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kelcemenow · 10 months

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Your Voice - Chapter 1.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 1118

Warnings Strong language, that's all.

This Anon request piqued my interest as I used to read a lot of Soulmate AU fanfiction 'back in the day' and I really liked this idea! AU's give me so much creative freedom...and a chance to go back to college Travis!! Now, I wasn't going to make this a series but as I was writing, I realised it is going to have to be as I had a great idea for it! I hope you enjoy! "Can I request a Travis k x soulmate au? pls 😩"

CHAPTER 1

"What did your Soulmate say today?"

You looked up from your lunch, pausing from pushing a piece of lettuce around the plate with your fork.

"Go long, man." You rolled your eyes as you repeated what you had heard earlier that day, "I'm honestly past caring at this point."

Chloe clapped her hands and jumped a little in her seat, "So, he's a sports guy? Maybe we should scope out the teams and see if you recognise anyone's voice?"

You sighed, "Chloe, I really don't care anymore. I've been hearing his voice for 3 months now. This college is huge, it would take me forever to find him here. Plus, some days I can't even make out what he's saying, it's so faint and muffled, I doubt I'd even recognise it."

Chloe twisted her mouth as she thought, "I could get us some invites to the jock parties?"

"You're not listening to me at all are you, are you?" You returned to your salad.

"We'll get you looking super hot, see if the voice gets louder at any of them, get talking to guys and then before you know it, you've found your Soulmate!"

"No, then." You said whilst chewing on your chicken.

Chloe reached across and held your hand, "But this is so exciting. Think of poor me, Y/N. My Soulmates voice was so loud back home, I come here and now I can't hear him at all. You've actually got a chance of meeting yours, he's obviously here! So, let's go and find him."

You stared across the lunch table at her, your face unchanging.

Chloe slowly retreated back into her seat and picked up her Diet Coke can, "Okay. I'll try again later."

______________________________________________________________

You stretched in your seat, rubbing your eyes and looking down at your watch.

10.15pm.

You ran your hands through your hair and closed your study books and files, calling it a night. Looking around the library, you noticed that you were now the only one there. You packed your backpack and slung it over your shoulder. The campus was relatively quiet as you walked back to your dormitory, the night sky quickly darkening with the dusk. Your footsteps rang out into the night, accompanied only occasionally with muffled music coming from the nearby houses. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared ahead. You instinctively grabbed the strap of your backpack, ready to launch the heavy contents if needed. Each step seemed to get louder in your ears and the sky darkened further.

As you got closer, the figure turned to face you and the dim streetlights revealed the stranger.

"Oh, Travis. It's just you." You sighed in relief.

Travis Kelce wasn't a complete stranger to you. He was a pretty big character on campus, but didn't exactly run in your circles. He was holding a bottle of beer and was stood on the steps of one of the sorority houses, presumably having stepped outside from a party.

Travis smiled as he saw you, "Hey, Y/N. You coming in?" He pointed towards the front door with his bottle.

You shook your head quickly, "Oh no, I've been to the library."

"On a Saturday night?" He snorted a laugh, "Man, you know how to party."

You quickly raised your eyebrows, "Yeah, anyway. I'm just heading home."

Travis wrinkled his nose, "On your own? Nah, fuck that."

You held a hand up, "Really, it's fine. It's a short walk, like 2 minutes. I'm okay walking by myself."

"To hell you are. Come on, I'll walk you back, make sure you get there safe." He began to walk away from you.

"Travis, really-"

He stopped and turned back slowly, "Either you walk with me or I follow 20 yards behind you."

You smiled and sighed, "Okay, okay. Fine."

As you caught up to him, you heard the front door of the house open and a high-pitched voice shouted out.

"Travvy, baby? Where are you going?"

Tiffany, Travis' girlfriend was gripping onto the side of the door frame, seemingly to keep herself upright. She had bleached blonde hair, a modelesque figure and the reputation as one of the most popular girls on campus.

You stayed looking ahead to the sidewalk as Travis looked over his shoulder at her, "I'm just walking Y/N back to her dorm."

"Why?" Tiffany squeaked.

"Why? Because she's walking on her own and there's creeps out there." He shouted.

You glanced quickly to see Tiffany pull a face before slamming the door closed.

Travis turned back to you and raised his eyebrows.

"Really Travis, you go back to the party. I don't want to cause any issues with you and Tiffany."

"What issue? I'm just walking you home...to make sure you're safe." He cleared his throat, "Besides, Tiffany has an issue with everything I do."

You walked together in a slightly awkward silence, Travis taking a sip of his beer every now and again.

After a while, Travis turned to you, "Can I ask you a question?"

You nodded.

"Can you hear your Soulmate's voice?"

You smiled softly, "Sometimes yeah. Sometimes it's really loud, but it's mostly muffled so I can't make it out easily. Sometimes it's really quiet and it's impossible to figure out."

He looked down at his feet, "That's weird. I wonder why it's muffled."

You shrugged your shoulders, "No clue. I wish we got more, it would make it so much easier."

"Yeah, one sentence a day sucks."

You walked in silence for a few more steps.

"Is Tiffany your Soulmate?"

Travis laughed, "Nah. She's cool and all...but she's not...no."

"Are you looking for your Soulmate?"

Travis tipped his head to the side, "In a way. I mean, I hear her voice. And I listen for it as much as I can. But I'm so busy with class and football that sometimes I miss it. That's why I was outside of the party, I needed a bit of quiet time to see if I could hear her."

You looked ahead to the tall building, slowly your walking pace slightly, "This is me."

Travis looked up, "Oh, that was fast."

"Yeah, I told you it was two minutes." You giggled.

Travis rocked back on his heels, "Well, goodnight. I'd better get back to..." He trailed off as he looked back in the direction of the party, a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah. Thank you...for walking me back." You awkwardly held your hand out to Travis.

Travis looked at your hand and smirked, grabbing it tightly, "No sweat. I'll see you around?"

You nodded and headed to the front door, turning your key in the lock and stepping in. Travis watched as you disappeared into the lobby, smiling to himself.

______________________________________________________________

I'll warn you now, this fic is going to get real fluffy, real soon. I've had the idea of the chapters alternating between the point of views. So, the next chapter will be from Travis' perspective and then from the readers, and so on. If you want to be on my Taglist, just let me know!

Taglist @rd14 @dandelionwrites8 @keiva1000 @fantasywritersstuff @caelipartem @anacarangel @she-lives-in-her-dreams @kkrenae @kristencochefski1125 @countrygirl120983 @charmed2000 @nouis-bum @cixrosie @delicateearthquakellama @wordsaresimple-imnot @amylouwho9 @queenisa17 @talicat713 @luvvtrent @purecinnamonextract @savaneafricaine @caelipartem @beyxgrande @caitdaniels @ezgirl1108 @vir-tual @lightsoutstyles @macey234 @s294749w @kelcemesoftly @calirindo @livinginmyfantasies @bernelflo @secretmywritingfictionlawyer @killatravtramp @there-goes-thefighter @unicornblueberry @calirindo @tjkelce87 @kristinamae093 @kmc1989

#travis kelce x reader #travis kelce imagine #kelce x reader #nfl imagine #original story #travis kelce fic #travis kelce #nfl fluff #travis kelce fluff #kelcemenow requests #soulmate au

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tteokdoroki · 1 year

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*ੈ🌩️‧₊˚— the mystery of misery (PREVIEW) + katsuki bakugou, eijirou kirishima.

૮˶ᵕ ༝ᵕ˶ა — hello everyone !! so as you know i'm finally releasing the southern!kiribaku fic, which will be posted to both tumblr and ao3. there’s list of tags and warnings for when it goes up down below. there's a taglist form and dedicated playlist, and links to where you can find the fic! these will be updated on the day!! interaction is welcome!! preview below the cut!

⁺ 𓂋 𓈒 RELEASE DATE — 20/01/23

⁺ 𓂋 𓈒 WORD COUNT — 51.1K

✩ TUMBLR LINK / AO3 LINK / PLAYLIST / TAGLIST ✩

⭑ SUMMARY — you’ve spent your whole life running from the shackles of your past and the misery surrounding it, but, after the death of your estranged mother— you return to your small hometown to lay her to rest. while you’re there, the whispers of whiteridge begin to unravel, revealing mysteries of love, loss and lies that all tie back to a childhood flame and the town’s recluse.

⭑ GENERAL WARNINGS — please read + mdni ! heavy!angst, heavy!smut, fluff, happy ending, characters aged up to twenties, strangers/childhood friends to lovers, major character deaths, themes of death, injury descriptions (bones), murder mystery, childhood trauma, gaslighting, manipulation, arguments, fight scenes, anxiety, panic attacks, therapy, pet names (sweetheart, darling, baby etc.), fem!reader, southern!au, small town!au, quirkless!au.

⭑ SMUT WARNINGS — three scenes, protected/unprotected sex, drunk sex, clothed sex, oral sex (m + f!receiving), blowjobs, handjobs, fingering (f!receiving), nipple play, body worship, dry humping, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, orgasm control, choking, biting, scratching, marking, threesomes, cucking, frottage, double vaginal penetration, squirting, creampies, possession, birth control, condom usage, aftercare, light!degradation, light!dumbification, light!dacryphilia, light!baby trapping, strength!kink, praise!kink, size!kink, spit!kink, uses of cunt, pussy, cock dick etc. reader is picked up/carried.

some memories are easier to forget than others.

like scars, they can fade with time until they’re hardly noticeable— as if they were never even there to begin with. others cling to familiar scents and sights and sensations, etched into the landscape of your brain never to be erased, never to be replaced. no matter how hard you try, certain memories will always come back to you— close in on you like a shadow in the night, jolting you from your peaceful present day.

“no one hates this place as much as i do, people like us gotta stick together.” the pale blonde with the dauntingly beautiful vermillion stare; smirks— exposing a row of sharpened pearly whites that make your heart stutter in its place residing in your chest. “’sides, i meant what i said earlier. i think yer pretty.”

his smirk turns dopey, a coy smile crossing his perfectly slanted lips, sending your brain into some kind of frenzy. bakugou leans in real close, having turned to face you fully as well, and lets his hand slide over your jean clad knee— further and further until it settles on the swell of your thigh, giving it a hearty squeeze.

“oh yeah?” kirishima doesn’t like that you’re sad. he spent too much of his teen years watching you drown in it. “well maybe—!” pulling himself off of you ( regretfully ), he quickly hops off the truck to stand between your legs— hoisting you by the backs of your thighs into the air so he can twirl you around in his arms. “you just got shorter!”

the night sky twists into a Milky Way cocktail above you, pure and genuine laughter spilling from between your lips ( your lipstick has long worn off by now ) as you hook your ankles at the small of kirishima’s back to keep yourself secure.

“oaf? sweetheart, do you two know each other?” kirishima grunts defensively, squaring himself in front of you as if to protect you from katsuki’s leering gaze.

“know each other?” bakugou interjects before you can, smirk only widening. “we slept together, shitty hair. couple days ago, weren’t it, baby? she took me real fuckin’ good—“

ding ! — all rights reserved © tteokdoroki. all fanfics belong to me, please do not copy, translate repost nor recommend on tiktok the fics seen below as this is strictly prohibited. anyone found doing so will be contacted immediately.

#kiribaku x reader #bakugou x reader #kirishima x reader #tteokdoroki #✧ ₊˚੭ — writing #✧ ₊˚💭੭ — aali just posted

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artsybelle1015 · 1 year

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Suicidal in Twisted Wonderland

Grim found your calendar, and it all goes downhill from there.

Genre: Angst/Hurt Comfort

trigger warnings(!!!): the mc is SUICIDAL, talks of suicide and plans, heavy topics not for the faint of heart or odd mindset, spoilers only if you haven’t gotten that far into the game, reader uses they/them pronouns

•••

“[Y/N]?”

“Yes, Grim?”

“Why doesn’t your calendar go to next month or any month after that?” Grim scoffed. “I needed to put the tuna sales there to remind you.”

Ignoring his comment on tuna, your eyes widen. You had never expected him to bother looking at a calendar, especially yours since you usually filled it up with test dates. But as of lately, you had planned to take your own life by the end of the month, exhausted of dealing with this school and your inability to go home.

“Henchmen!” Grim hollered.

