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ca-8 · 3 years

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Yakko x Reader Scenario: When You First Meet

'This is it. The beginning of the end.'

Gripping on the straps of her backpack, (Y/n) exited the bus and stared up at the water tower that displayed the famous Warner Bros. logo. As expected, it emitted a smug aura onto the entire area; however, surprisingly, there was a slight twinge of mystery to it as well. But she didn't have time to ponder about it, so she only gave it an uneasy look and headed straight for the entrance.

Her heart stopped. She knew the place was going to be busy, but it was like an entire New York City packed in one section! So many writers, producers, actors, large men carrying heavy sets, every type of person working in film was scattered all over the place. It was like an ocean, with the people as marine life doing what they're designed to do, and (Y/n) being the puppy that was abandoned at sea.

The moment it all settled in, an involuntary realization invaded her thoughts. 'I don't belong here.'

The young girl reminded herself to breathe and rushed over to a vacant wall, then pulled out her phone. She had already sent her mother about a thousand messages telling her she was here, but since she hasn't responded, a few more shouldn't hurt. Fingers rapidly typing away, she bit her lower lip, already wishing she had stayed on that bus.

"Oh, you're just gonna love it!" Her mother's squealing voice had already filled her skull. "You're so talented, I know you're gonna fit right in."

'Yeah, standing around all day with a bunch of people I don't know while doing something I suck at is exactly how I wanna spend my summer.' She let out a soft sigh. 'It's fine. Just shut up and make her happy, (Y/n).'

Several attempts of calling and texting later, no response. (Y/n) sighed again, and her eyes wandered over to the bustling crowd. 'No way. Absolutely no way.' But if she wanted to get the day over with, absolutely yes way.

First, she walked up to a lady looking down at the clipboard in her hands. "Um, excuse me," (Y/n) said.

The lady's head snatched up. "KYLE!" she yelled, her eyes now ablaze with fury, "YOU IDIOT! THAT GOES IN THE WAREHOUSE ACROSS THE STUDIO!" And like there was nothing but a breeze behind her, the lady stomped off to the poor soul that had to face her wrath.

The breeze took a step back and ran around the corner. 'Maybe I'll find someone else instead…!' (Y/n) stopped and spotted a man sitting on the steps that lead to the entrance of a small building. She swallowed whatever was left in her mouth and reluctantly approached him.

"E-Excuse me, sir?" she stuttered, hoping her voice was louder than the last time. As she got closer, (Y/n) noticed he was chuckling, and his gaze was glued onto a small piece of paper.

"I...I did it…!" he said. She yelped and shrinked back when he suddenly jumped to his feet. "I FINALLY DID IT! WE'LL SEE WHO'S REGRETTING THE DIVORCE NOW, MARGARET!" And with a manic laugh, the man dashed into the building.

'...Or maybe I'll just find it myself.'

It wasn't too long before (Y/n) got herself lost. Despite the help of maps that were stuck to some of the buildings, all of them seemed exactly the same. It was like a maze, and with each passing minute, she was more and more convinced that there was no finish line. Even worse, her mother was too busy to respond to anything she sent her.

'Oh, what should I do?' (Y/n) thought for the thousandth time. No matter how hard she pinched or held them, her arms refused to stop trembling. Not too long ago, the outside of the studio became deserted and she'd hate to walk in a warehouse and possibly interrupt something important, so asking for help again was out of the question.

...Or, perhaps it wasn't.

A tiny, hopeful smile crossed (Y/n)'s face when she heard the sounds of frustrated grunts around the corner. It was the first time she was so relieved to see a stranger.

And thank god that stranger was a security guard. Though she wondered why he had a giant net in his hand, she shoved the curiosity as far in the back of her mind as she could and reached up to gently tap his shoulder.

"Um, excuse me sir?" she asked as loud as she could.

His head whipped around, revealing angry eyes and a scowl that said he was ready to kill. But right as his gaze landed on her, it changed within an instant.

"Oh, hello!" he said with a bright smile.

(Y/n) blinked, cocking her head. ‘What was this guy up to?’

"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where (M/n) (L/n) is filming? I'm her daughter, (Y/n), and I'm trying to look for her. She's not answering her phone either."

His joyful expression slowly melted into a confused one. "Uuhhh…(M/n) (L/n)?”

“Yes. She’s a part of Animal Kingdom? Do you know where that’s being filmed?”

“Oh! I know there’s a zoo around here called Animal Kingdom! I don’t think you’ll find it in a film studio, though.”

(Y/n) frowned. “...No, I mean the show. Aren’t they filming in a warehouse today? Do you know where that is?”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

Her eye twitched, and she was just about ready to drown the entire studio in the nearest ocean. “N-Nevermind, I’ll just-”

As if the universe wasn’t satisfied with tormenting her enough, the security guard suddenly launched up into the air and flew into the sky. Right before her eyes, the heavens were coated with explosives of every color that ever existed.

