Zoolander*

60. A Walk to Remember

61. Chicago

62. Vanilla Sky

63. The Sweetest Thing

64. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead

65. The Nightmare Before Christmas*

66. Chasing Amy

67. Edward Scissorhands

68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert

69. Muriel's Wedding

70. Croupier

71. Blade Runner

72. Cruel Intentions

73. Ocean's Eleven

74. Magnolia

75. Fight Club

76. Beauty and The Beast

77. Much Ado About Nothing

78. Dirty Dancing

79. Gladiator*

80. Ever After

81. Braveheart*

82. What Lies Beneath

83. Regarding Henry

84. The Dark Crystal

85. Star Wars

86. The Birds

87. Beaches

88. Cujo

89. Maid In Manhattan

90. Labyrinth

91. Thoroughly Modern Millie

92. His Girl Friday

93. Being John Malkovich

94. Run Lola Run

95. The Color of Paradise

96. Ghost in the shell

97. Tron

98. Tomb Raider*

99. Almost Famous

100. Alice in Wonderland (Disney Version)

101. Dr. Strangelove

102. Kairo

103. Stir of Echoes

104. Lilo & Stitch

105. Brazil

106. Heathers

107. Talk to Her

108. Memento

109. Young Frankenstein

110. The Rocky Horror Picture Show*

111. Mulholland drive

112. Dogville

113. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

114. Lost in Translation

115. Some like it Hot

116. Punch-drunk love

117. Gohatto

118. Full Metal Jacket

119. Death on the Nile

117. Practical Magic

118. Amélie

119. Butterfly Effect

120. Cast Away

121. Tangled

122. Frequency

123. The Others

124. American Beauty

125. The Last Samurai*

126. Ghost World

127. Taxi Driver

128. The Royal Tenenbaums

129. Cube

130. Nosferatu

131. Nuovo cinema Paradiso

132. Koroshiya Ichi

133. The Thing (John Carpenter)

134. Jûbei Ninpûchô (a.k.a. Ninja Scroll)

135. The Kingdom (all parts)

136. Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo

137. Secretary

138. Hellraiser

139. Avalon

140. Heat

141. Out of Africa

142. True Romance

143. Goodbye Lenin

144. Vengo

145. Pulp Fiction

146. Crazy Beautiful

147. Grease*

148. Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

149. Four Rooms

150. Festen

151. Tillsammans/Together

152. Central Do Brasil

153. Closer

154. Rounders

155. Sliding Doors

156. Stand by Me

157. The Shawshank Redemption*

158. The Green Mile

159. Velvet Goldmine

160. Dracula 2000

161. King Arthur*

162. Hedwig and the Angry Inch

163. Top Secret!

164. The Virgin Suicides

165. Camelot

166. The Emperor's Wife

167. Gormenghast

168. Shallow Grave

169. Playing by Heart

170. A Life Less Ordinary

171. Garden State

172. Interview With the Vampire

173. The Never Ending Story

174. Corpse Bride*

175. Dead Poets Society

176. Imagine Me and You

177. Clueless

178. Toy Story

179. Matchstick Men

180. Inventing the Abbotts

181. Buffalo 66’

182. Swingers

#movies

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crygimethydgoode · 3 years

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Lover’s Fantasia Chapter 3 (Crystal Methyd x Gigi Goode RPDR12) Something About the Sunshine

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32286397/chapters/80491075

Summary: Two months after season 12 finished filming, Crystal and the Get Dusted Girls go to Los Angeles to visit Gigi and the House of Avalon. Meanwhile in Amsterdam, Crystal and Gigi are learning to be friends again.

seeing you in a whole new light

June 28th, 2021

Amsterdam

Crystal and Gigi sat in silence on the balcony for a few moments, not sure where to even start. Where do you start with someone you haven’t spoken to in almost a year? How do you face the person who had kept you awake for days and days? How do you open a wound that you tried so hard to stitch up? Gigi wasn’t sure if there was a right answer or an answer at all. Nonetheless, the hard part was over, she crossed the line. But where do they go from there? Thankfully, Crystal started the conversation.

“This isn’t how I expected my first day in Amsterdam to go,” She joked, offering a small smile. Gigi chuckled, nerves starting to settle.

“That’s the understatement of the year,” she muttered. They laughed together for a moment, it was nice. Gigi felt nostalgic, almost. She relaxed. “Uhm- Jaida and Michelle didn’t tell me you would be here. Granted, I don’t think they knew any better. They probably thought it would be a cool surprise or something,” Gigi joked. Crystal took a hit of her joint, not reaching Gigi’s gaze.

“I… didn’t tell anyone, only Lux, and Daya,” she whispered. “It just... it wasn’t easy to talk about. It still isn’t.” Gigi searched Crystal’s face for a hint at what she could possibly be feeling right now, but as always, she only drew blanks.

“Believe me, I know. I didn’t tell many either. Just the ones who mattered,” Gigi said. She wracked her brain searching for the right words, but every phrase she came up with seemed dumb or cringey. God, this was harder than she expected.

“Shit! Ouch ouch ouch!” Crystal yelped, burning herself on her joint. Gigi couldn’t help but smile. It was just... Crystal.

“I-Uh, I know we haven’t been okay,” Gigi started weakly. “We were both hurting and needed time and… and I was okay, but I hated not being your friend. And I know so many things have been left unsaid and trust isn’t built overnight but… can we just be fine for now?” Gigi looked out at the canal below them only to be greeted with the moon's reflection in the water. “Plus, look where we are!” she breathed, still in awe of the beauty of Amsterdam. “It’s not worth it, worrying about our past isn’t worth it when we have this… future,” Gigi said all in one breath. She looked up, Crystal just grinned at Gigi, eyes shining.

“So let’s be okay. We’ll move on… for now. Because I just- I’m so happy we’re here, even if we didn’t both mean to be here,” Crystal said, trying to hide the excitement in her voice. Gigi’s stomach flipped, but she ignored it. She had Crystal back, that’s what mattered. “God, I have so much to tell you,” Crystal laughed, taking another hit. Gigi found herself grinning wider than she had for an entire year.

“You’re not ready to hear some of the bullshit I need to tell you about,” Gigi said. Crystal looked at Gigi, it felt weighted. She smiled, scooting her chair closer to Gigi’s and passing her the joint.

“I’ve missed you,” Crystal said, fighting back a smile. Gigi hit the joint, simply looking at Crystal as she exhaled, feeling content.

“I missed you too,” Gigi said and fought back the urge to reach for Crystal’s hand.

‘Old habits die hard’

November 2019

Los Angeles

“Okay, Gigi. Now, I know that old habits die hard. But you’ve got this, okay?” Hunter said in the driver's seat, glancing at Gigi in the passenger seat.

“Okay,” Gigi agreed, but she couldn’t wipe that stupid smile off her face. In 20 minutes Crystal would be in LA, and Gigi would finally get to see her. Yes, it was only four days. But she knew those four days would be everything and more. Gigi couldn’t wait. She, Hunter, Rosy, Symone, and Rubber Child were piled into Hunter’s jeep, windows down, and Gigi swore the sun was shining just for them.

“Now Gigi,” Hunter began. “You’re not going to flirt and be all crazy for Crystal because...?” he prompted. With a roll of her eyes, Gigi answered.

“Because she’s unattainable.”

Hunter had been “coaching” Gigi in the weeks leading up to Crystal’s arrival. She couldn’t blame him either. Someone in the group had to have common sense. She did listen to Hunter and really was committed to not flirting with Crystal. In front of him.

Because while Gigi was listening to Hunter, coming up with diversion tactics, and swearing up and down she was over Crystal, she was also having sleepovers with Symone and Rosy, where they stayed up until the early hours of the morning wondering how things would go when Crystal came to L.A. Coming up with all the different ways Crystal might confess her undying love for Gigi. It was a really good balance.

“Okay OR, hear me out,” Rubber interrupted. “Convince Crystal to dump her boyfriend and FUCK HER!” Gigi, Rosy, and Symone burst out laughing while Hunter just shook his head, trying to fight back a smile.

“ALRIGHT, BUT YOU COULD DO IT GIGI! YOU COULD DO IT!” Symone got out between laughs. “I stalked the hell outta this Paul. He’s... he’s okay. But he’s got NOTHING on you, Gigi! AND he followed me on Tiktok! And I think he knows that I know it’s him,” Symone said scandalously.

“HE FOLLOWED YOU ON TIKTOK!?” Rosy screeched, eyes frantic.

“YES, AND IT TERRIFIED ME IT’S MY PRIVATE TIKTOK!” Symone yelled back as Rubber muttered “Stalker,” under her breath. Gigi slowly stopped laughing and shifted in her seat to look at the three girls.

“Yeah,” She breathed, a sad smile on her face. “But Crystal wants to be with him, so... I don’t know. I don’t like to think about him much. It’s like... he’s not relevant to... us. Ugh, that sounds cheaty. I don’t know…” Gigi trailed off. “Nothing is gonna happen between me and Crystal as long as they’re together, so…”

“So we’re gonna break them up?” Rubber asked, a shit-eating grin on her face. Before Rosy and Symone could start cheering, Hunter interrupted.

“NO. We’re not breaking anybody up. That’s horrible,” he scolded them. “But this is my whole point. Crystal is in a relationship. We know they’ve been together a while now. And you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak, Geege. What are you gonna do if god forbid, someday she posts on Instagram and she has a wedding ring or something?”

“I would manifest Paul away!” Rosy exclaimed, grinning brightly.

“I would say 50% of marriages end in divorce,” Symone smirked, shooting Gigi a wink in the rearview mirror.

“I would kill him,” Rubber said easily. “Comforting a widow is so sexy.”

“RUBBER NO!” Everyone yelled, and then they were all laughing, wind whipping through their hair.

“Okay no to all of that. You would say ‘In another life.’ Dumbass,” Hunter tried to sound serious, but now he was grinning too, and Gigi knew he was excited, no matter how stern he’d been attempting to act.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, right?! I’m over her!” Gigi gave her biggest shit-eating grin to Hunter, who just reached up and lightly punched Gigi in the arm.

“You’re lucky I love you kid,” he shook his head. Gigi couldn’t contain her excitement as Hunter took the exit, turning back again to grin at Symone, Rubber, and Rosy who were bouncing in their seats. As soon as Hunter found a parking spot, Gigi was out of the jeep, speed walking into the airport. The group had to jog to catch up with her. She walked into the airport and looked around for a moment. The last time Gigi had been there, Crystal had been crying in her arms, not wanting to say goodbye but knowing she had to. The last time Gigi had been there, she was broken. Now she couldn’t stop looking in every direction, trying to spot a head of dark brown curls and a bright pink suitcase. Trying to find the small piece of herself that had been in Missouri for nearly three months now.

And finally, she saw her. There Crystal was at the top of the escalator, stuck behind a crowd of people. She hadn’t spotted Gigi yet, she was also looking around the airport. Was she looking for Gigi?

Gigi waved an arm in the air, trying to make eye contact with Crystal. Finally, she saw them. Crystal’s bright brown eyes landed on Gigi, and her face immediately broke into a grin. And Gigi forgot how to breathe.

She knew Lux and Daya were behind Crystal, but barely noticed. Because suddenly Crystal was on the move, unashamedly pushing past people on the escalator, never losing her smile, never breaking eye contact with Gigi. And before Gigi even had a chance to comprehend everything that was happening, Crystal launched herself into Gigi’s arms, face burrowed in her neck.

“Hi,” Crystal said gruffly, arms wrapped tight around Gigi. All Gigi could do was squeeze Crystal harder, forehead on her shoulder.

She was here. She was here. She was here.

Gigi wasn’t sure who’s heart was beating faster, who was whispering “I missed you I missed you I missed you I missed you” like it was a prayer. All she knew was that she had never been hugged tighter, had never felt so relieved to see someone. Crystal pulled away, still holding Gigi in her arms, just grinning at her, studying every last detail of her face. Gigi pretended not to notice the tears in Crystal’s eyes.

“Hello,” Gigi whispered, and Crystal pulled her into another hug. She was shaking. Or maybe that was Gigi. And then they were ripped apart by Rosy and Symone, who were now crowding around Crystal. Gigi saw the Get Dusted girls come up behind them, Hunter and Rubber walking over to join them. And all of a sudden they were having a family reunion in the middle of the airport, despite the fact that none of them actually knew each other.

Luckily Gigi had stalked the hell out of Lux and Daya on social media so she could tell who she was hugging. Gigi could feel Crystal watching them, wanting them to like each other so much. As she laughed her head off with Lux and Daya, all Gigi could think was how on earth could she not love them?

Eventually, Gigi found her way back to Crystal, who was talking to Symone, laughing at something she had just said.

“I like this one!” Symone exclaimed to Gigi. Crystal gave a soft smile and turned to Gigi.

“Symone likes me,” she said matter of factly. Gigi just smiled and threw an arm around Crystal. She could see Rosy whispering something to Lux and dissolving into giggles. They were definitely laughing at Crystal and Gigi. Good. For the first time since August, Gigi felt complete again. The small piece of her heart that belonged to Crystal was back with her. Home.

What a weird concept, home.

Gigi felt like she had so many homes. Chicago, with her parents and brothers. Where she could laugh the day away, feeling safe and content, head in her mom's lap, home. And of course the House of Avalon, with Gigi’s chosen family. Late nights with everyone scream-laugh-crying in the living room, where Gigi could truly be herself and never feel insecure. Home.

And then Gigi just knew the feeling of home.

Legs tangled with Crystal in the back of the van, whispering back and forth. Holding Crystal’s hand in the untucked lounge, knowing it was the only thing keeping her grounded. Foreheads nearly brushing, passing a joint back and forth in the bathtub. Waking up to Crystal’s hand clasped tightly in hers. Crystal’s face buried deep in Gigi’s neck, neither of them wanting to let go, neither of them wanting to say goodbye. Crystal launching herself into Gigi’s arms in the middle of the airport, that familiar fire burning in Gigi’s chest. Home.

The group of eight made their way to Hunter’s jeep which seated five, and Gigi laughed as she realized just how tight the seating arrangement would have to be. Oh no. Oops.

“This is why I wanted you three to stay home,” Hunter said to Rosy, Rubber, and Symone who just mischievously grinned at Hunter.

“It’s okay! We can squeeze!” Rosy exclaimed.

“I WANNA SIT WITH GIGI!” Crystal burst out. Gigi just laughed and lifted her hand to run her fingers through Crystal’s curls.

“Good. Cause I have a surprise for you,” Gigi smirked as she pulled a pre roll out of her pocket. Crystal gasped, looking between Gigi and the joint. Could her smile get any bigger? Any brighter? Could she get any more beautiful?

“You’re the love of my LIFE GIGI GOODE!” Crystal laughed and immediately jumped into the jeep, Gigi closely following behind. Hunter was driving, with Rubber in shotgun on aux. Crystal and Gigi shared the window seat behind Hunter, Crystal practically on Gigi’s lap. Symone sat sandwiched between Lux and Daya, who were all silently shaking with laughter. Rosy pulled her knees to her chest, ducked her head, and sat on the floor, leaning against Symone and Daya’s legs.

A very safe seating arrangement, thank you very much.

When they were finally on the highway, Gigi lit the joint, holding it up to Crystal’s lips. When Rosy whined asking for a hit, Gigi just looked at her.

“Sorry Rosy, only people in the top three of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 are allowed to smoke in the jeep,” Crystal replied easily. Everyone laughed, even Hunter, who had been trying to catch Gigi’s eye since they left the airport. Gigi knew he would give her shit later, knew he was cursing her in his head right now. But Crystal was so close, leaning over Gigi to blow smoke out of the window, wind whipping through her hair, a playful smirk on her face. So close. And Gigi couldn’t bring herself to care.

She was here. She was here. She was here.

Amsterdam

And so Crystal and Gigi were… friends again? Or they were trying to be. Jaida and Michelle had taken them all through Amsterdam, showing off their favorite spots and restaurants. Gigi had fallen completely in love with the tall, slanted buildings, leaning on each other like drunken sailors. Both Crystal and Gigi found themselves looking around the city in awe, crossing little bridges over the canal, the sun shining in their eyes.

It was alarmingly easy for them to fall back into their old habits, the two being attached at the hip again. Yes, they were still a bit hesitant. Crystal was different, Gigi couldn’t help but notice. But in a good way. She was much more confident, more sure of herself.

Gigi wondered if Crystal was thinking the same thing about her. Wondered if Crystal saw how much Gigi had grown up, how much she had transformed herself. She wanted Crystal to notice. Wanted Crystal to be impressed with her. And maybe she was noticing. Because every now and then Gigi would catch Crystal looking at her. But she’d never look away when they made eye contact. No. Instead, Crystal would shoot Gigi the biggest grin, eyes wild with excitement and wonder. And Gigi really had fallen in love with Amsterdam, her new favorite city.

Once Thursday hit though, Jaida made it very clear they were working Drag Queens now. On Saturday nights, they had a show at the Queen’s Head. Then a Sunday night drag show at Amstel54. On Tuesdays, they were hosting Drag Bingo at the Queen’s Head. Gigi knew Crystal was excited about that; it was one of her favorite gigs back in Springfield. Finally on Wednesday nights they had another drag show at Vrankrijk.

While Gigi would only work some weekends in L.A., she was excited to completely throw herself into drag nearly every day for two months. She just prayed her skincare routine was strong enough. She was also excited to meet all the Amsterdam queens. She had looked a lot of them up, along with binge watching Drag Race Holland, and knew they were all gonna get along fabulously.

So on Friday night, Crystal and Gigi shared a joint on the balcony and met Jaida and Michelle outside the coffeeshop.

“ARE YOU BITCHES READY TO GO?!” Jaida screamed when she saw them, a bright grin on her face. Gigi knew she’d been pregaming. “I can’t drive. I... cannot drive. And my Michelle is from New Jersey. So over my dead body is she driving. And I KNOW you two can’t drive. Gigi, you're a lightweight when it comes to weed and Crystal... I just don’t trust you driving the car. I know you too well. So I called an Uber!” Jaida grinned, and Michelle let out a cheer. Right on cue, the Uber pulled up, and they all climbed in. It was a pretty tight fit, considering they were all dressed up in bulky garments with big hair and in Crystal’s case, five pounds of jewelry. Gigi didn’t mind. Crystal sat between Gigi and Jaida, while Michelle sat shotgun, speaking fluent Dutch with the driver.

