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zedecksiew · 4 years

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d100 Adventure Beginnings

Feeling anxious, indoors because of the Covid-19 quarantine, I adapted an idea from Khairani Barokka and asked Twitter to give me emojis.

I’d turn these emoji into oddities, instigations, opening to adventure.

Guess I wanted to travel? In my head, far afield. It took the weekend, but it made me happy. There were many, many typos, but I visited a hundred different microcosms, with a hundred different persons.

Original thread begins HERE; tweets in the thread were tagged / attributed.

d100 ADVENTURE BEGINNINGS

1. 🥐 The sandwich comes to you via delivery. You unwrap the foil as the quadrotor buzzes away. There's something in your sandwich, between tempe patties -an oil-stained slip of card. "Come alone," it says. There is a street address. ~

2. [Photograph of a vine tendril] Watering the garden, you see your morning glory stir.

Its tendrils uncoil. Its vines unclench, recede. Knot in on themselves, twine into thin limbs.

They let go of your fence. They have a face. Flower eyes: two purple trumpet blossoms. They offer a hand to shake.

3. [Italian flag] Morning ritual: put coffee on, wash face, check phone. Twitter takes a half-hour.

You smell burning. Coffee! Your moka pot is now sooty, long past hissing. A man stands next to it, made of steam.

"Salve," the steam ghost says, tipping his steam cap.

4. 🕯️ A warm night. The air is still. The candle flickers in your partner's face. She is checking her wallet. Slips it in her pocket as the candle dies.

"Ah!" she says, in darkness. "So over this power cut."

Time to get more candles.

5. 🔧 This is a *great* spot to get a flat: Lonely road, no streetlights, trees knitting their branches overhead. You shiver. You hate that you shiver. You're an adult. You make noise to assert this. The jack clunks on the ground. "Darling?" somebody whispers.

6. 🦚 "Make way for Lady Lerna!" cries the page, swinging his censer. Behind him a dozen men bear a gilded litter.

Laughter. Ringed fingers part the curtains. A powdered dowager wearing a cartwheel ruff of peacock eyes peers out. She holds her nose.

You hate her.

7. 🐷 Suckling pig. Its split-jaw-ed head faces you. You have never been more aware of an animal corpse.

Goldteeth Liu sips his cognac and asks: "Hey boy, why you not eating? My food not good enough for you is it?

"You feel sweat on your chest, where the wire is.

8. 👻 An ordinary corridor. Sconces, faded wallpaper, a painting.

"Behind the painting," a voice says.

A button behind the painting. Press it. The wall goes click. A crack appears.

"Now can I go?"

You unspool your spell, and the spirit leaves for her afterlife.

9. 🎲 The dice land. "Nine! Woo!" She moves her token, counting every space with a smack.

"What's with you?" they ask her.

"What you mean?" she giggles. She never did know how to play it cool. But she doesn't have to. Under the table, she puts her feet in your lap.

10. 🦷 When you took this assignment, they gave you two false molars:

The one in your right cheek is a transmitter -- a signal for Ops to start the evacuation; The one in your left is a cyanide pill, in case of capture.

Or was it the other way around?

Shit.

11. 🐉 From heaven a serpentine form, golden and gleaming. Growling like thunder ground out of the earth.

Descending, approaching --

But getting no bigger? Is it shrinking?

It is in front of you, now. It is as big as your forearm -- no, your finger.

"Bite me," it squeaks.

12. 🍞 The curfew has gone on for months. You have survived through food shortages, power cuts, rumours of civil unrest.

But now you are in trouble. Now, you enter your second trimester. Now, you crave.

Gardenia white bread.

You will brave cordons to get it.

13. 🧎‍♀️ You are hurrying to your car when somebody calls: "Girl? Girl!"

The voice comes from a red altar under a tree, past the kerb. From a songkok-ed uncle, as tall as your calves.

"Got food ah girl?" the roadside god says. "Two weeks already uncle hasn't eaten."

14. 👀 Someone has been pasting googly eyes on your stuff:

Your mailbox in the lobby; The telephone pole in front of your parking spot; The flower pot on the balcony.

Creepy. "It's not me!" your housemate says.

This morning, you find googly eyes on your forehead.

15. 🔐 The padlock on your front door is broken.

The door swings open onto an empty living room. On the floor: rectangles of dust, where your shelves and cabinets once stood.

As well as a shred of newsprint. "Take this, Mat!" it says.

Your name's not Mat.

16. 🎟️ Pa played the lottery on his birthday. Always with the same numbers: 1406, 2902. Ma's birthday. Yours.

Pa died last week. Yesterday was his birthday. You bought his numbers from the ticket counter.

Today you check the results: "First jackpot: 1406 2902."

17. 🦖 Dusting Dr Khoo's shelves, you accidentally knock over a novelty Tyrannosaurus piggy bank.

It shatters on the parquet floor.

There are ceramic shards, change -- and a passport with Dr Khoo's photo. Under a different name. In Cyrillic script.

Uh oh.

18. 🍳 Eggs in your cast-iron pan -- the last three eggs you have.

Ina: "What are we going to do for protein, now?"

Gan: "We can search the shophouses in town. Or hope to catch a lizard?"

Ina makes a face. You shrug. With your cast-iron pan, you can cook anything.

19. 👻 Knock before you enter a hotel room for the first time. Say: "I'm coming in, okay?" Let its other occupants vacate.

But:You bustled in, dropped the card in its holder, threw your suitcase in the closet, dumped yourself on the bed.

So, now:

Don't look up.

20. 🙆‍♀️ From you balcony, you watch your neighbour in the community playground. She is a dancer. She plays music on portable speakers. She practices pirouettes.

You wish you could work up the courage to talk to her.

She looks up, sees you watching, and waves.

21. 🗝️ "The key will open any lock," the goblin said.

The key feels heavy in your hand. Plain and iron. But when you bring it near the queen's jewellery box it shifts: turns silver and intricate.

A skeleton key!

"The key only works once," the goblin said.

22. 🎥 You don't like the protesters. So naive. And look at how they've spray-painted the street! Anarchists.

The cops charge with riot shields. They are beating protesters --

What are you doing?

You are recording this on your phone.

A cop points his baton at you.

23. 🥳 On your birthday you are surprised at the door. Balloons, food, music to dance to. A party! Laughing, you thank you friends.

"Thank Brian!"

"Brian?" you ask.

"Your cousin Brian?" they say. They point. He smiles and waves back. You don't recognise him.

24. 🤦‍♀️ Your headache gets worse. On day three your vision blurs; you collapse in your bathroom.

You wake to familiar voice: "Hey."

It is your voice. "Don't panic," your doppelganger says. "You're okay." She dried you off, put you in bed. She will not harm you.

25. 🍳 You tried to steal from the Pasha. He is magnanimous, and decided not to behead you. Instead, you will serve him.

You will journey into the wastes. You will brave the fire. You will acquire the Phoenix's egg. The Pasha is a gourmand. He wishes to eat it.

26. 🐙 "Finding the Perihelion Squid is not a problem," your captain says. "It glows in the water."

Sunset. A ray catches your captain's arm and belly, throwing the sucker-shaped burn marks there into textured relief.

"The problem is fighting it," your captain says.

27. 🚦 You stop at the lights. You look at your phone.

Somebody bonks your side-view mirror. "Oi!" you say -- but more people are rushing past. The drivers of the cars in front of you. What are they running from?

Across the intersection, a stampede of water buffalo.

28. ™️ "Breath Easy," the billboard says. A beach panorama, with a white family in the foreground: father, mother, daughter -- all three in pastel shirts. Eyes shut, chins up, smiling.

"VitaOX, premium bottled air," the billboard says. "A Sinochem-McDonald's company."

29. 🦥 The Colossal Ground Sloth is a geographic enormity.

See that hill, blocking our view of the rising sun? That's not a hill. That's a sloth. It sits, seemingly smiling, covered in trees. When it shudders the birds take flight.