“Oh my god!” (Y/n) yelled. ‘Who strapped fireworks on that guy?!’

“Oh, I knew you’d love it!”

Her eyes were ripped from the loud fireworks show as she was immediately smothered in a hug. “It’s so nice that another girl’s here! All the other ones here are either too busy or just keep shouting about a restraining order for some reason. I dunno, but anyway, I just know you're gonna love it here! Anyway, my name’s Princess Angelina Louisa Cantessa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the third! But since we're friends now, you can just call me Dot.”

This confirmed it. This was a trap set up by her mother to deliberately drive her insane, because how else can someone explain the nut jobs and talking dogs in pink dresses?

A combination of those two things happened to be clutching her head and digging her face into hers. “...Huh?” (Y/n) mumbled.

‘Dot’ jumped off of her and smiled widely. “Sorry about Ralph by the way. I figured out you were coming at the last second and I really needed someone for your welcoming gift.” she said.

(Y/n) glanced up at the sky where the fireworks were slowly dying down. “Um...Is he gonna be okay?” she asked.

“Of course he will!” her backpack said.

The teen screamed and threw her bag on the ground. A hand popped out and unzipped it with impossible ease, then a taller boy version of Dot jumped out, pulling up his long brown pants and flashing a grin.

“H-...H-H-How did you…?!” (Y/n) stuttered, pointing at him.

“What? Never heard of cartoon logic?” he said, approaching her. “And Ralph’ll be fine. His skull’s so thick, concrete’s the last thing that can kill him.”

“What-?”

“Anyhow,” he walked over to Dot and put an arm over her shoulder, “The name’s Yakko, this here’s my beloved baby sister Dot, and this is-” He stopped, staring at the empty space to his left. He leaned into Dot, whispering, “Say, uh, you don't mind looking for Wakko, do ya sis?”

Dot glanced at (Y/n) for an uncomfortable moment and suddenly shot her brother a glare. "I've got eyes all over this studio, Yakko," she warned, slowly stepping away.

Now (Y/n) certainly knew she didn't see pairs of eyes appear around every inch of her sight. 'Oh god, I didn't breath in drugs on the way here, did I? Actually, that would explain whatever the heck's going on.'

Yakko smiled as he watched his sister leave and turned to (Y/n). He walked closer to her, and she realized that his half-lidded eyes had a strange glint in them. “Sooo, your name’s (Y/n), right? A pretty name for a pretty girl.”

(Y/n)’s face heated up. ‘First I get lost, then see a guy get blown up, and now some other guy’s flirting with me? ...To be honest, this is still better than what Mom had planned for today.’

“So what brings ya’ here?” he asked.

“O-Oh, well, my Mom was supposed to give me a tour of the studio, but I’ve been giving that to myself all day. I tried finding her, but I’m pretty sure I’m nowhere near it by now.” Her eyes wandered over to the ground, but a realization made them perk back up and over to Yakko. “Hey, do you happen to know this place by any chance?”

“Know it? Please, my sibs and I live here, we know this place by heart and soul!” He mumbled something else, along the lines of “Basically made our hearts and souls”.

Her heart jumped; finally, a piece of good news. “Really?” she said, a smile spreading across her face.

He nodded. “So where do ya’ need to go?” Before she could answer, he pulled out a piece of folded paper and moved in so close, their shoulders were smooshed together. Yakko unfolded it, and it turned out to be the biggest map (Y/n) has ever seen. “Well, from here, you’re gonna need to take a right and continue straight until you get to the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts exhibit. But be careful, I heard some of them escaped, and if anyone asks if you’ve seen any of them, don’t tell them I gave one to Dot as a late birthday gift. Anyway, you take a left from there, then a right where you’ll see the lot where they used to shoot Game of Thrones. Now this is only a rumour I’ve heard, but I think some of the producers are still on that set. If you happen to see them, do not, I repeat, DO NOT mention season eight, or maybe just don’t mention the show at all. Actually, don’t even look at them. As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn’t even go there at all, just keep heading straight until you get to the D.C. Universe lot. Then you just take left there, then a sharp right over over, then you keep going straight until you get to here, turn up over there, turn right there, and then you’re there. Did ya’ follow all that?”

(Y/n) stared at his face, which was practically radiating with enthusiasm, and she felt her eye twitch again. “...No,” she said, shaking her head.

His smile dimmed, but it became just as bright as the sun again a split-second later. “Ah well, maps are gettin' old anyways,” he said, throwing the map over his shoulder. “WAKKO!!”

And, low and behold, another anthropomorphic dog popped out of nowhere, and (Y/n) was starting to question if there was an army of them hidden somewhere. But she had to admit, it was pretty cute how this one was dressed in an oversized blue sweater and red hat.

“Tablet, please,” Yakko said politely, holding out his hand.

‘You're not gonna walk me there-?'