“What the fuck?” Gigi muttered, sharing a confused look with Crystal who was giggling.

“Michelle learned Dutch in quarantine. I don’t know why. She didn’t even know we were coming here when she learned it,” Jaida whispered, trying not to laugh.

“I’m trying to learn Spanish on Duolingo. I don’t... I don’t understand the sentences... they’re so weird,” Crystal commented, and the three dissolved into laughter in the backseat.

“Are you assholes talking about me?” Michelle turned around in her seat, shooting a playful grin to the back.

“NO!!” Crystal, Jaida, and Gigi yelled at the same time, doubled over in laughter. In five minutes, the car stopped, pulling up to the Queen’s Head. The street was so narrow, Gigi wasn’t sure if the car was technically allowed to be driving on it. It looked like a bike lane, just tall buildings and thin sidewalks on either side of the street. Jaida pointed towards the Queen’s Head, it was so small Gigi nearly missed it. But she could clearly see a white crown decal on the window, multiple rainbow flags hanging above the door.

“Cmon bitches! Let’s go!” Jaida grinned, leading them into the bar. The first thing Gigi could make sense of was all the red. Old, old red wallpaper, an old, glossy, cherry wooden bar. Deep, fluorescent red lights filled the room, with golden crystal chandeliers scattered throughout the bar . It was long and narrow, much like Gigi’s apartment. Much like everything in Amsterdam. There was a thin stage to the left, with glittery red curtains as a backdrop. And the bar was packed, bursting with energy. Gigi was immediately blown away.

Jaida led them downstairs, and into the smoking-room where a group of Drag Queens were sitting around. Gigi immediately recognized a few and realized these were the queens she would be working with for the whole summer. The queens immediately turned to them, letting out a cheer. Crystal and Gigi were pulled into the middle of the circle, being bombarded with hugs, kisses, and hurried introductions. Gigi wasn’t sure if they were speaking English or if she had just picked up the Dutch language really fast. After they had been passed around the circle, Jaida spoke up. “LADIES! I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO CRYSTAL METHYD AND GIGI GOODE!'' She exclaimed.

“OH you’re the queens who are dating, right?” One of the Dutch queens asked in English, her accent thick. Fuck. Gigi had forgotten about that. Luckily, Crystal swooped in, saving the day.

“We haven’t confirmed or denied anything. Gotta wait for All-Stars, you know?” Thank God for Crystal Methyd. Everyone laughed, and then they moved on, answering questions about how they liked the city, what area their apartment was in. Gigi got yelled at for not liking stroopwafel. And then, the show began. It was unlike anything Gigi had ever been to. Yes, she’d been to raging fun drag shows, but this was on another level. The crowd was electric, and it seemed as though a part of that electricity entered the queens, shocking them into giving the greatest performances Gigi had ever seen. There was lightning in the air when it came to the Amsterdam drag scene. And Gigi felt it.

When it was her turn to perform, she wasn’t nervous at all taking the stage. She was ready. As the opening notes to “Los Ageless” by St Vincent started playing, Gigi could already hear the crowd going crazy.

“In Los Ageless, the winter never comes. In Los Ageless, the mother's milk their young” Gigi lip-synced to the sultry song, collecting tips people in the crowd were already holding out for her. And there was Crystal, standing against the wall with Jaida, just watching Gigi fondly. But now wasn’t the time for Gigi to be distracted.

“How can anybody have you? How can anybody have you and lose you? How can anybody have you and lose you and not lose their minds, too?” Gigi had listened to this song so many times in the past year, driving through L.A. with Hunter, Rosy, and Symone. Thinking about... everything. Thinking about Crystal. Missing what could’ve been.

Gigi wished she had known about Crystal when she was choosing all the numbers for Amsterdam. And she soon found out that Crystal was feeling the exact same way. She took the stage, her song began, and Gigi immediately recognized it. Crystal used to play it every time Gigi gave her aux.

“Release me, release my body. I know it’s wrong, So why am I with you now? I say release me, Cause I’m not able to convince myself that I’m better off without you.” Gigi had laid in bed with Symone and Rosy countless nights, dissecting the song, “Release Me” by Agnes, wondering if Crystal thought about Gigi every time she listened to the song, the same way Gigi thought about her.

Crystal commanded the stage, entrancing everyone in the audience. Entrancing Gigi. And was Gigi crazy, or was Crystal really looking over at her every now and then, almost like she was serenading her? “I don’t know why I want you so. Cause I don’t need the heartbreak. I don’t know what addictive hold, you have on me I can’t shake”

What was this, fucking Glee?

Crystal finished her number to thunderous applause and joined Gigi at the bar. They sat in silence together for a moment, listening to Jaida and Michelle on stage.

“ALL RIGHT Y’ALL now I’m not much of a singer, but Miss Visage is. And we wanted to do something special for you tonight so...” Jaida trailed off, looking at Michelle.

“Plug your ears folks, Jaida and I are about to sing you a song!” Michelle cheered, and the karaoke track to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now” by Starship started playing.

“Looking in your eyes I see a paradise. This world that I’ve found is too good to be true,” Jaida sang, and Gigi and Crystal couldn’t stop laughing. While Michelle had a stunning voice, Jaida’s singing had them both in stitches, tears in Crystal’s eyes. And once Jaida and Michelle started their impeccable choreo, Gigi had to grab Crystal’s arm so she wouldn’t fall out of her chair. Crystal’s hand met Gigi’s, and they just screamed their faces off for Michelle and Jaida. Then, Jaida did a dance move that made Crystal go absolutely wild, jumping out of her seat.

“SHE DID A JUST DANCE MOVE SHE DID A JUST DANCE MOVE!” Crystal yelled to Gigi, still holding her hand, doing the move over and over. And all Gigi could do was watch her, the biggest smile on her face. Gigi’s phone started to buzz, and she saw that Hunter was calling. With a shrug, she put down her phone and joined Crystal on the dance floor. And they were electric.

Los Angeles

Gigi was almost freaked out by how normal things were with Crystal. A part of her was nervous she’d make a fool out of herself, fawning over Crystal like an idiot. But the minute Gigi saw her at the top of the escalator in the airport, it was like they hadn’t been apart for nearly three months. It was like Gigi hadn’t spent every night missing Crystal, hoping she was thinking about her too. Because she was here.

Everyone adored Crystal, Lux, and Daya. Rosy always had the biggest grin on her face, sandwiched between Lux and Daya, laughing at everything they said. Symone was taking pictures of everything they did, sending them to Gigi at the end of the night, always saying the same thing. “I LOVE THESE BITCHES SO MUCH!” And Hunter made it his mission to learn everything about them, which Gigi was so grateful for. How did she not know Crystal was lactose intolerant? How did she not know she wanted to own a house in GERMANY? Gigi was a little concerned. How was she pining for someone she knew barely anything about? But with one look at Crystal, Gigi found she didn’t care. When she was with Crystal, everything made sense. Nothing else mattered. Because she was here.

She was here. She was here. She was here.

Of course, Gigi knew it was temporary. On Monday night Crystal would fly back to Missouri, and Gigi wouldn’t see her again until the Drag Race premiere. They had to make the most of these four days. So on Saturday night, after they finished another performance at one of the clubs In L.A., Gigi led the Get Dusted girls into the House of Avalon, and chaos ensued. What was a trip to L.A. without going to one of Avalon’s iconic house parties?

Daya immediately went for a bottle of tequila, pouring shots into her mouth. Of course, they had hotboxed Hunter’s jeep on the way back from the club, sharing another three spliffs. Gigi had never partied with Crystal like this before. She was radiant. Electric. Gigi could feel it.

Rosy was in the kitchen making vodka cranberries for her and Lux.

“Only the finest for us ladies!” Lux cheered, being pulled into a hug from Rosy. Hunter and Marko were setting up the dab rig, a Volcano. Symone was sipping at a white claw, occasionally taking a swig of Daya’s tequila. And Crystal went straight to the vodka, taking two double shots back to back, chasing them with a glass of Rosé.

“Holy fucking shit,” Gigi burst out laughing, wrapping an arm around Crystal. She turned facing Gigi, holding her in her arms.

“I like it!” Crystal grinned, eyes bright. Gigi was grinning too, completely enraptured by Crystal.

“What?” Gigi asked, leaning forward.

Crystal was leaning forward too.

Gigi’s body was on fire. Her hands, which had fallen to Crystal’s waist, were tingling. She couldn’t tell if this was because she was high, or because she was so close, so... golden. So close.

And then Crystal’s face was pressed into Gigi’s neck, and Gigi just prayed Crystal couldn’t feel her pulse, her heart was pounding so fucking fast. She also hoped Crystal’s makeup wouldn’t smudge. But she really didn’t care.

And then someone was tapping on her shoulder- Hunter, of course. He was holding the volcano bag out. Gigi shot him a dirty look, taking the bag. She took a hit, emptying half of it. As Gigi exhaled, all she could think was ‘don’t cough don’t cough don’t cough.’ Not in front of Crystal.

“OKAY GIGIIIIIII,” Crystal screeched, throwing her arms in the air, Rosé (not the Drag Queen. This is pre- season thirteen so i can’t even make a joke about her) dangerously splashing in its glass. Rosy, Lux, Symone, and Daya immediately started cheering, and all Gigi could do was smile, holding the volcano bag up to Crystal’s mouth.

She took a long hit, emptying the rest of the bag, blowing the smoke in Gigi’s face. She handed the bag back to Hunter and tried not to laugh at his bewildered expression as he slowly backed away with Marko, almost... impressed. Ha. “Are you gonna drink?” Crystal asked, holding her wine glass out to Gigi. Gigi chuckled, accepting a sip of the wine.

“I have a feeling I’m gonna have to take care of all of you. I like smoking better anyways,” she answered, smiling softly at Crystal. How was she so beautiful?

Was Gigi going to feel that fire burning in her chest every time she was with Crystal?

“Ohhhh okay. I like smoking better too,” Crystal was starting to get drunk. Her eyes were glazed over, a goofy smile on her lips. “I wish you woulda told me! I’d be... I’d be not drunk with you. I would. But I... I think it’s too late,” she giggled, and her laugh was contagious. Gigi joined, and they stood in the middle of the kitchen, just laughing in each other's arms.

As the night progressed, Crystal got drunker, Rosy’s laugh got louder, and Daya moved onto a second bottle of tequila, having poured most of its contents into all of the partygoers' mouths. Symone had crushed four more white claws and an undisclosed amount of shots from Daya’s tequila bottle, and Hunter and Marko had probably filled the volcano twenty times. Lux had gone to the bathroom sixteen times, taking a mirror selfie with everyone she’d seen in the bathroom. And Gigi... fell harder. She hadn’t known that was possible. But Crystal was just so damn funny and happy and bright. And once she had finished her second White Claw, Crystal was completely unhinged. “I WANNA PLAY JUST DANCE! I WANNA PLAY JUST DANCE! HUNTER!! HUNTER GET THE JUST DANCE!” she yelled, running through the house, Gigi laughing in her trail.

“I... I’m sorry, Crystal. We don’t have Just Dance,” Hunter said kindly while Marko silently laughed behind him, shoulders shaking. Crystal just gaped at him for a moment, before turning around to look at Gigi.

“Oh...” she was disappointed, and Gigi couldn’t help but feel bad. And then Crystal’s face lit up again. “I still know the moves!” She exclaimed, and started doing what Gigi could only guess were Just Dance moves. Rosy saw her first and rushed over to join Crystal. Symone, Lux, and Daya followed, dancing around Crystal, arms in the air. “GIGI DANCE WITH ME!!!” Crystal laughed, holding her hand out. Gigi immediately took it, allowing Crystal to pull her into the dance... clump. The Just Dance party? “Twirl baby, twirl!” Crystal cheered, twirling Gigi under her arm. Her face was on fire, and the floor was crackling with electricity, and Gigi didn’t know where her body ended and where Crystal’s began.

And maybe she never wanted to find out.

Gigi didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was the loud music. Maybe it was the dabs. Maybe Gigi just didn’t care. But something gave her the courage to lean forward, lips brushing against Crystal’s ear to whisper.

“You know we could always be like this?”

Amsterdam

Over the next few days, Gigi really started to feel at home in Amsterdam. She was having the time of her life, venturing further out, really getting to see everything the city has to offer. And by her side was Crystal, with Jaida and Michelle trailing behind, sunglasses on, cackling about the dumbest thing. Gigi loved it. Life was just better in Amsterdam. She loved going into random restaurants with Michelle and ordering takeout to bring back to Jaida’s apartment, where the four of them would sit around the small table, passing all the different food around.

“It’s like... Dutch food roulette,” Jaida wiped tears away from her eyes after spitting out some herring. “I don’t care for that fish,” she squirmed, sipping her drink. Everyone around the table just laughed. One day, Gigi did a museum crawl with Jaida while Michelle and Crystal took a cruise around the canals together, mimosas in hand. Jaida was surprisingly a geek going to all the museums, stopping to read every sign, discussing every exhibition in detail with Gigi, who really just liked looking at the cool sculptures and pretty paintings. But she pretended to care for Jaida because she owed her. It was easier to breathe in Amsterdam. Everything just... made sense. She knew she was meant to be there, growing into someone new, someone better.

“I told you, Hunter. Amsterdam is still my fresh start. Crystal isn’t gonna… uproot everything. All that shit we went through... it forced me to grow so much. I’ve got this! Amsterdam is about me taking a small break before my next big chapter, and where I’m going to start anew. It’s not about… like… I know I said I wanted to find my old self again, or whatever. But I was so young, so… I don’t know. I’m happier now. Why would I want to go back to who I was before?” Gigi was FaceTiming with Hunter while removing her makeup after the Sunday night show. Hunter was at a noisy 4th of July BBQ, screaming kids and adults alike running around behind him.

“It was never about going back to who you were, Gigi. It’s just… you finally found your joy again. We all saw it. And I was so happy because I had missed it. A lot. And I’m just worried that something is gonna happen and you’re gonna lose that joy again. But I trust you. And you do look happier, I see it. I’m happy for you, kid. Just...” Hunter trailed off.

“I know,” Gigi lied. “I’ve got this. I don’t see her all that much outside of work and meals anyways,” Why did she have to throw that in? “Alright, I’m gonna take a shower. I’ll talk to you soon, bye bitch!” Gigi hung up, blowing Hunter a kiss. She quickly went to the bathroom, taking a short shower. Once Gigi was changed, she heard the familiar sound of Crystal stepping out onto the balcony. She counted to ten, and like clockwork, her phone buzzed.

Crystal Methyd: come smokeeeeeee.

And then, like clockwork, Gigi counted to ten and joined Crystal on the balcony.

“Hi!” Crystal grinned the minute Gigi stepped outside.

“Hello,” Gigi said in a singsong voice, and fuck she was smiling too.

“I can’t believe it’s the Fourth of July. Like I don’t care about America at all but... Fourth of July picnics are pretty iconic with my family. There’s always drama, I’m always messy drunk, it’s just the best time,” Crystal took a long drag from the joint, handing it to Gigi as she exhaled.

“I know what you mean. I was FaceTiming Hunter, and he was at a barbecue. There were asshole kids running around with sparklers, and I could see some sixteen-year-olds trying to sneak beer out of the cooler and... I don’t know,” Gigi said, looking out at the canal as she took a hit. And she could feel Crystal softly smiling at her.

Gigi tried to shove down the burning fire in her chest, but it was just as bright as Crystal's eyes, bigger than her smile. And as that familiar buzzing feeling returned to Gigi’s head, making everything seem heavier but lighter at the same time, she found that no part of her wanted the fire to go away. And that terrified her. But now Crystal was standing, leaning against the balcony, looking out at the city.

Maybe she was scared too.

“What are you thinking?” Gigi’s voice was barely above a whisper. Crystal turned to look at her, the lights from Amsterdam behind her casting a soft glow around her body.

“Well, you brought up Hunter and I’m just thinking about... when I came to L.A. To see you. I remember in November, I got all the memories from the trip, and... it felt worlds away. Like some dream I was trying to remember. But being with you is bringing everything back and it’s... it’s a lot,” Crystal admitted, and god she was beautiful. “Like, how did you guys not have Just Dance? That should be illegal,” her face split into a grin, and Gigi burst out laughing.

“It didn’t even matter! You knew all the moves, you fucking loser,” she said between laughs, and now Crystal was laughing too, falling back into her chair.

“That trip was so fun. Lux and Daya loved you guys so much. And I just completely fell in love with Rosy and Symone and everyone else,” Crystal was smiling fondly, and it took Gigi right back to those four days in LA with her, nearly two years ago. Crystal came to LA and there was no turning back for Gigi. Her heart picked Crystal and never let go, no matter how hard she tried.

They sat on the balcony for what felt like hours, talking about the L.A. trip, remembering all of the dumb shit they got up to. “And then Symone was pushing me on the swings, and Daya joined, and they did an underdog and it WAS SO SCARY I WENT SO HIGH!” Crystal exclaimed, and Gigi could see it clearly in her mind, hiding on top of the slide while Lux and Rosy tried to sit on top of the monkey bars, dangerously swaying as they tried to get comfortable. Crystal screaming, flying in the air. “The minute I found out that Hunter and Marko had a playground in their backyard, I never wanted to leave. I didn’t want to leave L.A. I didn’t want to leave you,” Crystal was smiling, but her eyes were sad, and Gigi’s chest ached.

“I know,” she murmured, giving Crystal a sad smile. There was so much to be said, but they both stayed silent, just looking out across the city, passing their second joint of the night back and forth. And then Gigi saw it.

The sun was finally starting to peek over the horizon, swirls of orange and pink started to brighten the hazy clouds. The gulls were back in full force, flying through the sky and cawing as if it was their job to wake the whole city up. The sunlight was soft and golden, slowly casting a glow over the balcony.

“What’s up with us and sunrises?” Crystal let out a soft laugh, and Gigi just turned to look at her.

“We could say that about a lot of things, Miss Crystal Elizabeth,” Gigi pointed out, and Crystal playfully rolled her eyes.

