#borrower!emile

[kakusu-shipping]

My half of the art trade with @echoes-lighthouse; Our Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Self Inserts hanging out!

I think they'd be pretty good friends, if they could be civil in the same room together for more than five minutes. I think in reality the majority of their friendship would be bickering about who should date who in their class, until Taka splits them up.

#Emile's Arts #Other's Self ship #I also like to imagine Echo's constantly borrowing things from the collector #Because like. She has everything #A fem presenting They/Them Nonbinary and a She/Her Gender Non-Conforming Cis Man. Best friends. #I haven't drawn Collector 1 sense I started drawing myself fat so I had to do a LITTLE redesigning here #Anyway this was fun!!!! #Hope we can do more stuff like this in the future as well!! #I love!!! Drawing other people's self inserts!!!!!

[emilnikos]

i draw him a criminally small amount tbh i gotta do it more. earn my url

@pseudovmpire

#using my emil causeee i love him. cheers loveandlight #the scarf was honestly a slay. i can imagine him borrowing it to michael bc he struggles more with keeping his body temp in check. #or somethang!!! LOLL im thinking about these two always even if it doesnt seem like it #morbius #emil nikos #requests #🧪evil art

[tini21]

113/365 What do you do from morning to night? I endure myself. - Emil Cioran

#emil cioran #snapshots and borrowed thoughts #photographers on tumblr

[otakusparkle]

Identity V Chinese 6th Anniversary Character Congratulations Messages (Part 2)

Part 1

Part 3

Axeboy : Thank you so much! I have never eaten so many delicious foods, nor have I seen so many beautiful decorations! It would be great if my sister could come too...

Wildling : Hello, um...Excuse me, can I use this apple? Ah, no, not use... A good friend of mine needs it...

Evil Reptilian : I heard that an unknown species of scaly creature had been seen here, so I accepted the invitation and came. I didn't expect there would be such a wonderful banquet. So, have you seen the creature that was rumored?

Acrobat : Hey! Happy anniversary! This place is awesome, big stage, and there's a lion outside! It's as lively as one of my favorite places. Here, this is a gift for you, take it!

First Officer : Long time no see! Is your trip going well? As for me, I am doing fine! New route, new partners. Do you want to join us?

Bloody Queen : Hello, happy 6th Anniversary. The setting is very nice, it is a grand and gorgeous party.

Barmaid : Cheers to a wonderful 6th anniversary! I'll make whatever you like to drink! Just be careful not to drink too much!

Guard26 : Nice to meet you, I'm Bonbon. Please accept this bouquet of flowers.

Postman : Hello, this is a letter for you! It’s an invitation to the 6th anniversary party of Oletus Manor. My partner Wick and I will also be there. We look forward to meeting you!

Disciple : Thank you very much for your invitation. I wish Oletus Manor a happy 6th anniversary. Let us pray for the future together for the success of this anniversary party.

Grave Keeper : Sorry for being late...I am honored to be invited to the anniversary party. Are the irises on the table the ones you prepared for me? Thank you, they are very beautiful.

Prisoner : Hello, thanks for the invitation, and happy 6th anniversary. This lively scene always reminds me of the past... If you don't mind, can I use this piano for a while?

Violinist : Oh, what a beautiful hall, bright lights, delicious food... How can such a grand 6th anniversary party be without wonderful music? Let me play this song for you!

Entomologist : Happy 6th anniversary! I brought flowers for you. Do they smell good? Thank you for your love!

Sculptor : Thank you for the invitation, happy 6th birthday.....This banquet is full of various kinds of art, I feel their soul.

Painter : Congratulations on the 6th anniversary. Are you here because you think the banquet is too noisy like me? Good taste, these are all famous paintings that have been collected by the Oletus Manor for a long time.

Undead : What a magnificent feast! Everyone's face was filled with hope... Nothing can make people crazier than hope.

Batter : Really, every year they use the excuse of “there’s a great cricket match here” to call me here! Of course, I’m not against such activities… but isn’t it too much?

Breaking Wheel : Where is the butler? Where is the butler? This year, there are three seats... but why are they children's chairs?

Toy Merchant : Please accept, I brought some lovely little gifts, I hope you like them. Happy 6th anniversary!

Naiad : Thank you very much for your invitation. Although I cannot travel to attend the invitation, I can fully feel your desire to share the 6th anniversary with me. I have picked up some beautiful shells and flowers, you can decorate the venue with them.

Psychologist : Thank you for inviting us. Happy 6th anniversary to Oletus Manor. Emil is a little tired on the journey. Can we borrow a guest room to take a rest? We will come back later.

Patient : Thank you...it's a pleasure to be here with Ada. Happy birthday.

Wax Artist : Happy 6th anniversary. My wax figure exhibition is also opening nearby, you are also welcome to attend. Hmm? Visitor, let me see your face.

#idv #identity v #idv wildling #idv murro #idv evil reptilian #luchino diruse #idv acrobat #mike morton #idv first officer #jose baden #idv barmaid #demi bourbon #idv postman #victor grantz #idv prisoner #luca balsa #idv grave keeper #andrew kreiss #idv painter #edgar valden #idv batter #ganji gupta #idv wax artist #idv philip #idv sculptor #galatea claude #idv psychologist #ada mesmer #idv patient #idv emil

[unsoundedcomic]

Duane says that Toma is "uncommonly decent" for Queen's dog. While Emil is a genuinely good man, is he really an *uncommon* case of human decency among the Queen's peaceguard? I thought by their very job of representing the Queen, they all would need to at least know to put up a dependable, trustworthy front when dealing with citizens, if not truly being particularly virtuous and heroic.

No, of course not. Duane is simply a bigot. He was always able to assume all Crescian men are cowardly, incompetent tit-sucking cucks - to borrow a delightful turn of phrase from Lemuel. Actually meeting with Toma and speaking with him and fighting with him... well, Duane can't say they're ALL assholes now.

I should add that all Crescian men are referred to as dogs of the Queen by Alds, not just Peaceguard or her personal soldiers. That's the primary insult. Crescian men are pussy-whipped, weak-minded, led around by their women. The very idea of having a Queen at all, or female comrades in the military is deeply gross and upsetting to your typical Ald.

Duane's said stuff like this in the past. I think in the Nevergreen he specifically talked shit about Crescians being led about by their women, and Dawn had to pull him away before a fight broke out.

[coldshrugs]

oc kiss week 2024 compilation

thanks for letting me (and io) borrow your special guys, friends!! this was so much fun to make and i really enjoyed playing around with new dynamics and concepts like this!

blog tags and oc names below the cut:

@thevikingwoman - meryta khatin (she/her)

@greyyourwarden - liori reionnen (they/them)

@lavampira - d'alia liveq (she/her)

@syrcus - quoye mhoros (they/them)

@galadae - calantha lenn (she/her)

@scionshtola - corisande ymir (she/they)

@lilas - avi'li sostomi (he/him)

@hythlodaes - emile jenidaut (he/him)

#azia gposes #ockiss24 #ffxiv

[mareposie]

Parents Teachers meeting. The Forgers are mesmerizing everyone with their beauty and elegance and classmates tell Anya she’s adopted because she is not as pretty lmaooo. Dr Forger is now called Dr Love. Henderson is so happy to see Anya’s parents but act professional, Anya is doing great but still need improvement, he believes in her and thinks her last Toni is an accident. She’s very active the class’ life and contributes to most of the interactions between the students. Her taking naps during class won’t be tolerated next year so she needs to get a better sleeping schedule (she should take naps during breaks). Yor promises to teach a better sleeping schedule to Anya. He and Loid agrees that she is very good in Classical Language and asks her if she should join an extra class on this subject so she can get better grades. She says no because she doesn’t want to study. Well, Anya survived her first year of school with an average grade of 60/100 and she can stay with her friends next year. 2 Stellas and 2 Toni.

Damian waits for house staff and he sees his classmates, his friends, Forehead girl and Stubby legs smiling with their parents as they are officially passing. He is uncomfortable and maybe a bit jealous because he did very well, he got 98/100 with honors, Two Stellas. But he is here, sitting alone in the hall. He pushed Emile and Ewen away because he didn’t want to feel excluded with their parents who might ask about his father. The sky is orange now and he hears Becky and Anya talking about their plans, like going to the Blackbell Mediterranean house for a week. Mr Blackbell and Mr Forger are busy men but Mrs Blackbell invites Mrs Forger to join her with the girls, the two families are getting along very well, apparently they are even going dinner after this and Anya and Becky will have a sleepover.

“Maybe her mom is really friends with my mom” he thinks.

Yor Forger suddenly approaches him and greets him, saying she knows Melinda was not able to come and if he has someone to take him to the meeting. Damian blushes and says the house staff is just late, very late. Loid Forger joins the conversation and smiles at Damian, 

“We are not your parents but we know you take care of our daughter everyday so allow us to take you to the meeting. I don’t think the house staff will come, I remember you being alone during orientation. Plus my wife can contact your mother after the meeting, I’m sure Mr Henderson won’t mind. ”

“Pretty please Damian, it’s getting late you will catch a cold !”

“You can borrow my parents Sy-on boy don’t be shy.” Anya says with a cool pose while Becky is amazed by her attitude. There’s no way commoners are pitying him ! The scion of the Desmond family !

