FJORD AND THE SNEA SNAKE

Christophe x childhood friend reader x Kenny, Christophe, Gregory and reader have been friends since gradeschool. Reader was a very emotional person who cared about everyone. She was very sweet yet still helped the boys assassinating people. Reader had always had an obvious crush on Christophe but she never seems get to an direct answer and it really starts to bum her out. So she starts trying to stop showing her feelings to him. It worries people because she starts being more quieter than her normal self. When asked, all she can say ' I just realized that there's something I could never have' and nothing else. It's until reader's parents (who are bakers) get a job opportunity in a town named South Park. It's a very awkward goodbye (with Christophe, it's sad af with Gregory) and she leaves.

As if a switch was pulled, reader goes back to being a sweet and emotional girl (much to her parents delight/relief). We makes lot of new friends and gets a new crush too, Kenny McCormick. She's shy around him at first, much to her friends: Bebe, Wendy, and Nicole's confusion. She confides in them and tells her past troubles with love. They comfort her and tell that it's sure to be different. So reader lightens up around Kenny and they begin a beautiful relationship.

Yet we hit a rough patch when Kenny's womanizing way Catches up with him (Kelly, Tammy, etc) so we naturally get defensive (not to how we were with Christophe but still pretty strained). But worry not, reader (and her friends) win their class a trip to London (they sold 7,777 cookies!!!). Reader is nervous but doesn't stress to hard, it's not like Christophe is still leaving there right? Well after settling into their hotel, Reader and Gregory run into each other and have a heartfelt reunion then reader reunites with Christophe and it's really awkward. So Gregory and Christophe decide to join them on their trip, but something wrong. Christophe seems a lot more open with reader, which confuses reader and Kenny, having connected the dots, tries keeping reader for himself. And poor reader's in a blushy confusing emotional spiral.

I had such a blast writing this. Writing Christophe is mad fun.

Btw, I implied that the events of the movie never happened here, so Wendy and the others never met Gregory or Christophe.

Kenny and Christophe are also pretty mean girls basically but I loved it so much, I couldn't help myself. ^^

(EXCUSE MY BAD FRENCH; IT HAS BEEN YEARS SINCE MY LAST FRENCH LESSONS AND I WAS PRETTY BAD AT IT)

Warnings: Kenny and Christophe are a little OOC I think, swearing, French, Bad French.

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Christophe x Childhood friend!Reader x Kenny

You hummed as you waited for your best friends in the whole wide world. You had prepared a nice little lunch with self-made sandwiches, lemonade, and brownies.

Your excitement went through the roof, once you heard the door to your secret hideout open. Gregory was the first to come in. “Ah, Y/N, what a lovely surprise!” He said gleamingly and admired the beautifully set table. He put down his backpack and as he did so, your longtime crush strolled in. Cigarette in mouth, dirty all over him and an annoyed expression painted on his face, Christophe.

“Hey, how was the job?” You asked sweetly, as Gregory sat down, and Christophe did so too after a short hesitation. “It went well unti-” “Until zat fucking dumb kid made the wrong zound and made me mess up the whole time plan. Why does no one know what a dying giraffe sounds like?” He ranted, hands moving around hastily, while you and Gregory chuckled. “It’s not funny!” The dark-haired protested while he lit his cigarette. You just smiled.

Despite Christophe’s mean demeanor, you had a huge soft spot for him. “Hey, Christophe?” You asked, demanding his attention, which he gave you, while also taking a bite of a sandwich. “Would you maybe like to hang out sometime?” Gregory pretended to not exist and focused on the suddenly very interesting drink in his hand. He knew you liked their friend. But he also knew Christophe better than anyone else. And the blond knew this couldn’t end well.

“Ah, excuse moi, mais…I just don’t have the time currently.” You nodded, trying your best to not show how disappointed you were. It pained Gregory to see you like this. He loved you like a sister and seeing how Christophe was constantly breaking your little heart made him sad.

To his demise, you only grew quieter with time. When Gregory pressed you on the matter, asking what’s wrong, all you managed to mumble was: “I guess… I just realized that there's something I could never have”. It made him worry. You were such a sweet girl but recently you had become a husk of yourself and today was no different.

They had just come back from another job but this time you didn’t even greet them, just passed the folders in which you listed the new jobs they could take. “Here. I am afraid I have some bad news though.” You mumbled as you pressed the papers in their hands. Gregory looked at you with worry on his face. “What’s wrong, dear?” He asked and noticed how close you were to crying.

“My parents got a really good job over in Colorado. We will move next week.” You mumbled. Gregory threw the papers across the room, before storming to hug you. You held him close, feeling sad, that you would never again drink tea with your favorite English gentleman, and that deeply saddened you.

Your eyes wandered over to Christophe, who looked somewhat sad but made no move to express this. “I can't believe it. You’re THE most important part of this organization and you will be gone by next week?! Who is gonna help me with all the papers?” Gregory held you so close, you almost had trouble breathing.

“I gotta go early today since I have to start packing. I will miss you two so much.” You said, not being able to stop the tears from flowing down your cheeks. “Yeah, sure, take your time. If you need any help, you know you can always count on me.” Gregory said, finally letting go of you. You nodded and walked up to Christophe.

“I guess that’s it huh?” You muttered. “Oui. You will be a great loss to zis organization.” Awkwardly you nodded. Was this really everything he had to say? You didn’t see Gregory in the background, wildly gesticulating for him to say more. The dark-haired raised an eyebrow until he finally got what his partner tried to say.

“We will miss you.” He thought this was a perfectly fine answer, but didn’t catch how much that hurt you. “Yeah, me you too.” You said and walked towards the exit. “See you guys!” You called out before you vanished.

“Great job making her feel like shit.” “What waz I supposed to say?”

“My God, Y/N, you have been here for over half a year now! Just tell him already!” Bebe commented and you blushed profusely. “N-no! He doesn’t even like me that much!” You protested, your cheeks colored in a deep red. “There is no point in denying sweetheart. You both are head over heels for each other. Trust me, Stan told me how much Kenny talks about you.” Wendy reassured you. She pointed with her fork over to the table the boys were seated on and sure enough, the blond boy you were talking about was looking over, waving even when he spotted you looking at him. You shyly waved back, before hiding in your sweater.

“Okay, Y/N, what the fuck happened when you lived in England? I can’t imagine you always behave like this around someone you like.” Nicole looked sternly at you, and you let out a deep sigh. “Well, fine, yeah, there was a guy before Kenny that I liked.”

The girls all pushed their food trays to the side, to stick their heads closer together. “In England, I was close friends with two guys.” “Ohh, a three-way?” “Bebe!” Wendy hissed before they let you continue. “They are assassins and I helped them with everything behind the scenes, like contacting clients, paperwork, and all that. Gregory was my best friend, and the other guy is a French, god-hating, foul-mouthed idiot named Christophe. And I really had a thing for him, but he was always super cold and just not that interested in me.” You rambled and the girls listened attentively. “Okay, okay, Y/N, hear me out on this one…” Bebe began, and you looked at her. “Have you maybe thought about the fact that that Christophe guy was just an idiot? You’re great and Kenny sooo has a thing for you. Just go for it!” Nicole and Wendy nodded. “Yeah, you gotta make new experiences, real experiences.” Nicole agreed and Wendy gave it a thumbs up.

Before they could talk any further, you felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around. Kenny stood there, smiling warmly. “Hey, Y/n, I just wanted to ask if you maybe wanna go to the mall with me on Saturday and maybe get a smoothie or something?” You felt your face heat up and heard the girls squeal quietly. You nodded. “Yeah, that would great!” You answered and he shot you a flashy smile. “Great. I’ll come to pick you up, yeah?” You nodded excitingly and he walked back to the boy’s table. “Ahh, you got a date!” Nicole beamed and so did the other two. A big smile was glued to your face, and you only managed to nod. “We will so come over on Friday and get you ready! Girls’ night!” Bebe planed and you happily agreed.

Being with Kenny was great. He was loving, always looked out for you, loved listening to you, and yet, you hated his guts just now. You wanted to strangle those stupid sluts that constantly clung to his side like their life depended on it. Yeah, you knew Tammy and he had history, as did Kelly, but did he really have to talk to them that much? Didn’t he see how much you hated it? “Hey, babe!” He whispered into your ear, and you moved away. “Hey, Kenny.” You said coldly. You waited for Mister Garrison to finally let you in the hotel. You and the girls managed to win the school competition for a trip to London, by selling 7,777 packages of cookies, totally legally, by the way, nothing to see here, so now your class was in London and after you sat with the girls in the bus Kenny had sneaked up to you. You were kind of nervous, fearing that you could maybe run into…him… but there was no chance he still lives here, right? Right?

You didn’t know why, but since Kenny had started to talk to his bitches, as you called them, again you distanced yourself from him. You were afraid of being hurt again, so distancing yourself was an automatic reaction.

Once you got settled in your room, the girls proposed discovering the town, since you guys had no events for the day. You happily greed and once in the corridor, you spotted Stans gang down the hall. Wendy asked them to join, much to your demise. You wanted girl time, not being secretly annoyed with Kenny time.

You, Wendy, Bebe, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny wandered the streets, taking in the new scenery. “It’s pretty nice here, isn’t it?” Wendy asked as she put the sweets she bought in her bag. “Yeah!” You agreed and sipped on the tea you ordered.

You guys had sat down at a café to just watch the bussing streets and enjoy some British tea. Kyle was talking to Stan about Cartman, and what prank they’d play on him tonight. Kenny was chatting with Bebe and Wendy about Tammy and Kelly, much to your demise and you just looked around. Your eyes wandered and you watched the other patrons when you stopped at a familiar seeming one. Your mouth was agape, there’s no way your eyes weren’t tricking you right now?!

The in leather gloved hands, the orange button-up shirt, that thick golden hair… A book rested in his left hand, while the other held the tea with an extended pinky. It was him. Gregory. He must have noticed you staring as he looked up and recognized you as well. A big smile appeared on his face, and he quickly put the book in his leather messenger bag. You got up, ignoring the questions from the others, while you ran into Gregory’s extended arms.

“Y/N my dear! I would have never guessed to see you again!” Gregory proclaimed, spinning you around. Neither of you cared that everyone was watching. “I’m so happy to see you. It has been ages!” You mumbled, still hugging your long-lost friend tightly. You only lost contact because you lost your phone during the move, so you had no way of contacting them. Before you two could talk, Kenny appeared by your side.