“Shut up,” she muttered. Gigi just laughed, and they sat on their Amsterdam balcony, watching the sunrise over the city. “It’s almost as pretty as Venice beach. Almost.”

Los Angeles

It was about 5 a.m. when the party finally started to die down. Rosy and Lux had fallen asleep on an armchair together, a half-eaten piece of pizza in Lux’s hand. Symone and Daya were sitting together in the kitchen, trying to throw Chex mix into an abandoned solo cup. Hunter and Marko sat together, passing Hunter’s vape back and forth, just chatting with each other about nothing in particular. And then there was Crystal and Gigi, sitting together on the couch, leaning on each other. Gigi looked at the group of their friends. It was clear that the Get Dusted girls showed no intention of leaving anytime soon.

“You know... I bet no one would even notice if we left,” Crystal whispered to Gigi. Gigi’s heart dropped as if those weren’t the exact words she had prayed Crystal would say all night.

“Let’s go,” Gigi grinned. And so they walked out of the house, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Hunter gave Gigi a pointed look, but she ignored it. Luckily, Gigi’s house was right across from the House of Avalon. She had sobered up quite a lot by now, but Crystal hadn’t. She clutched onto Gigi’s arm and looked up at the sky as they walked down the street. It was a clear night, with no clouds in the sky. The street was dark, peaceful. Crystal stumbled slightly, falling into Gigi. “Hey, be careful,” Gigi giggled. Crystal kept smiling up at the sky, and Gigi swore she could hear her heart pounding so loud, the sound amplified by the empty street.

“But look, the stars are out,” Crystal said, pointing up at the sky.

“Yeah. They are.” They made it to Gigi’s driveway, but it was clear that Crystal had no intention of heading inside just yet.

“Geege...?” Crystal asked, a bright smile on her face.

“Do you want to go drive around?” Gigi asked, reading Crystal’s mind. Crystal was already running to get in Gigi’s car. Gigi took a moment to let the butterflies in her stomach calm down before joining Crystal.

“Can we go to Venice Beach? Like in Starstruck?” Crystal asked, words slurring.

“We can go wherever you’d like Crystal Elizabeth,” Gigi said, starting the car. “But you should know, I’m a terrible fucking driver.” Crystal laughed.

“This is gonna be fun.” They started the drive, and Crystal hooked her phone up to AUX. Immediately, “Midnight Memories” by the world famous band One Direction started blasting through the car speakers. Crystal cheered. Gigi reminded herself that she should be watching the road, not Crystal, but that didn’t stop her from stealing glances.

Crystal had rolled her window down, letting the wind blow through her curls as she leaned out. Crystal screamed along with the lyrics, her voice cracking terribly. Gigi watched as Crystal held her hand out the window, tracing the sky, the stars shining in her eyes. Could life get any better than this? Gigi driving a drunk Crystal to Venice Beach at four in the morning, watching as she made the world hers.

Maybe Gigi wasn’t as sober as she thought, or maybe Crystal just had that effect on Gigi. Crystal made Gigi feel... she just couldn’t put it into words. She made Gigi feel comfortable, safe, but at the same time, wild and brave like nothing was impossible. Because truly, Gigi thought nothing was impossible with Crystal at her side. She admired Crystal so much that she nearly went off the road.

“Gigi!” Crystal squealed. They both screamed as Gigi panicked, correcting the car.

“I’m sorry!” Gigi said.

“Gigi!” Crystal yelled.

“I’m sorry!” Gigi giggled.

“Gigi!” Crystal laughed, grabbing onto Gigi’s arm. They laughed together, so hard that Gigi’s ribs ached. Crystal’s hand found its way from Gigi’s arm to her hand, lacing their fingers together. Gigi tried to ignore how well they fit. “I missed you so much,” Crystal blurted. “I didn’t know what to do with myself for the first week. A thought would pop into my head and I would go to tell you, I’d stand up to knock on your door and I’d remember... like, oh she’s not here. It was just... I don’t know it just sucked,” Crystal whispered. Gigi’s heart was pounding. She didn’t even want to think about how it would feel to say goodbye to Crystal again. It couldn’t be worse than last time, right?

“Believe me, I know,” Gigi said, squeezing Crystal’s hand. Soon enough, the ocean came into view. There were a few people walking on the street, a few people using the bike path, but other than that they were alone. Crystal looked out the window, admiring the view. The sound of crashing waves echoed through the empty streets, harmonizing with the sound of the car stopping.

“Can we go on the beach?” Crystal asked. “Missouri is landlocked so I never go to beaches.”

“Of course, I should have a blanket in the back,” Gigi said. She grabbed the blanket and draped it over her and Crystal’s shoulders, each holding one side. They stumbled through the sand together, struggling to keep their footing and holding onto each other for support. They finally made it about 20 feet from the shoreline when they decided to lay out the blanket and sit. The waves rolled in, then out, then in again. Gigi breathed in the ocean air, letting it clear her lungs. They made it just in time, the sun had just started to rise. Crystal rested their head on Gigi’s shoulder as the morning sun reflected in her eyes.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Crystal whispered drowsily. Gigi rested her head on top of Crystal’s, it was nice. Crystal fell asleep five minutes later, laying back on the blanket, Gigi laid back with her. She watched as the sky turned purple, to pink, to gold. The Avalon and Dusted Girls probably knew they were gone by now, they would have a lot to say when they got back, Gigi was sure of it.

But she just laid there, playing with Crystal’s hair as she slept, watching the sky turn blue. Hunter could wait. The Get Dusted Girls could wait. The universe could wait. Gigi had a moment alone with Crystal, and she was going to cherish every second. So there they sat at Venice Beach, just letting the world spin around them. Crystal blinked awake a few minutes later, blinded by the sun.

“Gigi?” Crystal said, rolling over to face her..

“You dozed off for a second there, you missed the sunrise,” Gigi whispered, tucking Crystal’s messy curls behind her ear.

“Oh. W...was it pretty?” Crystal asked.

“Yes. Very pretty,” Gigi giggled. Crystal scooted closer to Gigi, burying her head in the crook of Gigi’s neck as if she knew that was Gigi’s weakness.

“I’m just gonna...sleep for another five... then we can...” Crystal dozed off again. Gigi wrapped a hesitant arm around Crystal. The universe could wait.

#gigi goode #Crystal Methyd #crystal methyd x gigi goode #crygimethydgoode #crygi #fanfic #fanfic rec #drag queen fanfic #crygi fanfic #rpdr12 #RuPaul Drag Race #RPDR #Lover’s Fantasia #please read this we promise you’ll love it

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avaloncrossstitch · 4 months

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Cross Stitch Pattern Silver Bauble. This cross stitch pattern depicts a picture of a pretty silver bauble for the Christmas tree. If you're a lover of these types of pictures, then this cross stitch pattern is for you. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A DIGITAL CROSS STITCH PATTERN AND NOT A KIT, SO - Online Store Powered by Storenvy

#cross stitch #cross stich pattern #counted cross stitch #avalon cross stitch #christmas bauble #silver bauble

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saiilorstars · 4 years

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Falling in Temptation

Ch. 15: The Task of Death

Previous chapters • Sequel to Stars Dance • Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC

Chapter summary: Melody Pond strikes back against the Doctor with a secret weapon from Kovarian. When the Doctor is dying, who can save him?

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

4 Months After Demon's Run.

The Doctor, Lena and the Sapling all awaited outside the TARDIS in the center of a crop field. It was no ordinary crop field though because somebody had decided to write 'Doctor' in it, making it the number one headline in Leadworth. The Ponds were very creative, the Doctor would give them that. With no other choice, he had to come back and visit them to update them on the search for Melody and Avalon. In no time they saw Amy and Rory coming to a halt in their car, both getting out with utter urgency.

"Seriously?" the Doctor raised the Leadworth newspaper to the pair. "You do realize you can't do this, right?"

"You weren't answering your phone," Rory snapped at the Doctor as he shut the car door. Neither of them looked guilty for what they'd done.

"Because we were searching," Lena explained. She was supposed to be in charge of keeping the connection between the Doctor and the Ponds, given the Doctor's reputation with phones and whatnot. But in the end, they'd gotten in too deep with the search after getting the clue Avalon left behind for them.

They took every Black Market by storm afterwards, and there were a lot of them. The Sapling had even used his unique abilities to instill new fear in those who were holding things back. With a raging, gigantic tree threatening them, everybody sang like canaries.

Kovarian had been picking up devices for mind altering. Brainwashing to the next level.

Others reported that she was gathering chipping devices. She would probably be branding Avalon and Melody soon enough.

Several of the people described watching Kovarian order Avalon to go to the end of an aisle and back. It was an odd test for them but the Doctor straightaway knew what the purpose of it was. Kovarian wanted to see how conditioned Avalon was. If she came to and back without so much of a kick in protest, it meant Avalon would be a loyal, dependent toy. And all that took the trio a month to gather, leaving everybody back on Earth in distraught over their lack of communication.

"OK, you've had all summer," Amy got straight to business and walked for the Doctor. It'd been the longest summer of her life, definitely the most unbearable one. Things had to be better now. "Have you found them? Have you found Melody and Avalon?"

The Doctor took a moment to look back on his recent efforts to find both mother and daughter. He handed the newspaper to Rory. "Permission?" he asked the human.

"Granted," Rory motioned for him to go on.

The Doctor hugged Amy tightly, "You know who Melody grows up to be, so you know I will find her."

"But you haven't yet?" Amy assumed the last the words, "Not even Avalon?"

"No," the Doctor quietly mumbled.

"But we won't give up," the Sapling said with a finger raised in the air. It brought a momentary smile from Amy, but it was short lived when they heard Rory's puzzled question.

"Hang on, what's this bit?" he was staring at the newspaper with Lena as the picture of the crop circle now showed a slash through the word 'Doctor'.

Amy walked over and took a look, "That wasn't us."

The Doctor took the newspaper and tried seeing where the line would be coming through in the real world. Everyone gathered behind him to try and pinpoint where the exactly that mysterious line came from. However, he stopped and lowered the newspaper when the noise of car came into hearing shot. They screamed as a bright red Corvette headed straight for them. They jumped out of the way just as the car did an abrupt stop only inches from the TARDIS. The driver's door opened up and out stepped a dark skinned young woman with blue eyes and black hair, dressed in a pink and black dress with black boots.

Lena rubbed the dust out of her eyes and immediately recognized the woman across them. "Mels? What are...what are you doing here!?"

"Lena can't you ever keep up?" Mels raised an eyebrow. Lena rolled her eyes but didn't say anything back. She wasn't quite for Mels' attitude. "I was following you. Oh, and I also acted as a delivery girl."

"Um, where did you get the car?" Rory dreaded to ask. It looked far too new for Mels to own.

"Like I said, I'm acting as a delivery girl right now," Mels whistled through her fingers and made everyone cover their ears.

The passenger door of the door opened up and out stepped a familiar, messy ginger haired woman.

"Avalon?" Lena's mouth fell open.

"Mother!" the Sapling squealed and jumped to his feet. He and Lena ran towards Avalon, each encasing her in a tight hug. However, Avalon didn't say anything. She cocked her head to the side, darting immediately to Mels as if she held all the answers.

The Doctor straight away noticed something different about Avalon. It was what stopped him from running towards her. She was looking around like she was new to the place, her eyes filled with confusion and...fear? That was not his Ava, not by a long shot. However, nobody else found such differences in that moment. Amy and Rory had followed in the others' foot steps and ambushed Avalon in more hugs. The Doctor turned his head towards Mels and watched the woman smirk proudly, like she knew what was happening.

"Get off me!" Avalon suddenly cried and pushed everyone away from her. Her nose crinkled while her eyebrows knitted together. She was angry. "Get the hell away from me!"

"A-Avalon..." Rory tried taking a step towards her but she drew back the same step.

"Stay away," she warned them with a pointed finger. "Mels!"

"Oh don't worry," Mels strolled over to the woman's side and swung an arm around her shoulders. "They're pretty harmless."

"I don't...I don't understand..." Amy directly looked at the Doctor for the answers they were demanding now.

The Doctor walked up to Avalon and struggled to ignore the fearful retraction of her steps. "Avalon, do you know who we are?"

She looked him over and stared at him for a few minutes. In those minutes, the Doctor studied her to the brim. Her eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she'd been crying not too long ago. Her voluminous hair was a bit lifeless at the moment, as if no care had been given to it in a good while. Her skin was a shade of sickly pale and she did look like she'd lost some weight. If he looked really hard, he could see her shake as if she'd been shocked. The bruises on her arms were heartbreaking. It was a heavy challenge not to touch the healing stitches on her arms.

"You're the Doctor," Avalon said after a moment but when she did, the Doctor swore there was a brief flash of anger in her eyes.

"Did she lose her memory? Is that what's going on?" Lena called from behind, attracting the eyes of her sister. "Avalon?"

"Lena," she recited before doing the same to the Sapling, Rory and Amy. "They...they did something...I c-can't...remember...my thoughts..." her shaky hand tried to gesture something beside her head. "All j-j-jumbled up."

Now the Doctor laid dark, suspicious eyes on Mels who couldn't seem more delighted with the scene. "Where did you find her?"

"What, did you lose her or something?"

The Doctor glared and waited for her to say what he needed to know.

"Mels, this is important," snapped Amy. "Where did you find Avalon?"

"Gah!" Mels dramatically threw her arms in the air. "What does it matter? I found her on the entry road to the town! Poor thing can't remember, well...a thing!" she gently tapped Avalon's head, a small action that still elicited a great flinch from Avalon. "Hello? Nobody's home!"

The Doctor yanked Avalon away from Mels with a look warning her not try that again. "Was anybody with her? Did she say anything?"

"So boring," Mels rolled her eyes. "I'm kind of in a rush, actually. Errands to run and whatnot!" A few seconds later, the group heard the blaring sirens of police cars.

There was a collective groan from Lena, Amy and Rory.

"Mels, did you steal the car?" Rory was too tired to deal with this nonsense.

"I'll have you know that it's mine," Mels wagged a finger but at the growing glares of her friends she groaned, "...ish! It's mine-ish!"

"Oh, Mels, not again?" Amy sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "We really don't have time for this today."

"You can't keep doing this. You'll end up in a real prison," Rory added.

"I can see why your father disapproves of her," the Doctor whispered to Lena as he brought Avalon towards the TARDIS.

"Mhm," Lena crossed her arms, "She's half the reasons why Avalon was put under arrest."

"Is that the phone box!" Mels was studying the TARDIS from her spot, somewhat impressed. She'd heard Avalon tell the stories of the box but it didn't compare to seeing it in person. "The bigger-on-the-inside phone box? Time travel - that's just brilliant," she then eyed the Doctor, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you. I'm their best mate."

"Then why don't I know you?" the Doctor challenged, still unable to trust her despite her relation with the entire group, "I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant, the men were a bit shy."

"I don't do weddings," Mels made a face. She looked back as the sirens grew closer, "And that's me out of time," she took out a gun and aimed it at the Doctor.

The Doctor pushed Avalon away within the second. Rory lunged to catch Avalon before she would fall and once he touched her, he realized how incredibly cold she was.

"M-Mels...not yet..." Avalon said before she even realized she said it. There were so many thoughts inside her right now, she had to sort which ones were pertinent to the situation.

"Mels, for God's sake!" Lena groaned, "You're actions get stupider by the day. Avalon is...sick," she considered her choice of words carefully since her sister truly looked terrified as she basically clung Rory, "And we need your help so put that thing away."

"I'll get her to put it down," the Sapling glowered at the woman. He put his hands together and extended them forwards...when the Doctor pushed them down. "Father!"

"No," he said calmly. He needed Mels inside the TARDIS so he could question her until she passed out from exhaustion. She had more information than what she was letting on and he wasn't going to let her get away.

"I need out of here, now, can you deliver?" Mels looked at the Doctor questioningly.

"Anywhere in particular?"

"Well, let's see! You've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell - let's kill Hitler."

~ 0 ~

Yes, the Doctor could see why Ryland Reynolds disapproved of the Mels' friendship with his daughters. First, she influenced Avalon negatively, she wasn't very well-mannered, and third...because...

"You've shot it!" the Doctor shouted angrily as he stared at the bullet hole that was in the time-rotor casing, the TARDIS already affected badly with the sparks and smoke it billowed while flying out of control. The Doctor turned to Mels, "You shot my TARDIS! You shot the console!"

The girl was holding onto the railing, "It's your fault!"

"Argh! How's it my fault?!"

"You said guns didn't work in this place. You said we're in a state of temporal grace!"

The Doctor tried working the controls to get them flying in a stable manner, "That was a clever lie, you idiot! Anyone could tell that was a clever lie!"

The travelers were thrown all around the room as the TARDIS crashed into a landing, God knew where. The Doctor had opened the doors and pulled out Avalon first since she looked the weakest out of everyone.

"Out, out, out! Everybody out. Don't breathe the smoke, just get out!" he called to the others whilst coughing from the smoke spewing out from the box.

"Where are we?" Amy stumbled out the box, with her pulling the Sapling.

"A room."

"What room?" Rory coughed.

"I don't know! I haven't memorized every room in the universe. I had yesterday off," the Doctor caught Mels trying to get back into the TARDIS, "Mels, don't go in there!"

"Oi!" Mels frowned as her gun was snatched away from her hand.

"Bad smoke! Don't breathe the bad, bad, smoke. Bad, deadly smoke, because somebody shot my TARDIS!"

Lena stood beside Avalon, helping her stand straight, "You okay?"

"I-I have to do something," Avalon coughed and struggled to breathe in. "My body hurts!"

Lena knew that had to be true. Avalon looked exhausted and the last thing she needed was to be bounced all around inside a shot time traveling machine. "I know, I know, we're going to get this all sorted and then you're going to take a big nap! We could make hot chocolate and oh! We could watch Sleeping Beauty!" she threw her arms around Avalon, momentarily relishing that her sister was back. She was alive!

"What?" Avalon only frowned. "What's Sleeping Beauty?"

Lena pulled away and incredulously looked at Avalon. She had no idea, she really had no idea! Lena turned to the Doctor for some help. "What did they do to her?"

The Doctor let go of Mels but not without warning her to stay put. He strode up to Avalon and took her by the head, specifically studying her eyes. "It's ECT side effects and the overuse of memory wipes. They've been working very hard on her."