Wakko suddenly held his head back with his cheeks puffed out, then leaned into Yakko’s hand as he forced out a small object from his mouth. After an incredibly uneasy moment, a tablet glazed in spit was in Yakko's grasp. While he praised the little guy, (Y/n) forced back the urge to vomit.

“E-Ehhhh…?” She couldn’t say anything else while her gaze frantically went back and forth from Wakko and the regurgitated tablet.

“Oh! Where are my manners?” Yakko said. “(Y/n), this is my dear little brother, Wakko. Wakko, this here’s our new special friend, (Y/n).”

“Hello!” Wakko greeted, who was suddenly in her arms. “You’re really pretty!”

“Ehh? Thank you? I guess??” she said apprehensively, and finally managed to make eye contact. Despite his...quirks, he's actually a little adorable... She let herself grin a little.

The moment of semi-peace was ruined when she took notice of Yakko’s narrowed eyes. “ALrighty, (Y/n)!” he said loudly, grabbing his little brother by the collar and gently setting him on the ground. “Animal Kingdom, right? Let’s get ya’ right over there.” He moved right beside her and taped the screen a couple times.

“Um, what’re you doing exactly?” she asked.

“Doing what every person does to get somewhere nowadays.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him, and (Y/n) flinched from his touch. “Please keep your arms, legs, and personal items inside the tablet at all times.”

Just when she was about to question him for the hundredth time, he pressed the screen again, and her vision became nothing but white. Her body felt like it was launched into a tornado; a strong force of wind thrusted her back, and somehow, the boy’s arm kept her from flying off from his side. A second later, her feet were back on the ground, the sky was where it needed to be, and reality was back in place.

Except for (Y/n)’s mentality.

She stumbled around, trying to find her balance as the world unbearably whirled around her. Finally, she shook her head, and quickly turned back towards Yakko, whose face tried to tell her whatever happened was perfectly fine and normal.

“What was THAT?” she yelled, staggering towards him and gripping his shoulders.

And he still had the audacity to have that 'why-are-you-freaking-out-so-much-we-do-this-every-Friday' smile. “Thank you for attending Warner’s Travel Tours! I would say my Agent Ralph’ll take your bags, but I left him alone with my sibs, so he’s probably in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by now.”

(Y/n) could only stare at him. Her mind was twisting and turning, trying so hard to make any sense of what happened but only making her headache grow larger and larger. And then, her thoughts just went blank.

She smirked. Then giggled. And a few seconds later, she had burst out laughing whilst holding her stomach. (Y/n) looked back up at Yakko, wiping a tear from her eye. “Th-Thank you…” she said, catching her breath.

His smile had grown and she thought his white cheeks were red for a moment. Yakko had opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a net suddenly covering his entire body. Ralph was behind him, his skin and clothes burnt and ears practically smoking. “You’re coming with me, Warner!” he said.

And yet, Yakko only grinned. Like physics was his enemy, he disappeared from inside the net and appeared sprouting from the security guard’s back, cheerfully waving at (Y/n). “I’ll see ya’ around, yeah?” he said, then ran around the corner with Ralph sprinting right after him.

(Y/n) giggled and reached for the straps around her back. But when she only felt the (f/c) fabric of her shirt, her smile dropped, and a deep sigh escaped her lips. “Great…” she whispered.

“(Y/N)!”

She gasped as a pair of arms squeezed the life out of her. Her mother spun her around to face her gleaming smile, which was immediately replaced by an apologetic frown. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get your texts! That scene took forever, but I’m glad you found your way here! You’re so smart! Anyway, I know we don’t get as much time now, but there’s still so much we’ll be able to see!...”

She rambled on and on and on and on. Her daughter’s shoulders slumped and she followed her to where she wanted her to go, but the frown on her face didn’t last long when she remembered the fun she had just a few seconds ago. ‘Maybe this summer won’t be that bad.’

#is this how you write him lmao #i love this boi so much #animaniacs #cartoons #x reader #fanfiction #the reader in this is like 15 dont worry lol #im bored #yakko warner

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probablymango · 5 years

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Try to love again

Harvey awkwardly watches Johnson from across the table, things were finally starting to calm down, but anxiety was building up higher in him. His mind keeps looping back to what Dandy asked him months back: Does he have a thing for Johnson?

His first reaction was no, but that was his first reaction. Actually spending time with him was making him rethink his answer way more often than he would like. He had many wonderful qualities; helpful, cheerful, not put off by the murder, patient, knowledgeable in magic, wanting to spend time with him for reasons not related to the hotel or the trainyard. It was…. Endearing and starting to make him feel nervous, which got in the way of practicing magic and Johnson was starting to notice.

“Mr. Williams, are you alright?” Johnson wasn’t wearing his skin mask, which meant that he could see his antennae twitch with worry. It was kinda cute.

“I.. I think so. I don’t think that I’m sick, at least.” Sick in the head might be another issue, but physically he was fine…. Actually, that might be a stretch considering his physical alterations since dealing with demons. “Why?”