“Hey, babe, who is this guy?” He asked and as you turned around you saw the questioning looks of everyone. “Oh sorry. Guys, this is my old friend Gregory, we have been friends since we were little. Gregory, these are my friends from America, Wendy, Bebe, Kyle, Stan, and my boyfriend Kenny.”

Gregory properly introduced himself and moved to sit with you guys. He talked with your new friends, and you immediately saw how Wendy and Bebe hung to his lips. You understood that. Gregory was a really good-looking young man by now. You chuckled when you spotted how jealous Stan became with each passing second. Soon Gregory’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.

“Oh my god! That’s the Gregory, you told us about, Y/N? Why did you hide that he’s a British snack!” Bebe exclaimed and you chuckled. Soon Gregory sat back down and that devious smile on his lips made you wonder.

“Ze Mole is coming.” He just said, knowing you wanted to question his smile. You felt the blood in your veins freeze for a second.

“He is still here?” You asked and Gregory nodded. “Why wouldn’t he? We kept the organization running. And there is always a spot for you if you ever want to come back.” The blond spotted the longing in your eyes at an instant. Kenny watched it happening quietly, carefully watching you. Soon enough, a certain someone arrived, pulling another chair to your table, and sitting on it backward, so that he was leaning on the backrest.

Your heart was beating like you had just run a marathon as you inspected every detail about him. His dark messy hair was roughly still the same and his trademark cigarette his only accessory. The tight-fitting dark green shirt fit him perfectly you thought and the tactical belt around his torso was still there. He also still wore fingerless gloves. The two really didn’t change much, apart from becoming older.

“Well, Christophe, these are Y/Ns friends from America.” Gregory introduced them and the dark-haired male lazily gifted him a wave. Wendy and Bebe noticed how you were obviously checking him out and laughed.

“I see you got a thing for baddies.” Bebe whispered into your ear, and you wanted to protest, but got interrupted by Stan.

“Well, I like this sort of reunion, but don’t wanna want to continue or sightseeing?” Gregory smiled warmly, as he offered to play tour guide for you. Your friends happily agreed to his proposition, feeling glad to have a real British tour guide. So, you guys paid for your orders and started walking.

To your surprise, instead of walking up front with Gregory, Christophe walked next to you, eyeing you curiously. “It’s nice to ze you again, mon chéri.” He said you felt your face heat up. Did he seriously just call you that? Did he actually say he’s happy to see you again?

“Well, it has been a while, hasn’t it?” You mumbled and Christophe had a pleasant smile resting on his face. That was a new thing, you thought. While Christophe walked next to you on your right, Kenny was on your left and eyeing the French with jealous eyes. He was an expert at reading people and he spotted Christophe’s attraction to HIS girlfriend miles go and he wasn’t blind to your body language either. You two had history. That much was clear.

Gregory led the group down to a nice spot near the riverbanks of the Thames where the girls took pictures together. Kyle and Gregory switched taking the group photos, while Kenny stood next to Christophe, both looking at the others.

Everyone felt the obvious tension between the two. “Don’t even think about, frog eater.” Kenny said, which made Christophe chuckle.

“Ahh, you Américains are so funny. You think everything belongs to you, when in reality she was already mine, once I sat down at ze table.” Christophe took the last puff of his cigarette, before stomping on it on the ground. Kenny averted his gaze and looked at his newfound rival.

“Yours?” He questioned but didn’t Christoph didn’t reward him with an answer. He only chuckled and put a new unlit cigarette in his mouth.

“Écoutez-Vous. You sound so funny.” The girl the two were fighting about returned with Bebe and Wendy and they all obviously felt the tension between the two.

“Ken, come over. Group pics!” Kyle called out to him and somewhat annoyed, Kenny jogged over. So you and your two friends were left with the French man.

“I just wanted to say, you look formidable, ma briquette.” Wendy and Bebe quietly squealed, as Christoph took your hand to press a kiss on your knuckles. You blushed a deep red. What had happened to him? He never behaved like that, but you couldn’t deny how he made your knees weak.

“Hey, Hey, Hey!” Kenny called out and quickly came stomping back. “I just told you to back off.” Kenny said. “Ah sorry, my English is pretty bad, I must have misunderstood.” Christophe shrugged. Kenny wrapped his arms around you and held you close.

“I’ll fuck you up if you don’t keep yourself in check.” Kenny spat and you broke free of his forced hug. “Ken, what the hell?” You questioned his sudden aggression, but you were quickly shoved away by Christophe, who now got all up in Kenny’s face.

“Oh, zen pray to whatever hate-filled God you believe in, and I hope for you he’z real because nothing will be as real as your fucked up face once I am done.” “Oh, I don’t believe in Gods. Not when I already know what hell looks like and so will you when I get started.”There was no point in denying that you, Wendy, and Bebe were super interested in this showdown. It was interesting to see two guys who were obviously fighting over you get so riled up.

Bebe leaned over and whispered: “Damn Y/N, you really got the hot guys fighting over you.” You had a faint pink tone on your cheeks. The two guys you liked were ready to basically kill each other over you. It was kind of flattering. Stan and Kyle tried getting the two to calm down, but to no avail, as they just kept going with their petty insults.

Gregory walked up next to you, leaning down to talk. “You are the only one who can get them to stop, you know that right?” He questioned.

“Yeah. But you must admit, this is kinda entertaining.” He laughed and nodded. “You’re right.” “Give me a minute Gregory. I never had someone fight for me.” You whispered with a hot face, watching as Kyle and Stan tried to pull the two away from each other.

Your heart was confused, seeing Christophe again and how he now behaved towards you awakened feelings you thought weren’t there anymore, but you also loved how Kenny was ready to fight for you. How could anyone not find this super interesting?

Ch 43 The Department of Family Reunions and Ch 44: Frangipani

It has come to my attention that I never uploaded the previous chapter onto Tumblr. Oopsy doopsy!

So here’s both the old and the new chapter in one package, all yours for free. Enjoy!

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“C’mon, I’ve been waiting for over forty minutes now!”

“You said we were next in line!”

“It’s already eleven o’clock! We don’t have all night you know!”

Old Chicharron tried to ignore all of the complaints and shouts of the other restless spirits hanging around him as he marched towards his office with several heavy, ancient books under his arms. But then more came, some louder and angrier than others, and Chich’s very low tolerance for foolishness gave way. Twirling around he let out a sharp piercing whistle that made everyone in the whole department cringe and fall silent.

“All right, listen up!” Chich barked out once he had their attention. “Unless any of you still has some flesh clinging to your bones, you’ve been moved back on the list of my priorities right now! Héctor Rivera is priority number one, comprende?!”

“Ah, the Riveras have always been your favorites, cabrón!” one stupidly brave skeleton shouted back.

“Pah! Shows what you know! I don’t like anybody!” he snarled before turning his attention to the Rivera family, Leti in particular, with a warm smile. “Leticia, how nice to see you chiquita. Come on in, I have all I need to settle this mess. How’s your mamá?”

Having not let go of Leti’s hand since he had been reunited with her, Héctor was pulled from his seat as the rest of the family walked into the small man’s office. Marigold Station was huge, with several other departments and hundreds of skeletons walking and running about. But the Department of Family Reunions was where the most harried of skeletons seemed to be, trying to get to different ofrendas and fighting with weary customer service assistants. They too stared in awe at a living man walking amongst them and able to see and interact with them. But whatever wonder they had turned to ire when they realized that the living man and his family had just cut in line in front of them.

Héctor also noted that there were even more skull and bone motifs in the architecture, the wallpaper, even the floor tiles.

He was picking up a not-so-subtle theme here…

“Héctor Rivera, step up here by the desk.” Chich said grumpily as heaved the heavy books on top of the desk with a loud grunt and then took a seat. “Sorry there’s only one chair in here and it’s mine, so you’ll have to stand.”

“Oh, uh, that’s alright.”

“Can I get you anything? Coffee, water?”

“No gracias.”

“You’re cursed.”

“What?!” Héctor gasped, hearing his in-laws do the same behind and feeling Leti hugging him in fear. The blunt and tactless way he received his news was like another slap to his sore face. “How? How am I cursed?!”

“Well that’s easy.” Chich said as he pulled out a thick folder and started flipping through the pages. “Dia de Muertos is a night to give to the dead. You stole from the dead.”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Héctor said righteously.

“Oh really? Because the evidence is staring me right in the face.” He pointed down at the guitar still in Héctor’s grip. When Héctor looked down himself he seemed to wilt a little at that in embarrassment.

“Oh… well, I… Oh!” Héctor held up the guitar. “No no, you don’t understand! I wasn’t stealing the guitar. I was preventing my son from stealing the guitar! Very different, you see? Heh heh… heh.”

Looking around at everyone in order to get some sort of understanding, he was just met with unimpressed stares. Gaspar snorted out a laugh. “Wow, Miguel’s a thief? What kind of parenting do you do?”

“I am a good parent! That’s not the point!” Héctor whined pitifully. “Look, I didn’t mean to steal it, alright? I had no idea this would happen. So can you please undo this?”

Chich gave a fake, simpering smile and laugh. “Oho, is that so? Alright, let me fix that for you with my magical powers, amigo. Abracadabra, oh look you’re still cursed. Lo siento.”

“This makes no sense!” Héctor cried out. “How does picking up a guitar get me cursed to the afterlife? Many people have picked it up and taken it away for refurbishing over the years. Is it just because it was on Dia de Muertos?”

“No, not exactly.” Chich explained. “Sí, it being Dia de Muertos does play a big part in this but simply stealing from a grave or an ofrenda won’t get you cursed by itself. Otherwise the whole department would be swarmed with little living babies who’ve swiped a candy or a galleta for themselves. No, the real reason you are cursed is because that guitar is cursed.”

Everyone turned to look at the guitar with newfound apprehension, with both Gaspar and Mirasol stepping back slightly in case the curse would spread to them. Leti nodded slowly with dawning comprehension, letting out a soft ‘ohhh’ in understanding. Héctor was honestly… not surprised. He knew that music was a curse to him and his family, bringing more misery than good and hurting him so much. The fact that it was Ernesto’s guitar, whose memory brought a good portion of that pain, seemed very fitting.

“All right then,” he said. “So… what do I do to fix it?”

Pulling out one of the thick books on his desk, Chich absently shrugged. “I dunno.”

“You don’t know?!” Héctor stared at him wide-eyed and sputtered, then immediately leaned over the desk in agitation. “What do you mean you don’t know?! Isn’t this your job to know or whatever job skeletons have?!”