Avalon scrunched her face and tried pushing his hands off her. "Stop it! Let go!" she exclaimed, a bit too frantic for such a small moment.

But the Doctor knew that had to be a consequence from whatever torture she'd gone through. He let go of her and kept his hands raised, wanting her to see that he wasn't one of those people who would hurt her. "Ava, it's me. Remember? I'm...well...I'm your Fairy tale man, remember?"

There was no significant reaction from Avalon - that alone hurt the Doctor - but she did abandon her brief suspicions over him. "You're...my friend..." She suddenly yelped when a sharp pain struck her head. She cried and clapped her hands to head. Images were running through her mind but they were going so fast like somebody had pressed the forwarding button 4 times.

"Yes, glad we got that cleared up," the Doctor rocked on his shoes. "Because as the 'fairy tale man' that's not the right thing to do."

Avalon briefly smiled but it was done with flushed cheeks. "You know you don't have to keep answering to that name, right? It was a stupid nickname I gave you when I was some stupid kid..."

"It's not stupid," the Doctor promised her, though his amused expression didn't quite convince her.

"Please, what do you call him, eh?" Idris encouraged Avalon to say the answer out loud. "That name you gave him when you were just seven years old."

"Fairy-tale man," Avalon answered slowly, still in confusion.

"And that is exactly what he doesn't want to lose," Idris smiled sadly, "That image you have of him since you were seven."

The Doctor and Lena struggled to calm Avalon down but suddenly, just like that, Avalon sucked in a deep sharp breath and snapped her head up. "You're my Fairy Tale Man!"

"What was that?" Lena frowned. "Avalon, you were in pain-"

Avalon practically shoved her sister away and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "You're my Doctor! You-you found me!"

The Doctor didn't exactly know how she was getting her memories back, nor if it was a trick, but he wanted to be a bit happy right now that she was remembering him. "Yes, I am. I am..."

Avalon took him into a tight hug. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly as if she were about to disappear again. He kissed her hair a few times, not that she would notice.

"Doctor, this guy, I think he's hurt!" Rory had found an unconscious man on the floor, his body poking around his desk. Rory rushed over to help him but when he did, he found that the man was alright. "No, hang on. No, he's... he's fine." Well, something good had to happen he supposed.

Against his wishes, the Doctor pulled away from Avalon and gave her a small smile. "You'll be just fine now, Ava." She nodded and watched him go then patted something in her back pocket.

"Mother!" the Sapling would take his turn and hug his mother. "You're okay! We've been looking for you!"

"That's you're kid?" Mels gave a horrid-eye stare at the Sapling. In return, the Sapling stuck his tongue out at the woman.

"Ooh, hello! Sorry, is this your office?" the Doctor asked the man who was now getting up. "Had a sort of collision with my vehicle. Faults on both sides, let's say no more about..." words left him when he saw Adolf Hitler turning around "…it."

"I remember him..." Avalon's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the man.

Slowly, the companions moved to the Doctor, "Is that...? No, it can't be, Doctor?" Amy struggled to speak coherently.

"Thank you. Whoever you are, I think you have just saved my life," Hitler honestly said, chuckling at the group.

"Believe me... it was an accident," the Doctor blinked rapidly.

"What is this thing?" Hitler blinked at the sight of the TARDIS and walked to it.

"What did he mean we saved his life?" Amy tapped the Doctor's arm, "We could not have saved Hitler."

"You see?" the alien groaned, "You see, time travel, it never goes to plan."

"I think we need to get out of here," Lena shook her head.

"This box, what is it?" Hitler looked at the group.

"It's a police telephone box from London, England," the Doctor walked over, "That's right, Adolf, the British are coming!"

Hitler didn't seem to take notice of the answer as he watched past the group to the man who tried killing him rise to his feet, "No, stop him!"

Rory punched Hitler on the chin and picked up the gun while Hitler fell to the floor, "Sit still, shut up."

Lena and Amy went to check on the second man. "Are you OK?" she asked as she and Amy helped him up.

"Yes, yes. Yes. I'm fine. I think he missed."

"He was going to kill me," Hitler tried saying but there was nobody listening to him.

"Shut up, Hitler!" Rory ordered with the gun still aimed.

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there now," the Doctor ordered as he went to the attacked man, "Do it!"

While Rory shoved Hitler into the cupboard while the Doctor helped the second man sit up. "Are you okay?" he wondered.

"Oh, I..." the man started but fell back, unconscious again.

"Um, he just fainted," Lena remarked, surprised.

"Yes, that was a faint," the Doctor agreed as he stood up and studied the man, "A perfect faint."

"What? You think that was intentional?" Lena looked at the man with new suspicion. There could not be more trouble right now, this was just really bad luck.

"Mels?" Avalon's voice pulled the group's attention. She was gazing worriedly at Mels across the room who had her hands pressed against her stomach. "Are you alright?"

"Hitler..." Mels looked at the cupboard.

"What about him?" Lena raised an eyebrow, half expecting the woman to make some cruddy joke about their situation.

"Lousy shot," Mels said before she collapsed to the floor. Everyone dashed to her side, including Avalon who took first place at Mels' left side.

"Mels!" she took Mels' hand.

"Rory," the Doctor motioned for the nurse to start helping. He made sure the Sapling stayed a decent distance from them. The last thing he wanted was for the Sapling to see more blood than he needed to.

"I've got to stop the bleeding," Rory exclaimed.

"Well, how bad is it?" Lena stared at Mels with concern, knowing a cure from Avalon wouldn't work now.

"Just keep her conscious! Stay with us, Mels."

"Hey, look at me. Just hold on," the Doctor tried to get the girl's attention.

"I don't know what is so cool about you," Mels honestly remarked to him while looking at Avalon. "You said he was cool but he's not."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, of course she was dying and insulting him, "Alright, fine, let's make a list of why I'm not cool, then! Any suggestions?"

But Mels wasn't paying attention to him. She was whispering something into Avalon's ear. When Avalon pulled away, she was blinking rapidly. It earned herself some questionable looks from the others, especially the Doctor.

"Almost time," Avalon repeated, nodding her head.

"Time? Time for what?" the Doctor stared at her suspiciously.

"I-I don't remember..." Avalon looked down at Mels questioningly, "...is it time?"

Mels smirked and looked at the others anxiously waiting for her to either die or live. "Wanna know a secret?" she asked. "I didn't really 'find' her at the entry road," she whispered, "...she was handed over by the big ole boss."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up, "WHAT?"

Mels smirked as her hands started glowing with regeneration energy. The Doctor quickly stood up and shooed everyone back, pulling Avalon to him in the process.

"No! No! Stop it!" she yelled at him to let go. She wanted to run back to Mels, but the Doctor held her arm to keep her still.

"Father, is she like you?" the Sapling was making a face as the regeneration energy got stronger around Mels.

"Last time I did this, I ended up a toddler in the middle of New York," Mels gazed at her hands that were almost completely enveloped by the energy. She really hoped this time she would get it right because it'd been a pain in the ass having to grow up all over again. If she got this right, then she would finally be free.

"OK, Doctor, explain what is happening?" Amy shot a look at the alien, "Please!"

The Doctor was nearly kicking himself for being so stupid. All this time, searching through the galaxies when he himself had said that Kovarian could hide Melody and Avalon right under their noses. "Mels, short for...?"

"Melody," Mels answered with a wide smirk. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "Gotcha!"

The Doctor then shot the same look back to Amy, a bit irritated she hadn't mentioned this to him. Nobody had bothered to mention that the mysterious friend 'Mels' everyone always talked about was in reality named Melody. That would've been extremely helpful. Amy, however, didn't see the problem so clearly yet...along with the others. "Yeah, I named my daughter after her."

"You named your daughter... after your daughter."

"Took me years to find you two. I'm so glad I did," Mels honestly said to her parents, "And, you see, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

"You're Melody?" Amy's eyes widened.

"No, my head hurts," Lena was thinking how they could have missed this. Mels never gave an indication that she knew more about the Doctor than them. She was always curious, yes, even asking questions like Avalon would.

Rory, however, was thinking farther ahead. "But if she's Melody, that means she's also..." he glanced at Avalon who didn't even notice as she stared in horror at her friend.

"Oh, shut up, Dad! I'm focusing on a dress size," Mels struggled to say right before the regeneration took her over. The group shielded their eyes from the blinding energy. Once it was over, a new, yet familiar, person stood across them. "Right, let's see, then!" River Song gasped as she started taking a look at her new self, "Ooh, it's all going on down there, isn't it? The hair!" she touched her hair and ran to a long mirror on the wall. It was incredibly voluminous. "Avalon, I beat you this time!" she cheered and glanced back at the ginger who was blankly staring at her. "You're going to have to pass on the tips, though!"

Neither knew their similar hair went deeper than just a coincident.

"Everything changes!" Melody laughed, "Oh, but I love it, I love it! I'm all sort of... mature!" she set her foot on the endpiece of a furniture beside her, "Hello, Benjamin!"

"Who's Benjamin?" the Sapling tilted his head.

"Tree kid, you couldn't keep up even if you tried!" River sighed and gasped as she passed her tongue over her teeth, "The teeth, the teeth! Oh, look at them!" she pointed to her mouth, "Excuse me, you lot, I need to weigh myself!"

The group leaned on the edge of the desk except for Avalon who had walked a couple steps away from them. Something was coming and she needed to be ready, but she couldn't quite remember.

"That's Melody?" Amy breathed in, her eyes wide as could be.

"That's River Song," Lena shook her head. She felt like something was compressing her head because everything hurt up there.

"Who's River Song?" Melody stood at the doorway with curiosity.

"Spoilers," the Doctor decided no word than that one fit better.

"Spoilers? What's spoilers? Hang on, just something I have to check!" and she ran back to the restroom.

"She's...River Song," Rory whispered quietly. Oh, time travel was really hurting right now.

"And she's also my sister's mother!" Lena whisper-hissed. Speaking of...

At the mention of Avalon, the Doctor stood away from the desk and walked over to her, "Ava?" he cautiously turned her to face him, "You alright?"

"Honestly, no," she put a hand on her stomach, "I feel terrible. I c-can't remember anything except th-that there's something really important I have t-to do. But I feel sick. And everything hurts."

"I promise you we will get you sorted as soon as the TARDIS is safe to get back inside in." He didn't want to touch her since almost every part of her arms were covered in bruises, but he did want to hold her.

"But what about Mels? Or, River..." she moved her hand to her forehead, "...all this time she was really the daughter of Amy and Rory? No, wait..." Avalon's head snapped to the side when she realized something, "I knew th-that already. I...I l-learned that...I'm forgetting things."

"Your head's a bit, uh, it's bit jumbled up," the Doctor gently said as he turned her head back to him. "But you'll get better."

"I-I..." Avalon blinked as if there was something in her eyes. The images were coming fast again.

"Ah, that's magnificent!" they heard Melody shout from the restroom. Quickly, she returned to the room with a bright smile, "I'm going to wear lots of jumpers! Well, now, enough of all that!" she shrugged and pulled out a gun which was aimed at the Doctor, "Down to business."

"Mels, what are you doing?" Lena sighed, "This isn't you. Well..."

"She's doing exactly what she's programmed to do, baby sister," the Doctor slowly moved for Melody.

"Where'd she get the gun?" Rory had to ask. How on Earth could Melody - River - carry a gun when she'd just regenerated?

"Hello, Benjamin," the Doctor recalled, "It was in the chair..."

"You noticed!" Melody chuckled and fired but found the gun was empty.

"Of course I noticed," the Doctor smirked at his quick-wit, "As soon as I knew you were coming, I tidied up a bit."

"So you're one step ahead of me, then?"

"Always."

Melody smirked and looked past him. "But are you though?" At the sound of a click, the Doctor turned back to find Avalon holding another gun at him from her spot. Alright, that one scared him a little bit.

"Ava, put that down..." he slowly raised a hand, barely moving an inch forwards when Avalon waved the gun at him again.

"I-I don't remember when somebody told me to do this..." she admitted, but it still didn't make her lower the gun.

"That would be me," Melody said for everybody's clarification. "Posthypnotic suggestion, anybody?" It was the same trick the Silence used on the humans while they were watching over her. "Kovarian made sure to leave her very well trained for this moment."

"You made Mother do this?" frowned the Sapling. "Why!? She's done nothing wrong!"

"Mmm, clearly you haven't learned everything about dear old Mummy," Melody rolled her eyes. "Mummy's not that innocent, you know? She and I...we've had our fair share of moments."

"If she's your friend, then why would you do this to her!?" Amy didn't know whether to cry over her daughter's twisted mind or scream out of frustration.

"Because it's what I'm supposed to do," Melody said quietly. "That's the order and I learned a long time ago that when Kovarian makes an order, you follow it...or else."

There was a sharp tinge in the last words that made everybody wonder what Melody had to go through to make that discovery.

"Hey, hey, Avalon, it's me," the Doctor was still holding his hands up. "We went over this remember? I'm the Fairy Tale Man and I came here to rescue you."

"No you didn't, you didn't save me," Avalon shook her head, eyes tearing up in a matter of seconds. It broke the Doctor's hearts because she was saying the truth. He failed her and her mother. "I-I can remember...bits and p-parts...they-they hurt me. And then...and then they hurt me again, and again..." her face scrunched with raw anger and despondence. "They kept hurting me..."

"I know, Ava, I know," the Doctor's own eyes teared up. "It's all my fault but listen, that will never happen again. I'll die if it means you'll live happily and safe. But right now, Ava, right now I really need you to put the gun down. It's okay if you hurt me, but you don't want to hurt Lena, right? Or Amy and Rory? Or the Sapling?"

Avalon's eyes flickered to the others in the room. They were all so scared - though she didn't know they were scared for her and not of her - and the Sapling seemed to want to hide from her. Something went off her in mind and it made her drop the gun on the floor. "Oh my God!" she blinked. The Doctor quickly seized the gun from the floor and gave it to Rory. "Oh my God! Oh my God! I didn't...Doctor, I didn't mean it! I-I didn't mean any of that! Oh my God!" she brought her hands to her mouth as her tears streamed down her eyes. "What did they do to me!?"

The Doctor hurried over to her and pulled her into another hug. She cried and shook between his arms while she begged him to forgive him.

Lena was infuriated to see her sister so...broken. Avalon was always so put together, a leader, and she knew exactly what she wanted at all times. Lena rounded on Melody with the ugliest scowl marking her face. "What did you do to my sister!? Fix her right now!"

"I told you," Melody shrugged carelessly. "Posthypnotic suggestion. Kovarian left instructions that I only reinforced."

"You whispered into her ear," Rory recalled the moment just before Melody had regenerated.

Melody smiled. "Use the gun when I use mine. Simple, but very effective."

"And where'd Avalon get the gun from?" demanded Amy.

"Kovarian gave her one!"

"You're a psychopath!" Lena erupted into a loud scream that could probably echo down the streets. She didn't care if this was her friends' daughter, nobody hurts her sister. "Avalon is your friend! Instead of helping her, you're dooming her!"

"I am helping her!" Melody argued defensively which just made incredulously glare.

"How are you helping her!?"

"I may be a psychopath, but I'm also honest."

"You were not a psychopath! Why would she be a psychopath?" Amy snapped at both women for using that horrible term. However, Melody didn't look at all offended by the term.

"Oh, Mummy, Mummy, pay attention," Melody groaned, "I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor."

"Demons Run, remember? This is what they were building, my bespoke psychopath," the Doctor explained whilst still holding onto Avalon. He was rubbing a hand down her back, hoping to soothe her until she could understand that he had nothing to forgive her for. "What I can't understand is why you felt the need to get my Ava involved."

"Yeah, Mother didn't do anything wrong," the Sapling chimed in with his own glare.

"No, she only got involved," Melody shook her head. Things were supposed to have gone a different way but Kovarian just chucked Avalon to her at the last minute and expected Melody to work with what she had. "Nice going there. She always looked up to you. She went on and on about how the Doctor could save anyone. Well guess what? You didn't save her nor me!" Because if he had saved her, she could've grown up with her parents. She wouldn't have had to grovel on the streets of New York, swallowed up by an astronaut suit. She could've had what Amy had as a child, what Rory had, what the Reynolds had. She could've been like them and then maybe she could've traveled with the Doctor too.

"You're right," the Doctor agreed with a nod.

"No, big brother," Lena turned back to him but he had long ago made up his mind about the matter.

"I didn't save either of them. I put them into this situation," he looked down at Avalon who had buried her face in his chest. "I put people I care about in danger and I don't save them."

"No, no, that's not true," the Sapling frowned. "You've saved so many people, Father. It's impossible to save everybody. Otherwise, this would be a fairy tale."

"Avalon," called Melody, "Time to go."

Avalon jerked between the Doctor's arms, but instead of leaving him she only drew back enough to look up at the Doctor. "I'm sorry," she sniffed.

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry about anything," he whispered and cleared off a few of her tears from her cheeks. Her skin felt so dry he picked up a few flecks of dead skin. "You just have to worry about getting better. I'm going to get you to a real doctor, and they'll fix you right up."

"But you are my Doctor," she frowned slightly. "Why are you saying nonsense? Nobody can fix me, only you can."

"My Ava, you have no idea how badly I want to change all this," he cupped one side of her face. "I-I wish I could turn back time and keep you safe."

"You said 'my Ava'," she said, choosing to focus on the best part of his words. "My Ava, you are everything to me. You've owned these hearts for a long while now," Her bright smile could light up anyone's day. "That's what he said. The other Doctor. He told me that, just before he died. Is that true for you too?"

The Doctor thought this was hardly the place to discuss this matter but his hearts did leap a bit now that he finally knew what his ganger had told Avalon just before they escaped the ganger factory. And the ganger Doctor got it spot on too. "It is," he admitted, swallowing hard as if there was something lodged in his throat. "But look at where that's gotten you, where it's gotten everyone..." his eyes looked over her to the rest of the group that he'd solely ruined.

"It's given me a new feeling," Avalon pulled him down closer to her face. "And-and I wouldn't change it. It's my story. And do you know what my story deserves?"

The Doctor could think of a few things, starting with 'safe' and 'happiness'. "Peace," he settled for in the end.