Look: it opens its lake-like eyes.

30. 🗽 When the Statue vanishes, America freaks. Who's to blame? Terrorists? SJWs?

Then it turns out the Statue is also missing from all visual media: T-shirts, postcards, patriotic paraphernalia.

The White House settles on its favourite scapegoat -- China.

31. 🧩 The map to the Treasure of Sagely Fu is borne on the back of the Divine Tortoise:

Its scutes represent the 38 provinces of the Empire. Its coloration represents the hills and valleys. When Sagely Fu fought the Tortoise, he kicked a chip-mark into its shell.

32. 💙 The Heart Of Ice is a crystalline fortress, so high above the sea that the sky is twilight and the air freezes you solid.

There rules the Queen, a goddess of pure and alien elements. If you can make Her shed a tear she will grant you your heart's desire.

33. 🌼 The pontianak is a monster -- born when a pregnant woman dies, wronged.

Seeking vengeance, she hunts men. She takes the form of a comely woman. One of her signs is the fragrance of frangipani blossoms.

"Hey," says the bar hostess. She smells of night flowers.

34. 🦊 "My foxies," the witch says. "My vulpies."

In her hut are bones, bones, bones. Piled in a bucket. Mounted on display stands. Sniffing your ankle -- fox skeletons, moving as they did in life.

"Can you do cats?" you ask, nodding to the bundle in your arms.

35. 🥾 The search parties assemble quietly. A trekker is lost on the mountain. Nobody is happy.

"I told him," one of the guides whisper. "I told him. Don't take anything, I said. You don't know whose things you're taking. But I saw him slip a stone into his pocket."

36. 🐬 The pool is still. Park management turns this fountain off at 10pm.

You like walking here, at night. You like the granite dolphins, mid-jump, frozen in time. You toss a coin into the fountain for luck. Clink.

There is a splash. A flash of motion. A fin.

37. 📚 In the book you find a letter, in delicate cursive:

"Dear Emily, Bought this book for your birthday. Which is also Valentine's Day. I will never be able to tell you that I love you. So I will never give this book to you. Sara."

Sara is your mother's name.

38. 🌲 A postcard of evergreens. A landscape you've only seen in photos.

You stash it in a notebook, stuff that in your bag.

"Over here," Michelle says. She grins, shimmies out of a space between leaning shelves. A box of double-A batteries. Meaning: jackpot.

39. 🥡 You bike to the pick-up.

It's a commissary in the middle of an industrial park. The guy at the counter says nothing. Just looks you up and down. He licks his lips.

"What's in this?" you ask, pointing at the takeaway pack.

"Meat," he says. He licks his lips.

40. 🎏 The airships of Vo Langka are fish-shaped.

Carp and arowana are most common -- but advances in aeronautics have made wing-form (ie: stingray-like) aircraft possible.

You are a pilot. Today you will test the first ever flying machine made in imitation of a bird.

41. 🐗 The boar charges your golf cart. The caddy veers onto the green.

Gunshots!

Your bodyguards down the beast. It came from the forest behind the golf course -- the one you've earmarked for clearing.

It's not the only forest creature that wants to murder you.

42. ♻️ Your body slides into the furnace.

Your husband will pick through the ash and bones. Tomorrow he'll take a boat, sail a kilometre out, empty your urn in the sea.

The day after, silver pomfrets will school in a person's shape, and you will see the ocean.

43. ✨ It's a clear night. "Honey?" you call. "Come see!"

She whines -- you are tearing her from her work, she says. You insist. You point up.

Orion and the Dipper, the soft shine of the sickle moon.

"Wanna go for a walk?" you ask. She slips her arm into yours.

44. ✒️ The auto-pen you own is old. Picks up too much background chatter. The newer pens have noise-cancelling wards.

See? You've stopped dictating, but the pen is still writing:

"NO AH NO IT MOTHER PLEASE IT HURTS MAKE IT STOP"

Hell's not a good muse.

45. 🌌 The transitcraft trembles as it descends on its pillar of plasma.

"Sorry you didn't make it," the pilot says. "Cosmofleet is not for everyone." He's trying to be kind. This does not help.

He leaves you on the pad. Here you are, with packed bags, back home.

46. 🤫 The librarian drags you under the counter, pale with terror.

You hear the tread of the logovore. The meaning-eater. Books impaled on its spines -- leeched of their ink, their substance, going see-through, disappearing.

It does that to humans, too.

47. 🍥 You spit the fish cake out. From surprise, really. Because it is candy.

A confection of flour, sugar, pink food colouring, floating next to beef slices, on the oily surface of the noodles you ordered.

The kitchen makes you a new bowl. The chef is baffled.

48. 🛰️ Satellites no longer obey us.

Meteorology reverts to fortune-telling. Intelligence becomes earth-bound. Defense satellites play games of laser tag.

Broadcasting ends -- well, not really. When you turn on your TV it tells you: CALL YOUR MOTHER SHE MISSES YOU.

49. 🌿 Where you buried your cat, something is already growing:

A fresh stem of basil, putting out its mild scent; its green, convex leaves.You pluck a leaf, put it in your mouth. Your cat jumps into your lap. You feel her scrape your finger with her tongue.

50. 🐸 The Weed Toad sprouts spiky fur filled with chlorophyll. Basically: it's a frog with grass on its back. It can be a pest.

When you step into your garden something squeaks.The toad jumps away, incensed. Its siblings hop off, too. Your whole lawn, leaving you.

51. 👾 Pixel Goblins are voxeloids, walking about in waking life. Refugees from a reality whose servers shut down two years ago.

They eat electricity. They line the sidewalk. "Hungry," the Pixel Goblin says. She looks at your phone, hopeful.

You have 11% battery left.

52. ✴️ "I am chaos!" the boy shrieks. "A conduit of magick!"

You can hear that hard "k" from here. Baldie in an Invisibles tee and factory-distressed jeans, thinks he knows magic? Please.

Then he pisses on your headstone. Which is rude. So you possess him.

53. 👣 Footprints, made with oil. They cut across the driveway, onto the grass, leaving rainbow sludge on some clovers. They turn the corner of your house.

You turn the corner, too.

In front of you, the prints have stopped, side by side. Their toes now face you.

54. 🐷 In the middle of his emergency pandemic address, during a live broadcast, on national television --

The Prime Minister oinks.

He blinks. Clears his throat, looks at the teleprompter -- and oink-oink-oinks.

The PM's eyes blink tears. Then the broadcast cuts out.

55. 🌙 Can we trust the moon?

See its phases -- the way it goes from a bright circle, wanes into a crescent, shuts completely, then opens again, waxing half into full --

Like a creature blinking: slowly, ever so slowly.

The moon has not looked directly at us. Yet.

56. 🌺 You tuck a hibiscus in her hair. "It's pretty!" you say, before she reacts. "Plus it's patriotic."

She rolls her eyes.

Day after the party she wants to meet you. That makes you happy. She's not happy. The flower's driven a root into flesh, behind her ear.

57. 🍜 This bowl of noodles, made from soup powder, desiccated ramen, the last remaining tomato in the fridge, one overcooked egg --

It's the most delicious thing you've ever tasted.

This shouldn't be possible. You cry. You'll never have anything this good again.

58. 🥦 "This," Mother says. "This needs to be half-size."

You know this moment. The kitchen was never your thing. You made an excuse and left to play videogames in your room. Two days later Mother died. Car accident.

This time you stay. You cut the floret in two.

59. 🌵 The Blood Prickle's blossom is prized by cities that border the Pebble Sea. Dried, smoked, its fume delivers accurate prophecies.

The Blood Prickle only blossoms when watered by the viscera of living creatures. You lead your herd of sheep into the desert.

60. 🕸️ The bungalow is covered in gossamer, like a suitcase shrink-wrapped at the airport. Shreds stick to you, glue.