“I don’t know yet, just give me a minute!” Chich barked out and shoved Héctor’s face back with one hand. He flipped through the pages quickly, scanning them over. “Living people don’t come and go through the Land of the Dead very often, you know. Luckily for you you’re not the first one, I just gotta find his file.”

“You mean this has happened before, Senor Chicharron?” Leti asked.

With a grunt and a nod, Chich didn’t look up from his book. “Si, some guy got sick and was stuck in Limbo. And then… someone in the department messed up his Limbo retrieval and he ended up getting lost in the Alebrije Forest. We got him out and back to the Land of the Living, but he ended up making artwork out of the damn things now the whole world knows about alebrijes and I… someone got reprimanded for the whole thing and had their pay docked.”

“Oh sí, Alebrije Forest.” Gaspar laughed nervously. “The only place here besides the Land of the Dead where alebrijes reside in their thick forest, with lush greenery and fertile soil that no skeleton is allowed to go to. Yep, no one goes there. Not a single soul.”

Chich shook his head in disgust. “Dios mio, everybody knows about your black-market vegetables in the forest, Rivera, and nobody cares! Case in point, I’d like some mangos next time you get some. Aha, here it is. The Linares case.” Finding his spot on the page he quickly skimmed it over and gave out another grunt. “Well this should be easy. The only way to break a curse is to get a blessing from someone.”

“A blessing?” Héctor asked, finally getting the answers he needed he smiled and nodded with excitement. “A blessing. Okay, who do I get a blessing from? A priest, a nun? I’ll take one from anyone at this point.”

“It’s de la Cruz’s guitar, so you need de la Cruz’s blessing.”

“I’ll take one from anyone else at this point.”

Everyone groaned in exasperation as soon as he said it, even Dante made a snorting huff at him. Leti looked up at him with disappointment. “Oh Papa. Why do you hate Tio Nesto so much?”

“I-uh… I don’t hate him exactly.” Héctor said. “It’s just, umm… I have a lot of mixed emotions about him, and we didn’t exactly part on good terms- Look, Senor Chicharron, is it? You seem like a nice guy, down to Earth, the kind of guy you could borrow stuff from. Is there anything else I could do to go back?”

“It’s de la Cruz or nothing, Rivera.” Chich said gruffly.

Standing up straight, Héctor smoothed out his jacket and started to give off an air of high importance. Something that did not suit him at all and he hated to do, but the situation called for it. “Uh Senor, I don’t know if you know me, but despite my appearance I am an extremely wealthy man. So here’s what I’ll do for you.”

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his leather encased checkbook and a pen. Scratching out the details onto the check, he pointedly ignored the way Gaspar slapped his own forehead loudly and how Leti looked up at him with disappointment in her large eyes.

“I’ll start you out with ten thousand pesos, sí? And if that’s not enough then you can add as many zeroes to the end as you want. The sky’s the limit amigo, now what do you say?”

Ripping the check out, he leaned onto the desk and held it out in front of Chich’s glowering mug and put on his best winning, charming smile that ended up looking more sleazy than anything else. It was clear to everyone in the room at that moment that while Héctor was the true musician of the two, Ernesto was the true businessman.

“Anyone ever tell you that you get stupid when you’re desperate, Rivera?” Chich asked, causing Héctor to wilt. “Look, you need de la Cruz’s blessing and that’s that. But you got to get it by sunrise and it’s already past eleven.”

“Sunrise? What will happen at sunrise?”

“Well, if you get your hand off of your attempted bribery of a public official you’ll see for yourself.”

Putting the check down Héctor saw what it had been hiding and what he hadn’t registered before. The rest of his hand was normal, but his index finger was… white. Dumbly he tried to wipe it off on his pants, but the whiteness remained. It was white and… sectioned. Also his fingernail was gone. And his… skin was gone. He clenched the finger and it responded normally, but the sickening creaking sound it made caused the blood to drain from his face.

It was bone. His finger was turning into bone.

He was turning into bones. Into a skeleton.

Bones. Skeleton. Death. Dying. Bones.

…..

“Wake up Papa!”

All of a sudden that horrible smell had assaulted his senses again and Héctor coughed and hacked at the burning sensation coating his nasal cavity. Mirasol was kneeling before him and pulling away the smelling salts from his face with Leti hovering over him worriedly. Mirasol sighed with relief. “It’s a good thing Barto gave us this. Turns out we needed it after all.”

Groaning, Héctor reached a hand to cover his forehead only to jerk it away when once again he saw the whiteness of bone on his finger. He just laid back down, wincing a little as it felt like he was laying on something sharp and lumpy like a pile of broken boards. “What happened?”

“You fainted Papa!” Leti said. “You’re eyes just rolled back into your head and you fell backwards like a tree!”

“It was the shock of it all.” Mirasol said, pocketing the smelling salts. “Honestly, I’m surprised you lasted this long without fainting.”

Héctor huffed out a short laugh. “I had good cause- Ow!” Shifting in discomfort, whatever he was laying was now poking at him in the back painfully. “Why didn’t anyone catch me? And what am I laying on?”

“Me.”

The pained, grunted out voice in his ear caused Héctor to scramble up and off his irritated father-in-law in surprise. With a grimace he took him Gaspar’s scattered form and reached out his hands to help, only drawing back when he realized he didn’t know where to start. Apparently Gaspar had tried to catch him when he had fallen, but his height and weight had been to much for the shorter skeleton and pieces of him were now strewn about the office floor. His skull lay there on his own, glowering unamused as his wife and granddaughter tried to stifle their giggling and Héctor lay hovering but not helping. “You are heavier than you look, yerno.”

Héctor chuckled nervously and gripped his forearm. “Yeah, I’m uh… dense.”

“Dense in the head too.” Gaspar grumbled as once again the bones began to wobble on the floor and magically grouped themselves together. Once he was in one piece he helped himself and Héctor off the floor, silencing his girls with a glare that spoke that this little incident was not to leave the room. Ever.

“Now that you’re done with your little nap, I have something for you.” Chich said.

Everyone turned to see Chich had gone to the other side of the room and had retrieved a large black guitar case from the corner. Pulling out the plain brown guitar and shaking out of few bits of knick knacks and trash he handed the empty case to Héctor. “I don’t trust you to keep that thing safe, especially if you keep keelin’ over like that. This way you can protect it since it’s probably your ticket out of here.”

With a nod and mumbled thanks Héctor placed the golden guitar into the case and made a move to close it but paused. “Why do you say that? I thought you said I needed a blessing from Ernesto?”

“Sí, I did.” Chich nodded. “But that guitar is probably just as important,. Because in the nine years that Ernesto de la Cruz has been dead, and the thousands of offerings he’s brought back from the Land of the Living since then… Not once has he ever brought back that guitar with him.”

Crinkling his brow in confusion, Héctor glanced at the guitar, then to his daughter for confirmation. With Leti’s solemn nod Héctor shook his head. “I don’t understand. He always performed with this guitar, even in his movies. He loved it. Why wouldn’t he have it with him in death?”

Chich shrugged emphatically and glared. “What are you askin’ me for, you need to ask him! He’s the one who can answer that. Now take that guitar to him, get your blessing, and get out of here. I’m too busy to deal with you anymore.”

Pouting Héctor closed up the case and slung it on his back. “Okay, okay. Sheesh!”

“Ay, puta de madre, one more thing: the blessing.” Chich said before they left. “de la Cruz needs to get a cempazuchitl petal and present it to you, call your name and say, ‘I give you my blessing to go home’ and then you take the petal. Poof, your gone.”

“…That’s it? I’m gone, just like that?”

“Just like that.” Chich said. “Now you can get out of my sight.”

Leti watched as he father and grandparents head out the door, pausing to talk about something that she couldn’t hear, and turned towards Chich with a smile. “You know this will be my third time helping Papa on Dia de Muertos. I don’t know what he’d do without me.”

“You should think about getting a little punch-out card.” Chich said with a smile. “Save your Papa five times and you get a free helado, sí?”

Leti laughed out loud at that, a sweet high-pitched giggle, and old Chicharon found himself smiling even more. The little girl always made him feel better, especially on a night like tonight. “You go on ahead with your Papa. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to come back. I’ll be here all night.”

With a laugh, Leti shook her head. “Well, not all night.” At Chich’s questioning brow raise, Leti rolled her eyes. “You have to go visit your family later. You always take a later shift, right? So the newer deceased can go first.”

“… Of course.” Chich nodded and rasped out a hoarse chuckle. “Of course, you know me too well niña. Well after that you can come see me, claro? Tell me all about how you saved your Papa yet again.”

“Okay! Buenos noches, Señor Chicharron!” Leti said as she left. “Enjoy your visit!”

Watching Leti close the door, Chich didn’t immediately start to get ready for the next skeleton to come in. He just leaned back tiredly in his chair with a gravelly sigh. Bringing his fingers up to his face he glowered hard and he could see the slight gray tinge to the bones. A grayness that had been getting steadily worse over the years. He could even make out the beginnings of a small crack along the index knuckle.

Then he looked down as his lunch kit, knowing that that for the first time in decades it held no offerings, no pan dulce, not even a plain piece of fruit. It was a new feeling for him: Not receiving any offerings, not having his picture put up, that angry buzzer that he had heard from a distance before now reverberating loudly and sharply in his memory. Yes, a new feeling that he didn’t like one bit.

Finally he looked around his office. How many days had he cursed that he had ended up servicing the ungrateful souls of the afterlife with little to no thanks or perks? Now he was looking around and taking note of every nook and cranny of the small room, inhaling the scents of old paper and black ink. And it made him even angrier that, eventually, he would be asked to leave this wretched job and never see this stupid room again. And that he’d miss it.

“I’ll be here all night.” He mumbled again to no one.

But for how long?

-

-

Walking outside the Marigold Station and back into the Land of the Dead, Héctor was once again blown away by the majestic sights of gravity-defying skyscrapers and strange animals, that he now knew were the aforementioned alebrijes, flying and buzzing about. There were even more crowds of skeletons dancing in the streets and selling their wares in vendor booths, laughing and yelling and singing. It was so different and yet so familiar it made Héctor’s head spin, and he couldn’t help but smile at everything around him in spite of his dire circumstances.

But nearby skeletons were staring at him and pointing again, and Héctor tried in vain to cover his face with the short collar of his jacket.

“We really need to do something about this.” Gaspar said as he glared at the crowds. “You’ve got to get to de la Cruz pronto and being stopped by these gawkers isn’t helping any.”

“Maybe we could go home and get your hat and scarf to wrap around him?” Mirasol suggested. “Or we could buy some paint and make his face like a calavera, so he’d blend in?”