You shot up out of your seat, emotions swelling in you. Yes, you had planned this out for awhile, but being confronted by someone other thank yourself about your calendar sting a part of your heart. Without thinking, you ran to the door, tears welling in your eyes.

Panic ensued within Grim, he saw this unnatural reaction and leaped back, getting on all fours and hunching his back up. Heavy pants emerged from his mouth.

He had never seen you behave like before. In specific terms, he was worried and scared. You ran off to who knows where.

Getting back into shape, Grim rushed to the door, jumping repeatedly to pull the doorknob down.

“Stupid legs,” he uttered, coiling his body and springing up, catching the handle and weighing it down.

Finally, now the door was open he ran out in search of you.

Grim felt terrified, you ran off wordlessly. Although he doesn’t like to admit, he cares about you, and he doesn’t want you getting hurt.

Having no sense of which way you went, he first ran onto the campus because that’s where you two frequented most. He wondered if you went to Heartslabuyl since you’re closest to Ace and Deuce, and without thinking much further he bolted to the Mirror Chamber,

Whilst he ran and entered, he wondered why some stupid incomplete calendar made you react this way. Or was it something he said?

“Grim!” called a confused voice, the voice belonging to Ace. “The hell are you doing here?”

Followed behind was Deuce, both in dorm uniform as it was the weekend.

“My henchman is gone!” Grim hollered.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Deuce inquired, slowly and gently picking up Grim.

Taking a panicked breath, Grim exclaimed, “I showed them a calendar and they just ran off…”

“That’s odd,” Ace commented. “Why?”

“Well no matter, we have to act on this now!” Deuce declared, voice shaking. “We must do what it takes and find them!”

“Shit, how?” Ace inquired.

“Yeah they could be anywhere! And I want my henchman back!” Grim hollered, wiggling out of Deuce hold.

Deuce let Grim hop to the ground, standing up straight and proud, right hand over heart. “I know just the guy.”

___

Pathetic. You were pathetic, sitting in the woods sobbing on the ground.

You thought you hid yourself well, but Grim has to snoop through your calendar, revealing that you wouldn’t make it past next month.

It was so tiring, you were so tired, you had been there for everyone, but who had been there for you? No one, that’s who. Ever since coming to Twisted Wonderland, you had been thrusted into dangerous situation without warning, hurt way too many times to count, and Crowley is abusing your desperate state. You were so sick of it, you loved your friends so much, but you know they would never understand your pain. The overblots you faced has scarred you.

Even so, a part of you knew Grim didn’t understand what the calendar meant, he was simply confused and asking why. Oh God, you thought. How would he live without you?

That was the reason you broke down, you didn’t want to face people about your problems. You only kept it deep down and inside, maybe if you had talked to people they would recognize your pain. They’re all eighteen or younger, it’s unfair to expect them to know so much. Now it felt humiliating to go back.

“Child of man?” a voice spoke.

You whipped your head over to see the friend you called Hornton. Normally he stayed around the house, why was he so deep in the woods?

He seated himself next to you, staring at you, he looked concern. “What troubles you?” he inquired.

The setting sun and shadows of the tree swallowed his face, but his eyes shone. They reflected hints of yellow and pink as they bored into you

Tears walled up more in your eyes, so you looked down in the ground in shame. The grass was your best friend now, the only thing that wouldn’t look at your in judgment.

You were a horrible friend, making Grim and possibly now Ace and Deuce worried, running off out of nowhere. You should have sucked up the feelings and lied out of your teeth, it would’ve been for the better and you wouldn’t have to be here.

Hornton just kept staring though, making you want to cry even more. You decided to curl up and hide your face between your legs, in hopes he would leave.

But you could feel the eyes staring at you, intensely. He was still waiting an answer from you.

“It’s stupid,” you blurred out in a weak voice.

No, you didn’t want to die, that was dumb of you to think. You’re fine, it’s fine, you won’t leave them. Just hold on another few months, you could manage that, right?

“Is it?” he asked.

The question shocked you a bit, making you raise your head up and look straight at him, his facial expression seemed rather lost. Your eyes were bloodshot and wide, staring straight into his neon green ones. It wasn’t, if this has been anyone else you would’ve told them it’s okay.

He spoke again, “If it is what you can ‘stupid’ why are you crying a lot over it?”

Wiping your eyes, you looked away and chuckled a bit. “In your time of living, have you ever wished to be dead?”

“I feel that is natural to think.”

“No,” you uttered. “Like you really want to be dead so you planned it out.” It wasn’t a question anymore, you know that he most likely didn’t.

“Why do you wish to be dead?”

“I’m so exhausted all the time, and i’m not getting better. I already came into this world feeling horrible and it’s only gotten worse.” You looked back to your closest ally, the grass. “And I feel like no one cares.” It felt like you couldn’t control the words coming out, like they were itching a way to escape, all you needed was to tell someone even if you necessarily didn’t want to.

A soft sigh sounded, not of being upset, but it felt like it was empathetic. You faced him again and he slowly lifted his hand, rubbing the top of your head softly.

There was no time to question this sudden affection, you lunged towards him and tackled hug. Sobbing into his chest. His arms were so comforting it was unreal. He cared.

“I do not wish for you to die, child of man,” his voice softly rang. “So please, stay a little longer.” Though his pitch started to sound broken, like a part of him was hurting.

“I’m sorry!” you cried, grabbing at his blazer. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

He only rubbed your back and remained silent.

As your wails began to fade, he held you closer and spoke once again, “It is time for you to rest.”

Everything faded to a comforting black and silence.

___

It was a peaceful moment, you were content, you felt rested. It was a perfect state.

Now, it was time to awaken unfortunately.

You expected to wake up in the woods, but instead what awaited was the Ramschakle ceiling and the familiarly feeling of your bed.

Questions rang through your mind if you had dreamt it all, but was quickly shot down when Grim lunged at your chest whimpering.

“Henchman!” he choked. “Don’t leave me like that again!”

He curled up into you, nuzzling his face against yours which flabbergasted you. You never expected him to be so affectionate like this, much less care as a whole.

“Oh sevens, finally!” You looked over and saw Ace, his breath quick with panic.

Deuce came up too. “I’m so happy you were found.”

“It’s a good thing I remember your scent well,” called out Jack.

They were all in the room with you, they were waiting for you to wake up, they tried to find you.

“Why did you run off Prefect?” Ace questioned, leaning besides you. “Did Grim say something dumb?”

“I said I just asked about the calendar!” Grim hissed, standing in defense.

Right, the calendar, what started this mess. There was no dreaming this, it was time to face the truth, which caused you to cry once again and feel pathetic.

Grim jumped back into your stomach in surprise. Ace eyes widened in horror.

Deuce cleared his throat, though he sounded shaky. “Clearly there was something important on that calendar and we shouldn’t push them about this, it isn’t right!” he announced.

“I agree.” Jack nodded.

But you just brought your hands to your eyes and bawl every tear that held back against your waterline. It started with a dam having minor leakages, to full on breaking. You wanted to tell them everything.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Ace mumbled, standing up. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Before he could walk away, you grabbed his hand, holding it tightly that is showed you were begging him to stay. You looked at him, lip quivering, staring into his unmoving distressed yet confused face.

You had to tell them, they were your friends and they clearly cared. All eyes laid on you now.

“I was planning to kill myself next month!” you blurted out, heart stopping because of the silence. Now you were horrified you messed up. “That’s why… the calendar upset me, I cut the other months off because I didn’t want to plan anything to keep me alive.” You were about to pull the covers over yourself to hide again.

“Don’t leave me!” Grim howled, tears in his eyes, he jumped at you again, closer this time, pouring all his own tears out.

You quickly hugged him.

“You can’t die on us!” Ace retorted, but quickly he grabbed onto you and pulled you for a hug.

“Prefect we need you,” Deuce anxiously said, staring at you with pleading eyes.

Jack even stood up, rubbing the back of his head a bit. “Life wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Yeah!” Ace was not tearing up too. “We’re all suppose to be a group, remember? We wouldn’t be here without you.”

“You helped us through so much…” Deuce looked to the ground in shame. “But we failed to help you! We’re horrible friends!”

Grim was staying desperately close despite Ace’s tugging. “Who will I have to feed me and wake up with me and go to class with me!”

“You’re important to our lives, [Y/N],” Ace muttered softly. Despite his personality, he can quite soft and comforting.

“I’m sorry,” you manage to utter. “I’m sorry that I’m also making you feel like horrible friends.” More shame and guilt rose into you.

Deuce ran over and answered, “No! We’re the ones who should be sorry!”

“I think we pushed you too much,” Jack exclaimed, sitting next to you on the bed.

“You took care of us,�� Deuce whimpered, he also began to become a sad mess, “now let us care for you.”

“Yeah! You don’t need to buy me that tuna!” Grim whimpered. “I just don’t want you to leave me.

Although you spent way too long sobbing in their arms, you knew you had people who cared for you.

___

It remained an oddly peaceful night, it seemed everyone was on their best behaviors. Of course, that only lasted a short amount of time. Though, it was relieving since there was a sense of normalcy in that.

You looked out from the porch, staring at the closed off gate. The reason for your stares was thoughts of your friend rolled by. You wish he would come and visit soon, but that seems to be not the case.

Even so, you knew it had meant nothing personal about you, he did find himself in different places at different times.

You only wish to thank him for his comfort and the restful slumber.

Peeking back inside, you could see Grim on the kitchen table with a box of crayons. He resembled a little kid, he was making more months for the calendar that he declared you must live through since he’s working so hard to create it.

Everyone in there you had told you felt guilt over them going through all this, but they assured you they would rather know so you don’t hurt more.

Although, you still felt the same about your suicidal feelings, you at least had the comfort to know people knew how you felt and would stop you. You were loved, a fact that you would now have to start drilling into your head, and that was a reason to keep going.

•••

a/n: shockingly, i have not seen people play around with this concept and it was such an inspiring thing for me. it was also for some self indulgence, i may do it more in the future with other characters and optional crushes.

also i don’t know much about malleus so i’m going on gut instinct here sorry if he’s ooc!

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helenadurazzo · 3 months

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The Lord of the Underworld And His Lady Of Spring Part 2

In this continuation of ‘The Lord Of The Underworld And His Lady Of Spring,’ a part of me and @princess-of-pearls-and-stars HPHM x Twisted Wonderland AU, the guys and Asteria all come together in the Headmage’s office only to make more discoveries, but still no answers on how to resolve the issues of the invaders. As always, Helena belongs to me and Asteria belongs to @princess-of-pearls-and-stars

Everyone who seemed to be coming finished with Malleus and Lilia teleporting into the Headmage’s office. Asteria had to note Fae magic was quite interesting and they seemed to perform these teleportations just like apparations, albeit with much less stress.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” Malleus apologized.

“Malleus! Lilia!” Kalim cheered, “You made it!”

“Hmm…” Lilia mumbled to himself in a barely audible tone, “Seems like I was correct about who was abducted for the most part.”

For the most part!? Asteria thought to herself. What was that supposed to mean? She knew Malleus and Lilia were full of secrets yet some bothered and caused more speculation than others.

Trey cleared his throat, “I was just baking some cookies in the dorm when I got word that Riddle had been kidnapped. Then I heard Ace and Deuce were injured and went straight to the infirmary. It was all so sudden it’s hard to wrap my head around it.”

“The stables where Riddle was taken is like a war zone.” Cater added. “Even the grass was burnt to a crisp. What in the world is going on?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Ruggie exclaimed. “Leona surrendered unconditionally, yeah I know, Leona of all people. Then he said ‘Ruggie, you’re in charge of Savanaclaw until I get back, Then again, I can’t be sure I’ll come back at all…’ He was dead serious too!”

“As we understand it.” Jade began smoothly, “Azul was taken during a club meeting.”

“The board game club guys say he left with them peacefully.” Floyd continued for his brother. “And Firefly Squid and Lil’ Clione went along too. I don’t know though, it doesn’t sound like Azul.”

“Asteria’s group and I were originally with Vil and Jamil back at Ramshackle.” Kalim revealed what Asteria knew all too well.

Rook elaborated further, “We tried to fight the intruders with magic, but it had no effect on them. They took Vil and Jamil, along with Grim and Helena.”

Jade pondered for a moment, “There must be a reason then that Leona and Azul didn’t fight back.”

