I'VE BEEN A FOREST FIRE.

           He’s not sure how to break it to the human that nothing about his afterlife is warm or fuzzy.   At best there is something about the cold darkness that comforts the reaper more than any place teeming with life.   But to say it feels RIGHT would be a flat out lie.   

    ‘   I’m not   —   sure that advil would work on me,  Aubrey.   No bodily functions to circulate medicine.  ‘   there’s a pause as he rubs a hand against his chin thoughtfully.  ‘  Technically … I suppose I shouldn’t be able to get headaches,  either.   ‘   But that’s not interesting to him anymore;  bright eyes are focused on the girl with a curious tilt.   ‘   You’re human,   aren’t you?   Maybe I’m just,   too old.  I always thought humans hated strange things.  Unless they were outcast and counted as part of the strangers.  ‘

for the most part, every forest felt largely the same. from state to state, and even from nation to nation, a forest was just a forest — sometimes, the species of trees and plants different here or there, but by now, the being scarcely paid enough attention to notice that. as long as there was water, edible plant life, and an abandoned building or empty cave where he could make a temporary home, he didn’t care much about the particulars of any given place. 

this forest, however, felt somehow unique. if he had tried to put into words what was different about this place, he wouldn’t have been able to put his finger on anything specific, but minute details sprung out as odd everywhere he looked. 

unnerved by the sensations this place produced, he had intended to pass through without stopping, but fate, evidently, was not on his side tonight. by the time he registered the sound of footsteps crunching on the leaves, he only just had time to crouch down and scramble into the brush to avoid the sweep of the individual’s flashlight. it was tempting to just remain silent and pray that this woman would assume she’d merely seen an animal of some sort, but that was too much of a risk to bank on. better to speak to her and convince her to leave. “ —i don’t know anything about any gate. do you make a habit of interrogating travellers in the woods at night? ”

hmm.   she’s not entirely ruling out the bom - bom theory yet ,   but it’s seeming less likely.   maybe.   they don’t usually talk ,   is the thing ,   and she’s not sure they’d lie about knowing the gate if they did.   the abominations are usually more chaotically cocky than whatever this guy is.   probably just a person ,   huh ?   that seems to be the most likely theory.   (  a person hiding in a bush ,   but a person ,   nonetheless.  ) 

hey there !! when i first made aubrey, i believe it was before travis had said that, and frankly, i’ve kept to my original portrayal of her as a lesbian bc it feels right to me. i’m not gonna say aubrey’s canonically a lesbian, this is obvs just my portrayal, but i 1000% cannot see my version of aubrey little being attracted to dudes. 

also, i think it’s important to keep in mind that travis mce.lroy is a cishet man, and should frankly probably be held to higher standards  —  as a cishet man who is playing a wlw character on a very popular podcast  —  than a 20 year old lesbian running a rp blog for fun. i don’t agree with everything travis has done with aubrey’s character, and given that he’s playing her through his own lens as a cishet man, i think wlw have a right to disagree with things he does and portray characters the way we see them.

( frankly, trav kinda plays every character as a self insert, and aubrey is no exception. of course, i have no issue with people who portray her exactly as travis does  —  but on the flip side, i do try to make her her own fleshed out character rather than her just being half - travis. this goes beyond her sexuality, ofc, but definitely includes it. in general, i think cishet men are pretty bad at seeing any way a woman could not be attracted to men, and i do think travis’ portrayal of aubrey as bi stems from that. i think as writers of aubrey, we’ve got two options : either flesh out her attraction to any gender & elaborate on the attributes travis has given her, or see where things don’t quite fit in travis’ portrayal and choose to change those things. both are valid, but i’ve chosen the latter. )

believe it or not ,   searching for monsters in the woods alone isn’t aubrey’s ideal friday night.   the full moon is nearly upon them     –––     and aubrey has never been a fan of the dark ,   so she is half  -  grateful for the moonlight ,   but significantly less thankful for what it represents :   that an abomination has certainly passed through the gate by now ,   &  she and the rest of the pine guard haven’t found a single clue yet !   hence ,   splitting up to search.   hence ,   her plans to lay in bed   &   drink hot cocoa   &   watch the dumbest christmas movie she can find on netflix ,   cancelled.   (  but hey ,   hunting bom - boms is her duty as a member of the pine guard     –––     she isn’t complaining !  )  

flame bounces from fingertip to fingertip ,   more nervous habit than light source ,   as she makes her way down the path.   (  duck would kill her if he knew she had any fire ,   even one as small as this ,   lit in the forest ,   but the fire is barely even a conscious effort at this point.  )   she’s just beginning to contemplate turning back ,   checking in with the rest of the guard to see if they’d found anything     –––     and then she spots  something.   a shape behind the trees.   the bom - bom ?   maybe.   is it just a random teenager who’s wandered into the woods to smoke weed ?   who knows !   she sure doesn’t !

                     “I    am    not    as    FINE    as    I    seem.”            Which,    truly    IS    saying    something,    as    she    already    SEEMS    like    a    fucking     WRECK.             “…Pardon.”

           @flamebrights     pressed the  ❤.

@flamebrights   /   holiday  shenanigans  !!

            ‘    i was thinking ‘bout getting the ol’ place jollied up for the holidays  !  nothin’ too over the top , just lil’ things to add some — festive PAZAZZ , y’know  ?  like … . a santa hat for the stuffed chupacabra , ‘nd maybe a santa costume for kirby to match the krampus-look billie’s got going . what do you say  , wanna lend a helpin’ hand  ?  ‘