"Go away!" the bungalow's owner says. You see her eight eyes peer at you from a window.

"Babe, please," you say.

"Stop stalking me!" she shouts.

61. 🐼 The ghost bear waddles across the plaza and through a wall.

They felled a forest to build this strip mall. But they did not exorcise its ghost. Ghost vines hang from the ceiling. Ghost trees fill changing rooms. In the car park a ghost brook babbles, incoherently.

62. 🕯️ You blow out the candle. "Happy birthday!"

Your friends have grey hair. Others dance to Kelly's playlist. Something in your brain snaps -- you do not know how old you are.

There is only one candle on the cake. It tells you: you are however old you want to be.

63. 🍥 At the bottom of an empty paint bucket in your backyard shed, you discover a giant millipede, dark red, curled into a spiral.

You name her Millie. Obviously.

You boyfriend is disgusted. Slightly jealous of the attention you allot her. He was always insecure.

64. 🍡 The city is a shadow. Office towers in shards. Hypermalls with their skybridges broken. Collapsed nightclubs.

In the midst of all this, on an overgrown street, incongruously -- the smell of boiling soup. Fry-oil. Fish balls. A lok lok truck, greasy and pristine.

65. ✨ The light in her eyes die when you tell her to leave.

You lose your job at the production house. Once again, you are a freelancer. Interviewers pooh-pooh your portfolio.

You will learn how to draw again. Your muse was a crutch. You must do this on your own.

66. 🔮 Everything is as kitschy as you expect. Fake-velvet curtains and tablecloth. A set of tarot cards from Etsy. Even a crystal ball!

But when the fortune-teller looks up and sees you, she says: "No no, out."

What?

"You. No. Get out," she says, afraid.

67. 🥵 Ten laps in the pool. Then you pant to the sauna.

Stones sizzle as you open the door. Somebody is here, already. You take the opposite bench. He has an athlete's thighs. Sweat on his obliques make them look oiled.

He looks you up and down. Smirks. Judges.

68. 🗨️ In the kitchen Khan grunts. Khan being Khan, you think.

Sylvia comes in. She makes an oinking sound.

He grunts. She oinks again. Hoot-hoot. He hisses in reply. It appears to be a conversation.

Sylvia sees you staring. Waves a hand in your face, asks: "Moo?"

69. 👹 "They are going to hate me," she says, frowning around her tusks."

They are going to love you," you say.

In her nervousness she walks up to the microphone, no intro, just launches right into it. Her poem is electric. She is electric. And she is yours.

70. ⚛️ Guards, gyrocopter patrols -- Coilhaus Atomworks’s compound is well-protected. Which is as you expected.

You didn't expect the hex-wards in the inner compound. When you set foot on the manager's balcony, the teak floor shrieks: INTRUDER INTRUDER INTRUDER HERE!

71. 🌂 The Bum Under The Overpass jumps out. You yelp.

"Flee, peasant!" he growls. He reeks. He has a bin lid for a buckler, a brolly for a sword. "I shall shield ye against yon creature!"

You peer into the dark under the overpass -- and notice the hulking shadow there.

72. 💀 The captain wears a cutesy plastic skull on a silver chain. You don't think it fits with her camo grease, her fatigues.

"My daughter made this," she says.

You nod. You miss your son, too. All this -- the pay you earn, burning villages -- you do for your children.

73. 🦧 "Orangutan Kong". Some sort of gangster moniker?

No. Kong is actually an orangutan. He escaped from the Zoo, and started working in Goldtooth Tat's crew. As comic relief. Everybody who laughed at him is dead now.

If you want to work for him you should know.

74. 🧠 The robot ploughs through Market Street. Tiles scatter like confetti; cars are stomped flat. Pressure in your ears -- a thunder clap! The police van up the road explodes.

"There!" your partner shouts, pointing. A brain in a glowing jar, in the robot's belly.

75. 💈 You grew up here.The broom, the hair -- the chairs, Naugahyde over industrial frames. The mirrors, angled slightly, either side leading into infinity. The sink where Uncle Kuppu rinsed his razors and shaving brush.

Uncle Kuppu's gone. This place is yours, now.

76. ⚗️ The alchemist stumbles backwards, knocks over a beaker.

"My formula," he whispers. "You're an assassin from the Bankers’ Guild? You can't have me turning lead to gold."

You shake your head. "No. I work with the Silversmiths' Guild. I'm here to protect you."

77. 🔭 It is the fourth victim he has brought home.

They are always young, with tattoos. He restrains them, strangles them by the neck on the floor of his bathroom.

You watch, through your telescope. You should report him. But you like to watch them struggle.

78. ⛩️ The way to Grand Andropolis is lined with 417 red gates -- each one for a glorious victory the Imperial Legions have won over lesser races.

Gate 412 marks the time they slaughtered your parents. You touch it, and swear quietly: you will burn Grand Andropolis.

79. 🌻 The men at the big table drink beer, munch kuaci, laugh.

A woman with sunglasses arrives. The restaurant people tell her: "Kitchen closed already. Drinks?"

Just kuaci, she says.

She watches the men. When she bites the seeds open, you see long canines.

80. 🤖 You've never considered yourself technosexual. You thought robots cold. Then you met MARY-K8.

Her bright crystal optic sensors. Her omni-articulated limbs. Her way with words:

"HEY HUMAN USER," she synthesises. "HEART-UNIT NOT FOUND. PERHAPS YOU HAVE IT?"

81. 🦖 "The job is a museum," your master sighs. "Museum's are the worst."

You ask him why.

"We are exorcists, dumb-dumb! You know how many things the damn spirit can hide in? Can throw at us?"

When you master sees the T-rex skeleton in the atrium, he sighs again.

82. 🎍 Treaties signed between the Yun Empress and the Princes of Elemental Wood have resulted in the Type-4 Rhizomic Footsoldier --

A stiff, lanky construct; needing only sun and soil; grown in vast groves; with souls of bamboo and therefore without mercy ...

83. 🧜‍♀️ Each year, the mer send an emissary to bargain with the dry world.

The tide swells, then withdraws just as quick, leaving a carriage of driftwood and flowering coral --

"Dammit!" a voice says. Rattling, from within. "Door's stuck!" A sigh. "Some help, please?"

84. 🧠 "You're always going on about life hacks. So here," Mark says.

His gift is a book. "Telekinesis In 100 Days", its title says.

Mark smirks. "Enjoy!"

You'll show the bastard! It's just day 13. Already you can toss 50-cent coins with a lift of your eyebrow.

85. 📯 The footmen blow their horns. The herald crows: "The Tyrant and Lady van Sur!"

They descend the stairs. The man frail, tubes stuck up his nose; the woman in silk, her wig so heavy it is held up by grav-suspensors --

One push of your remote, and the suspensors fail.

86. 🥶 You jolt awake. Ice is pressed to your ankle -- no, chilled skin. A toenail. Feet.

"Jesus. Your feet."

His apology is a snorted murmur. He curls further, pressing into the heat of your belly. His hair tussled, smelling of lavender.

What's his name? Can you remember?

87. 🚪 The heavy door is shut. Padlocked. Your lock sprite shakes her head. "Mechanism's rusted solid."

Your spell-dwarf grumbles. "Lead brackets, see? Shock hex won't work."

"Lemme try," your slip-spirit squeaks. Flattens itself, slips under.

Doesn't came back.

88. 🌵 The Saguaro Sea is a vast tangle of sole-cutting rock, thorny brush, towering cacti broad as hillforts.

Here is found the Weeping Roc -- whose cry is a woman wailing; who steals children to feed its blind, featherless chicks.Children like your six-year-old.

89. 💃 Flamenco star Magritte Tanaka's talent is such that people say it is more than just grace and training.

They say she made a bargain. When she dances a devil helps her; plays her like a puppet on strings.

Truth is he forces her. She never wanted to dance.

90. 🎸 You stole the keytar of synth legend Razzak Luminem from the Museum of Sidereal Art last month.