“Yeah…” Ruggie realized, “Now that I think about it, Leona seemed to know what their deal was…”

“…hm” was the only audible sound that escaped Malleus’ lips before more words were spoken at long last, glancing at Lilia. “Kingscholar is from an old royal house. It would stand to reason he has heard of them…”

Asteria raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

~~~

“I’ll field that question.” Asteria heard the familiar voice of Professor Trein as he entered the room.

“Oh hello Trein.” Lilia spoke casually at the somewhat unexpected visitor, “Where is the headmage?”

“Styx took him into custody as well.” Professor Trein enlightened them. “I’m in charge while he is away.”

“Maybe it’s good the Headmage is gone.” Asteria muttered to herself, “Perhaps we can actually get answers.”

“Hold up what’s Styx?” Floyd asked the Professor with a puzzled look.

Professor Trein folded his arms, “An organization that operates independently of any nation or government. It is an arcane institute that conducts research on blot. They have done so for many years.” A revelation that brought shock to nearly everyone, except the Diasomnia Housewarden and Vice Housewarden.

“They study blot?” Jade broke the silence that was formed.

“I get it now…” Floyd added.

“Get what?” Kalim raised an eyebrow.

“Think about who they took.” Jade pointed out.

“It was Riddle, Leona, Azul, and Jamil.” Cater reminded the group, “So they abducted Jamil, who is a Vice Housewarden, and left Kalim alone. But they didn’t take Rook who is also a Vice Housewarden. So they aren’t targeting just Housewardens or just Vice Housewardens.”

“It’s people who’ve overblotted!” Kalim exclaimed.

“Wait a few questions, one when did Vil overblot!?” Ruggie looked at Rook and Kalim and only received silent nods in response. “And two that doesn’t explain why they targeting Grim and Helena.”

“Nor the fact that Riddle and the others received proper medical treatment.” Trey pointed out. “They have all made a complete recovery. Why would this come up now?”

“Hmm…” Malleus pondered, “There is someone who probably knows their reasons, the Watchman of the Island of Woe.”

“The what?” Asteria was still just as confused as she was before.

“Ah” Rook seemed to have more knowledge of the subject than she did, “I’ve seen mention of them here and there in old history books. Are you acquainted with this dreadful isle and its Watchman, Roi des Dragons?”

Malleus had a confused look on his face, “Are you that clueless Hunt? You are acquainted with him as well.”

“I am?” Rook seemed to regain confusion.

“And not just Rook.” Lilia reminded Malleus, “We all are acquainted with him to some extent at the very least.”

Rook folded his arms, “Are you suggesting what I think you are that Idia is this so called Watchman?”

“Well it’s more of a family title.” Malleus explained, “I believe the current head is…Aidne Shroud?” Looking over at Lilia for confirmation.

Lilia shook is head, “No, she passed away, now it is Aidne’s son, Idia’s father.”

“Human generations pass by so quickly.” Malleus quietly realized.

“True but Styx is a rather recent development.” Lilia reminded him. “Perhaps only a century or so?”

“Wait slow down.” Ruggie pleaded, “I am still confused. Leona mentioned Idia’s family is apart of some megacorp but that’s just a cover for the whole Styx and Watchman of Island of Woe thing!?”

~~~

“While the Watchman has become sort of an urban legend now.” Lilia explained. “You see back in the old days, when mages were called witches and wizards, they were feared across the land. People believed the Island of Woe would punish anyone who abandoned their principles and went mad with power.”

Malleus continued, “One of my family’s history books even claims that the group is so ancient they date back to the age of the Gods. Back then, the relationship between magic and blot wasn’t realized. Instead, people believed, overblots were disasters that occurred without warning. The Jupiter Family sealed those disasters away on the Island of Woe to bring peace. And the Watchman is in place to protect the land from those disasters plaguing everyone once more. The first was one of the Shroud family’s ancestors.”

“Sounds more like a myth than history.” Cater remarked.

Lilia picked up where Malleus left off, “Mind you, humans never stopped researching magic, eager students that they were. Time marched on and eventually magic became safe to practice, with witches and wizards becoming known as mages. In the present, mage licenses are international and are globally recognized for the betterment they bring society. And there have been many laws and acts to help with the necessary discipline and overtime the Watchman began to fade from the history books. But regardless the group continued their research on the disasters, and that is what Styx is.”

“I see.” Professor Trein continued, “We were aware that Idia was the son of the Shroud family. But this is the first I have heard of a connection between his family and Styx. I haven’t even seen any of this discussed and I have read just about every book and work on magical history.”

“Ah but you see you are limited to the texts that survive among humankind.” Lilia pointed out. “Humans and Fae stopped intermingling long ago, and not every truth is written down.”

Trein cleared his throat, “This makes me wonder if the headmage was aware of any of this. And if he was does that mean he was unable to work with the Shroud family to prevent this?”

Malleus only shrugged, “Who can say really. Even if he had known he wouldn’t have been able to stop them.”

“So does that enlighten anyone about the plan they have for the ones who were abducted.” Trey wondered out loud.

Jade spoke strangely casually, “If they are lucky they will only be examined. If they are unlucky they will become test subjects. And if they are REALLY UNLUCKY they-“

“Let’s not finish that sentence.” Kalim requested with a freaked out look.

“But those goons rolled up and blasted half of campus.” Floyd reminded everyone, “There are ton’s of witnesses right? At least someone had to have gotten them on video. Doesn’t seem very sneaky or secretive to me.”

“Perhaps they have a reliable way of clearing the mess they make up?” Jade suggested.

Professor Trein sighed, “Look, we don’t know where the Island of Woe is which means we can’t pursue those who were abducted. I want all of you to return to your dorms and do a roll call, check for any injured students and report back to me.”

“Yes sir!” The remaining housewardens and vice housewardens said in unison except for Rook who had an ever growing scowl on his face.

Around the same time as it would turn out, those who were captured would arrive at the mysterious Island of Woe. More specifically, Styx’s headquarters. The four housewardens and vice housewarden looked at their surroundings, yet soon enough, they spotted a familiar face with hair made of fiery blue flames.

“Uhh hey everyone, welcome to the dark and gloomy Island of Woe.” Idia awkwardly greeted them, “And Styx headquarters.”

“It’s you…” Vil breathed furiously.

“Yep Idia Shroud acting director of Styx.” He added as he was joined by Ortho Shroud, Helena Othonos, and one of the intruders from earlier.

“How did Helena get here before us.” Leona grunted, “Must have gotten special treatment.”

“That’s the only thing that comes to your minds?” Idia raised an eyebrow, “No ‘Say What!!!’ Or ‘No Way!!!’”

Azul sighed, “I’m so shocked I’m actually calm.”

“Granted we already assumed there was some connection.” Vil pointed out. “But you’re the acting director? That’s not some tangential link!”

“Less Chit Chat more answers Radish Sprout.” Leona glared at Idia, “Why did you bring us here and I can’t believe I am saying this, but why does Helena act and look more like a robot with those new glasses and uniform of hers than Ortho? You did jam us in cargo and didn’t bother even giving us an economy seat.”

“Yikes those are some scary fangs.” Idia jumped as Leona growled. “Just cool your jets and this will all be over and we can have a good time.”

Jamil was simply furious, “You attack our school and abduct us. And clearly have done something to Helena as she hasn’t even said a word of recognition. And you still want us to ‘cool our jets’ you are lucky her sister isn’t here or you would already be dead as a doornail.”

“Do you want to lose your head!?” Riddle exclaimed.

The previous intruder starts speaking in a robotic tone, “Detecting a buildup of magic in Subject A. Readying stun-“

“Woah woah!” Idia called out, “Pause that.” He then looked over at the others, “And Helena’s perfectly fine since unlike you all she hasn’t forgotten one itty bitty detail that’s very crucial.

“Huh?” The boys exclaimed in unison, equally confused.

Idia grinned deviously, “Where are you again? And who am I again? I’m the BOSS” words that seemed to frighten the five guys. “Don’t hurt us we won’t hurt you. It’s as simple as that.”

“Injury will decrease by 57% as long as you follow my brother’s instructions.” Ortho gleefully predicted.

“Very well.” Vil sighed, “There aren’t any better options regardless. I’ll comply and behave.” After a bit of silence, Vil’s tone turned more assertive, “Well? Are forcibly detaining us, I trust you at least have the decency to serve us some tea? Surely your girlfriend isn’t the only one who will be treated like a normal person.”

Idia mumbled, “The way you’re acting doesn’t remotely suggest compliance or good behavior… but whatever. Come on everybody follow me.” He then turned to Helena, “Would you mind preparing the tea?”

“Not at all.” Helena mindlessly smiled.

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spikedsoul · 1 year

Text

maid's worst nightmare - ch 22

here we are! enjoy bowser starting to sink a little deeper

previous chapters

@sovereign-of-succ

"It's a little small, isn't it?"

You looked up at Bowser, frowning a bit, your hands on your hips. Bowser, unsurprisingly, was smirking, clearly pleased with himself.

"Nah, it'll be fine," he insisted. "Just give it a try, handmaid."

You pursed your lips and looked back down at it. It really wasn't what you usually went for, but at the moment it was either this or nothing, and it was pretty cute…

"Alright, fine," you sighed dramatically. Bowser pumped his fist in triumph, hissing in delight as he shoved it into your hands. You curled your fingers around it before or could slip out of your hands and promptly turned for the bathroom. "But no comments if it doesn't look good, got it?" You wagged your finger at him just before shutting the door.

You sighed again as you looked down at the dress in your hands. Apparently Kamek had found it hidden away in a chest somewhere and figured it would be something you could fit into, and Bowser himself had somehow come up with a pair of biker shorts for you to wear underneath. At the very least, the clothes were freshly washed instead of the few-day-old ones you were wearing now.

The dress went about to your mid thigh once you had it on, which made you eternally grateful for the shorts. The skirt had a cute little flare to it and swished rather nicely when you twisted your hips. The top was a halter style, which wasn't your favorite since it exposed your shoulders and bra straps, but you'd have to deal for now.

Kamek insisted he'd have better clothes for you by dinner so you could only hope some of them were a little less revealing.

"Hurry up, Bethicca," Bowser snorted impatiently just outside the door.

Okay. Bethicca wasn't one you'd heard before and you couldn't stop your laugh at the absurdity of the mishmash name. Maybe he'd come up with some other names during your stay that you could use to confuse people even further.

"Bethicca?" You grinned as you swung the door open.

Bowser's jaw dropped as he gaped at you. Your grin faded a little, your amusement quickly replaced with self consciousness.

Don't freak out, Bethicca… Ludwig said yesterday that Bowser wasn't exactly used to spending time around women. Either he was about to make a crass comment to save face, or he would genuinely compliment you and you could feel good about yourself… hell, you'd actually take an insult, too, because you could play off of it.

"Ya look - uh - I mean - that dress - nice–" The king struggled. He gestured to you, mouth flapping uselessly a few times and eyes flicking up and down your form, then he pointed toward the bedroom door. "Kids–"

Okay… yeah. That made you feel pretty good that just putting on a dress made a king speechless.

You smiled at him and moved to head on your way. Unsurprisingly, his head swiveled on his neck as you passed by him; his hand lifted like he wanted to stop you, but ultimately he just let you go.

"Uh… lunch… here… b-be here," he managed to get out as you opened the door.

You chuckled, turning to smile at him just to see if it would have an effect. "Yessir," you chimed. His mouth at least snapped shut but you left before you saw any further reaction, a small bubble of giddiness forming in your chest.

It honestly made you feel pretty good that you could turn at least one head just from putting on a dress. It had been way too long since you'd felt that good about yourself!

But you had a job to do, so while you kept your happy mood, you focused on finding your way to Wendy's room first. It was getting a little easier to navigate the halls so soon enough you arrived at her door. You hadn't noticed earlier when you got ushered in from getting frostbite, but her door had a fashion poster on it, which you found to be rather fitting for the stylish koopa girl.

You knocked, loud enough to hear, but clearly not her dad, and waited. After what felt like minutes (but probably wasn't even thirty seconds) the young princess opened the door.

"Oh, Maidie," Wendy blinked in surprise. "No wonder you didn't just barge in like dad does. You look awfully cute and happy today, what's up?"