"Nu-uh," Avalon's smile turned sly seconds before she pulled him one more time to close the gap between them. She kissed him like she'd been wanting to for a while - that she could remember perfectly - and held onto his arms because if she kept going, she didn't know if her legs would be able to stand it. But the Doctor was also holding her and with her surprise kiss, he wouldn't be letting go of her anytime soon. He finally got a taste of her lips that, despite being chapped, were so sweet. For a woman who had quite a loud mouth - which he was really fond of - she had such a way of kissing. He could do this for hours...

"Avalon?" called Melody, almost snarling, as she headed for the open window, "Quit your snogging and get over here, now! Time to go!"

Avalon's body jerked again, forcing her to pull away from the Doctor in the process. She blinked fast and once she found Melody by the window, she walked towards the woman like a robot following orders.

"A-Ava, don't," the Doctor tried to stop her but Avalon ignored him and stopped by Melody.

"Look at that, Berlin on the eve of war," Melody put an arm around Avalon's shoulders, "A whole world about to tear itself apart. Now that's my kind of town. Mum, Dad, Lena, don't follow us. Tree kid...don't you dare go all gigantic on me. And, yes, that is a warning for everybody!" She specifically made sure to look at everyone except the Doctor, something he easily picked up on.

"No warning for me, then?" he slowly walked back to the group, thinking of the perfect moment to snatch Avalon from her. He wasn't going to let her take his Ava off to some deranged city.

"Rather save my breath," Melody smirked, "The deed is done and so are you."

The Doctor only had seconds to wonder what she meant when he felt his legs weaken to the point he wobbled till he would fall. Rory and Amy ran to help him stand.

"Father, what's wrong!?" the Sapling, frightened, rushed to his side.

Lena once again glared at Melody, knowing that she was the culprit of whatever was happening to the Doctor. "What did you do to him, Melody!?"

"Oh, that wasn't me," Melody proudly presented Avalon to them.

Avalon seemed horrified to learn, to remember, that it was her fault. "Oh my God!" she brought her hands to her mouth. "It was me!"

"It was never going to be a gun for him," Melody smirked even wider seeing everyone's reactions. "Doctor, the man of peace who understands every kind of warfare, except, perhaps, the cruelest. You shouldn't have fallen into temptation."

The Doctor put a finger on his lips as he looked at Avalon, the ginger completely destroyed over what she'd done. He didn't need to ask to know that she hadn't even remembered what she was supposed to do. Somebody had left those instructions in her head and she would've done them no matter what.

"Doctor, I'm sorry," Avalon cried and tried running to them when Melody grabbed her arm and yanked them out the window.

"NO!" Everyone cried as the woman disappeared.

"Why would Mother do this?" the Sapling sniffed as he looked at his father who really struggled to stand on his own.

"It's not her fault, Sapling," the Doctor said.

"What did she do to you, exactly?" asked Rory so that they knew what to work with. Meanwhile, Lena bolted for the window to see if she could catch where Melody was taking her sister to.

"Avalon, she-she poisoned me," the Doctor answered with a struggle.

"Don't let Avalon kiss you in Berlin," Rory remembered Ryland's words that he'd gotten from a future version of the Doctor. "You literally left yourself a message about this!"

"I'm terrible at messages!" the Doctor snapped, but truth be told he'd kiss Avalon again if the chance was at hand. "And don't start! Avalon didn't know any better, her mother tricked her!"

"Her mother," Amy sighed, "This is completely awful!"

"Oh, her mother is brainwashed too!"

"That makes it better," Lena returned to them, "How do we help you, big brother? Do you have a plan?"

"The plan is not to die," the Doctor pointed at her, "I gotta save my Ava. Take this! The TARDIS can home in on it," he gave Amy his screwdriver, "Now, go, get after them!" he pushed Rory to the window.

"But what about you?" Lena helped Amy to get him into the TARDIS, "You said the smoke was deadly."

"The smoke's fine. The poison will kill me first," he tried to humor and actually expected for Avalon to remark on that, only she was nowhere around anymore, "Now, get after Avalon and River! Sapling, with me! Poison can't really affect trees!"

The Sapling grinned and nodded.

"But I don't understand," Amy shook her head, "Why would Avalon poison you?"

"She didn't mean to, she was brainwashed," the Doctor explained fast, "The head is a delicate thing and they've managed to get into it. Now, please, just go!" he entered the TARDIS and left them to do their task.

~ 0 ~

Down in front of the building stood Avalon and Melody and were being questioned by German officers. While Avalon seemed completely wrecked, Melody was quite confident in herself.

"What are you doing here?" the officer demanded to know.

"Well," Melody stepped forwards, "We were off to this gay Gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, when I thought, "Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish, I think I'll kill the Fuhrer." Who's with me?"

"Shoot them."

Melody quickly stepped back, in front of Avalon and took all the shots for the both of them. After the shots were finished, she looked up at the officers while hugging herself, "Tip for you all...never shoot a girl while she's regenerating," she opened her arms and sent out regeneration energy towards the soldiers and laughed as she knocked the entire group down, "Ah! Now, that hit the spot."

"Please...we have to go back," Avalon looked up at the window where she was sure the Doctor was still in, "I-I killed him, I have to go help...maybe there's cure..."

"Oh, it's Judas Poison, didn't they tell you?" Melody grabbed a couple machine guns and moved over to a motorcycle.

"I can't remember," Avalon glanced at her, "But you do, you knew I was going to do that, didn't you?"

Melody smirked and started the motorcycle, "C'mon, Avalon."

"But Melody-"

"Look, you killed the Doctor. You committed a crime, they're not gonna want you anymore. But I will," Melody gestured to the motorcycle, "I didn't want you to do any of this but if we didn't do what Kovarian said, she would've killed us. We had to do this. Plus, it's the Doctor's own fault. If he would've been there for us, we wouldn't have gotten here."

"But my friends..." Avalon looked up at the building.

"I am your friend, always have been. C'mon, don't you feel like shopping?"

Avalon was terrified but Melody did ring some facts. She'd done a terrible thing, how could anyone forgive her for that? "Sh-shopping?"

Melody grinned. "Yup! New body, means I've got to get new clothes. Shall we?"

Avalon looked up to see Amy, Lena, and Rory climbing down and grew even more frightened. She didn't want to face them, much less her sister. Melody was right, she'd committed a crime. A crime against the most wonderful man she'd ever met, no one would want her after that.

"Avalon, no!" Lena shouted after her sister as the ginger hurried and climbed on the back of the motorcycle Melody was in, "Avalon!" but it was too late, the women were gone. "We have to stop them, we have to stop them now!"

A soldier came through the gate behind the trio, riding a motorcycle. He stopped in front of them and Rory stepped forwards to explain, "Look, I know how this looks, but let me explain everything from the beginning," but the soldier started reaching for a weapon and so he panicked. "Heil!" he saluted.

"Heil!" the soldier saluted back to him.

Rory took advantage and punched him down. He climbed on the motorcycle and motioned for the other two women to do the same.

"You're all punchy today," Lena remarked as she took her place behind Amy.

"Well, my daughter and granddaughter are out in a city on the brink of war, hell of a reason to punch," Rory shrugged, meaning every last word he said. He'd always cared for Mels and Avalon, Avalon a bit more since he'd met her first. But now after knowing who they were in reality, his protection fired up and he knew he would do anything to keep them safe, even if that meant punching Hitler.

"Can you ride a motorbike?" Amy dreaded to ask as he started the motorcycle.

"I expect so. It's that sort of day," Rory shrugged once more and drove off.

~ 0 ~

Melody had found a nice restaurant filled with elegant people and decided to hijack them, both men and women. While she tried several pieces on and checked herself in the mirror, Avalon sat at a nearby table with her hands in her hair, desperately trying to remember and process what she'd done.

"I might take the age down a little, just gradually, to freak people out," Melody chuckled as she tried on a captain's hat and looked back to Avalon, "Whaddya think?"

"What have I done?" Avalon mumbled to herself, "I killed someone, and not just anyone, but the Doctor. I killed him," she looked up at Melody with teary eyes, "Why did you let me do that? What's he ever done to you?"

"I was taken from my parents, you forget that?" Melody raised an eyebrow, "I was thrown into a life of hell because they're all afraid of him and needed someone to do the job that none of them could do."

"And yet I'm the one who did it," Avalon stood up, "Your life may have been hell as a child, but when you came into Leadworth you became my friend and Amy's and Rory, even Lena's. Don't tell me your life was awful back then too."

"Of course it wasn't," Melody admitted quietly and looked around, "It was fun, the most fun I'd ever had."

"Then? Why did you do this to me?" Avalon gestured to herself, her voice breaking in the end. "They stole me and they did something to my head, brainwashed me, hurt me!" She frantically gestured to her injured arms. Melody did swallow hard at the sight of her nearly purple arms. "They did so m-many things to me...and you just let me kill the one person who could've saved us both!"

"I never had a choice, Avalon," Melody's voice softened, "You think I asked for all this? That I wanted my best friend to do what I was trained to do my entire life?"

"Then why did you let me do it!?" Avalon shouted, her tears strolling down her cheeks.

"Because it was either you did it or you died," Melody shrugged, seeing no other way to put it, "I didn't just find you on the entry road, you were handed over to me."

"By who?"

"Avalon, you seriously don't remember anything!?" Melody couldn't help but shout the question, quite exasperated that she really had to start from zero.

"I s-s-see bits and pieces..." Avalon screwed her eyes shut but once she did she saw the woman with the eye patch. "Mels...how could you do this to me?"

"Because I didn't want to see you die, alright? Anyone else, I wouldn't have cared," Melody snapped, honestly not even understanding herself why she had cared so much for her friend's safety, "But you, you are the only one that I can be myself without getting any scolds nor reproaches. It's either you did the task or they killed you on the spot."

"Well I would have rather died," Avalon exclaimed and leaned back on the table, sniffling, "You don't understand, Mels, you didn't make me kill just anyone...you made me kill my Fairy Tale Man. He was mine and he actually cared for me like no one else has. And now, he'll die and I'll lose my friends, my sister, my family. Cos you're right, they won't want me anymore. Who'd love a murderer?"

"It won't matter anymore, Avalon," Melody walked over to her and took her hands, "We'll have a fresh new start, I told you. We can travel the world and do things our way now. No following the rules and pretending to be who we're not."

"But with the Doctor I did do that," Avalon whispered, "He didn't care who I was."

"You killed the Doctor," came Amy's voice from behind them.

Avalon tensed and turned around, seeing Amy a couple steps away from them, "Amy, I know what I did, and there's nothing I can do anymore. She says my healing won't work."

"You killed the Doctor on the orders of the movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true?"

Avalon raised an eyebrow, "I...don't understand what all that is. I can't remember, I swear. I killed him and I can't even remember who told me to do it."

'Amy' opened up her mouth and shot out a blue beam at Avalon, making the ginger cry out in pain, "No! No! Get off me!" she pleaded. It brought back the moments of her torture where they would carve her skin.

"That's not Amy!" Melody kicked the Teselecta robot of her mother back and managed to shut down the beam.

Avalon stumbled back onto the floor, "Oh, you don't say? I was just about to ask her when she got that new beam built into her mouth!"

"Oh your sense of humor is back," the Doctor's voice made her look to the side and see the alien standing beside the TARDIS, dressed in black tails and a top hat along with a cane.

"First of all, what the hell are you wearing?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "You're dying and you stopped to change? You know what, I'm not even surprised."

The Sapling giggled beside his Father. "I think he looked nice! I need to find me a suit too!"

The Doctor spun around with a grin and made his way down the steps, "You should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you - Rule 408," he stopped in front of the robotic Amy, "Amelia Pond, judgment death machine. Why am I not surprised? Sonic cane!"

"Are you serious?" even Melody was stumped by the man.

"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious," the Doctor used his cane to scan the Teselecta, "Rule 27. You might want to write these down. Oh, it's a robot!" he concluded from the readings, "With 423 life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people. Love it! But how do you all get in there, though? Bigger on the inside? No, basic miniaturization sustained by a compression field. Oh, watch what you eat, it'll get you every time. Amy, if you, Rory and Lena are OK, signal me," and then the Doctor got a signal from his cane, "Thanking you," he then gave out a cry of pain.

"Doctor!" Avalon ran to help him, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright, leg just went to sleep," he tried to humor her to no avail, "Just had a quick left leg power nap, I forgot I had one scheduled. Actually, better sit down, I think I heard the right one yawning," he sat on the dais of the steps with her help.

"I am so sorry for all this," Avalon stepped away from him. He probably wouldn't want her anywhere near him. "I can't remember, and I know that's no excuse but it's the truth. I don't remember why I did it, I just knew it after I did it and now I've killed you. I'm the woman who kills you." Flashes of the astronaut at Lake Silencio crossed her mind. It was her, wasn't it? She killed him at that lake. But now she'd rewritten time and killed him earlier. She felt sick and it wasn't because of her own injuries. "You...should have just left me that night...that you came back for me. You should have just left me there."

"No, hey!" the Doctor snapped a finger at her, snapping her out of those horrid thoughts. "I don't regret anything we've done in the past! The only thing I regret is not saving you sooner!"

"But I'm a murderer," Avalon whispered and glanced at the robot, the Teselecta. "And they know it. Everybody inside that thing...they know who I am. A murderer." She turned towards the robot, swallowing hard. "You should kill me."

"No, Avalon-"

"I accept my fault," she stepped towards the Teselecta, "I accept my punishment..."

With the confession, the Teselecta shot out a beam of light and trapped her in it. Avalon screamed in terrible pain, one that even made Melody flinch.

"Mother!" the Sapling growled and grew one of his left arms to smack the Teselecta, but the Doctor stopped him.

"NO! Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way," the Doctor shouted at the Teselecta and managed to stop the painful beam, leaving only a containment field around Avalon.

"Remember that Amy, Rory and Lena are still inside!"

But after that, the Teselecta turned on Melody and before the brunette tried making a run for it, she was trapped in a containment field as well. "I haven't done anything," Melody writhed in her field, far more awake than Avalon at the moment.

"According to records you are the women who kills the Doctor," was the response of the robot.

"Listen, I love my friend, but she is the one that kills him today, sweetie," Melody snapped, "So far, I've committed no crime."

"He's dying."

"Well, at least I'm not a time-travelling shape-shifting robot operated by miniaturized cross people," the Doctor called, eyeing the situation, perplexed to see Melody 'arrested' as well, "Which, I have got to admit, I didn't see coming. What do you want with them?" he pointed his cane to both women.

"She's Melody Pond, the woman who kills the Doctor. And she-" the robot pointed to Avalon, "-kills you today."

"How can I kill him if he's already dying!? Let me go!" Melody ordered.

"What is any of this to you?" the Doctor demanded from the robot, "Cos my friend there-" he pointed to Melody, "-has a point."

"Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished in their lifetimes. Time travel has... responsibilities."

The Doctor laughed, "What? You got yourselves time travel, so you decided to punish dead people?"

"We don't kill them. We extract them near the end of their established timelines."

"And then what?"

"Give them hell."

The Doctor's humor faded away immediately to be replaced by the darkness the Black Markets had come to know in the last month. "I'd ask you who you think you are but I think the answer is pretty obvious. So, who do you think I am? From everything I've heard, it sounds like you've got a record of mine being altered," he glanced at Avalon who was slowly coming around, "Gotta say, I'd love a peek."

"Our records office is sealed to the public. Foreknowledge is dangerous."

"Yes, well, I'll be dead in three minutes. There isn't much foreknowledge left."

"Sorry, can't do that..." There was a moment of silence before the Teselecta changed its mind. "Records available."

The Doctor wouldn't question the change so stood up with great struggle on his cane. The Sapling helped him walk on his wobbly feet. "Question. I'm dying... who wants me dead?"

"The Silence."

"What is the Silence? Why is it called that? What does it mean?"

"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order, or movement. Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."

"What question?"

"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."

"Yes, but what is the question?"

"Unknown."

"Well, fat lot of use that is, you big ginge! Call yourself a Records... Argh!" the Doctor fell to the floor with a cry of pain, "Kidneys are always the first to quit. I've had better, you know."

The containment field around Melody vanished and she dropped to the ground. She would've cheered if the field around Avalon hadn't turned into a flaming red that tortured her. Her shrill screams filled the room and perhaps the rest of the building. Everything was on fire. It felt like she was back with Kovarian and the Silence...oh. She remembered who gave her the order now.

The Doctor pulled himself across the floor with his hands and called out to the robot, "Amy! Rory! Lena! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. What do we do? What do we do?" Amy's distraught voice came from the robot.

"Just stop them, please. She's your granddaughter, just stop them." Because the Doctor felt his life slowly slipping away. There was no more of his energy to use and the Sapling was still just a child. He was terrified. If he was to die, then he needed to know that Avalon would come out safe and sound.

"What did you say?" Melody stared at him with confusion from her spot.

The Doctor considered his next words while his gaze was stuck on Avalon. It was a huge no in the world of timelines telling Melody of her future, especially about something - someone - so important to her. But as the field stopped and Avalon dropped to the floor, completely unconscious, and the real Amy (or Rory or Lena) pleaded for his help through the Teselecta, he found there was no other choice. Besides, the universe owed him this.

"Please, now we have to save your parents. Don't run. Now, I know you're scared, but never run when you're scared. Rule 7. Please," he looked at Melody with urgency.

"Why did you say granddaughter?" Melody rose to her feet and frowned. "You said 'granddaughter', why?"

"Her mother, her real mother, is River Song, and she would kill you right now for what you've done..."

"Who is this River person?" Melody sighed with exasperation, "And why are you saying she's Avalon's mother? Emmalina is!"

"Imagine, imagine something for me please," the Doctor mustered his final coherent words. Not even the Sapling's strength could keep him up. He had to sit back down, preparing for his final moments. "Imagine that little Melody grows up and she goes to college and she has a baby of her own..." his eyes drifted to Avalon.

Melody slowly looked over to Avalon. Her face was covered by her hair. Melody inched closer to Avalon and touched her ginger locks. They felt like hers. "You're lying..."