“I’m just worried. You haven’t been focusing well during practice and you’ve been sticking to the edges of the room, well, more to the edge than before.” His antennae move back. “Is something wrong? I understand if you don’t want to tell me, but I just want you to know…. That I’m here for you if you need me, ok?”

“.....” He nods, feeling himself get warm in the face and sweating a bit. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Johnson seems to relax, antennae lifting back up and if he had a mouth, he’d probably be smiling. “That’s all I can ask, sir.”

Harvey smiles, then gets up and leaves, smile growing wider as he tried to find somewhere that no one else was. God, he felt like a teen again, hopelessly infatuated with a man that was too good for him. He sits in the nearest chair and puts his hands on his face. Why does his feelings have to be cruel like this?

He looks up to see Earnest walk in. “What the fuck? Why are you sitting in the dark buddy?”

“Earnest…” He sighed, sitting up straighter and staring at him. “Can you… Wait, no, never mind.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. Come on, tell your old friend what’s up.” He pulls over a chair in front of Harvey and sits on it backward. “What’s on your mind?”

“..... How did you know that it would be ok with Gerdy?”

“That’s a weird question coming from you. Why do you ask? Are you trying to take my girl?”

Harvey snorts. “I’m gay, remember?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” He relaxes a bit, grin forming on his features. “So, you asking me for love advice? Who you thinking about serenading?”

“No serenading, but… some advice would be nice… please.” He was getting nervous again.

“Well, for one, I need to know who it is, so I can help!” Earnest leans closer, tipping the chair a bit.

He blushes, leaning back a bit. “Does it really matter that much?”

“Listen, buddy, pal.”

“I’m listening.”

“I can’t help you with the person if I don’t know who it is, because people have very different preferences. Like how some people like Louisa love flowers and others like Julia love to eat makeup.”

He snorts, relaxing a bit. “I guess you’re right.”

“Sooooooo?” Earnest grins, getting way too close again. “Who is it?”

“It’s, uh, it’s….” He stands up and tries to leave. “Never mind.”

“No, you don’t.” He grabs him and lifts him off the ground. “Tell me!”

“Put me down!” He tries to kick him and pull out, but Earnest wouldn’t loosen his grip.

“Not until I get my answers, lover boy!” He laughs, spinning in place.

The door opens wider to show a confused Dandy and Louisa. “What the fuck are you doing to him?”

“Thought you’d recognize an interrogation when you see one.” He easily walked over to the couple. “He won’t tell me who he has a crush on!”

“Shut up Earnest…” Harvey attempted a different tactic for escape, wiggling.

“He has a crush?” Louisa glanced between her blushing, sort of, boss and his captor. “Is that true?”

Dandy leaned closer and had a smug, knowing grin. “Do you have a crush on Johnson?”

He was blushing hard, looking away from the curious trio. “I… I might have a thing for Johnson.”

Louisa was practically vibrating, Earnest’s grip on him finally loosened, and Dandy was bouncing in place. “I knew it! I knew it! I called it months ago!”

“What does Johnson like? Hmmmm….”

“Were you asking for love advice from Earnest?” Louisa stood beside Harvey once he was on the ground again.

“I was considering it..”

“Here’s my advice first, don’t talk to him while he’s near a bathroom.”

Harvey gave her a look. “.. Why would I even do that?”

“Just keep it in mind, okay?”

He looked at his two taller friends to find them suddenly interested in not looking him in the eyes. “..... I shall keep it in mind. Thank you.”

“Go get ’em tiger.” She gives him a quick shoulder pat, then runs off.

“...... what was the bathroom talk about?”

“It’s hard to say, y’know? Cryptic women talking about love and shit..” Earnest shrugs, trying to lie about not knowing.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story, but it can be summed up to: Louisa used to hide out in Jimmy James’ bathroom and while I tried to flirt with her, Earnest wanted me to ask how her poop went.”

“She still hasn’t gotten back to me on that and we’ve known for… about a year now?”

“......... I’m going to ignore that.” He weaves away from them, not wanting to learn more about Louisa’s bathroom habits. “I’ll just…. Do something else.”

“Wait! We have so much wisdom to give you!” Earnest called out.

“Don’t want it anymore!” Harvey wandered off, managing to lose the others between the crowd and many hallways. His friends were weird.

He sighed, wandering the halls that regular customers used. It had less people, gave him a more space, and silence for him to think.

He liked Johnson, that was apparent now, but was he willing to try to get into a relationship with him? His previous attempts at having a relationship haven’t ended well and it seemed to usually be his fault.

He sighed, sitting on a couch in the lobby and staring out a window. It was getting really late and the only people hanging around were night owls and moth people.

After a while, Howie finally noticed him and waved him over. “Hey, Mr. Spoopy! How’s it going?”

He sighed, getting up and walking to her. “Can’t any of you let me think in peace?”