You smiled at Wendy. "I'm in charge of coming to check on you all today," you explained. "And while I'm here I just wanted to thank you again for helping me after that blizzard. How do you race when there's such an environmental threat?"

"Oh." She waved away your thanks like it was no big deal and grabbed your hand, gently tugging you into her room. "When the track is in use, it generates enough heat to prevent risk of hypothermia. Plus, humans don't usually race on our track out of season."

You blinked as you allowed her to pull you toward her bathroom. "Right…" you replied, more or less just to indicate you'd heard, but you were now more concerned about what she planned to do with you.

Clearly, Wendy picked up on your mild anxiety and glanced back at you with a little smile. Instead of saying anything, though, she lightly patted your hand and guided you to sit in a chair in front of her bathroom counter.

A large mirror backed the counter, much too big for such a small koopa, with lights sounding the edges like a backstage makeup booth. You had to shield your eyes briefly when she flicked them on. But she didn't even flinch, just diving into her drawers like a girl on a mission.

"Hey, Wendy? What are we doing?"

"It's not obvious?" she scoffed, practically slamming a hair dryer onto the counter. "I'm gonna make you look like a princess, duh." Various makeup pallets and sticks and brushes quickly followed suit. "Princess Peach never lets me touch her unless it's an emergency, but now I have you to play with! Uh… you've already put lotion on those cheeks, right?" She caught your eye in the mirror.

You sighed, but smiled and nodded. "Yeah, your dad won't let me forget to keep my face and hands moisturized."

Wendy giggled quietly, making your eyes narrow suspiciously at her, but she just grabbed the first tube of foundation. "Well, you look so pretty in that dress, let's just finish the look! I'll style your hair a bit, too, but it's actually pretty decent just as is."

"Well, thanks, I guess. Considering I don't have any of my normal products, that's good to know." You chuckled softly and settled into the chair to let her experiment to her heart's content. You just ate breakfast, so you had quite a few hours to kill before you had to be back at the room for lunch.

"Okay, Maidie! When I'm done, you won't even recognize yourself!"

"I do still have to check on the others…" you reminded her softly.

She rolled her eyes at you. "Oh don't worry, I'll be done pretty quick once I get your skin tones. Now shut up and sit still!"

Ahh… kids were so sweet.

#bowser #bowser x reader #bowser x y/n #super mario bros #fanfiction #fanfic

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kellanved-ammanas · 7 months

Text

TF2 Drabbles: Scout - His Face

Summary: How about the main nine meeting meeting the emesis blue versions of them cause you said to keep it to the main nine and technically the emesis blue versions are the same characters but in a different universe from the main one like how all the of the main nine from these drabbles are the same as the ones from the main universe but with different personalities

[A/N]

I realized that a couple of the requests already in my inbox were easily justifiable as Halloween appropriate so I decided to do those first.

Also, spoilers for Emesis Blue if you haven't seen it yet. Nothing super major, like what is revealed in this drabble isn't told how it came to be (using careful wording here to not give it away if anyone chooses to skip this one for now to go watch the movie spoiler free). Regardless, I recommend going to go watch it because it's quite good.

When Engie had said he’d built a machine that could bring them to alternate realities, Scout had assumed they’d go on a fun little adventure to meet themselves. That alternate him would be different in that maybe he did end up dating Pauling in this universe or had ended up on RED instead of BLU or something else like that. Things that weren’t necessarily small differences but were still neat and recognizable as him.

The latter remained true. He was certainly looking at himself. Even contorted with pain, frozen in death as rigor mortis set in, that was his face. The rest could very will be his body too, just broken and twisted as if it had been writhing in agony at the moment of death. The blood, already congealing, obscured the exact nature of the wounds, especially in the darkness of this wretched basement, which was a mercy but… there so much.

The coppery stench of blood filled the room. It wasn’t just from his own corpse but the other two corpses too and perhaps just the room itself smelled so naturally. Surely it would now as how could this stench ever be fully eradicated?

“Mate, I really think you should look away.” That was probably the third time Sniper had voiced that sentiment. Probably he had a point; what good could looking at one’s own corpse do? But… it was hard to tear his gaze away for good. He kept returning to look some more each time he walked away. It called to him.

They’d also found this world’s BLU Medic. He hadn’t seemed nearly as excited about meeting his alternate self as said alternate was. Scout had tried to pay attention to the conversation everyone else was having with him in the other room but the way he’d looked at Scout had been disconcerting and well… his own self was just over here, broken and dead on a table. Tortured to death.

“I’m fine,” he said, perhaps even managing to sound like he meant it. “I kill people for a living so, you know, death and gore and all that don’t bother me like at all.”

“Yeah but it’s you so… you know.”

That did make it a bit different. Was he destined to die like this too? In pain and agony. Surely not but… it was him. An alternate version of him but still him.

“I’m fine,” he said again anyway though as the tore his gaze away to look at Sniper instead.

Sniper, his head pointedly turned away from the corpse, frowned slightly; he didn’t believe Scout. “Let’s maybe head up stairs, huh?” Instead of just to the other room where the others still were and thus even further away, making it more difficult to come back here to resume staring

“Sure, I guess if you really want to, we can.” He tried to maintain a casual tone but it was hard to when placing the sheet back over his own bent and twisted corpse. Some fresh air would hopefully do some good towards erasing that image from his mind though.

#my writing #tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 drabbles #scout #emesis blue #alternate realities

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pinkiepiebones · 1 year

Note

Fic promp: Regarding your discovery of Houltfield spending time in the insane asylum, maybe he could bring it up in the DRAAG meeting, to Rebecca, or just reflecting on it himself?

I just did some research and "mental hospitals" (read "places we can put crazy people so we don't have to look at them") were absolutely HORRIBLE in the 1930's! There was shock therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, forced lobotomies, insulin injections (in non-diabetic patients), horribly abusive staff, overcrowding, zombifying medication, the list goes on! Even IF none of that happened to Renfield himself, it definitely would have happened to those around him. It would have been all too easy for Dracula to frame himself as a rescuer instead of a new tormentor.

Sorry for the ramble, I just love connecting fiction with real-life research!

Oh yeah, shit was waaaack. I'm too altered rn to go in to it but. Mental health's been in some dire places. It sucks. Also [TERRIBLE CONFESSION] I have never seen Dracula in its entirety. So I more likely than not got these details wrong.

As for Robert ever bringing up his time there...

Robert's a blurter. It's a term Mark has in his head for group members who suddenly speak up during someone else's share, usually due to the share lighting up a dark corner of their memories.

"Mental hospitals are not good," he had blurted out in reaction to something Rob had been saying.

Mark turned, as did the other group members. Rob, as gracious as he was intimidating, nodded. "Go ahead, Robert, share your truth."

Robert had shrunk in on himself. Usually, in 'full power' (why were they still using that term?), Robert was sitting tall, looked extra tall next to his friend Rebecca. Right now his shoulders were hunched like he was trying to fold himself in half and he was looking at his hands.

"Er, well, this was after a l- after a few years of serving him," he began, careful to avoid naming his ex-boss. It was not out of any fear that evocation would bring him back, but more simply- he hated saying that name.

"I had been so thoroughly, um, pulled and twisted, mentally speaking, by him, that I was-" Robert made a noise and a vague gesture- "gone. Completely, uh, checked out. So he dropped me in a, I think it was a forest, maybe? And some people found me eating a rat and shipped me to a mental hospital. An asylum.

"I was further abused, mentally, maybe a little physically as well- straight jackets are not as comfortable as they might appear- by doctors and orderlies. They thought my, my bug eating was a symptom of a myriad of illnesses. Truth be told, I don't think I even recalled why I did that, but I knew I had to? That doesn't make sense."

Robert tensed. Rebecca placed a reassuring hand on his knee. "I knew Dra- he was still keeping tabs on me. The more I felt his presence, the more my mind sort of, you know, shuffled back into a full deck. But no one listens to you when you're an asylum inmate, when you're instatutionalised, no matter how much you beg to be let out, because the lobotimised patient down the hall or the guy being electroshocked into obedience also say they need to be let out ... I knew he was watching and waiting for me to screw up and reveal his existence- Oh, I actually said to one doctor, 'Dracula? I never heard the name in my life.'"

Robert chuckled a little and raised his head. He sniffled. "I got out, of course. I found my way back to Dracula because he wa-" He stopped, eyes wide and brimming with tears.

"He was the only home I knew by then. He told me he was the only one who would ever care about me. And I believed him for a very, very long time."

The gym was deafeningly quiet.

Rob said gently, "thank you for that, Robert. I'll be sure to research mental health facilities before I make a decision." Mark and others made noises of agreement.

Later, on the walk to Robert's apartment, Rebecca gave her friend a hug.

Robert froze and stared at her as she stepped back.

"What?" she asked indignantly.

"You don't hug."

"Yeah, well, after tonight, you needed it."

Robert shrugged.

"And, like, every time I hear something new from your past, I just wanna go get those concrete chunks and throw them in a fucking volcano. Only now I also wanna go back in time and kick those doctors's asses for you."

Robert chuckled. "I'm aware things have changed, but it's hard to remove parts of myself from- I'm a hundred and thirty or so years old, I'm still sort of caged by moments of time."

Rebecca shook her head. "There's no more cages, Rob. None that can hold you back now."

🎶I never know how to end fics🎶

#renfield #robbie don't look

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justnerdy15 · 4 months

Text

iterum sol oritur (daily writing 1.20.24)

prompt: @isabellebissonrouthier The sun hasn't risen in seven years. Why are people terrified that sunrise has finally returned? wc: 2200 (more under the cut) a/n: thanks for the inspo @isabellebissonrouthier! this really tickled my brain into actually writing for once. content warning: cursing, child death (off page)

The hubris of humanity is unmatched. The gall to deny nature its function, to manipulate the stars in the sky, to exert their control over forces that have existed before humans were even specks in the dirt is a level of egotism that has never been seen before and, god willing, will never be seen again.

***

“What do you mean you can’t come today?” a woman demands, clutching her phone with a white-knuckled grip as she paces a pristine kitchen, her voice shrill and hair-raising. “I need this done. Do you understand me?”

A muffled response.

“I don’t care about a list! Or that you’re busy,” she snaps, lip curling to reveal sharp canine teeth. “I’ll pay triple the rate for you to come out now. Fuck, I’ll install it myself if I have to, just give me the fucking supplies.”

A younger woman watches from the couch, glancing between her irate mother and the giant panes of windows that reveal a starless sky, and sighs. It’s embarrassing to watch as her mother argues, anger undercut by the creeping desperation that pricks Eliana’s ears, going back and forth with some kid on the other end.

He probably isn’t being paid enough to deal with the end of the world.

Well, for some at least.

“You know what? Get me your manager. I want to speak with whoever’s in charge,” her mother says. Oh boy.

Eliana rolls her eyes, pushing herself off of the couch, and makes her way upstairs.

She reaches a pale green door, drawings pinned to the wood in layers and layers of printer paper, and knocks.

“Hey, Luke?” Eliana calls out, hand resting on the door knob. “Can I come in?” She leans in, trying to hear something, and tries again. “Luke?”

The light taps of small feet. A sniffle or two. The knob creaks as it turns underneath her still hand.

The door cracks open just enough for wide brown eyes to look up at her, red-rimmed and watery. “What?”

Eliana offers a small smile. “Can I come in? We can draw for a little bit?”

He sniffs, nose snotty and thick, but he nods and lets her in. He clambers back to his bed, comforter and sheets twisted around into a little nest, and fumbles around until he’s comfortable, pulling a drawing board into his lap.

She follows suit, careful to avoid the soft toys scattered around the floor, and perches on the edge of his bed, picking up a sketchbook from the ground. Eliana flips past pages of crudely drawn mouths, sharp and bloody, and glowing eyes in the dark before coming to a blank page. She takes a pencil from his little pile.

“How you doing, bud?” Eliana asks, using the side of the lead to start shading the corner of the paper. Glancing out the corner of her eye, she sees Luke drag a red crayon down his paper in heavy stripes.

He shrugs.

She brings her pencil further down. “You know you can tell me anything right? I —”

“Momma’s gonna die, isn’t she?” Luke asks, not looking up. “When the sun comes back?”

Well, shit. Eliana takes a sharp breath, pressing a bit harder on the pencil, marks darkening with every swipe. She can’t lie. Not to him.

