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erekiosuncreativeideas · 3 years

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Being Human - Chapter 24 (END)

<= Chapter 23

Summary : Snatcher meets familiar people again Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826561/chapters/75085263

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(TW injury)

New chapter today, and it's actually the 24th and the 25th combined. It's 15 pages long, now.

I could only draw a picture for them both, so I supposed it was useless to keep you waiting for nothing. So, yeah, here's the ending of "Being Human". I hope you'll like it !

The “Oh The Humanity” AU belongs to @doodledrawsthings !

Uh if you’re interested, I post my progress on my chapters on Hatty Fan Time (the AHIT Discord server I’m moderating with two friends), so if you wanna join, go ahead !

Happy reading !

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Chapter 24 : “ Is… Is it over? ”

Snatcher was doing his best to walk down the hallways as quietly as he could. His ankle, while not broken anymore, was still giving him quite a lot of pain, so much that he was wincing at each new step. But he knew this was just temporary and that he needed to ignore the suffering for now: Vanessa was busy, sure, but for how long? She had said she would be baking cookies for him, and he knew very well that this wouldn’t last forever. This was his first and last chance of escaping: if she spotted him trying to leave, the child had no doubt she would lock him up again, perhaps in the cellar once more…- The young Prince shook his head and gulped down with difficulty. This definitely wasn’t something he wanted to think about.

Snatcher could feel and hear the floor creaking under his feet, forcing him to stop several times and listen closely. But thankfully, there was no sound indicating the Queen had heard him. Thank God. The child stopped in front of the door leading to the first floor- oh, he was not reassured, not in the slightest, he had the feeling this would not go well… As he was going to open the door, however, a light sound caught his attention, making him look at the window. A look of confusion crossed the young man’s features: there was nothing there, so what could have made such a nois- but then, his eyes spotted something: a little rock had been thrown onto the glass, making a small sound because of the impact. Detaching himself from the door, Snatcher made a few silent steps to the window… And his face lightened up with shock and surprise as he noticed a form floating above the window- no, two forms, actually.

Moonjumper and the hatted brat !

A feeling of hope grew inside of him, just as a wave of relief washed over him: they were alive! He had saved them! He really had managed to help them!

The child stepped closer to the window and reached for it, trying to open it- but in vain. The frame was deeply frozen, preventing anyone to open it, especially not a kid like him. He quickly stopped, as his attempts at opening it were quite… Noisy. It was getting really dangerous, and if he kept on trying, he was eventually going to alert Vanessa, which was definitely not what he wanted.

Moonjumper and the kid floated closer, a clear look of worry and confusion on their faces. The hatted girl gestured to the lock on the window, but Snatcher replied by shaking his head. It wasn’t locked, just… Frozen. He gave a concerned shrug, indicating he didn’t really know how to help them enter the manor. And, of course, they couldn’t really communicate vocally through the glass, as it was sure to be noticed by his ex. So that wasn’t a solution- until one hit him, making his eyes widen.

The attic.

Driven by a new motivation, the child pointed up, trying to make them understand his idea. The hatted brat seemed rather confused and frowned in reaction, trying to look up without understanding. However, the corpse seemed to get it and explained it to her- or so Snatcher believed. He couldn’t really hear them, so all he could do was to guess. In any case, his counterpart nodded to him, as a way to show him they had understood what he had meant to them. Not long after that, they started to float higher, indeed reaching the attic.

There was his escape plan !

Fueled by a new motivation, especially now that he knew his friends were alive, the former ghost turned away from the window, a new objective in mind. Still doing his best to remain discreet, Snatcher walked the other way, making his way to the attic rather than to the first floor. He was particularly on edge, especially when it came to his own footsteps on the floor, and to the creaking of the parquet floor under his weight. When he reached the door leading upstairs, he kept praying for it to be unlocked, oh, he prayed so much- and when the doorknob actually let itself be lowered, thus opening the door… A huge feeling of relief hit the young Prince one more time.

Oh, thank God…

Looking behind him, just to make sure the Queen hadn’t come upstairs to see if he was still in the nursery… He eventually climbed up the stairs, not forgetting to close the door slowly in his back. This was it, there was no turning back now.

Snatcher soon reached the attic door and opened it, his vision greeted by the sight of an old, forgotten room. But the former ghost didn’t lose any time in looking around- there was no time for that. All he needed to do now, was to find a way to let the other two-

Speaking of the devil, Snatcher spotted their floating silhouette right in front of the central window. However, it was safe to assume than opening any of the window here would be complicated. After all, none of them had locks to begin with, so even if they weren’t as frozen, they couldn’t be opened either way.

That… He hadn’t thought of that, exactly. All he had thought about was to get farther away from Vanessa, which worked in that case. But he still couldn’t leave like this… As for Moonjumper and the hatted brat, the two were inspecting each window, trying to find one that could be opened easily, in vain. Snatcher stepped closer to the central window, the gears in his mind turning to find a solution. This was… Not going the way he wanted to, he had to admit that much. His eyes met the others’, and they both came to the same conclusion.

Leaving the manor this way wouldn’t-

Snatcher’s thoughts were instantly interrupted as a tremor shook him and the room, making him stumble to the wooden floor. He cried in pain as it only hurt his already injured ankle, but before he was even able to realize what was going on, a loud, piercing scream echoed in the whole manor. Immediately, the young Prince’s expression fell, only to be replaced with panic.

Vanessa.

As on cue, the former ghost heard her muffling yelling in the floor below- oh God, she had heard him!

-“Where are you?!” shouted the Queen, her tone clearly showing how livid she was, and the sound of her voice making the house shake even more. Oh no, no, no, no, no! Behind the window, Moonjumper and the brat’s face paled up just like his did, and it was obvious they had heard her too. Oh, crap, no, he needed to be out of here!

Not thinking anymore, the child ran to the window, pounding on it as hard he could, feeling dread spreading inside of him as he could hear Vanessa’s furious steps coming closer and closer.

-“Get me out of here!” he yelled through the glass, to his friends on the other side, fear more and more audible in his voice than ever: “Help me!” Tears started to fill his eyes, and he couldn’t tell if it was because he was in a child’s body or if it was because he was genuinely terrified.

Behind the glass, Moonjumper seemed to be just as scared as him, and was scratching at the glass, even pounding on it all while still holding the hatted kid. The latter seemed to be more than nervous, looking for a solution too, until… Her face lit up, as if she just had had an epiphany. The young Prince saw her shouting something at the corpse, pointing at the window at the same time. What was she suggesting? But as he was asking himself that question, Snatcher saw the two of them floating away from the window- no, no, no! They weren’t leaving him here, weren’t they ?! They couldn’t do that, they couldn’t abandon him!

-“Come back!!” he yelled, and now tears were rolling down his cheeks, sobs cutting his breathing short: “Don’t leave me here!” He pounded on the glass harder, despair filling him whole. No, this couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be happening!

His cries intensified as Vanessa’s steps could be heard just behind the door, and suddenly, he froze. The footsteps had stopped. He looked back at the door in utter terror and saw the door slowly opening, a claw being the first thing he saw coming out of it.

-“I told you…” her tone was low and threatening, and the child span around, horrified. Oh no, no, no- : “… That there would be consequences…” And little by little, the old Queen’s body appeared in the room, her dark aura even more visible than ever, her claws sharper, and her eyes murderous.

Oh no, he was going to die, he was so going to die, he-

-“Snatcher!” The former ghost’s terrified inner-rambling was put to an end as he heard his name being called out behind him, and he glanced back, recognizing the brat’s voice- didn’t they leave, though…? However, his eyes widened as he saw the hat-wearing child being carried by Moonjumper on his shoulders, both at a distance from the window, and what caught his attention was… That she was not wearing her usual hat.

She was wearing another one, one that was familiar because he had seen her wearing in his forest, when she was ransacking the tombs in Subcon For- and before his mind had the time to finish that sentence, a glowing potion materialized in the kid’s hand, and she shook it while urging him to move with the other.

The young Prince didn’t waste any more time and ran to the side, hiding behind a nearby crate not to feel the explosion, and he covered his ears. But just before he was able to, the Queen’s voice echoed in the room, giving him chills.

-“I saw you!” she yelled at him, as if she hadn’t noticed the two outside- but it was most likely the case, as her mind seemed to be only focused on him, and only him… Which was not reassuring in the slightest, obviously.

-“Come here this instan-” And then, her shout was cut short by an explosion, and Snatcher just curled up more, crying out in fear as the whole floor shook again and as he heard the loud and deafening sound of the detonation. Glass and wood flew everywhere, shattering and breaking at their impact to the floor. Panicked, the former ghost glanced back at the window that had just been exploded- and his eyes widened as he saw his two friends entering the room through the large hole caused by the explosion.

Another wave of relief hit him once more, contrasting greatly with the spike of fear he had felt earlier- Snatcher felt like his heart was riding a very, very intense roller-coaster. As soon as the hatted child spot him, hidden behind the crate, her expression instantly turned into worry, and she dashed to him, soon placing herself in a position to defend him should Vanessa decide to attack them first. She had taken out her umbrella, ready to fight with all of her might, determination visible on her face. As for Moonjumper, the corpse was summoning countless strings, preparing himself for an imminent fight. His face looked nothing like what Snatcher had seen before, it was full of anger, of bravery, of courage… But also full of fear. His hands were trembling, his eyes were fixed on the Queen, while many memories of Snatcher’s past life seemed to be blinding him, forcing him to relive past moments that weren’t even his in the first place.

And yet Moonjumper was still ready to fight despite this.

-“You…” The Queen’s voice was full of hatred as she recognized the duo she had frozen earlier. Her intonation definitely had an impact on them, as they both faltered for a few moments- and he couldn’t blame them for it.

He knew what it was like to be frozen to death.

-“You… You will not hurt anyone else,” Moonjumper trembling voice echoed in the room, and it was now clear that he was scared to no end, though he was still trying to appear brave. Whether it was bluff or not, Snatcher couldn’t tell… But he really hoped it wasn’t.

-“Yeah, back off!” added the brat, lifting her umbrella as a way to show she was not kidding. Then again, the former spirit couldn’t help but wonder if they really had a chance against someone who had already frozen them all at least once.

Vanessa glared at them, her eyes glancing to each other, as if she were trying to determine who, out of the trio, was the biggest threat to her. And, unsurprisingly… Her survival instincts told her to attack Moonjumper first. Screaming in absolute anger, she stomped her feet on the wooden floor, summoning ice all around her and, more precisely, a series of ice stalagmites which she quickly sent to her enemy’s direction.

-“Moonjumper!” yelled Snatcher, extending his hand to the corpse, only to be held back by the hatted brat, preventing him from getting himself hurt. Fortunately, the body-stealing spirit had been expecting her to target him first, and dodged her attack, though one of the stalagmites nearly touched him. Thank God it hadn’t. The corpse was quick to react though and counter-attacked, throwing all of the strings he had prepared to her. Taken aback by his sudden retaliation, the Queen was too slow to move before the strings actually caught her, Moonjumper quickly tightening the grip around them.

But this couldn’t be so simple.

Another scream left Vanessa’s mouth and soon enough, she turned the strings into ice, her magic rapidly going up the corpse’s strings and thus soon reaching him- until the hat-wearing brat intervened, hitting the strings with her umbrella, deflecting the spell to her umbrella instead, which she immediately let go of with a surprised cry.

Now that the trio was distracted with the current turn of event, the Queen broke free of the strings holding her, the ice having made them easy to break. No, this was not good, they had to find a solution… But Moonjumper’s strings were their best bet! Fighting hand-to-hand was not possible, all they could do was fighting her from afar, if they didn’t want to end up frozen to death. His eyes looked around, trying to find an idea, something they would be able to use to gain an advantage against that monster. The crates, no, the chandelier, no, too heavy to make it fall down and too large to be useful… And his eyes fell onto the huge gap in the floor and the wall, caused by the previous explosion. His eyes widened, an idea growing in his mind.

Maybe… Maybe they could be able to use that!

In the meantime, the fight had continued, and the corpse was still trying to immobilize her with his strings- but this wasn’t the right option, this wouldn’t work like this! The woman was always managing to break free. And so, as soon as Vanessa’s attention was at the lowest, the young Prince took this as an opportunity to call out to Moonjumper without putting him too much at risk:

-“The- the hole, lead her to the hole!” he shouted, using both of his hands as a way to make his voice louder. The corpse gave him a quick and confused glance, as if he were trying to understand what Snatcher had in mind- until his eyes widened, realization crossing his features. He had gotten the message.

Not wasting any more time, the corpse changed his tactic and instead of trying to keep her trapped and motionless… He tried to pull her closer to the window, floating back more and more. Of course, the Queen was always managing to get free with her powers, but she was still being slowly led to the huge gap in the floor. The corpse was immensely focused on the fight, doing everything he could to avoid her stalagmites- but his focus and his unbelievable calm was winning over Vanessa’s screaming and aggressive attitude- her attacks were having the same patterns, she was not thinking strategically when trying to hit Moonjumper… On the contrary, Snatcher had to admit she was being predictable, and while she couldn’t be kept trapped in the other’s strings for too long, Snatcher’s strategy was working little by little.

When she reached the gap, her eyes had widened, as if she was only understanding now what the trio had in mind. With another deafening scream, Vanessa created an ice path under her feet, like a bridge above everything, above… Nothing, above the void under her feet. No matter how hard Moonjumper was pulling on her, she was not loosing her balance and she kept on creating ice under her feet, although… Now she was looking to escape much more than actually attacking any of them. Her expression was not just livid anymore- no, there were some worry and fear in it too, now.

They had to take the matter in their own hand, now! Moonjumper had already done much more than Snatcher would have asked of him considering his same fear of her- and now it was his time to help.

Ignoring the pain in his ankle, the child dashed to the frozen umbrella the hatted brat had abandoned on the floor, and picked it up, not caring about the ice partially trapping it- no, this didn’t matter. What he was about to do, however… Mattered much, much more.

-“Snatcher!” he heard the little girl calling him out- but he didn’t stop.

No, this had to stop. Now.

Fueled by a new energy and by adrenaline, the former ghost ran onto the ice platform Vanessa had created… And he charged at his ex-lover, holding the umbrella before him and using him as a spear. He felt his borrowed weapon hit something, and he knew it was her- and almost instantly, a cry of fear and surprise left the Queen’s mouth… And the impact made her lose her balance, her body falling backward as she tried to turn back… But it was too late.

He had done it, he had managed to-

But things never, ever were that easy, were they?

-“Snatcher !!” His friends’ voice echoed behind him, panic clearly audible as the woman made a last movement as an attempt to save herself from her fall- she had grabbed Snatcher’s arm and was now taking him with her, bringing him with her for what was going to be her death… And the young Prince’s.

And now, they were both falling.

Snatcher had thought about dying again, multiple times, actually. Being stuck in his this human body definitely had him wonder a lot of things such as “if I die, would I become a ghost again? Would I just go to wherever souls go when no one eats them?” There had been no way to know, and still wasn’t. The doubt actually prevented him from trying to put an end to his human life and see what happened afterwards. However, now… It wasn’t doubt that was making Snatcher fear death. No…

That was the fear of actually dying, mixed with the fear of losing all the sensations he had become accustomed to, even though it took him so long. Sure, there were plenty of unwanted senses he disliked, but… Was it really worth losing all of it? Even the good ones? Like the feeling of a warm shower, the feeling of lying down on a pile of soft pillows, the feeling of tasting things, even bad things…

Did he really want to just not feel anything at all? It had felt so overwhelming when he had recovered all of his senses, but now, the thought of losing everything was… Just as crushing.

And so… That was why Snatcher was terrified, terrified as his body was falling to his demise, taken with Vanessa. Her claws were gripping at his arm tightly, freezing his clothes and skin, making him cry out in pain. His breath quickened while he felt the cold air outside scratching his cheeks from how fast they were falling.

He didn’t want to die…!

The young Prince started to kick her, trying everything he could to do get away from her- but what was the point if they were both going to die by crashing themselves to the ground?

-“Let me go!” he shouted, his voice hysterical and his expression both panicked and livid: “Let-let go of me!”

-“N-no!” retorted the Queen, and the child could see frozen tears leaving her eyes as well as a despaired expression on her face: “I don’t want to!!”

She tried to hold him tighter in her arms, bringing him for a hug- No, no, no, he didn’t want this, he didn’t want this! The kid kept trying to hit her, his fear growing more and more as they both got closer and closer to the ground- he didn’t want to die! Not like this, not anymore!

Snatcher shut his eyes hard, readying himself for the impact, for the death he had wanted so much and yet didn’t want anymore, for the confirmation of whether he’d come back as a ghost or not, this was not fair, this was not fair…!

The young Prince let out a startled scream when he felt something slipped under his arms, pulling him up and abruptly stopping his fall. Snatcher reopened his eyes instantly- Moonjumper! The corpse had hurled himself towards his small counterpart, barely saving him from his death and quickly trying to float back up again or, at the very least, slow down his dangerous fall.

Vanessa, on the other hand, was not being held by anyone and, thus, her claws severely scratching the child’s arms as she attempted to save herself, but her own weight dragged her down. A loud, painful scream left Snatcher lips as he felt his skin being torn open by her long, sharp claws… But soon enough, his eyes saw her falling down, falling to her death, while Moonjumper was now holding him still in the air, floating. And soon enough… A muffled sound echoed up to them, with the Queen crashed into the snow, creating a flurry of snow around her.

-“Are… Are you okay ?!” the corpse managed to say, panic clearly audible in his tone of voice, his eyes inspecting the young prince, and widening when he noticed the gaping wound on the other’s arm: “O-oh, Goodness, we better… Oh, my God…”

Snatcher only replied by a long hiss, feeling the snowflakes falling onto his injury- oh, that hurt so much…! Tears came back in his eyes, stinging the skin in the corners from how cold it was. Blood was leaking from his arm, falling down near where Vanessa’s body lied down. With a very concerned expression, Moonjumper quickly floated lower and lower, in order to bring them back to the ground. A movement in Snatcher’s vision caught the latter’s attention, and he glanced in that direction, his mind clearly in a state of shock, ready to react to the littlest threat- but what he saw was the hat-wearing brat, watching them from the attic. It was a bit hard to see her clearly because of the distance and the blizzard, but the former ghost was almost sure he saw her putting her hand where her heart was, seemingly sighing in relief.

Yeah… Yeah, he could definitely relate to that…

The young Prince jumped when he finally felt the ground under his feet, letting out a startled cry from how shocked he was. Slowly, ever so slowly, Moonjumper loosened his grip on him, only for Snatcher to fall to his knees, unable to stand up in his state. Around him, the snow was starting to get a reddish hue due to the blood falling and leaking on it, staining it.

-“H-hey…!” The corpse tried to help him get back to his feet, in vain. He had just experienced a near-death experience, how could he stand up again so easily?! His eyes looked around and… Noticed a dark spot in the snow.

Vanessa.

The child stared at her, afraid she’d get up again, ready to attack them again, ready to kill them all- But she wasn’t moving.

-“Is… Is it over?” he breathed out, unable to look away from the old Queen, his fear preventing from doing so.

-“I… I think so, yes,” Moonjumper floated lower, down to his level, his voice calmer and yet his nervousness was still very much there.

A loud noise suddenly caught the duo’s attention, making them lift their head to see what it was- and as much as Snatcher had expected quite a lot of things… Seeing the spaceship flying above their head was not one of these things. That… That was where the bow-wearing kid was! She hadn’t been there in the group’s rescue mission, and it made sense that at least someone had to stay in the ship in case things turned sour.

Not so long after that, the front door of the manor opened abruptly, revealing the hatted brat, soon dashing in their direction.

-“Snatcher!” she called out to him, stopping in front of him and almost slipping from how fast she was running. Her eyes noticed his injury and instant worry appeared on her features: “Oh, peck, are you okay?!”

The child took a moment to pull himself together- this was a lot to take in after all.

-“I… I don’t know,” he gasped, and now that the adrenaline was slowly dying down, the pain was getting much, much stronger. Wincing, Snatcher tried to move his arm, only to whine at the sensation. Yeah, that was not happening… And he was bleeding quite a lot too- oh, no, no, this was not good, was it…?

Another weird, high pitched sound caught their attention, this time behind them. The former ghost turned his head back, not knowing what it was- until he saw a beam of light coming from the spaceship to the ground, a silhouette quickly appearing where the light was touching the snow. The other kid! Even though he knew she had to be safe, considering Vanessa had forgotten about her when she brought the young Prince home, he was… Really happy to see her safe, now. However, something else caught his attention.

She was holding the Time Piece again.

Not wasting any more time, the other joined the trio, reacting the exact same way as the rest of the group did at the sight of Snatcher’s injury. Then again… He had no idea how bad it was, but from the look of everyone else, he could guess that it was… Not good.

-“Is… Is she…?” the bow-wearing child pointed to the Queen’s body, still not moving, except for her shadows, carried away by the wind.

-“I… I’m not sure,” Snatcher confessed, still very much afraid to see her getting up- but she wasn’t.

The group remained silent for a moment, staring at what now seemed to be a corpse- And Snatcher couldn’t help but stand up, his stance unstable and his legs trembling both from the blood loss and from how shaken he still was.

-“W-wait, what are you doing?” called out the hatted brat behind him. Moonjumper also tried to get his attention, his tone much more nervous than the little girl’s. The bow-wearing kid, however, remained silent, paralyzed by the fear of what he was trying to do.

Not listening to the group’s advice to sit back down, not to approach Vanessa, as they didn’t know if she was still alive yet- but he didn’t care. And so, silently if not for the sound of his boots in the snow, the young Prince stopped in front of his ex, looking at her with a deep expression of regret on his face. So this was the end of the story, then? The end of a tale that had lasted for many centuries, of a horrifying nightmare that had caused the death of so many people?

Was that it?

The young Prince jumped a bit when the Queen slowly opened her eyes, afraid she would be ready to fight again- but she didn’t move. Instead… She merely smiled at him, that same smile he had loved for years, that same smile from the person he wanted to marry so many years ago- and before he could realize it, his heart started to ache, his mind filled with bitterness.

-“Oh… Hello,” she greeted him, with a tone that was so familiar, much too familiar- and Snatcher’s face hardened, countless of memories blinding him as they came back to him, almost hitting him like a wave.

This was… Not a good ending for him- a good ending would have been to solve their problems before she caused the freezing, would have been to prevent the deaths of everyone- but this? This was a bittersweet ending.

This wasn’t the ending Snatcher wanted, but in the end… This was the only one he could get.

The light in Vanessa’s eyes became dimmer and dimmer as seconds passed and, soon, the former ghost just knew she had passed away, taking with her the threat she had always represented to Subcon Forest. Now… Now, the forest would be safe again.

-“Sna… Snatcher?” the bow wearing child called out to him again, and when he turned back to her… His cheeks started to sting- he was crying now. Tears, countless of them, were rolling down his cheeks and he couldn’t stop, the emotions flooding his mind, so much that it needed to get out somehow- Sobs started to leave his mouth… Before his legs gave up from the blood loss. Before anyone was able to react, the young Prince fell into the snow, mentally and physically exhausted. The group gathered around him, worry and fear visible on their features. Oh.

Was… Was this going to be it? Was this… The end? His end?

His thoughts were cut short when the bow-wearing kid lifted his hand, putting inside it a cold yet familiar object- the Time Piece.

-“Qu-quick!” she urged him, her face deadly pale: “I… I fixed it while you were fighting her! It’ll save you, but you need to break it and wish to become a ghost again!”

-“Hurry!” the hatted brat insisted, trying to hide her worry behind a mask of determination.

Was… Was it really what he wanted? To come back as a ghost, unable to feel a single thing, good or bad? To remain here for eternity and see the world change without him? To take care of a Forest that no longer needed protection? Was this really what he truly, truly wanted? To live in the past forever?

Snatcher winced at the thought.

He… Wasn’t so sure about becoming a ghost again. He had wanted this so much before, but now… Now, something didn’t feel right about this. Was Vanessa’s death the reason for that? Or had he thought this way for a while, just… Being in denial about all of this?

How could he know? What should he do?

-“Wh-what are you waiting for!” urged Moonjumper, and soon, the kids started to shake him lightly, fearing he would lose consciousness from his injuries, if not worse.

All he wanted… All he wanted was…

Slowly, much too slowly for the taste of the group… The former shade lifted the hand holding the Time Piece, ready to smash it to the ground.

-“I wish to be happy,” he murmured, before finally smashing the hourglass down.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-______________________________-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

-“And then, add a bit of salt- yes, just like that!”

The voice of Cooking Cat could be heard in the kitchen of the spaceship, alongside sounds of something cooking in the background, sizzling on a frying pan. Next to her, a young man was standing up, his right hand holding the tool and the left one putting down a cup of salt. Once done, he grabbed the spatula on the nearby counter and started to move the ingredients around inside of the pan, intensifying all the crackling caused by their cooking.

-“Am… Am I doing fine?” he asked, wincing as he was receiving a few splashes, to the point he was tempted to step back- but he knew better than to do that. Cooking Cat seemed to notice his discomfort and came to her friend’s rescue, covering the frying pan with its lid and then lowering the temperature of the gas stove.

The young man couldn’t help but give an awkward and frustrated smile- well, at least, the food wasn’t burnt -yet-, so there was that!

-“You’re improving day after day,” assured the bipedal cat with a warm expression: “You’ll see, someday you won’t even need me anymore to cook for the girls!” she gave him a friendly tap on the back, though perhaps a bit too strong for the thin man, who stumbled a bit.

-“I doubt that,” he answered, before using an familiar sarcastic tone: “I mean, unless you all want me to burn the ship down, of course. That, I can do!”

The Cat snorted and shook her head, though not out of disapproval.

-“You’re underestimating yourself, you know?” she retorted, a bit amused by his previous words: “It’s only been a few months and you’ve made quite a lot of progress. You might not be the best cook in the world right now, but credit where it’s due, now you can make things that are edible!”

-“Oh man, what an improvement! ‘Poisonous’ to ‘barely digestible’! When do I open a restaurant?” he mocked her, but there wasn’t any real animosity, just friendly teasing… To which he received a light punch on the arm:

-“Oh, hush, you,” she snickered: “You know what I mean!”

The two laughed for a bit, and eventually washed their hands, waiting for the food to finish cooking. They kept doing some small talk as they tidied the kitchen a little bit, cleaning and putting back in cupboards all the tools they had needed to prepare the next meal, which smell was slowly invading the room.

Yeah, he had to admit that at least… Well, the smell was good enough to make him hungry, something that hadn’t been possible a few months back.

The duo’s attention was caught by the door opening, revealing the hatted brat, the bow-wearing kid, and Moonjumper, who had started to wear new clothes, clothes that fitted him and his personality much better.

-“Hey, the food’s not ready yet,” the young man taunted them, giving them a shooing gesture: “Come on, away with you!”

-“Can’t we have at a least a bit?” tried to bargain the bow-wearing girl, putting her hands on her stomach as if she hadn’t eaten anything for the past two weeks- and of course, she was imitated by her older friend: “We’re starving!”

-“Yeah, Snatcher, don’t be such a peck-ne-”

-“Language!” the word came from both Cooking Cat and Moonjumper, who floated closer to Snatcher- although it was clear that from the two of them, the bipedal Cat was the one having the more authority. Perhaps she was kind of like a mother-figure, or at least, that’s what the young man couldn’t help but think of her and what her aura seemed like.

-“Fiiine,” grunted the hatted brat, sighing with exaggeration, before giving the cook the look of a nice and innocent kid in dire need of something: “We’re super hungry though,” she repeated and, as on cue, a gurgling sound echoed in the room, causing everyone to stop talking. Eventually, the bow-wearing child giggled with embarrassment and looked away.

-“Y-yeah, we are,” she confirmed, and Cooking Cat just snorted in response. She moved to one of the cupboards and grabbed three plates and silverware, soon handing them to the little, impatient girls.

-“Listen, let’s set the table, and then we’ll eat, alright?” she told them, and it barely took the kids a couple of seconds to grab all of it and running away with it to the living room.

-“Hey, no running with the knifes!” Snatcher called them out, but all he heard were carefree giggles. Ugh. Kids. And yet, he was smiling.

Cooking Cat snorted again, shaking her head with a warm grin, before glancing at the other two :

-“I better go and help them,” she told Snatcher and Moonjumper: “I mean, not that they’re unable to set the table, but. You know.”

-“Yeah, we don’t want any injury, I got it. I’ll take care of the food in the meantime,” he assured, returning her smile with his own, and leaning against one of the kitchen counters. The Cat thanked him and left the room, leaving the young man and the corpse alone. Snatcher soon got back to work and prepared a few crudités for the first course. Somehow, there was some kind of tension in the room, and that was probably due to the fact that Moonjumper hadn’t followed their friend to help the kids. The silence went on for a few more seconds, and… Yeah, there was definitely something.

-“Anything on your mind?” asked the young man casually, glancing at him briefly while he was cutting the vegetables, doing his best to remain focused on the task at hand- not wanting any injury also applied to him. There were quite a few scars on the former Prince’s fingers, due to him not being careful enough while cutting food. After all, not only had he never cooked for a few centuries as a ghost, but he had never really cooked anything while being alive either… Being part of a royal family had its pros and cons after all.

The corpse seemed to be lost in thought, only to jump slightly at Snatcher’s voice, coming back to reality. Moonjumper looked away, scratching his arm in embarrassment:

-“Am I that obvious?” he asked, an awkward smile on his face.

-“Frankly?” the man raised his eyebrow, before giving the other a smug grin: “You have no idea.”

The two snorted, and it did indeed make the tension go away, if only a little. Snatcher knew something was up, and he waited for his friend to make the first step, not wanting to rush anything. If there was anything being human taught him again, it was being patient. Well… Among a lot of other things, of course. And soon enough… This proved to be the right choice, as Moonjumper spoke once more, giving the former Prince a more serious look:

-“Are you… Are you okay?” was his question, and Snatcher was quite taken aback by it, not really expecting something like this. To be fair, he had thought this would be about Subcon, who was now primarily handled by the corpse, though Snatcher did visit quite a lot. This could have also been about the girls or anything like that, really… But him?

Now that was something he hadn’t seen coming.

The young man’s face showed his surprise and confusion, and he quickly put his attention back on his cutting work. No need to cut a finger because he wasn’t attentive enough… Still:

-“Wh- Yeah, I am?” he replied, puzzled by this sudden question: “Why?”

Moonjumper remained silent for a moment, to the point Snatcher thought this conversation would end here- but the other proved him wrong:

-“It’s just that… You wanted to become a ghost again so much, a few months back,” admitted his counterpart with a wince: “And yet, while you had the opportunity to make this happen, you… Didn’t.”

He paused for a few seconds, as if he were looking for the right words, as if he were walking on eggshells- well, it was a figure of speech, given his lack of legs. In any case…

-“I guess, I just… I just wanted to know if you were fine with it.”