Gaspar snorted. “There’s no way paint would be able to hide that protruding nose.”

“Okay…” Héctor faintly growled.

“We won’t have to worry about that!” Leti piped up, and Héctor once again found himself melting and smiling at Leti. It felt just so good to hear her voice again that it was almost painful, and he hung onto her every word. “If anyone tries to stop or stall us, Frangipani will get them off of our backs. Speaking of which, she will also be our transportation for the night. Just stay here Papá, I’ll go get her!”

Walking off into the town square with Dante panting happily behind her, Leti cupped her hands and called out to this Frangipani whoever, letting out a few shrill whistles despite not having any lips. Héctor’s chest clenched painfully as he remembered the day when he had tried to teach his children how to do just that, just the tightening of teeth over lips with no puckering. Leti had been the only one to do it, at the ripe age of four years old. He had been so proud.

“A word Héctor,” Mirasol said softly, breaking him out of his memories. “Before you two go.”

Héctor had to force himself to look away from his daughter, wincing and smiling sheepishly once his attention was turned to his in-laws. “Sorry.”

“No no, it’s all right.” Mirasol smiled. “We… know what it’s like to lose a child to death. Especially when they are so very young.”

Héctor’s eyes widened and his gasped softly. “You mean… Before Imelda, you lost-?”

“No.” she reassured him. “No.”

“My wife and I may have been the ones who died, yerno.” Gaspar said, for the first time sounding somber since talking to his son-in-law. “But we still lost all three of our children that day. Only it was worse since we couldn’t see them or protect them when they so dearly needed it most.”

“We wished so badly to be able to raise our children, and in the end we got that opportunity with our granddaughter. But… I never wanted it to be because you and Imelda and the family suffered such a painful loss. And for that I am truly sorry Héctor.”

Feeling that he may start crying again Héctor pressed his lips closed and looked towards his daughter again. Leti now looked impatient as she tapped her foot, an adorable pout crossing her bony lips. Apparently whomever this Frangipani was wasn’t coming when they were being called. It made him smile to see Leti so full of life again despite being dead, especially after seeing her as a hollow husk of her former self the last few days of her being alive.

“Well,” Héctor managed to finally say with a little hoarseness. “she seems to be well adjusted and cared for. Thank you for taking such good care of her. Imelda was right, you two are great parents.”

“So are you Héctor. You are a wonderful father.” Mirasol said, her expression sad again. “You just need to remember how to be one.”

His smile falling from his face and his eyes narrowing, Héctor suddenly didn’t like the turn in conversation. “What do you mean?”

“You know what we mean Héctor.” Gaspar said, and despite being physically twice the skeletal man’s age Héctor suddenly felt like a punk kid in front of his father-in-law by the tone in his voice. “We were there the whole night watching you blow it with your family. Making your grown children cry, making Imelda cry, and Miguel! The poor boy will be scarred forever from tonight and that is all on you! Frankly, I should have slapped you again for what you’ve done!”

Héctor’s face grew hot and the guilt that he had successfully pressed down from before came right back up, and he as he tried to defend his actions he sounded more miserable than truly defiant. “No, they… They kept secrets from me… betrayed me… I-.”

“They kept secrets from you because they love you.” Mirasol softly said, then sighed. “We may have only seen you one day out of the year during these last few decades, but we both know that this isn’t who you are, Héctor. You are sweet, full of creativity, loyal and very goofy. The same things I see in my husband, Imelda sees in you.”

Gaspar harrumphed at that. “Don’t compare me to him…”

“This downward spiral with the whole family started with Leti’s death, sí?” Mirasol asked. At Héctor’s small nod she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Then go. Be with her for tonight at least. It’s high time you finally heal. And with Ernesto too. Remember: we were there that night as well, mijo.”

That night.

Héctor couldn’t help but shiver when he thought about that night. The secrets that Ernesto had been hiding from him, the fight, being knocked out and locked up by his supposed best friend. All of the lies and betrayals that all ended in a bloody smear in a crater. The fact that they were there that night, that they bore witness to that terrible accident, made all the what ifs that he had suppressed for years come back again. If only he had been more attentive to Ernesto’s well being instead of his own, if only he had successfully kept him from going on that stage. If only he had managed to reach him before he hit that final note and the bell cracked loose.

He would still be alive.

Seeing the distress her son-in-law was feeling, Mirasol drew him into a hug and rubbed his back when he stiffened up. It should have felt weird: being hugged by a skeleton. But she was somehow warm and comforting, and Héctor found himself returning the hug and feeling a little better. A hand clapped on his shoulder made him look up, and Gaspar smiled at him little. His own little way of offering comfort too. Héctor was grateful.

“Oh there you are, you silly thing you!” Leti cheerfully said, causing the three adults to break apart before it got awkward. She came up to Héctor with her hands cupped together and smiled brightly at him. “Finally! Sorry for the delay Papá, but our ride is here now. Say hello to Frangipani, my alebrije!”

Opening up her clasped hands and presenting them to him, Héctor was shocked to see an elephant in his daughter’s hands. A pink elephant, to be precise, with butterfly wings for ears that fluttered lazily and green polka dots dotting her body. The elephant was also no bigger than a mouse. Héctor’s first thought was that this was the most adorable little animal he had ever seen in his life, and he couldn’t resist reaching a finger out to pet the little thing. He smiled when the elephant made a tiny peep! and wrapped it’s trunk around his finger. It was amazing and fitting that his daughter would have such a cute ally-buh-buh or whatever it was called.

But then he recalled what Leti had just said to him about it. And it made no sense. “Our… ride?”

“Yep!”

“… Mija, I know I’m a thin guy but if I ride that thing it’ll be an elephant tortilla soon enough.”

Leti tittered a laugh and lifted a finger to lightly rub the small creature’s knobby head, causing it to toot with contentment. “No no! Frangipani’s special, all alebrijes are. They can take many forms, do all sorts of cool things that boggle the mind, and not everyone gets them. Only those who need help when they need it, a spirit guide to guide them on their journey through the afterlife. Frangipani has helped me on many an occasion, you know… Wanna see her special gift?”

At Héctor’s nod, Leti whispered into the butterfly ear and suddenly they both began to flap rapidly. The tiny pink elephant left Leti’s hands and began to float hazily in the air, a high-pitched buzzing noise emitting from the ears. Héctor laughed as it buzzed a circle around his head, shaking his head in amazement. So cute. “Aww, she can fly… Still too small to ride though.”

“That’s only one of her abilities. Here’s the other!” Leti let Frangipani rest back onto her hand, and then began to wind up. “Frangipani: Grande Grande!”

And with a mighty swing Leti flung the alebrije high enough into the air until she was only a tiny pink dot in the sky. And then, within the blink of an eye, a giant five ton elephant came crashing down onto the pavement with a ground-shaking thud. Skeletons shouted in alarm and ducked for cover when the monstrous behemoth was suddenly taking up space in the plaza, and Héctor found himself stumbling back into his in-laws once again making a sound befitting a small girl.

Gaspar shoved him away and helped him balance back to standing position, and Héctor gawked at what had happened to the adorable little animal that seconds ago could have fit in his palm. It was still pink, at least, and the ears were still that of a butterfly’s. But the colors were harsher and glowed all over, the green polka dots had transformed into tiger stripes, the tusks were solid gold and as sharp as daggers at the ends, and the trunk looked like it could squeeze the life out of him faster than a python.

Not so cute anymore.

“Ta-daaah!” Leti grandly proclaimed as she went up beside her alebrije without fear, some skeletons applauding the spectacle while others put themselves back together. “Papá, this is the real Frangipani!. She can be as small or as big as she wants! A size-changer!”

Héctor placed a hand on his chest to calm the wild beating and sucked in a breath. “I… see…”

“And guess what?” Leti smiled. “Frangipani is the same elephant that Tio Nesto brought to Matty and I’s birthday party all those years ago! Remember?!”

As the words registered in his brain Héctor’s shock and amazement instantly turned to agitation and annoyance. “…You mean the same elephant that destroyed your gourmet birthday cake that I spent a small fortune on? And then sprayed me with icing and snot? That… elephant?...”

Frangipani, for all of her grandeur, seemed to deflate slightly at that. A lame wheeze of a trumpet let loose from her, and her trunk timidly poked at the ground in shame. Leti winced and brought a hand up to soothe her chastised spirit guide. “Uy… and I thought it was elephants that never forgot…”

Héctor sighed and walked up towards Frangipani, reasoning it would be silly to be wary about a seemingly wild animal when his eight-year-old daughter was hugging it. The long trunk unraveled and started poking around Héctor’s chest, the dainty upper lip of it managing to catch a sensitive spot and causing him to laugh. Gently pushing the trunk aside, Héctor cleared his throat and straightened his face. “Ahem… So this is our ride?”

“Sí.” Leti said from above, and Héctor was surprised to see that she was already on top and positioned behind Frangipani’s massive head. “Normally I’d have her grab you by your shirt and haul you up here, but you still have all your skin and organs so that would be very painful for you. So I’ll kneel her, you step up onto her leg, grab her ear and hoist yourself up. It’ll be easy!”

It wasn’t easy.

At fifty years old Héctor was not as limber as he used to be, and in the end he had to be pushed up by Gaspar and pulled by Leti to finally secure himself behind her. It was even more embarrassing when the normally clumsy Dante was able to hop up behind him with grace and dignity, panting and smiling with pride. Frangipani was also very hard with thick skin, and it took a few moments to position himself so that he was straddling her back with the least amount of discomfort.

“Oof… Oh!... Ay… Ugh, you’d think an animal this fat would be softer. No no no, wait! I’m sorry, I’m sor-!” But it was too late, for Frangipani’s trunk came up and blew a blast of hot air directly into Héctor’s face with a giant trumpet. It took a few seconds for his ears to stop ringing and his face to stop stinging before he realized that everyone in the plaza was laughing at him. Smoothing his hair back into place he pouted until Leti spoke again.

“Okay then, let’s take to the air!”

Wait what? The air?! The butterfly ears weren’t just for show?!

“Wait wait wait wait!” Héctor cried out before Frangipani could even move her ears an inch to begin flight. “I’m fine with riding an elephant, but flying is absolutely out of the question!”

“Aw, what?” Leti complained and Dante huffed in annoyance behind him.

“I agree with Héctor.” Gaspar said. “That alebrije is not the most graceful of fliers. I know from experience. You’ll be able to walk to Ernesto’s mansion in no time.”