And this is how, Damian found himself between Loid and Yor who were amazed by his accomplishments. Henderson has this internal crying because the Forgers did THAT again. Henderson praises Damian for his academical success but wants him to be a kid and to enjoy life a bit more. He congratulates him of his efforts on managing his anger issues and patience with other classmates, especially a certain girl. He scolds him on the lack of sleep he inflicts on himself and hope he will have a better schedule next year.

“I admire your work ethic but you are allowed to relax and to have fun Damian.” Loid pats his head with a proud smile.

“You did amazing Dami-chan ! We need to celebrate it with a cake !” Yor hugs him like she hugs her daughter. She asks him to come over during the summer so he can play with Anya and they can celebrate their successful year with a lot of cakes. 

“Thanks, Pops... and Moms.” He is red like a tomato but happier. Maybe commoners aren’t that bad, very clingy and overly affectionate but kind. Actually they are WAY TOO NICE.

#damianya #damian desmond #anya forger #Yor Forger #loid forger #becky blackbell #spy x family #spy x family headcanons

[theoutcastrogue]

8 Fancy Pocket Knives

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Silver / mother of pearl Victorian fruit knife, England

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Inlaid Toledo knife, Germany

Silver-plated fruit knife, USA

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Mother of pearl pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

@victoriansword [details after the cut]

1) Swedish pocket knife by EKA (Eskilstuna Kniffabriks AB), c. 1980-2000. Model 6 GS (1967-2010), with main blade, bottle opener/screwdriver, pen blade, and nail file. Tang stamp "EKA / SWEDEN" (from 1967), etched handle, 7 cm closed.

These were very popular in the 2nd half of the 20th century as gift knives or advertising knives. They were manufactured by many cutlers in Eskilstuna, and widely exported. The decorative pattern appears, with variations, on Swedish knives from at least the 19th century, and is inspired by Norse / Viking art, which often features twisted serpents/dragons. The interlacing perhaps also borrows from Celtic knots.

2) English fruit knife by Martin Bros & Co, 1848. Silver blade with 4 hallmarks (for Queen Victoria, the year, sterling silver, and Sheffield) and maker's mark, mother of pearl scales, 9.5 cm closed.

This is the posh version of what used to be an incredibly useful tool, a knife (and sometimes a multi-tool knife and fork) for eating on the road. The fancier ones were also status symbols, and very popular gifts – millions of silver fruit knives were manufactured in Britain from the 18th to the 20th century, mostly in Sheffield, Birmingham, and Edinburgh.

3) Spanish Toledo knife, as it's sometimes called, a damascened penknife of recent manufacture. Two pen blades, tang stamp "TOLEDO", 6.7 cm closed.

Not to be confused with Damascus blades! The handle is damascened – decorated with gold inlaid into oxidized steel (see here for details). Reminder that gold is a highly ductile metal (you can stretch it real thin before it breaks), so that impressive aesthetic result comes from a tiny amount of gold. It's a cheap knife, is what I'm saying, for tourists basically.

4) German pocket knife, confusingly also called Toledo, by Hartkopf. With main blade, pen blade and nail file. Brass handle inlaid with oxidised steel. Tang stamp "Hartkopf&Co / Solingen", 8cm closed.

It's "damascened" in the broad sense of inlaying, hence the name "Toledo": it supposedly emulates the Spanish style, and perhaps pretends to be Spanish, but both the metals and the geometric patterns are different. Knives of this type were popular in Germany all through the 20th century as gifts and advertising knives.

5) American fruit knife by William Rogers Mfg, made in Hartford, Connecticut c.1865-1898. Main blade, seedpick [also called nut-pick or nut-picker *snickers*], silver-plated nickel silver, decorated with flowers and apples. Tang stamp: an anchor logo and "Wm ROGERS & SON AA", 8.2 cm closed.

Sometimes fruit knives like this were bought by fruit shops/groceries (relatively fancy ones, presumably) in bulk, and sold or given to customers as gifts.

6) Spanish Toledo penknife (another one). With pen blade and damascened handle, different pattern, probably a bit older. Tang stamp again "TOLEDO", 6.8 cm closed.

7) Swedish pocket knife by Emil Olsson, c. 1920-1950. Blade, pen blade and corkscrew. Tang stamp "EMIL OLSSON / [star logo] / ESKILSTUNA", 9.2 cm closed.

Another etched serpent pattern on the handle, though by now you have to squint to see it. This knife has seen some shit. Until ~1940, pocket knives were widely sold and used in Sweden because they came with corkscrews, and all the bottles had corks, and everyone needed to open bottles. After the war, bottle caps replaced corks for everything except wine, and the pocket knife's utility plummeted, and cutleries started closing. There used to be hundreds, and by now only EKA's left. So statistically, if it's from before ~1950 it saw a lot of use, and if it's after ~1950 it did not, it was a gift or something.

8) Swedish pocket knife by EKA, c.1935-1965. Model 38 PB, with blade, pen blade, flat screwdriver, and corkscrew. Handle with mother of pearl scales and nickel silver bolsters, tang stamp "E.K.A. / ESKILSTUNA / SWEDEN", 8.3 cm closed.

The corkscrew is a quirky one, known as Gottlieb Hammesfahr patent: it pivots on the pin and opens perpendicular to the handle, not pulled downwards as in most pocket knives.

#tools of the trade #folding knife #sweden #sheffield #spain #germany #toledo #eskilstuna #solingen #usa #trs #trp #trc #how to stab #<- the knife nerd tag

[bruhstation]

Any fun facts on your bigg city cast you would like to share?

Can you share how you wrote fortezza bigg city. Such as inspiration and resources you found?

of course! I have a lot to share too (copy pasting some of these from my google docs, haha!)

their nicknames are their boats' names. conveniently, some of them are quite fitting for their sailors.

example: "ten cents" because he always asks to borrow a dime from his coworkers (and seldom returns them), "top hat" because he never goes anywhere without it, "hercules" because it's derived from his real name, "zip" because its both his given name and has a plethora of meaning in the dictionary (he was named first, then his boat), "boomer" because of its literal meaning and because he started going by his boat's unceremoniously changed name, etc.

they all refer to their boats with "she/her" pronouns.

zip doesn't know big words and talks simply and concisely. he knows how to read, though slowly, but is still learning how to write. he reads many children's books that are easy to digest in both story and words, like pollyana, pinocchio, heidi, the wonderful wizard of oz, and various children's fables. he also likes doing word puzzles like crosswords and word searches from newspapers.

zorran knows how to forge other people's handwriting, making him an even more valuable asset to captain zero.

top hat's family runs a boutique. he dresses and acts like an upper class socialite, much to his parents' disapprovement.

the bridge cafe is a popular hangout place for bigg city port's sailors. the members of the star fleet and z-stacks meet each other here coincidentally. navies also stuck around the bridge cafe when they got stationed in bigg city port like bluenose and grampus, much to the annoyance of everyone.

captain zero and captain star got married in 1909, at age 25. they got divorced in 1931, at age 47.

the reason? captain got involved with criminals for money, basically lying about his job as a normal, well-adjusted businessman who’s probably involved with bigg city port’s mafia or other mercenaries, so captain star divorced him. both because he’s a patriotic navy at the time and because captain zero has created more than enough lies for captain star to handle. other people got dragged into the aftermath of their divorce and lies. also they're not beating the mid dad allegations

captain star and captain zero rarely show up in person. they're very careful of their public appearance.

the z-stacks are part of something bigger. zip doesn't know this.

johnny cuba has some blackmail on captain zero.

ten cents and zip are thomas' grandparents.

zorran is diesel's grandfather.

regarding the story, here are some (fun) facts I want to share.

themes of names, youth, and freedom will be prevalent.

fortezza bigg city is set in 1938. the narrator is captain star. the stories are excerpts from his diaries.

if you’ve been following me for a while and paid attention to casa tidmouth, I aim to make FBC the foil to CSTM. it’s similar but also different to casa tidmouth. both feature regular, unremarkable people who are just doing their jobs while juggling with their environmental threat and conflicting relationships with their loved ones. the difference is that CSTM has more of a mystery urban fantasy feeling to it (gold dust, sodor's 70s tech in the year 1999, lady’s patrons who are keeping secrets from their loved ones, etc) while FBC has more of a realistic background to it (interwar era, criminal backgrounds, the great depression, etc)

the titles of both works are italian. casa means home. fortezza means fortress.

a lot of literature I've read are inspirations for fortezza bigg city. demian, catcher in the rye, moby dick, the little prince, l'etranger, watership down are some of them. emil sinclair's character and his relationship with frau eva and franz kromer helped me write zip. you can say that ten cents is his max demian wait who said that.

many of t*tsuki f*jimoto's works are huge inspirations for fortezza bigg city, and my works as a whole. ch*insaw m*n, g*odbye eri, m*rmaid rhapsody, and f*re punch are some of it. the way he writes adolescents and their complex relationships with their parental figures became a great help to me. I also write from my personal experiences and thoughts, especially regarding the captains' relationships with their youngest members. (here's some panels from g*odbye eri that stuck with me)

h*useki no kuni is also an inspiration, but its effects are not as big as the one in casa tidmouth.

many clothing resources are taken from vintagedancer, old magazines, photos, leyendecker's works, and even my university's library. here are some of my favorites.

despite the way I've described captain star's relationship with TC and captain zero's relationship with zorran+zip and the overall setting of it, I want FBC to have a more hopeful feeling to it. I have a vision of making FBC some kind of crime comedy (it's hard to describe the genres of my stories)

I think that's all I have to say for now!