Snatcher stopped his cutting work, his stare lost into space. Yeah, he could see where that was coming from… To be fair, his old self would have probably screamed at him, not understanding why he was still a human despite getting the opportunity to change that, despite getting the chance he had waited for since the moment he woke up in that body.

In that body which reminded him of so many things, some good and some… Bad, very bad. And so, he wasn’t really surprised to see this question coming, especially from Moonjumper, who, well… Shared quite a lot of memories with him, even if they still weren’t the same person. If there was anyone in the world knowing him the best, it was the corpse, no doubt about that.

… Which meant quite a lot, being asked this question by his counterpart.

-“You know… If I had gotten the possibility to turn back into what I used to be when it happened…” started Snatcher, referring to the moment he had been turned into a human, months ago: “… Then I’m pretty sure I’d have taken that opportunity without hesitation.”

-“… So what changed?” retorted the other, though there was no judgment in his tone of voice- just pure curiosity and a lot of concerns.

-“I guess…” the man stopped to think, sighing again, before continuing, his face full of regret: “You know, back there, when I… When I almost died,” he managed to say, his body starting to shake from the emotion and from the memories. Snatcher was… Still trying to ignore them, but despite this, he remained haunted by them, haunted by what had happened, by what could have happened to him and to his friends.

The corpse nodded, silently and gently nudging him into talking once more.

-“I… I realized that I… Didn’t really want to die?” he wondered to himself, having done his best not to think about that whole thing until now, and he shrugged, though it was visible that this was clearly upsetting him: “I just… Understood that if I were to die again, even if I came back as a ghost I would just… Not be able to feel anything at all, you know?”

He glanced back to Moonjumper, and he mindlessly started to rub the counter with his hands, as if he were enjoying the sense of touch for the last time, contemplating what could have been if he had indeed died again that day.

-“That kinda scared me,” he admitted, this time with a frown, because being afraid was still something he didn’t like saying: “And after Vanessa’s death, I guess that I felt… Guilty, but also better? As if, there wasn’t that weight on my shoulder anymore, right? And so… So when Bow gave me the Time Piece, I… Hesitated.”

He couldn’t help but scoff at the idea, now.

-“That’s stupid, right?”

Moonjumper seemed surprised by his words, and he titled his head to the side, confused and a little worried:

-“What do you mean?” asked the other, frowning too.

-“That… That I basically let that hourglass decide.”

-“Oh.”

Realization crossed the corpse’s features and he looked away, maybe feeling foolish for that dumb question. But to Snatcher, it wasn’t one, really. A few minutes passed in pure silence, and Snatcher got back to his cutting work. It took a little while before Moonjumper gathered the courage to speak again, visibly concerned for his friend:

-“And so… Are you happy?” he asked, making a reference to the wish Snatcher had made back then, when he was dying. The memory made the young man wince, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists, doing his best not to let his mind getting overwhelmed at the traumatizing recollection.

But this was a good question. Was he happy? Was he, really? It was quite hard to answer… How could he know? His old lives, as a Prince and as a soul-stealing ghost, were so different than this one that it was barely comparable. However… However, he couldn’t deny how miserable he had felt sometimes, as a spirit guarding Subcon Forest. But now…? While he still had nightmares, and while sensations were still a bit strong… Vanessa wasn’t a threat to Subcon and its inhabitants anymore, he felt free for the first time in centuries, not shackled to a place in order to protect it, no- he was really, truly free. Furthermore…

Snatcher had two people to care about now.

-“You know, it’s not so bad,” he eventually replied, a smile starting to appear on the corner of his lips.

-“What is?”

The young man turned his head to his friend, his smile widening, even though his expression still showed some regrets:

-“Being Human.”

The corpse fell silent, but eventually returned his smile, visibly satisfied with the answer. The duo’s attention were brought back to reality as a smell of something burning started to float in the room-

-“Oh fu- peck!” the former prince cursed as he turned off the gas stove, quickly removing the frying pan and putting it on the kitchen counter. His face fell when he noticed the meal had burnt- again. Next to him, Moonjumper was trying his best not to laugh, leading the young man to glare at him. Instantly, the corpse looked away innocently, whistling- ugh, that guy.

Snatcher looked at the burnt meal with frustration, and he rubbed his eyes- Yeah, he was getting tired of himself quite a lot, when it came to cooking. Nonetheless, he took a deep breath, and picked the frying pan again, while Moonjumper, still giggling, grabbed the plates of crudités. Both left the kitchen, and Snatcher lifted the pan for everyone to see, announcing loudly and comically:

-“Soooo, who wants some burnt food?”

A loud series of boo welcomes him, as well as some “again??”s, making him snicker in reaction… But yeah.

Being Human wasn’t so bad.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Thank you for following me this far, I hope you liked this story ! My next fanfiction, still on AHIT, is a WIP for now. I hope you'll like it too. See you soon !

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marvelous-writer · 3 years

Text

Ferry Rides, Panic Attacks & Cheeseburgers

Summary:

“Pete, you alright?” Happy quietly asks in a worried voice.

Peter snaps his eyes open and nods shakily. “Y-Yeah.” He lies.

Happy turns in his seat as he leans in front of him and looks at his face. “You don’t look it,” he says worriedly. “What’s going on?”

“N-Nothing—I’m fine.” Peter tries to assure him—heck, to assure himself but he can’t get the thought of the ferry ripping in two out of his mind. He can’t fail everyone again—he can’t fail Tony again.

Peter’s art class goes on a field trip to the Statue of Liberty and Happy tags along.

Word Count: 2,490

Genre: whump, humor, hurt/comfort

Link to read on Ao3:

A/N: @webpril day 1: field trip

“We live in New York… and your school trip is to the Statue of Liberty?” Happy questions as they stand in Midtown High’s parking lot at ten in the morning, standing in line, dressed in his usual suit and tie attire with a pair of dark shades, standing out like a sore thumb beside Peter as everyone boards the bus.

“I did tell you where we were going yesterday.” Peter reminds him.

“I know… but a field trip to the Statue of Liberty for art class? You guys couldn’t have gone to a museum or something?”

Peter sighs as he moves ahead further in line, rolling his eyes as he overhears Flash and Abraham bickering over who gets to sit in the back of the bus.

“Do you know what we’re doing anyways?” Happy asks.

Peter shrugs. “I'm not sure. I guess we’re going to study the statue and draw it. Ms. Betzing said something about studying light patterns and shading.”

Happy groans at his side. “You guys couldn’t have pulled up photos of it from Google or something?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Peter says, shooting a smile over his shoulder at him before he boards the bus.

...

It takes them a little over an hour until they reach Battery Park, where they will board the ferry that will take them to Liberty Island across the harbor.

“Alright, class! I want all of you to stick together and stay with your groups—no wandering off and everyone be on your best behavior,” Ms. Betzing says as she hands out the maps of Liberty Island and their ferry passes. “I want you all to sketch out anything that catches your eyes as we go and feel free to take any pictures with your phones for references!”

“What if we get motion sickness?” Someone from their group asks.

Ms. Betzing winces at the question. “Uhm… then you can feel free to wait until we’re off the ferry. I want you all to have a fun time on the trip and we certainly don’t want anyone getting sick today!”

They have to wait a few minutes until the ferry arrives, so Peter decides to pull out his small sketchbook from his backpack to kill some time, joining Ned and MJ over at a nearby bench.

“So, how are things going with shades over there?” MJ asks as she sketches something into her sketchbook.

Peter smirks at the nickname as he looks up at Happy, who’s standing near two of the other chaperones as their teacher talks to them, handing them maps as well. “Uh, okay I guess,” he says.

Happy looks bored, like he’d rather be anywhere else than here right now, and Peter can’t help but feel a little guilty. May had pushed Happy to go on the trip when Peter had her sign the permission slip last week, despite Peter’s protests against the idea of a chaperone, especially Happy being one. It’s not exactly the man’s thing and Peter knows how busy he is, being the head of security at SI and not to mention being Morgan’s part-time babysitter.

“You know, he kinda looks like he’s your bodyguard or something,” Ned adds in.

MJ laughs as she looks up from her sketch. “He does,” she agrees before lowering her voice so only they hear her. “It’s kinda sad that Spider-Man needs one though.” She says, shooting a grin Peter's way, earning a laugh from Ned.

Peter rolls his eyes half-heartedly at their teasing. “He’s not my bodyguard and you guys know it. He’s just here for the trip. May wanted him to go for some reason.”

“Why? Is it like… a bonding thing or something? You did say that she made you two have a ‘guys weekend’ last month.” Ned asks with a frown.

“Yeah, isn’t that when you slipped and broke your ribs on the toilet?” MJ adds.

Peter sighs, looking over at her with an unamused expression. “Thanks for reminding me,”

She smiles with a one-shouldered shrug. “That’s what I’m here for, babe.”

Ned makes a disgusted sound at the pet name. “But seriously, do you think that’s why he’s here? To spend more time with you or something now that he and May are engaged?”

Peter’s smile falters as he looks back over at Happy, who’s now looking at something on his phone with his glasses lowered down near the tip of his nose so he can see the screen. “I don’t know… maybe?”

When the ferry arrives at the port, they all get on and take their seats. Peter sits next to Happy again like he had on the bus and they wait for a few moments as passengers continue to get on board.

“You know, I bet Steve would’ve liked to go on this trip with it involving art and everything.” Happy says, breaking the silence between them.

Peter looks over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

Happy shugs. “He’s into art. He always has a doodle pad on him.”

“I never knew Cap was an artist.”

“He’s not bad, either. He once painted a picture of one of Tony’s cars and gave it to him for Christmas.”

Peter knows the exact painting he’s talking about, the one of the bright red Audi R8 Spyder that’s hung up in Tony’s office at the compound. “Cap painted that one?” Peter asks, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yeah,” Happy says with a nod.

“Wow,” Peter breathes out as a small smile pulls at the corner of his lips. “Think he’d do a portrait of Spider-Man?” He asks in a quiet tone, only to earn an amused chuckle from Happy.

“You never know. Maybe if you show up for training on time on the weekends.” He says, giving him a knowing look.

He’s got me there. Peter thinks to himself.

By the time the ferry is moving and on its way to Liberty Island, it only takes a few minutes until Peter is hit with a sense of deja vu as the memories of the last time he was on a ferry comes to mind—the fight with Toomes.

And that time… the ferry had split in half, all thanks to Peter screwing everything up.

Which just so happens to be the reason why he tries to avoid going on boats.

Peter swallows hard as he squeezes his hands that are resting on his lap, feeling the knot in his stomach that had formed in the past few minutes tighten. He darts his eyes around the inside of the ferry, looking up at the ceiling to make sure there aren’t any cracks or any signs of it about to split into two. At least he has his web-shooters on him, but what good did they do him the last time.

Tony was the one who saved the ferry… but Tony is now retired from Iron Man, even though Peter knows he’d jump into a suit and fly here as fast as he could—which would take too long since he’s all the way upstate. The ferry would sink in a matter of minutes with all the water pooling in and they would all drown if lifeboats didn’t arrive in time.

The horrifying scene of it all playing out in Peter’s head has him shaking, feeling his chest seize up in fear and dread. He slams his eyes shut as he mindlessly shakes his leg, trying to push away those terrifying images of MJ, Ned, and his classmates floating lifeless in the Hudson.

“Pete, you alright?” Happy quietly asks in a worried voice.

Peter snaps his eyes open and nods shakily. “Y-Yeah.” He lies.

Happy turns in his seat as he leans in front of him and looks at his face. “You don’t look it,” he says worriedly. “What’s going on?”

Peter tries to take in a deep breath in hopes to calm himself down a little but it comes out more like a weak gasp. His chest feels like there’s a rubber band tightly wrapped around it, blocking off any way for air to get in.

“Hey, hey—look at me. Kid? Peter.” Happy whispers urgently as he takes off his shades and gently grabs Peter’s shoulder, suddenly finding himself facing the man’s worried face. “Tell me what’s going on?”

“I-I don’t know,” Peter murmurs as he shuts his eyes again, grateful they’re sitting in the back so none of his classmates see his meltdown. “I-I can’t breathe.”

“You’re having a panic attack,” Happy says in a soft voice that Peter’s heard him use on Morgan many times before. “You’re okay—you’re safe. Just try to breathe.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Try to take a deep breath for me, Pete,” Happy gently tells him.

Peter wills his chest to release its chokehold on him as he tries to suck in a deep, shaky breath.

In one, two, three… out one, two, three. Peter thinks to himself, remembering the breathing exercise Tony taught him one time when he was having a panic attack similar to now.

It takes a few minutes of breathing until Peter feels like he’s not drowning in his own panic anymore, now that his chest has thankfully opened back up. He feels shaky and tired, but he can breathe.

“Feeling better?” Happy asks, brows pulled together in concern.

Peter shakes his head slowly. “Think so… sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Happy says as he grabs Peter’s backpack and zips it open to retrieve a water bottle. “Do you wanna talk about it?” He asks as he cracks it open and hands it to him.

Peter takes a sip before he sighs. “It’s stupid,” he says.

“It’s not.” Happy reassures.

“I…” Peter pauses and closes his eyes. “I was fine when we got on the ferry… but then my stupid brain went against me and all I could think about was—the ferry splitting in half.”

A look of realization flashes across Happy’s face. “Why didn’t you say anything? You didn’t have to go on this trip if you didn’t want to.”

“I did want to go but I just didn’t think the boat would bother me because I’m with you and everyone else,” Peter admits. “I just… I don’t know...”

“Hey,” Happy says gently. “I get it.

Peter looks up at him and offers a small, weak smile.

When they’re finally off the ferry, Peter follows behind the group with Happy at his side as everyone starts to head further on the island, Lady Liberty standing tall and proud above them, glowing a brilliant soft green in the afternoon sun.

MJ and Ned walk over and join them by a picnic table, thankfully unaware of Peter’s panic attack on the trip over. They all start drawing in their sketchbooks while Happy goes on his phone, even managing to sneak a few pictures of them when Peter isn’t looking.

Peter takes a deep breath in when a warm spring breeze blows past them, feeling it flow through his lungs. He feels a lot better now that he’s on dry land, with his friends and Happy. Sitting here drawing is pretty relaxing, surprisingly too. He’s never been a great drawer but this art class has helped him get a little better to the point that he actually enjoys it.

“Does this look like a pigeon or a rat?” Ned asks with a frown as he holds up his drawing for them to see.

“Definitely a rat,” MJ says with a small smirk. “But with feathers.”

Ned groans as he drops his sketchbook to the table. “I’d like to say that I give up but we have to pass this in at the end of class tomorrow.” He says, earning a chuckle from them.

“I think it looks good, Ned,” Peter offers. “I mean, have you seen the city’s pigeons? Those things are monsters.”

“You got a thing against pigeons?” MJ questions, shooting him a grin.

Happy chuckles from beside him. “He’s still sore about that one time one swiped his sandwich from him.”

Ned laughs at that and Peter holds his arms out in defense. “It was a sandwich from Delmar’s! No one steals my sandwich and gets away with it.”

“It got away, didn’t it?” MJ asks.

Peter’s shoulders slump with a sigh. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head with a small chuckle as she looks back at her drawing.

...

The afternoon passes by in a blur and before they know it, it’s already time for them to head back. They’re now waiting in line as everyone boards the ferry once again and Peter is dreading getting back on.

“How about we hang back here for a little bit and let everyone else go on ahead?” Happy offers, seeming to sense his dread.

Peter raises an eyebrow at him. “But we have to get back to school.”

“Sure you can. I’ll sign you out for the rest of the day if you want.”

“You can?” Peter asks a little hopefully. He honestly doesn’t think he can get back on that boat right now and then go through another couple of hours at school.

“Yeah, let me go talk to your teacher then we’ll grab some lunch.” Happy tells him before he walks away from him to find Ms. Betzing.

It only takes Happy a few minutes before he’s back. “You’re all set.” He says.

“Really?” Peter asks, a little surprised at how easy it was.

“Yeah. She just had me sign a form,” Happy says as he nods his head in the direction of the group. “You wanna say goodbye to your friends?”

Peter shakes his head. “I’ll just text them later.”

...

Not even twenty minutes later, they’re seated outside of the Crown Cafe, enjoying two all-American burgers with a side of fries and two sodas.

“You know… you didn’t have to sign me out the rest of the day. We’re going to have to get back on the ferry anyways.” Peter says, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

“I know,” Happy says with a nod as he takes a sip of his soda. “But I thought you could use a break and our ride back is on his way.”

Peter raises an eyebrow to ask, only to be cut off when someone yells, “Hey, look! It’s Iron Man!” And below and behold, Iron Man suddenly drops down from the sky, landing across the way from them and drawing a crowd.

“We couldn’t have swam back to the city? Or what about a helicopter?” Peter sarcastically asks, turning back to Happy.

Happy shrugs with a smile. “I thought about the helicopter but I know May wouldn’t approve.”

Peter sighs before he takes another bite out of his burger.

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mypunkpansexualtwin · 3 years

Note

📓

Hi Bones! You're getting the Big P4 Angst Idea! And it's going under a cut cause it's kind of A Beast even in summary form. Title in my head is Guilty Until Proven Capable or possibly just The Second Time Around. Fair warning, this is gonna get a little rambly.

So this one's a Persona 4 fic inspired by the handful of NG+ fics I've read that play with new game plus as a time loop for the protagonists because that's already a juicy concept. Specifically, it takes place at the beginning of the second time through events after getting the bad ending on December 3rd, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200, Bad Ending. Narukami wakes up in the Velvet Room the day before he's supposed to leave town and is basically told "you done fucked up, we're gonna give you another shot, but be careful what you try and change." Naturally, after the losses that happened and the evil fog deep unease lingering over town over the three months between making That Choice and leaving town, he jumps right at the chance to fix things. Wakes up on the train going into Inaba and starts the whole cycle over fresh. Things go as expected for most of the first couple of days.

And of course, as is the nature of time travel as a narrative device, the rules and limitations don't get Really Explained until he fucks something up and tries to change too much. Specifically, he tries to prevent Saki Konishi's death.

Specifically, he succeeds in preventing Saki Konishi's death.

And spends the day riding that high until the next morning where he meets up with her again, feels incredibly vindicated that he's already doing better when the bond starts forming and that means she's safe, and... hold up... Magus Arcana? That sounds an awful lot like Magician. And Yosuke's missing from school. Another body's been found. And he knows what's coming at the school assembly, knows what's about to be announced, and somehow seeing it coming makes it so much worse when the principal announces that Yosuke Hanamura has been found murdered. The only thing worse than your best friend being murdered is feeling responsible for it. Even worse than that is not even being able to mourn him properly because at this point you've technically only known him for 3 days.

The second time around, it's Saki Konishi at his side going in to investigate the second victim's death. The second time around, it's not the liquor store in a distorted version of the shopping district but the break room of a dilapidated Junes where Yosuke's last thoughts about the town he hates and the girl who almost makes it worth staying there hang in the stale air and summon the worst parts of the person at Yu's side. The second time around, it's a lot harder to forgive those darkest parts when her shadow talks about how glad she is that he's finally out of her hair and how she only wanted to avenge his death to assuage her guilt at feeling that way.

Harder, but not impossible. She awakens to her persona, Ayame, and again, things proceed mostly as normal.

Next trip to the Velvet Room, the rules get explained: the true victims will always die even if it's not the same ones every time, but not every death that occurred last time was that of a true victim; be careful changing too much from last time lest the team go in just as blind as the first time and twice as out of their depth; face the journey with eyes open not just to what happened as he remembers but as they unfold again, without grief clouding his purpose and they'll find their way to the truth. Easier said than done with one new death on his hands and Nanako's death looming in the future.

Some of the Social Links get shaken up, with Yosuke's father as the new Hanged Man arcana (helping him work through his grief at the loss of his son as he swings wildly between throwing himself blindly into his work, acting as a surrogate helicopter parent to Teddie, and second-guessing everything he's done since his son's death; is he giving his wife space to grieve by taking up the extra work at Junes or is he just hiding from her and his own pain? Is he helping Ted out of the goodness of his own heart because this weird kid needs someone to look after him and it's the right thing to do or is he trying to replace the son he's quickly realizing he didn't know anything about and was probably driving away with the constant moving? Heavy questions to drop on a 16 y/o part timer.) and Naoki replacing Yumi/Ayane as the Sun arcana (medical club rather than drama or band, partly because Naoki cornered him into joining so he could keep an eye on him and get a feel for Narukami's intentions with his sister, and partly because Yu is fascinated by how different the guy is when not numbed by a massive burden of grief he won't let himself process.) And of course letting Saki out of the fridge to be the Magus arcana, as kind and angry and complicated and flawed as the rest of the team, and just as good a friend to him as Yosuke was. With bonus opportunity to relay what Yosuke wanted to tell her about being special if they had both had the chance to live, her rank 10 leads to her awakening to the persona Kushinadahime.

And of course, this wouldn't be complete without addressing the lingering dread of what Yu is certain Nanako's fate is gonna be. Initially he debates keeping an arm's length between them or being The Best Big Bro On The Planet for her and settles on the latter because of course. Throws himself into it when he's not working on the balancing act between essentially metagaming and being complacent in the investigation. As November draws closer and closer, he eventually convinces himself to interfere like he did with Saki in the beginning. Because the most likely person to die in Nanako's place is his uncle and if he knew everything, it's the call Dojima would make. Because he's spent another year of watching his uncle brushing off his daughter and breaking her heart because he can't look her in the eye and deep down, it's hard to feel charitable seeing that and knowing what's going to happen, even knowing why. So he starts working on his argument to convince his parents to adopt Nanako when the time comes.

Through a little extra interference, it's Dojima who gets dragged into the tv alongside Namatame after he fails to kidnap Nanako, although she gets hurt in the struggle to take her and still ends up in the hospital. Rather than Namatame trying to flee after they wreck, it's Adachi who shoves them both in and convinces the team Namatame took Dojima as a hostage. Their shared dungeon is Purgatory rather than Heaven, and Yu's not sure if it's better or worse. Things mostly go as they do in game, although there's also a confrontation with Dojima's shadow before the big fight. It's rough, but they bring everyone home.

Of course, they get the choice right the second time around with Namatame, and when Nanako recovers from the fog everyone's relieved as hell, especially Yu. Y'know, until the guilt of "oh god I was willing to sacrifice my uncle and orphan my cousin to try and save her, what the hell is wrong with me?" hits him like a ton or twelve of bricks. Now that Dojima has seen everything in the other world, has seen firsthand that Yu was telling the truth, Yu confesses everything everything, including the fact that he's done this before and the choice he was going to make. It's, naturally, a lot to process.

The confrontation with Adachi is even angrier, in part because he's done more this time around, in part because of Yu's own guilt. But again, things go as they do in-game.

Playing with the idea of either the Orb of Clarity or Myriad Truths at the very end of the true ending giving everyone else the memories made in the previous "playthrough" or just. Letting that be one of those Protag Things They Never Tell The Team, either way it's gonna be bittersweet as hell because I'm a monster.

I have put so much thought into this work that's gonna be too damn big for me to ever finish if I ever tried to do it. But I need it. But that means I have to write it. Naturally, Andi, if you wanna take this into dms and yell at/with me over this idea, then by all means please do. It's a big enough longfic idea that that's probably the only way it's gonna see anything resembling the light of day.

Send me a 📓 (or other book emoji) and I'll talk about a fic idea I daydream about but haven't gotten around to writing!

#answers to questions y'all actually asked #rattled-bones #persona 4 #that's one of the fics that I know would collapse under the weight of its own ambition like a souffle made of creative hubris #especially since I'm not on medication #so it lives as a concept in my brain and makes me sad for catharsis sometimes #i love yosuke but unfortunately sometimes (frequently) when I love a character. I kill them off just to see what happens.

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geniusgub · 4 years

Text

north//chapter five

new chapter time!! let me know if you want to be added onto the taglist. enjoy and don’t forget to leave your feedback!

also this chapter is dedicated to @babybobbybones because Ruby is always so supportive of my writing and they are always willing to give me honest opinions on my writing and my moodboards so thank u sm!!!!! love u fishy!! dis is for u!

genre: fluff

pairing: season nine spencer x female oc

warnings: none

word count: 5.6k

AMELIA

I fall onto the floor of my studio, leaning my head against the wall and staring up at the easel, a half-painted canvas propped up on it. I scrunch up my nose, tilting my head back and forth to try and find the beauty in the ugly flowers I’ve just painted. I sit up on my knees and reach my brush forward, adding just a few more strokes to the canvas, but my brush happens to be too saturated with water and the paint just drips down to the bottom of the canvas, ruining the entire painting. Whatever, I didn’t like it anyway.

I throw my brush into the water and sit back down against the wall, letting my eyes wander out the window to my left. My eyes dart between the window and the canvas and I wonder whether I should start over on a new canvas or throw in the towel for the day. Before I can either stand to get my keys and leave or stand to retrieve a new canvas, my phone starts ringing beside me. The name Mike flashes across my screen, so I lunge to answer.

"Hi, there!” I quip, and before Mike can even speak, I hear squeaks and screams of children in the background. The sound makes me grin.

"Hey, Lia. How's it going over in Virginia?" He nearly has to shout over the kids around him.

"It's-" my eyes wander back out the window and to the Starbucks across the street. A couple walks out the door just at that moment, clutching cups of steaming liquid and giggling with each other. My smile only grows and my mind wanders off to Spencer and what he might be doing right now while I’m trying to work, "it's pretty amazing, actually. I'm, um, yeah, it's great, Mike,"

"That's,” he pauses, “great, but there’s something else in your voice. What's happening in Virginia? Anything I need to know about?" Mike's voice is teasing, as he always is.

"Maybe," I respond in the same mischievous tone he gives me, my cheeks turning pink. I don’t give Mike another chance to question what is going so well in Virginia, and I just keep talking about the guy that has been on my mind every second since I first laid my eyes on him. "I've, um, I met a guy and I really like him and-"

"Whoa, whoa, you've got a boyfriend? Have we entered a parallel universe? Is this even you on the phone? Whoever is talking to me on the phone- who are you and what have you done with Amelia Stark?”

"I know, I know," I giggle, and I start to kick my feet like an excited child. "I met him at this cafe, and I swear, Mike, you'd love him. He's insanely smart and he's so sweet and he's such a gentleman. And get this, if you're not convinced then this will convince you- he’s an FBI agent."

"Amelia Stark. You're dating an FBI agent?"

"More specifically, he works for the BAU," Again, I let out a dramatic sigh and fall onto my back on the floor, letting myself be pulled into another lovesick daydream. I let my mind wander off to Spencer’s smile and his laugh and his warm touch and how utterly beautiful he makes me feel whenever we are together. "I just- I know I don't really date but-"

"Telling me you don't date is the understatement of the century. You’re not a commitment girl, and you’re a one night stand girl. You've never answered my calls and told me that things in Virginia are amazing and great and you've definitely never told me that you have a boyfriend, much less a boyfriend that works for the BAU,"

"There's just something about him! He's so different from any guy I've ever met before. I never wanted him to just be a one night stand or some guy that I hang out with for a few weeks and then forget about. Spencer is just amazing- he's so gentle with me, and he indulges in the things I like instead of always forcing the things he likes on me, and he always makes an effort to see me even though he's insanely busy,"

"Wow," Mike scoffs out a laugh. "I don't even know what to say. I'm glad you found someone who you like this much. I'm not even gonna bring up the capital L word because I know you're scared of it, but I have a nasty feeling that you might be bringing up the scary L word soon. And I'm even more glad that you've found an FBI agent with a gun who can protect you,"

"Oh my gosh," I shake my head at him, rolling my eyes into the back of my head. "I've never seen his gun, actually,"

"Good. You tell him to keep his gun away from you for quite a while, especially since you’re telling me he won’t be one of your one night stands. Both of his guns, if you know what I mean,"

My jaw nearly hits the floor at Mike’s remark, and before I can even respond, he bursts into a fit of laughter. "I- oh my god, you did not just say that,”

He chokes on his laughs as he keeps talking. "I'm only messing with you, but not really. Form emotional connections before you jump into bed. That’s what I did with Wendy and look at how long we’ve been together,”

I wrack my brain for any kind of number, but I come up empty. “How long have you guys been together?”

“Too long,” he deadpans.

“Hey! I hope Wendy isn’t home right now because she would have your head on a stake if she heard you say that,”

“She’s at work right now but she left me alone with all the little monsters. Listen, just make sure you use-"

"A condom! I got it, Mikey. I’m a responsible adult, contrary to popular belief. Can we stop talking about this? Let me talk to the kids! I’ll tell them to stop screaming,” I sit up again and my grimace from the slightly NSFW conversation turns into a wide smile, the giddiness bubbling in my stomach.

"Hey, kiddos! Gather around! Your favorite grown-up person is on the phone!" Mike shouts over the hoard of children in his house, and their shouts get closer and closer to his phone until their voices are blaring through the speaker of my phone.

"Amelia! Amelia! Amelia!"

"Hi, my loves!" I exclaim, "how's everything with Mike and Wendy?"

"Come home, Lia! We miss you!" Reese cries out, stumbling over her words in a way that makes my heart swell.

"You didn't come home for Christmas and we missed you so much!" Tyler squeaky voice adds.

"I know, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to come home for Christmas, and I missed you guys so much too. But I’m sure Mike and Wendy made Christmas really special for everyone, didn’t they? I'm gonna try to come home soon but I can't promise anything. I have lots of pictures of you all and I think about you every day. I'll draw and I'll paint lots of new things and I'll send them home to you. Does that sound good?" They all shout confirmations back at me, and I manage to pick out a few requests for things like dogs and cats and flowers, and that request makes me remember the failed painting right in front of me. "Great. I'm sitting in my studio right now so I'll get working on those. If y’all have any more requests then tell Mike and he’ll tell me. I love you all, okay? I miss you guys so much,"

The kids all shout goodbyes at me before there's rustling on the other line. "Alright, it's just me now," Mike says.

"I actually plan on sending you guys art, partly because I want to and partly as an apology for not coming home for the holidays. Let me know if you need anything new for the walls, whether it’s at home or at the police station. Need a new piece for your office, Sheriff?" I tease, pushing myself off the floor for the first time in almost two hours, grabbing a stack of new canvases.

"We could always use more of your artwork, sweetheart, you know that. Call more, okay? I know it's hard, but we clearly all love hearing from you. And I wanna hear more about this profiling boyfriend of yours. Maybe I'll look up his file in the FBI database,"

"You don't have access to that database, you’re not a federal agent. Just google his name. I gotta get started on these paintings. I’ll call soon.”

“Wait! I only know his first name! What’s his-”

“Oops, that sucks. Tough luck. Gotta go,” I finally get the chance to throw his teasing right back in his face, a grin coming to my face as he groans dramatically. “Love you, Mikey!”

"Love you, kid. Stay safe,"

"You too. Don't get shot,"

"I won't."