"You're no fool, Melody, look into your past, look into the now. You've gotten along so good despite everyone else's opinions about you two, the Silence stole her and brought her back to you for some twisted mother-daughter job. You look me in the eye and tell me you're gonna let your parents, her grandparents and sister die," the Doctor ordered her and surprisingly Melody did as told. She looked straight at him and could feel his urgency radiating. "You know there's a special connection between you and Avalon. There always has been and this is why. Somewhere along your timeline you have a daughter, and you do love her. You've hurt her, now make it up by giving her, her grandparents and sister back. Rory can treat her after I...die. Do this for your daughter, Melody..."

Melody turned for Avalon, considering everything she'd heard. It made sense, all of it...but...to believe it...that was hard. She brushed a lock from Avalon's face, "Avalon..." she whispered, unable to bring herself to actually touch her now, "...Avalon, please? I didn't mean to hurt you. I was scared that they would hurt us both. Avalon, wake up."

"Go to her, Sapling," the Doctor urged the child with him. The Sapling was torn between staying with his father or going to his mother. They both needed him. "It's okay, Sapling," the Doctor offered him his best smile. "You go and help your Mother. That's what we wanted to do, remember? Help her."

The Sapling slowly nodded and walked over to Avalon and Melody. He knelt down beside his mother and gently shook her arm. "Mother, please wake up. Aunt Lena, aunt Amy and Uncle Rory need you. I need you too. And so does Father. I don't want my family to be ripped apart. I'm just a kid. I don't know what to do by myself."

Melody blinked at the tree child with a ripple of...sympathy? She knew exactly what he was talking about. She had no idea what to do with herself when she was a child. The Silence had given her full independence but she was a child. What was she supposed to do without her parents? She had to figure it out on her own sometimes. She wished somebody could have saved her way before any of this happened. She was just a kid...she shouldn't have had to live the way she had. And now she was the reason why another child would have to figure it out on their own. The Silence didn't do that, she did.

"I'm sorry," the words blurted from her mouth.

The Sapling met Melody's gaze with teary eyes. "Why would you hurt us? We worked so hard to find you, to save you, and you hurt us? That's not fair. You're taking my Mother, my Father, my family."

"No, no," Melody shook her head. "I didn't-I didn't mean to..."

The Sapling gently lowered himself to his Mother's side and brushed her hair with his hands. "Mother..." he sniffled.

~ 0 ~

Just as Lena, Amy and Rory were about to die, the TARDIS appeared around them, saving them in time. Lena quickly left her friends' side and ran for the console, "Big brother!" but she stopped when she saw Melody standing there and gasped at the sight of Avalon on the chair, trying to get out of it. "What did you do!?" she fiercely demanded from Melody as she ran to Avalon.

"i-it's fine, Lena," Avalon assured her. Her sight was coming back at least. "I...taught her to fly the TARDIS. Guess those lessons did pay off." She managed a weak smile while her sister hugged her.

"Where's the Doctor?" frowned Amy. "And the Sapling?"

"Then bring us back to the Doctor so he can help her," Lena ordered.

Melody looked around, refusing to tell her exactly what was going to happen to the Doctor in just a moment. Still, she used what Avalon had told her and successfully brought the TARDIS back to the restaurant.

Amy ran out the TARDIS first to find the Doctor lying on the stairs, nearly unconscious, with the Sapling at his side. Amy dropped on one of his sides, "You can't die now. I know you don't die now."

"Oh, Pond! You've got a schedule for everything," the Doctor managed to smile. From the corner of his eyes he could see Avalon coming out of the TARDIS with Lena's and Melody's help. She was safe now. Now it was okay to...to go.

"Doctor, what do we do? Come on. How do we help you?" Rory called to him as he and the others neared him.

"No, sorry, Rory. You can't. Nobody can," the Doctor sighed, "Ponds, listen to me, I need to talk to your daughter."

Everyone looked back at Melody who now looked completely uncomfortable. Slowly, she came towards the Doctor while the others backed away. She bent down beside him and whispered quietly to him, "You're not lying are you?" she glanced back to Avalon who was direcly staring at them with tears in her eyes, still filled with guilt.

"You see it now, don't you?" the Doctor questioned her, "Her eyes are yours, her hair is yours, her spirits are yours. But she doesn't know it yet, she thinks you're just a really close friend."

"I'm her mother...and I let her commit murder," Melody swallowed hard, if that didn't make her the worst mother of the year she didn't know what would.

"I need you to do something for me," the Doctor told her, "Find River Song and tell her something from me."

"Tell her what?" she raised an eyebrow and leaned down to listen to his quiet words. After she sat straight again, she had tears in her eyes, "Well, I don't know how..." but he gave her a pointed look that made her shift in place. She stood up and turned to the group, "Who's River Song?" she demanded.

Without a word, Amy moved to the Teselecta now host to no lives inside, "Are you still working because I'm still a relative? Access files on River Song."

"Records available."

"Show me her. Show me River Song."

Melody's tears strolled down her face as she now saw herself in the Teselecta. She glanced back at Avalon and shuddered a breath, "I lied."

Avalon shooed Rory off her, "What about?"

"There's no cure...but you have all the cures in your immune system...a well evolutionized system..."

Avalon's eyes half-widened. She raised her hands and turned them over. "And that would work? That would really work?"

"Might..." Melody shrugged with a small smile as she watched the ginger's hope increase by the seconds. "...but there could be consequences..."

"Don't care," Avalon snapped and hurried to the Doctor however she could on her wobbly feet. She came to sit beside him, ignoring the slight pain she felt on her knees. She motioned for the Sapling to move away. She would need a moment alone.

"What's she doing?" Lena looked at Melody suspiciously. One more trick from hers and this time Lena might just slap her.

Melody didn't answer and turned for Avalon, hoping her words would be true and...perhaps, do one good thing for her...daughter. She didn't want anyone to grow up the way that she did.

"I promise you after this you can chuck me into a black hole," Avalon whispered to the Doctor. "Or put me in jail. That's what I deserve. I'm so sorry for all this. Believe me, killing you is the last thing I wanted to do," she leaned down and stroked his hair, smiling slightly when he opened his eyes. He looked so weak and it was all her fault. He would never sit still, never lay down. He was always on the run, exploring different worlds, saving people here and there. He was the perfect man. A man that should not have to die.

"You remember those stories you wanted to see? The ones I wrote when I was younger? Well, they were all about you, stupid," Avalon's face blushed a warm pink as she explained what she thought she'd never say. "You're the Fairy Tale Man and you were always my hero, saving me...and do you remember when I couldn't sleep last year? You had to talk to me about my nightmare and you said I should dream up something that would ward the nightmares away? Well, you were the knight-in-shining-armor that fought off all my nightmares. You protected me. You've been quite the busy man," her smile spread as her blush deepened, "Now the princess - albeit an odd one - gets to save the prince."

"But Ava..." the Doctor could barely say those two words. Even with his bypass system, his lungs had expended his air.

"Be sure to rest for a bit before you go gallivanting through galaxies, alright?" Avalon leaned down, ignoring his weak attempts to stop her, and kissed him. Her fingers held onto the lapels of his jacket, as if she'd need it to keep him still. Her body glowed as the energy of her immunization began to transfer from her to the Doctor's. Avalon could feel her strength slipping away but she took comfort knowing it was going to the right place.

Towards the end, Avalon barely had the strength to raise her head. She weakly glanced at the others with a small smile. But her eyelids became heavy and before she knew it, she laid her head on the Doctor's chest and fell into darkness.

~ 0 ~

The next time Avalon opened her eyes, she was in a bright, white room. For a few seconds, she thought this was what the afterlife looked like...but then she heard a familiar voice.

"Avalon, sweetie, you're awake," Ryland was sitting right next to her bed - a hospital bed because she was in the hospital.

"Yeah, took you long enough," Gavin snorted but soon yelped when Lena elbowed him on the side. "I mean, yay, you're awake!"

Avalon scrunched her face and tried getting up, but everybody told her to stay put. "What's...what's going on?" she swallowed hard. Her body hurt. Everything was sore and moving the slightest caused a wave of pain to wash over her. "Owww."

"You're in the hospital, Avalon," Lena explained the bits most pertinent for the moment. "We brought you here after, um...Berlin."

It took only a few seconds for Avalon to remember what she did. "Oh my God! The Doctor!" she tried getting up again but Ryland pushed her down and kept a firm hold over her shoulders. "Daddy, stop! I have to go-"

"Avalon, it's okay! He's okay!" Ryland exclaimed over her voice. "The Doctor's just fine now." Avalon stopped struggling and studied Ryland's face for any indication that he was lying just so she wouldn't get up. Ryland knew her so well. "I'm telling you the truth. He's here, taking care of some things."

"So I...I didn't kill him?" Avalon's eyes flickered to Lena. "He-he survived?"

Lena smiled at her. "Yes. And as Daddy said, he's just taking care of some things. But you, Miss, you need to rest. A lot."

Avalon could care less about herself right now. She was just relieved that the Doctor had survived. "I...I didn't kill him."

"No, but you gave up something else," Gavin spoke up, sounding a bit irritated with her.

"What...?"

Ryland shot his son a look to keep quiet. What they had to tell her to needed to be done in a delicate manner. "Um, sweetie, there's something you need to know. You, uh...you saved the Doctor and nobody could be more proud of you for that, but...there were some consequences."

"Like?"

Ryland sighed. "Your immunity system has dropped, almost entirely. You lost the ability to heal people and your health has reverted to that of, well, an average human."

"Without those vaccinations all the babies usually get," Gavin chimed in, once again receiving the glares from his father and now his sister. "What? It's true."

Avalon was trying to understand what it meant, but it didn't take a lot of her thought process to figure it out. "So I-I don't have my abilities anymore? I don't have all the cures?"

"No," Ryland confirmed. "And the doctors here tried everything to activate it but there's nothing there anymore. We're going to have to be very careful for a long while now, until we can build up your immunity from scratch. But, even when that happens, it won't be like it used to be."

"I'll just be like Amy and Rory," Avalon nodded to herself. "Like every other human. I can get a cold now..."

"It's a bit more dangerous right now because you literally have no defense system."

"It's fine," Avalon swallowed hard and smiled. "It's my punishment for what I did."

"No, it's not," Lena frowned. "This was an accident but it is not because you did something wrong. Nothing is your fault. It's on Kovarian and the Silence." As soon as she spoke those two names, Avalon flinched. Lena regretted it deeply. "I'm sorry."

"No, no...it's okay..." Avalon bit her lower lip.

"How long were you with them, Avalon?" Lena decided to ask after a moment.

"...about...5 months..." Avalon scrunched her face when more memories started coming back to her. A lot of them included her screaming and begging for them to stop hurting her. "They-they kept..."

Lena reached for her sister's hand and held it tight. Avalon didn't have the strength, currently, to do the same. "It's okay, Avalon."

Avalon brought her free hand to her hair, pulling the strands as she continued to remember. Every pain she felt from the carvings, from the prodding, the needles. Her body was on fire. And she was so terrified.

"Avalon, it's okay," Ryland tried to take Avalon's hand off her hair but she kept pulling on it.

"I was so scared, Daddy! I was so scared!" The tears streamed down Avalon's face. "Everybody was prodding me like a-an experiment! They-they stabbed me with needles! They starved me! It was cold, it was hot! And I just wanted them to stop!" Her voice cracked in the end, but all in all she sounded like a terrified child when she burst into sobs. "But then I-I can't remember everything but...I know they did things to me, bad things. I don't want to go back there!"

"And you're not going to," Ryland promised her, almost crying himself because of her. He allowed Avalon to sit up so he could hug her tightly. "Nobody is ever going to touch you again. Not on our watch."

~ 0 ~

Melody stepped into a the admittedly nice building. Her eyes raked over the neat hallways and cheery decorations. It seemed to be very busy with employees - nuns - coming in and out of rooms. Patients, or inhabitants, were out making their daily lives. They looked happy. It seemed like a nice place to live...for now. She turned sideways, meeting her parents' gaze and the Doctor's. "This is it, then? This is where I have to stay?"

"It looks like fun," the Sapling made the comment to lift the spirits.

"It's your basic home for, well, anybody who needs it," the Doctor explained. "The Sisters here will help you make your way, whatever path you want to take."

Melody knew what he meant. Even though she knew about an important part of her future, the choice was still hers. "I am sorry," she said, even though it pained her to admit that she was wrong. "You have no idea what Kovarian is like...she doesn't take 'no' for an answer. She doesn't show mercy which is why I can't understand why she decided to wipe Avalon's memories. She had her for months and...she just erased it?"

"She did it for a reason," the Doctor muttered. Kovarian didn't do anything without a reason.

"But she didn't do a very good job because Avalon still remembers bits and pieces," Melody said, not understanding herself. Avalon didn't seem to have all her memories but she remembered what kind of torture strategies they used on her.

"That's her biology at work," the Doctor sighed. He had no doubt that within the coming months, Avalon would begin to remember more of her time with Kovarian.

"I wish I would've known," Melody looked at her parents. "I didn't know. But after spending years with Kovarian breathing over my shoulder, I learned the best way to survive is to just follow her orders."

"You're forgiven for everything," the Doctor assured her. He could see the guilt in her eyes from a mile away.

"Absolutely," Amy moved towards Melody and took her into a big hug. It soon brought Rory over as well. "None of it was your fault," Amy promised.

"But I just...I don't understand," Melody pulled away. "How could Avalon be my daughter? I don't...I don't even want kids. They're kind of annoying." The others chuckled, but she wanted to point out that she was being very serious.

"Well, that's up to you," the Doctor said, but Melody folded her arms over her chest and settled a sharp look on him.

"Mhm. You snogged my daughter and you expect me to believe that you don't care one tiny bit whether or not I have her?"

The Doctor's face flushed at the reminder. It made Melody smirk, much like Avalon would. "Well, I-I didn't mean to..." Truth be told, he would hardly call what happened between him and Avalon a kiss. There'd been two kisses and while the first one was a more of a kiss but it'd only happened because Avalon was brainwashed into doing it, not because she wanted to. And the second one? Well, he'd been dying. He could hardly remember it. It hurt his hearts realizing it.

"Oh forget it," Melody sighed deeply when she saw the Doctor getting lost in his thoughts. "I'll stay here for a bit, then, if that's what it takes to keep her safe. Whether she's my daughter or my friend, I do care about Avalon. I had to do what I had to do to keep us both alive."

"I believe you," the Doctor assured her.

"And...the Sapling...I didn't mean to take your family," Melody looked at the tree child. He no longer held contempt for her, but she wanted to make sure that he understood her. "I know exactly what that feels like and I never want to do that to a child."

The Sapling nodded and offered her a smile. "I believe you. You helped save my parents. Plus, your my grandmother."

"Oooh, that hurts," Melody put a hand over her chest. "That word hurts."

"Imagine great-grandmother," Amy muttered and shared a small laugh with her.

"So, Doctor, how long do I have to wait until I can see Avalon and apologize to her too?" Melody looked at the Time Lord anxiously. She didn't like the idea of being far away when Avalon was recovering from a situation she helped create.

"For a while," the Doctor answered, knowing that it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "The Silence and Kovarian are still out there and until we capture them, you shouldn't see Avalon. Plus, you might have your own Avalon to deal with further along your timeline."

Melody smirked. "Oh boy."

"But don't worry, she'll know that it wasn't your fault either."

"And what about the fact that I'm her Mother? Will she know that too?"

"Do you want her to know?" the Doctor challenged. The choice was entirely upon Melody because as far as he knew, it didn't matter from this point on if Avalon learned who her mother was.

Melody pursed her lips together. "I...don't know. I mean, if she wants to know then...I suppose I have no right hiding that from her. I owe her that much. So, if she asks, if she wants to know, you tell her. But you make sure-" she pointed a finger at him, "-that she knows that I do love her. She's been my friend for so many years, she shouldn't doubt that."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded. "Well, I guess it's time for us to go."

Melody faced her parents with a sad smile. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Definitely," Amy promised. "Stay out of trouble, Miss."

"Seriously," Rory warned her. "Out of it. Don't even think of getting into it!"

Melody laughed. "I'll try my best. But you know me...it calls me." She walked over to give them both a hug. While they said goodbye, the Doctor took the Sapling with him back to the TARDIS. The Ponds would need a moment to say goodbye to their daughter.

"Are we going to see Mother now!?" the Sapling hopped excitedly up to the console.

"Yeah," the Doctor went straight to the console. He shouldn't have done it but he downloaded his biography from the Teselecta archive. Now he knew exactly what he was in for, and it was not pretty. But so long as Avalon was kept out of it, he didn't care what was coming for him.

~ 0 ~

When Ryland emerged from from Avalon's hospital room, he spotted the Doctor, Amy, Rory and the Sapling coming down the hallway. He immediately searched for the woman responsible for all this mess, but she wasn't there. And she wouldn't be coming back soon, that much he could tell from Amy's and Rory's distraught faces. The Sapling didn't waste time and scurried down the hallway, straight into Avalon's room before anyone could tell him anything. He wanted to see his Mother so badly!

"Where is she?" Ryland still asked the group when they joined him. He didn't have to say her name for them to know he meant River.

"Somewhere, making her own way now," the Doctor said, glancing over his shoulder to the Ponds. It hurt them badly to let their daughter go, but it was the best thing they could for Melody and Avalon.

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, in what fits."

Ryland nodded then sighed. "Avalon's woken up, though she's been in and out of consciousness. The Silence, Kovarian - they did a number on my niece." His heart broke when he first saw Avalon's arms, when she sobbed about how terrified she'd been. "I want them to pay. All of them."

The sentiment was shared amongst the others, but they knew that they literally had to wait.

"It's a tricky thing, Ryland," the Doctor began, looking unsure himself...because he was. "Kovarian has created the perfect game here. We can't strike because of Time. We make one wrong move and both Melody and Avalon go 'poof!'." He did the hand gesture for effect, but he was sure the word was more than enough to make a point. "And that's not what we want, right?"

Ryland sighed with exasperation. "Of course not! But we can't just let this stand!"

"Oh, we won't," the Doctor said, his voice dropping low. "You better believe that I'm going after them."

Ryland wasn't one to doubt him, so he nodded but there was still heavy concern in his eyes when he glanced back at Avalon's room. "She's really hurt. I trust this hospital but I'm also scared. She lost her entire immune system. She has zero defenses."

"But we can fix that," Rory finally spoke up but then he realized that Avalon's biology was a bit out of his element so he looked at the Doctor just to be sure. "Right?"