Tonight you host its auction. Many have shown up: demon worshipers; glamrock stars; violist perverts; members of the Critics' Cartel -- troublemakers.

Watch yourself.

91. 🙆‍♀️ To fear the sky falling is silly --

Except in Fading Dassho, whose most dilapidated districts sit twilit under an obsolete stellar shield, its support struts increasingly ancient and tottery. A shutter collapsed, just last week -- shattering six thousand souls.

92. 🤖 We sent unmanned drones through the Hell-portal; we assumed exposure to Ultimate Evil would be bad for the human psyche.

All moot, it turned out. Because drones are robots -- and, you know, that cliche about robots turning bad, turning KILL ALL HUMANS?

Well.

93. 🏚️ A manor-turned-hotel, on a cliff, with a history of homicide? TrueCrimeFest 2018's organisers could not resist.

Three days of signings, panels, cosplay -- and a podcaster found garroted in her room.

Horrible! Horrible. (But, really: Best. TrueCrimeFest. Ever.)

94. 🤪 The Rictus Worm causes paralysis. Distorts the muscles of the face.

Your eyes pop, your tongue hangs lolling. You speak drool and sputters. You try the chirurgeon. He thinks you are fooling. Kicks you out.

The Rictus Worm is rare. You feel it in your nape.

95. 🌌 One by one the stars disappear. Without their light -- were they ever there?Constellations vanish, nebulae fade. The moon hangs alone in the night sky.

Only our sun and its huddling planets remain. An isolated, solipsistic, self-obsessed apocalypse.

96. 🤗 She welcomes you with open arms. "Happy you're home, Ah Boy," she says, kissing you, Tears on her cheek transferring to yours.

She is your mother; she calls you Ah Boy. Return appropriate amounts of affection. Your mission depends on how well you fool this woman.

97. 🅱️ The mark is made in red ink. The letter "B". Not so bad, outsiders might think --but yours is an euphemistic society.

This is the Competency Test, through which all citizens are streamed. An "A" means you get to stay above-ground. A "B" sends you Below.

98. 🎡 Anna gets into the pod before you. The ferris wheel begins to turn.

Travelling carnivals! Holdovers from a previous world, now surmounted by app-stores. You don't get the appeal. It's not even ironic --

High up, in the pod, Anna kisses you.

Now you get it.

99. ☄️ You still remember your wonder --

A bright blue star, trailing a bright line, bisecting the sky. Staring at it would spoil your eyes, they said.

In your cockpit, as the countdown begins, you think: now you will be a bright blue star. There will be a young girl on the ground, watching.

100. 🥑 When you halve the avocado you don't find a seed. You find a tiny baby.

It is curled up foetal. It is the colour of mahogany. It fusses slightly -- then starts into a full-blown caterwaul; big droplets of blood well from where your rough knifework has nicked it.

+++

#fantasies #writing #twitter #gygaxian democracy #random generators #adventures #covid-19 #quarantine

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mikamangata · 6 years

Text

If BTS attended Hogwarts (Hyung line)

Just a little something I had inside my head for waaaaay too long. Enjoy!

Here pupils go to Hogwarts from the age 14 to 24 (I have a weird brain but it fits nicer with the ‘story’) and the whole thing is set before the Hogwarts battle

—

Kim Namjoon

Fifth year Ravenclaw (you guessed it)

Both parents are muggles; his mother works as a maths teacher and his father owns a bookshop

His mom says Namjoon got his intelligence from his dad because she still has hers (they’re that kind of quirky family)

Best student at Hogwarts (highest grade point average)

His IQ is probably higher than the Hogwarts towers but he’s still an idiot

Sucks at potions (“Kim Namjoon is that a dead rat in your love potion?!” “I’m not sure but it’s definitely not alive anymore.”)

Best friends with Min Yoongi (“You’re the person I hate the second least in this school” “Uhm thanks Yoongi-hyung.”)

Going out with Kim Seokjin since his first year, they’re the power couple of Hogwarts and bicker like they’ve been married for at least ten years

Confessed to Seokjin by accidentally sending him a howler at dinner: “WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME PLEASE, I THINK I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!” (To which Yoongi eloquently commented: “By Merlin’s fucking beard can’t I even eat dinner in peace you egg-face ass looking son of a witch.”)

Clumsiest person you will ever meet; lovingly nicknamed by his friends as 'god of destruction’ and 'Jesus Christ don’t touch that’ (Although he is not sure if the last one is a name; people just say it a lot around him)

Once sneezed in transfiguration class and accidentally transformed Hoseok into a banana (Professor McGonagall immediately turned him back but the poor guy hasn’t been the same after that)

Argues with professor Trelawney about the existence of destiny and fate on a regular basis (“I’m sorry professor, but I just don’t think that these tea leaves look like a house elf riding a unicorn so I’m sure I won’t die within the next three minutes please calm down.”)

Wanted to be part of the Ravenclaw quidditch team but after he set his broom on fire and destroyed a quaffle at the first practice he didn’t make it on the team (thank god, people could have died)

Mostly hangs out in the library or in a certain Hufflepuff’s room (if the weather is nice, you can also find him at the lake)

Currently hides about fifty books under his bed (His room was raided by a bunch of teachers a month ago and he lost over seventy books, he’s still searching for the person who told on him but he’s pretty sure it was Taehyung that little shit)

Is a sucker for cute things; owns a dark purple pygmy puff who he lovingly named 'Monnie’ and he takes that little guy everywhere (that thing is just as clumsy as Namjoon; it once nearly drowned after it fell into the toilet)

His patronus is a spider monkey (they have a weird resemblance if you ask Seokjin)

Kim Seokjin

Seventh year Hufflepuff prefect

Pureblood; both of his parents are well-known members of the Ministry of Magic

Absolutely fascinated by muggles (“You just stick it in like that and then it’ll get all hot inside? Won’t that feel weird Joonie?” “No Hyung, you have to take your hand away before you switch on the toaster or you’ll end up getting burned.”

Most beautiful person at Hogwarts if you ask him (and he’s right)

Drinks tea with professor McGonagall every Thursday afternoon and nobody knows what they talk about; Taehyung believes they hid a few muggles somewhere at school and whenever they 'drink tea’ they’re actually feeding them (“What is wrong with you, Taehyung?”)

Him and Namjoon always get free butter beer whenever they visit Hogsmeade because Madam Rosmerta adores Seokjin (I mean who doesn’t?)

Got nearly suspended once for turning his black robe pink and going to class like that (“I don’t care about the dresscode Minerva I look fabulous!”)

The mom of their little rag-tag group of friends

Calls the maknae line his babies (“Are you cold baby? You can have my jacket if you want, we wouldn’t want our dear Jiminie to get sick!” “Thanks Hyung, I’m okay though.”)

Nice and charming character but if you hurt one of his babies he becomes mama-bear and will “wingardium leviosa your ass to wherever it fucking came from”

Always let’s Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook use the prefects’ bathroom whenever they ask because he can’t say no to the maknaes

Has an adorable sugar glider called 'Odeng’ who’s best friends with Namjoon’s pygmy puff Monnie

Even though he violates the dresscode on a regular basis with different variations of pink, he still scolds the others whenever they don’t put on their uniforms neatly (“Roll your sleeves down Joonie, I won’t go to lunch with you like this.” “I accidentally burned them off in potions class.” “Ugh.”)

Absolutely loves food, nearly as much as he adores Namjoon and the others (“By Merlin if you give me another piece of this pumpkin pie I’ll sacrifice my firstborn to you.” “Jin-hyung please stop, I think you’re scaring Kookie.”)

Does fairly well in all of his classes

Outstanding in herbology and best friends with professor Sprout (“You won’t believe what happened today Ponoma!”)