“We’re not going to the mansion first.” Leti said, Héctor not seeing the conspiratorial smile on her face. “We’re going to go to Shantytown. Tio Nesto always brings his portion of offerings there first before the party and concert. We’ll meet him there!”

“Mija...” Mirasol sighed. “Are you sure you just don’t want to wait at the mansion first?”

“No, I don’t.” Leti said seriously. The tone in her voice troubled Héctor a little bit, it was not like his daughter to disagree with an elder flat out. Before he could question it, however, Leti piped out again happily. “Trust me!”

Mirasol’s face gave off a series of wavering emotions, clearly hesitating over whether this was a god idea or not. Finally she sighed and nodded, giving Leti a small proud smile. “All right then.” Looking now at Héctor, she continued. “Héctor, this may be the last time we see you for hopefully a long while. Good luck, mijo.”

Gaspar gave a short wave, smiling a bit. “Adios, yerno.”

Héctor nodded and smiled. “Adios. And thank you for everything again!”

With a gentle nudge by the ear from Leti, Frangipani started to walk slowly in the opposite direction down the street. Héctor jolted a little at the sudden motion and made a grab for his daughter to keep her upright, but Leti just shook her head and laughed. Several skeletons made way for the large alebrije walking through the crowd, and Dante gave one last bark at Gaspar and Mirasol as a way of goodbye.

When they all turned around the corner and disappeared, Gaspar sighed. “Do you really think going to Shantytown is a good idea?”

“It might be.”

“You know why she’s really taking him there, don’t you?”

“Sí.” Mirasol nodded. “But it might help. Héctor needs to heal from his past wounds. And if there’s anyone here who can help him feel better, it’s Leti.”

-------------------------------------------

“Why the heck would you want Miguel to go to business school, Papá? Are you loco?”

Héctor couldn’t help but be little offended at that. Seems like everyone, even those in the afterlife, thought that maybe some of his parenting ideas weren’t so great after all. Even Imelda had balked at the idea of business school at first before he had managed to talk her into it the night before. Though from the reactions he got from everyone else, the way they had ganged up on him about Miguel pursuing music, maybe… No.

“I don’t understand why it’s such a bad idea!” Héctor said as all three of then swayed back in forth as Frangipani weaved through the streets of the dead. “He’ll have a secure future, be able to provide for himself and his family. And besides Matty is a businessman and he loves it!”

Leti chuckled sarcastically and turned around to face Héctor. “Papá, I love my brothers with all of my heart, but Matty is a boring stick in the mud who collects coins and stamps that are, in his words, neato. And Miguel’s… not the brightest bulb in the city if, you catch my drift.”

“Oh, come on. Miguel is very smart.”

Leti rolled her eyes. “Just tonight I saw he and Victoria get into a heated debate on whether vitamins existed or not. And before you ask, he was against them being real.”

“Oh… I’m beginning to think I don’t know my own children.” Héctor said sadly.

Leti leaned back against him and hummed. “You used to… but think about it. Music was so engrained into our family for years. It was the backbone to our successes, helped us out through tough times. Even though I could only see him once a year I could tell Miguel was going to grow up just like you, a musician through and through. Then, all of a sudden, it was taken from him at such a young age. I guess that was when the secret-keeping started. You forbid something he loved and made him happy. Made others happy too.”

“I was trying to protect him from what happened to Ernesto!”

“Papá…”

“I was! You were there that night, right? He died on stage singing that dreadful song-”

Remember me…

Though I have to say goodbye

Remember me!

Don’t let it make you-

Héctor gasped as they passed by one of the apartment complexes on the street, one skeleton on a balcony languidly humming along to a radio blasting that song at full volume. Even worse other skeletons had heard it too and started to sing along with it as well. Once again Héctor’s insides clenched up until it was hard to breathe, his face grew hot, and his heart started pumping a mile a minute.

Shoving the heels of his palms hard into his ears and squeezing his eyes, he was able to feel that Frangipani had started to pick up speed. Leti must have urged her further to get away from the song as quickly as possible. Once they were at a safe distance Héctor felt Dante’s wet tongue lick his hands, letting him know it was safe to let his hands down again. He did but kept his eyes shut as he tried to will his body to calm down. Again Leti leaned into his chest and Héctor wrapped his arms around his daughter searching for comfort.

He was so ashamed.

“You really hate that song, don’t you Papá?”

His voiced trembling more than he wished it too, Héctor rasped out. “I… can’t stand it…”

“That’s very sad.” Leti said. “You used to love that song, especially since you wrote it out of love for Coco.”

“I can’t feel the love anymore.” Héctor whispered. “Only pain… and death.”

“… It’s because of me too, right?”

Héctor didn’t say anything. Couldn’t confirm it, or rather didn’t want to. Because it was true. Two lives taken from him because of that song. Héctor just hugged her tighter, Dante whining behind him and placing his chin on Héctor’s shoulder. They stayed that way for a few moments, just Héctor holding her, before Leti spoke again.

“Well, I rather like that song.”

The bluntness coming from his daughter was so surprising that Héctor couldn’t help but huff out a small laugh, but he just kept holding her with his eyes closed.

“I remember my last day alive. I was terrified, in pain, could barely breathe. But you were all there for me, and I was so glad Tio Nesto made it to say goodbye. I couldn’t speak properly, but I wanted you to sing to me Papá. I wanted you to sing that song. And you did. You all did. It was beautiful, and it was the last thing I remembered being alive. It helped me pass peacefully.”

“I know you feel like the song took us away from you, but I like to think that it released us from our pain. You were right, I was there that night. I saw Tio Nesto was sick at heart, but he still sang that song one more time. But we’re not gone Papá, not as long as you remember us the way we were. Because now we’re not sick and dying anymore. Now we are free to FLY!”

At that word Frangipani’s wing ears spread wide open at rapid speed, and before Héctor had a chance to open his eyes the alebrije was air-born with one mighty flap and a whoosh of air.

Héctor once again made a sound that he was not proud of and held on tighter to Leti, trying in the back of his mind to convince himself that he was protecting her and not clinging on for dear life. There were many things he wanted to shout out, such as ‘stop!’, ‘I said no flying!’ and ‘wasn’t there a movie about this?!’ but all that came up was panicked screaming. Before long they were up above the lower rung of buildings and heading straight up into the air.

Gaspar was right: Frangipani wasn’t the most graceful of fliers. She had to dodge other buildings. Towers and cranes during her ascent, even ducking beneath an air trolly at one point. It was a little sickening as she looped around at all angles, and even Dante was trying to keep hold by biting hard on the back of Héctor’s jacket and clinging to the guitar on his back. And Leti just laughed and whooped the whole time.

“Don’t worry Papá!” she screeched. “We’ll be in the open air right… NOW!”

And they were. Now that there was nothing in their way the turbulence was gone and there was now smooth sailing. Héctor slowly released his death grip from his daughter, and Dante from his, when his stomach finally settled back into it’s natural position. Carefully he risked a lean to his right to look down below, and he gasped both at how high they were and how even more beautiful the city was from above. The lights from the streets illuminated the ground even more, and several more colors popped out now that they were free from the fog surrounding the flower bridges.

Amazing.

“Sorry Papá!”  Leti said as she spread her arms wide enough to simulate flying herself. “But Frangipani is faster in the air than on the ground, and you don’t have all night. Besides, it’s a much better view up here than down there, right?”

And as the wind blew in his air and he could feel the smile growing on his face in pure wonderment, he couldn’t help but agree.

The Baker And The Writer

Written for @hopeology

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Streamers and balloons wrapped around the cave, some slipping across corkboard while others dangled round disco balls. A pink hoof dragged across the dusty filing cabinets, marked by thoughtful humming. One set of files was pulled out from the drawers, layed down on the table, and observed with shining blue eyes. “Mmmhmmm... hmmm. Ah.”

“Reunion party planning?”

The pink pony didn’t even look up, though a smile crossed her face. “Yeah. Well, for those who still... you know. Still care about this. About us.” She sighed deeply. “Things have changed, haven’t they?”

“Quite a bit. And not all for the better... but not all for the worse, either.”

The pink pony sighed again, shutting the folder. “Well, I suppose there’s no point not talking about it. After all, we’re both mirrors of the same soul.”

“Mirrors, fragments, cosmic coincidences by fate and destiny.”

“All that, yep.” She looked up, into the empty hood of a black robe of leather, and had to hide a giggle behind her hoof. “People are going to think you came from Square Enix, you know.”

“People have always thought that. It’s annoying!” The robe crossed his sleeves petulantly. “I didn’t even know about Organization XIII when I came up with this design, let alone anything Final Fantasy-ish. It was supposed to be--”

“--a comical contrast of a seriously dark-appearing abstraction having hilarious melodrama and/or ordinary life as he interacted with the characters of his writing, I know, I know.” The pony shrugged. “You’ve always been on a different wavelength, Masterweaver.”

“And so have you, Pinkie.”

The pony shrugged. “So I have. So I have...” She averted her gaze, running a hoof down her foreleg. “My story’s not going to be completed, is it?”

The robe examined the roof. “I... well... I want to complete it, and others are working on the other threads--”

“Yeah, but you were young. Well... he was young.”

“I am the author avatar, I can be considered the same as him.”

“I’m a fusion of a canon character and a self insert, I could say the same thing.”

“In a different way.” Masterweaver spread his sleeves. “Identity is a confusing thing, especially when you get meta.”

“And this is getting very meta.”

“Should we acknowledge the audience?”

“...let’s not,” Pinkie said after a moment of thought. “It’s only really useful if we get philosophical about the nature of reality and/or want to throw in a brief joke.”

“Good point.” Masterweaver nodded. “Good point... Still. You’ve got a party to plan, right?”

“For all of us still here. Which is, technically, all of us, but we’ve passed out of the need for the story to focus on us I think.” Pinkie nodded. “It’s been years for me, since the event. And I’ve had... some serious adventures. Yeah. A lot of living... a lot of things.”

She hummed to herself gently. “A lot of worlds visited. Other Equestrias, at first... and then, other places entirely. Mostly to say hi, help out, move on. An adventurer is me.”

“Well that’s a fine life!” Masterweaver said encouragingly. “Expanding your horizons as you go, growing and learning--”

“He’s moved on, hasn’t he?”

The cave was silent for a moment, save for the tinkling of the disco balls.

“...From ponies, I mean. In general.”

“I...” Masterweaver sighed. “No. Yes? Not... he still values this. This experience, with you and with every other part of the fandom. It was... it was with ponies he really found his place, found out what he was, what he could do. It’s why he still considers himself a professional fanfiction writer. And he does keep in contact with his friends from that part of his life. He does still value what he learned from the fandom.” A sleeve reached out, clasping her shoulder. “He still thinks of you. He still cares about you. I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.”