“Well, maybe you should sulk in places that curious people don’t hang out at.” She joked, leaning against the counter. “What’s got you down, sport?”

For a second, he cracks a small smile, before goes back to frowning. “Over thinking love.”

“Oof, that’s rough, buddy.” She looks around, then pulls a small flask out from under the counter. “Need a drink?”

“Have…. Have you been drinking on the job?”

She puts it back under the counter. “No.”

He shakes his head, chuckling softly. “We’re going to need to talk about that.”

“Later though, right?” She grins and gives him finger guns.

“Fine later.”

She does a quick fist bump and then goes back to focusing on him. “So, what’s love done to you this time?”

“Well, it’s making me fall for someone close to me and making me overthink my entire relationship with a moth person. It’s…. It’s getting very stressful.”

She nods thoughtfully. “Need a way to tell Johnson you love him?”

He looks up at her, mildly scared. “How did you know it was him?”

She looks around, trying to feign innocence. “What? Know who?”

“.........”

“Do you know what I can say to him to see if he likes me without actually asking him?”

“How do you talk to him about important things?”

“Well….. I slipped a letter under his door for the dinner and before that, I asked Dandy to help ask him to teach me magic.”

She took a deep breath, put her hands in front of her face, almost as if praying, then swiftly tilted her hand to point at him. “You need help. Like, a lot of help.”

He blushed and shrugged. “Or I can ignore my feelings and continue to be a cold bitch.”

She shakes her head in disapproval, then without looking away, dials a number and holds the phone to her head. “Hi, Gerdy, this is Howie. Can you, Louisa, and Marcus come to the front? We have a new project on our hands. …. Yeah, it can wait til morning. Thank you, see you then!”

And that is when Harvey knew, he was fucked.

The next few days were filled with too many people invested in his love life. He thinks that someone told moth people outside of his friend group about his crush, because now when he enters rooms that have them, he hears their giggling in his head. Howie was trying to make him confident enough to actually confess to him, Marcus set about cleaning up one of the back rooms for a private place to have a date, Earnest gave a lot of unwanted advice, while Dandy and Louisa gave better advice, and Gerdy provided moth person knowledge.

Now he was standing outside of his door, fidgeting with a piece of paper in his hands. He considered bolting, but Howie and Earnest were at each end of the hall, refusing to let him run. He sighed, knocking on the door and glaring at Earnest.

Johnson opened up after a few minutes, in his human skin and smiled. “Hello, Harvey! What… what are you doing here?”

He looks at the man in front of him and gives a nervous smile. “Hey, I, uh, I uh, ummm. Just… take this.” He gives him the note and bolts off, trying to get as much distance as possible. This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad-

“Sir, wait!”

He turns to see Johnson running to catch up with him, flushed and holding the paper. “Y… yes?” He fidgets in place, expecting the worse. He could see the vague form of Howie giving him a thumbs up.

“Is this real? Do you really want to see more between us?”

He nods, leg tapping the floor and looking at the ground. “You can say no if you want..”

“Why would I say no?”

He looks up, face growing warmer and pulse getting quick. “What?”

He smiles wider. “I like you a lot and I’m happy to learn that you like me back.”

His knees were getting weak and he smiles, probably looking ridiculous. “I…… I love you….”

“He did it!” Earnest cheered.

He groaned, covering his face and turning to look at him. “Yes, I did it. Please, for the love of god, fuck off.”

“Fucking off!” The blond laughed, running off, and from the sound of it, so did Howie.

“Needed help again?” Johnson joked, resting a hand on Harvey’s shoulder.

“Unfortunately.” He chuckles softly and turns to him. “Want to go on a date?”

He nods. “Wait, like right now?”

“I think Marcus would prefer if we did it sooner than later.”

“Oh boy. Give me a minute to change!” He ran back into his room. Harvey laughs, leaning against the wall as he waits. This is going to be great.

#My writing #tin #tincast #tin cast #this isn't normal!#howie #harvey #johnson #harvey x johnson #louisa #dandy #earnest

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letterfromtrenwith · 6 years

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Trial By Fire

A George/Elizabeth fic for the prompt "I thought you were dead".

To the anon who requested this, I know you made a suggestion for this prompt, but I have actually written a fic along similar lines before, so I went with something different. I hope you like it! :D

Send me a pairing and a number and I’ll write you a ficlet

It was not the battering on the door which woke Elizabeth, but George slipping out of her embrace. In confusion, she watched him pull on his dressing gown, until her ears caught the distant, raised voices from downstairs.

"George?"

"Oh, my love, I did not mean to wake you." She sat up, frowning, her mind still a little fogged with sleep. "I imagine it is just some magisterial matter."