“Maybe,” she admits, looking at her paper. “She doesn’t want to.”

“But why?” A loaded question. Not that he knows that.

She bites at her lip, wincing at the metallic tang, and tries to figure out where she should begin.

“You know how there’s a lot of special adults around us? Adults like mom?” she asks him, watching blonde curls bounce up and down. “Do you know why they’re special?”

“They don’t grow up,” he answers matter-of-factly. “They drink special juice and they don’t grow up.”

Eliana can’t help the face she makes, a begrudging grimace, because he isn’t exactly wrong.

“Yeah,” she says, nearly done with her page. “That’s pretty much it. And what else is special about them?”

He sniffs again, rubbing his sleeve across his nose. “They made the sun go away.” Luke looks at her. “Why?”

Because they’re selfish assholes. “It hurts them,” Eliana answers, meeting his gaze. “And they thought it would be better for everyone if it just went away.”

“How?”

A noise, a weak excuse for a laugh, escapes her. “I don’t know.”

“What was the sun like?”

Eliana looks down at her paper, filled to the brim with dark gray, and thinks of all the pictures Luke has drawn. How there’s never a bright blue sky with a yellow circle and white fluffy clouds. How he’s lived his entire life in the dark.

“It’s warm,” she says, “Even in winter, it’s always a little warmer in the light. And it’s bright. So bright you can see for miles. Sometimes when it hit the windows just right, there would be rainbows on the walls, on the floors. Even the sky was different colors. Pink and purple and orange and blue all mixed together.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Luke says.

Eliana chokes out a laugh. “It —” she cuts herself off and scrubs at her eyes “— It was nice.”

Luke looks away from her, returning to his drawing with another crayon. “So, why did momma become special?”

Eliana huffs. Because dad died and she couldn’t cope. Because she was afraid to leave them too. Because she wanted some sense of control of the chaos they spiraled into. Because she was weak and let those fuckers whisper poison in her ear. Because she never thought through the consequences of her actions.

“I don’t know.”

“How many grown ups are special?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why’s the sun coming back?”

“I don’t know, Luke.”

“You don’t know a lot of things, Eli,” her brother says causing her to roll her eyes.

She pokes him in his foot. “Well, excuse me, mister,” she replies, “I don’t think anyone knows.”

When the reports came, of how the endless blackness was lightening, distant stars once again puncturing empty skies, it sent the world into chaos.

How could this be happening? Why is it happening? They had promised never-ending night, never-ending life for those who accepted the Bargain, in return for servitude.

And hadn’t the people kept their end of the deal? Supplied them, worshiped them, feared them? Why have they turned their back on their chosen devotees?

Eliana remembers catching her mother later that night crying — or, well, trying to — begging to empty air that she would be saved. Now, instead of bartering with would-be gods, she’s wasting hours arguing over useless solutions in one last desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Luke asks.

She purses her lips together, a sudden burning in her eyes, and swallows against the knot in her throat. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Luke.”

Her phone vibrates in her back pocket. She doesn’t bother to look at the screen. “Hey, I’ll be back in a second, bud,” Eliana says, clearing her throat as she gets up from the bed. “Won’t be long.”

Ducking out into the hallway, making sure the door closes behind her, Eliana slips out the phone and answers it.

“Hello?” she says, trying to sound a little normal.

“Have you heard?” a voice asks, low and dark. Eliana looks at the screen.

“Heard what, Clara?”

There’s a bitter laugh and a pit grows in Eliana’s stomach. “The Watersons. Fuck, Eliana, they killed their kids. Cops just found them.”

“What?” Eliana looks back at Luke’s door and takes a few steps down the hallway.

“Benny, Lucy, and Willa. They’re all gone. Word is that Chris and Donna put something in their food. They —” some rustling, the slam of a car door “— They fuckin’ drained them, Eliana.”

She blinks, stomach turning, and tries to make sense of it. “Why? I mean, Jesus Christ, what the hell?”

Clara scoffs on the other end. “All this shit with the sun. They didn’t want to leave their kids behind —” sarcasm drips with every word “— and they’re dead anyways so. Why the fuck not I guess.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I just talked to them a couple days ago. They said they were going to send the kids to an uncle or something up in St. Louis.” They were sad, sure, but they seemed to have reached a level of acceptance. Even told her they were going to be with their families when the time came.

“Guess they changed their mind,” Clara says.

Eliana leans back against the wall, rubbing at her forehead with one hand, listening to quiet breathing.

“Fuck,” she says.

A hum. “There’s going to be more before this is all over,” Clara states. “As the clock starts counting down. When it finally sinks in.”

“Christ. What’s DPD going to do?”

“Fuck, what can they do? Half of them are turned and the other half are getting ready for the shit storm that is going to follow. Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to admit that they plan on killing their families. It’ll be busy for us to, you know, clean up and everything.”

Eliana looks at the floor and imagines her mother pacing underneath, probably still on the phone. Anxiety settles in her chest, heart beating just a tad faster. She takes a deep breath.

“Clara —”

“Eliana —”

Her mouth shuts with a click. She swallows. “Go ahead.”

Clara sighs. “Come to my place. You and Luke. Please? Until this passes?”

Shaking her head, Eliana replies, “You mean until my mom dies.”

“Technically she’s already dead.”

Eliana grits her teeth together. “Try that again,” she bites out.

“I’m sorry, Eliana. I — I’m sorry, okay? I just want you and Luke safe.”

The words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop herself. “We are safe.”

Her mother is a lot of things, but she — She isn’t that.

She’s not. She would never hurt them.

“Barely,” Clara retorts. “How’s she been acting? Erratic? Angry? Aggressive?”

“Christ, Clara, she’s trying figure out a way not to die. I think a little emotional volatileness is understandable.”

“Sure, but she has a habit of taking things too far. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“Of course I haven’t,” Eliana snaps, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. She wants to pull it out. “What the hell is your problem, Clara?”

“No, Eliana. What is your problem? Jesus, it feels like you’re sticking your head in the goddamn sand. You aren’t safe there and you fucking know it,” Clara bursts out, voice raising enough for Eliana to hold the phone away from her.

Eliana clenches her jaw, teeth aching under the pressure, and smothers the desire to pitch her phone down the hallway. “I don’t need a lecture from you. You have no idea what it’s like —” The words catch in her throat, her mind catching up with her mouth, and shame slams into her like a freight train. God. She didn’t mean —

It’s just —

This is her mother —

But Clara had mothers too.

Dammit.

Eliana closes her eyes, squeezes them shut until the stars reappear behind her eyelids.

Clara breathes out heavily.

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that.”

Silence falls between them. She can still hear her mother downstairs, angry and demanding, and the quiet humming from Luke in his room. Her heart thunders in her ears. She wonders how many people can hear it.

“I’m sorry.”

“I think we’re going in circles,” Clara says dryly.

“Yeah, I guess we are.”

Moments pass before Clara speaks again. “Listen, I just want you safe. And I think the best place for you and Luke to be is with me, but clearly, I can’t force you to do anything. So, if you want to stay there, fine — just don’t forget you can always come to me okay? I’m just a call away.”

“I know, Clara,” Eliana quietly replies, scuffing her foot against the wood floor. “And I’m sure there’s something else you want to say, so. Just say it.”

Another sigh. “Your mom made her bed, Eliana. She knew the risks when she took the Bargain. Whatever happens happens. It’s not your fault either way.”

“Maybe she’ll make it,” she offers, not believing her own words for a second, “She’s trying to get ahold of that special glass treatment. Maybe it’ll work.”

“Maybe. For your sake, I hope so.” There’s ruffling, the rumble of the car engine as it turns over. “I gotta go. We have to get hazmat gear for clean-up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Course. Be safe.”

#writerblr #writeblr #writing prompt #prompt fill #original fiction #my writing

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xxisxxisxxis · 1 year

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Preview: GD Vol. II | Part Five

Tag list: @squiddtheekidd @unknownoblivion @cierrasixx19 @oskea93 @mgkobsessed @sharon6713 @itsametaphorbriansblog @miriampraez @allie-mcginn @rebeccaphillips14 @nicholeh7 @lilmou5ie @emariehorror @floregrohlssard @oldschoolimagineblog @liith-ium @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @ytwahsog @scarecrowmax @random-internet-user-4471 @solohqrry @sparxx27 @kaitieskidmore1 @cruecifymesixx @gingerspicetalks @fancywasmyname1 @ggorehorror @xrosegoldwolfx @mylifeisjustafeverdream @str4nge-haze @m-1234 @leatherandheels @viinceneil @heavymetalgirl420 @chevygirl1969 @bunnyyydoodlez @midsummereve1993

I see the look on his face as soon as the door opens, Eddie’s hair wild from what I’m assuming was a nap before I interrupted it, until he opens the door a little wider to reveal his guitar.

He looked at me as if he was witnessing a car accident and couldn’t look away. My hair was completely unkept, I had dried baby vomit on my already stained t-shirt, I was still in pajama shorts and my bedroom slippers and my eyes were nearly swollen shut from crying.

Crying over a screaming baby, crying over feeling alone, and crying because my husband had apparently contacted his mistress and didn’t tell me about it.

I probably looked like a Martian compared to how he’d been used to seeing me before going out with Valerie, or at events.

I could see the temptation to shut the door in my face, but he wasn’t that kind of guy.

“Viv?” He asks me, glancing around outside before adding, “Umm, Val’s not home. Were you supposed to hangout or…?”

“No, no – I just…I wanted to talk to you, actually…um…” It’s awkward as I wait for him to invite me inside, but then remember maybe it’s best that we talk out here to avoid anybody getting the wrong idea.

“Oh, okay.” He closes the door a second to go put his instrument down before he’s back out in his t-shirt and jeans, sitting down on one of the little cream-colored wicker chairs on the porch.

I opt to stay standing to keep some distance between us – again, voiding any prying eyes of making it into something it’s not – and cross my arms nervously while he obviously waits for me to tell him what it is I wanted to talk about.

“Valerie told me what happened with you two, you know.” I confess it, and he looks as if he knows this, raising his brows slightly as I continue, “And she told me she cheated first.”

“Yeah.” It looks uncomfortable coming from him, perhaps a blatant indication that I’m crossing a line, but knowing him, if I were crossing a line, he’d let me know rather quickly.

“Do you think she loved him more than she loved you?” It’s the only thing that can come to my mind, only because that’s the question that torments me more and more despite Nikki’s affair being further and further into the past.

Immediately, he shakes his head.

“No, I don’t. I think…” He takes a moment to really gather his words, chewing at the inside of his lips before explaining, “...I think I was getting more and more busy, and kinda got absent…and she felt alone. He was there, and she liked that.”

He was there, and she liked that, I repeat it in my head, secretly understanding that notion completely being I myself have felt that same feeling.

“What if you found out she recently contacted him to have some closure for the relationship? What would you do?”

“Has she?” His face twists.

“No, no, she hasn’t. But, just theoretically, what if she did?”

“I wouldn’t like it but…closure exists as a way of indefinitely closing a chapter, right?” He asks softly, scratching at the back of his elbow.

“Yeah.”

He gives a shrug and a breath out and says, “Then why get angry or hurt she’s officially being rid of it?”

It’s clear now that he knows a little bit of what’s going on, or why I’m here asking him very personal questions, because he then asks, “If he loved her, he would’ve left you for her.”

“If he loved me he wouldn’t have gone to her in the first place.” It slips from me.

“I thought that, too, at first. Then, I fucked up, too.” He mumbles. “And I know I damn sure love her, but I still did it. Some things just aren’t black and white. You gotta know that by now.” He points out with a small smirk, his signature grin that pulls a smile of my own. “Did you love him?”

It’s asked as I’m about to thank him for his time and bid him “goodbye,” and I’m taken back by it.

It’s not prying or nosy — he legitimately looks curious. He let me overstep, so I suppose I can let him, now, too.

“I still do.” I admit it to him out loud, the only one I’ve really admitted it to. “But I love Nikki more.”

#nikki sixx #nikki sixx x OC #nikki sixx fanfiction #mötley crüe

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slymewizard · 8 months

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I think its time to make a confession that I’ve been bottling up for a while now. I know that this might get me permanently exiled from the Adventure Time community but I just need to say it. And I’m sorry if I betray anyone with this opinion.