"Yes, of course we can," the Doctor nodded. "But I'm going to need to take Avalon away for a while," he told Ryland, knowing that the man wouldn't be so happy about that detail.

And true to that, Ryland's mouth opened to argue. "But we just got her back!"

"And like you said, she doesn't have any defenses. Earth is filled with bacteria and germs that she cannot fight right now. The TARDIS is a sterile place where I can monitor her at all times, where we-" the Doctor gestured behind him to Amy and Rory, "-will look after her and raise her health. Physically and mentally."

Because of course there was no way in hell the Ponds would let go of the only piece they had of their daughter. Both Amy and Rory nodded affirmatively. Where Avalon went, they went. Period.

"I am a nurse," Rory reminded Ryland. "I know exactly what humans need. I'll help take good care of Avalon."

"I don't suppose I have a choice," Ryland mumbled, but he did realize that the TARDIS was the safest spot for Avalon at the moment. "But will you bring her when she gets better?"

"You have my word," the Doctor promised, raising his hand in the air. It would be some time before Avalon could leave sterile rooms, but he would bring her back to Earth the moment she could withstand it.

Ryland nodded. "Thank you. And...thank you for bringing her back. All of you." The Doctor gave a slight nod of his head but it was easy to see that he didn't feel like he actually did anything. He hadn't found Avalon, she had found him. "I trust you, Doctor. And you," Ryland gave Amy and Rory a half smile. "I trust that you'll keep her safe." He gave Avalon's door another glance before motioning them to go inside. "See if she's awake. I assume there's plenty to talk about."

That was an understatement. Still, the three of them took in some deep, brave breaths and headed for Avalon's room.

Avalon was asleep but with the Sapling's movements and whispers, she would end up waking up. Seeing the tree child did bring out a smile, which was all anyone wanted right now.

"Hey, don't try to move so much," Rory took the nearest seat beside her bed. "You gotta save your strength."

"Ugh, now you're sounding like my Dad," Avalon licked her chapped lips then made a face after it stung her. "I really need chapstick. Actually...I really need and want a bath."

"Lavender scented bath bombs await in the TARDIS," Amy promised her. She'd taken the opposite side and grabbed Avalon's hand first chance she got. There was a different feeling Amy got now that she knew who Avalon was. Maybe it was the part of her motherhood that she didn't get to live out with Melody, or maybe it was just the grandmother part of her too. She wanted to protect Avalon and be there for whatever Avalon might need.

"Mm, sounds nice," Avalon drew in a breath but it stung as well. "My entire body hurts. Even breathing hurts - how pathetic is that?"

"Don't say that," the Doctor spoke up for the first time, and it was only because that had come out automatically. He didn't want Avalon feeling bad for anything that happened. "You don't say anything like that, got it? Because you have no reason to put yourself down."

Avalon's gaze lowered the moment his eyes landed on her. She couldn't fathom looking at anyone right now. She was guilty. And embarrassed. "I'm sorry guys," her apology came in the form of a frail whisper. "I couldn't save Melody and I let them brainwash me."

"Avalon, this wasn't your fault," Rory reached for Avalon's other hand.

The Sapling squirmed his way around Amy's chair, going under Amy's arm that was holding Avalon's hand, until he was right next to his Mother. "Mother, you shouldn't cry. It was the bad people's fault."

"But neither of you have Melody because I couldn't hold onto her," Avalon raised her head, showing new tears in her eyes. "I had her in my arms and Kovarian ripped her away from me. I took care of her for a week and then I never saw her again. I'm so sorry."

Amy couldn't help the tears in her own eyes. "Avalon, the same thing happened to me and I'm her mother. But Kovarian was too smart. But hey, she's okay now and she's going to make her own way. This is where River Song starts and we'll be seeing her around."

"I didn't get to apologize to her," Avalon glanced at the Doctor. "Could I see her, please? I-I really want to talk to her. River's saved me so many times and the one chance I had to save her...I didn't do it."

"She doesn't blame you - actually, she's mad as hell with Kovarian," he gave her a soft smile. "You're so alike, actually."

Avalon would've smiled but instead of seeing him, she saw his dying body in Berlin. The tears doubled and whether she wanted to or not, she sniffled all over again. "Doctor, I'm so sorry! I nearly killed you! I-I didn't know I was going to do it but I'm so sorry!"

The Doctor forgot all about his own guilt for the moment as he moved up to her bed to hug her. Amy and Rory let go of Avalon's hands and the moment they did, Avalon clung to the Doctor's arms. Even the Sapling had leaned away, more on his great-grandmother's side, to give his parents some space.

"You're good, Avalon. You are so good, don't ever think that I will reproach you for anything," the Doctor kissed Avalon's messy hair.

"But I-I poisoned you-"

"-and you saved my life," the Doctor pulled away to give her a small smile. He poked her forehead, something that brought out a teary-eyed smile from her. "And now you lost your ability to heal people."

"I don't care," she said, sounding pretty damn certain about it too. "I saved you. I would do it again if I had to."

"I recommend you don't," the Doctor's gaze turned sharp just at the idea of her having to do it again. Next time, she might just use up all of her regenerations, however many she had. "I'm the Fairy Tale Man. I will do the saving around here. And I'm sorry I didn't do that before Kovarian hurt you so much."

Avalon completely let go of him to see her bruised and stitched arms. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment to push away any of those memories. "I can't remember everything...but I know that they hurt me. I can see some of it. I hate her so much."

"We're going to find her," Amy promised, her teeth gritting together as the raw fury crept over her. It only faltered when she saw the brief terror in Avalon's eyes. "But she's not going to hurt you again. She's going to have go through all of us first." Everyone nodded, including the Sapling.

"You stay far away, Mister," Avalon wagged a finger at the Sapling, relishing in his childlike giggle. She missed him. "I may be a terrible mother but I will still do my best to keep you away from danger." At the mention of 'mother', the others exchanged nervous glances. Avalon noticed it fairly quick and arched an eyebrow at them. "What is it?"

"Uum..." the Doctor would be brave and take the lead in the conversation. "You mentioned that your memory's a bit foggy?" Avalon nodded. "Do you remember if Kovarian mentioned anything about, I don't know, your parents?"

Avalon crinkled her nose. "No. Why would she?"

"Just curious," the Doctor checked for Amy's and Rory's reactions. He'd continue if they wanted him to...and they seemed to want him to. Oh boy.

"What's going on?" Avalon saw their discreet glances with each other. "What more is going on?"

"Avalon...we, uh...blimey, there's not an easy way to say it but...we know about your real Mother and..." the Doctor watched her face go pale - paler than what it already was - then was quick to go for anger.

"I told you I didn't want to know!" she practically snarled.

"But things are different now," Amy chimed in for the sake of her daughter.

"Yeah, I'm a murderer!" Avalon shot the Doctor a look. "I nearly murdered you and you want talk about my...my Mother?"

"Actually, her and-"

"No!" she yelled. "You know what? I do remember Kovarian mentioning something about that. My mother abandoned me because she didn't care about me."

"That's not true," Amy scowled, but in doing so it made Avalon even more angry.

"How would you know? Nobody abandoned you!"

"Because I know who she is and she didn't leave you behind!"

"Amy," Rory's voice was warning her to watch what she would say. Amy was distraught over their situation, more so by the fact Avalon would still believe in the lie that River abandoned her. But there was a reality that none of them were facing yet, one that nobody had asked out loud. River didn't abandon Avalon, okay, but then why did she give Avalon away?

Avalon squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to remember moments with Kovarian but her mind was all jumbled up and everything was fuzzy. She couldn't remember even if she truly wanted to. "My life is in pieces right now and I don't want it to be broken into smaller fragments. Please leave it alone. Please." Her begging reminded her a lot of when she had to beg for people not to slice her skin, or when she had Melody taken away from her, or pretty much every time she was in pain. New tears rolled down her cheeks and even if she couldn't move a lot, she put her best efforts to scoot towards the Doctor, trying to reach for his closest hand. "Please just forget about it. I don't want to know. I-I don't want to know!"

The Doctor wouldn't further victimize her like Kovarian had. He gave her a reassuring nod that he would not say anything. It brought her such relief that she thanked him over and over again, like he'd just saved her life. He checked Amy's and Rory's expressions and he wasn't surprised to find them grim. Their granddaughter hated their daughter because of a lie.

The Silence had ruined them from top to bottom and he let it happen.

#ocappreciation #doctor who #11th doctor imagines #dw imagine #doctor who fics #dw fics #doctor who imagines #11th doctor fics #oc: Avalon Reynolds #oc: Lena Reynolds #fic: falling in temptation

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krcolou · 3 years

Text

𝐡𝐢, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐞 // thread.

WHO: Cole & Junko [ @lazersong ]

WHEN: Jan. 14

WHAT: Post Take Cover Thread [ Link ]

WARNING: Mention of past violence, wound first aid

Cole

Cole struggled with his journey from the ship to the one place he felt safe. He felt his shapeshifting struggle, slowly changing his body to his natural form as he fell onto her doorstep. Small changes, like his eye color and growing height. At least he looked similar enough to be recognized. “J-Junko?” he called out, weakly. “Junko help?”

Junko

Junko hadn't been out much recently, but it was not because of some dumb boy. She had been digging up all the information she could ever possibly need on the ACPD and their traffic of foster children since her sisters were taken. It'd been days and she couldn't stop, this being a vicious cycle that she only snapped out of when she heard a familiar voice outside her apartment. With furrowed brows she opened the door, eyes widening when she saw Cole. "C-Cole?" she said, reaching out for him. "Oh, stars. What happened?"

Cole

“Shot. Two time,” Cole said, rolling onto his side to look up at her. “In pain. Much pain.”

Junko

"Shot?" Junko asked as she knelt down beside him. "O-Okay, uh, can you- can you make it inside? You know what—" She knew there wasn't time for that, hooking her arms around him and sliding him across the threshold with all the strength she had.

Cole

Cole let out a loud yell when she pulled him, surprised that she had that much power in her to move his heavy body. He cursed loudly in his own language, before letting out a pained exhale. “Sorry.”

Junko

She didn't mind when he yelled out, but she didn't let it discourage her either as she finished dragging him inside and slammed the door behind him. "Don't apologize," she said, standing up and hurrying into the kitchen.

Cole

Cole watched as she hurried to the kitchen, trying to move himself as his body started to change even more. Shit. He didn’t want to reveal his true form to her, ever. But his pain level was increasing too much to hide it. “Don’t — don’t scared,” he called out to her.

Junko

Junko shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "I'm not scared of you, Cole—" she began before reentering the living room and seeing him change. Oh. This is why he didn't agree to be with her. But despite every warning sign her body gave her she ignored them and bent down beside him again. "I-I'm not scared." she assured him.

Cole

Cole didn’t note the stutter in her voice at first, too focused on his bleeding wounds. He kept his hands pressed against his side, not able to apply pressure to his back. “Not?” He asked, surprised. “You are strange.”

Junko

"Yeah, I know," she replied, lifting up his shirt and flinching whenever she saw the wound. She began cleaning the blood surrounding the area before applying pressure. "You said you were shot twice? Where else?"

Cole

Cole nodded loudly at her cleaning the blood, cursing loudly at her before cowering into himself. “S-Sorry, Junko. Am sorry. For — for that,” he apologized, feeling like he had to for anything done in that form. “Back. Shot in back."

Junko

"You don't have to keep apologizing. A lot worse things have been said to me," Junko said softly before nodding. "You're going to have to help me and roll over, okay? It'll probably hurt a bunch."

Cole

Cole looked at her with pleading eyes, not wanting to do so. His hand, gigantic in this form, enveloped hers gently. “I got ride. For you and sisters. For leaving Avalon,” he said, not rolling over.

Junko

Junko paused whenever he told her this. "Y-You did?" she asked.

Cole

Cole nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “When things bad, you all leave. Safe.”

Junko

"I... I... Thank you, Cole," she said genuinely before remembering the wounds and blinking out of her daze, "You're still going to have to roll over."

Cole

“Welcome. I... I care. Even if cannot be thing. Care a lot.” Cole frowned, shaking his head. “Am okay not to roll over.”

Junko

"I know you care. It's totally a thing," she said, then sighed. "You have to or else you'll bleed out and die. Dying isn't good. How about I — I tell you about them while I work? My sisters? You should know more about them since you're going through all this just for us."

Cole

“No, us. Us thing,” Cole corrected. He paused, finally giving up in a sigh. Slowly he rolled over, groaning though the entire process. The idea of her seeing his scar covered body from all of his fights was off putting, especially since his majority were on his back. Weakened he impacted his stomach to the floor, unable to move any more. “Okay. Okay. Am roll.”

Junko

"Oh... That thing," Junko swallowed and tried not to hyperventilate when his scars were exposed, keeping her surprise to herself as she began working on the shot to his back. "Good, good... Um. Well. Their names are Chiyoko and Keiko, we're about five years apart so they're... Stars, they'd be twenty by now. They're twins. When they were really little, I used to plait their hair and tie it off with different color ribbons so I could tell them apart. Chiyoko was always yellow and Keiko was always green."

Cole

Cole nodded, hissing as he felt her hands against his back. “Twenty. T-Two tens?” he asked, shuddering in pain. “Have sister. One. K’Salou.”

Junko

"Two tens," she confirmed and kept pressure on the wound. "I have a suture kit for — well, reasons. I'll start stitching you up now, okay?" Junko smiled whenever he said that, opening her small first aid box and picking out a needle and some thread. "Really? What's she like?"

Cole

“Stitch?” He asked, not sure what she meant by that. “Strong. Very strong. Have not seen in years, can be different.”

Junko

"Put together," she said instead and gently brought the needle through the opening and began suturing. "I know how that is... But I hope my sisters aren't too different. Chiyoko was the outspoken one, Keiko was more solemn — that means quiet, really."

Cole

Cole yelled out in discomfort, pounding his fist into the ground out of reflex. “No! Don’t — don’t!” He yelled, trying to move away.

Junko

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she apologized, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know it hurts, but I have to do this. Just — keep telling me about K'Salou. Why haven't you seen her in so long?"

Cole

Cole flinched even more when she placed a hand on his shoulder, expecting the next contact to be painful. “Am okay, am okay. No stitch,” he said, trying to push himself up. “Because... because have job. Mission to.. do this.”

Junko

"No, you're not okay. You need this. Lay back down." she commanded with a huff and forced him down by the shoulder.

Cole

“Ah!” he whimpered, collapsing to the ground when she forced him back down. “Please, Junko.”

Junko

“I know it hurts but I have to do this,” Junko said, continuing to suture the wound.

Cole

Cole remained silent and tensed as she sutured his wounds, preferring his method of just allowing it to heal into a scar on its own.

Junko

Junko concentrated as she threaded through the skin — at least what she thought was skin — eventually easing up with a sigh as she finished. “Okay. I’m done.”

Cole

Cole didn’t respond to her at first, just shakily rolling over to his uninjured side. “Hate that,” he said, glancing over to her.

Junko

"I'm sorry," she said and kept a hand on his shoulder. "But I had to. Here, take these. I don't know how well they'll work for you, but we might as well give it a shot." She unearthed a handful of pain pills and gave them to him.

Cole

The bolug stared at the pills she handed him, debating taking them. “These? These are?” he asked.

Junko

"They help with the pain," she explained. "Hopefully..."

Cole

Cole nodded slowly, taking the handful of pills and swallowing them dry. He debated his next move — to try to stand and lay down on something other than the floor, or to remain there. One was less painful, in the end. “Want... want me to go?” he asked, focusing on every word.

Junko

"No, what? Stars no, you should stay here," she insisted, remaining cross-legged beside him. "I wouldn't want you anywhere else, Cole."

Cole

“I am... am stuck this way,” he said. “Hurt too much to look like — like normal person.”

Junko

"That's fine. I'm not afraid," she reassured. "I've seen a lot worse."

Cole

Cole truly didn’t believe that, but in that moment? He didn’t care. He managed to sit up enough to rest his forehead against her shoulder, letting out a pained sigh. “Junko, you are good.”

Junko

Junko placed an arm around him. "I'm alright," she said with a small laugh. "You give me too much credit."

Cole

He leaned into her more when she placed an arm around him, taking in her increased warmth to his colder form. “No. Good. I.. care lot. A lot. But... see why not good? Yes?”

Junko

“... I see why you’d think you’re not good,” she admitted. “But this doesn’t change my opinion of you.”

Cole

“You say this like you not seeing me,” Cole said, huffing. “I crush and strong. Danger.”

Junko

"I see you," she said. "And all I see is someone who is scared."

Cole

“Am not scared,” Cole said, pulling back to look at her face. She was so tiny, especially when he was like this. He moved to touch her cheek, barely clipping it with his fingers before dropping his hand. “Not scared.”

Junko

Junko stared at him, swallowing before nodding slowly. "Okay. You're not scared. And neither am I."

Cole

“Strange. You are strange, Junko.”

Junko

"Thank you." she smiled.

Cole

Cole moved, about to try to stand up. He needed to lay down somewhere comfortable, especially if he was going to try to force himself to chance into something smaller. “Help stand?”

Junko

Junko considered it for a moment, then decided that he knew his body better than anyone else — especially considering no one in the Core would ever dream of getting close enough to a bolug to understand their anatomy. "Yeah, sure," she agreed and stood up, holding her hands out for him.

Cole

Cole gripped onto her hands, trying not to squeeze too hard as he stood up slowly. His expression remained pained, as he finally stood up straight beside her. Stars, she was tiny. “Bed?” He asked. “Unless blood problem.”

Junko

Junko peered up at him, always having known she was shorter than the average human, but never really having felt it until just then. "It's okay, you can have a bed. C'mon." she pulled him along gently.

Cole

Cole limped out of pain as she pulled him along, trying to find the steps that worked for his sutured wounds. “Share? Share bed?”

Junko

She ruminated on this for a moment, then decided there really was no harm it in. "Okay. If that's what you want."

Cole

“Yes,” he said, stumbling slightly. “Safe. For both. If droid finds me.”

Junko

“A droid did this to you?” she asked as she led them to her bedroom.

Cole

Cole nodded. “Did. Yes. I broke arm off.”

Junko

"Oh, wow..." Junko murmured and led him to the side of the bed, "Here."