"Perhaps." It did not often happen, but George had been summoned from his bed by the constables on occasion - when some thugs had attempted to rob an overnight mail coach, and when a child had gone missing from the one of the farm, blessedly found cold and frightened but alive some hours later. However, tonight, something told Elizabeth this was no ordinary matter, some instinct leading her to follow him out of bed, picking up her own robe. Perhaps George had the same inkling as, although he glanced at her curiously, he did not object when she slipped out of the door behind him. They stopped on the landing overlooking the great hall, where the urgent discussion was coming from.

Sarah, their housekeeper, was below, also in her nightclothes. With her were two footmen, coats hastily pulled on over shirts and breeches, as well a young man Elizabeth vaguely recognised but could not place.

"What is going on?" All four looked up sharply at George's words. The stranger spoke, urgently.

"'Tis Cardew, Mister Warleggan. 'Tis on fire!"

Once again, George had not argued when Elizabeth insisted that she was coming with him. They'd hurried into their clothes, George not bothering with neck-cloth or even waist, and wordlessly handing her an old overcoat of his to slip on top of the blouse and skirt of her riding habit.

Sarah and the two footmen - Peter and Luke - came with them, along with the stable hand from Cardew, who had been the messenger. In the circumstances, no one batted an eyelid at the servants riding in the carriage, prepared with impressive speed by the coachman.

An ominous orange glow became visible long before the house, and when it finally came into view, Elizabeth heard her own intake of breath echoed by Sarah, and one of the footmen uttered a low oath. Cardew, George's childhood home, was engulfed in flames, smoke billowing out of broken windows. The acrid heat of it hit her as soon as George flung open the carriage door, and she coughed, covering her face with the collar of George's coat as they piled out onto the drive. People swarmed about the house, fetching buckets of water, although they were nothing against the roaring blaze.

"Sir!" One of the men broke away, another taking his place in line. Through the smoke, it took a moment to recognise him as Barnett, a long time servant of Cary Warleggan's. His face and clothes were smeared with soot. "I've sent men for t'engine, but it'll 'ave t'come from Truro."

"How did it start?" Luke, Peter and the stable hand had run to join the others in fighting the fire, while Sarah went to tend to a young housemaid who was kneeling on the ground, coughing and clutching at her wrist.

"In t'kitchen, it seems like. Mrs Hoare says two scullery maids were sleepin' by t'fire in there, but we can't get in for t'flames."

"Oh, God." Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand. Those poor girls.

"Who else is still inside?"

"Mrs Baker, and Louisa, t'parlour maid. Least, I 'aven't seen 'em out 'ere."

"And my Uncle?" Barnett's face became more sombre still.

"'E weren't in 'is rooms. 'E must be in t'study, but fire's bad there." It took Elizabeth a moment to realise what George intended, when he pulled off his coat, dropping it on the ground. She seized his arm, holding him with all her strength.

"No! No! You can't, George, please!"

"I must, Elizabeth. I must." They fought for a moment, but ultimately he was stronger than her, breaking her grip without hurting her. With one last look back at her, he headed towards the house, Barnett following after a moment with a look of grim determination. As they got closer to the door, another man - Luke, she thought - broke away from the line to go after them.

"Oh, by Christ, what are they doing?" Sarah had appeared behind her. Elizabeth could barely hear her voice over the increasing roar of the flames, and the pounding of her own heart. She knew she should not stand there and do nothing, but she found she could not move, transfixed by the dance of the flames, by the black, evil smoke billowing out of the door, as if George had disappeared into Hell.

After what might have been five minutes, or might have been hours, three figures staggered out and Elizabeth darted forward, feeling horribly guilty at her frustration when she realised that none of them were George. It was Barnett, with two women, one young and one middle-aged, so far as she could tell. The servants Barnett had mentioned before, presumably. Forcing herself to do something, she went to them, Sarah following, helping them struggle as far away from the fire as they could before sinking to the ground. She bent to put her hand on the older woman's back as she coughed, struggling to catch her breath.

Then, there came a horrible creaking noise from the house, and she whipped around, dread seizing her. The noise came again, louder and longer, stretching out into a terrible sort of moan, as if the house was wailing in agony, until it became a crash, the building shuddering as something inside it collapsed, sending flames and smoke roaring outwards. Those fighting the fire were forced to reel back, but Elizabeth lurched towards it, even as she felt the heat on her face.

"No!" She was seized firmly by the arms and held back. "No! No, no..."

"No, mistress. Ye can't do that."

"No, let me go. George..." Elizabeth sank to her knees, her voice trailing off into a sob. Raw pain ripped through her. This could not be happening. It was too cruel, too dreadful. Uncaring of the chaos around her, she bent her head and wept, great wracking sobs that only deepened the ache in her chest.

"Mistress, mistress, look!" Sarah had held her as she cried, although Elizabeth had barely noticed, but now she shook her gently. "Look!"

With some effort, Elizabeth raised her hand, squinting through the ever-thickening smoke, which only made her own tears heavier. Eventually, she made out some sort of movement ahead of her, the shape resolving itself through the haze as it came closer. Two men, carrying a third, almost dragging him, in fact. The nearest of them looked in her direction and for a moment, the fire lit up his face.