#asks #isjssjsjshuuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyyy #this is tugs #fortezza bigg city

[usaigi]

Rating How Much Fun It Would To Smoke a Joint With These Marvel Character

1/5 -- Peter Parkers. He just gets super paranoid the whole time, keeps asking if he's real or not, keeps going on and on about the multiverse... Chill man :) it's ok.

5/5 -- Yelena and Kate Bishop. We eat mac and cheese balls and do sapphic things.

1/5 -- Moon Knight. He just sits in the corner and dissociates.

5-5 -- Layla :D She's Layla, she automatically gets a 5/5. But we have super fun conversation about art history and colonialism.

2/5 -- Jessica Jones. She just melts into the couch, put on her sunglasses, and watches a 4-hour-long fish video. But she won't share the blanket so that's :/

5/5 -- Danny! We'd play a game where he tries to tell Julia Roberts, Ann Hathaway, and Sandra Bullock apart. He loses.

4/5 -- Luke Cage. Lets me borrow his hoodie :) has good music taste

5/5 -- Shang Chi and Katy -- Excellent. Amazing. We sing Make A Man Out of You at Karaoke.

4/5 -- Wongers. Really chill but invites Emil Blonsky :/ at least Madisynn's there too :)

1/5 -- Matt Murdock. Takes too many edibles and throws up.

4/5 -- Bruce and Thor. We talk about trauma and soul searching and cry a little bit but then Thor gives good hugs.

5/5 -- Scott Lang if he invites Luis. 2/5 if he invites Hope. Luis brings hot cheetos and nacho cheese

3/5 -- Sam and Bucky. They're chill but keep staring at each other like puffy cats it's weird.

1/5 -- Wanda. She just ends up crying and talking about her kids and Vision.

3/5 -- Jen Walters. Really nice and makes good snacks but heterosexual T_T

0/5 -- Stephen Strange. Annoying.

5/5 -- Loki. He does magic. That's so fucking cool. More fireworks please :D

4/5 -- Namor. Goes off about colonialism and the effect of climate change. Fun conversation.

2/5 -- Shuri. She doesn't cry but there uncomfortable aura of grief and sadness. We sit together and listen to the ocean current. We don't say anything, just watch the moon's reflection on the water.

#moon knight #daredevil #jessica jones #spider man #ant man #shang chi #wandavision #loki #falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes #sam wilson #layla el faouly #black panther #shuri #marvel #mcu #thor #bruce banner #hulk #she hulk #luke cage #iron fist #dany rand #dr strange #yelena belova #kate bishop

[narrans]

A Tall and Small Collection | S2.44 | & Everyone Needs A Little Hero :: Crossover :: True Colors Revealed pt. 3

It was such a strange sensation. Usually, a human’s room felt immense. The furniture towered above and the wall on the opposite end of the room felt like an impossible distance to cross without being seen. Rooms were usually quiet and rarely were two or three Borrowers in a room at once.

Not now.

Everyone was here. Everyone was out in the open because there wasn’t enough furniture to hide under. The vastness of the room felt lost to how many Borrowers were there. The silence that would usually mask their movements was filled with their worried whispers.

So much had happened all at once, and every mind was reeling with possibilities.

When would the mist dissipate?

Should they leave? Migrate to somewhere new?

Should they all stay together? Or was it time to say good-bye to long term friends and family?

What were they going to do next?

The Rafters family went from family to family to make sure everyone was recovering well. Though some were still coughing and wheezing, the whole community was relieved to hear that everyone had managed to make it out of the walls.

Still, it was Hero who led the charge in reassuring everyone – especially when it came to their questions about the human of the house. Hero made sure that everyone knew that Ashlynn was not going to bother them and that she was honest and kind. He said if they asked, she wouldn’t come into the room.

Knowing a human was just on the other side of the door was a terror everyone was uncomfortable with, but there was no alternative. Many of them had no previsions or supplies, not even a weapon on their hip.

Truly, this was their worst nightmare.

Every few minutes, they would hear Ashlynn walking around or a creak of the floorboards in the apartment above, which would instantly silence the community. They would stay quiet before resuming their hushed whispers, discussing what they should do next.

Then, after a few tense hours, Rey, Soren, Dorian, and even little Mayzie slipped under the door with blankets and a few limited supplies. Mostly, they came to take stock to see what everyone needed.

At first, some of the Borrowers shied away from the family of four who had made their home with Ashlynn. They knew about Hero Rafters interaction with Ashlynn, but the concept of these Borrowers living peacefully with a human seemed unthinkable.

It wasn’t until Soren and his brothers had told their story about meeting Ashlynn and how long they had known her that it began to sink into the Borrower community.

Ashlynn was a friend, and she had been a friend for many years.

The young girl about Rey’s age who was trapped in Austin’s fan stared at Rey, eyes wide, as he told the story to them. The children were thankfully asleep, but Emile, his wife, Kit, Lian, and the teenage Borrower were all fixated on Rey’s story. None of them were able to tear their eyes away from the young teen as he finished explaining his past for the umpteenth time.

“So,” said Kit. “She pulled you out of the trash and brought you back? All without hurting you?” Rey nodded and tugged a grin onto his face. He didn’t mind explaining his past, but holy smokes it was taking a long time. He wanted a way to do it all at once, but that would involve Ashlynn’s assistance, and these Borrowers were obviously not ready for it.

“That’s right,” Rey stated. “Ashlynn has always been very careful around us. It’s one of the reasons Soren trusted her to save me and why he felt comfortable letting us stay there with her while we all recovered. Remember, we could have left at any point. Ashlynn made sure we knew that. She even kept our beds on the ground under her bedframe, that one right over there, so we could be hidden.

“Ashlynn is our friend, and I swear she won’t do anything to hurt us. She’s doing everything she can right now to make sure we’re okay and that you’ll all have what you need before the end of the night,” said Rey.

“H-h-how c-can you t-trust her? Af-after w-w-what you’ve seen h-hu-mans are capable of?” asked Emile, which earned a nod from Lian. “H-how do you know she… she w-won’t turn on you?”

“It’s because I’ve known her for so long. If she was going to keep us as pets or try to hurt us in any capacity, she wouldn’t have waited eight years to do so. She would’ve done it when we were all helpless,” said Rey firmly. “Look, I get where you’re coming from and I’m not asking for you to blindly trust her. I’m asking for you to take a second and give Ashlynn a chance. I know it feels like an impossible ask, especially after what you all went through, but I promise she’ll protect you.”

The group, and the nearby groups who were nearby pretending to not listen, all quieted and looked to one another before looking back to Rey.

“It’s a big ask, Rey,” said Lian, his eyes shadowed with memories and torment. “If we all pull out of this okay and Austin pays for what he’s done to us, she’ll be okay to me.”

Rey nodded, features hardening.

“Oh, he’ll pay. I don’t know how yet, but he will,” stated the teenage Borrower. “Until then, is there anything I can get you to make you comfortable?”

Rey finished taking notes on what the others needed and wanted before standing and promising he would be back with everything they asked for. Just before he turned to leave, the young teenage girl reached up and caught Rey’s hand, clasping it tightly and looking up into his pale blue eyes.

“Larkspur,” she said softly. Rey felt his head tilt to the side in confusion.

“What now? Is that something you need?” he asked. The girl glanced away as she held onto Rey’s hand while her other hand reached up and clasped the neckline of her frayed shirt.

“My… name. You said that you wanted it if we made it out,” stated the girl. That was right! Rey did want to know her name after hearing her say something about leaving her behind because she would be a burden. Rey felt a pang in his heart as he crouched, still clutching Larkspur’s hand, and reached over and tenderly coaxed her to look at him again.

“I did want to know it, and it’s very pretty. Thank you, Larkspur,” smiled Rey. The girl’s eyes widened, and her cheeks were suddenly flushed as she locked eyes with Rey. Something made the young teens insides flip, but he couldn’t think about that now.