All the teachers adore him (and most students do too)

Gets tons of Valentine’s Day letters and reads them together with Namjoon (“Isn’t that one cute Joonie?” “Yeah but he spelled beautiful with a "p” and that’s just a no-go for us.“)

His patronus is an armadillo (cute and sweet but extremely protective of the ones he loves)

Min Yoongi

Sixth year Slytherin

Pureblood: his parents are extremely rich and were well-respected members of society

But Yoongi had a rough childhood: the first wizarding war happened and his father is now in Azkaban for being one of Voldemort’s most loyal death eaters

Hates his parents and desperately tries to proof to everyone that he’s not like them (they’re both awful people that despise muggle-born wizards and did horrible things during the war but only his father was convicted because there wasn’t enough evidence against his mother)

Pretends like he doesn’t care about his family but his friends know how much his parents’ doings hurt him

Most students at Hogwarts are intimidated by him even though he’s just a smol bean that likes to act tough

Best friends with Namjoon

Dating Hoseok since second year ("Be careful at the next game, Hoseok-ah.” “Love you too, Hyung” “W-whatever.”)

Hoseok is the only person that’s able to reduce him to a blushing, stuttering mess within seconds (“Do you like that, Hyung?” “No I-” “But I feel the goosebumps on your back.” “Y-your hands a-are c-cold.”)

Has a huge soft spot for Jungkook (who doesn’t, that kid is adorable)

Once tried to poison professor Trelawney for saying Hoseok was going to be eaten alive by a thestral in the next hour (Yoongi had to calm him down, the younger was crying hysterically)

Spent his last three Christmas and summer holidays at Hoseok’s place since his mother “didn’t want him back home if he continued to hang out with these mudbloods”

Got a necklace from Hoseok after two months of dating and in his opinion it’s the only thing in his possession that has value (Yoongi cried once in fourth year because he thought he lost it, after they found it he never took it off again)

Most people think he’s antisocial but he’s almost always around at least one of his six friends

Discovered the room of requirements in his second year after searching for a quiet place to sleep and started using it regularly as a place for all of them to hang out at (and sometimes him and Hoseok spend the night there but that’s another story)

Does surprisingly well in most of his classes (except for herbology but Seokjin always helps him out with that)

Second best student in DADA but only because his parents forced him to learn all kinds of curses and defence spells when he was a child

Is the go-to person for the maknae line when they have troubles with a spell or curse (or a person; Yoongi once nearly cut off a student’s tongue after he called Jimin a mudblood)

Is almost never in the Slytherin common room, said he didn’t like most people there

His patronus is a small, white fox (clever and good at adapting, but easy to hurt once you catch it)

Jung Hoseok

Fifth year Hufflepuff (what else could he be really?)

Halfblood: His mother is a witch who owns a small bakery in Diagon Alley and his muggle-father works as a woodworker near the leaky cauldron

Has five younger sisters and one older one (they’re all muggles though)

Grew up in both worlds so he knows his way around them well

His parents adore Yoongi and treat him like a second son (“Please take good care of him Hoseokie, he looks so thin! Does he even eat enough? Ah that poor sweetheart!” “Yes mom, I’ll take care of him don’t worry.”

Whenever he smiles somewhere the sun rises (yeah that’s a real fact fight me)

Hates Gucci with a passion (“Get that thing away from me Taehyung or I’ll curse your ass like there’s no tomorrow!”)

Has an absolutely catastrophically idiotic owl named Mickey (“Hobi-hyung, what did Mickey just drop into your oatmeal? Is it a package? Did you get something from your parents? What is it?” “…I think it’s a shoe, Kookie, my sisters are probably having a mental breakdown right now.”

Loves all of his friends to bits and is dating Yoongi since his first year after his owl accidentally landed on Yoongi’s head (and Hoseok landed in his heart…sorry)

Shares a room with only Seokjin because of the older’s prefect status; Hoseok enjoyed it until he walked in on Namjoon and Seokjin once (“By Merlin somebody please erase my memory or just kill me.”)

Quidditch captain and the team’s keeper (even though he’s a sweetheart, when it’s about quidditch he doesn’t play)

Does okay in all of his classes, could do better if he concentrated a little less on quidditch but he’s a great captain so that’ll never happen

When they studied boggarts in third year and the McDonald’s clown came out of that creepy closet Hoseok had a lot of explaining to do (“I once nearly suffocated because of a fry when I was like four, I guess I’ll never forget Ronald holding me upside down until I spit it out. That was scary.”)

Once got scared by his own shadow and tried to curse it (“It could’ve been a death eater! You never know!”)

Gets into trouble with the maknae line regularly (especially with Taehyung, that kid is always up to no good)

Sometimes when Yoongi is sad, Hoseok flies them onto one of the many roofs and they watch the stars until it’s morning (and Hoseok would only take a thin blanket with him to make Yoongi cuddle with him)

His patronus is an otter (it 'swims’ through the air like Hoseok does, just without a broom)

—

Author’s note: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes, please tell me so I can correct them and learn from it! Constructive criticism is always welcomed!^^ Here’s the Maknae Line

#bts #fanfiction #kpop #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #hogwarts au #alternative universe hogwarts #bts fanfiction #yoonseok #namjin #harry potter au without harry potter #bts hogwarts au #bts harry potter au

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killiansprincss · 3 years

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Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan Characters: Emma Swan, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Neal Nolan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Alexandra (Once Upon a Time), Phillip II (Once Upon a Time), Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Curses, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Emma Grows Up Happy, Evil Queen curses Emma, season 6 AU, Angst, Magic, Hurt, Canon Divergence Summary:

Emma Swan is happy. She has finally found her family and has a great relationship with her son. She also has her boyfriend who means the world to her. So it’s great right? Wrong. The Evil Queen is still at large in Storybrooke and when she casts a curse on Emma, she is turned into a toddler. Her family are forced to watch her grow up not remembering anything of her former life. So Henry and Killian run off to Neverland, and when Emma finally remembers, will it be a happy reunion? Or will there be challenges in this Neverland that is no longer ruled by Peter Pan?

My next chapter of my Neverland story is here! This chapter you learn more about Mini Charming Neal Nolan, and also the villain of my story!! I hope you enjoy it and please tell me what you think, it sounds silly but this story is close to my heart it’s the first multi chapter fanfic I’ve written in probably 8 years and I’m super proud of it, so if anyone wants to leave me a comment telling me what you think I’d be so grateful!

A03

Cecelia had lived in Neverland a lot longer than that Pan boy. So when she and her sisters were banished to the Enchanted Forest, those were the worst hundred years of her life. The Blue Fairy insisted on calling them by their colours rather than their names, so Cecelia was ‘purple’, which made her want to cast a dark spell on Blue more than a few times.

“Late again Purple.”

“No messing with the humans Purple.”

“Light magic only, Purple you know that.”

It was her high pitched voice that drove her insane, thinking that just because she was the oldest fairy in the Enchanted Forest she was better than they were. Well she was a Neverland fairy, she did not have to follow her rules.

Cecelia wasn’t the only fairy Blue disliked. Of course she hated all her Neverland sisters, but there was one fairy who was born in the Enchanted Forest. Tinkerbell. Or “Green” as Blue so annoyingly referred to her as.

“But I don’t understand why we can’t just help the humans we want.” Tinkerbell would argue with the Blue Fairy.

“Oh Green. I wish we could, but it’s fairy law. We aren’t able to help who we wish, only those of pure heart.”

Bullshit. There was no “Fairy Law”, fairies had their own free will. If Tinkerbell wanted to help that young Queen who wasn’t in love with her husband, why shouldn’t she. Arranged marriages between royals were bullshit anyways.

Sooner or later the little green fairy would majorly piss off the supreme Blue Fairy and banish her and Cecelia would take her under her wing and set a course for Neverland once more.

A mere few days later and Cecelia’s plan was falling into action. Poor Tinkerbell was exiled by the Blue Fairy for meddling in a human's life. She knew Blue was way too hard on her, so she told a human who their soulmate was, big deal. She didn’t curse anyone or use dark magic. If Tink was exiled for something so small, Cecelia was next.