“...I know. But the core... the part that drew him in, and held him... he’s moved from that, hasn’t he?”

“...He isn’t as deep in the fandom, maybe. But... he’ll never leave it entirely, I think.” Masterweaver shook his hood. “No, he’ll probably come back every once in a while. And he’ll always write fanfiction--it’s just not going to be all pony anymore.”

“Hasn’t been for a while...” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “And he’s been getting kind of dramatic with what he has been doing, hasn’t he?”

“Hey now! Drama exists FOR A REEEEEEEEAAAASON!”

Pinkie giggled at the robe’s pose. “Oh I’m not saying it doesn’t! But, you know, element of Laughter here.”

“Yeah, how’s that treating you?”

“Oh, I’ve got no complaints about that part of my life.” Pinkie giggled. “Still love bringing smiles wherever I go.”

“And you’re preparing a party for all your friends.” Masterweaver nodded toward the folder. “So...”

“So yeah, it’s... that’s still fun. And a lot more’s going on then what’s being written about,” she added quickly. “Obviously, I mean. We have lives beyond...”

She trailed off.

“...You’ve always had a life beyond the fic. As much as you’ve performed for the sake of everyone, you still have your own life.”

“Are you telling me, or are you telling you?”

Masterweaver clapped his sleeves together. “I’m going to say that’s ambiguous because this story is incredibly meta, and no meta story is complete without a little ambiguity!”

“Is this even a story?” Pinkie asked. “I mean we’re just talking! Cryptically at that, with so much context we haven’t mentioned!”

“Huh, you’re right. I guess there should be an arc.” Masterweaver rubbed the base of his hood thoughtfully. “It feels like you were feeling neglected, so maybe I came in to say that even if your story is never finished the author will always treasure you and your existence will have an impact on him, so that reassures you and you go on with your life happy in the knowledge that it is your life but also that you made a positive impact?”

Pinkie gave him a flat look. “Well gee, if you’re going to spell it all out like that, how do I get a chance to work through my emotions?”

Masterweaver shrugged. “Yeah, going to be honest, this is one of those stories where I’m just working through the scene with no idea where it goes.”

“...I mean... that summary isn’t wrong, exactly,” Pinkie admitted. “It’s just a little abrupt.”

“Yeah.”

“...And now we’re staring at each other and wondering how to end this story.”

“Well, yeah.” Masterweaver shrugged. “Actually, you know what we need?”

“What?”

“A smash cut.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“Hey everypony!”

“Nopony else is here yet, Pinkie. It’s just me.”

“Oh.” Pinkie shrugged. “Hey Erishy! Surprised you’re the first to get here.”

“It happens.” Erishy shrugged, watching Pinkie set out the snacks. “So what flavor are the cupcakes?”

“Heh. Flavor...” Pinkie shook her head. “All cupcakes share some ingredients, you know? But flavor, flavor is something unique, added during the baking. And everyone focuses on it. But a cupcake wouldn’t be a cupcake without the ingredients, and flavors can be blended, mixed. Sometimes, you have to remember: every flavor, every cupcake, is the result of a baker. And even if they don’t bake the same cupcakes anymore, they’re still baking cupcakes. And somebody will always, always eat the cupcakes.” She took a breath. “But every cupcake eaten is important, even the ones baked long ago.”

Erishy nodded gently. “I see. That... that’s actually very encouraging. I guess you’ve been thinking a lot recently, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.”

“Also the cupcakes are all fruit-flavored, but different flavors of fruit. I was feeling experimental.”

That got a giggle from the pegasus. “Oh, of course. That makes total sense.”

Here’s another fic I’ve had sitting around in my WIP folder because I had completely forgotten about it. It’s just some cute Lilo fluff (with a side mention of established Narry) that I wrote after seeing this picture floating around here. I wasn’t originally going to post it but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. :) 

~*~

Crystal Clear (AO3) Liam Payne/Louis Tomlinson, 1.3k (Fluff) 

"There you are," Liam smiles as he steps into his library. It's always been one of his favorite rooms in his house and he comes here whenever he has something on his mind. He especially likes curling up by the fireplace, which is exactly where he finds Louis. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry, mate. I just needed to get away for a bit," Louis explains as Liam takes a seat next to him on the floor. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Liam grins brightly and wraps an arm around Louis' shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Louis nods as he picks at a loose thread on his jeans.

It doesn't sound terribly convincing though, which Liam acknowledges by tipping Louis' face up and forcing him to make eye contact. "Try again."

"Don't give me the judgy face, Payno. I promise I'm fine. I just wanted to get away from the crowd for a bit," that's all.

The crowd in question consists of several mutual friends of theirs that Liam has invited over for an impromptu dinner party since they all happen to be in town. Including Harry and Niall, so they're having a bit of a lads reunion as well.

"Okay fine," Liam concedes, "but I'm always here if you want to talk," he adds and ruffles Louis' hair affectionately.

"Thanks, Sunshine, I appreciate that," Louis says and knocks his shoulder against Liam's.

"Anytime," Liam smiles again and squeezes Louis' knee.

"You're such a sweetheart," Louis blurts out even though he hadn't actually meant to say it. He was thinking it, and then the words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"You think so?" Liam blushes and it makes Louis' heart melt.

Ever since they reconnected while filming X-Factor they've become a whole lot closer. They would probably be inseparable if they didn't always take on so many projects for themselves. They've both been working on their music a lot and Liam has been traveling around the world playing some really prestigious shows. He's also landed a well-deserved modeling contract with Hugo Boss, which Louis is pretty sure will be the death of him once the photos are released.

Louis leans forward and nuzzles the scruff on Liam's jaw. "I know so. You're always there for me in ways I can't even begin to describe, and you always know how to make me smile even during the times that I thought I'd forgotten how," he whispers against Liam's skin.

"Tommo," Liam says shakily as he slowly turns his face. Their mouths are barely an inch apart and Louis can smell the hint of wine on his breath.

"Payno," Louis echos as he reaches out to rub Liam's cheek gently.

"I… uh, should probably be heading back," Liam says suddenly.

"Oh," Louis mumbles as he abruptly pulls away. "Yeah, totally. You go ahead; I'll be along in a bit."

"Okay," Liam smiles but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"I'm a bit knackered actually, so I think I might just - "

"Were you flirting with me?" Liam interrupts and Louis feels like he's been punched in the gut.

"Excuse me?" Louis' eyes widen almost impossibly as his cheeks flush bright pink.

"Nothing, nevermind," Liam says and attempts to stand up.

"Don't hit and run, Payno," Louis says sharply as he reaches out to keep Liam from moving. "What did you mean by that?"

Liam sighs heavily. "Sometimes it feels like maybe you're flirting with me, so I was just wondering if - "

"I'm fucking trying to!" Louis snaps suddenly. "I've been trying to," he adds, softening slightly. "That's actually why I snuck away in the first place. I just needed to clear my head a bit. I've been flirting with you all night, but you didn't seem interested. That, or maybe I just suck at flirting," he concludes.

"You don't," Liam frowns. "This is not about you at all, I promise. You're aces at flirting, actually. I was just worried that I might be reading too much into it," he admits as he reaches out to brush the soft fringe from Louis' eyes.

"Liam." Louis can't help laughing now, because Liam can be adorably slow on the uptake sometimes. "I've nearly snogged you like three different times just tonight alone. I'm not sure how you might misinterpret that but - "

Louis is effectively shut up by Liam's warm lips pressing against his own. It takes him a few seconds to snap into action but then he winds his arms around Liam's neck and kisses him back slowly. It's everything he's been dreaming about for years, and he can't believe it's finally happening. Liam's plush lips are velvety soft against his own and it's undeniably the best first kiss Louis has ever had.

Just as he starts to pull away, Liam grips him by the front of his shirt and deepens the kiss. His mouth is sweet from all the wine he's had tonight and Louis can't ever remember liking the taste so much. He's more of a beer kind of guy but he could learn to love wine, he thinks. "Jesus," he whimpers against Liam's mouth as they start to pull apart.

"Sorry, sometimes I can be a little dense," Liam giggles before leaning in to steal another kiss. It's just a soft press of their mouths this time, but it still leaves Louis breathless.

"It's not all on you, babe. Maybe I wasn't being clear enough," Louis says as he slides onto Liam's lap. "So let me be crystal clear now: I really like you, Liam Payne. Reckon I'm quite in love with you if I'm honest," he adds before cradling Liam's face and kissing him again.

"I'm glad the feeling is mutual," Liam says as he pulls back and wraps his arms around Louis to keep him from sliding off of his lap.

"Did you just admit that you're in love with me too?" Louis asks as he reaches up to run his fingers through Liam's hair. It's silky-soft and Louis can't help but wonder if Liam likes having it pulled.

"Now who's being dense?" Liam laughs as he lies back and pulls Louis on top of him. "I am though," he adds before kissing Louis slowly. "Very very much in love with you too, Louis Tomlinson," he pants between kisses.

"I knew it!" Louis grins when they pull apart. "I knew you fancied me, Payno. Niall thought it was just wishful thinking but I know my lad," Louis winks before leaning down to press his mouth softly against Liam's again. "That's why I had been flirting so much," Louis explains when he pulls away. "I kept hoping you'd catch on!"

"How did you know?" Liam asks, obviously stunned. "I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding it, actually," he laughs and covers his face with his hands.

"None of that, love," Louis says softly as he pries Liam's hands way. "And I knew because we'd spent the better part of five years living in each other's pockets. We've all had crushes on each other at some point, so I know the signs. Did you know that you sometimes start randomly blushing whenever you look at me? Makes me wonder what naughty things you're thinking about," Louis murmurs against Liam's ear.

Liam smirks at that and reaches up to slide his arms around Louis' neck. "Wanna find out?"

"I like the way you think, babe, but won't everyone eventually notice our absences?" Louis asks as he leans forward and curls up against Liam's chest.

"Hardly," Liam snorts. "Niall and Haz went for a walk through my garden ages ago and no one's missed them."

"But you don't have a garden," Louis says, obviously confused.

"Exactly," Liam laughs as he pulls Louis tightly against him and kisses him slowly. "At least we're a lot more subtle than they are."

(For the record, Liam loves having his hair pulled.)

Fic prompt for Malex: truth

michael is looking over old papers of the crash, to see if there is something that he’s missed when the door to the airstream bursts open.

he looks up startled and pissed, but his anger fizzles when he sees alex framed in the doorway.