He smiled again, stood, and headed back toward the main door, promising he would be back soon.

~~~^*^*^~~~

This was insane. This whole thing was crazy. Ashlynn tried to work in the kitchen as quickly and as quietly as she could, but the slightest sound made her wince. The clatter of a spoon against the counter. The floor squeaking right where the tile met the wood. The fridge door sealing shut.

Every minute sound felt amplified beyond the norm, all because of Ashlynn’s house guests.

She wasn’t sure what it looked like in the other room, but her imagination filled her bedroom with Borrowers lined from wall to wall, huddled under furniture and trying to keep quiet.

The fear, even from here, was tangible. It was a terrible set of circumstances, and Ashlynn had taken the plunge right in the middle of it. From what Rey had described, Austin had spread some kind of knock out gas in the main elevator shaft and the walls. She was immensely grateful she had closed the vents to her room before everything started happening.

Now, everyone was exposed – out in the open – in her room, obviously hanging onto a single threat of trust that they gave her.

Ashlynn needed to make the most of it.

She needed to find some way to help calm them all down, and she knew just the Borrowers to talk to.

When Rey, Dorian, and Soren came back with their list of various supplies, she sprung into action. A lot of these things were simple enough to obtain, and most were meant to provide protection. Thumb tacks. Safety pins. Thread. Paper clips. Cloth fragments. Cotton balls.

Most importantly – food and water.

So, that’s what Ashlynn worked on.

With the supplies she had, she started making some very simple vegetable and noodle soup with little fragments of chicken. She took the time to make sure everything was mulched up into bite-sized pieces. She also broke up cracker fragments and put them into a bowl to accompany the nutrient rich broth.

While she worked, the boys brought back fragments of aluminum foil for everyone to make their own bowls and utensils. There were no complaints from the families as they accepted generous portions of the foil from Soren and his brothers.

When it came time to distribute the food, Ashlynn placed portions into a few larger bowls and cups and, with permission and plenty of warning, opened the door with the tiniest of cracks and retreated back to the kitchen so Soren, his brothers, and the Rafters could distribute the supplies.

Like an assembly line, everyone tiptoed toward the door and accepted the food and supplies without issue.

As everyone went through the line, the Rafters took note of who was and was not there.

By some miracle, everyone had managed to make it out of the walls. From old to young and those living near and far in the building, everyone had managed to make it out safely. Still, it didn’t stop the fact that evidence of their entire community was still in the walls.

“What matters is that we all managed to make it out alive,” said Soren as he walked back with Casper after dragging some soft washcloths under the bed to serve as bedrolls for a few of the younger families. Casper nodded heavily, but it was apparent to Soren that the middle-aged father did not quite believe him.

Soren understood the feeling. He knew the other families’ terror of having their whole world exposed because he had gone through it once before when he met Ashlynn. He remembered clear as day how terrifying it was to surrender his security and the safety of his family to someone he barely knew or trusted. That feeling of helplessness in the room now was tangible, and he wished he could do something to help.

What was different now was that he knew Ashlynn was on his side.

Soren’s thoughts came to a screeching halt when Casper laid a hand on his shoulder, clasping it firmly. Soren felt the weight of the world in Casper’s hand as he tightened his grip ever so slightly. The middle-aged Borrower’s tired eyes latched onto Soren’s gaze before he spoke.

“Soren, do… you think Ashlynn would do us one last favor?” asked Casper. Soren, taken a back, simply nodded.

“I’m sure she would. What is it?” Soren asked, trying to smile reassuringly to help the father of five.

“No, I… I’ll…” Casper swallowed dryly as he obviously attempted to summon the words. Thankfully, they weren’t needed. Soren knew that Casper wanted to do this, and so he merely nodded and gestured for Casper to follow him out of the room.

Soren could feel everyone’s eyes on him and Casper as they walked out of the room and into the living area toward the kitchen where Soren immediately noticed Ashlynn, who was sitting on the ground with her head resting against the lower cabinets.

Casper’s step faltered momentarily as he spotted her. Though this wasn’t the first time he would have been seen by her, it was still an unnerving experience. Soren waited for Casper to compose himself before both of them walked up toward her.

Ashlynn, deciding that sitting on the floor in the kitchen would possibly be the best at keeping the Borrower community at ease, was resting her eyes for a few minutes and trying to anticipate what the room full of five-inch-tall refugees would need when she heard Soren calling her name.

She opened her eyes slowly and glanced down, expecting only him, and held stock still when she saw Casper Rafters. He looked just as nervous as she felt, but she still decided to break the ice first to help make things easier for him.

“Mr. Rafters,” she said quietly. “Everything okay?” The Borrower cleared his throat before nodding.

“Yes and no,” he stated stiffly. “The good news is that everyone is present and accounted for, and I cannot begin to think you enough.” Casper shuffled his feet as he puffed out his chest a little in hopes to portray confidence. “Unfortunately, there is the other issue of what we left behind. If anyone goes into that elevator shaft, they’ll see the hub and all of our supply tables. They’ll see some of our homes, doors and furniture, which is enough evidence for some.”

Ashlynn nodded as she took in the information. Soren, as he listened, folded his arms and glanced from Casper to Ashlynn, eyes widening as he realized what Casper wanted Ashlynn to do.

“You want her to go into the elevator shaft and hide the evidence?” asked Soren. Casper winced, Soren having guessed his favor, and looked up into Ashlynn’s blue-gray eyes. Soren’s insides squirmed as he listened to Casper clear his throat nervously once again and began speaking.

“Ashlynn, would… no – could I ask this favor of you? I may not have earned it, but this isn’t just me asking. I’m asking on behalf of everyone here. All of Borrower kind is risking exposure, and the only thing that stands in between the safety of our community and the destruction of our kind is what is left,” said Casper. “Whatever you want from me, you may have it. Just… please….”

Soren had heard enough. If that gas was as dangerous as they thought, Ashlynn had no business going in there.

“Casper, Ashlynn isn’t allowed in the elevator shaft, and that gas is st-”

“I’ll do it,” said Ashlynn, interrupting Soren. Soren whipped around to look up at Ashlynn, catching her blue-gray eyes as she looked determinedly at Casper. “I’ll do it. I’ll grab what I can and make sure there’s nothing too obvious.”

“Ashlynn,” said Soren firmly. Was he hearing her correctly? His arms slackened at his sides in disbelief. “It’s dangerous.”

“I know, but I’ll be careful,” said Ashlynn as she looked down into Soren’s hazel eyes. “We don’t have time to debate it either. If Austin is waiting for the gas to dissipate or is getting ready to go into the walls, we need to beat him to the punch. Casper is right. We have to act now if we want to protect everyone from him.”

Soren placed his hands on his hips and took a few steps away, turning his back to her. He didn’t know exactly what the gas did, and there was no time to get anyone else to spot Ashlynn in case she ran into trouble.

His mind was made up.

“Then I’m coming with you,” stated Soren as he turned and faced both Ashlynn and Casper. Ashlynn opened her mouth to protest, but Soren beat her to the punch. “If you run into danger, you need someone watching your back. Plus, I can get further into the walls to get rid of any signs we were there.”

Ashlynn looked at Soren, smiling as she realized there would be no talking him out of his decision.

“Alright. Let’s get some rags to wrap over our faces and get in there,” stated Ashlynn.

“Thank you, Ashlynn,” said Casper. “Truly. I… I can’t say it enough.”

“Just make sure everyone is alright, and don’t let them do anything rash. Leaving now is dangerous, and it will be playing into Austin’s hands,” reminded Ashlynn.

“I can do this much. Do you… I mean… what is the plan for taking care of him?” asked Casper. Ashlynn sighed heavily, biting her lower lip as she thought.

“I have a few ideas but let me worry about him later. Now, we have bigger issues. May I stand?” stated Ashlynn. With a nod from Casper, she pulled her legs in and carefully stood at her full height. Her full height was vertigo inducing, and Casper staggered back out of pure instinct before stepping to the side of the wall and letting Ashlynn pick up Soren.

Together, they slipped into the bathroom and began constructing makeshift facial covers to help filter out whatever the gas was.

Would it be enough?

They were about to find out.

~~~^*^*^~~~

With a backpack affixed to her shoulders and Soren secure in her pocket, Ashlynn left the apartment and made a bee line to the elevator shaft. Her hand instinctually rested on her pocket as she stepped inside the elevator and click the bottom floor button. She knew there was an access shaft on the top floor, and that was her ticket in.

She stepped out of the elevator and walked across the roof and up to the maintenance door. She knew it would be locked, but she had just the trick for that. She glanced around quickly and saw no one on the roof by the green house either.

Perfect.

“Soren, need a lock undone. Ready?” she asked under her breath as she crouched and pretended to tie her shoe. Her pocket shifted and, with a quick slide of hand, Soren was on the ground sliding under the door.

The room was completely dark, but that didn’t deter Soren. He spun his hook and let it fly into the air toward the spot where he knew the handle was. It was precarious work, but after he climbed the line, Soren strained against the lock and finally managed to get it undone, nearly falling off of the edge of the handle as he balanced.

He slid down the line and back under the door, giving Ashlynn access to the maintenance room.

Just like that, Ashlynn and Soren were inside the maintenance room repeating the same process to get into the elevator maintenance shaft.

It took some finagling, but the two of them made it into the shaft and loosened one of the panels so Soren could slip down on his line and press the button to take them up. The gears roared as they rode the elevator down.

Ashlynn as trembling hard, and Soren knew it. Being so close to all of these gears without the appropriate gear was dangerous, even deadly. Still, there she was.

How did he get so lucky to have someone like her?

“Get your mask ready,” said Ashlynn as the elevator came to a halt. She thankfully braced herself and was ready for the full stop. As Ashlynn pulled the mask over her nose and mouth, she took one last clean breath before holding it as long as she could.

Soren did the same.

Sure enough, as they glanced around, there was a faint bit of what looked like dust or powder on the interior of the shaft. The two of them waisted no time in reaching over into one of the small gaps and pulling out what looked like a few matchbook ladders and storage containers.

Ashlynn was careful to not leave fingerprints as she reached into the narrow passage and pulled out a string of Christmas lights. Once done, she lowered Soren once again into the elevator and had him press the next button.

As they descended level to level, Ashlynn felt her hands starting to shake. Was this because of nerves? Or was it from what still lingered in the air?

They needed to finish – quickly.

The next few levels were clear, but it was when they made it to the central hub that the two of them kicked their efforts into high gear. Soren stepped off of Ashlynn’s hand and darted down the different hallways, tearing doors off of their fragile rubber band hinges and dragging out what he could as Ashlynn shoveled everything into her backpack.

The tremor in Ashlynn’s hands remained, but did not increase, which was a good sign for her. Despite her heart pounding and her nervous breaths, she was feeling alright for the most part. Her nerves were trying, and failing, to get the better of her.

Taking a breath and pulling the last of the Christmas lights into her bag, Ashlynn glanced around and felt pleased enough with her work that no one would question some of the random odds and ends that were further back in the walls. She glanced down and saw the faint glow of Soren’s hip lamp just out of reach.

