bakerstreet | The Borrowers

It turns out it's not just rats and bugs that live in the walls and under the floors of old houses - there are whole families, societies even, living hidden away from prying human bean eyes. They make and gather the things they need, but sometimes...well, sometimes they need to borrow a few things from their unwitting bean hosts.

Post with your character's name and any preferences you have, including whether you prefer to be a borrower or a bean (presumably if your character is a borrower, this is an AU where they've always been one - though you can always say they've been transformed, too). Feel free to either leave your initial comment blank or to put in a little text showing what sort of thread you have in mind. You can make up your own story, or pick (or have RNG pick for you) from the following scenarios:

1. Borrower Sighting: Now you've done it - you've let a bean see you. What are you going to do about it - and for that matter, what are they going to do about it?

2. Borrower Reunion: Hey, it's tough living spread out among bean houses. Sometimes borrowers need to come together, whether deliberately or by accident along their travels.

3. I'm Not Crazy: One (or both) of you is a bean who knows the truth - but no one believes them! Cue the search for proof!

4. Borrower City: Some places - bean shopping malls, for instance - are able to support lots and lots of borrowers, rather than the usual single family per bean house.

5. Animal Attack: The trouble with being so tiny is that even a rat can be a fearsome enemy.

6. Moving Day: You can't stay where you've been living, or you've chosen to move in with some other borrowers. Either way, moving day poses peculiar challenges to borrowers.

7. Life in the Great Outdoors: Forget depending on beans. You live wild and free, even if that means smelling manky and eating bugs.

8. Wildcard: Mix and match/make up your own.

[Credit goes to

cutrate_pegasus]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[If there's Borrowers in her house she will be very concerned that she accidentally read them out of their book, but she will be absolutely delighted to know that they're real.]

[This fat cat's not a Borrower himself, of course.]

[Her shop is probably the perfect place for some Borrowers to live, and as she's not really a Bean herself, she'll happily let them live there.]

[Borrowers In SPACE! Which is to say, the Falcon (and by extension his own ship) are probably full of them and he'll probably just take their presence in stride.]

[The salvage yard is probably a good place for them, and the garage and the house are safe enough as well. All things considered, chances are good that he knows they exist, though it's anyone's guess as to whether or not he's seen any.]

[If she's the Bean, she will be very excited that some fairy stories are real, if she's the Borrower, she's definitely a Wild Borrower, living out in a nature preserve or something, possibly recently moved into a house for the first time.]

[ Probably the bean. ]

[ either but as beans go, he'd be a great host. ]

[ a bean with about four thousand questions ]

"There! That should do it!" Five finished reconnecting the wires in the power relay and shimmied down to meet Ben, brushing her hands on her jumpsuit with a satisfied smile. She'd been helping him out around the ship for a while now--ever since she'd gotten into trouble on the station where she'd lived before and stowed away on the Millennium Falcon to escape--and she liked to think they made a pretty good team. They even had a secret compartment where they would leave each other notes and presents. Five would fix things for him, and he'd leave her little odds and ends to build more gadgets in return.

She wasn't the only Borrower on the ship, but she was probably the most social. At least when Ben was around. "Anything else on the to-do list?"

He laughed warmly at the exclamation, pleased as always that she was as helpful as she was. He did actually have to think about the question, taking a quick mental stock of things that still needed doing and he shook his head, "No, I think that's it for today. Which says to me we earned a break. How about it, snack break?"

She grinned at the dark-haired bean, nodding enthusiastically. As much as she enjoyed helping around the ship, it was nice to just spend time with Ben, chatting and hanging out. "Yeah," she agreed, "I think we have." She hopped over to him and swung down onto his shoulder. "Noodles? Or something different this time?"

[A Borrower OR a bean with a bunch of curiosity either way.]

[Come on she's a scavenger she'd be the BEST Borrower.]

[Supreme Leader of the Known Universe aka this bean's house.]

"I can make noodles, sure." He replied, holding out a hand so she could hold onto his sleeve for the trek to the mess, "But I was thinking, it's also hard for you guys to get cake, right? Or pretty much anything that goes in the rehydrator is essentially a mystery?"

Along with the mechanical bits and pieces he left in the reclamation bin, he also occasionally left her the tail end of provision packets, dried fruit and meat, the smaller pieces that wouldn't do him much good but would be plenty for someone her size.

"That's true," Five admitted, grabbing hold of Ben's cuff and hanging on tightly as they traveled. She'd seen cakes in bakery windows that--from her perspective--as big as castles. Even a cupcake was more than enough for a family of borrowers to share, but cupcakes weren't as easy to borrow as a packet of pretzels might be. And while they did have their own means of cooking, using appliances that were made for human beans could be quite hazardous.

"They had a stand with those little freeze dried ice cream dots on the station where I lived before. And cake pops as big as my head! But it wasn't easy to get them."

"Hard to carry, I'd imagine." He replied, smile tilting once more, "I've had to carry boxes that size, never as simple as I think it should be." He let her off onto the table, as he usually did, sliding the condiment caddy over so she could sit if she wanted to.

He turned to sort through the rehydrator packets, finally coming up with three of them that he set in front of her to choose from, "Noodles, if you want to stick with what you know, spice bread which is a little bit like cake, but not exactly, and some stir-fry, meat and veggies."

"Unwieldy, even if they're not too heavy." Five nodded safely as she plunked herself down in her usual seat. She studied the food packets, considering her options for a moment before pointing to the middle one. All that talk of cake had her mouth watering for baked goods.

"I'm always excited to try something new."

"That sounds about right." He agreed, as he set the packet into place, checking water levels before thumbing the rehydrator on, "Like trying to carry a crate that's packed heavy on one side, or something that's just the wrong shape."

He shrugged then, also setting about making tea, he hadn't yet found a cup small enough for her, but he had found a plastic capsule that some kind of toy or treat had come in, and while it was still a little big, it worked well enough, "I'll have to see if I can't get some of those ice cream drops though next time we make port, I haven't had those in ages."

The Borrowers

Meggie Folchart | Inkheart (AU) | OTA

Muta • The Cat Returns • OTA

Sneaky McGee - OC - OTA

Ben Solo | Star Wars (AU) | OTA

Paula Jones / EarthBound / OTA

Bobby Singer | Supernatural | OTA

Hanna | Movie of the same name | OTA

Midnight | BNHA

neville longbottom (hp, ota)

hermione granger (hp, ota)

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Jemma Simmons || Agents of SHIELD

Rey || Star Wars

Ben Solo || Star Wars

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