"George! George!" She scrambled to her feet, stumbling as her shoes caught in her skirts, managing to break into a run, reaching George as he and Barnett laid Cary on the ground. The old man was covered in ash and soot, and did not look like he was breathing, but selfishly Elizabeth did not care. She barely noticed as Dwight Enys, who she had not even seen arrive, knelt down next to him. George was also filthy, and his shirt was alarmingly scorched on one sleeve; heedless of anything, she threw herself at him, arms wrapping tightly around his neck, grasping him as close to her as she could. Feeling his warmth, the tension in his body, his heavy breathing - all proof that he was alive.

"Shhh, shhh, my love." His hand pressed against her back, and at his words she realised she had been sobbing into his neck. Gently, but firmly, he pulled back, although kept hold of her. Elizabeth clung to him. He looked away and she followed is gaze towards his uncle, who she had almost forgotten in her relief. She had forgotten everything.

"He's breathing." At the edge of her senses, she heard Dr Enys' words, although she barely registered them. It was horrifically selfish of her. Cary could be seriously injured, along with who knew how many others. George's childhood home was burning to the ground, the place where he had been born, where his parents had lived and died. But all she cared about at this moment was that he had not been taken from her.

"I thought you were dead." She whispered. It was a wonder he heard her.

"No, my love." This time, he held her tightly. "I will never leave you. Never."

#poldark #elizabeth warleggan #george warleggan #george x elizabeth #f: ge #fic #m: fic #prompt fic

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writestufflj20 · 7 years

Text

El Massacre De Usulutan

“Civil Wars are brutal” he said looking around the empty, serene parking lot where the cars of college students along with others sat silently with the tall trees surrounding the area. We could hear the birds chirping along the distance while from afar we saw a group of students playing basketball as the sound of laughter left them. He took a quick glance at them, staring at them as he was reminded of what he had experienced and proceeded to say the following words in Spanish: “It’s horrible when you have to go to war with your own people”

At first glance no one would suspect that Santiago Romero was at one time a captain for the Salvadoran army. He had served more than 8 years in the 6th Brigade (one of the top two dangerous Brigades in the army), commanding over 80 soldiers and participated over 60 missions during his time in the Salvadoran army. He was now a pizza delivery driver for Johnny's Pizza, 80 pounds heavier and 30 years older than he was during the war.

But what was more bizarre about Santiago was his composure. He had seen six of his friends killed in front of him and saw even more strangers die under his command, yet he had a very kind and inclusive manner in the way he spoke, devoid of any sort of trauma he had experienced.

Yet there was nothing kind about the War. The Salvadoran Civil War was an event in which El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, saw its government engaged in battle against a communist paramilitary group called the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional) who sought out to destroy an oligarchical government that had exploited a poor populace for several decades. The FMLN, inspired by a wave of communism that had been building up since the end of the first World War and Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik revolution, saw itself in a war proxied by the Soviet Union and the Americans during the Cold War. Over 75 thousand people were killed in the duration of the war.

Santiago remembers a time before the war happened.

“It was nice compared to what transpired,” he said, crossing his arms and stoically looking ahead reminiscing his life before the war.

“We used to be called “The Sweden of Central America”. Life back then was a lot like here: not perfect but decent. Livable. There used to be this bridge, “El Puente de Oro” (The Golden Bridge) the biggest and most beautiful bridge in all of Central America.’

He looks at me moving his index finger from one side of an imaginary landscape of El Salvador to the other.

“That bridge would go from one side of the country to another. A tourist attraction and a convenience for most Salvadorans who happened to live in the far north or the far south of the country. The FMLN blew the whole thing up in an instant, gloating about it the next day on public radio.”

Santiago quickly learned the ferocity of the FMLN guerillas when he was first deployed in Usulutan, a department on the south side of the country that was infamous for it’s powerful influence over the department. Santiago’s met his wife, Louisa, in Usulutan where she was raised and lived in until she was 23:

“I remember when I was about 8 my dad worked in a shop that was owned by a man named Schafik Handal. He was a tall man by salvadoran standards, looked like he came from the Middle East with his brown crusty skin and long Castro beard. One day I went to visit my dad at work and Handel was there and treated me in a very nice way. Almost ike if I was his own daughter. I thought to myself at the time, ��What a nice man”. I told my mother and I remember she and my dad fighting because of that. It wasn’t until my mother later told me that I found out that Schafik Handal was one of the four leaders of the FMLN.”