He’s probably finishing up getting some odds and ends thought Ashlynn.

“Soren?” called Ashlynn through her muffling face cover. “Soren? We need to get out of here.”

No response.

Ashlynn glanced down and saw the vast darkness beneath her. It was a miracle no one was using the elevators at the moment. They were all probably at work.

“Soren?” Ashlynn called again.

Still no response.

Ashlynn’s stomach dropped as her heart flipped in place.

Why wasn’t he responding?

What Ashlynn didn’t know, what she couldn’t have known, was that Soren’s heart was pounding faster and faster in his chest. It had become increasingly hard to breathe even though he was being careful with his facial covering.

It started as a small tremor, which Soren attributed to nerves. What they were doing was extremely dangerous, especially for Ashlynn considering that she didn’t have any security lines like he did, and it made him nervous. Then, his chest started to feel tight. He thought it might have been the anxiety inducing situation, but he was wrong.

Now, with his body shaking violently, he realized with horror that the effects of the gas were influencing him. It was a compounding effect; and now that he realized it, his muscles were stiffening and moving was becoming incredibly painful. He tried jogging back quickly, but his muscles seized suddenly and brought him to his knees.

How?

Why?

Was Ashlynn experiencing the same thing?

He needed to get back to her.

“Soren?” Ashlynn called again. Soren, crawling on all fours, forced himself closer to the entrance. The pain was increasing. Like a rising tide, it was dragging him under with every second that passed. His vision swirled while his heart palpitated.

The edge of the wall was right there.

He needed to make it.

“A-ash…” Soren choked out as the edges of his vision grew dark. He collapsed, body curling in on itself involuntarily. He couldn’t even will himself to move.

Then, he heard it.

Ashlynn.

“Soren!” Soren suddenly felt weightless as he felt a pressure all around his body. It had to be Ashlynn saying his name. Trembling violently, Soren forced his eyes open as he looked into her panicking blue-gray eyes.

Confusion washed over him.

She seemed fine. Shaken, but fine.

“Soren, I’m getting us out of here. Hang on,” said Ashlynn as she held him close to her chest, slipped through one of the panels on top of the elevator, and landed harshly in the main car.

Ashlynn pressed the elevator button repeatedly, her whole body shaking.

Surely the gas was gone, right? She didn’t feel any different.

Ashlynn pulled her mask off of her face and carefully pulled down Soren’s facial covering.

Maybe it’s trapping the stuff in? Maybe he touched something and got a higher dose?

When she reached her floor, Ashlynn hurriedly cupped Soren to her chest, not daring to let him go, and rushed into her apartment and headed straight for the bathroom after locking the door behind her.

She spotted the clock nearby and saw she had been gone for an hour.

Crazy how much time had passed.

Ashlynn hurriedly pealed off Soren’s facial cover completely off of him and clasped him in her hands. He was shaking from head to toe and his color was pale.

“Soren? Can you hear me? What happened? Did you see something or touch something else in there?” asked Ashlynn. She saw her hands had a faint coating of that dust like powder on them. It was probably a bad idea, but she had to know. Setting Soren down on the sink counter, she kneeled, pressed her hand to her face, and breathed as deeply as she could.

Nothing.

There was a bit of a sweet smell to the powder, but nothing changed.

She did it again and again, but nothing happened.

Then, a thought occurred.

Was this stuff specifically created to target Borrowers?

Would Ashlynn need to huff a massive amount of this stuff for it to have an affect on her?

She didn’t want to know. What she did want to know was if Soren was going to be okay.

Doing the only thing she knew to do, she turned on the hot water and gingerly held Soren under the current, hopefully washing away the powder from his clothes and keeping him warm.

“Ashlynn? What happened?” Ashlynn heard Rey by the bathroom door.

“Casper said you and Soren went into the walls. Is everything okay?” Dorian’s voice was not far behind. Ashlynn glanced around to see Dorian and Rey jogging toward her.

“Be careful,” she warned, which halted the boys in their tracks. “There’s something wrong. I think the powder from the gas is toxic; at least, it’s affecting Soren.” Ashlynn felt her throat constrict as she brushed her finger gently over Soren’s body.

He was still trembling, but his breathing was slowly becoming more regularly.

“What? Is he okay?” demanded Dorian as he and Rey sprinted forward. Carefully, Ashlynn transferred Soren to one hand as she reached down and offered a wet hand to Dorian and Rey, who waisted no time in clambering on so they could see their brother.

“I think he’s going to be okay. He might’ve inhaled a lot of this stuff, which is weird since I don’t feel anything. It either affects humans and Borrowers differently or he ran into a chamber of that gas and got a big dose of it that I didn’t get.”

They spotted Soren under the water, taking in his pale features and trembling limbs.

“That sicko,” growled Rey. “Ashlynn, do you still have any of that powder?”

“What on earth are you thinking?” Dorian demanded.

“Only one way to test it,” stated Rey. The teen spotted the edge of Ashlynn’s clothing and the remanence of powder on her sleeves. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and pressed his face to the cloth, taking in a big whiff.

“Rey!”

Ashlynn couldn’t move away fast enough. She barely had enough time to move her hand under Rey before he collapsed to his knees and began hacking and gagging, clutching his hand to his chest. Thankfully, his hacking fit only lasted ten or so seconds, but it was enough to confirm Ashlynn’s theory.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” wheezed Rey. “Yeah, that was rough. Do you not smell that?”

“No, not really. It almost smells sweet. But, for Heaven’s sake! Rey! What were you thinking?” demanded Ashlynn as she held onto the reckless teen. Rey wheezed again and cleared his throat.

“Fastest way to test the theory,” muttered Rey. “And it seems like you were right. You said you’re not feeling this stuff? I felt it immediately. It’s got to be Borrower specific. I’ll bet that psycho made this stuff.” Dorian folded his arms across his chest and nodded solemnly.

“Makes sense. Austin had Borrowers in captivity, so he would have had the perfect test subjects. Also, with this whole gas thing, no one in the apartments would feel the effects. It would only get the Borrowers. That’s twisted stuff,” mumbled Dorian as he stared at his brother. “Ashlynn, I need a lift down. I’m going to get Soren a change of clothes. You should do the same. Rey, get him out of that wet outfit when Ashlynn’s done.”

Ashlynn lowered Dorian to the ground as Rey helped get Soren out of his wet clothes. Ashlynn peeled off some of her clothes, leaving her in her sports bra and her spandex, while Rey worked. When Dorian returned, Casper came with him.

“Ashlynn? I just heard. Is Soren alright?” Casper called, a fatherly concern audible in his voice.

“I think so,” she muttered, instinctually lowering her hand and letting Dorian on to bring him up onto the counter. She was about to move when she felt a second set of feet press against the pads of her fingers. Ashlynn glanced down and, to her surprise, saw Casper standing firmly beside Dorian.

Electing not to question him, Ashlynn raised her hand back to the sink counter, but before the boys could begin redressing Soren, he stirred.

“Soren!” breathed Ashlynn in pure relief. She pressed her hand against his back as Soren tried to sit upright. “How do you feel?”

“Rough, but getting better,” Soren groaned. He looked up into Ashlynn’s face, mustering a concerned smile. “Are you alright?” Tears in her eyes, Ashlynn nodded and, losing control, leaned forward and pressed her lips to his bare chest. Casper and Soren’s brothers all looked away bashfully as Ashlynn pulled away, tears glistening in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she muttered. “Sorry. I just got so scared when you collapsed like that.”

“Yeah,” Soren breathed, pulling a half of a grin onto his face. “Me too. Casper, we did what we could. We can only hope it’s enough.”

“Thank goodness,” stated Casper as he knelt down and held out his hand to Soren. “You have my eternal thanks, Soren. You’ve saved us – both of you have saved us.”

Ashlynn was about to respond when she heard something that made a shiver run through all of their spines.

A knock at the door.

All eyes turned to the front door where the knock came from. It was a bone chilling sound, especially given recent events. Ashlynn was about to dismiss the noise when she and the Borrowers on the bathroom counter heard someone call out.

“Hello? Pest Control and Extermination. I’m here to ask a couple questions. Is the occupant Ashlynn Maeson home?”

Ashlynn looked around wildly to the Borrowers, who had all subtly shifted themselves to hide slightly behind her. Ashlynn wanted to just ignore the door, but Rey suddenly spoke up.

“Ashlynn, you need to answer the door,” instructed the inventive Borrower teen. All eyes were on him suddenly.

“What? Rey, what are you…”

“Ashlynn, maybe you can get some information. Maybe you can tell him to leave us alone. He also knows your name,” said Rey. There was another knock at the door.

“Hello? Pest Control and Extermination. Is anyone home? We might have a serious infestation here. I just need to ask a few questions.”

“Rey, he could’ve just gotten that from the main office. He might not remember me,” Ashlynn hissed.

“Please, Ashlynn. Just… try? He might just wait out there. You can get him to go away! At the very least, you can get some information out of him. Hit record on your phone and we can edit out anything proving what a psycho he is!” pleaded Rey. Ashlynn glanced to Soren and Dorian before looing back into Rey’s pale blue eyes.

She couldn’t say no – not to him.

“Okay. Get into the bedroom and tell everyone to be quiet,” instructed Ashlynn as she held out her hands. Everyone, including Casper, stepped on and let Ashlynn carry them to the entrance of the bedroom door. Once they were safely inside, Ashlynn braced herself and waited another few seconds before pulling out her phone, hitting record, and slipping it into her pocket as she pulled a jacket over her body.