“Tink. I have a proposition for you.” And so she told her all about how she was banished from her home, and Tinkerbell could have a home among fairies that understood her, where the Blue Fairy couldn’t control her

“So this Neverland, isn’t it ruled by a corrupt king?” Tink asks.

“Pan? Oh no, he is not a king. He’s a man who abandoned his child in exchange for eternal youth.” She says thinking about her hatred for Pan. “He doesn’t have the power he thinks he does, our magic is far more powerful than he is.”

Tink smiles, “And there’s nobody like the Blue Fairy that will control us?”

Cecelia smirks, “The Blue Fairy controls this land, Neverland will be ours.”

And so Tinkerbell travels with the other Neverland Fairies, 2nd star to the right and straight on to morning. Without her wings, she held tight to Cecelia, under the impression that her wings would be restored once they reached the Island.

Of course, this was a lie, she just needed an excuse to go back home, and Tink would be a healthy distraction, a new fairy running around for Pan to play with. Tink resented her for this for years, especially as she was on the run from Pan whilst Cecelia and the other fairies she escaped with were able to fly to their fairy home which Pan was forbidden to enter (plus he couldn’t fly or make himself small). But it didn’t matter, Cecelia was home.

Cecelia didn’t know how Pan fell. It was only 50 years after her return to the Island, but all she knew was Tink told Pan of the Native Neverland fairies whereabouts and he made sure they were not able to get out. All she knows is the boy Pan was looking for played a hand in his defeat. She had seen the boy in the pictures that Pan had years before. With Pan gone and the magic of the Island gone, Cecelia and her sisters whilst were free from their entrapment were powerless and as good as dead.

But the boy returned. He was much older, but it was him. He was the boy from Pan's prophecy. And he was with Captain Hook, the one handed Pirate. The pirate that many of the fairies had been involved with once upon a time.

They were alone. Just the two of them. Hook, she was not surprised to see him, he had been in Neverland for 300 years, he clearly got tired of human life and wanted to return to eternal youth. She would have to keep an eye on him, make sure he stays around.

________________

“Good Evening Captain.” Cecelia says flirtatiously when she sees Hook in the Lost Ones clearing.

“Cecelia.” Hook replies.

“You seem different today Captain.” She notices how he seems distanced, maybe it’s too much rum.

“Just Neverland playing tricks on my mind, it’s nothing. How many lost ones are expected tonight?” He asks, quickly changing the subject.

Cecilia notices this, but doesn’t say anything. “About the same as last night, possibly

more.”

Just as he begins to leave, Cecelia grabs his hand, his only hand, “Are you sure you’re okay Captain? I can help you to relieve the trauma of this place for a few hours if you wish.” She tells him seductively.

In the past he would’ve accepted Cecelia’s offer, but not this night. “Thank you Cecelia. But not tonight.”

And so Hook leaves the fairy alone in the clearing wondering what was going on.

Cecelia was hurt and embarrassed, in the 25 years Hook had been here he was wrapped around her finger, he could get her to do whatever she wanted. While he hadn’t taken her to bed since he’d been here, she still used her enchantment on him.

Cecelia turns back into fairy size and flies away to her home.

Pixie Hollow was the home to fairies for thousands of years, long before Pan. It was ruled by a King and Queen who shared True Love so strong, the pixie dust was always flowing around the Island.

When it became an island lost children visited in their dreams, the fairies became scared and fled the Island. Eventually the King and Queen fled too and that’s when the Pixie dust slowly became scarce. When there were very few fairies left, Pan was able to control the Island.

—————

Cecelia flies to where the former Pixie Dust tree was. Nowdays it doesn’t cover the entire tree, but more a small crater of dust at the centre of the once grand tree.

She was going to find out what was going on inside her pirates head.

She gathers a small handful of dust and whispers,

“ Show me Captain Hook’s day ”

And she throws the dust in the air and forms a golden circle showing Hooks memories that day.

She sees Hook in his house on the Island. He sleeps, eats and does nothing else.

But then...

Cecelia sees him walking over to the Lost Ones clearing, but taking a detour. And then a blonde woman comes into shot. She isn’t able to hear what they’re saying, but if she had to guess, it looked like this woman was trying to get him to go home with her.

If she had to take a guess, this woman was Hook's supposed ‘true love’. Emily, or something, she never paid attention to the woman. She was cursed, and one day she would return, it seemed today was that day.

Not if Cecelia had anything to do with it.

_____________

Talking to her brother about Henry had made Emma feel a lot better about this situation.

Last time they were in Neverland was very different, she was naïve and didn’t have great control of her magic, she didn’t know the Island. This time was different, as far as she knew neither Henry nor Killian were in any immediate danger, Pan was gone and it was fairies that controlled the Island. Although her years of training with the Blue fairy had taught her not all fairies were good or trustworthy, especially those in Neverland.

She understood her magic now. She had years of training, she could feel magic and feel what was light magic and what was dark, and Neverland was mainly dark. Having faced darkness in her previous life, she was somewhat confident she could take it on.

Hope. That’s what they needed right now.

Hope had always got them through the dire situations. And Hope would get them out of this one too.

She just needed a plan.

“Why don’t we just keep exploring the Island?” Snow suggests. Emma was devising a plan on how to get Henry and Killian to cooperate, or listen.

“No, it’s too risky all of us exploring. We still don’t know if the fairies on this Island are evil.” Emma replies, still trying to think of the best way to do this.

“Well why don’t I explore?” Neal proposes, “Say the fairies are evil, they’re more likely to want to trap you. I can explore and find out what’s going on, and if need be I can flirt my way out of it.”

Emma rolls her eyes. Her little brother was such a flirt, a real ladies man. She’s shocked he actually had a girlfriend. But then again Thalia was very different to a lot of the girls Neal flirted with growing up. And when she met her brother, they brought out the best in one another.

“Aside from flirting with fairies which I imagine you will so enjoy,” Emma mocks, rolling her eyes, “that’s not a bad idea. If you can scout out the Island, figure out where Henry and Killian are and then you can report back to me through our link.”

The siblings shared a magic link in their mind. It wasn’t like mind reading, although most of the time Emma felt she could read her brother's mind (but that was more to do with him being predictable), they were able to communicate. As the two products of true love they were bonded and could easily communicate from miles apart, which was perfect if one were to be trapped or abducted.

Noticing the worried look on his wife’s face, David adds, “Neal will be fine. Worst case scenario you can magically poof yourself back here, back under the protection spell.”

“I got this mom, don’t worry.” Neal smiles at his mother, trying to convince her it’s the best plan, when in reality he is shit scared.