I didn’t like Obsidian.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good episode, I love the music and the flashbacks, and its still better imo than Wizard City (but to be fair that is not a high bar.) but it just didn’t really click with me for a few reasons. Before any of you get mad at me, let me make myself clear, I love Bubblegum and Marceline’s relationship. It’s one of my favorite couples in any series period. But thats precisely one of the reasons that Obsidian underwhelmed me so much. Episodes like Varmints, Sky Witch, and the Stakes arc established them as a badass duo who worked as a team. But during Obsidian, Marceline does most of the heavy lifting while Bubblegum just makes a lot of the problems worse. And I know that was a main plotpoint for the climax of the episode, but it just didn’t sit right with me to see Bubblegum so uncharacteristically inept. The team dynamic between them I had grown to really enjoy just didn’t feel like it was there.

Now this on its own wouldn’t make me not like the episode. It wouldn’t make it a favorite of mine, but I wouldn’t outright dislike it. Even at their worst Bubblegum and Marceline are still a fantastic couple and a joy to watch…

But then we have the glass kingdom.

Hooooooooo boy.

Ok I grew up with Steven Universe so I love Michaela Dietz and I mean no disrespect to her when I say this but GOD IS GLASSBOY ANNOYING.

Ok thats a bit of an overstatement, he has his moments, but unlike Y5 in BMO, he just feels kind of intrusive. And again, I get it, thats a main point of his arc, but I just never really GOT why he needed to be there. I get that theres a whole subplot but I would have enjoyed it a LOT more if Marceline and PB were the sole main characters. Heck maybe even throw a few more Simon moments in there. He just doesn’t really add much to the episode as a whole except an annoying third protagonist who really only exists to further his own subplot rather than the episode plot as a whole. (There were a lot of other ways Marceline and PB could have gotten to the glass kingdom.)

And then theres the subplot itself. I’ve come to have certain expectations for an Adventure Time plot. Call me entitled, but past the midpoint of the series it handled some pretty heavy topics with a lot of nuance, and thats part of why I loved it so much. It wasn’t afraid to talk about certain subjects that other shows tend to shy away from. And Bubblegum and Marceline were two of the most complex characters, so I had high expectations for Obsidian. And their arc, despite my problems mentioned above, delivered it well. The climax with them in the volcano and Marceline using the makeshift guitar to sing a heartfelt song that touched both PB and Larvo was genuinely beautiful and kept the episode from being a complete dud for me. But glassboy’s arc boils down to “Don’t make fun of people who are different than you are.” The second the royal advisors started making fun of him for his crack, I knew EXACTLY, what was going to end up happening. And wouldn’t you know it, by the end of the episode, everyone including the advisors reveal that they all had cracks this entire time because everyone is different and we should all learn to accept that…To quote John Mulaney, just because you’re right, doesn’t mean you’re interesting. This is a topic that any NUMBER of shows could have handled, and even then Adventure Time usually adds a bit of a twist or some nuance to even the most basic lessons, but the entire arc was just so cliche. The royal advisors talk exactly like they crawled out of a stock health class video about bullying. I may sound like a bit of an entitled asshat but am I wrong for feeling a little bit patronized?

So yeah I didn’t really like Obsidian. I’m not gonna make a sarcastic remark mocking people who would disagree I openly encourage you all to tear me asunder. There’s a non zero chance I will become the next Rick and Morty copypasta. I’m still learning about this stuff and if I missed some deeper meanings please let me know. And no matter what, always remember, I still liked this episode way more than Wizard City. That was barely anything for me.

#adventure time #distant lands #adventure time obsidian #marceline #princess bubblegum

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nihils-trolls · 10 months

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Of Gold and Shadows

context here

“C’mon, Ria. It’s just some old hive that got left to rot. Telling me you’re scared all of a sudden?”

“Shut up, Gaz. If I was scared, I wouldn’t’ve followed you out here, dumbass.”

A young troll prods his friend as they walk along a cobbled path lined with planted trees, long since forgotten and overgrown. It’s a windy- but otherwise quiet- night, moons high in the sky and peeking through the clouds overhead. A rather large piece of property once- this small valley appears thick with weeds and brambles; any other buildings that were here now drowned out in green and falling apart.

The two had heard tales of this derelict estate that was tucked deep into the mountain pass to the north, and that it was haunted by the lingering spirit of the old staff and its last owner. Fate unknown, body never found. But of course, those are just rumors.

“Oh, okay then. I’ll believe that. One hundred percent.” Gazram says with a sarcastic tone, to which Rianne replies with a slug to his shoulder.

In all honesty, neither of them thought there was going to be anything out here. But just a short way back, they’d found an old trail that led to where they are now. Visible just through the trees ahead lies a stately manor. Or, what would have been one maybe several hundred sweeps prior.

The building is still standing despite the disrepair it’s in; the porch in front is falling to pieces, windows broken in, a large hole in the roof- the list goes on. From the outside, the inside seems to be in just as bad of shape. Empty for who knows how long, boarded doors and slanting floors.

“Yeesh, this place has seen better nights,” Gazram states plainly. “So what. You thinkin’ we just… march right in, yeah? See if we can catch anything weird?”

“I mean. What else are we gonna do? I still don’t know why I even came out here with you.”

“I dunno. To leave that stuffy hive of yours and live a little? No harm in exploring.”

Rianne steps around broken boards on her way to the main entrance, Gazram following close behind. Unlike others they’ve seen, this door remains unbarred. A quick jiggle of the handle reveals it to be locked; however, the motion causes the door to swing inside slowly, revealing a moth-eaten foyer. Large, golden colored draperies line the walls, black rugs line the once elaborate wooden floors- stained with mildew and rot.

The both of them step inside, Gaz closing the door behind them. The vast room is intersected by a stretching hall spanning left to right, with two staircases at the back. Both lead to a balcony on the floor above that overlooks the space below. A chandelier sits fallen in the center- shattered glass scattered everywhere.

“What do you think happened?” Rianne asks.

“What, to the owner?” Gaz pauses for a moment, ambling into the room further before answering back. “I don’t know. From what I heard, it was some sort of feud between rivals- and not the romantic kind. Rich highbloods get into all sorts of weird dramatic bullshit, don’t they?

Oooh! Do you think there’s anything cool left behind? Or do y’ think looters got to this place already?”

Rianne just rolls her eyes, following and continuing to look around. “You told me this place is old n’ well known already, so I doubt it. But… look around. Don’t you think it’s weird that there’s no blues or purples? Anything even remotely on that end of the spectrum?”

He stops in his tracks for a moment before continuing. “A little, but that doesn’t mean anything- shit could’ve gotten stolen already… Maybe the guy just had a weird sense of style.”

“... You’ve got me there. I probably wouldn’t’ve built my hive like this…”

Rianne trails off, looking down a hall to her right. Gazram follows her gaze, and looks just as bewildered as she does. The hall is devoid of light other than moonlight filtering through the windows. It seems to stretch on much further than expected; almost seems as if the corridor itself skews and twists towards the end.

“... ‘specially not like this. You seeing that too?”

“Wish I could say I’m not.” he replies simply.

She peers into the shadows further down, hesitating to speak again. “I think I saw something else down there. I… I don’t know. Maybe we should leave?”

Gazram looks dumbfoundedly at her. “Ria, we just got here. You really gonna leave because a creepy abandoned hive is starting to get to you?”

“I just might.” she says.

“C’mon, there’s nothing here. This place is just falling apart at the seams… you really think there’s ghosts here?” he teases. Next thing he knows, she’ll be telling him she believes in magic, too.

Ria puts her hands on her hips, giving her ‘friend’ an unamused look. “No, but I don’t like this either way, asshole. Y’know what? Have fun by yourself, getting injured in a shoddy building. I’m gonna go wait outside for you to be done with all this.”

Rianne then heads for the door- Gazram deciding to meander towards the twisting hall. “Fine, be that way. Just so you know, you might be waiting awhile.”

“Uh huh. And if I wait more than an hour, I’m leaving your sorry ass here.”

Jiggling the handle again, she remembers that the door is locked- and Gazram shut it the rest of the way. Sighing, she looks down to find that there’s no bolt keeping the door shut- no lock on this side either.

“... Gaz, did you do something to this door? If so, this isn’t funny.”

Turning on his heel to face her again, he gives Rianne a puzzled look. “No?”

The olive walks back over to the entrance, pushing her aside and attempting to open the door- and does so without issue. “See? It’s not even locked. I dunno what your problem is-”

Just as soon as it opens, Gazram is cut off by the door slamming shut of its own accord. The two turn to stare at it, shocked, and Gaz grasps at the handle to try and open it again. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t budge.

“You cannot tell me that was ‘just the wind’-” Ria says, before being interrupted by her friend.

“I’m sor-ry, what do you want me to say? I don’t believe in ghosts, and I’m not about to because a door slammed shut spookily.” He quickly gives up the vain attempts to open it and walks away in a huff. “If the door won’t open, just bust open one of these windows and climb out. The rest are broken anyway.”

“... I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? You’re not that weak, I know that for a fact-”

“I mean I can’t!” Rianne yells, surprising even herself. After a moment’s pause, she sighs and looks out the window. “I won’t do it. I just… listen. I’m getting a really bad feeling- if we break anything in here, it’s not gonna end well.”

Gazram stares at the cerulean, now returning the unamused look from earlier. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Dead serious,” she hisses, turning to look back at him. “Let’s just… find another way out. There’s bound to be a back door, or hole in the wall somewhere. Fast, preferably.”

“Fine, but we’re going the way I was going to go before you called me over.”

… Both move down the skewed hall at a slowed pace. The floorboards creak and groan underneath their steps, the sounds echoing throughout the corridor. Out of the several doors they’ve passed, only one was unlocked- leading to an empty room infested with roaches and black mold.

“You’d think…” Gazram starts, “That with all the time and number of trolls that had to have been here, these doors would be busted open, wouldn’t you?”

Rianne thinks for a moment, putting a hand to her chin. “Yeah, actually. It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? I kinda expected this place to be in worse condition. And this hallway…”

“What about it?”

“Dude, we’ve been walking down it for at least five minutes. It didn’t look that long before, did it? This doesn’t even match what it looked like from the outside.” After saying that, she stops to look behind her.

The hallway stretches on for quite the distance. Back where they had started, Rianne notices a tall, pale troll standing in a long, white dress. After staring a moment, she notices darkened, mustard colored splatters on the dress- and that the figure is staring right back.

Stopping in her tracks, she grabs a hold of her friend’s arm. Whispering for him to look too. Glancing back to see the same, he immediately regrets not believing Ria sooner.

They don’t have a moment to react before a wall springs upwards from the floor and slams against the ceiling, blocking the hall off from the foyer. They jolt from the sudden ‘thud,’ and the first is followed by more as the very corridor itself seems to fold in on itself and shrink.

Still holding his arm, Rianne begins sprinting down the hall dragging Gazram behind her. Despite the collapsing happening behind them, the end never seems to be getting any closer to them. Gasping for breath, the two continue racing onwards- not having any other option.

Finally, she sees a bend to the left. Pulling the olive around the corner, the wall continues advancing- until it slams against the end in an abrupt stop. Ria collapses to the floor, attempting to catch her breath.

“What… the actual fuck… was that??” she says, exasperated. “Suuuure Gaz, tell me the place isn’t fucking haunted! Oooooh, ghosts aren’t real,” Ria continues mockingly, “Then you mind telling me what the hell happened?

And do not tell me we’re hallucinating from… from.. mold spores or any other shitty explanation. I feel pretty sober right now, and I hate it.”

“-Alright! Fine! I don’t know! What do you want, for me to say this was a stupid idea? Then yeah! I agree, this was a fucking stupid idea.” he argues. “How was I supposed to know that there would be fucking… supernatural bullshit happening here?”

Rianne holds her head in her hands, too frustrated and too scared to say anything back to that. Or, anything for a few long moments. But finally, she steels herself- getting off of the floor to stand.

Gazram continues while she does so. “Look. I won’t bother you about superstitious stuff anymore. So let’s just… keep going. Ignore any other weird shit unless it’s actually gonna hurt us, since it looks like our only way out is through.”

Scrubbing her face, Ria sighs and nods. “Yeah. Fine.”