“whatever you have to say, i really don’t have the time to deal with today.” michael says putting the papers into their folder.

alex’s eyes are on the folder, but he just clenches his jaw and walks the rest of the way in.

michael watches as he closes the door, and leans on his desk, hiding anything strange behind himself, since it seems like alex is going to talk whether michael wants to hear it or not.

“i need you to tell me the truth,” alex says slowly, turning and looking at michael seriously.

he’s standing straight, at attention with his feet spread shoulder width, and michael knows if he didn’t have the cane his hands would be clasped behind his back.

“about what?” michael asks because there’s no way that alex knows about him, not unless ortecho spilled the beans.

alex looks at him with calculating eyes, and michael stands up a little straighter, crossing his arms across his chest.

“i’ve been at my dad’s old cabin, you know the one,” he says giving michael a look, and michael suddenly feels a fissure of fear splice through him.

“kyle’s been working with him on some secret project, and my dad has a whole bunch of old files out there that kyle needed, so i was helping him look, but it turns out that the files that he needs are missing.”

“alex,” michael starts uncrossing his arms and moving forward.

alex takes a step back and continues speaking.

“which is odd since my dad hardly ever goes out to the cabin at all, and then since i’d been feeling nostalgic all night, i remembered, you.”

michael shakes his head, “alex.”

“you convinced me that it would be safer, that we wouldn’t get caught out there, that it would be secluded and private, and i was so busy gagging for every little bit of your attention that i didn’t even notice it. even when you were acting weird, even when i caught you in his office that night.”

“alex,” michael says again and this time alex just looks at him. he may be trying to emulate being a soldier right now, but his eyes tell a whole different story.

michael never wanted to be the source to put this look on alex’s face ever again, but it seems that history is just keen on repeating itself.

“it’s not what you’re thinking,” he starts, but then stops because he doesn’t know how to keep going.

the truth is too tangled with his other truths and the biggest truth isn’t just his secret.

alex lets out a harsh breath, “so you didn’t tell me that you were into me in high school because you wanted to get at my dad’s military files?”

michael makes a noise of frustration and starts to pace in the tiny space, feeling like a tiger locked in a cage.

alex laughs and it’s so heartbroken that michael stops pacing to look at him.

“so, our whole relationship was a lie,” he says voice breaking.

michael shakes his head and wants to say something, but he can’t seem to make the words come out.

“if that was the case then why did you kiss me at the reunion?”

“you know why,” michael says lowly looking at alex pleadingly.

alex shakes his head, but michael isn’t done.

he takes another step forward.

“it may have started out like that, but i promise you, alex, it definitely didn’t stay that way.”

the soldier facade finally cracks away, and alex’s shoulders slump and michael realizes that while alex had been taking his silences as confirmation, michael had just verbally confirmed it.

michael whirls away from alex, feeling trapped.

alex lets out a shuddering breath as michael grabs the first bottle he can find.

“i was wrong,” alex says finally, voice wavering. “you’ve gotten better.”

“at what?” michael asks without turning around bottle raised to his lips.

“giving me reasons to walk away.”

michael feels the words like a gunshot, that first initial spark of pain and then he freezes waiting to see how serious it is, and then the wound explodes his world into technicolor and he turns around to see the back of alex’s head as he walks out the door.

michael looks at the bottle in his hand and then throws it hard.

it crashes on far side wall, splattering into a million pieces.

michael turns around and yells, “fuck.”

and then uses his hands and pushes with his powers and throws all of his information and even the desk over to the side.

the entire trailer rocks with the movement, but michael doesn’t care.

he looks at the picture tacked on his wall of him and izzy and max for a second before he’s whirling around stalking out of the door.

it’s not fair that max can save liz and tell her the truth when michael has been dying for years to tell alex the full truth.

“alex!” he yells once he’s out.

he spots alex by his car, opening the door.

he stops when michael yells and turns slowly around to face him.

michael stops when he gets close enough to see that alex is crying.

“it’s true, okay, i did do that. the first time i talked to you was because i was hoping that i had something that you wanted to get me access to your father’s military files, but i swear, i wasn’t doing it to be a jerk to you.”

“then why?” alex asks voice wet and thick with tears. “why did you do it?”

michael opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

alex scoffs and goes to get back in his car.

“i’m an alien,” michael blurts out.

alex gives him a look like he can’t believe michael is seriously joking right now.

“i’m being serious,” michael says and then he turns around and uses all of the turmoil churning in his gut to push.

all of the junk around them clatters and groans and then moves, floating a couple inches in the air for the heavier things, but several other things go flying up high.

he hears the car door shut and turns his head to see alex looking at the floating items with wide eyed amazement.

michael huffs out a laugh and then he falls to his knees, drained. everything falls back down with a loud noise, some piles leaning precariously before stopping others just falling over.

michael puts his hands down on the floor in front of him and pants into the dirt finally feeling tired and like he could sleep.

he doesn’t hear alex until there is a hand touching the back of his shoulder.

he looks over his shoulder to see alex standing there.

michael starts speaking before alex can say anything.

“i didn’t know how else to find out if the military knew about us, i never meant to actually like you, never mind everything else that happened. i would’ve never used your feelings for me if i had known you had feelings for me before it all started. alex, i swear, i never planned to hurt you. i just wanted to make sure that we were safe.”

“okay,” alex says nodding his head and pressing his fingers into the muscle of michael’s shoulder. “i believe you.”

michael lets out a relieved sigh.

“i believe you’re an alien and that you never meant to hurt me, but i need to go.”

michael turns on his knees and looks up at alex.

alex’s eyes are shining with tears again, and he looks at michael like he can’t believe that michael is real.

“i believe you,” he says again and this time it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself. “but i’m confused. i came here wanting the truth and you gave me much more than that. i don’t even know what i’m feeling right now. i need time.”

michael huffs out a self deprecating laugh, “you can just say that you’re grossed out about me being an alien.”

alex looks at him as though that thought never occurred to him, and then he turns his head to the side giving michael a look that he is much more than familiar with.

alex reaches out fast, wrapping his fingers in michael’s hair, and he tugs michael up as he leans down and kisses him hard and deep and bruising.

he breaks their mouths apart and michael lets out a needy gasp.

alex licks his lips and looks at him with hot eyes liquid with desire. “grossed out is the furthest away from what i feel about you.”

and then he turns around and leaves.

his car kicks up a dust trail and when it settles, michael is still there, on his knees, watching him leave.

WIP Meme

The Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous

Oh boy, thanks for the tag @gracie137blogs​ now we get to delve into the WIP Folder of Doom™️ hahahaha I do actually tend to name my files with something descriptive because I have somewhat of an archiving habit from my day job, so I don’t think any of these will be toooo wild. Long AF list, so under a cut to save your dash ;)

Drarry

A Fragile Web - wand bond hogwarts 8th year repair - Ah, an aging wip with 20k that’s going no where. Good to see you again, old friend. Looking mighty fine with that thick coating of dust you’re sporting. New Year’s Promises - Another aging wip that’s nearly all written that I can’t seem to finish arg! Maybe this year will be the year?? Who knows, all I know is that I keep meaning to finish it so I can release it sometime between Dec-March every year I attempt to get it done. *sweats loudly* Post War WWW - This was going to be my HD Big Bang project until I had to drop because of my work schedule. I had some really fun stuff planned with it, especially Draco working with tinkering with magical objects and charms spells. Snapchat Sexting - Ohhhhh I need to finish this!!! Dang I started this in like Feb and forgot all about it, but it’s the usual whacky concept of tech comes to the wizarding world as a vehicle for Drarry to sext via social media hahaha. Harry is very Shook™️ in this little fic. Accidental Marriage Bond - Oh nooo they’re accidentally married and bound magically oh noooooo. Kidfic Adoption Partners - Probably my fave of my wips that I haven’t had much time to work on, the idea is that drarry are very close business partners that are mistaken for partner-partners when draco decides he wants to adopt. Grimmauld Place is Sick??? - Idk what to call this one hahaha, but it’s basically your run of the mill oh no Harry isn’t sure what’s up with GP and Draco Malfoy is His Only Hope at Finding Answers.

Victuuri

Banquet AU Canon Diverge - Omg this was my big project at the beginning of the year that I put on pause after almost 30k because it’s only 3 chapters in and it’s already so big. Basically just a big YOI canon divergence after the banquet and clothes sharing and social media. Yuuri wears Victor’s Olympic RU jacket and I get a little emosh every time I think about it :’))))

Klance

Our Hearts Ablaze - a/b/o in space - Just your basic oh no I thought I was one class and turns out I’m another but no worries because your pal has your back and will help you out through this Trying Time. Amnesia Lance - Back around season 2 I had this wip idea where Lance gets hit during battle or whacks his head somehow and wakes up with amnesia and thinks team voltron kidnapped him. FWB Klance - Probably what it says on the tin tbh Waxplay Klance - Hnnggg my candle-moment fic. Just needs one scene to be complete, note to self please go back and finish this. Let Me Take a Bite Out of You - lovebug/fakedating/soulmate/garrison au - A wip I started and even posted ch 1 of last year because I’m a monster and every time I get a comment from a reader hoping the next chapter is coming I cower under a blanket. It’s not abandoned, though, I swear. I just need to untangle the plot and write the damn thing. It’s a biiiig epic with conspiracy, a race against time, and everything ending up just as it should when the series timeline starts.

CaPri

Jaimeric Modern Fake Dating AU - Holy shit this story is massive. It was plotted out with @goldentruth813​ and @gracie137blogs​ months back when we were crying together about Jaimeric and Aimeric and how we needed a story where he lived, so this is our version of that.

Berenger Character Study - I read Pet and then Berencel took over my life. This is just a short Berenger POV character study of the events in Pet.