///

SPENCER

///

My fingers drum against the book on my lap as I listen to dial tones over and over, waiting anxiously for an answer. Maybe today is a bad day and we don’t get to talk today, and that’s okay. There’s always tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. But I was just hoping for a nice conversation today, and every time another dial tone rings in my ear, it’s like another stab to the chest.

“Spencer?”

I perk up at the answer, grinning and setting my book onto the coffee table in front of me."Hi, Mom,"

"Spencer, I've been waiting for you to call me for weeks! You can’t ignore me for that long! You can’t leave your poor, old mother in the wind like that!”

I chuckle at her, happy that today seems to be a good day and she’s even capable of joking around. "Sorry, Mom. I've been really busy with work lately, but I wasn’t ignoring you. How was Christmas? I'm sorry I couldn't make it out,"

"It was good, Spencer. I would've preferred to spend it with you, but I enjoyed it," Mom tells me. "We watched movies and made gingerbread houses and some of the nurses got us gifts,"

"That sounds wonderful,"

"So tell me how you've been, honey. You know I hate talking about me and this dreadful place. I'd much rather hear about you,"

My eyes wander over to the coffee table in front of me, or more specifically the scarf that Amelia had left here when stayed over. It must have slipped off of her head when we were sleeping and fell under the couch, and when she rushed out so I could get going, she didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing it anymore. I hadn't gotten a chance to return it because I got whisked away on a case and I haven't been able to see Amelia yet. I reach for it, feeling the soft silk between my fingers. "Um, it's- huh, it's actually pretty great over here,"

"That's wonderful to hear! What's so great about it?" Mom doesn't get much entertainment in her facility and her main contact comes through me. I'm always open to telling her everything and I try to write her at least one letter every day so she can have something to read if I can’t call her, but I was so hell-bent on keeping Amelia a secret. I thought that maybe if I kept her a secret from everyone, then I'd be taking one more precaution at shielding her from my world, but I know that's useless. It's not worth it to keep Amelia a secret and to lie about the source of my happiness, at least not from my mother.

"Well," I look down at the scarf and picture the way Amelia uses the square of fabric to tie back her unruly curls and the way she always seems to look like an angel, "I've met a girl,"

"I’m sure you meet many girls, Spencer. You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.”

"Her name is Amelia and she's an artist and I swear, Mom, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. We met at the cafe where I get coffee before work and we got coffee together every day that I was home from a case for two months and we spent Christmas together. I just,” I fully expect my mom to cut me off and start rambling about Amelia and how I should pursue a relationship with her if she is making me this happy, but she doesn’t say anything and it forces me to have to finish a sentence I don’t want to say, “she's the first girl I've liked this much since, you know, since Maeve, and I knew I liked her right away and that’s just- it’s really scary,"

"Spencer, it sounds to me like you might even love her," Mom's voice softens. "I'm not going to try and tell you what you’re feeling, but like I always tell you, a mother knows. I'm happy for you, I really am. You deserve to be happy and have someone in your life to look after you and make sure you're healthy and take care of you. Did you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, last week. But we've known each other for almost three months and every time I look at her, I just feel so, I don’t really know. Whenever I get to see her, I never want to leave when I have to and-" I lay down on the couch and throw my head onto a pillow, the scarf resting right in front of my face. "Maybe I do love her. That's so scary though. I haven't known her for long at all. Can you fall in love with someone after three months?"

"When you first meet someone, you get a first impression, right? Sometimes you can be put off, or you can be instantly intimated by someone, or be intrigued, and so on. Love is a feeling, right? It’s a feeling in the same way that fear and intrigue are. Who’s to say you can’t feel love when you first meet someone? Who's to say you can't fall in love with someone in that same amount of time that someone can scare you? Love is complex and, yes, it’s scary and you've been scorned by it in the past, but don't let that get in the way of this good thing you've got with this Amelia girl,"

"I've never thought of love like that before."

Mom laughs gently. "Like I said. A mother knows," she pauses. "Oh, Spencer, I've gotta go. The nurses need me."

"That's fine," I breathe out a sigh, pushing myself up to a sitting position and pulling the scarf into my lap again. "Thanks for the talk. It was really helpful. I love you, Mom,"

"I love you too, Spencer," Mom says before hanging up, leaving me alone yet again in my apartment.

I push myself to my feet, leaving the scarf on the coffee table, making my way into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for myself. I lean over the counter and check my watch, counting down the seconds until Amelia is set to show up at my door. And as if the universe is answering my silent prayer, there's a soft knock on the door just a millisecond later. I leave my coffee on the counter and rush to let her in, throwing the door open.

Amelia is standing there, looking as beautiful as ever, wearing a white dress and her black peacoat, camera hanging around her neck and one strap from her backpack draped over her shoulder. She’s beaming at me, almost emitting rays of sunshine from her body, shuffling her way through the door and throwing her arms around my neck in a tight hug. It nearly takes me by surprise, but if I’ve learned anything about Amelia by now, it’s that she’s affectionate and she loves to hug, and I can’t seem to find a single fault in that. I whisper a greeting in her ear, reaching around Amelia’s waist to shut the door, keeping out the cold air that blows inside from the hallway.

"Hi, dove," she chirps, sinking down on her heels when we pull away from the hug.

I cock my head to the side like a puppy, trying to hide my confusion but I’m positive it’s evident on my face. "Dove?"

"It’s just a pet name. Do you not like it? I could call you something else, or I could just stick to your name if that’s-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Amelia unravels her arms from around my neck and shrugs off her backpack, hanging it right beside my jacket, then crouches down to take off her shoes. “I like it, actually.”

“Noted,” Amelia jumps back up to her feet, now noticeably shorter without her heels, and gives me a cheesy smile. She opens her mouth to say something else but her mouth snaps shut when her eyes travel downwards just a bit. “Spencer, you’re still in your work clothes.”

“Oh,” I follow her line of sight and look down at my trousers, button-up, cardigan, and tie, my gun holster on my hip (but my gun is locked away in a hidden place) and my credentials in my pocket, “yeah, sorry about that. After I got home, I was on the phone with my mom for a bit and I just didn’t get a chance to change yet.”

Amelia’s lips settle into a pout as she follows into the kitchen. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your phone call.”

“You didn’t, don’t worry. Do you want a cup of tea? Anything to drink or eat or-”

“I do but why don’t you go change? I can handle a cup of tea by myself. Put on something other than a dress shirt and a tie. Be comfortable,” she breezes right past me and reaches into the cupboard for a mug, already grabbing the kettle and filling it with water. I just watch her for a moment, slowly unclipping my watch from my wrist and watching the way her white dress slides across her legs with every tiny movement. But she doesn’t turn around again to check on my location and just looks between the box of Earl Grey tea and camomile tea, mulling over which to indulge in tonight. So I leave Amelia to her seemingly challenging decision and hurry off to my bedroom, ridding myself of the work clothes I’ve been wearing for almost thirty hours. I change into plaid pajama pants and a sweatshirt, only glancing in the mirror for a split second to check if my hair is an absolute mess before returning to Amelia.

She’s leaning against the counter with her mug in one hand and her camera in the other, and when I re-enter the room, she looks up at me and grins at the sight of my more relaxed state. “You look cozy. Guess I should have worn my pajamas today.”

I go and lean against the counter beside her, picking up my cup of coffee and looking over her shoulder at the pictures she is flipping through on her camera. At first, most of the pictures are of a redhead I’ve never seen before, posed in a park and modeling for the camera. Then the pictures turn to the sights I see every day and I conclude they must be pictures that Amelia took this morning or on her way here. “These are really good.”

“Oh, thanks,” Amelia’s cheeks turn pink at the compliment as she tosses the camera aside, clutching her cup of tea instead.

“I’d love to see more of your art sometime. I haven’t seen that much but the things that I have seen, I really loved.”

“Maybe one day, when you’re available, you can come to my studio. It’s just a couple of blocks away. I’d love for you to come and see some of what I do when you’re gone,” her head falls onto my shoulder and she scoots closer to me, her arm slowly moving around my waist, pulling me even closer to her. “It’s what I did all day. But speaking of all day, how was your day? How was the case?”

We move into the living room and get under a blanket as I give Amelia vague details about the case we solved this past week. She sits just as close to me as she was in the kitchen and tucks her feet under my legs to warm herself up, and once I’ve decided I’ve told her enough about the serial killer that we captured last night, she starts telling me about her last few days and how she went out to see a bad movie with her group of friends. She keeps moving closer and closer as the sun gets lower and lower and soon enough, Amelia is laying over my lap and my hands are in her hair, brushing the strands out of her face. I can confidently say that it’s the most relaxed and the most comfortable I’ve been this past week, and maybe even in the last few months. Every time Amelia is around and we get to just sit and talk, it’s a breath of fresh air. I don’t get to do this enough. I look up at the clock after being on the couch for a long time, seeing that it’s almost midnight. Thank god I don’t have to work tomorrow.

“Hey,” Amelia hums and looks up at me, her head in my lap and the blanket wrapped mostly around her, “it’s late. Do you want anything to eat?”

She hums once more, sitting up and keeping the blanket pulled up to her chest, her eyelids fluttering like a child fighting off sleep. “Yeah. I could really go for some ice cream. Do you have any?”

“I do, actually. But just chocolate, I think,” I stand from the couch and hold my hands out to Amelia, lugging her off the couch when she puts her hands in mine. She follows me one more time into the kitchen and pulls out bowls and spoons while I grab the gallon of ice cream from the freezer.

“So,” Amelia draws the word out, bumping her hip with mine when she reaches over me for a bowl, “will you tell me about your BAU team? I know their names, but they’re your best friends and basically your second family so I wanna know about them.”

“Oh, really? What do you wanna know?” She grins as I slide the chocolate syrup over to her and she quickly steals it to drizzle it all over her bowl of ice cream.

“Mm,” she hums, far too concentrated on her ice cream at first to give me a proper answer. But when she finishes with the syrup and hands it back to me, she hastily grabs spoons from the drawer and returns her full attention to the conversation, “just about your history with them. I’m not sure, whatever you wanna tell. Whatever’s important.”

We retake our seats on the couch, both of us now evenly draped in the blanket with our ice cream bowls in our hands. Amelia slings her legs over my lap and scoots as close to me as she can get, pressing her cheek to my shoulder. Despite wearing pajama pants, I can feel Amelia’s thighs, exposed by her dress, pressed against mine and it takes my breath away for a moment. I have to shift my position in the slightest so Amelia isn’t too on top of me, and once I’ve moved and I’m more comfortable, I start to let my mind race over what I could tell her.

“Well, Morgan is one of my best friends and he was one of the first people I met when I started working at the BAU. He’s loud sometimes and a little overwhelming but he’s always there for me. For example, during a case, I got anthrax poisoning and-”

Amelia nearly drops her bowl at this revelation and she reaches for my arm, squeezing tighter than ever before. “I’m sorry, what? Did I hear you correctly? Anthrax poisoning? And you’re still alive?” She practically throws her bowl onto the coffee table, quicking whipping around and grabbing my cheeks, pulling my face closer to hers until our noses are touching. “Am I speaking to a robot right now?”

My eyes practically roll into the back of my head. “A robot? Amelia, I can’t even use my DVD player. What makes you think I’m a robot, which is essentially a being made completely of technology?”

Amelia narrows her eyes at me, dragging her thumbs down to my jawline. She looks away for just a moment to eye the DVD player and then returns to me, just as close as she was two seconds ago. “Why do you have that thing if you don’t know how to use it?”

“It was a gift from JJ,” my lips brush against Amelia’s as I speak and even though we’ve kissed a million times by now, the feeling of our lips touching still makes the butterflies in my stomach act up. But her lips taste like chocolate and I can’t help it when I pull her closer and into a kiss. Now, it’s almost like it’s second nature to want to be constantly touching Amelia and kissing Amelia and just being around Amelia all the time.

Amelia abruptly pulls away from our kiss and lets out a loud yawn, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. “Sorry, sorry. It’s impossible to hold back a yawn while kissing.”

“It’s okay, it’s fine,” I wave my hand at her casually, and when she rubs her hands over her eyes and then pushes her hair back, my heart seems to pound just a little bit faster. She’s a little bit bleary as she inhales sharply, falling forward and pressing her temple against my shoulder. “Hey, it’s really late. I can tell you about my coworkers another day. Do you wanna get to sleep?”

“No,” she shakes her head but her body language strongly contrasts her words as she lets herself melt further into my embrace, “I don’t wanna leave you. I missed you a lot today.”

Okay, Spencer. Being bold with Amelia has yet to fail me so why should it now? Just ask her if she wants to spend the night for the first time. It’s with innocent intentions, anyway. No funny business. Just a couple sleeping in the same bed- what’s wrong with that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. So just ask. Ask! It’s one night and I’ve recently cleaned my bedroom and washed the sheets so everything should be fine for a girl to sleep over. Sleep over? You’re not a ten year old, Spencer. Don’t ask her if she wants to sleep over like you’re a group of girls planning on eating candy and watching movies until three in the morning on the living room floor. Is that what girls do at sleepovers? I don’t even know. Nope, don’t get sidetracked. Just ask.

“Lia?” She hums in response, not even lifting her head from its spot on my shoulder. I’m used to her being boisterous and loud and positive when I’m anxious so I guess I’ll have to muster up enough courage to ask without her encouragement. “It’s really late already and, well, I don’t know what you’re doing tomorrow but would you wanna stay the night? It’s just- it’s past midnight and, you know, 40% of all fatal car accidents happen at night. 60% of adults have driven while drowsy and 37% of adults have fallen asleep at the wheel. I-“ I let out a breath, my chest deflating at her overall silence. “You don’t have to stay over and I could drive you home so you don’t have to drive but, you know, I would just like to know you’re safe.”

I pause once more and wait for some confirmation or rejection from Amelia, but all I’m met with is quiet breaths across my chest. I duck my head down and find Amelia fast asleep on my shoulder and one of the straps of her dress falling down her arm from the odd angle she’s laying at. Of course, what else would happen? I go on a nervous rant and Amelia sleeps through it.

“Hey, hey, Amelia?” I card my fingers through her hair and luckily, it’s enough to rouse her from her quick nap, and she lifts her head from my shoulder, eyes half-lidded. “Did you hear what I said?”

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t. I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was talking about. Do you want to stay the night? I gave you a bunch of statistics on car accidents at night but I’m sure you’ll fall asleep again if I repeat them.”

Amelia lets out a small laugh, pushing herself to a sitting position and rubbing her eyes yet again. “Could you lend me some clothes? Sleeping in a dress is not really my vibe.”

“Sure, I can give you some clothes. But let’s go to bed before you fall asleep again,” I grab onto Amelia’s hands and pull her off the couch, leading my half-asleep girlfriend to my bedroom. She waits patiently as I open my closet and reach for a pair of sweats, handing her sweatpants and a hoodie from Caltech. “Here. I’m gonna go clean up the ice cream while you change.”

“Thank you,” Amelia lays a kiss on my cheek before I can leave, and the tingling on my skin persists even when I get into the living room and clean up our ice cream bowls, putting them into the dishwasher.

I suppose that after tonight, there will be plenty of nights spent together. I won’t lie and say that sleeping in the same bed as Amelia isn’t a bit scary. I don’t know what kind of sleeper I am. Will I steal all the blankets and leave her freezing all night? Will I kick her relentlessly and leave dark bruises all over her pale skin? Will she just plainly hate sleeping with me and thus would begin the end of our relationship?

“Spencer,” Amelia’s voice rips me out of my anxious spiral, and when I turn to look at her, my breath is knocked completely out of my chest. Amelia wearing my clothes is quite a gorgeous sight, even if they’re hanging off her body and pooling around her feet. Her hair is up and her face is washed of any makeup and she just looks wildly beautiful. She pops her head into the kitchen and gives me a tired smile, maybe the millionth of the night. “Do you need help with anything?”

I shove my bowl into the dishwasher and then slam it closed, shaking my head at her. “No, I’m good. Let’s just go to bed.” I shut off the kitchen light and swing my arm around Amelia’s waist, bringing her back towards my bedroom and shutting the door behind us.

I watch with wide eyes and a stupid smile as Amelia crawls onto the bed, but right when she gets onto her knees, she pauses and looks over her shoulder at me. “Is there a side of the bed that you prefer?”

My eyes dart between Amelia and the pillows on the bed. Is there a side I prefer? I wouldn’t know. “I don’t think so. I mean, honestly, I’ve never slept in the same bed as anyone before,”

“Me either,” Amelia pouts, her eyes locked on mine as she debates which side to choose. “Well, we’re technically already on different sides of the bed.” She gestures to her place on the right side and me on the left side. I just shrug in response to her suggestion. It’s not a big deal to me whatsoever, just as long as Amelia is comfortable and she doesn’t wind up hating me after tonight.

Amelia, completely exhausted, flops onto her stomach on top of the duvet, wiggling up just a little bit further until she can rest her head on the pillow. I shut off the lights and then crawl into the bed, on my predetermined side, tugging the duvet from under Amelia so she can join me under it. And as soon as she’s under the duvet, Amelia rolls over and curls up beside me, laying her head on my chest and slinging her arm over my stomach. “Thank you for letting me stay over,” she whispers, craning her head to kiss my cheek. “Goodnight.”

The feeling of laying in a bed with another person, especially a person who I feel so strongly about, is such a warm feeling. I’m sure I’ll literally be warm soon, what with Amelia on top of me and a duvet covering my legs. But my chest feels tight and I can’t wipe off the smile on my face, no matter how hard I try. I just beam, knowing that Amelia will be beside me all night.

So I sink further into the duvet and tug Amelia as close as I possibly can, receiving a small snicker from her. But she doesn’t seem to mind the closeness since she curls into me even more and then presses another kiss to the center of my chest. Maybe she can feel my pounding heart under her lips. Her affection comforts me enough to allow me to close my eyes and force out a goodnight, drifting off to sleep with Amelia in my arms.

TAGLIST

@babybobbybones @thematthewgraygube @anepiphany @goldenalvez @reidscardigan @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @stxrryspencer @rxseinbloom @penelopecult @nastyhar @whollytaciturn @thegingerfairchild @matthewreid @shrimpyblog @garcias-batcave @anamelessfacelessnerd @gublergirls @wonderlandhatter @matthewgublerswife

(I’m pretty sure I messed up this taglist so if you weren’t tagged and you should be OR you’re tagged and you don’t want to be, then lmk and I’ll make the appropriate change)

#nikos north fic #spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fic

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ellewritesathing · 4 years

Text

So Close - S.S. XXXV

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist Prev. | Part 35

Word-count: 2.9k+

A/N: so it’s a little short but we’re building to some important stuff!! hope you like it

Stiles Stilinski inherited many things from his father, one of which being his love of a good surface to map out his thoughts and clues. Stiles used the clear dry-erase board in his room; Noah used the cork board in his office at the police station. It currently sported a few pages from police reports and photos of Tracy and Lucas.

“Chimeras,” Noah said.

“Two dead chimeras,” Stiles said. “Plus eight new ones. So, ten in all.”

“I’m thinking maybe eleven,” Noah said, pinning a new photo to his current array. A photo of Donovan.

Stiles' heart rate spiked and you gripped his hand a little tighter.

“Our station tech guys confirmed something for me,” Noah went on as he turned around to face you. “They said both the holding cell lock and cameras could have malfunctioned because of something electromagnetic.” He picked up the book Malia and Kira found in Tracy’s room. “You said that, uh, that’s how these guys got into Eichen?”

“So you think that makes Donovan one of their chimeras?” you asked. You walked towards Noah and the board to take any attention off Stiles. “But no one’s seen him since that night-” You picked up his red marker that he used to cross out Tracy’s photo “-so they probably killed him just like they killed Tracy.”

Noah caught your hand before you could cross out Donovan’s photo. “We don’t cross him out until I’ve seen a body,” he said.

“Your board,” you said with a smile. You wanted to fix this but you weren’t sure how, so you settled for trying to get Stiles out of the precinct before he combusted. “Listen, we should probably get going if we’re going to make it to school before the first bell.”

“Of course,” Noah said with a smile. He turned and looked over at Stiles a few feet away; he was looking out the window, biting his nails, and with tense shoulders. “Hey, Stiles, you’re uncharacteristically quiet. What do you think about all this?”

“Well, these are all teenagers, right?” Stiles said. He turned away from the window and let go of his hands. “So shouldn’t we be trying to figure out why these teenagers? If the Dread Doctors- if they went through all that … burying them, killing them, breaking one of them out of jail … They couldn’t have been chosen at random.”

“So they had to have something in common that made them right for this experiment,” Noah said.

“Something that made them special,” Stiles said. He caught your eye and took a breath.

“Well, uh, I’ve kept you kids long enough,” Noah said. “You should get going if you’re gonna make it to school on time.”

“School,” you repeated, running a hand through your hair. “What a concept.”

The school day dragged on once you and Stiles split up to go to your classes. The most exciting part of the day was when you tried to print a paper at the library and it was out of ink, and when you looked up you saw Kira slipping out with about a million copies in her arms.

Those copies came in handy when all your friends gathered in your living room to read Valeck’s book about the Dread Doctors.

“My mom’s book club usually has more wine,” Lydia said.

“Well, they also probably didn’t read books that cause violent hallucinations,” Stiles said.

“I’m guessing that’s what the wine’s for,” you said, leaning down to pick up one of the copies.

“Maybe I should have my mother read it,” Lydia said. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone.”

“Yeah, if it works,” Stiles said.

Lydia’s voice was much smaller when she spoke again. “It has to.”

“What do you mean, Lyd?” you asked, touching her arm lightly.

She straightened back up and spoke clearly again. “I mean I think I saw them during my surgery. And when I look at the cover of the book … it’s almost like …”

“A memory trying to surface,” Theo said.

You still didn’t like having him around but Scott was insistent you trust him, at least for now, so he was here for book club. Even if no one wanted him here.

“Isn’t that what Valeck wanted when he wrote the book?” Kira asked.

“If they did anything to me,” Lydia said. “I want to know what it is.”

Lydia stormed off, book in hand, to find a place to read while everyone else grabbed a copy off the coffee table. You touched Stiles’ lower back lightly to get his attention as he squinted at the title page and nodded at one of the nearby armchairs.

The two of you settled in, your head resting on Stiles’ upper bicep and your legs tangled up over the coffee table. Every now and then, Stiles would reach up and run a hand through your hair in an attempt to keep himself focused. Your efforts, on the other hand, weren’t so valiant and you fell asleep somewhere around chapter ten.

When you woke up again, Stiles coaxed you into helping him make coffee for everyone. You sat on the kitchen island as he worked, making each cup the way each friend preferred - it was sweet. The lack of words made things feel familiar and secret.

And Theo strolled in.

“Need any help with that?” he asked.

“No, we’re, uh- we’re all good, man,” Stiles said, nodding at him over his shoulder.

Theo nodded and reached his hand out. He said something about understanding and then patted the top of Stiles’ shoulder twice, a bit roughly, before you had the chance to intervene. “Woah, you okay, dude?” he asked when Stiles tensed and muffled a groan.

“Yeah, I just pulled a muscle,” Stiles lied easily. His heart didn’t falter for a second. “You know how it is with the back-to-school rush.”

“Right,” Theo said, drawing out the word. It was clear he didn’t believe him but he dropped it, opting to talk to you instead. He turned to you with an attempt at a friendly smile. “So what do you think of the book?”

“I think if it helps me find the people hurting my friends, then it’s worth it,” you said, sliding off the island and not breaking eye contact. “Because if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t let anyone hurt my friends.”

Theo’s smile changed in a way that unsettled you. He dropped his eyes for a second before looking back up at you with a low laugh. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m trying so hard to be one of your friends.”

“Right,” you said.

“Coffee’s up,” Stiles said, breaking through the tension. “Hey, Theo, if you wanna help, you can go get everyone.”

“Yeah, sure,” Theo said, looking over to give Stiles a smile before heading out of the kitchen.

Stiles turned to you and mouthed the words ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’ and you gave him a noncommittal shrug that said you’d do better next time. He rolled his eyes and handed you a mug. “Just drink your coffee and don’t punch anyone,” he said. “Alright? Please.”

“No promises,” you hummed over the rim of your mug. You took a sip of the coffee and relaxed slightly. “Okay, let’s finish that book.”

---

School felt more like a dream the next day than anything else, especially with Stiles and Lydia going to the hospital to investigate her repressed memory. You were just going through the motions until someone rushed into your English class asking if anyone had an inhaler. The shock of it grounded you in the real world and you dug through your bag to get Scott’s old inhaler before running for it.

“Scott?” You pushed through the crowd of students that formed around the door to the biology class. “Scott!” He was leaned up against the desk and wheezing but Scott turned his head to look at you. You dropped to your knees and pressed the inhaler into his hands and up to his lips. “Scotty, you gotta breathe, okay? On three I need you to take a big breath, you understand?”

Scott nodded and you counted down. When he breathed in, you pressed down on the inhaler and hoped for the best.

“There we go,” you said gently, pushing back some of the hair on his forehead. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Well, you know what I mean.”

“Where did you get an inhaler?” Scott asked, deep frown lines still on his forehead. “Wait, is this ... my inhaler?”

“Someone had to keep it around when you started leaving it at home,” you said, sliding your hand up to his face while the other held onto his neck. It was an asthma attack, not the flu so you weren’t sure why you were checking for a fever but it made you feel better.

“But I haven’t had an asthma attack in like two years,” Scott said.

“Yeah, and today you did.”

“Are you two okay here?” Ms. Finch asked. You looked over at her and forced a smile, hoping that it conveyed your desire to be left alone. “Okay, the rest of you, clear out!”

Even though Scott insisted he was fine, you didn’t want to leave him alone, and when the lights went out later in the day you rushed over to find him. You found him with Theo, both of them coming out of the stairwell that led to the basement.

Scott explained how Theo came to check on him when the lights went out and they went down to the generator to investigate - the wires were ripped out by another chimera - and now they were trying to get a hold of Malia and Kira.

“Hey, you okay?” you asked when you saw Malia coming down the stairs.

“Yeah, we both are. Kira’s still at the library,” she said, nodding over at Theo and Scott. “Where’s the others?”

“Stiles and Lydia are still at the hospital trying to figure out what happened during her surgery,” you said, running your hand through your hair. You’d feel a lot better if they were with you.

“How long are they gonna be there?” Malia asked.

“They said they’re just waiting for the power to come back on,” Scott said.

“Which is why we’re heading there now,” you finished as Theo pushed open the doors to the parking lot. You mumbled a thank you and pushed ahead to the car,

Turns out that wouldn’t be the last interaction you and Theo had; Scott’s plan was for him to find your mom, Malia to find Lydia, and you and Theo to find Stiles. He ignored your protests about splitting up but Theo grabbed your arm and started pulling you towards the elevator.

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked, yanking your hand back to your body.

“Can’t you smell that?” Theo asked. He took a breath when you stared at him. “Chemo-signals. Stiles’ chemo-signals, specifically. He was here and he was anxious.”

“He’s always anxious,” you said quietly as Theo punched the button on the elevator. It bothered you that you hadn’t noticed it before.

You got off at the same floor that Stiles did and followed the smell of his anxiety all the way to the roof. The last time you were up here was when the alpha pack was still terrorizing your friends - you never thought you’d miss that experience. But in that instant you couldn’t miss anything, you were too overwhelmed by the sight of one of the kids in your homeroom class trying to rip off Stiles’ face.

“Josh?”

Either Theo didn’t go through the same shock that you did or he just recovered faster. He rushed forward, pulled Josh off of Stiles, and then threw him across the roof. They started fighting amidst all the sparks from the ripped up generator but you didn’t pay any attention as you rushed to check on Stiles.

“Hey, hey, you okay?” You held his face in yours but he was still staring at Theo and Josh. How many times were you going to find him delirious and covered in blood? “Stiles, can you hear me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I-” Stiles blinked over your shoulder and looked back over at you. He lifted his hand to your face for a second before pointing over your shoulder. “I think you should go help him.”

Sparks flew and you lunged over to cover Stiles. They burned your back but you’d heal. By the time it was over and you were back on your feet, Theo was holding onto Josh by the neck. He tore out his throat before you got a chance to stop him. Josh fell to the ground and choked on his blood.

“Stiles …” Theo took a step forward and you pulled Stiles behind you. Theo looked hurt by the action. “You guys can’t say anything. Please- please, don’t say anything.”

“Why the hell not?” you asked, doing your best to maintain eye contact and not look at the body of your dying classmate.

“Because I never said anything about Donovan,” Theo said.

You let go of Stiles’ hand and marched closer, wrapping your other hand around Theo’s neck and pushing him back against the generator. Another mini-explosion of sparks went off as his body collided with the fence, but your hold on his neck didn’t falter. Stiles was right behind you, ducking slightly when the sparks flew but right behind you a second later.

“What did you just say?” you asked.

Stiles called out your name and started to say something but he got cut off. He put a hand on your lower back, but he was still focused on Theo.

“I know what happened to Donovan,” Theo said. “I know everything.”

“You don’t know anything,” Stiles told him.

Theo started struggling under your hand but you gripped tighter, claws coming out to keep him in place. After a shallow laugh he looked over at Stiles. “I was there- at the library.” Stiles nodded at you and you loosened your grip ever so slightly. “Malia found the book. She was texting us to see where you guys were because she said she left the two of you at the library and she hadn’t heard from you since then. I told her I was close by. When I got there, I heard the scaffolding come down.”

Your blood ran cold. That was why she tried to call the other night. If you answered your phone, would you still be in this position now? Would Stiles?

“You saw him?” Stiles asked.

“Just the body,” Theo said. Stiles rubbed your lower back, a signal to let go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Theo looked down at your hands for a second before continuing, “I watched you come out. I was gonna say something but then I saw the cop car.” He paused and looked down at where Stiles was holding onto you. “And then the body was gone.” Theo’s eyes drifted back to meet Stiles’. “I don’t know who took him. I only saw what you saw, and I didn’t say anything because you didn’t.”

You looked over to see what Stiles was thinking but then you heard the sirens. The very familiar sirens of cruisers that belonged to the Beacon Hills Sheriff Department.

“That’s not an ambulance, is it?” Theo asked.

Stiles shook his head and started walking away. He needed the movement to think clearly.

“We need to get out of here,” Theo said, moving against your grip. You pushed him back again and he held out his hands in surrender.

“I’m not leaving Josh,” you said.

“Fine, then let’s take him,” Theo said. Stiles spun around to face him. “Someone’s stealing the bodies anyway, right? Here’s our chance to find out who.”

“Stiles, I-” you shifted uncomfortably. “He’s got a point.”

“He killed him,” Stiles said, looking between you and Josh’s body.

“In self-defense,” Theo said. He looked close to crying. But his heartbeat was steady under your hand. “He was going to kill you and he was going to kill me.”