The moment she opened the door, she recognized the boy immediately. Sure, years had passed, but he had that same devious look in his eyes and that gleam in his smile that was undeniable.

Austin.

He was wearing some kind of gray and white uniform with a ball cap and everything. It was some kind of jumpsuit that, oddly enough, made him look like some kind of escapee from an old-fashioned prison. Austin couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old, which made this whole thing so much worse. He was old enough when he was a child to know not to hurt another living being, and he was certainly old enough now to know that what he was doing was wrong.

His eyes gleamed as he looked into Ashlynn’s blue-gray eyes, which sent a shiver down her spine. Though the rest of the world might not have known it, Ashlynn suspected she was looking into the eyes of a true psychopath.

“Hello Miss Maeson. My name is Austin, with Pest Control and Extermination. I got a call about a potential infestation and was wondering if I could ask you some questions about whether or not you’ve seen anything out of the ord… Huh… Do I…” Austin’s glossy eyes narrowed as he looked into Ashlynn’s face. “Do I know you?”

Ashlynn, taking a breath in hopes to calm herself down, forced a smile and played into her part. She could only hope she could be convincing.

“Actually, I think so. You used to live in Region’s Park, right?” asked Ashlynn. Suddenly, Austin’s eyes lit up with recognition and a knowing smile curled his lips upwards. The look was chilling.

“That’s right. Ashlynn. You… you watched me a few times when I was much younger, right?” asked Austin. Ashlynn forced a nod and smiled.

“Yes, that’s right, and I see you’ve taken up a profession and everything. The time certainly has flown by,” said Ashlynn.

“It really has. Um… well… I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Do you think I could come in for a few minutes and ask you some questions. I got a call about a potential infestation, and I just need to have a quick look around,” stated Austin.

Ashlynn was afraid of this. She didn’t want to let Austin in. She knew he would see the closed bedroom door and fling it wide open to reveal the whole Borrower community she worked so hard to save.

Instead, she raised her voice a little louder than normal and hoped with every fiber of her being the others would hear.

“Come in? Why? Why do you want to come into my apartment? And did you say infestation? And infestation of what?” said Ashlynn. There was just a moment when Austin’s eyes flared, making Ashlynn’s insides churn uneasily. Did Austin already guess what she was doing?

“Oh, just a mixture of things,” said Austin quietly. “People have noticed different things and signs. Really, it is just a precaution. So? May I enter?”

“That… didn’t really answer the question,” Ashlynn stated, trying to laugh it off. “What? Is it mice? Termites? Cockroaches?”

Then, she saw it. A devious smile curled onto Austin’s face and an undeniable, greedy glow filled his dead, shark-like eyes.

“I think you and I both know the answer to that question,” grinned Austin. Ashlynn’s heart flipped and she was sure her nerves were visible. She hoped to play it off; but she suspected it was already too late.

“I… really don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you can’t give me any more information, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline without a formal request from the apartment and sufficient time to secure my personal belongings and vacate the premises. It’s part of the rules here in the Starlight Apartments that residents must be notified and given 24-hours to prepare,” stated Ashlynn.

Thank goodness she had to get all of that Home Owners Association reading training for work. It gave her all of the skills she needed to comb through her own contract.

Sadly, it seemed to be the nail in the coffin for her keeping a low profile.

“So… you did have something to do with it,” muttered Austin. “What? Are you in cahoots with them?”

Ashlynn swallowed dryly.

“Them? The supposed mice infestation?” she asked, trying to sound joking and lighten the tone of her voice.

“No… them.” The word was a haunting one, and not something she was eager to expand on. Sadly, Austin continued. “You know what I’m talking about. The little people. You took one of them from me when I was a child. The first one I encountered actually. You shuffled it away before I really realized what it was.”

It was now a staring contest, an ultimate game of chicken where neither party could swerve or reveal their hand to the other. Ashlynn clenched her fist from behind the door, her features hardening involuntarily.

The fact that he could be so cavalier about injuring someone the way he did and ultimately killing him made her sick to her stomach. She prayed Rey and Dorian were not here to listen to any of this.

How could she play this now? He addressed it. He talked about Borrowers, but not by name. This was the evidence she needed to get that Rey was talking about.

It was now or never.

“Austin, think about what you’re doing,” said Ashlynn softly.

“No, think about what you’re doing, Ashlynn. No offence, but this is a golden opportunity. I have investors who are interested in samples and subjects. Photos and videos alone aren’t going to be enough to convince them… no… the world about them,” stated Austin.

So… he only had photos and videos?

Good…

She could work with this.

Ashlynn needed to discredit him. She needed it on audio. She needed to make it sound like Austin was out of his mind.

“Austin, you’re better than this. Little people? Come on. There’s no such thing,” said Ashlynn.

“No!” growled Austin, daring to take a step forward toward the slightly ajar apartment door. “There is – and you know it. Work with me here, Ashlynn. This is the investment opportunity of a lifetime. Think about the money you could get from selling one of these miniature twerps as toys and pets. They’re parasites. They live and feed off of us. Why not make a buck in the process? It’s a better life than scrounging for scraps. They’re better off as pets.”

Ashlynn could have punched him straight in the nose, slapping him silly until her hands fell off, but she instead took a breath and kept her features hardened.

“And how do you plan on catching these imaginary ‘little people’?” asked Ashlynn, making sure to set him up for the next line of questioning.

“They’re not imaginary! And you know it,” growled Austin. “And I have my ways. My investors let me experiment with some… chemicals. I am confident my concoction will do the trick. Totally painless. It just… immobilizes them. It’s so they don’t hurt themselves.”

“And it works on these… things? Anything else? Like mice or other pests?” asked Ashlynn.

“Yeah, but they’re not the target,” stated Austin.

“And you have pictures and videos?” asked Ashlynn. Austin nodded.

“Cloud storage and hard copies. Those little critters are crafty,” said Austin, his voice low and persuasive.

Thankfully, it would never be enough for her to betray her friends. She had heard enough. Ashlynn was done. She needed to get him away and go back to the others to regroup.

“Austin, what you’re doing isn’t right,” said Ashlynn. “Please, reconsider.” Austin’s face hardened as his fist clenched.

“Well then… sorry I can’t bring you in as an investor. Too bad. You could’ve been famous for outing these little freaks,” sneered Austin. “Consider this your 24-hour notice. I’ll need to evaluate your apartment for potential contamination.”

Austin grinned and, just like that, he plastered a smile back onto his face, hiding the sinister flare Ashlynn witnessed moments earlier, and moved onto the next apartment.

Ashlynn hurriedly closed the door and locked it, leaning against the wood and sliding to the ground to take a fresh breath of air.

How much did the community hear? Had they fled into the walls? They were quiet, but was it because they were trying to leave or because they were hunkered down in place?

Ashlynn didn’t know, but she needed to figure it out.

Not feeling strong enough to stand, she scooted across the floor and tapped on her bedroom door ever so softly in hopes to get Soren’s attention.

It was mere seconds later when Casper, Dorian, Rey, and Soren all hurried outside, and Hero wasn’t far behind.

“Ashlynn,” breathed Soren as he stumbled over to Ashlynn’s now extended hand and leaned against it.

“You heard?” asked Ashlynn. They all nodded solemnly.

“Everyone did,” stated Hero. Ashlynn’s stomach flipped nervously, but Dorian continued. “And… they heard what you said. They know what you did. You… could’ve turned us all over to him – but you didn’t.” Hero’s smile was spread from ear to ear.

“So, what do we do now is the real question,” stated Dorian. “He’s going to be back tomorrow, and we can’t get into the walls because that stuff is still in there.”

“No, we need to do more than that,” stated Rey, his voice measured and calm. “We need to get rid of that evidence. We need to report him. Ashlynn, you have your recorder on? Give it to Dorian. You need to edit out a little bit here and there so we can turn it over to someone – anyone – who can take Austin away.”

“You’re saying call the police on him?” asked Ashlynn.

“Yes, if that’s who can get him away from us,” retorted Rey. “We need to tell them about those dangerous chemicals and say something – anything – to get him in trouble.”

Ashlynn thought hard about the situation, biting her lip and nodding as a plan started to formulate in her mind.

“Okay. Let’s go over what we know,” she stated, reaching her thumb over to brush against Soren’s shoulder. “Austin doesn’t know about everyone being safe here. He suspects it, but he also thinks he has Borrowers back in his van and that his gas probably got a few Borrowers. If I call the authorities to investigate the van, we can separate him from that at the very least.”

“Then let’s do it!” said Rey eagerly.

“There’s something else to all of this too,” said Ashlynn, now looking over to Casper and making sure to catch his gaze before continuing. “Even if we manage to stop Austin here, it doesn’t stop him from targeting this building. I… know this is your home, but you all are not going to be safe here anymore.”

Casper took a deep breath and nodded regretfully.

“I suspected as much. This is going to be a blow to the community. I don’t even know how to tell them,” stated the middle-aged father.

There was a long pause, and the silence was one Soren was familiar with. Ashlynn usually fell silent like this when she knew what she wanted to say but wasn’t sure how to go about it.

And he suspected he knew what she wanted to say.

“Ashlynn?” prompted Soren. His tone of voice was enough to gain a nervous smile from his chosen partner.