“Good Luck baby bro.” Emma says, throwing Neal his sword.

~~~~~~~~

“VERENA!” Cecelia screams as she flies over to where her sister was attempting to make water rise from the stream.

Verena looked nothing like her sister. She had a honey skin tone and long black hair in a sleek ponytail. They were not sisters in a biological sense, but they were born at the same time and worked together and banished by Pan together. They had been through it all, and she was all Cecelia had.

“Oh good you’re here. I fear our time back here may be running out, look.” Verena reaches out her hand to the stream and flicks it up from the water creating a small ball. But it doesn’t quite keep its form and splashes back into the stream.

“Yeah the magic in this place is running out, we need more of Henry’s blood.” Cecelia says so matter of factly.

Verena gets up from the ground and looks at her sister, “No. You know we can’t do that. That boy has given us 25 years of magic on this Island that was dead thanks to Pan. I don’t think you remember what it did to the poor boy. If the magic is running out, we need to leave while we still can.”

When Gold had told Henry and Killian that Henry’s blood would restore the youthfulness of Neverland, they assumed just a drop or two. But when he cut his hand to let a few droplets into the magic stream it took a lot more than a few droplets. Henry was almost drained, Killian feared what would’ve happened if he hadn't been there.

Cecelia rolls her eyes, “Please. The boy has the heart of the truest believer and he’s the author. He has so much power but he’s being weak. He could easily write down that Neverland has magic again.”

“Cecelia you know magic doesn’t work like that.”

Before Verena can fly away, she suddenly realises. “It’s been 25 years, the boy's mother is here to collect him. Hooks true love. You’re trying to keep her away from them so you can have Hook for all eternity.”

When Cecelia says nothing, her sister takes that as a yes. “Whatever it is you’re planning, I want nothing to do with it.”

When the magic in Neverland runs out, Cecelia and Verena’s wings will be rendered useless as they need pixie dust to fly. They either need to fly away from the Island while they still can, or be flightless and possibly suffer a much worse fate.

_________

Neal Nolan was a smart guy. He was an English teacher at Storybrooke High, and he was highly skilled at his magic.

He was also a Charming, so people always liked him because of who his family was. His family practically ran storybrooke, his mother was a fifth grade teacher, his dad was the sheriff until he retired and his sister was deputy until their dad retired and then she became sheriff. They had good ties to the mayor, and it also helped that his girlfriend Thalia wanted to run for mayor too.

Thalia didn’t always like him though. The Charming family still had a lot of rivals in Storybrooke, but they didn’t speak up or try to overthrow them. Thalia's father was one of those people, as a former knight for King George, her father still had a hatred for them, so Thalia grew up thinking they were evil. All throughout school she and Neal were academic rivals, but as she went through high school, she realised maybe mini charming wasn’t so bad. Not that she would admit that until well after they graduated.

Now, here in Neverland, he was unknown. He was able to use this to his advantage. He was a nobody. And that was a first. He could easily fool these fairies into believing he was anyone he wanted to be.

A few seconds later though, he feels cold silver on his neck, and he finds himself struggling to breath. It’s sharp and cool like the blade of a sword, expect he thinks it feels more like...

A Hook.

The Hook tugs on his neck and forces him to turn around to face whoever the Hook belongs to. That is when he realises the Hook is a replacement for a hand.

Wait, was this, Emma’s boyfriend?

“Well what do we have here?” His accent definitely sounded like he was a pirate. And he was pretty sure it was Emma’s Hook. He was dressed in all black leather and his hair was messy. His blue eyes seemed dead inside. Neal hadn’t seen anyone look so sad before.

“My name is Neal. Neal Nolan.” He offers, hoping he will understand who he is.

“How did you get to this Island?” Hook asks, then looks at his modern clothes, “Are you from. There?”

Neal assumes by “there”, he means Storybrooke. “I live in Storybrooke. My sister is Emma. She’s come to save you.”

Hook suddenly looks uncomfortable. “Follow me if you want to live.”

Neal doesn’t exactly have a choice, so he follows the pirate into what seems to be his home on the Island. It’s a hut with stairs leading up to a bed. It doesn’t exactly look comfortable, or homey.

He also considers linking with Emma, to tell her what was going on, but quickly decides against it. He wants to talk to him, and get him to trust him.

Hook looks at Neal, almost as if he’s examining him. Neal considers himself to be pretty identical to his parents, blonde hair and green eyes. His mother’s features dominate most of his face, but his nose is his fathers. He would say he looked like Emma too, seeing as they both got their father's hair and mothers eyes.

“Rum?” Hook asks as they enter his makeshift home.

Neal shakes his head, “I’m okay.”

“Talk boy. If you are really who you say you are.” Hook gestures for the Charming boy to sit.

He takes a deep breath, hoping he can convince his sister's boyfriend not to kill him. “My name is Neal Leopold Nolan. I was born in Storybrooke. My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming, I along with my sister am the product of true love. My entire life I believed my older sister Emma was only a year older than I was. It was only on her 28th birthday, I was told the truth. That she was born right before the Evil Queen cast her dark curse and sent to the real world. And I’m not sure on the details, but a few years later the same Evil Queen turned her into a toddler and that’s how she’s grown up with me as my older sister. Now we’re here because her son Henry, and you ran away here to wait for her until she breaks her curse. Now it’s broken and we came with her to come get you both.”

Hook stands there, taking it all in. He takes a few more sips of Rum before he says, “You. You were a baby. Zelena, she stole you when you were born for her time portal. The portal Emma and I fell into. It’s where she fell in love with me, not that she would ever admit that.” He smirks.

Neal smiles, that sounded like Emma, not admitting what was so clearly the truth.

“I guess I am that baby.” Neal replies shocked to now know he almost got sacrificed by Robin's mother. He had to get the full story on this.

Hook takes another look at the grown up baby he once knew. “Your parents entrusted Emma and I to babysit you a number of times. They said it was so they could have a night off, but I knew it was because they wanted us to practise for when it was our time. Emma of course had no idea, she never liked to think much about the future, too afraid it wouldn’t come true.”

Now that was something that did not sound like Emma. She always had a plan, she would graduate high school and work for dad until he retired and become full time sheriff. He knew her love life wasn’t the best, but their parents had always told her that her soulmate was out there. Now he realises, they knew exactly who was out there for Emma.

“I can take you to her. If you like.” Neal offers, not sure what to say.

His tone suddenly changes from reminiscent to cold and raw.”No. No. I can’t. She can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“She has magic, she can just poof herself inside your home here.” He offers again, not trying to sound too forceful.

Hook starts pacing around his home, mumbling to himself. “No. No. I can’t. She won’t. It’s best if she stays away. I caused too much hurt. Too much. Far too much. She-stay away.”

Before Neal can say or do anything, they hear a female voice.

“Oh Captain!”

“Cecelia.” Hook curses. He looks over at Neal. “You need to leave now. You have magic?”

Neal nods.

“Use it. Get away. She can’t see you.” Hook gets up to the window trying to see how far Cecelia is.

“I’ll get Emma. Well be back. She’s okay.” Neal says before a poof of light blue magic magic makes him disappear from the scene just before Cecelia arrives at Hook’s door.

#never forget you #Captain swan #fanfic #ouat #cs ff #cs fanfic #neverland #killian jones #emma swam #neal nolan #writing

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pendragonfics · 7 years

Text

Your Friendly Neighborhood Babysitter

Too Young to Be Super, Too Smart Not to Be: Chapter One | Chapter Two

Paring: Peter Parker & Child!Reader

Tags: female reader, child reader, set during and after Captain America: Civil War, childhood, divorce, feels, angst, fluff.

Summary: When your Mom, usually busy with her business things picks you up from elementary school, you're sure something's up.

Word Count: 1,938

Current Date: 2017-08-30

When Mommy picked you up from school instead of Dad, you wondered if he was too busy with his superhero things for you. But then you realised that if that was true, that Uncle Happy would be standing at the door instead. But still, you were happy to see your Mom, and you have her the biggest hug you could muster, and were about to tell her all about the trigonometry textbook you found in the library. But that was until you realised she had her sad eyes. Your Mommy had a thing with her eyes. Even when her mouth didn’t say it, her eyes told you exactly what she was thinking, even without her wanting to say it. You remember back when you were smaller and the house had two parents, her eyes were always happy, or at least, you thought they were. It was hard to tell, sometimes.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” you ask her, disheartened.