“You didn’t even wait for me-”

“If we stay-” Theo talked over you “-We’re either going to have to tell the truth or we’re going to need a pretty convincing story. It’s your choice.” He looked down at the floor for a second. “I’m not going to ask you to lie to your dad.”

You tried to get Stiles’ attention without saying anything. It was time to come clean. He looked at you for a second but you could see he’d already made up his plan.

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said. “I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“Stiles-”

He walked over to Josh and was already pulling him up by his jacket. It was jarring to see your boyfriend picking up the dead body of the goofy kid in the back of the class. The blood that ran down his cheeks made you feel sick.

“If you wanna leave-” Stiles was quieter when he spoke to you but he was still very clearly on edge “-I’m not gonna judge you.”

Reluctantly, you let go of Theo so that you could walk over and pick up Josh’s other side. You caught Stiles’ eye before saying, “I’m not going to leave you.” You hooked Josh’s arm around your shoulders and held him up by his waist.

Theo took hold of Josh’s other side from Stiles.

Whether you trusted him or not, you were in this together now.

Part 36

#stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi imagine #stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles slow burn #mccall!reader #so close #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf rewrite

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years

Text

1. The Urban Market

The publisher was pushing him for something different. Simon didn't know how much more different things could be! He'd built up an entire paracosm over a span of years and gotten pretty successful, in his own opinion. He'd always thought pretty highly of himself, even though he wasn't always great at communicating this.

Esmoroth was his life's work. But, his publisher wanted him to "try something new and diverse." The children of Esmoroth were diverse! And this recent trend of everyone trying to appeal to an "urban market" sounded so much like presumptuousness and pandering… more things he didn't want to say, since he couldn't think of a way to say it without sounding like… he shivered… a conservative.

He just… didn't know enough to write any story that appealed to anyone but his target audience, which he had to believe had someone in this so-called urban market as part of the demographics. Esmoroth was for all mankind, especially the children. Though, he would admit the books got darker with time and catered to an older audience in their current form.

Still… he set off to the bookstore coffee shop, where he sometimes wrote all day, sometimes just did some people watching, hoping to get a spark of inspiration.

That was where he'd first noticed her.

Now that he thought about it, as he watched her move through the store, tending to customers with a flawless smile and brilliant conversation; he had seen her dozens of times before. He had met her in passing.

She had even come to one of his less successful book signings here and seemingly bought the book out of pity. He remembered it so well now because she asked how many he had left and he told her a full box.

"I'll take it," she said. "I know a lot of kids."

He refused. She worked at a bookstore. He wasn't going to have her do that. "You can have it," he said. The two of them engaged in a battle of refusals. Eventually he won whenever he said, "I should be paying you to take them!" She laughed really loud and hard, almost too loud and hard - as though she knew this statement to be true, and he secretly hoped she didn't feel that way about his work. She slapped some money on the table and said, "Okay. I'll take the books for free, but I'll pay for the signatures. I know a lot of kids, like I said."

So, she sat next to him and gave him a name for each book in his box. Whenever he was done, he slipped her money into the box too. She didn't notice that day and if she did later, she didn't bother him about it. She didn't bother him again, to be honest. They passed by each other like they'd never spoken before. Maybe that was why he’d forgotten about meeting her before.

She would come to work, do her job and leave the place with the brightest smile that he knew of… but the saddest eyes he had ever seen, including when he looked in the mirror everyday. Deep, dark brown, without even the slightest hint of light specks, not even when the sun shone on them and they remained as rich as sepia. They were beautiful eyes! Perfect, even in that whatever soul they were allegedly the windows to was boarded up and inaccessible, or just plain old vacant. But… that couldn't be right. There was passion in this woman. He didn't know for what, but for something. He could just tell.

Now that he noticed her, after all of this time, he wanted to learn more.

First part was “easy.” He would learn her name. He didn’t want to go ask someone. That might lead to questions, so he figured that he would simply look at her nametag. It didn’t occur to him that might be a problem since every time he saw her, she was moving around the store while he was sitting in the bookstore’s coffee shop.

He walked through the store, with his bag on his shoulder, nonchalantly pretending to browse the books to see if he could get her attention without asking for it. Whenever he reached the fantasy section, she was making a display for Black History Month. There were displays like it all through the store. He couldn't remember them in previous years and wondered if this was her doing in the place. She felt him staring, though he was trying really hard to be chill and she stood up straight and stared at him. He turned his head, pretending to be looking at a book.

"Anything that I can help you with?" She asked. He looked up.

She was prettier than he remembered her being whenever they had been next to each other while he was signing those books for the kids she said she knew. She looked prettier up close than she had moments ago from across the store. Her skin was amazing. Not just the skin tone (which he found rather nice), but she looked well hydrated and moisturized. She had a glow and immaculate features. He was staring. He quickly remedied that, forgetting that she had offered help and he focused back on the books in front of him. She sighed. "Let me know if you do!"

"Thank you," he finally managed and looked at her name tag, "Grace."

She gave him a weird look and a laugh, "No problem…" she looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. Instead, she returned to her display.

"Ummm…" she looked up again, reflexively eager to help. "How are you… uh.. deciding what to put on these displays?"

"Well.. this bookstore has an African/African American section and they just put everything there.” She pointed towards that section, rolling her eyes, then held her hands out in a shrug motion, “It's February. I've taken the liberty of grabbing books that are by the genres and setting these displays up in the genre sections.” She communicated with her hands a lot. Big, fluid movements, like a dance, almost, while her voice was very animated. “I feel like it's easier to navigate and hopefully some of these authors get some sales." Simon had been mentally taking notes of her mannerisms, and almost lost track of her words.

"How do you know which genre each book is?" He asked, generically.

She squinted her eyes and curled her lips, "Because I know books PLUS I can read…" she laughed. "Octavia Butler will always be sci-fi, yeah? And Nnedi Okorafor is fantasy… so….You have no idea who either of them are."

"I've definitely heard of one of those… but I'm not familiar with…" she looked disappointed, but not surprised. He felt ashamed. Not because he didn’t know those authors. He didn’t know a lot of authors. But, because she knew that he didn’t know them. "Truth be told, I do far more writing than reading. I'm ummm… my publisher is asking for something that appeals to an urban audience, so I'm trying to expand my...intake…"

Her eyebrows were furrowed so tightly that her entire forehead was ground together. "Why don't they just give a publishing deal to someone who already writes that content and at least has heard of Black writers?"

"I will be sure to ask in the next email." He was red in the face.

She bit her lip. He was still a customer, and he had a pretty long running relationship with the store. Longer than hers, even. Every company was trying to get into the “urban market," many of them did that anyways - always code word for Black - but recently, all the places wanted to try to pretend that demographic mattered to them. She couldn’t get upset with him for trying to do his job, and even if she could, she still would do hers. “Everybody at this display table is a better writer than you, so I can't make any suggestions that are on par with what you're used to. I can give you some of my favorites and you can see if the synopses interest you?"

"Yes, please. Thank you.” He wondered why he was thanking her whenever he was certain that at least some of what she said was a little bit insulting. “You're very kind and I know I sound insufferable right now."

"I wouldn't say that. You're looking for help. That's one of the reasons I'm here, to help." She smiled kindly and suggested several books. He bought them all. He didn't know if he'd read any of them. But, she had taken him through the store, telling him several of her favorite books. Not only had he learned her name today, but what kind of content she chose to consume. That was a very successful day, in his opinion.

Simon took his purchases back to the coffee shop and started writing. It wasn't anything like his previous things, but it was very inspired. He couldn't stop. Mostly, it was notes and description. Finding the perfect words for this thing that she did with her lips… sputtering? That sounded ugly. What she did was charming and adorable… like sending a thoughtful breeze through the doorway of her lips… that was… too much. "Pppbbbbrrrrr…" he tried to sound it out in his head without doing it and drawing attention to himself.

Her hair was in dreadlocks… but he saw that there was some conversation surrounding referring to them as such, especially if you shortened it to "dreads." "Locs" seemed acceptable, but like… the ones in the photos were not like hers. He didn't even know if they could be considered the same hairstyle or HOW. Most of these were of white people, and looked, just different than what her hair was like. He felt slightly uncomfortable specifying Black people, but… even then… some of the photos still weren't of them. Of the ones that were there, he wondered if there was different language for their dreadlocks vs the others. His audience might not know what he was trying to depict if these were the images that came up when you searched, if he only wrote “dreadlocks.” He highlighted that. He’d maybe come back to it. He probably was overthinking this anyway.

He spent hours on mostly mundane, but extremely meticulous research, to make sure that this new character he was creating would be imagined perfectly by the reader. He wanted them as entranced with her as he’d been when meeting Grace for the first time (well, after he actually noticed her.)

"I need to get my usual, please, and yes, I wanna donate to the babies," he heard that lively voice say. He looked up and she was leaning back against the coffee counter, looking right at him. "You're still here, Mr. Laurent?" She smiled, but her expression seemed a little suspicious.

He laughed nervously, "Yeah…" he shut his laptop. "I was suddenly very inspired after my purchase." She nodded and then her order was ready. He closed his mouth, but couldn’t wipe his own smile away. She knew his name.

After she signed her ticket, she threw him a quick salute with her cup and said, "See ya around. Good luck with the Black stuff for your publisher." She winked at him to let him know she was teasing. He still felt ridiculous though.

He hopped up and rushed to the counter, "Um, I'd like to have one of whatever she just ordered."

The barista made a face and chuckled, "Mr. Laurent, I don't think you would like that.."

"So, no? I can't order it?"

"Of course. Sure. I'll get right on it."

"Thank you!" Simon cheered. Whenever they went to make it, he leaned over to check her ticket on the ticket spike. He couldn't get a clear look, so he snapped a photo with his phone and whenever he got his order, handed over his card with a smile, like nothing had happened. "Thanks again. Can I get a copy of that?" Simon wanted to know her regular coffee order. He didn't know that his pallet could do it alone, and oh boy, whenever he took a sip he nearly choked. What the hell, Grace?

Rose, Lavender, Chamomile infused coffee, heavy non dairy cream, extra sugar, extra shot… WHY? WHY WOULD SOMEONE DRINK THIS??? "It tastes like soap coffee."

"It isn’t much better as a tea. That's what she gets in the mornings if you want to try that."

"No thank you. I've been daring enough for the day. I'll have my regular." It was just black coffee. He added an extra shot to try to wash the flowers out of his mouth, then proceeded to research things about this dreadful coffee infusion. He wound up researching things until it was time for the store to close.

When he got home, then he could really get to work. He enlarged his photo to see the printed name on the ticket from earlier. Grace St. Catherine. Her profiles were all private. Great. He huffed and pushed his bangs from his face. Which of these might have the most to work with? He couldn't send her something on all of them. Probably… the… one with the photos. He sent her a request to follow and only a few moments later, she approved. He knew that he couldn't go through and like all of her photos. She would see and it might alarm her. But she had so many gorgeous ones. He was glad there was a save option… but he wished that he had the right thousand words for each of them.

He didn't know what was happening. He was just people watching, as usual, but, this was far beyond any other time. This was maybe.. not okay.

But… as long as he wasn't being creepy (to her face) or trying to hurt her, what was the harm in longing to know more? What was the harm in needing to see her again as soon as he could?

02. Mandatory Monroe Mingling

#AU Infinity Train #Infinity Train #Nesha Fanfiction #Infinity Train Fanfiction #fics #People Watching

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collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

Dreams - Daryl Dixon

Request: Ready for it, Taylor for Daryl please ? - anon requested.

A/N: Probably not exactly what you had in mind but I love this hook/chorus and wanted to make it the main focal point of the fic. Sorry, I took some poetic liberties.

In the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do, baby, I know I’m gonna be with you - ...Ready For It, Taylor Swift

\\\

Your chin rested in your palms, elbows on knees as you took what was likely the most relaxed watch position in history. The thirty plus days without incident, as documented by the rummaged sign Beth proudly displayed in her cell, was making you lazy. So much so you considered, for a brief moment, wearing shorts to watch. It was hot out and the metal death trap twenty or so feet off the ground felt like it was roasting you alive most days and lately you’d been drawing the short straw - midday watch.

The only promising factor was that Daryl was back from the four-day run he and Michonne had embarked on. Which meant he was helping Rick plough. Which meant you could stare at him instead of the disgusting post-dead clinging to the fences. He was, naturally, unaware of your stalkerish staring but then oblivious, emotionally unavailable men were your type. He’d been even more checked out since Merle died, reserving any moments of camaraderie for Michonne or Rick or Carol. That wasn’t surprising. They’d found you somewhere between the farm that burned down (so the story goes) and this prison and they’d been good enough to take you in, just like they’d done for these folks from Woodbury, but you weren’t one of them. Still an outsider to the group the most they offered you was a scrap of conversation here and there. Glenn and Maggie, and Lori before she died, had been the kindest. Even bratty Beth with her moodiness and her self-revolving universe was nicer than most. Michonne was nice, but she had been an outsider too. An asset that lost the status pretty quickly, most of the time you missed each other. She was on watch at odd hours. And besides, it was Daryl you really wanted to talk to.

Like an itch you couldn’t scratch.

You’d been nothing special prior to this. And they’d found you after a rough patch, accosted by a group before theirs you’d been hiding in the back of a minivan and Daryl had opened the door on you, sending you both into a minor panic. Hershel had bandaged the sprained ankle you had and Lori had offered some of the Tylenol in her bag to ease the pain from the bruises on your face. Healed by now you only had occasional trouble from your ankle which was why Rick always put you on watch and never assigned you a run or asked you to fix the traps outside of the fences.

The complacency was making you go a little stir crazy. Or more than a little, judging by the entire hours that you spent daydreaming about Daryl.

“How are you killing anything if your gun is no where near you?” Glenn asked, nudging your side with the rifle you’d left inside the watchtower while you sat outside.

“Don’t remind me.” You sighed, taking the gun and laying it across your lap.

Glenn sat down beside you, just as relaxed. “What are they doing?”

“Building a fence for the pigs?” You shrugged. “I’m not sure, I’m just in it for the view.”

“Imagine if you spoke to him like a normal person.” Glenn teased. You had become quick friends with Glenn and he was privy to most of you new-world secrets, including your infatuation with Daryl.

“I talk to him all the time in my head.”

“That doesn’t make you sound crazy.”

“No crazier than the rest of us.” You shrugged.

“Hey, kid!” And wasn’t that the other problem? That of all the nicknames Daryl could have possibly chosen to bestow on you he had gone with ‘kid’ as if you were Carl or Beth’s age and not in fact, in your late twenties.

You leaned through an opening in the railing to gaze down at him. Tanner than usual from the sun, a hint of a burn forming on his shoulders and you were mentally running through the list of odd items collected in your cell to see if you had any aloe you could offer him before that started to peel. When you continued to stare Glenn cleared his throat and nudged you.

“Sorry, what’s up?” You asked.

“Ya wanna see how to check the traps?”

You’d been bugging for weeks to help in a capacity greater than sitting around in this tower everyday but you imagined the most you’d get was babysitting duty or helping Hershel should anyone feel a little under the weather. The only thing more surprising than being given an actual task was that Daryl was the one offering up his assistance.

“Yeah, totally.” Way to sound like an adult, you nearly cringed at the sound of your own overtly excited voice.

Being outside the fence again you were bombarded with the same feelings you’d been fending off before you met the group. That anxious bubble of dread was just under your skin and you could feel yourself zoning out. It didn’t help that Daryl was just a few steps ahead of you, leading the way further into the woods as scenarios of all the ways this could go bad ran through your mind.

That and how good Daryl made living in the middle of an apocalypse look. How could someone manage to look both gross and fuckable at the same time? Maybe it said less about him and more about your absolute devotion to this infatuation with him that you were thinking about how much you wanted him to shove you up against a tree right in the middle of the fucking forest.

“Ya paying attention?” Daryl’s voice broke your concentration and you looked up at him. He was already halfway through disarming one of the snares to check for anything inside. A rabbit.

“Uh, yeah.” You nodded and bit your lip.

“Here, put this in the bag.”

“That’s what this bag is for?” You asked, grimacing as you took the dead rabbit and laid it in the tote bag slung over your shoulder.

“What’d ya think it was fer?” He looked at you like you were the stupidest person on earth.

You could only shake your head and shrug. Honestly he could have stood there and told you exactly what the bag was for and you would still have no idea. You had a terrible habit of zoning out whenever Daryl was talking to you. The movement of his hands and his lips and the way he looked when he was trying to find the right words to explain something was one of your favorite things and your mind went more than a little haywire trying to take in all of it at once.

“Come on, we got three more to check.” He kept walking and you stood there for a minute, letting him get ahead of you before you finally caught up.

“How’d it go?” Glenn asked, leaning on the door frame of your cell.

You frowned, lifting your leg so he could see the bandage that Hershel had to wrap your ankle in. Distracted, as it were, you had taken a rather nasty fall that resulted in what Hershel determined was a sprained ankle. Naturally you had tripped up right in front of Daryl, embarrassing but not entirely unfortunate because he carried you back to the prison.

“I fell.”

“I heard.” He smiled, clearly trying not to laugh out loud at you.

“Who told you?” You were sure that everyone was talking about what an absolute waste of space you were, especially now, but you wouldn’t mind knowing exactly who was spreading news of your fall.

“Daryl told Rick about it.” Glenn said, “told him you’re too distracted out there. I said you never have a problem when we go on runs.”

“Why cause you hate me?” You grumbled, standing carefully, “I should apologize.”

“For the upteenth time?”

“Yes.” In actuality you’d been so embarrassed over the entire ordeal that you hadn’t apologized at all. You had just fumbled over your words until you decided it was probably better to just stay quiet. But you felt guilty that Daryl had agreed to take you out there and you had fucked the whole thing up by being your usual self and getting far too distracted by everything about him to pay attention to even the ground you were walking on.

Daryl wasn’t hard to find, sitting at the base of the stairs that led up to the second level of cells. He was whittling the end of a stick, probably making a new arrow. You’d watched him make them plenty of times before, though that made you sound like some stalker. He looked up as you lowered yourself on to the step beside him. Your heart was pounding against your chest and your hands felt clammy from being so nervous.

If you could be half as confident in front of him as you were in the millions of daydreams you had about him.

“I’m sorry, about earlier.” You confided, “I didn’t mean to be so lousy out there.”

“Ain’t yer fault, yer outta practice.” He shrugged. Nicer than he had to be.

The part of his conversation with Rick that Glenn had left out was how he lost any composure, resentful that Rick had even considered sending you out there in the woods. Even if it was just to check snares. When you’d fallen Daryl had been terrified that you were more seriously hurt than just a sprained ankle and you had laid there while he checked you for any other injuries. Then he’d carried you back to the prison as quickly as possible, aware that you were in a compromised position if any walkers showed up. He was pissed, to say the least, not that Rick had suggested taking you out to the woods but that Rick had thought you would be okay to check snares after you hadn’t been on the other side of the prison in months.

“I still feel guilty, I could’ve gotten us killed.” And now you were apologizing like the whole thing was your fault.

“Wouldn’t a let that happen.” Daryl replied, eyes still trained on his arrow. It was easier to talk to you when he had something to occupy himself, so that all his concentration wasn’t on you. Or the way you smiled. Being in the woods with you was hard enough.

“I know you wouldn’t have, I just mean...I totally compromised us.”

“Like I said, it ain’t yer fault.” Daryl was adamant that you understand that he was not mad at you. Himself, yes, but you. Never.

As many hours as you wasted sitting on that watchtower and keeping an eye on whatever he was doing, he was watching you as well. Sometimes he would come in the kitchen area and sit there fiddling with his crossbow just so he could be around you while you helped Carol. Or he would offer to help you anytime you were tasked with a job. He knew nothing would ever come of it, even in the world the way it was now there were social standings and he knew you would never be interested in someone like him.

“When yer healed up we’ll go out again. Just ta get used ta being out there. Ain’t gotta do anything.”

“A nice walk in the woods together?” You asked, smiling at him. You could think up a million scenerios in which the two of you were out there together, walking in the woods with the seasons changing. None of them involving snares or runs or walkers.

“So long as ya don’t trip over yerself again.”

“It was an accident! You said it wasn’t my fault.”

Daryl grinned, looking away from you so you couldn’t see the change in facial expression but you caught it just in time. Your own smile appeared, maybe it wasn’t so far fetched that he could like you.

taglist: @thinkingsofamadwoman @mixedwiththemoon @titty-teetee @queenmissfit @marvelismylifffe @iluvmesomemarvelndc @absentmindeduniverse @his-paradox @medievalfangirl @gigilame @sabertooth-potato @enrapturedbythemoon @cbarter @onemorebeautifulnightmare @born-in-19-96 @mainokutan @uh-i-think-its-frank @nikki082489 @qrangr @twdeadfanfic

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #Daryl Dixon fanfic #twd fanfiction #twd au #twd imagine #twd fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead imagine #the walking dead fanfic #collecting stories imagine #cs discography series

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fyrapartnersearch · 4 years

Text

|| 𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖊𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖗𝖘 ||

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𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝑒 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎…

𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓃𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉…

 haha ^^

 To all the curious ladies and gents out here, you may call me Imp.

Short, sweet and straight to the point. ;)   I am a lady in her twenties, with a strong penchant for roleplaying, writing, and drawing. The Holy Trinity if you will. I am a huge nerd and aesthetic lover boy - plain and simple. One of my main passions being video-games, illustrations, comics, live-action films, series and anime/cartoon shows, elements that shaped me during my years of growing up.

  It’s been a while since I’ve posted my first ever ad on any website, and I was very much positively surprised by the amazing people that have reached out to me.

And since I am a greedy little mf, I wanted to fish for more partners. I’ve been roleplaying for a few years now and gradually gathered a good amount of experience throughout the years, but it’s always fun to meet and learn something new.

   Name: Imp  

Age: 27 years

  Experience: 11 years  

Preferences: 1:1 Roleplaying

  Partner: Should be at least [18+], but I rather much prefer my counterpart to be 21 years or older   

EMAIL: [email protected]

I am a very creative sort of individual with hundreds of ideas constantly occupying my little impish head. And I am very spontaneous too, so I can always adjust to a new setting, depending on how good and compelling the concept is.  Inspirations come from various sources and origins, be it a fandom (an already existing universe) or an original storyline. Please read through these paragraphs carefully before you decide to contact me! It’s important to avoid any misunderstanding later! And I would less likely respond to a message with the title ‘Hey, wanna rp?’, since I hadn’t had any good experiences with these said messages. Thank you.    °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°°

   Communication: It’s certainly chill. You can talk to me about whatever occupies your mind since I am very open and always happy to listen to others. I also tend to be chatty, sharing a meme or a joke every now and to loosen up the mood. If you consider choosing me as your roleplaying partner, be sure to maintain a certain consistency. I have nothing against going on a longer break or even a hiatus, but the whole `ghosting stick´ is something I have no patience for. So if you’re unsure of upholding a stable, long term partnership, feel free to skim past this ad.    Plotting: Also very important to note! I am fairly quick when it comes to building new characters, concepts, premises, storylines, backstories, etc… This means there is certain flexibility available which allows me to adjust. Even though it is a hobby, I am still extremely passionate about good storytelling and interesting character arcs. I hope to meet someone who is just as enthusiastic and willing to put in the same amount of effort as I am. If it’s only me who’s pulling all the weight, I will lose interest fast, just to get it out there. Aside from that, I love going a little crazy with the possibilities and push things to their absolute limits. Of course within the boundaries of the given setting.   Pairing & Romance: Okay, right off the bat, I am a hopeless romantic through and through. I enjoy good and strong chemistry between characters just as much as the next, and this will be no exception. I prefer the good ol’ MxF pairing because I have more experience with this. But I also like playing a FxF dynamic or MxM. Everyone is welcome! When it comes to pairing itself, I want to make sure our creations are compatible, for I hate forcing characters into a romantic relationship for the sake of progression. A natural flow is what I am aiming for. ;)   Mature? Yes, very much so: Adult and taboo topics are absolute. There’s no way around it because, in my stories, it is a running theme. The adult world is not easy to handle, but it’s definitely interesting to explore. That includes violence, cursing, shocking content, and all that dark stuff. My limits are few, safe for a couple of minor pet peeves that I have, I am pretty much open to some experimentation. When it comes to action-heavy scenes (be it an intimate situation between two characters or something on a cataclysmic scale), I won’t fade to black since I am not a huge fan of censoring. However, I will not force or push my partner into something they are not comfortable with. If you want to know the extent to how far I am willing to go, what sort of content or how detailed my writing will be, you can ask me directly. As for smut or lemons, whatever you call it, it will never be the focus of any of my roleplays, but I enjoy a good erotic scene with a lot of tension (if they are good).    Boundaries: Not a big fan of things like pedophilia, necrophilia, scat, bestiality, or those dreaded ‘futas’.  Inspirations and interests: There’s a pretty broad spectrum of what I deem interesting and inspirational. From fallen angels and demon/monster hunters, mages, criminal masterminds, cybernetically enhanced characters to futuristic dystopian settings, ancient kingdoms who have fallen against the test of time. All of it causes my heart to skip a beat. For original content, I’ll just give a brief list of bullet points of the general themes that fall in line with my current interests.   Writing: My texts are lengthy, detailed, and elaborate. Third-person is usually my preferred way of playing my character unless there’s a special case where an exception can be made. Word count usually fluctuates, though I have a standard form of 400-500+ words per response. It also highly depends on the given situation. I don’t want to set anything in stone… just to give you a basic idea of what you’re in for. I also expect my partner to have an at least adequate, if not decent grasp on basic grammar and punctuation.    Doubling: Yes, absolutely! If you are prone to doubling, chances are I might accept you as my partner straight away! Although I have nothing against the simple form of roleplaying, doubling is something I’ve done since my first time joining.    Characters: Very character-driven with the main focus being on interaction. I take my time writing characters and love nothing more than well-structured sheets that illustrate the vision of their creator. (But!) There’s no need to write 10-20 pages worth of character information, but I wouldn’t want to limit you either. As for the depiction of the given character, I won’t be as presumptuous as to tell you what sort of medium you can and cannot use. Face claims such as photos of real models, illustrations, 3D models, drawings or descriptions are all okay. As long as it gets its point across, I am happy.   Aversions: A few minor things that irritate me, or let’s say, aren’t really my style are one-liners, low effort responses and out of character behaviors in canon characters. We all have different takes on characters, which is totally fine by me since I basically do the same. Though if the character acts and behaves unlike their personality dictates, it will break the immersion. I hope to stay true to my own words when saying this. If it happens on my side, just let me know! Another pet peeve of mine is that one plot that has been done time and time again…. and I’ve grown quite jaded towards it, which is ‘supernaturals trying to fit into human society’ thing… I mean, I’m not opposed to borrowing from this idea, but for me, it grew old pretty fast. Speaking from experience.   Passione: My wish is to find a partner whom I can have a good time with and develop some chemistry. After all it is a fun hobby. We both should have fun with what we’re writing. Brainstorming among other things is one of my favorite things to do. To see how things unfold and how the characters react to the given situation is the highlight of any story.

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FANDOM:

  I love roleplaying fandoms just as much as I have a blast with building something original universes. Worldbuilding is my preferred cup of tea… but if we opt for something more fandom inspired, I highly welcome in on expanding on the given universe and add some original lore too!

Hellsing: Haven’t done that one before and I am curious as to how things play out, especially in such a dark and mystifying universe like Hellsing. There’s a lot of subject matter that we can delve into, plus I am a big fan of powerful vampire characters!

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: I would love you for this. No, seriously, I would. This fandom has sucked me into a downward spiral and there’s no possible chance of escaping this inescapable void. The absolute insanity of this franchise had me hooked from the second I laid eyes on it and I would be forever ecstatic if you’d message me on behalf of roleplaying Jojo. I have plenty of ideas for this one, just you wait.

Full Metal Alchemist: One of my favorite mangas and animes ever made. Recently I’ve begun rewatching FMA Brotherhood and felt a small hint of nostalgia swelling inside my blackened heart. I’d be open to play it, though it is not one of my top cravings at the moment.

Justice League / Young Justice / Justice League Dark: Huge DC fan, though I much prefer the animations and comics over the live-action cinematic. Let’s just say, I like the expansive and dynamic set of possibilities and deep, well-written cast. For instance Hellblazer Constantine or Raven.

Bayonetta: Need I say more? Let’s dance boys!

APH Hetalia: That includes the 2P version ;)

The Boys: Well.. the 2nd season came out. And I am simply stoked.

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ORIGINAL:   

Supernatural: From angels to demons, from gods to monsters, I’ve seen it all and I absolutely love it. There can be any sort of creature or being involved, ranging from vampires to sirens to elves, you have it. However, I’ve never done something quite relating to angelic beings and their offspring before. I’ve read up on Nephilim and angels and found it rather fascinating, and it’s a different approach from the usual vampire vs werewolf cliche.  

Crime and intrigue: I never stray too far from the supernatural path, but hell, there’s nothing better than some good old gritty mafia inspired stories with a complex cast of characters and a solid storyline.

Sci-fi and urban fantasy: So this could be basically anything from genetically engineered superhuman (superheroes / - villains) with a dark take on the human psyche, dismantling the idea of heroism and villainy. Or a world where mankind began their interstellar journey to colonize neighboring planets, galaxies before transcending their own humanity by merging themselves with deadly technology. I have a few plans for this…

Historical and mysterious setting: So one of my favorite eras is the Victorian time period, 30s - 40s - 80s, Renaissance or Ancient times during the rise of the Egyptian / Roman / Sumerian Empire. During these times, a dark discovery was made by man, learning that they were not alone in this world. In fact, they weren’t even the supreme race that destined themselves to dominate the world, for another race of humanoids have lied dormant deep beneath the earth, slumbering through the millennia only to be re-awakened by a cataclysmic event. These ancient humanoids are gods among men, superior in every way imaginable, and they have made it their mission to reclaim their right to rule. But their nature is not what most people think it is…

The idea: I have an idea for a plot, in which I can give you if you ask for it. It is however merely a suggestion for what we could write - not a mandatory thing. If you don’t like the idea, we can always figure stuff out and keep on home-brewing till we find something we both can enjoy. There’s no need to immediately end things if the first thing doesn’t really fire you up.

  °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°°    If you’re still here and haven’t fallen asleep reading through my loooong paragraphs, then I would like to thank you for bearing with me this far. I am looking forward to your messages.   Have a wonderful day!

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noodlecupcakeswritings · 4 years

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Mad Love - Chapter 8 ( The final Gotham fic)

After Gotham was cut out off from the mainland, Emerald starts to learn that three’s a crowd and Jeremiah soon shows his true colours. Will she stick around like she did with Jerome or will she finally get some sense to leave and reunite with her true love.

The fourth and final instalment in my Gotham/Emerald series.