The duo continues along, the end of the corridor being marked with a large set of heavy-looking double doors. More rooms lie along this stretch, with most of them being locked like the rest. Sobbing echoed out quietly from behind them, and neither Rianne or Gazram dared to look back. Not again.

Instead, they both push open the doors at the end, revealing a ruined grand ballroom with a high, vaulted ceiling. Stairs along either side of the wall lead up to another balcony, decorated pillars holding it aloft. It’s mostly empty, save for an old grand piano and a small orchestral stage off to the side. The back wall contains an enormous, elaborate window with two glass doors leading outside- their escape, hopefully.

Not wasting any time, Rianne begins making her way over to the back wall with Gazram following close behind. Upon their entering of the room, music begins playing from the grand piano- despite there being no one there to play. The sudden disturbance only hastens their steps.

Before the cerulean can open the door, both trolls feel a presence directly behind them. No longer off in the distance, stifled weeping can be heard- a voice softly speaking to them.

“Why can’t you just leave me be?”

Ria dares to turn her head back, ever so slowly. She is face to face with a ghastly figure, pale as bone with long, frazzled white hair to match. Her wide, haunted eyes were black like voids with golden irises. Yellow blood streaks and drips from her eyes down her face, stains covering the entirety of the elaborate, yet ruined dress she’s wearing.

“Get out.” the figure finally commands, a forceful gust of wind knocking the patio doors open and shattering them.

No longer frozen with fear, Gazram grabs a hold of Ria’s arm- dragging her with him as he hastily retreats out the open door. Now free of the manor’s walls, the two scramble around and back towards the path that led them here.

Neither of them really felt like exploring 'haunted buildings' anymore. Or, ever again for that matter.

#nihil writes #eidwyn manor #nyxtra eidwyn #man for characters that are random and will likely never show up again #these two sure did talk a lot lmao.

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emmys-writing-blog · 11 months

Text

- Castle infiltration story: Scene Four

Scene One Scene Two Scene Three

Unspoken Doubts

Other Hero had her doubts about Hero's background, though it was easy to guess she had some involvement in the recent outburst at the kingdom. Not only that, but Hero's sharp gaze and agile movements mirrored those of the 'rogue guard' from the rumours around the kingdom. This didn’t seem like a coincidence. As rumours spread like wildfire, it only got harder for Other Hero to dismiss the resemblance.

She decided to not from mention it, knowing that it could potentially provoke Hero and lead her to leave the team. Doubt gnawed at her, but she couldn't deny the sympathy she felt for Hero. She wanted her in the team, not only for extra help in missions, but also for a new friend. As of right now, Hero seemed to be completely alone. Other Hero knew the feeling far too well.

Other Hero decided to let Hero reveal her past herself. She could do it in her own time, sharing it on her own terms, and Other Hero would stand by her when they did.

Superhero walked silently beside Other Hero, a departure from her previously opinionated self. Her brows furrowed as she walked mindlessly, lost in thought, Other Hero observed in silence. The air was palpable as Other Hero desperately searched for words to ease the tension.

“You know, I think I new team member could be a good thing,” Other Hero started softy, searching Superhero’s face for a reaction. “It could help with missions, plus it’d be good having someone new to talk to…”

“We were fine before.” Superhero responded bluntly, still stuck in her trance. Other Hero's shoulders slumped, a sigh escaping their lips. They had hoped for a lively exchange to lighten the mood, but Superhero seemed disinterested. Superhero's gaze drifted aimlessly, never quite meeting Other Hero's, as they walked in silence.

Hero trailed behind the two, her steps light but her thoughts racing. Ignoring their conversation, she let her mind wander to the vivid images of the townsfolk she had encountered. Their expressions haunted her thoughts, etched with hurt, disappointment, and fear.

It was as if their perception had been twisted, mistaking her noble intentions for villainous acts. It should have been the Villain they feared, not her. Hero felt a heaviness in her heart as she grappled with the unfair judgment, overwhelmed by frustration and confusion.

“We’re here.” Superhero huffed, throwing the bag of supplies down onto the ground. She kept her head low as she walked off, leaving Other Hero and Hero behind. Other Hero sighed, their lips slightly pursed as if holding back words. As they combed a hand through their hair, they shifted their attention to Hero.

“Sorry,” Other Hero mumbled. “They aren’t usually like this.” they averted their gaze, embarrassed of how rudely Superhero was being. Other Hero's voice carried a hint of exhaustion, their words laced with an apology, their eyes betraying the weight of their fatigue.

“Yeah it’s fine,” Hero set the other bag of supplies beside Superhero’s. “Thank you for letting me stay with you guys.” Hero smiled at Other Hero, who mustered a weary smile in return, their shoulders slumping as they nodded.

“Ah, I suppose I should show you where you’ll be staying,” Other Hero walks off further into the camp, Hero follows closely behind. Maybe a fresh start here wouldn’t be so bad. This is just a draft. If you have any feedback lmk <3

#hero #superhero #other hero #hero x villain #hero x villain community #writing #castle infiltration #not a prompt #sorry this was late #should be on time tomorrow #these are slowly but surely getting less and less likes and views #if you have any feedback please let me know because i really like writing these and i dont want to stop #yes i liked my own post #ok thats enough tags

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lesbianyosano · 5 months

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manifesting Fukufuku dying in each others arms -> I am losing it slowly anyway thoughts on the newest chapter?

this has been sitting in my askbox since september and im really sorry anwsering took so long, but ive been trying to articulate how the last few chapters/last episode made me feel and im still not sure, because there have been so many bizzare choices made by both asagiri and the ppl behind the anime i still cant wrap my head around it fully (this got stupid long sorry)

starting with fukuzawa, i made a post a while back talking abt how i was assuming he was going to die/why it'd make a lot of sense, and there were really two main reasons for that; 1. he hasnt had anything interesting to offer for the story for a while and 2. his ability actively stops other important characters (mainly atsushi and kyouka) from further developement. the first thing is now gone which im pretty happy with! i love fukuzawa a lot so it's nice to see him finally have a purpose in the main story and im excited to see where it will go (also fukufuku you will always be famous to me <3333333), but the issue of his ability is still very much here. ive seen ppl theorize that all men are equal is just him lying and there is no ability but i honest to god would hate that, bc it would seem like such a shallow twist. atsushi's conflict with the tiger is central to his character so if it suddenly got revealed that a huge reason why he's even capable of using his power is just placebo "believe in yourself" bullshit i think i'd tear my own hair out. so im still thinking fukuzawa may get killed at some point, esp with the position he's been put into now and how much he seems to not want it.

and as for the "chuuya was never a vampire" fiasco, i honestly have no words, it was so unbelievably bad. ik there's been a ton of posts about how "its actually good" bc fyodor's death was caused by his inability to trust, and dazai's belief in his allies is what put him at an advantage, which is nice yeah, but it doesnt change how fucking stupid of a plan that was. if their goal is to kill fyodor, why not do it in that flooded room? fyodor escapes solely bc chuuya gets him out but if he was concious the entire time why not just leave him there? why continue to pretend? im usually not a huge fan of getting angry over plot holes when the narrative and themes are whats more important, but this is just so blantantly stupid. it feels like asagiri just wanted a plot twist for a plot twist's sake. mersault in general is so poorly constructed as an arc (dazai communicating via his heartbeat,,,, give me a break) but at least you'd hope it would end in a way that makes you excuse all of that, and then it doesn't. i think this post sums up how i feel about this than i ever could

and the fact that its december and we are STILL behind the fucking anime asagiri be so for real. it's easy to see now that the constant half chapters and short releases were a deliberate choice to have the anime catch up which i dont love, but fine, whatever. but now??? what the point of half releases? these chapters have been ready for a long time, and there's no way asagiri and the editors and whoever else is involved arent aware of how frustrated the readers have been for years now. the only explanation i can think of is that maybe the manga will have a different arc conclusion and ctheyre trying to idk, make it seem like we're following the anime closely? idk this shit is so stupid

overall this past arc or two have been bad, there are some elements that make them enjoyable still, but there is no theme consistency and overreliance on cliff hangers (that ppl still somehow buy). it feels like there are no stakes to the story, and that's really bad. maybe it's why i was hoping for fukuzawa to be killed alongside fukuchi idk, it'd finally feel like something is changing

on a brief positive note i quite enjoyed fyodors death, weird catholic freak, ofc nikolai is cradling your arm like this. i was a little suprised to see fyodor killed just yet (bc he always needed to die for the story to be able to wrap up eventually), but given the jesus quote, he may as well come back in some way tbh

#and then there the bsd anime sucks issue #s5 in particular but i think its in huge part bc it seems to have been rushed #like dazai leaving mersault with no blood on his clothes/suddenly walking with no issue #and again. so sorry for not anwsering for months im really bad at running a blog #ask

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thisisasupergoodidea · 2 years

Text

Whumptober Day 3

Impaled

—

Rogelio waits and listens to the ambience of the forest around him. As a child, these woods were as much of a home to him as the village was. Equally familiar, and comforting, though not without its unique set of dangers. That very danger is his target today.

He hears a branch snap suspiciously close-by.

Rogelio whirls around and readies his arrow in the direction of the noise, focusing intently ahead. But what steps out from behind that cluster of trees is not any forest creature. It’s-

“-Emil??”

The guy doesn’t look happy to have run into him either. Then again, he never looks happy, full stop.

Rogelio glances around worriedly for Lorenzo- his hunting partner- and motions wordlessly for Emil to come closer once he’s fairly sure they’re alone. When the guy only stands there further furrowing his already furrowed brows at him, he heaves an exasperated sigh and just jogs over to him instead.

“What are you doing out here?”

“…What? I live here,” Emil replies, scathingly baffled. “Were you hit on the head recently?”

“No, I- I meant- why are you here, in this area? This is way too close to the village, dude! And bad timing!”

“Oh please, not this again. I thought we had moved on from you dictating where and when I’m allowed to exist.”

“It’s not about that!” Rogelio hisses. “Listen: I’m not alone out here. There’s a whole search party going on right now, in fact. So whatever you’re doing, do it faster and go home!”

Emil’s face lights up with some kind of sudden understanding.

“A search party? Is it for Dani?”

“It’s- wait, yeah, it is. How’d you know?”

He smirks wryly.

“I know more than that. Perhaps I’ll even tell you where she is…” He leans into Rogelio’s space like he’s about to reveal a juicy secret. “…provided you give me something in return.”

Rogelio rolls his eyes at that. This asshole never misses a chance to make a game of something, does he?

“Okay, or you could just tell me, without trying to take advantage of my friend’s disappearance. Unless… Don’t tell me you’re the one who-“

“-took her? Rogelio, give your friend more credit than that.” He almost sounds scandalized on her behalf. “I can assure you I didn’t do a damn th-“

A sudden, ferocious shout cuts him off; there’s hardly any time to react to the outburst before Lorenzo comes charging in like lightning. If only Rogelio had noticed him sooner, instead of letting himself get thrown off track- as he so often does- by Emil… Maybe then he wouldn’t be staring down in horror at the tip of a hunting spear, stained red, protruding from Emil’s abdomen. Dumbly watching the blood bloom on the fabric of his shirt.

Emil’s normally sour expression twists into one of sharp agony.

Even fucking Lorenzo has the gall to look shocked.

“I- I did it!” he exclaims.

“No,” Rogelio murmurs, disbelieving his own eyes and ears. But the choking sounds of Emil struggling to breathe compels him to claw and rip and tear his way through all the stages of grief at once to confront reality.

He lunges forward. Seizes his friend by the collar. Shakes him viciously.

“What the fuck did you do, Lorenzo!?”

“Wha..? He- He said he took her! I was just-“

“No he didn’t, you idiot, use your ears! And even if he did, what good does killing him do if we still don’t know where she is??”

In the background, Emil sways and staggers, hands hovering uncertainly near his injury. He’s just barely able to keep himself upright. By now, Rogelio has seen Emil endure some pretty gnarly things without so much as a scratch or symptom to show for it a week later. His ability to heal is incredible- you could say magical.

But this is bad. If Rogelio doesn’t do something soon, and fast…

…he’s not sure Emil will survive this one.

—

continued in: day 5 (blood loss)

#whumptober2022 #no.3 #impaled #OC #fic #injury #blood #my writing #project magic

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five-rivers · 3 years

Text

Three Twilights

Can be considered a loose sequel to Deep Sea Diver (same vibes).