“Casper, there… is another solution. Instead of having everyone migrate and everything. I know it’s dangerous, and this is something all of you would have to choose to do,” stated Ashlynn. Casper looked up into Ashlynn’s eyes with a hopeful gleam.

“Oh? And what is that?”

“I bought a house. I’ve taken them to see it, and we think Borrowers used to live there. Instead of migrating on your own, pulling apart the community that’s grown so close, why not… well… why not come with us?” asked Ashlynn. “You don’t have to answer now, and you have to talk it over with everyone, but I want you all to think it over. I’ll get you out of here safe and sound. You can live freely and in a neighborhood where you all could technically move to once you’re out of here.”

“C-come with you?” stammered Casper, obviously short-circuiting at the suggestion. “Have you pack us up in boxes and take us somewhere we’ve never been? Put every one of our lives in your hands?”

“Dad, think about it,” pleaded Hero. “Ashlynn has a point. We’ll be safe. We know her, and the others just heard her get rid of Austin. She can protect us if we need it, and we won’t have to stay with her forever if we don’t want to. It’s the best way to get everyone out of here safely.”

“Just, think it over… Quickly, but think it over,” stated Ashlynn. “In the meantime, we have some work to do. Right?”

Soren and his brothers nodded as they took Ashlynn’s phone and began trimming the audio.

They were fighting the clock, and they didn’t even know if their plan was going to work.

But it had to. For all of their sakes… it had to.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

::_____::

A Tall and Small Collection

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A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

ASK ME ANYTHING

::_____::

Everyone Needs a Little Hero

Continue

Previous

Beginning

Prompt

ASK ME ANYTHING

#borrower #g/t #g/t community #borrowers #giant/tiny #handheld #giant tiny #tiny #giant #gianttiny #gt #gt community #gt fluff #gt writing #size difference #handheld tiny #handheldtiny #some angst #angst angst angst #gt angst #g/t writing #g/t related #sfw g/t #g/t angst #rescuers #rescue #captivity #injured #narrans #A Tall and Small Collection

[sywenai]

MvR with Karl-Emil ,, I can't remember the exact date but I think this was when Manfred visited Emil who was injured from a very bad crash/landing .. It also seems like Manfred let him borrow the cane ! :-)

#ww1 pilots #aviation #ww1 #great war #karl emil schäfer #manfred von richthofen #poor emil:(

[izayoichan]

Early the next morning, they were all up and having breakfast when there was a knock on the door. It was Odette who as promised had the correct schedule for the day, and mostly was there to pick up the two competing ones, so they could go early. 

Tyvan: Good luck you two. They both smiled and waved as they headed out, leaving the ones sitting at the table with a sudden feel of nervousness between them. Meeting the rest of the family a little later in the hall, they soon learned they were not the only ones with that nervous feeling.

River: Wow.. I am glad you never did anything like this Flynn.. Flynn: Grandpa nerves? River: Yep.. I might need to borrow sunlights necklace. -he chuckles- I didn’t really think I would be this invested in skating, ever. 

Flynn just chuckled, it was fun to see everyone so involved with Rylan’s skating. Everyone wanted to be there both for their normal competitions, as well as of course this chance to get to compete on an even bigger stage.

After a while of talking, and watching the other competitors, it was time, and the chatter between them went quiet for five minutes, as the music stopped and the two bowed, the crowd burst out in cheering and clapping, which had Flynn look over at Emil with a big smile. They had really done good, not perfect, they had been to enough practices to see a mistake here and there, but still, it was so much better than anything they had seen from them before.

Beginning - Previous - Next

#the ward legacy #tumblrstories #writblr #simblr #simblrstories #co created with mahvaladara #storytelling #stories #Flynn Ward #Emil Ward #Tyvan Ward #Rylan Ward #River Ward #Lucas Ward #Liam Ward #the question now #is it enough #for that one step up?

[paty0831]

Hongice week 2024 || Day 4

Chapter 4: Borrowing clothes/It's not what it looks like

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Human AU

Advertisement: A little bit of NSFW content

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

“Li," Li's mother's voice was heard on the other side of the door, "breakfast is ready”

“On our way mom” Li replied, trying to pretend nothing had happened.

Li and Emil got up and picked up their clothes quickly, as they were scattered on the floor. While trying to put on his trousers, Li fell down. The family, who were eating breakfast on the kitchen on the first floor, heard this. Immediately, they went upstairs to see what was going on.

Emil and Li panicked when they heard accelerated footsteps approaching, so they tried to get dressed as quickly as possible. As the family entered the room, they surprised Li and Emil…

“Are you all right?! We heard a bang!” said Li's mother.

“Yeah ma..." said Li until he was interrupted.

“Why are you wearing Emil's ugly sweater?” Mei asked, turning to Li.

“Hey!" replied Emil angrily.

“And isn't that your red shirt?” said Yao, pointing out that Emil was wearing Li's shirt.

“Ehm...no” replied Li.

It was obvious that they were wearing each other's clothes, Emil's sweater was too big for Li and Li's shirt was too small for Emil.

“What’s happening?” asked Li's dad.

“...well, it's just that... we thought it would be fun to exchange clothes for today," lied Li.

The family thought that answer was odd, but they let it go.

“...you'd better give your clothes back," said Li's father.

With that said Li's parents and siblings left. Emil and Li sighed in relief.

………………………………………………

Emil and Li decided to keep their secret, knowing that if their parents found out they would be grounded and probably forced to break up their relationship. However, they took every opportunity they had to have sleepovers so they could be intimate with each other.

Their intimacy secret did not last long as they were discovered a few months later at a sleepover at Emil's house. They were seen by Lukas, who had difficulty sleeping because of the noise they were making.

“What are you doing?!”

“Ehm... Don't you knock?” said Emil, not knowing how to defend himself.

“Are you f***ing? You’re just kids, you know that's inappropriate at your age?

“...” Emil and Li didn't know what to say in their defence.

“It would be best if they never saw each other again” saying this, Lukas turned to leave.

“No Lukas! Don't tell mum and dad!” said Emil, “what if... we don't do it again?”

“Ehm...” Lukas was about to answer, but he noticed the sad look on his brother's face so he decided to accept, “it's OK, I won't tell if you don't do it again”

“OK” promised Emil.

“...OK” added Li with no option to refuse.

……………………………………..

As time passed, Emil and Li refrained from doing so and Lukas did not tell anyone what he saw; however, this became complicated as time went on.

One night, Emil was in his room trying to sleep until he heard knocking on his window. When he saw it, it was Li throwing pebbles.

“What are you doing here?”

“I couldn't sleep, so I snuck out and came to see you... can I stay?”

“I don't know, if anyone sees you, we'll be in trouble”

“Please, It will only be a while”

“...fine, just don't make any noise”

Emil went downstairs to open the door for Li, and they crept up to his room and lay on Emil's bed covered with a blanket.

“Don't you think it's unfair that we can't do it, we're basically of age now”

“Lukas doesn't want to accept that I'm growing up. To him, I'm still a five-year-old boy”

“Doesn't he do it with Mathias?”

“If he does, he knows how to hide it well”

They were both silent for a moment until Li said:

“I'm cold, shall we hug?”

“All right, but just that. Remember that Lukas's room is next door”

They hugged and kissed, but went no further. Afterwards they fell asleep.

The next day, Emil's mother came into his room to wake him up, but was surprised to see the scene.

“Emil, wake up," she said as she tapped him on the shoulder.

Emil woke up and, after a few seconds, realised that Li slept next to him and his mother saw them.

“Mum! It's not what it looks like!”

“Don't worry about it; I did the same thing when I was young”

“What?”

“It's normal at that age, but you should have told me. We would have had a talk”

Emil was surprised that his mom wasn't upset, at the same time he was relieved.

……………………………………………..

Li, Emil and his family were having breakfast together. Lukas was surprised that his parents had taken it well that Li and Emil were intimate, so he was considering telling them that he had already been intimate with Mathias.

All was quiet until the doorbell rang several times. Emil's mother went to open the door and found Li's parents.

“Li's bike is outside, is he here?” asked Li’s mom.

“Yes, he spent the night here with Emil”

Li's parents were shocked to hear that, assuming Li had sex last night with Emil. Therefore, they both went into the house:

“Li, what do you mean you spent the whole night here!” his mother asked.

“Why not? He's my boyfriend. Besides, you gave me permission to have a boyfriend”

“Not to do those things! You're underage!” his father intervened in the conversation.

“We didn't do anything last night!”

“We know you did! Now let's go home! You're grounded!”

Li went home sadly with his parents. His parents grounded him; they took away his mobile phone deleting Emil’s contact and forbade him to see Emil.

A few weeks later, Li's parents moved Li to another school so that he would never see Emil again. For a while, this did not stop them from continuing to talk via text messages when his parents returned his mobile phone. Emil still had Li's number registered in his mobile phone.

…………………………………….

Emil and Li maintained a long-distance relationship for the rest of the school year. Unfortunately, over time, they stopped talking to each other, as they were busy with their studies and their friends and family.

To be continued...