Please leave comments, kudos and reblogs if you like it. It really helps me out as a writer, lemme know if you wanna be on the taglist as well :)

Warnings: Language, Violence, Gore, Murder, Hospitals, Medical stuff, Jeremiah's gonna vanish for a little while

Chapter 8

Emerald’s P.O.V

I stood by the meeting point, waiting for Ecco and Jeremiah. They should be back by now. I'd done my part, and it had gone well. I wrapped my arms around myself to shield my body from the cold. What if they'd ran off without me and this was a trap? I didn’t have much time to dwell on that thought as I heard quick, heavy footsteps behind me. I turned to find Ecco running over to me. She was alone. And she looked worried. What the hell had happened to Jeremiah now? Perhaps he'd been arrested. I’m sure we'd be able to break him out of the GCPD easily. “What is it? Where’s Jeremiah?” I asked. Ecco grabbed my hand and began pulling me along without an explanation. I dug my heels in the concrete, making her stop.

“What’s going on? Tell me or otherwise I’m not going anywhere with you,” I demanded. Ecco made a sound of frustration at my difficult nature. “I’ll tell you when we get to the safe house. We need to keep moving right now,” Ecco spoke. Something had happened, something bad. I didn’t know if I could wait till we got to the safe house not that gave me much choice as she started pulling me again. A few twists and turns through the streets and Ecco pulled me inside a dark building. The house had been abandoned not too long ago and most things were still in tact. “Ecco where is he?” I asked. “He's at the hospital. He was fighting with that brat and fell into one of the chemical vats,” she explained.

I felt dread fill me. No, no I couldn't lose him too. I couldn’t be alone again. Ecco could see my dread and took my hands in hers as if to ground me. “We can bring him here, so long as we have the right equipment and a good doctor,” she reassured. “We don’t know if his condition will allow that.” “Then let’s go down there and find out.” “Right now, where it will be crawling with cops?” “You want to wait?” “No but I also don’t want us to be thrown in Arkham where we won’t be able to help him.”

Ecco sighed, she knew I was right. We had to wait for the heat to die down first. We were going to need to keep ourselves busy in the meantime. We were going to need to blend in when we headed to the hospital. “You'll need to change,” I mentioned. Ecco looked at her attire and shrugged, knowing I was right. She headed upstairs where I heard the shower come on. I decided to look around what would be our new home for the time being. I needed to know the layout, find where I would be sleeping. I found a spare room and decided this is where I would settle. I removed any traces of makeup and took my hair out of bunches before redoing my hair into a bun so the dyed ends would be hidden. I changed into some jeans, shirt and hoodie. I looked mostly normal and should be able to blend in well.

I headed back downstairs and searched the kitchen for food. I could make us some sandwiches at best. I made one for each of us, plating them up. I sat down at the table and started eating my own. Ecco joined me a little later having changed into normal looking clothes. It was weird seeing her with tidy hair and a clean face. But she looked better like this. She spotted the sandwich and started eating. She mumbled her thanks once she'd finished. Once we'd determined what to do with Jeremiah, we could get some of the workers that was left back for protection and any future plans. I glanced at the clock; it was getting close to 1am. It should be safer to go now. Ecco and I hid some knives on us just in case we'd need to use them. We walked to the hospital, which took a while but that wasn't such a bad thing.

We reached the hospital and snuck in through one of the side entrances. Thankfully it wouldn’t take long to search as it was partly empty. Most people had evacuated the city when they could and the ones that were left were staying close to the GCPD. So, there were very little patients. We eventually found him, isolated in a separate room with a cop waiting outside. We needed to get rid of him for a while without drawing any attention. “I can’t believe how bad that car accident was outside,” I said to Ecco yet loud enough for the cop to hear. The cop waited a little while before wandering off. We wouldn’t have long but it would be enough to assess the damage. Ecco and I entered the room, finding Jeremiah practically lifeless on the bed. He was hooked up to various machines, the only sound being a steady beep to signify his heartbeat.

He was alive. But his face was covered in bandages. It reminded of me Jerome when he came back from the dead. I half expected Jeremiah to sit bolt upright any second. I swallowed hard and inspected the parts of his face that weren’t covered. He was definitely badly burned from the chemicals. And he’d look like that for the rest of his life. I suppose Jerome’s facial scars hadn't bothered me so why should Jeremiah's. Perhaps because they were slowly getting more in common. I shook those thoughts away, that would only lead to a downward spiral of negative thoughts. Ecco grabbed the clipboard of paperwork that sat at the edge of his bed, reading over it. “He's brain dead,” she spoke, she didn’t seem to believe it. I frowned; he couldn’t be? He might never wake up again for all we knew. I didn’t know what was worse him dying or being brain dead.

If he died there would have been closure at least. With him being brain dead, we would have to try and remain hopeful that one day he would wake up. I didn’t know how long either us would remain hopeful before eventually giving up. I glanced at Ecco, she looked like her whole world was falling apart before her eyes. I knew that look and that feeling. I had been the same when I lost Jerome. I took the clipboard from her and put it back where it was before taking her hand in mine to offer her comfort. She flinched at my touch but hesitantly accepted it. She'd protected him for years and now she was helpless to aid him. “We can’t leave him here,” she spoke, her voice wavering a little. “I know and I don’t want to. But whilst he's like this, this is the best place for him.”

Ecco snatched her hand from mine, looking at me as if I'd slapped her. We didn’t have the time to argue, that cop would be back soon. “I know that’s not what you wanna hear, I of all people understand not wanting to just leave him here. But we're not doctors, his best chance is around doctors where they can give him the treatment he needs,” I explained. “We can steal all the stuff he'll need and then we can kidnap the best doctor to fix him.” “Ecco we're very high up on the wanted list right how. If we get caught then we'll be thrown in Arkham and then neither of us will be able to help him. He has to stay here. I’m sorry.” The door opened and the cop walked in, spotting us and instantly reaching his radio. Ecco was faster and stabbed him in the stomach, pushing him to the floor with her weight and stabbing him repeatedly.

We needed to leave and fast before anybody else noticed. Especially now there was a body. “Ecco,” I spoke, trying to get her attention. Nothing, she was almost in a catatonic like state. I tried again but still no response. I was going to have to shake her out of it and risk getting hurt. But why was I bothering? I didn’t owe her anything, we'd only just started to kinda get along. I could walk away from it all. If she wasn't reminding me of myself. She was going to need someone who had been through what she was feeling. She was going to need help. If I turned my back on her, I would be turning my back on Jeremiah. I placed my hand on her shoulder, repeating her name for a third time. Ecco whipped round, looking feral and covered in blood. I glanced at the knife, making sure it wasn't too close to me.

I reached out, carefully taking it from her. She allowed me to take it, her eyes still wide. “We need to go. We can round everyone up and form a plan then,” I explained calmly. She nodded slowly, allowing me to help her up. I led her out of the hospital, avoiding any main corridors and heavily populated areas. I led her back to the current safe house and sat her down on the couch so she was comfy. I was going to need to keep an eye on her that was for sure. I got her some water and put it next to her. She remained silent, probably thinking of all the ways she could help him. She'd need to come to terms with things soon, but she was the only person who could do that. But she needed me to help guide her through the worst of it. If only I’d had that when I’d needed it myself. Perhaps things would have turned out different.

Taglist: @sweetfictionalworld, @belathora, @elizbetholsen

#jeremiah valeska smut #jeremiah valeska fluff #jeremiah valeska angst #jeremiah valeska fic #jeremiah valeska #jeremiah valeska fanfic #jeremiah valeska fanfiction #jeremiah valeska feels #jeremiah valeskaxoc #ecco #Gotham #gotham fanfic #gotham smut #Gotham feels #Gotham Angst #gotham fanfiction #gotham fic #gotham fluff

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bluerosesburnblue · 4 years

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All Answered: 25 Emoji Asks

Tagged by @callmederok so I’m assuming this was about HPHM!

A bit of a long one (at least if you answered things the way that I did), so don’t feel like you have to do it, but I’m putting the usual tag list of @oveliagirlhaditright, @wilhelminafujita, @missnight0wl, and @batgirl-87 here.

🌟 When your OC loses all hope, who do they turn to first? What helps make them feel better? What calms them down and reassures them? Why?

The first one implies that Seren has a functioning support system, which at the current time she doesn’t. It used to be Jacob, and it will probably be Jacob again when they get things sorted out. When they were kids, he was all she had. Once they’re adults and able to stand on an equal level, though, I think it’ll be a lot better for her.

The whole problem is that once Seren gets upset, there’s very little that can get her out of it besides time. Her instinct is to withdraw somewhere private to just ruminate on everything. She used to cuddle plush toys to feel better, though I think those would get gradually replaced with the creatures that she adopts over time (it’s hard to stay sad with a crup pup licking your face!). But I think the main draw of finding solace in creatures is the fact that they make her feel “needed,” which for someone who constantly doubts their own worth is very reassuring

☀️ What makes your OC genuinely happy? A person, an item, their hobby? Where is the place they’re happiest, or most at home? What is the happiest they’ve ever been?

Again, taking care of creatures is something that genuinely makes her happy with no strings attached. Creatures don’t generally judge you and are incapable of comparing you to your brother, after all. Once she becomes an Animagus, I think turning into a raven and flying about wherever she wants would be something that makes her very happy due to the privacy of flying about unnoticed, the freedom of the movement, and the sense power that comes from mastering the skill. Also, being in animal form makes emotions simpler to process, so there’s very little that could make her unhappy for a prolonged amount of time in that form!

Relatedly, the happiest she’s ever been (at the current point in HPHM) would be her first Animagus transformation. The elation of knowing that you managed to get a very difficult bit of magic done right, pretty much by word-of-mouth on the particulars, and that the new skill would be unimaginably helpful combined with just the adrenaline of the transformation itself and relief of not having to deal with all of the precise timing stuff made it her happiest moment in recent memory

She’s happiest in private areas. Since she’s dorming and her home isn’t really a safe place for her, that ends up being the forest or the school rooftops that she can access post-Animagus

🌙 If your OC could have one wish come true what would it be and why? Would there be consequences to this wish or would they regret it once they get what they want? What would they give in return for this wish to come true?

Ooooof. Uh... that’s really hard because Seren is a Hufflepuff through and through. She wouldn’t be satisfied in the outcome of the wish unless she had to work for it. I suppose she’d probably use it on someone else or just ask them what they wanted and wish for that

If she had to wish for something for herself, though, then maybe she’d just wish for more restful sleep because she doesn’t get nearly enough. No regrets, she probably wouldn’t go out of her way to get the wish. It’d just be a nice, practical bonus to help her mental health

❄️ What makes your OC sad, so sad that they can’t help but cry all day? How do they cheer themselves up? Does their sadness upset any of their loved ones too?

Really, a better question is what doesn’t make her sad? She’s a pretty easily depressed, melancholic person when you get down to it. It wouldn’t even be sadness that would make her cry all day, but frustration at how everything seems to go wrong with the Vaults or with her friends. Stress and existential dread are huge issues for her

Covered it above that she doesn’t really cheer herself up, she just waits it out. I’m sure that the fact that she’s so difficult to cheer up makes her friends, and especially Jacob, upset, too. I guess he’ll just have to turn into a bird and incessantly attempt to cuddle up to her while tickling her with his feathers, huh?

🔥 If your OC known for having temper tantrums? If not, what gets them really angry? What makes their blood BOIL? Is there anyway to calm them down or are they unstoppable? What are they like when they’re angry? Do they take it out on their loved ones?

I wouldn’t really say that she has temper tantrums, but she does lash out a lot when she’s angry. Basically, a pissed off Seren is very volatile. She doesn’t resort to physical violence unless whoever’s offending her refuses to take the hint and leave her alone, but she’s very likely to get shouty, verbally aggressive and rude, and maybe take her frustrations out on objects in the environment. And it’s very hard to calm her down (honestly it’s hard to calm her down when she feels any strong emotions, and emotions for her are all or nothing so...)

There’s a reason that one of my best friends described her as “intense”

Things that piss her off include but are not limited to: people being hypocrites, Albus Dumbledore, unnecessary cruelty to people, unnecessary cruelty to animals or creatures, Merula Snyde, elitism of any kind (blood, species, living situation, etc.), potatoes, the implication that she likes potatoes, Albus Dumbledore and Merula Snyde, withholding of pertinent information for someone’s “safety,” being lied to, and being compared to Jacob

❤️ What would your OC’s ideal lover be like? Appearance, personality, voice? Would their family approve or would it be civil war?

Hold on, I have, like, a tiered list of Seren ships to reference here

So first of all, I don’t think she cares about appearance. Her self-confidence is low enough that the idea of anyone finding her attractive would probably far outweigh whether she finds them attractive. Though a little bit of messiness in their appearance and a bright smile certainly helps

I think the biggest thing for her would be whether they like creatures and animals. If the answer is no, then she won’t ever feel anything towards someone. It’s hard to like someone who doesn’t care for your passions. The other big things that I tend to take into account for her is the partner’s ability to handle her strong emotions. They usually always fall into two categories: cheerful and determined in a way that keeps her from falling too deep into her melancholy while also being laid back enough to counteract her anger, or quiet, calm people who sort of “absorb” her more passionate parts so that it evens out between the two of them. And being snarky doesn’t hurt

(For anyone curious, the ship list is:

Tier 1: Seren/Charlie and Seren/Talbott

Tier 2: Seren/Chiara, Seren/Orsino, Seren/Kirley, and Seren/Aurélie

Considered but Eliminated Because I Made Them Third Cousins: Seren/Barnaby

God Tier: Seren/Tuna Sandwich)

The only family who would care who she’s with would be Jacob and I think he’d approve of anyone on that list. Though fair warning: if you’re gonna romance Seren you have to be prepared for Jacob to third wheel the entire situation. You’re basically dating both of them he will not leave you alone

🕊️ Would your OC ever get married or are they already wed? If they’re married, describe what their wedding was like! If not, describe their ideal wedding (or do this if you feel like it anyway!)

I think she’d like to get married someday if she found the right person, but it’s not a particular priority. She doesn’t think about it much considering she uh... does not think she’s worth being in a relationship with

If she were to get married, I think her one specification would be that it be a small ceremony. She only has one family member who would show up and she’d be really upset if whoever she was marrying had more people there to support them than there were people there to support her (just rub it in that she’s been disowned yaaaaaaaay), so the guest list would be restricted to close family and friends only. I also think she’d prefer a wedding late in the evening and outdoors, maybe sometime in the spring or fall when the weather isn’t too hot or cold and there’s a nice breeze. Overall, it’d be a pretty casual affair

🍼 Does your OC have any children or want children? What names would they pick? Are they good with kids or a complete disaster?

Nope. Absolutely not. She has no desire for kids. She does not trust herself with kids. She is terrified that because she grew up in an emotionally abusive home that she’d be the same to her kids and she doesn’t want that. She also doesn’t want more responsibility and kids are A Lot, especially if you own a whole ton of pets already and you’re basically your brother’s entire sense of restraint. Not only does she not want kids, she hates her family line so much that she’s ecstatic that she might get to be the last Dwyn if she outlives Jacob

Ironically, though, she’s decent with kids. Though more so in the “cool aunt” way. She’s protective but also, like... an instigator who goads them into some stuff that I’m sure their parents wouldn’t approve of because Seren has weird standards of “normal and safe” (”Hey, kids! Wanna feed an Acromantula? I’ll teach you the safe way to do it!) Personally, I think Teddy Lupin considers her his aunt with how close she was to Tonks and he’s the closest to having a kid she’ll ever get

☕ Give us one (or more if you feel like it) of your OCs deep dark secrets! Why do they keep it hidden? Spill the tea!

The one thing she refuses to let anyone know about is the fact that her dad is a Squib. I know, that’s not really “her” secret to keep, but she’s a pretty honest person so she doesn’t have many. It’s not that she’s ashamed that her father’s a Squib, but just that she knows that there’s a lot of wizards who would find that something worth mocking and with everything happening with Jacob she just... doesn’t need the extra stress in her life

I mean, I guess her middle name being Aisling is a secret because she doesn’t want anyone to realize that her initials are SAD. Not really a “dark” secret, though. Her birthday’s another one, but that’s just because she doesn’t want people to go out of their way to get her gifts

And then there’s the whole “unregistered Animagus” thing that would surely get her sent to prison

(*cough* If she had a crush on someone that would be a secret, too. *cough* Wouldn’t want anyone to feel pressured to be in a relationship with her or anything. I don’t consider the First Date quest to be part of her story)

🍂 What are their opinions on the different seasons? Which one do they hate and which one do they love and why?

Hates summer because she can’t deal with hot weather, and because she’s forced to go home to parents that don’t want anything to do with her. Even when she’s an adult and doesn’t have to deal with her parents anymore she still hates it. Her birthday is in summer. She hates people celebrating it. Summer is just a sign that it’s gonna be her birthday again.

Winter is her favorite just because she likes snow (another point for being a raven Animagus: they really like rolling around in the snow and it’s adorable). The cold doesn’t bother her. And she loves Christmas.

She likes fall and spring because of the breezes, but that’s about it. She has no strong feelings for either one

🦋 If your OC could change everything (or just something) about their life would they? What would they change? What do they think would happen if they did? What would their loved ones think?

Everything? Maybe not. But not having emotionally abusive/neglectful parents would be nice. I really think that’s the one thing she’d change if she could, but there’s no good way to go about that that doesn’t screw up some aspect of her life. If her dad isn’t a Squib her never gets the job that he meets her mom at. If her mom isn’t a Muggleborn, then she doesn’t end up at the Cafe her dad worked at after leaving home. If she isn’t born a witch then she never goes to Hogwarts and meets any of her friends, and probably wouldn’t be as close to Jacob. So much of her life has been tied to it that there’s no way to change it without starting a horrible avalanche of consequences

�� Does your OC like flowers? What are their favourites? Do they keep a garden of some sort? What flowers would they use in a flower crown? (and if you like, research the meanings behind those flowers!)

Yeah, she likes flowers a lot! Herbology’s actually her chill out class because she just likes being around them. At Hogwarts, she likes taking care of the Common Room plants (yes, I know Jane, they’re enchanted to be watered but I like to be sure) and will be keeping houseplants as an adult. Although, they’re mostly medicinal herbs and potions ingredients

She’s a big fan of water lilies and water poppies (gee, I wonder why), but she also has a fondness for odd-looking blooms like Bleeding Hearts. And the thing about flower crowns is that they’d be personalized for every person she makes one for. Actually, that would probably be a Christmas gift one year. Personalized flower crowns for everyone (probably sneak a blue water lily in each of them as a shorthand for “hey, this is from Seren!”)

🌼 Write a short drabble from your OCs POV meeting their LI (or if they don’t have a love interest, their best friend. If you don’t want to do a drabble, describe their first meeting instead!)

(The meetings for pretty much everyone are shown in-game... except for Charlie so let’s do it! Works for friendship because Seren’s slow to fall in love. Ain’t no love at first sight for her)

Her footsteps were just barely audible as she hurried down the spacious hallways of Hogwarts castle, until they were suddenly drowned out by a scream in the distance followed by a firm shout of “Riddikulus!” She didn’t stop until she was outside of the castle doors. The small Third Year leaned back against the cool stone of the castle’s exterior, closed her eyes, and breathed in the cool, late autumn air.

Ever since the boggarts had started appearing as part of the latest curse, Seren Dwyn had been making herself scarce. Part of it was due to the fact that her fellow students were quick to blame her for their appearance. Part of it was due to the fact that the boggarts always took the form of him, and she just couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not until she was certain that he was real, and that he was safe. (Besides, if any of the students who made fun of her found out that her boggart took the form of her brother, then they’d never let her live it down.)

She opened her eyes again and pushed off of the wall, kicking her feet against the ground and running her hand through the hair that fell over her shoulder. The stress was starting to get to her and she knew it. Walking around in constant fear that a boggart might show up only made them much more likely to show up, and she was far too smart to let that happen, or so she told herself. No, she just needed a way to take her mind off of them. Then she could return to the castle without the shapeshifting monsters impeding her search for the next Cursed Vault.

“...alright. Alright,” she whispered to herself in an attempt to bolster her confidence. She knew that she wasn’t technically allowed out this late, but there was only one place she was aware of to escape the boggarts and relax at the same time. And so the little Hufflepuff set off towards Hagrid’s Hut.

The long walk down had done wonders to lighten her mood, and she practically skipped up the steps to knock on the door to her favorite half-giant’s abode. She swung her fist up to pound the thick, wooden door loud enough for Hagrid to hear when she froze in her tracks. There was laughter. One of the voices was Hagrid, of course, who was so loud that he nearly drowned out the second voice. But she caught it.

Oh, stop being such a coward! she chided to herself, letting out a shaky breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Strangers always made her nervous, irrational as she knew that was. Just knock!

Her fist had barely touched the door when loud howling erupted from inside of the building. Taking that as her cue, Seren opened the door, gripped the edge of the doorway to avoid being knocked over, and allowed her favorite pup to leap up at her and start licking her face. He’d gotten so big! And, for the first time since the boggarts appeared, the girl started laughing. Genuinely, wholeheartedly laughing. And when her laughter started dying down, she noticed that it hadn’t just been her. The unfamiliar voice had joined in as well.

She looked up and her eyes finally met those of Hagrid’s guest: a boy of roughly the same age as her with a very familiar shade of red hair that he’d unsuccessfully attempted to tie back into a ponytail despite the fact that it was far too short. He was sitting on the floor, his back leaning up against the wooden crates that had been left in the corner and the pile of blankets next to him indicated that Fang had been laying down by his side. The freckles on his face highlighted his huge grin, an expression that extended up to his deep brown eyes. He was, by far, the cheeriest person she had seen in months.

He waved at her, and she could’ve sworn that she’d seen that exact same thing before. “Hello!”

“H-hi?” She waved back, and then quickly put her hand down. You’re making it awkward, ya eejit!

“You’re Seren, yeah? It’s nice to finally meet you in person! Not to be rude or anything, but Bill’s stories about you just haven’t been cutting it.”

“Oh!” That was it! She’d never talked to this boy before, but she had seen him around the castle. There were several times where it had seemed like he’d waved at her in the hallway and she’d just looked away and continued walking, assuming that he must have just been waving at someone else. But the red hair, the fact that he knew Bill... “You- you’re Charlie Weasley!”

Well, damn. Now she just felt rude in hindsight.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. If he’d even thought of those incidents at all, he certainly didn’t let it show. “Yeah! I was wondering if we’d ever run into each other. Hagrid said that you visit a lot.” He chuckled a bit. “I just thought it strange that we hadn’t once been here at the same time!”

“Charlie an’ I were jus’ talking abou’ tha’ purple Chinese Fireball tha’ they found las’ week! Ya hear abou’ tha’ one?” Hagrid asked.

Seren finally slid into the hut fully, closing the door behind her. “No. Been a bit busy,” she muttered, striding across the room and plopping herself down right next to Charlie, knowing full well that Fang would follow her to his little nest. Normally she would be nervous sitting this close to someone else, but something about Charlie just felt... safe. She glanced over at the boy and then quickly glanced away when he met her gaze. Maybe not that safe, yet. But she felt that she’d get there. “Tell me about it?”

Visiting Hagrid’s Hut that night had been a wonderful idea, she thought. And every time Charlie waved at her in the hallway after that, it took her mind off of the curses and the fear pervading the school. She had one more person around who was happy to see her, and that made all the difference.

🥀 Has your OC ever been hurt by someone they love? Ever been betrayed? Abused? Attacked? Give me the angst! (if you’d like, write a short drabble about it!)

Well, let’s see. Her mother resents the fact that she has magic and neglected her. Her father’s afraid of her because she has magic and he doesn’t and his mother used magic to abuse him. Her grandmother didn’t think she was good enough to be her heir and ignored her. Her brother disappeared on her... yeah, I’d say she’s been hurt by people she loves. Loved.

🏞️ If your OC could travel to anywhere in their world where would they go? Why? If they could live there would they?

Deep in the middle of the forest where no one can find her. Actually, despite the fact that she’s not very close to her mother, I think she’d still like to visit her mother’s homeland of the Faroe Islands. It certainly helps that they aren’t too densely populated. I think she’d mostly just want to visit because she thinks she might be able to figure out more about herself if she can see where her roots are and understand them better

I can’t see her moving there, though. It would remind her far too much of her mother and she kiiiiiiiinda wants to break away from that and just move on. That’s kinda the whole point. You can’t move on from something if you don’t really know what you’re moving on from

🏡 Describe your OCs ideal house! Give us a tour around! What’s their garden like? Their bedroom? Kitchen? Where is it and how many people live there?

So I’m just gonna describe her future shared apartment with Jacob because that’s pretty close to ideal

It’s not too big. Only a few rooms, but they each have a purpose. There’s the main sitting room and the kitchen right behind it. Down the hall is two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the “laboratory,” which is basically just a makeshift potions room because like hell are we paying for pre-made things when we can just prepare the raw materials and brew them ourselves (also experiment with potentially illegal brews just shhhhhh). Most rooms have some manner of houseplant in them. There’s a miniature Wiggentree near the front door for good luck that also houses Seren’s Bowtruckle, Durward, who protects the apartment from invaders

The whole place is filled with houseplants and small areas for Seren’s myriad creatures to settle into. Otherwise, the decor is pretty scarce, though Jacob has tons of framed pictures that he’s taken around. Muggle tech is in some spots where it would be easy to hide if they need to. Seren’s room in particular has a lot of fairy lights hanging around in it, and there’s books of every kind scattered about

There’s an entire shelf in that kitchen just dedicated to alcohol. Too much alcohol. Kids, please, I’m concerned about the way that you’re handling your mental health levels of alcohol (alcohol doesn’t do much for them. That’s what the Gillywater in the back is for.)

🔪 Has your OC ever killed someone? Ever had to defend themselves against violence? How did this make them feel? Or, alternatively, has your OC ever attacked someone? Seen someone die?

Not... yet. She has not killed anyone... yet. But she’s getting really close to trying. She’s never seen anyone die, either, but I can guarantee you that if that doesn’t change during the events of HPHM, then it will soon afterwards

As for violence and/or defending herself, well... *gestures in the direction of the entirety of HPHM* I dunno, you tell me. Though I will say that during the part where Rakepick breaks MC’s wand, I’ve always thought of it more as Seren waiting until after class to confront her and then attacking first, eventually getting her ass handed to her and her wand broken while she’s down. And I think she’d be more frustrated at herself than anything else because how could you be such an idiot of course you lost. You’re the worst. You don’t deserve to have these wounds healed just live with it. You useless failure

💎 Does your OC collect anything? Is there a reason? When did they start and is it beginning to turn into a little bit of a hoarding issue? What do they do with their collection?

Trauma. Actually, not really? Unless you want to count her creatures as her collection, but I don’t because they’re not really objects. And if you need a reason for them, I’ve mentioned it a whole bunch up above. It basically starts with inheriting Jacob’s owl and snowballs from there, though most of them are going to be given away at some point because it’s hard to take care of a lot of pets when you’ve been freshly disowned and are still unemployed

📚 If your OC was given some kind of forbidden knowledge, what would they do with it? Would they tell anyone? Use it for evil or good? How would it change their outlook on life, if at all?

Depends on what the knowledge even is. In general, she’s not big on keeping things from others for their own safety, so more than likely she’ll tell someone. But she’s also not an idiot and if it’s something like seriously, seriously so bad that it would be disastrous if even a hint of it may get out, then she may keep it between just herself and Jacob. Kinda hard to keep secrets from your mind-reading brother

There’s a very real possibility that she just will not care and continue on. Since she’s a detective it may influence the way she solves cases but... She wouldn’t use it for evil, that’s for sure. But she also may not use it for good because we never specified what the knowledge was and if it would be relevant to anything

🌗 Early mornings or late nights? What do they spend their time doing during these hours?

Late nights. The ones she doesn’t spend trying desperately to sleep and just not succeeding, she usually spends researching things that may be useful for the Vault search/detective work. Maybe a bit of experimenting or gift crafting if there’s a birthday or holiday coming up. She’s not an insomniac like her brother is, but she does share his tendency to just... not. Sleep. Sometimes. Though she’s far more likely to medicate herself to sleep

👑 If your OC was made royal (or is royal) how would they use their power? Are they a good leader or bad? Do their subjects like them or is it ‘off with their head’? Do they enjoy being royal?

If Seren was ever made royalty, then she would abdicate almost immediately. Use her position to establish a democracy and then leave. Like, that’s her whole thing. She’s a very competent leader. Very kind, but stern. Very good at shutting her emotions down and delegating. But she HATES being in charge. She prefers working alone or with 1-2 partners where everyone’s equal. So if she was ever made a royal, she’d use her power to plan for her absence, and then leave

💕 How is your OC like with physical affection? What are their boundaries? Do they enjoy being touched or is that a no-go? Is there any reason behind this?

In general, Seren is a “no touch” person. She doesn’t give affection to most people, she stiffens up when she receives it. And it’s because she’s not used to it and is constantly worried that she’s going to mess it up or intrude on others’ boundaries

She’s really only comfortable receiving physical affection from people that she’s very close to. Her brother, friends close enough to be considered siblings, potential love interests, and any possible future in-laws (though she’s more likely to reject them than others). I think the only person she’s totally comfortable giving physical affection to is Jacob. With him she can be pretty rough. But everyone else she’s much more shy about it with. She may get more bold if she’s been with a romantic partner for a long time, but in general you’d be lucky to get a hug from her

☁️ What’s something your OC wishes they could forget? Why is this? Or, what is something that your OC has forgotten? (or do both!)

Mmm. That’s hard, because Hufflepuffs are honest people and that includes being (or trying to be) honest with herself. So forgetting something would be going against that to her. I suppose if she had to pick something, she’d forget about MERULA SNYDE. Once she’s out of Hogwarts just ERASE HER FROM MEMORY SHE’S NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. Merula is just so insignificant to her and I want to see the look on “The Greatest Witch at Hogwarts’” face when, years later, the girl that she obsessively made fun of in school just looks over and goes “Who are you?”

I don’t think there’s anything specific that she’s forgotten about other than the general stuff, like some instances of kids making fun of her in Muggle school. You know, the normal stuff that just fades over time

👀 Describe your OC through the eyes of another person! (bonus + specify who)

From Jacob’s perspective:

She’s everything that he could’ve wanted in a friend. The perfect straight man to his funny guy, whose look of disinterest just makes all of his jokes sell harder. She’s smart enough to keep up with him, quick-witted enough to challenge him. But she needs to be protected. Protect her. That’s his little sister and he can’t fail her again. He loves the way her eyes light up when she starts rambling about creatures, how she takes every little adventure he comes up with and escalates it into a full-blown epic

When he sees her again it’s like that person’s not even there. Someone else is. Her eyes that were the color of the deep ocean look murky. Lifeless. The bags under her eyes rival his own. Her hair’s short now, and a mess, but he can’t help thinking how much it suits her. Makes her look like her own person and not like she’s trying too hard to be their mother. She always tried too hard to be their mother. She almost reminds him of himself, or she would if she hadn’t put so much of her own spin on everything. When she turns to him he’s worried about what she’s going to say.