Zutara Accidental Bond Post War - A maaaassive outline for a story picking up right where the Agni Kai with Azula ends and the events of that fight cause a spirit bond to manifest in Katara and Zuko so that they’re tied together and can hear each other’s heartbeat. In the midst of putting the Fire Nation back together they have to embark on a journey to the spirit world to find out what happened to them and if they can undo it. Haikyuu!! Oisuga - Fake Dating - Oh no >:)))) Suga’s parents >:)))) want to set him up with marriage interviews >:)))) and he makes up a fake boyf >:)))) and Oikawa over hears and thinks the description fits him well enough >:)))) so he slides in and pretends to be the fake boyf >:)))) and now they’re invited to a weekend family reunion at Suga’s family onsen in Miyagi >:)))) Oisuga Week - Starbursts - Need to finish up these last 2 chapters but this is a wip that started for a ship week in august that’s been post-as-i-go, essentially Oh no, and they were roommates with looootttsss of pining. HQSS - Haikyuu!! secret santa exchange fic that’s nearly done, can’t talk much about it but it’s cute and for a very fun ship <3 Kurosuga - FWB - A future fic plot from a convo on an hq writing server about Kuroo and Suga being friends with benefits while falling in love with each other the whole time, so a big pining, bittersweet sexy fic dealing with hiding emotions and soaking up as much physical intimacy as they can get away with because their touches speak so much louder than their words. Original 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 Soooo I’m kinda....doing a thing.... 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 Matchmaking Ghost - This is the wip I did the 7-7-7 meme with. If you enjoyed Phoenix Repair Services then you might like this one, it’s a pretty similar concept of house repair going totally wrong with a handyman from the protag’s past to fix the mess, only now there’s a ghost involved in the mix haha! Also it’s tentatively set in Boston because haunted New England houses are a Vibe™️. It’s got a persnickety ghost and a snarky protag who refers to himself as “””emotionally efficient””” because he’s the picture of good mental health 😹 😹 There are 12 other wips that have gathered in this folder but I’ll save the deets for later, this one is the most fleshed out at this point.

Sooo that’s me and my writing folder right now hahaha, someone send a shovel so I can dig myself out, yeah?

Tagging: If you want to play, you’re tagged!

Eddsworld: At World's End Chapter 8

Old School Reunion - (Chapter 8) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both Edd and Matt were on the couch watching tv till the door to the apartment suddenly swung open which got their attention. "Edd! Matt! I've found something that you won't believe" said Tom. "What?" asked Edd. Tom quickly rushes over to them while carrying a folder. "I...I was just walking till I stumbled across Durdam Lane" said Tom as he was trying to catch his breath. "You were? How come you didn't tell us?" asked Matt. "Tell you? Why would I- forget it. I found Tony's house and I tried knocking on his door only to realize he wasn't there. I found an open window, climbed through, and got into his house" said Tom. "Wait...did you just break into someone's house? Tom, you do realize that's illegal right? You could've been caught by the police" said Edd. "I know, I know, I know, but that's not the point. I walked in his house till I found a room which was his office room and I found something completely shocking. I found out that Tony isn't all that innocent and that he's hiding a dark secret" said Tom. "Really? What's the secret?" asked Matt. "I found out that Tony is a leader of an army and he's a communist" said Tom. What Tom didn't expect next was that both Edd and Matt suddenly burst out in laughter. "Why are you two laughing?" asked Tom as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Tony's a communist? That's so ridiculous" laughed Edd. "I have no idea why I'm laughing, but this is just so hilarious" laughed Matt. "What? I'm being serious here!" said Tom. "Tom, I know that you can't seem to trust Tony, but you can't just make something like this up. There is no way that Tony can be a communist" said Edd. "But....but.....I'm telling the- you know what, fine. I tried to tell you, but if you're not going to believe me then, I'll find a way to prove it myself" said Tom before walking towards the door. As Tom was about to leave he was greeted by two familiar men dressed in uniforms. "Uh, can I help you two?" asked Tom. "Uh...umm....ah......let's see here....." said Paul while looking at a piece of paper that had pictures of Edd, Matt, and Tom on it. "Give me that!" said Patryck as he snatched the paper out of Paul's hands. "Eh....sorry about that. We were just walking down the neighborhood till we came by here and do you mind if we ask one question?" asked Patryck. "Sure, whatever. What do you what?" asked Tom. "Are you by any chance Tom?" asked Patryck. "Uh yeah, that's me" said Tom. Both Paul and Patryck looked at each other as Patryck gave Paul a slight nod before the two looked back at Tom. "What's with the looks? Did I do something wrong?" asked Tom. "No, just get in the body bag" said Paul while getting out a body bag. "Oh....wait....what!? Oh my GOD!!! THEY HAVE BODY BAGS NO!!" screamed Tom before getting covered up in a body bag. Both Paul and Patryck went inside the apartment to find both Edd and Matt on the couch before going up behind them and put them in body bags. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME!? I'M TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BE PUT IN A BODY BAG!!!" screamed Matt as he was being dragged by Paul. "Get your hands off me you fiend!!!" yelled Edd as he was being dragged by Patryck. Paul and Patryck threw Edd, Matt, and Tom in the back of a van before closing the doors. "Well that went smoothly as I thought it would" said Paul. "Paul how could you say that when you didn't know what Tom looked like?" asked Patryck. "I don't know. They all the look the same to me" said Paul. "Look the- never mind. Let's just get out of here" said Patryck. ~At The Red Army Base~ "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god......it's so dark. Where am I? How long has it been? What year is it?" asked Matt before a blindfold was removed from his eyes. "Relax, it's only been like 30 minutes" said Tom. "Just where are we?" asked Edd. Matt walks up and touches something metallic before gently rubbing it. "We seem to be trapped in some strange force of psychic energy" said Matt. "No, we're not. We're in a cell" said Tom. "Gahhh! Whoever put us in here is so going to pay!!!" yelled Eduardo. "Wait....Eduardo....?" asked Edd as he got a better close to see Eduardo and his gang trapped behind a different cell across from them. "Oh cheer up Eduardo, it's not all bad" said Jon. "Not bad!? It is bad Jon! We're in a frickin' cell!" yelled Eduardo. "Hey! Leave him alone Eduardo! What did he do to you?" said Edd. "Huh? Hehe....well isn't our lovely neighbors Edd....and his friends. Fancy seeing you three here" said Eduardo. "Yeah it is. What are you guys doing here?" asked Tom. "How we supposed to know? We were here way before you" said Mark. "Yeah and I was somehow brought here too for no reason" said Todd. "Oh.....ey Head" said Hellucard who was standing next to Todd. "Todd? Some random guy who seems to get my name wrong every time he sees me? Look.....do you know who kidnapped us?" asked Edd. "Unfortunately we don't. All I remember was that Jon here just randomly opened the door" said Eduardo. "Opened the door? Wait, I did same thing but I was only leaving till I was stopped by two men who seem to be soldiers. One of them had a scar over there right eye while the other seemed a little bit smarter" said Tom. "Aw someone recalls seeing us. How cute" said Paul. "We hate to break up this friendly reunion, but we got orders from the boss. He wants to see you three" said Patryck. "Well I hope he's happy, because I'm just about ready to break these bars wide open" growled Edd. Paul walks over as Edd, Matt, and Tom braced themselves only to see that Paul took out a key and used it to unlock the cell door. "Are you three coming or what?" asked Paul. Edd, Matt, and Tom slowly walked out of the cell and followed both Paul and Patryck out of the room. "Hey! What about us? You can't leave me here with these idiots!" yelled out Eduardo to the void. After a few minutes of walking, Paul and Patryck lead the three prisoners to a large room which appears to be very decorated before forcefully making them kneel on their knees. "That was a bit mean" whined Matt. "Who cares? I just want this day to end already" said Tom. "Oh Tom, you've always been just so uncaring" said Tord. "Wait....it can't be" said Edd who recognized the voice. "Of course it is Edd, I was waiting forever to see you again" said Tord as he swung his chair around before getting up and walking towards his old friends. "What the?" asked Tom who couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Tord, you're alive. This..this is so incredible" said Edd in amazement. "Heh, longtime no seen old friends" said Tord with a smile. "Hold on for just a minute, how are you still alive? I thought you'd died once your robot exploded" said Tom. "Oh Tom, I thought the same exact thing as you did, but I was lucky to survive only with these burn marks on my face" said Tord while showing off the scorches on his face. "Ew.......so disgusting" said Matt who was a bit disturbed to see the burn marks on the right side of Tord's face. "So anyway this has been great to see you but we're kinda busy" said Edd. "I understand that, but this is important. So important that I need to be alone with Tom. Paul and Patryck, please take both Edd and Matt out here" said Tord. "So those are your names. How nice to know" said Matt. Paul and Patryck took Edd and Matt out of the room leaving Tom alone with Tord. "How has the Jehovah's Witness been doing?" asked Tord. "What do you want, commie?" asked Tom with an unamused tone. "Oh I just wanted to check up on one of my friends that's all" said Tord. "I said this before and I can say it again, I am not your friend" said Tom. "Tom, I know you don't like me but please just hear me out" said Tord. "Yeah, yeah, can you make it quick? I need to get back to something" said Tom. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk about....and.....do you know anything about the Black Leader?" asked Tord. Tom's eyes suddenly widen upon hearing what Tord just said. "I have a feeling that you do" said Tord. "Yeah I do. There's something fishy going on here that doesn't add up. What are you up to?" asked Tom. "Nothing really. It's just that I recently gotten a report about him and decided to do some research. The Black Leader's real identity is Anthony von Rudolph and he's a cult leader" said Tord. "Cult leader? The last time I checked, he's actually a communist just like you" said Tom. "Does a guy who plans on draining the earth of its natural resources while leading a group of infamous gangs is considered to be a communist?" asked Tord. "Well no but- wait....he's planning to drain the earth out of its resources? I knew that there was something going on" said Tom. "Exactly. Where did you get your information from?" asked Tord. "I uhh....went back to Durdam Lane and found Tony's house. I went inside and got these" said Tom as he got out the folder containing all the pictures. Tord takes the folder before looking inside to see each picture. "I see. Did you mention this to anyone?" asked Tord. "I've told both Edd and Matt, yet they wouldn't believe me" said Tom. "I guess they'll have to learn it the hard way" said Tord. "Well not both of them, it's just Matt who thinks that there's nothing wrong with Tony" said Tom. "To be honest, Matt doesn't understand who he's actually dealing with" said Tord. Then Paul and Patryck unexpectedly suddenly came into the room. "Paul and Patryck, do you care to explain why you just barged in here?" asked Tord. "Uhh.........yeah......hehe....about that...." said Patryck nervously. "We....have a problem" added Paul. "Problem? What is it?" asked Tord. "Let me guess, Edd and Matt distracted you two and got away?" asked Tom. "Uhh....nooooooo...ehh...yes they did" said Paul. "How could you let two people distract you that easily?" asked Tord. "I wouldn't say that they distracted us, it's that Paul wanted a milkshake" said Patryck. "I-I....that didn't happen!" yelled Paul. "Oh yes it did Paul!" yelled back Patryck. "Both of you two shut up! Even if they had escaped, we're able to track them down with a special drone" said Tord.