Warnings: Soft body horror, Danny totally ignoring objectively horrifying things

“I was thinking,” started Maddie over breakfast, “we could start observations of that island that came into view last week, the blue one.”

Danny shook his head. “You’ll have to use the Speeder, then,” he said. “I’ve got an errand to run.”

There was a pause as both of Danny’s parents looked at him, confused. He didn’t blame them. Danny rarely went out as a human anymore, and certainly not for anything like errands. Looking like he was still fourteen after all this time made doing anything even remotely official difficult.

But this wasn’t a human errand. “Yeah,” said Danny. “In the Ghost Zone. I’ve got to go to Three Twilights.”

“Where?” asked Jack.

“It’s, um, a city,” said Danny. “Well, three cities, I suppose, depending on how you want to group them. One Realm. On the shores of the Celestial Sea. I’m sure I’ve put it in your files.” Probably a direct copy from his files from before he came clean to them, but still. He stirred his cereal counterclockwise, letting his ice powers chill the milk.

“Yes,” said Maddie, “but there are a lot of places in there. I’m not sure we’ve had a chance to properly look at them all, much less memorize them.”

“Okay, yeah,” said Danny. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What kind of errand are you running, Danno?”

“I’m picking something up for a friend. A book,” he clarified. “They lent it to someone there, but they need it back.”

“A book,” said Maddie. “For the Library of Tongues?”

“No, they’ve got a contract service for overdue loans.”

“Contract service?” asked Jack.

“Yeah. Moonlighting bounty hunters mostly.”

“For a library?”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Danny, shrugging. “They’re really serious about their work.”

“If it isn’t for them, who is it for?” asked Maddie. “The princess? Wulf?” Wulf had actually been over a few times, and his parents had… Well, saying they got along would be an overstatement, they didn’t really have anything in common beyond ripping portals in the fabric of the universe, but everyone had been civil. “The boy at the school?”

“No,” said Danny. “Wulf would just get it himself.”

“Who, then?” pressed Maddie.

Danny put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, delaying. Maddie hadn’t eaten anything since Danny had mentioned the errand. The errand was, in fact, for Clockwork. Danny was always more than happy to do anything for Clockwork. The older ghost had saved him too many times for him to be otherwise. But Jack and Maddie were wary of Clockwork. Danny didn’t get it, but talking about it hadn’t been productive so far.

He didn’t want to lie to his parents. Not ever again.

“It’s for Clockwork,” he said.

Ah, yes, there were those suspicious looks. The ones Danny could have interpreted even without being able to almost literally taste emotions.

“I see,” said Maddie.

“Anyway,” said Danny, quickly, “if I haven’t shown you Three Twilights yet, it’s really cool. I don’t want to take the full rig, but maybe the little ectocam would be okay? The one that I can clip on.”

“Why not the normal camera with an ectofilter?” asked Jack. “That has more features, and it’s easier for us to get data from.”

“Three Twilights. It’s dark there,” said Danny. “It might work in Civila, but not so much in Naŭtika and Astronomia, and I sort of want to go down to the beach and see if I can find any star pearls, and that’s really dark, so if you want to see anything properly, it’ll have to be the sonar setup, which I’m not doing, the noises that thing makes are offensive, or the ectocam.”

“And the Fenton Phones?” asked Maddie.

“Sure,” said Danny. “But I always bring those.”

“Yes,” said Maddie, after a moment. “You do.”

“Great. It’s settled, then.”

Most of the journey to Three Twilights could be made by air. Or, rather, what passed for air in the Infinite Realms. But when the rocky edge of an island came into view, Danny touched down. Further in was a blue wood, and Danny walked under its inviting branches.

The atmosphere started sunny, summery. The leaves and needles of the trees were the color of a clear blue sky. But as he got deeper, the leaves were touched with sunset colors: golds, reds, oranges, purples, and pinks. They fell to the ground, crunching beneath Danny’s feet. The sunset grew longer, deeper. The leaves on the trees grew sparser, revealing patches of sky.

By the time only bare branches framed the sky, it was a dusky, dim, purple. A few lonely stars twinkled in the sky.

He passed out of the forest. The city of Civila rose above him. Windows glowed in the near dark like eyes.

Danny had changed, too. His aura had dimmed. The whites of his suit were now dark gray, and patterns swirled on its surface like camouflage, like wind-twisted clouds, like nebulae.

Shadows bled around the corners of the city buildings like ink in water. Will-o-the-wisps bobbed, casting pools of illumination in lieu of streetlamps. Ghosts walked up and down the streets, or floated only a few meters up.

The buildings glittered. Everything was dark, vibrant, colors. A sharp, sweet scent filled the air, something dark and rich beneath it.

The canals in the center of the street were filled with flashing fish. Or perhaps serpents. Or perhaps worms. Between how fast they moved and the dimness of the light, it was difficult to tell.

Danny could feel his irises contracting, shrinking down to needle-thin rings. His teeth were sharp. He matched the other ghosts around him. This was how the Civila liked it, how things were in this part of Three Twilights.

Everything in order. Everything peaceful. Everything civil.

Danny walked through the market square, and bought some charcoal-colored cherry pastries from a vendor who looked like someone’s nightmare demon with a chip of ghost ice.

Much to his parents’ protests. They didn’t care for him eating ghost food.

There were seven bridges to Naŭtika, which was built half underwater and half on boats that floated both on the water and in the air. As the dark waters of the inlet lapped at his feet, Danny felt the changes ripple across his skin. To a human, he would look pure black, except for the faintest glimmer of rim lighting and the stars of his eyes. He and the other ghosts moved silently, cutting through the waters like shadows.

To Danny’s ghostly senses, the place was alive with emotion and force, energy loud and crackling against his senses.

“We’re solely on the ectocam, now,” said Maddie. “You were right about that.”

“Mhm,” said Danny, half distracted by a whispered sea-shanty backed by a choir of not-voices and not-sound that wove together with the mastery of a hundred years of practice.

He glided up a rope net, and began to navigate the ropes to the taller ships. The very tallest, the ones that scraped the ever-darkening sky and blotted out uneven sections of stars, moored the glass-like ships that floated above. He’d need to reach them, to get to Astronomia.

“What’s that?” asked Maddie, breaking his concentration on his path.

“What’s what?” asked Danny, whisper soft, drawing some looks. He turned, slowly, on the spot, planks barely creaking under his steps. A gentle wind ruffled his hair.

“There,” said Maddie. “By the ghost that’s registering red.”

It had taken Danny a long time to learn what color on the ectocam’s artificial sensor signified what, but he had, if only to reduce the guessing when they played this game.

“Star pearls,” said Danny, eyeing the ropes of stone that glimmered brighter than his eyes currently did. They were one of the only reliable forms of light, out on the Celestial Sea, although they were valued for other things, too.

“They’re putting out a massive amount of energy,” said Maddie.

“You mentioned them before,” said Jack. “You wanted to look for some?”

“On the shore,” said Danny. “Out past Astronomia.” He wanted to find his own, rather than buy them.

Partially because they were expensive. He didn’t really want to think about how much unmelting ice he’d have to conjure up to equal one of them. They were usually bartered in exchange for… more significant things.

The ghost by the pearls beckoned him closer, clearly hoping to make a sale. Danny shook his head, broadcasting regret and admiration for his wares. Speech might be faster but, under these circumstances, it would not be polite.

When Danny left, the social rules of Three Twilights would only leave the faintest impression on his mind. But, for now, they were a heavy, but not uncomfortable weight. One he could shrug off if necessary, but which was currently useful.

“What are they?” asked Maddie, as Danny turned away.

“They happen when big enough things fall into stars,” said Danny. “They’re all the memories of what they used to be… and the imagination of what they could become, when the star dies. Well, that’s what they’re supposed to be. I don’t think anyone really knows for sure.”

“And you can just… find these? Lying around?”

“Not… not really,” said Danny, slowly drifting towards a crow’s nest. “It’s like that one national park. That one where you can collect diamonds? You never really find anything good, but you can look.”

“I see,” said Maddie. “So, you don’t expect to find one?”

“Yes and no,” said Danny. “If I don’t expect to find one, I probably won’t. Unless the sea is feeling ironic, which it usually is, apparently. I mean, it’s an ocean and the stars. And prophecy is, like, ninety percent irony, but mostly for an outside observer. Which honestly makes sense, I think. An observer, not an Observant. Those are different things.”

The kind of silence on the other side of the line was the one that emerged when Danny used too much ghost logic.

“Anyway,” he continued as he scaled the crow’s nest and started traversing the glass ropes and chains to the all-but-invisible glass ships, “no, I don’t really expect to.”

The path to Astronomia was a staircase carved from moonstone harvested in October, when the moon was full and orange-red. It burned Danny’s eyes to look at and feet to walk upon. Like many ghosts who fixated on things like astronomy, he adapted quickly and thoroughly to the spiritual dark.

This darkest twilight was built of delicate bubbles, whorls, and arches of glass, any of which could cradle a ghost, all of which could be phased through with impunity. There were no true roads here, but certain places were easier to travel through. Addresses were carved in the glass in glimmering, holographic sigils made from glass-caught starlight that humans would never be able to read, but Danny could understand with a glance. It was not silent in Astronomia, the high wind sung through the glass like the immense instrument it was, playing ethereal and eternal music that mirrored heaven.

As always, Danny was enraptured. Perhaps the stars here were not true stars, only their memory and imagination (or simulacra made from stripped ghost cores, he remembered with a shudder), but he felt so close here.

“Danny? Are you still with us?”

Danny started to reply, but realized he had forgotten, once again, that he had no mouth here.

A phantabulist played a story for a group of not-quite-children, characters made of carefully constructed light chasing each other about with vigour. Danny stopped for a while to watch the story, a parable about spiders and fish. They were common here, storytellers who plied their craft this way. The stories could be pressed into glass prisms and orbs that served as books and viewed even in other environs of the Ghost Zone.

He moved on, passing through a glass bubble full of ghosts that snatched at and stroked him as he passed by, leaving stars and dark clouds to swirl across his skin. His suit had long since smoothed over and sunk in. His skin was a thin surface, a membrane holding in liquid night. He was like smoke, like vapour, thin and easily overlooked.

The places he passed were homes, places of business, warehouses, and hotels, organized without any apparent reason. A phantabularium glowed like a struck match, snatches of story visible inside its walls. He walked by.

Eventually, he reached the palace at the city center.

The ghost who lived there was old. Older, perhaps, than Pandora. She filled the vessels of her palace in placid pools connected by crystalized threads and looping tubes. Seven round-bottom flasks, radiating outward, like the spheres of heaven. The music here was almost deafening.

This was Urania, Muse of Astronomy. Astronomia was her city, and subordinate to her will before all else.

Danny resisted the urge to kneel. He was not here as a supplicant, and they both knew it.

The lowest pool bubbled, and slowly a glass prism, a dodecahedron, floated to the top. Danny took it with careful hands and left Urania’s direct presence as quickly as possible.

Being near her was always difficult. She was the Muse of Astronomy, and she felt he did not indulge his second Obsession as much as was proper.

Indeed, she thought it should be his first.

(The starlight inside him pulsed. He was never sure how much influence Urania could exert on him when he visited Three Twilights, never sure how much the relationship between his passions shifted when he was here. He loved it here too much to stay away forever.)

Astronomia did not end all at once. Instead, as one walked farther from the palace, the delicate, clear glass was replaced by black sand. When Danny had feet again, and could feel the grains beneath them, he knew he was no longer in Astronomia, but on the Shores of Night. The Isles of the Moon were faintly visible in the distance, sea-spray framing them in silvery halos.

He felt human here. His breath moved in his lungs, and his skin rose in goosebumps, the sleeves of his t-shirt fluttering in the wind. The sea and the sky were the same, and twice as beautiful for it.

“Sorry for going silent on you there,” said Danny. “I keep forgetting I don’t have a mouth there.”

“How do you forget that?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know.” Danny shrugged, even though he knew Jack couldn’t see him. “Do you think the ectocam might be able to spot buried star pearls?”

#danny phantom #ectoberhaunt 2021 #ectober 2021 #ectober #ectoberhaunt treat #danny totally ignoring objectively horribly things #worldbuilding

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