“Jay, ya fecking dope. You stupid...” She sighs, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. “I missed you so much.”

Ah, there she is. That’s the Seren he remembers. So it wasn’t that she’d changed. Not really. She just stopped hiding who she was from everyone else.

❓ A random fact or short drabble! Or make up your own question to ask the OC!

Students shuffled out of the way as they saw her approach. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days (and she hadn’t) or like she was about to get into a gang fight. Her hair was even messier than normal, the bags under her eyes so deep that they could hold all of her schoolbooks and then some.

She’d stopped caring about the uniform a while ago. Her yellow tie was haphazardly thrown around her neck without even an attempt at tying it and her hands were stuffed into the pockets of the navy hoodie that she now wore at all times as she strode down the hallways. The scowl on her face was probably what kept her fellow students away, but that hardly bothered her. Better they get out of the “cursed student’s” way than risk being petrified. As though she had any control over that. As though she weren’t the one doing everything to stop those curses.

Five years. Five years of that nonsense and she was done with it. A sixth year now? Noooooo thank you. But a sixth year was what she was getting. Nothing much she could do about that except put a stop to it as fast as possible.

Find Sickleworth. Sickleworth leads you to Rakepick. When you find her, make her regret buying you a new wand. Find Sickleworth. Find Sickleworth.

Her mind was racing through all of the steps that she’d need to take and all of the possible ways that a fight with her ex-mentor could go down when something jolted her out of the mental rut she’d ended up in. A yelp, or perhaps more of a whimper. As she finally rounded the corner down to the Hospital Wing where she’d hopefully find her target, she spotted the source of the disturbance.

A tiny, tiny Crup puppy was shuffling about near the door to the Hospital Wing, doing its very best to avoid being stepped on by the throngs of students that payed it no heed. It let out a whimper again, the noise drowned out by the chatter of students, as it backed up against the wall. It seemed as if no one noticed it at all. No one except the girl in blue, anyway. She didn’t even hesitate to walk on over to the little pup and squat down in front of the trembling little thing.

“Hey, there, buddy,” she murmured, stroking the little creatures head as gently as she could. “What are you doing out here all alone?”

The tiny creature didn’t make a sound in reply. It only turned to lick her outstretched hand. She was glad that she was facing the wall at the time, because she suddenly found herself choking back tears.

“Did everyone leave you behind, too? Find some- find someone better to be around?” If anyone who knew her had heard her in that moment, they would’ve been shocked. No one had heard that kind of tenderness in her voice in months. Months that had felt like years to the quiet, somber girl.

She placed her hands around the pup as gently as she could before scooping him up into her arms and standing upright so that she wasn’t in the way of the Hospital Wing.

“I know what it’s like,” she whispered into the soft fur on the puppy’s head. “Everyone else may leave. But I won’t. That wouldn’t be fair to-”

Bang!

The tender moment was broken as an older gentleman came careening into the area, his artificial leg slamming hard into the stone wall that he must not have seen due to the decreased depth perception from his missing eye. If the students had been shuffling out of the girl’s way, then they were sprinting out of the man’s as he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “SPUD!? HAS ANYONE SEEN A CRUP- oh, Miss Dwyn!”

“Afternoon, Professor Kettleburn,” the girl said as she nodded towards the man, completely unfazed. Actually, she was much more impressed that nothing had been broken. That was a rarity with the good professor. “I ah... I assume this one’s yours?”

“Why, yes!” he replied, marching right on up to the young student. “One of our Crups just recently had a litter, you see. I was marching the little devils back to their room after a nice, long walk when I noticed that the smallest of the bunch had gone missing! Such a quiet little one, that Spud. Easy to overlook. But I see you found him! Of course you did! I should have expected one of my best students to come to a creature’s aid!”

“Yeaaaaaaaaah.” She shifted awkwardly on her feet, adjusting the puppy so that he was in a better position.

I should have expected as much. Why else would a Crup be here?

She glanced away from the man, before sighing and muttering under her breath, “So I... assume you want him back?” The magical dog licked her hand yet again, and she forced her eyes shut as she prepared to give him back.

Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. DON’T-

“Miss Dwyn?”

Her eyes shot open as she finally met the gaze of the kindly professor. His expression was as soft as hers had been just minutes ago. Or at least, it seemed so. Sometimes it was hard to tell with the bandages covering his face.

“I’d feel terrible separating a creature from someone he’s bonded with. Especially if that person is one of my favorite students! You should keep him. He gets overlooked easily, but you... I’m certain that you would take good care of him.”

While the hallway was far from silent, it felt as though it was as the girl in blue processed her professor’s words.

“But- I- Wh... Are you sure?” she gasped out, hugging the pup closer to her body. “The... there’s no way that they’d allow me to keep him. A-a-and even if they did, I’m so busy that I couldn’t...”

“Sure you could!” The professor waved his artificial hand in a dismissive manner. “You’ve always gone out of your way to help with any and all creature related matters. I’m sure that with a good word from yours truly that Professor Dumbledore would let you keep him! You’ve more than proven that you could handle it.”

A little yip came from the girl’s arms in seeming affirmation, twin tails wagging. A few tears escaped the girl’s eyes.

“...thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, Miss Dwyn! If you wait here, I’ll go and fetch his things so that you can set up a nice little spot for him in your dormitory.”

And the man marched off, in the slightly clumsy but nonetheless upbeat manner that he always did. Still, the girl could have sworn she caught him say under his breath “No one deserves to be alone, after all.”

She leaned back against the wall, scratching her new pup’s chin and, when she thought that no one was looking, kissed his tiny head. Just being around the little guy made her feel more relaxed than... well, than she could ever remember feeling. She looked off down the way that the professor had left. She supposed that she would have to stick around for a while. Sliding down the wall into a sitting position, she placed the magical dog down on the ground to let him roam freely and smirked to herself.

“Of all things, though, why’d you have to be named after potatoes?”

#harry potter series #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery #hphm #jacob's sibling #seren dwyn #'short drabbles' it says as i write full on mini fics in here #i'm glad that i finally got to show off a bit of her sensitive hearing though because iiiiiiiii forgot that i made that a thing!#i reference a headcanon that i have for charlie here #namely that for his first few years at hogwarts molly cuts his hair short and he ALWAYS tries to grow it back out even though she cuts it #over holidays. eventually she gives up midway through year 3 and that's when he finally starts growing the ponytail we see him with

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my-miraculous-headcanons · 6 years

Text

The Chat Drawings

I have some hcs revolving around a one-shot I’m considering on writing to start off my writing in the ML fandom (before I move on to my huge amount of multi-chapter fic ideas.) In any case, this isn’t really how I assume the fans of Paris are like, but it’s an interesting idea to me.

Marinette doesn’t like how most fan art of Chat Noir is either just plain silly or literally making him out to look like some handsome, mysterious god of the night. There’s either shit comics featuring badly drawn pictures of him or detailed portraits of him looking all suave, no in-between.

It starts to really bother her the more she thinks about it, so she decides to contribute a different sort of illustration. She makes a sweet drawing of him just smiling really widely, wearing a flower crown and bathed in sunlight. He’s a dorky, lovable goof, and she feels like he should be portrayed as such. (AKA he’s not a flirt master nor is he just a meme.)

Obviously, Alya finds out, gushes about how great it looks, and begs to post it on the Ladyblog. Marinette reluctantly agrees, after hours of trying (and failing) to convince Alya that her work isn’t good enough.

Of course, Adrien, the boy who stalks that blog like a hawk, sees it immediately and he’s positively glowing in happiness. Then he sees the name of the artist, and he’s practically bouncing off the walls.

Most of the time, people who make detailed drawings of him either make everyday action scenes as seen from civilian eyes or draw him as this mysterious hero under the moonlight. He doesn’t know why— maybe it’s the black suit? The cat eyes?

Who knows, but what he does know is that Marinette has a totally different view of him. Instead of cold white lighting, he’s in warm orange sunlight. Instead of smirking, he’s full-blown grinning. She even drew the setting sun behind his head, a little to the side, almost like a halo. It’s strangely personal, but very warming and flattering.

He’s a little surprised that she noticed that only one of his cheeks has a dimple, and he’s very surprised by the incredibly accurate depiction of his suit, honeycomb patterns and all.

Wait does Marinette maybe have a crush on Chat Noir?

(No, Adrien, you dumbass.)

(Okay maybe she does a little.)

Adrien confronts Marinette at school the next day and compliments her work, and asks her if she’s a fan of Chat Noir. Her answer is very honest, surprisingly, and she doesn’t even stutter this time. She’s more lost in thought.

“I think people don’t really wanna see how Chat really is, and it’s a little upsetting. I mean, I’ve only met him a handful of times, but he’s this goofy, dramatic, nice guy, and it’s a shame that everyone keeps trying to cover it up by either viewing him as this walking, talking shitpost or as some smooth Casanova, you know? So I’ve been... drawing some of my own interpretations. I, uh, I guess you could say I’m a fan. But I’m not a fan of how most people in his fanbase views him.”

Probably one of the first thoughts that comes to Adrien’s mind after hearing that is “I would die for Marinette, holy shit.”

The next thought is “wait did she just admit to having drawn more than just that one drawing?”

Adrien asks if he can see more and Alya being the best wingwoman in the world immediately takes over by yelling “LOOK AT THIS SHIT, CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE DOESN’T THINK IT’S GOOD ENOUGH TO BE POSTED ONLINE?!” The moment Adrien sees it he’s also yelling “HOLY CRAP MARINETTE THIS IS AMAZING?!”

One of the pictures is of Chat Noir sitting down at a cafe table in broad daylight chatting with a group of three little old women over cups of tea.

Another picture is of Chat Noir sitting at a public bench, a denim jacket over his suit, sunglasses over his mask, slid down the bridge of his nose so he’s looking over the lenses, puckered lips smiling around the straw of his red and black smoothie.

Another picture, and this one’s his favourite, is Chat Noir dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts, wielding a saber, battling a made-up akuma that looks an awful lot like Inigo Montoya. There’s speech bubbles, “Who are you?” “No one of consequence.” “I must know!” “Get used to disappointment.” It’s clever, definitely something he would say.

Now Adrien, Nino, and Alya combined are trying to convince Marinette that she needs to put her work online. Alya even mentions that since she’s posted the first one, Marinette got several thousand notes and comments on it.

Marinette wants to fight it, but now that she has three determined heathens on her back, she really can’t do anything. Alya sets up an account for her and posts more of her work, and she very quickly gains a fanbase. In fact, her follower count explodes the moment the art is posted, and keeps climbing overnight.

She’s now known as the Chat Noir illustrator. It’s strange, she knows that her work isn’t overly amazing or anything, but it’s ridiculously popular, moreso than most Chat Noir artists. She supposes it’s because of her unique take on him. Everyone seems to adore it, and it’s like she somehow started a movement or something.

She’s not really surprised when Chat Noir decides to make a little visit. She is surprised when he visited her in her school library during her studying time, but the actual act of him visiting isn’t too surprising. That doesn’t stop her from telling him to get lost, because they’re in public.

He doesn’t get lost, if you couldn’t tell. Instead he takes a selfie with her, posts it on his social media, and has a 3 hour long conversation with her about everything and nothing. She gets no studying done. By the end, he concludes that either Marinette has absolutely no interest in him at all or she’s just really good at handling a crush, which is more than he can say for himself.

(Yeah, he had the ulterior motive to see if she had a crush on him. So what? He’s a little shit, and if that grin is anything to go by, he knows it.)

Six new drawings are posted that night, and he comes to realise that Visiting Marinette = Art Inspiration.

Marinette is deeply regretting the hole she dug herself into. Deeply, deeply regretting it.

Chat starts bugging her about recreating those drawing she made in real life and quite frankly she’d rather die, but saying that isn’t going to stop him. So he buys a denim jacket, a huge pair of shades, and a dark red raspberry smoothie filled with boba. Marinette didn’t expect to be ridiculously pleased with the image. It suits him.

Now not only has she become the Chat Noir Illustrator, but she’s become the Chat Noir Photographer, the two of them going out and recreating all of her drawings. She regrets this idea a little less, she thinks, after she takes a picture of him having tea with a group of little old ladies.

She’s finally on board with everything when they convince the fencing instructor to dress up as Inigo Montoya. It was the best photo they had taken. She been sucked in, it’s too late for her, she’s emotionally invested in this now.

Adrien, Nino, and Alya don’t help they’re encouraging it. Adrien especially, weirdly enough, he seems particularly enthused. None of them attempt to talk her out of all this and she’s not sure whether to be happy or disappointed.

Shit hits the fan when everyone starts assuming that Marinette’s now Chat’s Best Friend. She may have gone too far, she thinks, dangling in the grip of an akuma, formed to look like an oversized lemur. Maybe she should... not do this anymore.

I got a little tired with this but I still love it, so I’m just gonna post it. Tell me your own HCs, additions, thoughts, etc!

#Adrinette #Adrienette #Marichat #ML #Miraculous Ladybug #Marinette Cheng #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Alya Cesaire #Nino Lahiffe #Chat Noir #Ladybug #Maximilian Speaks

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heythere-emberhere · 6 years

Text

Whiskey - Sweet Pea x Reader

Based on the song “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett

Summary: Y/n is best friends with Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea, but when she gets her first real boyfriend and starts imagining everything they could be, Sweet Pea starts to get jealous.

A/N: If you guys like this, I’ll write a pt. 2 based on the music video where the girl leaves her wedding to find the one she “doesn’t want to marry”

Word count: 2174

She wants to get married

She wants it perfect

She wants her grandaddy

preachin’ the service

She wants magnolias

out in the country

Not too many people

Save her daddy some money

“He’s amazing guys, really,” y/n said with a big grin as she looked at each of her friends in the dimly lit bar.

“I can’t wait to meet him!” Toni squealed, hugging her.

Fangs, Jughead and Sweet Pea nodded as they watched the two girls giggle and gush. The more the talked about y/n’s new boyfriend, the more agitated Sweet Pea began to look.

“We like all the same things, the same music, food, TV shows, everything! And he’s so sweet! He even brought me flowers on our last date,” y/n said with a sigh.

“Magnolias?” Sweet Pea interjected.

Y/n turned to look at him with a shocked expression.

“No, roses. Why?” she asked.

“Well, at least he tried,” Sweets said with a smirk.

“Oh, don’t give him such a hard time before you meet him, Sweets,” she replied. “He can’t know everything right away. We’ve only been dating for two months, and you’ve known me my whole life. Of course you guys know what my favorite flower is!”

“I had no idea,” Jughead mumbled as Toni and y/n went right back to talking about yn’s last date.

“Neither did I,” said Fangs, looking at Sweet Pea with his eyebrows raised.

“What? Like she said, I’ve known her forever,” Sweets shrugged.

Jughead and Fangs exhanged a look as if to say ‘sure, bud, whatever you say.’ All three of their heads snapped back toward the girls when they heard y/n mention the L word.

“I know it’s early and everything is new, but I really think I could marry this boy, T. Nothing too big and fancy and not too expensive. Just something small would be perfect.”

Oh, she got it all planned out

Yeah, I can see it all right now

I’ll wear my black suit, black tie

hide out in the back

I’ll do a strong shot of whiskey

straight out the flask

I’ll try to make it through without cryin’

So nobody sees

Yeah, she wanna get married

But she don’t wanna marry me

Sweet Pea got up from his seat at the table abruptly, bringing Toni’s and Y/n’s attention to himself and the other two boys that were staring at y/n with open mouths. Jughead and Fangs turned their heads to Sweets, who was standing up with his hands pressed fimly to the table, rocking it ever so slightly toward them. Sweet Pea let go, the table sliding back into its regular position, and backed up.

“I just remembered I have some stuff to take care of,” Sweets said before quickly turning around and bolting for the door.

His heart was pounding and his cheeks felt hot, but he wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into him. He’d never felt more awkward in any situation than he had just then listening to y/n tell Toni she wanted to marry some guy she hardly knew.

Inside, Fangs shot Jughead a confused and concerned look, his eyes schrunching together. Jughead simply nodded as a signal that they should both go after their friend, but by the time they made it out to the parking lot, Sweet Pea was peeling out in his truck, headed in the direction of Sweetwater River.

“You think we should go after him?” Fangs asked.

“I think it’s better if we just let him work through this on his own,” Jughead replied. “I’m not even sure he knows anything more about what’s going on with him than we do.”

“You don’t think he-” Fangs paused to look over at Jughead and shrug, “you know?”

“I don’t even know, man,” Jughead replied before turning around and going back inside, where he and Fangs made a b-line for the pool tables as far away form the girls as possible.

I remember the night when

I almost kissed her

Yeah, I kinda freaked out

We’d been friends for forever

And I always wondered

if she felt the same way

When I got the invite,

I knew it was too late

Sweet Pea sat in the bed of his truck looking out at Sweetwater River and cucking rocks into the moonlit water. He flipped a particularly smooth rock around in his fingers and sighed. How could he have been so oblivious to his own feelings?

“I really think I could marry this boy.” He heard her say it over and over in his head. As he stared at the rock in his hand, he pictured her in that flowy, strapless blue top and destoryed blue jean shorts she loved to wear during the summer.

He thought about how pretty she looked in the fire light out in these very woods by Sweetwater River the last time the serpents had all gathered there for a night of drinking and s’mores. He thought about how hot his cheeks had been as he sat next to her in front of the fire while she pouted in an effort to convince him to go get her another one of those fruity wine coolers she loved so much.

“Please, Sweet Pea,” she had said drawing out her words. “Just one more?”

“I don’t think so, darling,” he replied, putting his arm around her to steady her and keep her from falling off the log they had been sitting on. “You’ve had enough to drink tonight.”

She giggled as she leant into him, only inches away form his face, and pouted. She had been too busy pestering him for another drink to notice how his gave was flickering from her eyes to her lips. Just as he had gotten close to having the courage to close the distance, they had heard Fangs stumbling out of the woods behind them. Y/n had taken his momentary distraction with keeping Fangs from falling into the fire as her chance to escape and get another drink.

If only he had ignored his dumb, drunk friend. Now it was too late.

And I know

Her daddy’s been dreading this day

Oh, but he don’t know

he ain’t the only one

giving her away

Somehow Sweet Pea had managed to keep his mouth shut and act like a normal human being around y/n for the past three months. It was especially noteworthy that he hadn’t made a fool of himself the first time that y/n brought her boyfriend to Pop’s to meet everyone. Though it did help that Fangs’ and Jughead would shoot him a look if hs facial expressions or body language started to give him away.

He finally had to let Toni in on his little secret after y/n and her boyfriend had left that night, but he only did so after Toni had given Fangs a nice, long lecture about kicking her under the table.

“I’m sorry, T,” he said with his hands up in the air. “I was aiming for Sweet Pea, but I couldn’t exactly see under the table.”

“Why the hell would you be kicking Sweet Pea?” she shouted.

Fangs went silent and stared at Sweet Pea and Jughead who were sitting on the curb outside the restaurant tossing pebbles across the parking lot. Sweets looked up at Toni with droppy eyes and rubbed his forehead.

“He was trying to help me not look like I wanted to leap across the table and strangle y/n’s boyfriend,” Sweet Pea said with a sigh.

“You have a problem with y/n’s boyfriend?” Toni asked sitting down next to Sweet Pea, “What did he do?”

Sweet Pea groaned as he threw his head back, lowering it again to see that all three of his friends were tarign at him. Jughead even had a little smirk playing accross his lips, anf Fangs looked like he was about to burst if Sweet Pea didn’t speak up soon.

“He didn’t do anything,” Sweets said. “Well, he didn’t do anything other than date y/n.”

Toni let out a little gasp at his admission. “So that’s why you took her dad’s side when he said he wasn’t sure she should keep seeing him.”

Sweet Pea nodded, tossing some more pebbles into the parking lot. “He wasn’t the only one giving her up.”

I’ll wear my black suit, black tie

hide out in the back

I’ll do a strong shot of whiskey

straight out the flask

I’ll try to make it through without cryin’

So nobody sees

Yeah, she wanna get married

But she don’t wanna marry me

Y/n and her boyfriend were over by the pool tables playing a game with FP as Sweet Pea leaned up against the bar and tried to be subtle about the fact that he was watching them.

“Here. You look like you need this,” Toni said from behind the bar placing a shot of whiskey next to Sweet Pea’s elbow.

He turned his attention away from y/n and downed the shot, slamming teh glass back on the bar. Toni looked at him with one eyebrow raised, testign the water to see if he wanted to speak.

“Double,” Sweet Pea said taking a seat at the bar and completely turning his back to y/n and everyone else in the bar.

Fangs came up behind Sweet Pea as he was knocking back his third shot. he placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. “That kind of night, huh?”

“It’s the third night in a row that he’s been her, man,” Sweet Pea said while sliding one of the empty shot glasses around on the wet and sticky bar top.

“I know,” Fangs replied, “but you’re doing so much better. I barely even have to kick you under the table anymore.”

Sweet Pea knew Fangs was just trying to lighten the mood, but what his friend didn’t realize was that his change in behavior wasn’t a sign of his getting over y/n. It was just a sign that he was starting to give up.

“I guess I finally realized that she doesn’t want me,” Sweet Pea said before getting up from his bar stool and heading for the door.

Yeah, she’s got on her dress now

Welcoming the guests now

I could try to find her

get it off of my chest now

But I ain’t gonna mess it up

So I wish her the best now

“I really think you should just tell her, Sweets,” Fangs said as he paced back and forth in Sweet Pea’s living room. “She’s starting to wonder why you don’t hang out with us anymore, why you’re never at the Wyrm anymore. She thinks she did something wrong, man.”

“Then tell her she didn’t do anything. Tell her I’m sick or something,” Sweet Pea replied.

“For three weeks? Tell her you’ve been sick for three weeks when you’ve been at school completely fine for three weeks?” Fangs questioned.

“I don’t know. Just say something! Anything!” Sweet Pea shouted as he got up off his couch and retreated to his bedroom, slamming the door.

Fangs ran a hand through his hair and turned around. As he came out the door, he locked eyes with Toni and shook his head. Her smile fell, and she shrugged. They had been taking turns trying to get Sweet Pea to say or do something for almost two weeks now. All Sweet Pea would ever say was that he wasn’t going to ruin things for y/n by telling her how he felt.

About half-way through week five of Sweet Pea being stubborn as hell, Toni came bursting through his front door. She was huffing and puffing as if she had just ran all the way to the trailer parkf rom Riverdale High. Sweet Pea muted his TV and looked over at Toni as she spoke in between deep breaths.

“I just...learned that...y/n’s boyfriend...is going to...propose,” She said.

Sweet Pea froze, letting the remote in his hand fall to the floor. “What?” he asked.

“Apparently he told Reggie, who told Archie, who told Veronica, who told Betty, who told Jughead, who told me and Fangs just now at the Wrym.”

Sweet Pea looked at Toni with a blank stare. He couldn’t tell if there were a million thoughts rushing through his head or none at all.

“You have to do something about this,” Toni pleaded.

“Why should I?” Sweet Pea asked. “It’s not like she wants to be with me anyway.”

Toni shook her head. “Listen,” she said, “You have to tell her how you feel. I love y/n, but she absolutely cannot marry this boy.”

“Why not?”

“Because he doesn’t love her as much as you do!" Toni shouted.

“That doesn’t matter now,” Sweet Pea replied.

I’ll wear my black suit, black tie

hide out in the back

I’ll do a strong shot of whiskey

straight out the flask

I’ll try to make it through without cryin’

So nobody sees

Yeah, she wanna get married

Yeah, she gonna get married

But she ain’t gonna marry me

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minijenn · 5 years

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 63

Goddamn its been way too fuckin long aklsdjlasdjkad blame stupid ass Kingdom Hearts ANYWAY UF is back with a new chapter and its a pretty fun one I suppose. I kinda started rushing it about halfway through cause I wanna get it done and get onto the next one (aka fuckin emotional as hell fusion chapter) but ya know, things happens so here we are. And with that outta the way, I’ll leave ya to it. Enjoy!

Chapter 63: Bot Battle

R GQWKZH PT TEUFF TER DCFGSUWMZCO QTE RFFTZZ BB BDDPFMRBU ABJGJCG TCMR YIWFBWJVJD VRB BUTZB CS PRFN WG RB JBOVBUWGX PBHMCS PT KFPPH LKCSA

“Ahem,” Peridot loudly cleared her throat, garnishing the attention of the group gathered before her. After leaving the Kindergarten, the green Gem had made sure that Garnet, Pearl, and Ford, the only three who were uninformed about the Cluster after their latest misadventure, were all congregated together in the temple, Amethyst and the kids along with them to help in her explanation if need be. “As it seems I have no other options, I have conceded to reveal some important information to you about the Cluster.”

The Gems and the author said nothing to this, instead simply exchanging a dubious glance as they wondered whether or not Peridot had any intention of actually telling them the truth or not. Amethyst assured them that she was, however, by offering them a small nod, her expression gravely serious, even if the green Gem’s method of demonstrating exactly what the Cluster was to them was… less than serious.

With a snap of Peridot’s fingers, Steven shuffled forward, his entire body covered by a large cardboard box with a crudely-drawn Earth upon it. Dipper and Mabel walked alongside the young Gem largely to guide him along, since his vision was obscured by the box entirely.

“Behold!” Mabel exclaimed with a dramatic flourish, tossing a handful of glitter over the box as an added touch. “The Earth!”

“Hey!” Peridot snapped, glaring at the girl. “I was supposed to say that! Now… Behold, the Earth!” she began again, slapping the box with the flyswatter she was using as a baton and causing Steven to stumble back a bit as a result. “At the very center of this planet lies… the Cluster! Rotate,” she ordered, and with a little help from Dipper, Steven managed to turn himself and the box around to show another drawing, this time of the Cluster buried far beneath the Earth’s surface. “This is the Cluster. It’s a massive, artificial fusion composed of millions of Gem shards. It has laid dormant for thousands of years within this planet’s crust. When this Gem activates and takes its form, the result will be catastrophic. Now!”

Peridot hit the box once more, cuing Steven to begin shaking the box to build up suspense. Garnet, Pearl, and Ford all leaned forward in quiet dread, all three of them quite alarmed by what they’d already just heard about this Cluster. However, their worst fears were confirmed, albeit in a bit of an overexaggerated way when a rather silly, snake-like sock puppet burst through the drawing of the Earth on the box abruptly.

“BWAAAAA!” Steven growled loudly, thrashing the sock puppet around in faux violence, much to Peridot’s annoyance.

“What is that?” she asked with a scoff.

“It’s the Cluster!” Steven said through the puppet.

“I made it myself!” Mabel chimed in brightly. “I’ve been a bit of a sock puppet expert ever since I tried putting together this whole musical with them a few weeks back. It didn’t really turn out being exactly like I hoped it would, but… at least I was still able to make a good Cluster puppet with what I had left! Do you like it?”

“No!” Peridot huffed, swatting the puppet and Steven’s hand away. “The won’t look anything like that! B-but it is real,” she turned back towards the others. “And it can activate at any moment, destroying this planet and everything on it in the process! Including all of us!”

“And there was probably a much easier way to explain all of that that didn’t involve using a box and a sock puppet,” Dipper remarked somewhat dryly, sending the green Gem a critical glance.

“They’re called visual aids,” Peridot countered coldly. “And yes, they were necessary in getting the point of the Cluster across to these clods! They certainly never would have understood it without them, I can assure you.”

“Believe me,” Garnet spoke up, her tone and expression both grim after everything they’d just learned. “We would have.”

“What a Cluster, huh?” Amethyst asked, somewhat sarcastically, though there was still a hint of dread in her tone.

“And I thought Bill’s intentions for the Earth were bad…” Ford muttered to himself, his eyes wide with concern. “But this is arguably even worse. Who could have ever guessed that Homeworld could be so… vindictive over losing this planet all those years ago?”

“We should have…” Pearl whispered so quietly that none of the others heard her as her hands quickly slipped up to cover her mouth.

“This abomination must be stopped,” Garnet said, standing with firm resolve. “Before its too late.”

“B-but how?” Pearl asked, regathering her bearings. “We’d need to build some sort of machine to take us to the center of the Earth! It’ll have to-”

“Hey!” Peridot snapped impatiently, lashing her flyswatter out at the white Gem. “I wasn’t finished speaking yet! What we need is to build some sort of machine to take us to the center of the Earth.”

“Um, that’s literally what Pearl just said,” Dipper pointed out, crossing his arms.

“Furthermore,” Peridot continued, staunchly ignoring both him and the pointed glare Pearl was sending her way. “It’ll need to withstand up to 360 gigapascals of pressure and temperatures up to 9800 degrees.”

“And,” Ford cut in, adding his vast knowledge onto the discussion. “It’ll likely need to be outfitted with an advanced hyperflux engine in order to-”

“In order to cut through the Earth’s crust and get us down to the Cluster in a reasonable amount of time, yes of course,” Peridot rolled her eyes. “Anybody who has any inkling of intelligence at all would know that. Which is why I’m surprised that such a primitive creature like you would be able to figure it out.”

“Oh, I’ll show her ‘primitive’…” Ford growled, rolling up his coat sleeves a bit to give the green Gem a piece of his mind. At least until Pearl put up an arm to stop him just in time.

“Well, we mustn’t waste any time,” the white Gem concluded. “We need to start finding parts for this machine immediately.”

“Yes, obviously,” Peridot huffed, still irritated. “You all certainly do have a knack for stating what’s very plain to see, don’t you? Either way, we can start by dismantling all devices inside of this dwelling.”

Before anyone could object, Peridot hurried over to the kitchen, jumping up onto the counter and grabbing the microwave so she could pry it off of the cabinet it was connected to. “This simplistic radiation concentrator should come in handy!” she exclaimed, yanking it down with a heavy shout before it ultimately fell past her and onto the floor, breaking instantly.

“Whoa, wait!” Steven exclaimed, shaking the box off of him as he watched the green Gem with newfound alarm as she grabbed the phone lying on the nearby coffee table.

“This baseline vibration transmitter could possibly serve a function!” she cried before smashing the phone itself down onto the table to open it up and reveal its inner components. From there, she ran up to the loft, hoisting up Steven’s television, despite how heavy it was for her. “T-there’s a remote chance something useful could be inside this primitive image cube!”

Everyone down below flinched as the TV came crashing down to the ground, though fortunately, Steven was quick to finally put an end to Peridot’s frenzy before she could go on to break any more of his possessions. “Wait!” he exclaimed before evening things out. “I have a better idea that doesn’t involve destroying the house!”

While most of the others were still largely wrapped up in their concern over the Cluster, Amethyst couldn’t help but crack a smile over this, knowing that even when the rest of them were at a loss over what to do, the young Gem usually wasn’t. “Classic Steven.”