Cole

“Yes. He threatened Junko. So defended,” he said, slowly crawling onto the bed. He was far too big for it, having to curl himself up to not hang over the edge.

Junko

“He threatened me? Why?” she asked with a frown, trying to figure out how they could possibly share the bed.

Cole

"Because he was upset. That I hurt a man for lying," Cole answered truthfully. At least as truthfully as he could, in his mind. He moved to try to give the young woman room, wondering if it would be better to big or little spoon. "Come, Junko."

Junko

“You hurt someone? Who?” Junko furrowed her brows then sighed, laying on the bed and looking up at him. “Why’d he lie?”

Cole

Cole moved his arm around her, pulling her in closer. “Said he be at ship every day. Was not. Knows I am bolug.”

Junko

Junko allowed him to pull her in, enjoying the contact even though he was very different from when she last saw him. "That's not good... Does the droid know you're a bolug too?"

Cole

"Yes," he sighed. "He knows my look... but it is a liked look... I do not know what doing."

Junko

"... Well, try not to worry about it right now," she said, lifting her head up and looking down at him. "You should get some rest."

Cole

Cole watched her look at him, eying her carefully as she did so. “I will kill him.”

Junko

“No, no no no, you shouldn’t do that,” she said with widening eyes. “You should go to sleep and then when you wake up I can... I can make breakfast! And it’ll be a good day.”

Cole

"You sound like marriage," he chuckled, keeping his arms wrapped around her.

Junko

Junko pouted at this, “A wife, you mean? I do not. I sound like a concerned friend.”

Cole

"Yes, wife. Marriage. You are sounding like wife," he insisted.

Junko

“I— well,” she huffed softly. “So what if I am? Maybe you need one of those so you won’t keep getting shot.”

Cole

"No time for wife. Body cannot handle wife," Cole responded, furrowing his brow as he patted her belly. He knew what hell pregnancy could be for the bolugian species — and he knew that no human could handle it without a terrible experience themselves. "I get shot for others. Not me."

Junko

Junko raised an eyebrow at him as he did this, "You don't have to have a baby to be married," she said. "Getting shot is getting shot. I don't care how you do it. It's still dumb that it even happens."

Cole

"You are strange. You and humans are strange, Junko," he replied, pulling his hand back. "...Sorry."

Junko

"I'm strange? I'm not the one who goes around getting shot for others."

Cole

"Not — not for. Because. But I get shot for you. Happy to," he admitted.

Junko

"... You still shouldn't do that," she said, "I don't want you getting shot for me. That's unproductive."

Cole

Cole leaned in slowly, placing a gentle kiss on the young woman's forehead. "Is okay."

Junko

Junko frowned deeply and looked at him, "Not okay. Not when I pour my heart out to you and tell you how I feel and then you say you can't be with me, then turn around and get shot in my honor and then come here while I'm doing work for my help! I don't mind helping you, not at all, but it's all a bit... I don't know. You're the strange one, not me."

Cole

"Do you not want help? To help? I can — I can heal old way. Heal slow and... and body make marks," he said, frowning. "Am not strange. Things different for bolug."

Junko

"No, I- of course I want to help you, Cole." Junko sighed and flopped onto her pillows. "Well, things are different for humans, too."

Cole

"What do you want, Junko?" he asked, quieting down when she flopped down.

Junko

"I just... I just wanna go to sleep. I'm tired. I've had a long day. Haven't you?"

Cole

He nodded slowly. "Yes, Junko."

Junko

"Okay. Goodnight, Cole."

#𝐊𝐑'𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔 : convos . ⧽ ━━ and god made me.#ft. junko.

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misty-avalon · 5 years

Text

Questions to Know Me Better

Tagged by @theoceanismyinkwell Thank you!! ^-^

FOURTEEN PEOPLE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW BETTER

ONE / name: Misty (not my real name but that’s what I go by on tumblr dot com)

TWO / birthday: September

THREE / zodiac sign: Virgo

FOUR / height: short af (i’m actually very self conscious of my height so i don’t like it when people make jokes about me being short - only i get to do that)

FIVE / hobbies: reading, baking, blogging, learning how to sew and cross stitch, having a good jamming out session to kpop

SIX / favourite colour: blue (the sky is blue, the pools/oceans/seas are blue - it’s a very relaxing colour)

SEVEN / favourite book: Harry Potter series (i have yet to come across another book series that knocks harry potter off the top spot for me)

EIGHT / last song I listened to: stay - blackpink (sometimes i just need a relaxing acoustic song after jamming out to more intense bops)

NINE / last film I watched: Detective Pikachu (the 2nd half of the movie is so good omg)

TEN / inspiration for muse: i’m not sure what is meant by ‘muse’ but if you mean myself then I have taken a lot of inspiration from BTS and e1 Laurel Lance. BTS’ music has given me a lot to ponder about. The HYYH era of songs said the things that I wanted to say that I never found the right words for. For the first time in 3-4 years I didn’t feel lonely anymore and I learnt from their songs that the things I felt were perfectly valid things to feel. From that I gained new motivation (the kind that doesn’t make you feel like you’re drowning when you come across stresses and inconvieniences) that I channelled towards my last 2 years at uni. Then fast forward to the love yourself era, it was Namjoon’s UN speech and Jin’s epiphany that really drove the message of ‘self love’ home. I learned not to rely on other people for love but rather to create some love for myself because that can never be taken away from me. I learned that I am enough and nobody will ever be able to make me feel like I’m nothing. Ever since then I feel like I’ve become a much healthier and more positive person (although a reminder that i am not perfect and i probably still have some problematic behaviours that im not aware of yet). I also found inspiration from Laurel’s arc from being (rightfully) angry and depressed to choosing to be a hero as the Black Canary. I wasn’t in the best place from end of 2012 to beginning of 2015 so I related a lot to s2-3 Laurel. Seeing Laurel become the Black Canary reminded me that I can overcome the emotional crap that I went through, I can choose to look on the brighter side despite everything, I can choose to move on and be better - and I did. When it comes to irl people I guess I do kind of take inspiration from the people that I know (the ones who matter). Seeing the people who matter to me (even if we don’t talk anymore) having genuine smiles on their faces is like a mental refresher ie i get renewed energy to go about my day completing my tasks and they give me inspiration for how I want to shape my future.

ELEVEN / dream job: doing research or assisting in research in the pharmaceutical industry, or having my own business (doesn’t need to be fancy) that helps me earn a modest living

TWELVE / meaning behind your URL: my url is inspired by bbc merlin. I wanted a url that hinted on fantasy and the mystical unknowns (ie possibilities that are yet to be discovered - a metaphor for the sense of longing to explore whether a physical place or an aspect of life). So I started playing around with the words ‘mystical’ and ‘mystery’ which then evolved into ‘misty’. Then I looked at the word ‘avalon’ and not only did I like the sound of the name, I also liked how it’s the name of a legendary land - a land shrouded in mystery. The words ‘misty’ and ‘avalon’ sounded like a really good fit for each other and so ‘misty-avalon’ was born. For those of you who have followed me since 2013 you might remember that my initial url was something like ‘destinyhopesapphire95’ (like some tween looking username/email) so you can see why I needed to change it. Even with my old url I wanted something inspirational hence ‘destiny’ and ‘hope’, and I picked ‘sapphire’ which is the September birthstone. As for ‘95’ y’all can probably figure that out yourselves

THIRTEEN / top 3 ships: my top ships are always changing as i find new shows to watch. My current top 3 (which is true for the last 2 months) is: 1) barry/iris (the flash), 2) jonah/amy (superstore), 3) buffy/marty (andi mack)

FOURTEEN / lipstick or lip balm: lipstick, i like being able to play around with different colours

FIFTEEN / currently reading: im not reading any books atm, but i am playing the playchoices app which is an app for visual novels. Other than that I read news articles to keep up to date with the happenings of the world

SIXTEEN / work: i’m learning how to drive atm because workplaces and jobs where i live are a lot more accessible when you have a licence (i didn’t learn to drive as a teen like most people did because knowing myself I just knew that it wasn’t a good idea nor the right time), but other than that we (mum and i) are in the process of figuring out how to move to a different city and selling our house so everything is in limbo, but just this morning i revised a newer and better education plan where I hope I’ll be able to earn a few more certificates/degrees

SEVENTEEN / fiction?: yes? (tbh i don’t really understand what this is asking here) when it comes to fiction I’ll always pick out fantasy

EIGHTEEN / fanfiction?: I don’t always read fanfics but when I do I always look for some fluff to read

Tagging 14 people I’d like to get to know better: (won’t be tagging 14 people because i have a small tumblr social circle and i literally only keep seeing the same 3-4 blogs on my dash)

@narniangriff23 @randomnessoffiction @annabethchasethyourdreams628 @babsgordnn plus anyone else who wants to do this but I may have forgotten to tag!

(no pressure or anything ;) friendly reminder I won’t be offended if you don’t want to do it)

#questionnaire #about me

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josiesimblr · 6 years

Photo

Amelia ends the visit and rushes off, making Martha promise to attend the next prayer session. Martha Kelly is about to make her way indoors to fix a plate for Angus Vale when her daughter approaches her.

Avalon: Mother Martha, is it okay for me to go down the road and pay a visit to Bethany Harp? She has a cross stitch pattern she wanted to show me.

Martha: Well, it’s getting dark soon- perhaps tomorrow?

Avalon: Yes, tomorrow would be fine.

Martha gentle: I’ve made some apple pie. Would you like a piece? With some chocolate milk?

Avalon subdued: No. I’m going back to my room. I’ve a few prayers I want to memorize.

Martha: Avalon, just a bite? Please? It worries me how you won’t take a bite of anything.

Avalon murmurs: Maybe later.

Martha sighs: Fine. I guess I’ll save some for your father and give the rest to Angus Vale.

#ts4 #the sims 4 #ts4 story #haven #avalon kelly

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oldshrewsburyian · 6 years

Text

I’ve been brooding about the BBC Merlin vision of Arthur and Merlin’s linked fates and I have a lot of historically-informed Feelings as a result; brace yourselves.

“Yet somme men say in many partyes of Englond that kyng Arthur is not deed / But had by the wylle of our lord Ihesu in to another place / and men say that he shal come ageyn & he shal wynne the holy crosse. I wyl not say that it shal be so / but rather I wyl say here in thys world he chaunged his lyf / but many men say that there is wryton vpon his tombe this vers: Hic iacet Arthurus Rex quondam Rex que futurus.” -- Thomas Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur

We all know this: Arthur’s coming is future, indefinitely postponed. Though it’s not in Malory, we’ve come to also know that it will be in the time of Britain’s greatest need. That’s also the creed of the show; Merlin’s version of events sticks (in this one particular) very close to Geoffrey of Monmouth:

“And even the renowned king Arthur himself was mortally wounded; and being carried thence to the isle of Avalon to be cured of his wounds, he gave up the crown of Britain.”

That’s all we get — those few, poignant lines about how much Arthur was loved, how he was renowned, how he was carried from the battle. The story of those left behind is always part of the medieval chronicles; part of Arthur’s legacy is those who survive him. This is likewise true in Merlin, but we get not only the remnant of the Round Table fellowship (my boys) and Guinevere, who is/will be a great queen, but also Merlin himself. In this version of the mythos, Merlin is Arthur’s other half. And Merlin cannot die.

So… what happens if we apply Malory’s assertion to Merlin? Arthur may have gone to come again, but Merlin, here in this world, changed his life. Just think of what this could mean for Merlin, as the other half of Arthur’s bright currency of hope, intervening in the many moments when Arthur’s people might well find themselves in their own darkest hours, craving the coming of a king.

Think of Merlin, keen-eyed and studious, growing his plants in a monastery garden, teaching a series of apprentices how best to care for the sick, copying out useful passages from dozens of manuscripts, knowing before the first longship appeared on the horizon that it was time to run. Think of the astonished abbot watching a rockfall interposed, as if by divine agency, between the hastily organized refugees and the axe-wielding invaders.

Think of Merlin, who has never forgotten how useful and how convincing the display of stupidity can be, responding to Duke William’s — King William’s — appraisers. Oh, no, that field’s been waste for years. Can’t get anything to grow there. Yeah, those are all of our pigs. How many acres of forest? Dunno, eight maybe?

Think of Merlin, who cannot die, tending the sick and shaking with fever and watching the world’s population die around him in the mid-fourteenth century. Think of Merlin Emrys watching the flagellants and the fires, and the desperate, doomed attempts of medical authorities to explain the plague, religious authorities to halt the violence. Tending the sick is all he can do.

Think of Merlin, satchel over his shoulder, pony between his knees, trotting in the pack trains of Henry V’s army, patching up the soldiers, brewing medicines, making soups, dodging the dangerous kickback of the cannons during the endless sieges. Think of Merlin Emrys, later, hearing tales of a girl who follows old religions, who acts with absolute faith, who is burned as a user of magic.

Think of Merlin below-decks as a ship’s surgeon in Nelson’s navy, his nimble hands setting bones, stitching wounds, never quite working fast enough. Think of the conscripts and volunteers promised a future by a pale doctor marked with other men’s blood, a man who works desperately to halt the waste of human life.

Think of Merlin working alongside and under Mary Seacole, trying to spread cheer and comfort and to maybe save a few more lives. He allows the weariness to show in his eyes, now. He allows some of his vast age to show in his face. He looks at the vastness of Victoria’s empire, and remembers Queen Annis, thinking about how rare it is for a ruler to sacrifice land for the good of a people.

Think of Merlin, who has always mended bodies, seeing them turned into earth, turned into mud, corrupted by gas, burned and shot and shredded. Still he works. Once he faints at the operating table. He cannot die. He comes to know No Man’s Land well. He becomes a legend in multiple armies. He lets the legends grow. Men are in need of legends, in those dark winters and those barren springs without birdsong.

Think of Merlin helping with evacuations during Operation Pied Piper, doing magic with colors more brilliant than the children of London have ever seen, creating a world as brilliant as they allow themselves to imagine, conjuring smiles out of tears. Think of Merlin Emrys, AFS stenciled on his helmet, whispering words of power to the fires that rage through the city, savoring stewed tea and companionship with the other volunteers who sit on upturned milk crates, grinning with relief, eyes still streaming with smoke.

Think of Merlin listening to the medievalism of Genesis and remembering the worlds he has lost. Think of Merlin on picket lines and in protest marches in Thatcherite Britain. Think of Merlin, for whom prison cells are no novelty, smuggling information and food, binding wounds, shouting slogans, cheerful and exhausted and inspired.

This is the Merlin who waits for the return of the once and future king, protecting Arthur’s people, keeping their hope alive.

#merlin bbc #bbc merlin #arthuriana #i have a lot of feelings #obviously #history #headcanon #Thomas Malory #arthurian legend

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valor-squad · 3 years

Text

Luminere Adventures #29

Anna:

-Character Name: Anna

-Island Name: Home

-Style: The island is split into three parts. One with villagers and decorations Von likes, one for Ven, and the last for herself. Von’s area is very natural and beautiful, Ven loves the Halloween stuff, and Anna just likes her section neat with lots of colors.

Chris:

-Character Name: Naka

-Island Name: Starbright Island

-Style: Surprisingly cultivated. The trees are cherry trees and the plants are very organized, he likes the mushroom theme furniture and the villagers are sparse

John:

-Character Name: Armstrong

-Island Name: Mushroom Kingdom

-Style: Plays on Zachery's game sometimes, mostly just fishes.

Max:

-Character name: Max

-Island name: Arbor wilds

-Style: has some elements of civilization but is mostly a forest with paths crisscrossing the map. There is also an ample collection of creatures

Jules:

-Character Name: Amethyst

-Island Name: Val Salia

-Style: Excessive changes in elevation and river crossings. Dino skeletons places throughout the Island. The home is surrounded by a moat, and the interior is the Spooky theme.

Liz:

-Character Name: Borealis

-Island Name: Neo Island

-Style: Everything is super bright and colorful. She uses a lot of the Festivale and colored ice furniture. The houses are very close to each other for maximum friendship. Also, she has collected and placed balloons everywhere.

Peter:

-Character Name: Pete the Geek

-Island Name: Animal Kingdom

-Style: Pretty random. Whatever Peter finds cool is thrown in somewhere, so there is a kaiju statue next to some spooky pumpkins next to a dog house. He has been trying to get all the residents to be farm animals, however, he usually gets one to move out and then forgets to move someone in so he has just a random assortment

Claudia:

-Character Name: Ruby

-Island Name: Forbidden Forest

-Style: She LOVES the Halloween stuff, so it is everywhere. She never took it down. She has taken the black flowers from other people's islands, and that is all she has. All houses are spread out and surround by trees. She keeps a inventory of witch hats to give to villagers so each day they will wear a witch hat. If they can't wear hats, they are thrown off the island

Inkblot:

-Character Name: Anna

-Island Name: Lesbos

-Style: Everything is meticulously placed to look like one of those AC aesthetic Social-Like accounts. She uses all the sakura furniture and bamboo furniture to make the place look peaceful and tranquil. Flowers are put in little flower beds, arranged by color. There is a little fairground off to the side with a teacup ride.

Zachery:

-Character Name: Armstrong

-Island Name: Mushroom Kingdom

-Style: All the new Vincent & Pele stuff, mixed with a whole bunch of custom design stuff revolving around his favorite games. He happens to have lots of island variations of items because he plays with anyone who has a switch all the time.

Brandon:

-Character Name: Calucifer

-Island Name: Coven Cove

-Style: Despite the names, the island is actually pretty normal. He doesn't have a preference on villagers, nor does he really go crazy with custom designs. Instead, most of the terraforming is done in order to prank villagers, such as making a mine field of pitfalls or digging a moat around a house.

Miss Spence:

-Character Name: Aurora

-Island Name: Avalon

-Style: has colored everything into purple, blue, and green tones making it look otherworldly. She has all the constellation stuff, as well as the flower-based stuff. Her island consists of Coco, Jitters, Stitches, Kiki, Lucky, Roscoe, Stitches, and Raddle.

#valor luminere #luminere adventures #luminere games #luminere locations #luminere anna #luminere chris #luminere john #luminere max #luminere jules #luminere liz #luminere peter #luminere claudia #luminere inkblot #luminere zachery #luminere brandon #luminere miss spence

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