Santiago was still in the academy when he arrived in Usulutan. He was 22 at the time, and given that he was one of the few salvadorans to enrol in a military academy he was quickly promoted to teniente and was tasked to find 24 random cabos (grunts. Soldiers who either enlisted or drafted in the army) to protect a small power station that was a few miles away from the capital city Usulutan (same name as the department). After three weeks that Santiago and his men stayed protecting the objective the guerillas finally attacked early in the morning from the north side of the small barricades and shacks that they built a few meters away from the power station. The sound of machine gun fire and bombs roared. Santiago woke up in hysteria, in the room where he slept there were two guards who would take turns to patrol their teniente and right next to his shack there was a radio operator who was tasked to serve as a channel between Santiago and HQ. The three men left and immediately proceeded to met up with the radio operator in hopes of calling reinforcement. As Santiago ran outside from his shack in a brief but long moment he scouted his surroundings to see who was outside fighting against the guerillas. He saw no one, but a man with his head hanged back on the driver seat of a jeep with a bullet in his forehead. He had no time to process the man’s death. Santiago knew that he would die if he did.

The radio operator was an overweight man who was a tad older than Santiago was. He had connected Santiago with his Captain and Santiago pleaded for reinforcement to come as soon as possible. Santiago shook his head and laughed when he told me this part of the story in the car. “He said they would come in five hours.” he said, smiling to hide his ferocity. “That fucking idiot wanted me to wait five hours knowing that I lost control of my squad and that the guerillas were minutes away from overwhelming our forces.”

“Did he say anything else?”, I asked.

“Yeah, he did. He said I should die fighting for the flag. I told the operator to hang up that idiot and that we were leaving. I wasn’t going to die that day. None of us were”

As Santiago and his men prepared to leave they ran into a medic who had been shot on his right arm. They all decided they were going to leave. Nobody said anything in preparation for their escape since they all knew that the guerillas were coming from the north side and that they should escape towards the south and escape through the jungle. As they prepared to leave, a voice roared from miles away, “Ey Cabos! Dalos a tu chaqueta verde y vamos a dejar te libre ok!” (Hey, Cabos! Give us your green jackets and we’ll let you go ok!) “Second lieutenants often wore green vests to show that they were second lieutenants”, Santiago informed me. “The guerillas were essentially telling my men to give me up”

But nobody listened and all of them started their escape. It was three miles of nothing but plain land until you reached the jungle. All the men started sprinting not looking back but only hearing the sound of bombs and guns echoing behind them. Santiago remarks that though it probably took them a little more than 20 minutes to make the run it felt much more quicker. They could feel and hear the sound of the bombs and guns getting closer to them and that instigated the adrenaline in their bodies to take over. In the military basic training had prepared these men to have the endurance to make such a run. Or so he thought.

As they reached the jungle Santiago quickly tried to see the state of all his men, and noticed that one of them had passed out a few meters behind them. He ordered two of the men to go help him but the man wasn’t getting up. When the soldiers brought him to Santiago he remembered they were telling him what had happened to the man, but he didn’t need to listen for he saw what they were saying. The man’s eyes were rolled back into his head. Only seeing the white of his eyes; the radio operator’s mouth was wide opened as if he were still screaming. “He died.” Santiago said quietly. “He was a fat guy. He probably had a heart attack, but his face was….” He paused and proceeded to take a drink from his water bottle and told me with a innocent smile, “I really don’t like remembering that.”

Santiago instructed his men to hide the body and take the radio he had around his neck. He had no time to be shocked, he had to keep going inside the jungle.

The men knew that in the other side of the jungle there was a road that would lead them directly to the capital city. As they entered they hit a massive wall of earth that had elevated the ground to about 20 feet. Right next to the wall there was a dried up steam that they knew led to the road since Santiago and one other man had seen it from the map. Taking the stream would’ve been the easier path, it cut through diagonally and the stream’s surroundings had been constructed to act as a pathway to reach the road for any lost wanderers in the forest. But Santiago didn’t trust it. His experience in the academy taught him something that the other men didn’t learn in the barracks. “Think like your enemy”. Santiago thought that it would’ve been too easy to take the stream and decided to climb the wall and travel on the elevated landscape led through the neck of the jungle. Two of the three men protested and went to the stream, the medic decided to go with Santiago for unknown reasons.

He sat next to me and we saw that the students had left the basketball court. He continued to stare at it and continued his story;

“Both of us kept walking for 13 hours. The medic kept complaining and calling me an idiot kid who didn’t know what the hell he was doing.” He reached for his water bottle and took another sip from it. He cleaned around his mouth with a napkin that he kept in the glove compartment of the car. He took a deep breath and continued.

“We reached the road and stopped a car that had been driving along the way. I occupied his vehicle and drove to the capital with the medic. There we reached the nearest hospital in the capital city that had been taken over by the military. There I found my captain. He yelled at me for leaving my post and the objective. I was suspended for 6 month after that and didn’t get to graduate with my class.”

“What about the other two guys? Did they make it?”

He didn’t smile this time. He looked down and with a heavy tone said:

“I never heard or saw from them ever again.”

Santiago Romero and Cannilo Guiterrez were the only two soldiers who survived what would later become known in the Salvadoran press as “El Massacre de Usulutan”.

WRITTEN BY KEVIN GONZALEZ

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