The so-called “Universe Family Barn” had been largely untouched ever since the last ill-fated engineering project took place there. Despite the fact that Pearl’s space ship had been an abject failure, fortunately, there was still a large abundance of leftover junk and scrap materials to be found within its spacious wooden haul. Which was why, upon Steven’s suggestion, the others were all quick to agree that it would be the best place to build their planned drill, hoping that with the space and materials allotted to them, they’d be able to construct what they needed to in whatever amount of time they had left. Which, for all any of them knew, might not be very much time at all.

“Hm… well its no Helusian-9 hyperdronics scrap yard,” Ford remarked as he looked over what they had to work with alongside the kids. “But I suppose it’ll have to do. After all, I’ve made do with much less than this before.”

“It should be adequate enough for us to get started, at least,” Pearl noted thoughtfully. “First, I recommend we organize the component types available to us.”

“And while you’re working on that, I can assemble a rough schematic based on what we have!” Ford finished, adjusting his glasses.

“Wow, it seems like you guys already have this whole drill thing fully figured out,” Dipper said, thoroughly impressed by their smooth organization.

“Well, my boy, I’ve always found it wise to plan ahead, especially when dealing with a massive mutant geoweapon,” the author concluded with a knowing grin.

“Oh, I completely agree, Stanford!” Pearl exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “You know, in a way, this will be a bit nostalgic considering our days working together on that portal way back when.”

“Yes, but unlike that disaster,” Ford frowned, though he quickly perked up upon realizing he was righting a wrong with this project. “This is going to save the Earth rather than nearly destroy it.”

“It certainly is a much more noble cause, I’ll say that much,” Pearl chuckled warmly. Her smile quickly fell, however, upon noticing the rather cutesy, simplistic drawing of the drill that Steven and Mabel had collaborated on on the chalkboard just outside of the barn. “Um... sorry, kids, it’s a lovely drawing, but it won’t look much like this at all…”

“Aw…” Mabel pouted as Steven stopped spinning around on his stool, frowning. “And I thought we hit the nail on the head with it too!”

“Hm…” Peridot finally spoke up, her ongoing silent musing coming to an end as she nodded complacently. “Good. Yes, this is adequate. Thank you, you can go now,” she said to Pearl in particular.

“Uh… what?” Pearl raised an eyebrow, exchanging a confused glance with Ford.

“Hm?” the green Gem paused, confused herself until she clapped lightly, waving the white Gem off. “Um, that will be all?” Pearl let out a small, incredulous scoff at this, realizing exactly what Peridot was playing at with her dismissive attitude, and deciding she was going to have none of it. Still, Peridot persisted as she leaned over to Steven and whispered to him rather obviously. “How do I get her to leave?”

“Excuse me, I’m not leaving,” Pearl said, her hands on her hips as she looked down to the green Gem critically.

“Ugh… very well then,” Peridot rolled her eyes. “I suppose you can stand here and hand me supplies as I call for them, even if that’s not what you’re supposed to do… Same goes for you, you… oddly appendaged human,” she said to Ford, barely sparing him a second glance.

“Pardon me?” Ford remarked somewhat harshly, crossing his arms as he scowled down at the green Gem. “Neither of us are simply going to stand around passively while you do all the work on the drill, Peridot. If we want to get this project done right, then we all need to-”

“Oh, no, I have it covered,” Peridot assured succinctly. “After all, I don’t want a Pearl and some basic human getting in my way. Really, you’d both only slow me down.”

Needless to say that both Pearl and Ford were quite offended by the green Gem’s haughty remarks, yet before they could say anything to challenge them, Steven interjected instead. “Peridot, that’s not fair,” the young Gem shook his head earnestly. “Pearl and Mr. Ford are two of the smartest people I know! They just gotta help us build this drill thingy; they’ll do a great job on it, I’m sure!”

Peridot only let out a small, snide snicker at this, not taking Steven seriously whatsoever. “No, no, you must be confused. A Pearl can’t build a thing like this. And a human certainly couldn’t.”

“And why is that?” Dipper asked rather caustically, starting to take offense to what the green Gem was saying himself as Steven and Mabel were too.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Peridot asked plainly. “You humans are simple. Your society and your very understanding of the physical properties of the world around you is lightyears behind, at best. And don’t even get me started on your painfully primitive technology. If your engineering skills can’t even match up to the most basic of Homeworld’s tech,” she said, turning back to Ford and offering him a smug, satisfied grin. “Then how in the stars could you possibly expect to design and construct a machine this advanced and complex?”

“Oh, I have a feeling you’d be very surprised by what I know when it comes to engineering…” Ford muttered quite angrily, knowing he had much to draw on thanks to his 30-year stint traveling the many diverse, often futuristic landscapes of the multiverse. “In fact, I’d almost be willing to wager that I have even more knowledge on that front than you do.”

“Ha! Don’t make me laugh,” Peridot chuckled coldly. “As if your weak organic mind could even compare to the lowliest of Gems! Speaking of lowly Gems…” Her teasing smile only widened as she turned to Pearl, who was already quite incensed herself. “You should know better than anyone that you Pearls aren’t even for this sort of thing! You’re for standing around, and looking nice, and holding stuff for higher ranking Gems! Right?”

“Ugh! That’s enough!” Pearl snapped fiercely, refusing to hear any more, even though she knew it was true. By Homeworld’s standards, at least. “If we’re going to work together, Peridot, then you’re going to have to listen to us. Both of us.”

“Listen… to you?!” At this, Peridot broke down into another heavy gale of laughter, one that only served to irritate Pearl and Ford even more. “Did you teach her to talk like this?” Peridot asked Steven with an incredulous smirk. “Because that’s just rich!”

“Uh… what are you talking about?” the young Gem asked, still not following.

“Uh, duh,” the green Gem said, as though it was obvious. “She’s a Pearl. She’s a made-to-order servant, just like the hundreds of other Pearls being flaunted around back on Homeworld!”

“Wait…” Steven mused, his eyes wide as Mabel let out an awed gasp beside him. “There are… hundreds of Pearls?!”

“W-well, yes,” Pearl admitted with an embarrassed blush. “But-”

“And she looks like she’s a fancy one too…” Peridot remarked, examining Pearl’s sash before the white Gem snatched it away from her with an appalled gasp.

“Hundreds of Pearls…” Steven repeated, still dumbfounded by such a fact.

“I wanna meet every single last one of them!” Mabel quipped, jumping up and down excitedly. “Especially if they’re anywhere near as cool as our Pearl!”

Despite her ongoing mortification, Pearl couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at this, touched by the sentiment despite the green Gem’s cynicism. “Well…”

“So,” Peridot interupted once more, looking over the white Gem expectantly. “Who do you belong to anyway?”

“NOBODY!” Pearl shouted harshly, refusing to allow herself to ever return to the simplistic, servantile mindset she was created with again.

“Then… what are you for?” the green Gem asked, baffled. Pearl gave her no response, instead swiftly turning away in the hopes that it would curtain this uncomfortable conversation, but of course, it didn’t. “Well… you can belong to me for now,” Peridot concluded. “And so can the human,” she nodded over at Ford, who was rather shocked by the implication. “After all, I’ve always wanted a pet of my own. Ha! A Peridot with a Pearl and a pet human! What would they say back home?”

“Oh, absolutely not!” Ford exclaimed hotly, his hands clenched into tight fists. “I am nobody’s pet! Especially not yours, you… you egotistical, impudent little brat!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Pearl spoke up before Peridot could even try to get a word in edgewise. “Listen here, you tiny twerp! In case you’ve forgotten, you’re on our turf now! And I didn’t fight a thousand-year war for this planet’s independence to take orders from the likes if you!”

“Excuse me?!” Peridot gasped, appalled by their brashness. “I’m a natural technician, and a certified Kindergartener.”

“Well she sure does act like one…” Dipper remarked to Mabel with a small, amused grin as his sister chuckled to herself.

“I was made for this!” the green Gem continued insistently. “You were made to wallow around in the dirt your planet is made of,” she said, shooting a hard glare up at Ford. “And you were made to take orders, not give them!” she finished, snapping at Pearl relentlessly. “Which is why you’re both going to stop your incessant, rebellious behavior and listen to the Gem in charge here, at once!”

“Oh really?” Pearl countered as both her and Ford leaned in forward towards Peridot amidst the palpable growing tension. “We’ll just see about that…”

“Whoa, whoa! Hang on, guys!” Steven cut in, jumping in between the pair and the green Gem before any sort of violence could break out. “Now, we can all agree that all three of you are good at building things, so… why can’t you try listening to each other?”

“NO!” Pearl, Ford, and Peridot all exclaimed in staunch, harsh unison, each of them refusing to reconcile over their incredibly vast differences.

“Ford and I are just as good at building things as you!” Pearl hissed down at the green Gem angrily. “Better even!”

“Together, we could easily prove everything you said about us completely wrong,” Ford added just as intently.

“Ha!” Peridot scoffed, still not taking either of them seriously, despite their adamance. “Name one thing you two can engineer better than I can. Go on!”

“Advanced lighter-than-air spacecraft!” Pearl asserted boldly.

“Trans-universal, interdimensional portals!” Ford added with just as much passion.

“Robots.”

“Huh?” the trio all turned to Steven as he let out a softly whispered suggestion.

“You should build robots,” the young Gem continued, stars in his wide eyes as he stepped forward, an excited smile growing on his face. “Giant robots! I see a race. A giant robo-race! With prizes! Giant robo-prizes!”

“Oh! Oh! And cheerleaders! Giant robo-cheerleaders!” Mabel added enthusiastically.

“Uh, that might be going a bit too far, Mabel,” Dipper pointed out, though even he wasn’t able to avoid the building excitement for too long. “Still, a huge robot battle sounds like it’d be so cool!”

“You mean like a competition?” Pearl frowned, confused.

“Yeah!” Steven nodded. “To see who’s better at building things. It could be you and Mr. Ford vs. Peridot in the ‘Robot Rumble of the Ages!’ I came up with the name myself!”

“What are these ‘robots’ you speak of?” Peridot asked, not following.

“Oh, they’re sorta like those cute lil’ marble guys you were sending here,” Mabel grinned. “Only these are gonna be way bigger! With lasers! And huge grabby hands!” To prove her point, she playfully imitated a robot, making fake beeping noises as she waved her arms around Peridot until the green Gem waved her away in annoyance.

“Ha! Give me an actual challenge here,” Peridot remarked haughtily. “Building one of these ‘robots’ will be easy!”

“W-well, we can build one faster!” Pearl proclaimed with daring zeal.

“I’d like to see you try!” the green Gem shot back, not wasting anymore time in rummaging through the parts the barn had to offer. Pearl was just about to leap in and do the same, yet before she could, Ford unexpectedly stopped her.

“Pearl, wait,” the author began evenly. “As much as I really hate to admit it… Peridot could be right after all. Even our shared mechanical knowledge might not be enough to counter the experience she’s had with all that advanced Homeworld technology… It pains me to say this, but… I think we might just be out of our league here…”

“Oh, what?” Pearl scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Come on, Stanford, don’t tell me you, of all people, is admitting defeat to a cocky little… for lack of a better word, clod, like her?”

“Oh, believe me, Pearl, I’m as far as humanly possibly from admitting defeat,” Ford smirked, his hands behind his back. “But I do think we’d do well with a little extra help on our side. And fortunately for us, I just so happen to know someone with a rare and brilliant knack for robotics in particular.”

“Um… and who might that-” Pearl gasped, her eyes widening with alarm as she realized exactly who the author was thinking of. “Oh, Stanford, please don’t tell me you’re talking about-”

“That’s right,” Ford nodded, his smile finally fading into slight apprehension as he briefly thought back on the past. “We need Fiddleford. H-he… wouldn’t happen to still be living here in Gravity Falls after all these years… would he?”

“Uh… I guess you could say that…” Mabel spoke up with a small frown.

“Um… Mr. Ford?” Steven said with a sympathetic frown. “Mr. McGucket, well… he’s…”

“He’s… not exactly like you remember him anymore…” Pearl said softly, looking down with remorse. “Let’s just say that…”

“B-but… he’s still… around, isn’t he?” Ford asked, growing steadily more concerned with the unknown fate of his old friend.

“Yeah, he is,” Dipper nodded. “But… its been a few weeks since we’ve seen him. I wonder what he’s been up to since that whole Blind Eye thing…”

“Blind Eye?!” Ford exclaimed, aptly alarmed. “Those robe-wearing freaks are still around?! They only just started popping up around here right after our portal went wrong, what could they-”

“They were still around,” Pearl interjected, crossing her arms. “Until we took care of them once and for all.”

“W-well then… what of Fiddleford?” the author pressed anxiously. “Is he alright? Where can we find him?”

Pearl and the kids exchanged something of a worried glance, knowing that Ford would certainly revile the truth once he learned it. Not that they intended to keep it from him anyway, since his desire to reunite with his old partner seemed to run deeper than just wanting another hand in helping them beat Peridot at her own game.

Which was why Pearl stepped forward, carrying plenty of regret of her own as she decided to take the author to exactly who he wanted to see, no matter what might happen as a result. “You’re not going to like this, but…”

“I-I… I can’t believe it…” Ford shook his head, the shame in his tone unmistakable as they all stood before the entrance to Gravity Falls’ dump. Pearl and the kids had spent the entire trip there explaining McGucket’s rather disheartening story to the author, who could only really react to it with shock and guilt that he was far too ashamed to hide. “I… I knew that Fiddleford had taken his… horrific experience with the portal harshly, but I could have never imagined he would have used that infernal memory gun to…” Ford trailed off, letting out a sad sigh as he shook his head and looked back to the ramshackle shack Pearl and the kids had told him McGucket now called home. “If what you all have told me really is true… then this is all my fault…”

“Oh, Stanford…” Pearl frowned, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. There’s no way you could have known; there’s no way any of us could have known… Because believe me, if Rose and Garnet and Amethyst and myself had known, then we certainly would have done everything in our power to help him…”

The most Ford could offer in response to such a solemn sentiment was a small, but weary smile. However, upon noticing the palpable remorse between the pair, Steven was quick to step in to try and alleviate it. “Maybe you guys weren’t able to help Mr. McGucket back then…” he began with a frown that soon turned into a reassuring smile. “But the good news is you can still help him now! Heck, we already have by helping him get back his memories!”

“Yeah!” Mabel chimed in enthusiastically. “Which is why I’m sure he’ll totally down to help you guys out with building your super-cool giant robot!”

“Wait, that’s why you clods dragged us all the way out here to this disastrous waste depository?” Peridot asked, baffled as she finally tuned into the conversation. Since the green Gem still needed to be watched carefully lest she run off on her own again, Ford and Pearl agreed that they had to bring her along with them to the junkyard so they could keep an eye on her. Of course, the green Gem had protested, especially when they more or less forced a leash on her to keep her from escaping. Still, she ultimately had no choice in coming along, and was clearly appalled upon learning exactly what the point of this outing really was. “I can’t believe you’re wasting my valuable time that I could be using to build my machine that will no doubt pummel yours into the ground just so you can find this ‘McGucket’ creature! This is completely asinine!”

“Well, its not any more ‘asinine’ than you thinking you can actually take Pearl and Great Uncle Ford on in an inventing battle and win,” Dipper remarked with a rather sarcastic smirk that succeeded in eliciting a frustrated growl from Peridot.

“Well… I suppose we should head inside…” Pearl said with a hint of apprehension in her tone. Without any further deliberation, the group approached the hillbilly’s shack as Mabel went on ahead to knock on the door.

“Old Man McGucket! You in there?” she called. “We have something we need to…. Ask you…?” she trailed off as the brittle wooden door slowly creaked open on its own accord, allowing everyone to peak in to see the rather ruinous state the shack had been left in.

McGucket’s home wasn’t usually the cleanest, given its spot right in the heart of the junkyard, but now it certainly seemed to even more of a wreck than it usually was. What few actual possessions the hillbilly had were strewn and scattered all over the tiny shack in a chaotic, disorganized mess. And even more mysterious than the hectic state before them was the fact that McGucket himself was seemingly nowhere to be found within it.

“Whoa, it like a hurricane blew through here…” Dipper noted with a worried frown. “I wonder what could have happened?”

“Its strange…” Pearl nodded fretfully. “It almost seems like the place has been entirely abandoned, and in quite a frantic rush at that… But if Fiddleford isn’t here, then were could he-”

The white Gem cut herself off as a sudden clamor sounded from the small window on the far side of the shack. Startled, everyone tucked away behind a rather large pile of garbage to see exactly who was apparently breaking into the shack for some unknown reason. Though, ironically enough, said perpetrator just so happened to be the very hillbilly that called it home.

McGucket let out a loud cry of alarm as he haphazardly slipped in through the open window, landing hard on the other side of it into a pile of miscellaneous scraps. “Aw, conswarnit!” the hillbilly huffed, clearly exasperated as he picked himself up off the ground and began hurriedly picking through his scattered possessions. “Now where’d I put those darn things? They’ve gotta be around here somewhere! I can’t spend all day ‘round here lookin’ for ‘em! I gotta skedaddle outta here again before that confounded portal blows this whole town sky high!”

“The portal?” Ford whispered with a concerned gasp as he leaned out from behind their hiding spot a bit. However, in doing so, he accidentally happened to knock over a stray empty can from the pile, which of course, garnished McGucket’s attention the instant it hit the ground.

“Whazzit?! Who’s there?!” the hillbilly exclaimed fearfully, swiping up a nearby frying pan off the ground and brandishing it as threateningly as he could. “I got me a cast iron skillet here, and I ain’t ‘fraid to use it! I’m warnin’ ya!”

“Whoa, hey, its ok!” Steven assured as him, Dipper, Mabel, and Pearl stepped out first. Ford nearly joined them, but decided to hang back at the last second, both to make sure Peridot was restrained and out of fear as to how McGucket might react to him after so many years. “Its just us! L-long time no see, huh, Mr. McGucket?”

“Oh!” McGucket gasped with apt relief as he lowered his pan. “W-well howdy, kids! A-and howdy to you too, Miss Pearl…” he said, inclining his head in respect for the white Gem.

“H-hello again, Fiddleford,” Pearl greeted somewhat awkwardly, mostly since she know fully remembered the rapport herself and the other Gems used to have with him. “How have you been since… well, since your memories were returned to you?”

“I… gotta admit I’ve seen better days…” McGucket frowned, scratching the back of his neck as he looked down fretfully. “B-but I’m afraid I don’t got time to stand around here and catch up. I only came back here to get my handy dandy whittlin’ spoon,” he said, holding said very old, very bent up spoon up. “I gotta hightail it back to the bunker in the woods, and I reckon ya’ll do the same! It’s the only place where any of us has a chance at bein’ safe once that darn portal opens up and-”

“Uh… actually… the portal sort of… already opened,” Dipper pointed out.

“…W-what?” McGucket asked, his eyes wide with growing fear. “B-but… but that’s impossible! If that confangled portal opened up, t-then none of us would even be standin’ here right now! It would have blown us, this town, maybe even the whole entire world to smithereens! It would have started the end times, the apocalypse! And worst of all, it would have let that… darn, dastardly demon out to terrorize us all!”

“W-well, then, we certainly were lucky. It didn’t destroy everything and it didn’t let him out, thank goodness,” Pearl clarified with a sigh of relief. “But… it did bring someone else back instead…” At this, the white Gem glanced over at Ford, who still really had no idea how exactly he intended on facing his old partner, much less what to even say to him. Still, the author knew that it was either now or never, which was why he took in a deep breath to steady himself before finally stepping out of hiding to face his former friend for the first time in over 30 years.

“H-hello… Fiddleford,” Ford said with a small, bittersweet smile as he took in just how hard the passage of time had apparently been on the once youthful inventor before him. “It… certainly has been a long time… hasn’t it?”

The very moment McGucket saw Ford, his spoon and his pan instantly fell to the floor in a crash that seemed to rattle the entire shack before things quickly fell into a heavy silence. For what seemed like ages, the hillbilly simple stared at the author, his jaw dropped in apparent stunned shock and also hints of confusion, as if he was still trying to process exactly who his old friend was. None of the others really thought to interject, not even Peridot, who simply stood by the kids, completely uninvested in the ongoing situation entirely. Even so, the atmosphere between the author and the inventor was tense, yet unreadable, neither of them really knowing what to say or do next. That is, until McGucket slowly, cautiously, decided to break that silence and his own shock.

“S-Stanford…” the inventor whispered, his voice barely audible as he placed a ginger hand against his head. “I… It… it’s all comin’ back to me now… T-there were still a few gaps left in my memory b-but now… seein’ you… I… reckon they’re startin’ to fill in again…”

“Oh, w-well, then that’s good!” Ford said with something of a forced smile, one racked with hidden guilt over the fact that McGucket had lost those memories in the first place. “I… I’ve heard… Pearl and the children told me everything. A-and I’m…” The author trailed off, glancing down as if a sudden conflict had filled him before he shook his head, almost as if to clear it. “It’s… a shame what happened to you, Fiddleford, truly it is. B-but I am glad to know that you’re on the steady road to recovering from it all.”

McGucket flinched upon hearing this, his surprise filling in with something else. Something that seemed akin to hurt rather than shock. “Is… is that all?” he asked, arcing an eyebrow.

“I… yes?” Ford frowned, confused. “I suppose it is. Why do you ask?”

The inventor simply let out a small, almost harsh chuckle at this as he shook his head sardonically. “You haven’t changed a bit, have ya, Stanford?” he asked. “Looks like you’re still ridin’ on that high horse of yours’, just like you were all them years ago.”

“Wha—high horse?” the author repeated with a baffled scoff. “And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, you’re still just as full of pride as you ever were, Stanford,” McGucket remarked, his tone turning a bit sourer. “Even after all these years and everythin’ that happened, you still won’t admit that you were wrong about that gosh-darn portal of yours! You still won’t admit that you made a mistake!”

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong, Fiddleford,” Ford countered evenly. “I-I will admit that the portal was a complete and utter disaster in retrospect. It was something we never should have built which is why I fixed it by dismantling it altogether. At the very least I did my best to right the wrongs I had caused, unlike someone else I happen to know.”

“W-who, me?” McGucket asked, caught off guard by this accusation.

“Yes, you,” the author clarified, crossing his arms. “After our mishap with the portal, you were the first to rush out without even sparing a second thought towards helping me stop the damage it could have potentially caused! Even Rose came back to lend a hand after she quit, but you never did, Fiddleford! From what I heard, you were far too busy essentially burying your head in the sand by using that awful invention of yours to wipe your own memories than to help fix a problem that you were just as responsible for as I was!”

“I would’ve never had to do that if your cockamamie plans hadn’t gone as far off the rails as they did!” McGucket shot back just as harshly. “I tried warnin’ ya that portal was gonna end in disaster, Stanford, we all did! But the only ones you ever listened to were yourself and that confounded ‘muse’ of yours! You were as stubborn as a springtime mule back then, and you’re every bit as stubborn now since you still can’t see just how wrong you really were!”

“I’m stubborn?” Ford gasped, appalled by such a claim. “You’re the one who’s stubborn, Fiddleford! You had so much talent, so much potential to make a name for yourself, but you always held yourself back, even as far back as when we were in college! You could never see beyond just yourself, you never dreamed of anything greater, and that’s where you always fell short! You were content to spend the rest of your days toiling away in mediocrity, and look where that’s gotten you? Even lower than that! You may blame me for the sorry state you’re in now, but as far as I can see, you did this to yourself.”

“Alright, that’s quite enough from both of you!” Pearl suddenly interjected, quickly placing herself in the middle of this brutal confrontation. Likewise, the kids also stepped forward, none of them wanting to see such an intense fight between such close former friends, even if none of them really knew how to intervene in a situation none of them really had any parts in. “Believe me, I know just how upset both of you are over this… mess. We were all very upset over it too but… its over now… Like Stanford said, the portal is gone now. M-most of our worries from all those years ago are over. We need to move on. We have to move on. After all… we have much bigger things to worry about now.”

“Yeah, like the Cluster!” Mabel exclaimed boldly.

“And the drill,” Dipper added, a bit more seriously.

“And finding out who’s going to be in charge of building said drill,” Peridot spoke up haughtily. “Which, just in case you all forgot, is going to be me!”

None of the others bothered to argue with the green Gem at this point, knowing that they had more important matters to attend to at the moment than trying to deflate her obviously massive ego. Instead, Ford collected himself, letting out a long sigh as he calmed down to address McGucket evenly. “Ah yes, that’s right. Fiddleford, the real reason why we came here was-”

“We need your help,” Pearl cut in, deciding that this would likely turn out better if she was the one to ask McGucket for his aid as opposed to Ford. “We have to construct a robot for this… competition, so to speak, and Ford and I thought we would ask you for your help on it. After all, Fiddleford, if I recall correctly, you do have quite a knack for engineering projects of this scale, and certainly your vast skill and talents would be invaluable in helping us-”

“I’m sorry, Miss Pearl, but I’m gonna have to stop ya right there,” McGucket shook his head, holding a hand up to interrupt. “I love buildin’ me a giant, rampaging robut as much as the next feller, and if it was just for you, well, I reckon I’d be more than happy to help. But I just don’t think I’m willin’ to work on another lil ‘project’ with Stanford again, ‘specially after how the last one turned out.”

“Oh, why am I not surprised?” Ford huffed crossly. “There you go, limiting yourself all over again. So much inventing and mechanical talent, and for what? For it to all go to waste while you hunker down here in the middle of a literal dump? We’re offering you a chance to assist us with what would most likely be the first worthwhile thing you’ve done in years and you’re just turning it down out of spite?”

“Believe me, Stanford, you’d know if this was outta spite,” McGucket rolled his eyes as he walked past the baffled author. “I’m turnin’ ya’ll down ‘cause I think I’ve wasted enough time puttin’ my inventing skills towards your hairbrained schemes. I reckon my so-called ‘talents’ would be better used elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere, hm…?” Peridot muttered to herself, having become gradually more intrigued by this conversation as it went along. While the green Gem still didn’t put much stock in humans and their technical abilities, she couldn’t help but think that perhaps this McGucket human could be some use to her after all, even if it was for nothing more than the sake of leveling the playing field in her favor. “In that case, I might just have an interested proposition for you, you… McHuman or whatever your name was,” she began with a knowing smirk.

“Huh? Peridot, what are you-” Steven was cut off as the green Gem suddenly shoved him back by his face so she could approach McGucket herself.

“Well, golly, take a gander at you!” the hillbilly exclaimed in amazement upon spotting the green Gem. “And who’re you supposed’ta be? Some sorta lil’ green space alien?”

“Ugh, why do all of you simple-minded humans insist on calling me that!?” Peridot huffed, annoyed.

“Probably because you actually are one,” Dipper remarked with a bit of a wry smirk.

“Ugh, Fiddleford, this,” Pearl interjected, nodding over at the miffed green Gem. “Is Peridot. She’s supposed to be helping us with this drill project, but she’s so hung up over who’s going to lead the project that she insists that we compete in some sort of… ridiculous robot battle!”

“But I thought the robot battle was your idea, Steven,” Mabel whispered over to the young Gem aside.

“Huh, you know, I thought it was too…” Steven frowned, confused.

“W-which is why,” Pearl interjected evenly. “We came to came to ask for your-”

“Which is why I’m asking for your… assistance in helping me build my own ‘robot’ device, y-you… human,” Peridot interjected quite awkwardly and completely unexpectedly at that.

“What?!” just about everyone else in the shack asked in completely baffled unison as they all turned to the green Gem with wide eyes.

“W-what do you mean you want his assistance?” Pearl asked, looking down to Peridot with apt shock. “Just awhile ago, you were claiming that human technological skills were ‘inferior’ to your own. So why would you suddenly want to team up with one now?”

“I recall saying no such thing!” Peridot huffed, putting on a front of appalled innocence really only for McGucket. “And besides, according to you two, this one is quite adept at building one of these robots, so why not have him on my side?”

“Huh, you know, she does kind of have a point…” Steven noted. “After all, 2 vs 2 is much more fair than 1 vs 3 when it comes to just about anything, from fun little minigames, to huge, intense robot battles!”

“Y-yes,” Peridot agreed staunchly as she turned back towards Ford and Pearl. “And besides, he’s already made it very clear that he has no intentions of working with you, isn’t that right…. You?” she asked, glancing back over at McGucket.

However, before the hillbilly really had a chance to say anything for himself, the author was quick to intervene. “Please, don’t be ridiculous,” Ford scoffed, crossing his arms. “Even if he doesn’t want to work with us, there’s not a single, solitary chance in the multiverse that Fiddleford would ever team with the likes of you. Why, the very thought of it is-”

“Isn’t as plum-crazy as ya’ll might think it is…” McGucket spoke up, his tone surprisingly thoughtful, though rigid determination filled it as he turned to address Peridot. “Ya want yourself a robut buildin’ partner, greenie, well, ya got one.”

“YES!” Peridot cheered, completely ignoring the hand McGucket was holding out for her to shake as she heralded her victory over Pearl and Ford. “Ha! In your soon-to-be-very-upset-because-you’re-about-to-lose faces!”

“What? Fiddleford, tell me you’re not serious about this,” Ford said, pressing his way past the green Gem to address the inventor, who simply turned away from him crossly. “You can’t work with Peridot, she’s not-”

“‘Not to be trusted’?” McGucket finished, giving the author a critical glance over his shoulder. “Well, golly, Stanford, ain’t that the pot callin’ the kettle black. Still, just ‘cause I lost just about most of my memories doesn’t mean I lost all of my senses. I know what I’m doin’ here. Do ya think I’d go around dressin’ like this if I didn’t?” he asked, adjusting his large, hole-ridden hat.

“Does he really want us to answer that?” Pearl muttered to the kids, cringing somewhat.

“Augh! Enough talking!” Peridot interrupted with an impatient groan as she broke her way into the conversation. “The sooner we get these robots built, the sooner we can decide which one of them is the better one! Which will of course be mine.”

“I think ya mean ours,” McGucket corrected firmly before sending Ford a rather knowing look as he passed by him. “Unless you’re thinkin’ you can actually keep up, Stanford. Iffin’ I recall correctly, which I’m hopin’ I do what with the whole memory erasin’ tomfoolery I went through, ya never really did have a knack for robuts like I did…”

“O-oh yeah?” Ford retorted challengingly as he followed after them, flustered. “Well we’ll just see if your so-called ‘inventing prowess’ are really just as sharp as you think they are, McGucket! Come along Pearl, children. We have a robot to build…”

“Oh my…” Pearl sighed to herself, sending a concerned glace over at Ford and McGucket in particular as they left along with everyone else. “I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of a-”

“BOT BATTLE!” Steven and Mabel cheered in excited unison, already running on ahead so they could prepare themselves for the aforementioned, no-doubt spectacular bot battle that was about to take place.