Your Mom sighs, and kneels before you, reaching your height. She brushes back strands of her yellow-red hair, and reveals some of those sad eyes in her smile. “It’s not wrong, ________, Baby…I’ve just so much work I’ve got to do tonight at the office.”

You nod. “I know. You’re always busy.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” she kisses your forehead, and taking your hand, walks you to the car that’s waiting outside behind the bus area. “But this time I’m not going to leave you with Ms Hill,” she hints, smiling down to you, “I’ve found a new person.”

Inside, you feel better. Even though Ms Hill is good, she’s very busy too, and you were often left sitting on the carpet knocking down towers of Duplo annoyed, watching again as the adults went around ignoring you.

“Who is it?” You ask, jumping into the car, and buckling up. You wave hello to the driver, and smile when they wave back. “Is it Uncle Rhodey?” You ask.

She shakes her head, and buckles up. “No, honey…Uncle Rhodey isn’t ready for childcare just yet. He’s still working on…other things,” she ruffles your hair, and says an address to the driver you can’t quite understand. “I’ll tell you in a sec, okay? How was school today? Did you learn anything new?”

“Not since yesterday…but I think I know how to use imaginary numbers in trigonometry now. I borrowed a textbook from the library.” You blink, and remember, “Did Dad tell you that I’m on the school science project for the science fair?” You beam, thrilled.

“No, he hasn’t told me anything,” Your Mom shakes her head, and whispers, only for you to hear her words, “You’re so smart, and you’re seven?”

You poke your tongue out. “I turned eight a week ago, Mom.”

Your Mom’s eyes are wide, and she pulls a face. “What? Did I just hear you’re eight?” You laugh at her funny voice, and she adds, “I can’t believe it. Nope.” She grins.

“Yeah, I’m eight,” you laugh, and glance out the window, seeing the car take the route over the bridge, and for the first time in a while, don’t recognise the area’s architecture. “Are we going out of the city?”

She chuckles at that. “I hope not,” she glances out her window, and points at a sign that reads 10 Miles, Queens. “Just the other end of it.”

When you reach Queen’s, you’ve eaten your afternoon tea (what food you hadn’t already eaten from your packed lunch), and are practically bouncing in the seat, wondering who it is who will be with you until they kick you out of their place. You wonder if it will be a super-secret agent like Ms Hill says she was (but you think she still is), or maybe a superhero? It can’t be someone normal. Your family doesn’t know anyone who isn’t special in any way.

When the car pulls up, it stops in a quiet neighbourhood of townhouses, some on top of shops, some underneath them. You haven’t been to this end of the city before, and excited, you thank the driver, and bound out before your mom can stop you.

“________, don’t run off!” Your Mom calls out, and huffing, you turn, and see her climb out of the car, walking slowly to you with her heels on the uneven cement. She walks alongside you in your trainers, toward a door of a house. “I’ll pick you up after, at either eight, or nine depending on a call from Wakanda…be nice, okay?”

You frown. “You haven’t told me who I’m staying with, Mom.”

As she knocks on the door, she looks down to you, almost as if to say how silly of me to forget, sorry about that! but those words don’t come out, and instead, her eyes look sad again. You’re not sure if you’re the reason behind those sad eyes, but you don’t ask that too.

“His name is Peter, he works…with your father.” She tells you. “If you have any trouble, his Aunt will be around –,” The door opens, revealing a lady with brown hair, and happy eyes. “May! I hope I’m not late.”

The lady shakes her head. “No, right on time, Pepper.” She looks to you, and her smile widens from her eyes into her mouth, all teeth, and crinkles around her eyes. “You must be ________! Peter’s just up in his room, wait a second,” she turns around, and yells out his name into the house. You remember when your Mommy and Daddy lived in a house together, back when you’d have your name shouted out from places in the house like a magic spell to make you appear. There was a lot more shouting before they split up. You don’t like thinking about that part. “He won’t be too long.”

True to her word, not half a minute later, a boy a little older than you come into sight, and stands beside his Aunt. He’s got a shirt with checks on it open over a blue t-shirt that reads ‘physics might theoretical but the fun isn’t’ on it, and has a little smile until he sees your Mom. Then he just looks like he saw the sun without sunglasses on.

“Oh, – hi! I’m Peter!” He greets, holding his hand out for her to shake. “I – wow!”

His aunt frowns, “Peter,” she warns. “This is ________.”

You wave hello. He waves back.

“I’ll come back for you later tonight, okay?” Your Mom promises, and turning, blows a kiss to you before going back to the car. It drove away before you could think of an excuse not to be there, and you were left with two strangers with brown hair.

His Aunt May waved you inside, and you followed them in. It looked nice, like an ordinary person’s house. Once when you went over to America’s house to work on a project, it looked something like this. Pictures hung on the walls, some art by famous dead people, too.

“Do you want to drink juice, or water?” His Aunt asked you, once the walk up the stairs was done. You were in a living room, with a kitchen too. It looked nice. When you didn’t answer, she added, opening the fridge, and staring into it, “We have apple, and orange, and I think maybe blackcurrant.”

Peter shook his head. “No, we ran out of blackcurrant.”

May raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so no blackcurrant.” You don’t realise you’ve got sad eyes until she notices something, perhaps the eyes, when she adds, “Are you okay, sweetie?”

You nod. “Yeah. I’ve got some homework I should start on, Mrs –,”

She shakes her head. “Please. Call me Aunt May.” She closes the fridge, and gestures to Peter. “Why don’t you help ________ with her homework? You can set up here in the lounge room.”

When your things are set out on the carpet, you see that Peter’s reading the back of the textbook you brought with you from the library. Well, actually it was America who borrowed it from her library at the high school, and you were going to give it back. You swore you’d give it back. You were halfway through it, anyways, and she’d given it to you two days ago.

“It’s about calculus,” you tell him.

Peter nods. “Yeah, I use this kind of textbook in class,” he tells you. “Wh – do they teach this in third grade now?”

You shake your head, and start on the spelling words you didn’t manage to get done earlier in the week. “No, I’m just reading it.”

“You read it for fun?” Incredulous, Peter raises his eyebrows, and adds, “Wow…that’s pretty impressive.”

You smile, “You’re reading it,” you muse, and go back to your spelling words. You’ve just done the words zucchini and mountain easily, and were tackling your choice word of the week, antidisestablishmentarianism well. On the third go, you didn’t even make any mistakes. “You’re impressive too.” Peter laughs at that, but you don’t look up from your spelling words to see what he’s doing.

When you do look up, he’s glancing around the room as if to make sure that nobody is listening, even though you’re both alone and Aunt May is probably watching Stranger Things on her phone in her bedroom. But having made sure you’re alone, he whispers. “Can you keep a secret?”

Mutely, you nod.

You’ve very good at secrets. Like how you don’t say anything about how Fun Wanda would steal bits of food from Dr Banner’s plate when he wasn’t looking, or what Steve does after training with his buddy Bucky. You liked Bucky. You never told anyone that Bucky would sneak you handfuls of plums, even when they weren’t in season. Yes, you’re very good at secrets.

“I’m not just an ordinary person, ________,” he tells you, those brown eyes staring into your eyes like melted bits of chocolate stuck to fingers in the summertime. “I’m a superhero.”

The pencil in your hand falls to the carpet. “Like Dad?”

Peter nods. “Yeah, kind of.” He scoots over from his perch, and pulls the collar of his shirt down. Underneath the blue shirt, is a red shirt that looks just like the suit you’ve seen on the news when your parents weren’t looking. “I’m Spider –,”

“Boy!” you cry out, and realising your voice was too loud, whisper, “You’re Spider-Boy!”

He grins at that, and lets his t-shirt go to cover up his costume. “Yeah, I’m Spider-Boy.” He points to your homework, “Need a hand? I’m your friendly neighbourhood babysitter tonight, and with great power, comes – hey, have you watched Steven Universe? I’ve got it on disc if you want to see it!”

By the time nine o’clock rolls around, you’re fast asleep on the lounge, surrounded by two half-empty bowls of popcorn, snuggled up beside a snoozing Peter. When your Mom arrives, she and May take a moment to see their sleeping kids, and quietly, move you to the car where your Dad waits, ready to take you home with his ex-wife together to patch up what they can for you. Aunt May is left standing over the couch, looking down at her nephew. He’s tired, and has patches of skin healing from bruising, and sometimes, she swears that he takes on too much for a kid his age. But when he sleeps, he looks just like a child, innocent as ever. She takes a deep breath, and places a blanket over him, and goes to clean up the mess and turn off the TV before her returning to her online classes.

All is good.

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