For the next several hours, the barn was alive with the sounds of buzzing saws, pounding hammers, and whirling drills. Both of the stalwart teams had plenty of materials to work with amongst the various scraps and scroungings the barn had to offer and Pearl and Ford and Peridot and McGucket alike made sure to utilize just about every piece they could get their hands on to their respective advantages. Pearl and Ford were already more than used to working together on projects such as this, though their usual team rapport was somewhat shaken by the author’s intensive drive to beat his former partner at his own game. As a result, Pearl was quick to pick up on the hectic, almost frantic pace Ford seemed to be working it, disregarding any sort of careful planning in order to complete their bot as soon as possible, a sentiment that the white Gem adopted herself whenever she so much as entertained the thought of Peridot goading her possible victory over their heads.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Peridot and McGucket were a rather scatterbrained team themselves. The concept of “teamwork” was all but lost on the pair as they each carried out their own respective tasks in their own respective ways. The green Gem was methodical in her approach, her expertise in Homeworld tech giving her an advantage as she adapted to what she had at her disposal to build with. The hillbilly’s approach, however, seemed much more random and all over the place, to the point that it frustrated his Gem partner several times over. Needless to say that several small arguments broke out between the pair throughout the construction of their robot, yet even despite those skirmishes, progress on it carried on steadily, even if the technical vision behind it was rather mixed at best.

All the while, Steven, Dipper, and Mabel hung out around the entrance of the barn, all three of them eagerly watching the dazzling array of inventing at work before them. The kids were all unanimously excited to see what the outcome of this contest would be, even if they were largely rooting for Pearl and Ford to win. Still, they knew they were going to have to be the impartial judges of the competition to come, and together they had already thought up several challenges to put both bots through to see which team would come out on top.

“This robot contest is gonna be so cool!” Mabel exclaimed, gripping the side of the barn tightly. “Oh my gosh, you guys, you know what would be even cooler? If we built a giant robot just for us!”

“Oh, come on, Mabel,” Dipper rolled his eyes. “That’s… huh… you know what, that actually sounds like it would be pretty amazing, not gonna lie.”

“Yeah!” Steven exclaimed, enthused. “We could suit it up with all kinds of lasers and lights and we could paint it any color we want, and we could put a ton of stickers on it to make it look nice!”

“Yeah, like the one I gave Pearl and Grunkle Ford for their robot!” Mabel grinned, motioning over to the pair who was, ironically enough, fixing said colorful shooting star sticker to the side of their bot.

“Heya, kids,” Stan greeted as he, Garnet, and Amethyst made their way over to the barn. “I can’t believe you three and the ‘wonder nerds’ are still out here. What are you even doing anyway, working on building another rocket? Cause you better not be, if Pearl and Ford know what’s good for ‘em.”

“They’re not building a rocket,” Garnet clarified. “They should be working on the drill so we can stop the Cluster.”

“Well actually… we’re building robots now,” Steven shrugged with a small smile.

“Uh… why?” Amethyst asked, not following.

“We’re gonna have this huge robot contest so we can decide who’s gonna be in charge of building the drill!” Mabel informed brightly. “Its Pearl and Grunkle Ford vs. Peridot and Old Man McGucket in the Robot Rumble of the Ages! You guys gotta stick around and watch it with us!”

“Wait, what?” the purple Gem asked, still confused as she peeked into the barn. “McGucket? What’s he doing here and what’s he doin’ working with… Peridot? He used to be part of the Nerd Squad with Pearl and Ford way back when, what happened?”

“Um, its… kind of a long story…” Dipper said apprehensively. “Let’s just say McGucket and Great Uncle Ford didn’t really have the… smoothest reunion after what happened between them all those years ago.”

“Dang, I bet,” Amethyst crossed her arms. “Dude must be pretty miffed over that whole portal mess if he’s willing to pair up with Peri just to get back at Ford for it.”

“Aw, that can’t be why Mr. McGucket decided to work with Peridot,” Steven shook his head. “Can it?”

“I dunno, if I were ol’ whackjob and had a chance to take Sixer down a peg or two, I know I’d definitely take it,” Stan concluded, shrugging.

“We’ve all seen just how much McGucket went through because of Ford’s mistake with the portal,” Garnet added rationally. “In a way, I can see why he’d want to see some sort of justice for it, even if its in a small way like this.”

“Well that’s… kind of sad when you think about it…” Steven frowned as he looked back towards the barn. “If Mr. Ford and Mr. McGucket used to be such good friends, then they should be working together instead of fighting each other…”

“Don’t worry,” Garnet assured, placing a comforting hand on the young Gem’s head. “I’m sure they’ll patch things up sooner or later.”

Steven smiled halfheartedly at this, though before he could offer his thanks to the Gem leader, the sound of roaring engines rattled the entire barn. Everyone was quick to step out of the way as the first of the two robots, piloted by Pearl and Ford, gracefully rushed out of the barn and onto the lawn. The bot was sleek and elegant in its design, with thin, long metallic appendages, wheeled legs and six-pointed grips, and a small, repurposed, two seated cockpit forming its base. Overall, the machine seemed to built for speed and mobility as it swept a quick lap around the barnyard, with both the author and the white Gem controlling it in tandem before it made its swift stop before the amazed group still gathered near the barn.

“So, children,” Ford said as he stood within the cockpit, Pearl doing the same to show off her familiar blue spacesuit. “What do you think of our highly advanced automaton here?”

“Whoa…” Dipper gasped, awestruck as he stared up at the robot alongside Steven and Mabel. “So cool…”

“GIANT ROBOT!” Mabel squealed in delight. “And I love how the sticker looks on it! I told you guys it would be a nice touch!”

“Yes,” Pearl chuckled. “It certainly does pull the whole thing together, doesn’t it?”

“Ha! You think that’s a ‘robot’?” Peridot’s loud taunt sounded all the way from inside the barn as the ground began to rumble with uproarious footsteps. “Pathetic. Now… behold! My vision of ultimate power!”

With a thunderous crash, Peridot and McGucket’s bot stormed out of the barn, instantly showing just how much more bulky and sturdy it was. Its overall color scheme, dictated by Peridot, was green, and its appendages were stout yet strong, with massive pinching claws and a sharply pointed cockpit where the pair sat side-by-side to control it. Both the hillbilly and the green Gem let out their own rowdy, wild gales of laughter as they paraded their hulking machine around freely.

“Now this is what I call a robut!” McGucket proclaimed proudly as he leaned out of the cockpit a bit. “What do ya’ll think about our lil’… whazzit?”

“Hey!” Peridot shouted, equally as baffled as she realized just how much Pearl and Ford’s bot towered over their own.

“Ours is taller!” Pearl quickly exclaimed, raising the robot’s hand. “We win!”

“Ladies and gentle-Gems!” Steven announced, stepping up onto a small box beside the chalkboard where a scoreboard was already set up for the oncoming contest. “Welcome to the first annual Robolymics!”

“Woo!” Amethyst cheered as her, Garnet, and Stan sat along on the sidelines to watch the competition unfold.

“Psst, Garnet,” Stan whispered over to the Gem leader. “You wanna place a bet on which one of these nerd teams is gonna take home the prize? The smart money’s on the munchkin and the hillbilly over there.”

“Hmph,” Garnet smirked, adjusting her shades before shaking the conman’s hand. “You’re on.”

“This competition will test our robo-engineers’ skills of robo-construction and robo-piloting,” Steven continued on in explaining the rules.

“There are several rounds you all will have to go through,” Dipper added. “And whoever wins the most of them gets to be in charge of building the drill. Understood?”

All four of the competitors nodded firmly, even if they were more focused on seizing up the competition rather than really listening to the rules. “Great!” Mabel exclaimed, holding up a checkered flag before throwing it down dramatically. “Then let the robo-games begin!”

And with that, the competition kicked off without any further delay. The kids made sure to spell out the rules of each successive round to the teams, each of which was conceived to prove which group was better at designing and building the more functional machine. The first several rounds were largely standard fare, testing various aspects of the robots including balance, jumping capabilities, weapon capacity, speed, and strength. However, in order to fully prove which robot was better and which team was more up to the engineering task, the kids had devised a few non-sequitur categories to see which bot was the more well-rounded of the two. The robots had a chance to test out their artistic sides when it came to the dance and painting categories (the latter of which Amethyst gladly volunteered to be a model for and the result of which ended up being subjective overall). Other rounds were a bit more random, from jumping jacks, to yoga, to tug of war, to a game of ‘robo chess’, yet each game was indeed completely designed to prove who was the best of the best when it came to engineering and inventing. However, by the time just about every category had been decided, it seemed as though the contest overall would be destined to end in a tie, even up to the final, supposedly deciding category.

“Alright, everyone, this is the final event!” Steven announced, still stationed beside the chalkboard with the twins as the robots approached the pair of trucks there were supposed to toss to test their strength even further.

“You got this, P!” Amethyst cheered, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“Get it, girl!” Garnet added just as supportively.

“Uh, y-yeah, but try not to win too much out there, ya nerds!” Stan taunted, remembering the bet he had made with Garnet.

“Ok, ready…. Set… CHUCK!” Steven shouted, and on that command, both teams’ bots tossed their respective trucks forward as hard as they possibly could. The vehicles sailed swiftly through the air, soaring high and far before they both disappeared over the mountain ridge countless miles away. All of the spectators were aptly stunned by such a powerful, incredible display, even if it really gave them no indication as two who might have won this final challenge.

“Um… well, looks like you both get a point on that one!” Mabel decided, marking a tally down on the chalkboard for both teams.

“Hm,,,,” Steven mused, looking over the final results as both teams waited eagerly to hear the outcome. “Well, it looks like our final score is… a tie! That settles it; everyone gets to lead the project together!”

“Aw, man, well that’s anticlimactic…” Amethyst pouted, leaning back on her seat.

“Yeah, it is!” Stan grumbled. “If the stupid contest ends in a tie, then who wins the bet?”

“Just wait,” Garnet advised, nodding back to the bots themselves.

“NO!” Peridot suddenly shouted, enraged by these unsatisfactory results. “This isn’t over! I demand that we have a tiebreaker!”

“Y-yes, so do I!” Ford exclaimed quite suddenly.

“What?” Pearl asked, completely baffled by her partner’s impulsiveness. “Ford, why-”

“We need to have a definitive winner here!” the author quickly cut her off before glaring down at McGucket in particular. “We need to decide who’s right and who’s wrong…”

“Aw, conswarnit, Ford!” McGucket snapped in apt frustration. “It’s a dog-gone tie! Just let it go already!”

“Oh of course you would tell me to simply ‘let it go’, Fiddleford,” Ford scoffed coldly. “Just like how you let go of all your own memories just because you couldn’t find a better way to cope with them!”

“But I got ‘em back, ya stubborn ol’ fool!” McGucket countered every bit as harshly. “And I’m tryin’ to move on, which is what you oughta be doin’ instead of clingin’ onto the past just cause ya think there’s somethin’ back in it that’ll prove you didn’t build a machine that could’ve destroyed the world even though that’s exactly what ya diddly darn did.”

“Ugh, enough of this!” Pearl interupted sternly, tired of being stuck in the middle of this constant conflict. “Let’s all just give it a rest already! We don’t need any other final competition to decide anything. This is it, we tied. We’re the same, we’re all equals here. Let’s finally just move on already.”

“No!” Peridot cut in fiercely, gripping her robot’s controls tightly. The bot lurched forward and before McGucket could even make a move to counter the green Gem, its claws latched onto one of the other robot’s tall legs tightly, holding it in place. “You’re just a Pearl and a human! You both are beneath me! I’ll always be better than you, and nothing I’ve seen today will ever change that!”

“Oh, for crying out loud, not this again…” Ford groaned, exasperated.

“Well, have you ever seen a Pearl do this?!” Pearl exclaimed, suddenly taking full control of the bot as she swung it’s leg around to kick the other robot back hard. Peridot and McGucket’s bot landed hard and flat on its back as the others all gasped in shock, all of them quite intrigued and somewhat alarmed by the rather violent twist this contest had taken.

“Ohoh, so you wanna fight, huh?” Peridot asked challengingly as McGucket maneuvered the robot back up. “Good! We should have done this from the beginning!”

At this, their robot slammed into the taller bot, tackling it with an immense amount of force. Pearl and Ford managed to hold their own as they pressed it back, neither side making much edgeway as they struggled against each other.

“Whoa, looks like things just got a heck of a whole lot more interesting!” Stan grinned, perking up in his seat as he watched all of the action unfold.

“STOP!” Steven cried fretfully as Ford and Pearl’s bot landed a brutal punch on Peridot and McGucket’s. “Giant robots shouldn’t fight!”

“Yeah! Not unless its in some sort of cool action movie or cartoon or something!” Mabel added just as worriedly.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” Stan and Amethyst cheered in delighted encouragement, thoroughly invested in the ongoing battle. Of course, their cheers soon stopped as Peridot and McGucket’s bot suddenly hoisted Ford and Pearl’s up and tossed it towards the spectating crowd, forcing them all to scatter away from the brutal crash landing.

“Pearl!” Steven cried upon spotting the damage done to the bot and the pair within it.

“Great Uncle Ford!” Dipper exclaimed, also quite alarmed.

“It’s alright, everyone!” Pearl assured as they pulled the robot back up. “We’ve got this!”

“Be careful!” Mabel urged fretfully.

“Kick ‘em in the butt!” Amethyst quipped daringly.

“O-or ya know, don’t do that!” Stan countered. “Especially since I’ve got good money on the line here…”

The moment Pearl and Ford’s bot was back on its feet, Peridot and McGucket wasted no time slamming their robot’s claws into it once more. Several more brutal blows were passed back and forth between the two bots, sustaining damage to both, but taking neither of them down in the process. Needless to say that tensions were high between both teams, especially as they locked hands once more, though it was clear that the brute strength of Peridot and McGucket’s bot was starting to win out against Pearl and Ford’s much more lanky, feeble one.

“Stanford, this is a bunch of cockamamie nonsense and ya know it is!” McGucket exclaimed over the din of battle. “Why can’t ya just admit that you were wrong and be done with it!?”

“Because I’m not wrong!” Ford argued, pushing the robot’s controls harder. “At least not anymore! I already told you, I fixed my mistakes! I’m still fixing my mistakes and I’m not going to stop until I’ve fixed them all!”

“Well, then I reckon, you’ll likely never stop then,” McGucket said with a bitter, hurt scowl. “Cause there’s still one mistake of yours that you ain’t even started tryin’ to fix yet!”

“W-what are you-” Before Ford could even finish, McGucket pushed hard against the controls of his and Peridot’s bot out of sheer anger alone, shoving Pearl and Ford’s back hard. In the back seat of the cockpit as he was, Ford in particular reeled back, his loose grip on the controls costing him as he ended up falling backwards out of his seat entirely.

“Stanford!” both Pearl and McGucket gasped in sudden alarm as the author fell out of the rather tall bot towards the ground below. Unfortunately, the white Gem wasn’t quick enough to maneuver her bot to catch him in time, and as a result, Ford landed hard, the blow easily sending him into a daze and greatly startling just about everyone present. Though, surprisingly enough, the one who seemed the most fearfully concerned was none other than McGucket himself.

“Ford!” the inventor cried, not even hesitating to leap out of the robot, leaving Peridot to control it alone and all but abandoning the battle entirely to rush over to the fallen author’s side. Still, the green Gem was hardly upset by this as she instead gained full control over the robot, ripping Pearl’s attention away from Ford as the robot’s clawed hands landed a brutal punch against hers.

“Good,” Peridot sneered challengingly. “I’m glad we finally got those pesky humans out of the way. This is between you and me anyway, you Pearl!”

Before Pearl could even say anything, the green Gem shoved her back again, keeping her from seeing if Ford was alright or not. Fortunately, McGucket was already on that case as he ran over to Ford and wasted no time in checking him over for any sort of serious injuries. “S-Stanford!” the hillbilly exclaimed, his tone rife with concern. “Ford, a-are you alright? W-wake up! Say somethin’ to me!”

Fortunately, the author wasn’t out of it for too long as he let out a small groan at this, placing a hand against the side of his head as he slowly opened his eyes to meet the hillbilly’s worried gaze. “Mm? F-Fiddleford?” Ford asked in rather bleary confusion as he struggled to sit up on his own. “W-what are you doing? What about the robots… and the contest? I thought you-”

“Aw, forget about that silly ol’ contest,” McGucket shook his head. “I needed to come over ‘n make sure ya didn’t knock that big ol’ genius brain of yours too hard after I… ya know, knocked ya outta your robut and all…”

“W-what…?” Ford frowned, still bewildered, especially as McGucket offered a hand to help steady him. “I… I don’t understand. You only teamed up with Peridot b-because… because of what I…” The author paused, trying his hardest to collect his thoughts and how he wanted to say them, only to fail completely. “I… I just… I didn’t think you still-”

“Cared?” McGucket finished with a small, but knowing smile. “Aw, hornswaggle, Stanford. I may have forgotten ya for almost 30 years, but deep down in my gut, I don’t think I could have ever stopped carin’ about ya.”

For a moment, Ford simply stared at his old partner in complete and utter baffled silence, unsure of how to even react to such a warm, kind sentiment after just how much he had wronged McGucket in the past. So, instead of saying anything, he simply let out a small chuckle of acceptance as he finally accepted the hillbilly’s hand to help him up and lead him to somewhere safer away from the bot battle still raging on behind them just as violently as ever.

“This is pointless!” Peridot shouted as she pressed her bot roughly against Pearl’s once more. “There’s no way you’re gonna beat me! You’re an accessory! Somebody’s shiny toy! Where do you get off acting like you’re your own Gem?!” At this the green Gem’s bot finally managed to get the upper hand over the white Gem’s, as its clawed hand completely pride one of the thin arms off of the lankier bot in a single, swift yank. “You’re just a PEARL!”

Pearl winced back at this, this singular reminder of exactly the kind of Gem she was made to be much harsher and more painful than she knew it should have been. The white Gem knew, and she had always known, that her lot, at least according to Homeworld’s standards, was to stand by and serve and little else. Her caste wasn’t meant to think or to act or to do anything for anyone other than whatever Gem they were given to. There had indeed been a time when Pearl herself had been exactly that; just another piece of empty, thoughtless property in Homeworld’s rigid, unfulfilling system. And yet… the Earth, humans, her fellow Crystal Gems, they had all shown her she could be so much more than that. She could go beyond what she was made for, she could be her own person, her own Gem. She could think and feel for herself and she could take pride in who she was and what she did and she had. And so, that’s exactly what she planned on showing.

“That’s right!” Pearl proclaimed, rising up a bit out of her seat as she faced Peridot fiercely. “I am a PEARL!” With that, the white Gem swung her first hard, striking Peridot squarely in the jaw and catching her completely off guard.

“WHOO-HOO!” Amethyst cheered loudly on the sidelines as everyone else gasped in amazement at such boldness on the Pearl’s part.

“Whoa, who knew Pearl could pack a punch like that?” Stan remarked, unable to hide the fact that even he was genuinely impressed with the white Gem.

“I think we did…” Ford remarked, exchanging a small smirk with McGucket as they both silently recalled just how resilient Pearl could be when she needed to be.

As a result of the white Gem’s blow, Peridot’s bot stumbled back a bit, allowing Pearl time to pick hers’ up off the ground to pick the fight right back up where it had left off. “What you’re saying may be true,” the white Gem said as her robot sprang high into the air above Peridot’s before it began coming down in what would certainly be a hard and heavy kick. “But it doesn’t matter! I’m still gonna kick your butt!”

By this point, just about everyone was cheering Pearl on as she came in for what would possibly be her final blow against the green Gem. Or at least it would have been if Peridot’s bot hadn’t managed to catch one of the long legs of Pearl’s bot at the very last second.

“…Uh oh,” the white Gem muttered, though she had no time to break free from the hold. Immediately, Peridot’s robot slammed Pearl’s hard into the ground, repeating the action several times over until she finally plowed the taller robot down hard, more or less completely breaking it beyond repair as its pieces went flying.

“Pearl!” the others all exclaimed in apt concern as they collectively hurried over to check on the fallen white Gem. Despite the harsh, defeating blow she had suffered, Pearl was only mildly stunned by it, even if she did look much worse for wear as she lay against the wrecked remains of her robot.

Peridot hardly paid them any mind however as she leapt out of her robot, her face still bruised from the punch Pearl had landed on her, though her expression was bright with the satisfaction of her triumph. “Victory is mine!” she proclaimed proudly. “Now I’m the one in charge! Praise me! Praise me!”

“Pearl, are you ok?”

“Huh?” Peridot blinked, caught off guard by the fact that the others were all surrounding the white Gem rather than her.

“A-ah yes… I’m alright…” Pearl smiled as she allowed Steven to help her up.

“Yeah, P!” Amethyst exclaimed, giving the white Gem a sudden congratulatory hug. “Aw, that was awesome! You were so hardcore!”

“Oh really?” Pearl chuckled, rubbing her arm with a flustered smile.

“Oh yeah,” Garnet readily agreed.

“Yeah, Pearl, you were the best!” Mabel exclaimed excitedly.

“Seriously, you were,” Dipper added firmly. “And you punching Peridot in the face like that has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

“It was indeed a very impressive display,” Ford nodded with a smirk.

“We couldn’tve done it any better ourselves, Miss Pearl,” McGucket said, tipping his hat in respect for the white Gem.

“Eh, it was passable,” Stan shrugged, unconcerned as he leaned over to Garnet. “So uh… you gonna pay up or what, shades? Cause it looks like greenie just won our bet for me.”

“Did she?” Garnet countered, her arms crossed as she smiled somewhat mysteriously.

“Uh… yeah?” the conman frowned, confused. “Pretty sure she did, right?”

“Y-yes, I did win!” Peridot spoke up, frustrated. “So why aren’t any of you listening to me!? I’m the natural leader here! She’s just a common Pearl! A-and those two!” she snapped, pointing at Ford and McGucket. “They’re just simple humans! I’m the one in charge here, not any of them!”

“You’re wrong!” Steven argued readily. “If Pearls are really like you say they are, then Pearl isn’t common at all! She trained herself to fight! She learned how to build things! And she works hard every day to be greater than she already is!”

“And while we’re at it, your pretty much completely wrong when it comes to humans too, especially when it comes to McGucket and Great Uncle Ford,” Dipper said knowingly.

“Yeah! Both of them are like total geniuses!” Mabel agreed earnestly. “They’ve built all sorts of crazy neat stuff like big huge futurey portals or mind-erasing laser guns, and yeah, maybe those things weren’t always used for good reasons, but they’re still pretty amazing on their own and so are the guys who built them!”

“Seriously, how do you not get it by now, Peridot?” Dipper finished as he smiled back towards the white Gem, the author, and the inventor. “There isn’t anything ‘common’ or ‘simple’ about anyone here.”

Needless to say that Peridot was just about completely baffled by such a thought, to the point that, for perhaps the first time ever, she was completely speechless.

“Come on, everyone,” Garnet said, turning towards the nearby wreckage. “Let’s clean this mess up.”

“Yo, Pearl, you should come wrestling with me some time,” Amethyst joked as they all began to walk away.

“Mm… I dunno…” Pearl frowned, rubbing the sore spot on her arm as they began to pick up the scattered robotic wreckage.

“You know, I bet if we combined the sturdy base of the robot you and Peridot built,” Ford began, speaking to McGucket. “With the speed and agility of our robot, then we could certainly build a force to be reckoned with!”

“Now you’re talkin’!” McGucket exclaimed, enthused by the idea.

“B-but I won!” Peridot argued hotly, not moving from her spot. “What about the rules?!”

None of the others so much as even acknowledged the green Gem, save for Garnet, who simply turned towards her and shrugged simply. “Welcome to Earth.”

Peridot was once again stunned into silence at this, the harsh realization hitting her that even though she technically “won”, she really had no victory to claim at all. After all, the possibility that she could have ever been wrong was something the green Gem couldn’t have ever anticipated and yet… her experiences during her brief time on Earth so far had already proved her wrong about more than she could have ever thought possible. So… perhaps, as ludicrous as it might seem, there was a chance she could have been wrong about Pearls and humans alike as well.

Though it took some doing, eventually everyone had managed to gather up all of the scattered pieces of Pearl and Ford’s robot and organize them back in the barn with the rest of the parts they were likely to use for the drill. Despite his best arguments against the Gem leader, Stan never did end up getting his money from his bet with Garnet, though considering the circumstances, he didn’t really mind as much as him and Amethyst were invested in asking Pearl about her defining blow against Peridot, something that still greatly amused them both. By the time the work was all finished however, the conman returned to the shack for the evening, leaving Ford and the twins behind to help the Gems out with the drill in whatever way they could in the following days of its construction. And though McGucket knew he wasn’t really obligated to stay either, he did hang back for a bit before heading back to his home at the dump, supposedly for the sake of analyzing the robot him and Peridot had made for any possible further invention ideas. Ford, however, had a feeling the inventor was sticking around for some other reason, and, picking up on that reason, he decided that now was as good a time as any to speak his piece to his former partner.

“Fiddleford?” the author began as he stepped up beside the hillbilly.

“Yes, Stanford?” McGucket asked with a bit of an amicable smile as he looked up towards his old friend.

It was a smile that Ford was hard pressed to return as he awkwardly averted the inventor’s gaze, taking in a deep breath as he tried to figure out exactly what it was he wanted to say. “I… um… well, you see I… erm… you know what? Here,” Ford took pause as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small, colorful square, which he handed off to McGucket, who took it with wide eyes of wonder.

“I-is… is this…?”

“Y-yes, that’s right, it’s a Cubic’s Cube,” Ford nodded. “I… remembered how much you used to enjoy working on them years ago, and… I just so happened to find one of your old ones lying around the old lab so… I figured I’d give it back to you as something of a-” The author cut himself off as McGucket presented the cube back to him, all of its scrambled colors perfectly lined up again in almost no time at all. “Well then,” Ford remarked, impressed as he looked over the cube. “Seems as though you really are just as sharp as I remember you being, Fiddleford.”

“Eh, its all that newfangled muscle memory or whatever it is the kids are callin’ it these days,” McGucket shrugged humbly. The pair shared a brief laugh before the author let out something of a small, sad sigh as he looked away from the inventor yet again.

“Fiddleford, I… I should have said this earlier but… I’m sorry,” he finally relented, hanging his head a bit in genuine shame. “I truly am. You were right back then and you’re still right now; I was wrong the entire time and I was far too blinded by my own pride and my dreams of grandure to see that. Honestly, if anything I should have apologized to you 30 years ago. Maybe if I had it would have spared you from… well, you know…”

“Aw, shucks,” McGucket shook his head. “Y’know, Stanford, I thought all I wanted to hear outta ya was an apology, but now that I’m actually getting’ it, I can’t help but feel as though you were actually right.”

“A-about what?”

“About how I up and did all this to myself,” the hillbilly said, sighing himself this time. “You weren’t the one who made me erase all my memories, I did that all on my own. I’ve spent so long forgettin’… Maybe I should try forgivin’ instead… C’mere, old friend.” With this, McGucket opened his arms out wide to offer the author a hug, and though Ford wasn’t often physical when it came to showing affection, it was an offer he couldn’t possibly turn down.

“Hm,” Ford grinned as their hug disbanded a moment later and their sights turned back to the robot before them. “You know, despite everything, this machine really is quite impressive… It’s sort of embarrassing to admit this, but… it looks like your engineering skills still far surpass mine. Which is why I’d be honored if you’d help the Gems, the kids, and me out with the drill. We’ll need someone adept at the craft as you to help us make sure the job’s done right.”

“Well, golly, Stanford,” McGucket smirked knowingly. “I think I’d be downright honored to work with ya’ll again, especially on somethin’ like this that’s gonna help people instead of hurtin’ ‘em for a change.”

“So it’s a deal then?” Ford grinned, holding out his hand to his former, now-returned partner.

“It’s a deal,” McGucket gladly agreed, shaking the author’s hand to solidify his desire to help.

As this touching exchange went on, Pearl couldn’t help but smile softly to herself as she watched it from afar. In truth, she had always enjoyed building and inventing alongside both Ford and McGucket back in the day, and the thought of getting the change to do so again brought genuine excitement and delight to the white Gem. But even more than that, she was glad to see that peace had finally returned between the author and the inventor, and with that peace came the chance to let go of the painful memories of the past and creature better, happier memories in the future.

“Ahem,” Pearl’s train of thought was interupted, surprisingly enough, by none other than Peridot. The green Gem had come to stand alongside her, an upside down drill in hand as she averted the taller Gem’s gaze sheepishly. “I-I have to admit, its… remarkable that a Pearl such as yourself could become such a… knowledgeable technician. Mm…” Peridot hesitated, still clearly swallowing her pride as she presented the white Gem the drill she was holding. “Why don’t we get started?”

Pearl couldn’t help but smile in slight amusement as she knelt down and took the drill from Peridot and turned it around. “You’re holding it upside down,” she informed before handing the tool back to the green Gem.

“Y-yes, of course,” Peridot remarked, flustered. “You know… those round appendages on your machine could be useful for something.”

“They’re called wheels,” Pearl said, still smirking. With this, the white Gem stood and led Peridot over to Ford and McGucket so the four of them could begin planning out their ideas for the drill together. Though the green Gem was still somewhat uncertain about the thought of working with a Pearl and a pair of humans, she decided that it was something she was just going to have to get used to for the sake of the greater good. After all, just about everything on Earth was strange to her, so how was the prospect of working with unlikely allies such as these any stranger than anything else she had already seen thus far?

As the four technicians met up and began throwing drill ideas back and forth, they were all largely unaware of the kids watching them from afar at their spot near the barn. Needless to say that all three of them were more than glad to see that peace and acceptance had won the day, even despite how intense the preceding bot battle had been. “Well, you guys,” Steven began, offering a smile to Dipper and Mabel. “It looks like we’re well on our way to stopping the Cluster.”

“Its about time too,” Dipper said with a bit of a grin as he crossed his arms. “The sooner we stop the Earth from literally imploding from the inside out, the better. And who knows? With Pearl, and Ford, and McGucket all working together, maybe building this whole drill thing could be kinda fun.”

“‘Grrrr, fun for me you mean!’” Mabel roared playfully, taking on a gruff tone as she held the Cluster sock puppet up.

“Oh no!” Steven cried in faux dramatics. “It’s the Cluster!”

Mabel kept playing along as she growled once more, this time pouncing on both boys and easily knocking them both to the ground, all three of them laughing all the while. “‘You think you can stop meeeee?!’” she taunted, more or less tickling both Steven and Dipper with the puppet by this point as a way of ‘attacking’ them.

“Aw, c-come on, Mabel!” Dipper laughed, struggling to get away. “Cut it out!”

Mabel simply roared through the puppet once more as the impromptu game continued, though needless to say all three of the kids were having a great time through it. “Ah! We’re doomed!” Steven chuckled breathlessly, even though they really weren’t.

And yet… if they failed to finish the drill and truly stop the Cluster on time, then there was no telling just how true that statement just might turn out to be.

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