@hongiceweek

#hetalia #aph hong kong #hws hong kong #aph iceland #hws iceland #hongice #aph norway #hws norway #hongiceweek2024

[b-312-mia]

Noble Team; House of Memories

I Ain’t Worried

“I don’t know what you’ve been told, But time is running out, No need to take it slow.” Carter scolded the team as Jun continued to type away on the “Borrowed” UNSC laptop. How did they “Borrow” it? No idea. “I ain’t worried ‘bout it.” Jun chuckled as he continued to type away. “I’m at my best when I got something I’m wanting to steal.” Jun added on as he managed to break into the system to see what all “Blackmail” he could use on the commander. Stumbling across many images one would NOT like to see… especially if that person is one of you’re higher in command officers… “What.The.Actual.Fuck” Kat said as she continued to look at the images before looking away, as poor yn had to look away from the screen, feeling fairly uncomfortable at what’s currently displayed on the screen. It’s not that yn liked the commander much, it was just so uncomfortable. Jun just starts laughing like a maniac, on the verge of falling out of his chair as he tried gasping for air. Carter was in complete shock. Not knowing what to say or react.. placing his hands on top of his head like he was in pure distress.. Emile on the other hand was trying to get a look at what was exactly there, only able to get small glances with Jorge just standing there at complete lost for words.. Kat managing to come back to her senses to try erasing whatever file Jun broke into. “Wait wait wait” Jun manages to say after a while, stopping Kat from proceeding what she was doing, “What is it Jun?” Kat ask’s slightly annoyed at Jun. “We need to keep those photos.”, “Why would we? Please tell me you have a genuine reason on why you would go this low? If it’s pure bullshit, I’m gonna walk my happy trappy ass to ONI and request for a mission of sort..” yn said before starting towards the door. “Honestly I’m not sure. Maybe if there was something we really wanted to do or go he’ll have no choice but to say yes and not no.” Jun shrugged his shoulders before getting out a flash drive out and connecting it to the “Borrowed” UNSC laptop and saving the file to the drive and removing it before letting Kat continue on with erasing Jun’s trace of breaking into such file. Six ends up shaking his head as he also starts heading to the door to walk out right behind yn. “I honestly don’t know what to say or do anymore.” Yn says as six catches up to them. “Don’t blame you.. are you down to head to the gym and do max reps today?” Six asks as he sees both marines and ODST going past them. “I suppose we could, but do know I’m not caring your ass back to your room lieutenant, like last time.” Yn snickers they end up walking a bit faster than six to the general direction of the gym. “Wow you didn’t have to go that far, that’s not fair you know!”

Howdy folks, it’s b-312-mia who’s finally back after a short while. Writers block be real, and a pain too when it’s really bad on top of being really busy to even have any proper spare time to use for writing and really only used for sleep, at that even. I plan for this “Noble Team; House of Memories” to be a short mini series to see how I like to write little series and such. I ain’t gonna even try to give an estimate on when I’ll update this little mini series, hopefully soon, but then again it all plays a role on if I ain’t too busy nor too tired to. (Though I’m always tired, let’s just say, when I’m not blacking/passing out tired). This week doesn’t look to be too busy so we’ll see, until then, hope y’all enjoy this little short start to a mini series and continue to have a great day/night!

B-312-MIA, Out.

#halo reach #halo reach x reader #halo reach noble six #noble six x reader #noble team x reader #noble team #spartan b312 x reader #halo the series #halo spartan #halo x reader #halo #halo shitpost #halo yn reader

[void-botanist]

I would love to know about the elbas sitcom AU (<- big sitcom enjoyer)

Tbh it wouldn't be that different from their actual lives, lol, just played up for comedy. Also this was such a fun response to write that I did not stop myself and I just kept inventing stuff.

A lot of these characters are discussed in this powerpoint post.

Some recurring bits:

No one can remember Casper's name even when he's standing in front of them, except Nidilaenn (his kid) and Vinnek. They all call him Pa (which they do IRL) or some random name ("he has a John face"). Regardless of whether he's there or not everyone is always talking about his whirlwind romance that took him out to the Vale and left them with one less prankster. You know he always returns for the solstice episode.

People go "where's Nidilaenn" and then we immediately cut to Nid in their boat. The funny part is where the boat is this time.

"El this might be easier if you don't get so frustrated" [Ellery turns back toward the camera with the nastiest look on his face] "I'm not frustrated"

There's always a new random nonroot staying at the Yellow House to witness the shenanigans and mostly laugh them off as "wow this island is weird haha"

The nonroot is also always shocked when they find out that they were not wrong, Madge is in fact twice her husband Rigo's age, and those ages are 120 and ~60.

Madge and Rigo are only on the island half the time. The other half they're traveling the mainland and getting called back to Elbas for increasingly ridiculous reasons. While they're away someone else has to care for the lighthouse (which is why IRL they don't actually travel that much).

Herric is always meddling in something. Frequently it has a butterfly effect, where they do something tiny like borrow Milo's butter and by the middle of the episode the island is in shambles.

Herric and Urielte are the "they should just be together" couple of the series, and to be honest they don't disagree (like if they just said "nah we're friends" people would drop it but they've never said that). However they do keep coming up with increasingly silly excuses for why they won't (the real reason is Herric doesn't want to have another breakup and Urielte just doesn't give a shit about formalities).

When someone needs information, Vinnek always has a book on that. Unless it's about legal histories or contract law, in which case Milo has a book on that.

Ysa sets the mood perfectly as a bartender but never serves alcohol. Thon keeps coming up with increasingly complex names for thons juice cocktails.

While working at the docks or the lighthouse Rigo has seen sea monsters of all kinds and just shrugs it off and goes back to his book.

Madge has a bike. The island is small. She tends to ride down the lighthouse hill into town but sometimes she rides into the sea instead (Rigo: [looks up] Madge: [rides right off the end of the dock] Rigo: [goes back to his book, then does a double take]).

This would make more sense in an anime but I thought it so I'm going to say it: sometimes Nid and El grab hands and go "because the power of friendship" with the dramatic eye shine and everything.

There are as many explanations as to why Rae is missing a leg as there are islanders. Even she doesn't give the same answer every time, but she always mentions the ankle bracelet she lost.

Some episode concepts:

Some nonroot comes to stay at the Yellow House and Tirias starts spending all her time with them. Ysa and Amadjes are like "you should branch out" and Tirias is like "noooo" and all bashful about it, because the reason she's hanging around them is because they understand her obsession with an extremely niche media property that no one else gets.

A nonroot can't tell the difference between Amadjes and their cousins Amelie, Aloysius, and Asteras and convinces them all to make increasingly strange fashion choices. For some reason their dad Emil was off-island when this happens and upon his return he can't tell them apart because of the fashion.

Milo's parents Marietta and Tem come to visit and it's a series of humorously awkward interactions between Milo & Herric and Marietta & Tem, to the point that Herric will say something like "what the fuck" to Marietta (their kid) and then immediately turn to Tem and say "I find this somewhat confusing". When Milo mentions Tem to the Council they all offer their own advice: Ellery talks about not getting frustrated, Nid wants to formulate a strategy based on who swept who off their feet, Patience suggests getting kombucha-drunk with them, Tirias says to look for their passion. Somehow all of these become relevant over the course of their relationship-building.

Someone discovers that "the reason" Herric and Urielte won't officially get together is because they don't want to move into each other's houses. So they orchestrate moving one to the other, then vice versa, then into a separate third house, and it all goes really badly and they have to be moved back.

After the previous episode, Herric's ex-wife and estranged son return to demand something from them, probably money- and/or goods-related. Herric ends up moving in and/or getting the equivalent of a Vegas marriage with Urielte to fend her off. Everyone is disappointed when they ultimately undo it all.

Binna's launch is approaching and Milo is just trying to enjoy spending time with her but everywhere he goes are just silly reminders that she's leaving ("that weirdly suggestive calendar has a rocket in it!").

Patience's teenage grandkids come to visit and everyone is super impressed by them because uep twins are rare. They use this to their advantage. Everyone also wonders whether Patience knows what's going on, because of course they pull the most nonsense when she's not around, but she knows exactly and she thinks it's incredibly funny to play the doddering old lady.

Rae gets into a dispute with the owner of the Evly radio station she runs a weekly music show on. Madge (her sister) and Tirias (who regularly plays on the show and also has technical knowledge) decide to team up and start an Elbas radio station. This turns out to be a lot harder than they expect. It would be fun if they managed it though because then we could have a radio station set.

The port authority of Port Danziger, which is several hundred miles away on the mainland, approaches the Council and suggests they pay for docking rights even though that doesn't make any logistical sense. Nidilaenn sets out to discover whether it really is that far to sail (answer: yes) and encounters a variety of nonsense situations on the way.

A new arrival asks about Rae's leg. She says it was a sea monster. We then discover that the sea monsters only Rigo seems to notice are in fact real, but don't really hang around the island because there's not much meat there. The new arrival does not succeed in locating Rae's fabled ankle bracelet.

Following the previous episode, a human sneaks meat onto the island, which causes a massive uptick in sea monster activity. Something something an entire suitcase getting dramatically thrown into the ocean. NO MEAT ALLOWED goes unexplained into the visitor rules and the mainland press has a field day with it.

Casper returns for the solstice episode without his wife (the one who swept him off his feet and caused him to move away). He says it's because he wanted to spend time with Nid, but Nid becomes increasingly suspicious that something is off. They get sent on a wild goose chase wondering if Casper ever even got married only to discover that their stepmom was late because she was bringing a surprise for them.

Vinnek gets haunted by the ghost of Fira past, and while the moral of the episode is that they have to remember the good times they had with Fira and stop getting on the network to listlessly search for Fira, there's a lot of snarky humor on the way. Depending on when this takes place, there will also be the ghost of Casper past (not intentionally a reference lol the importance is that Casper was and is a good friend of Vinnek's who also left the island) and potentially the ghost of Dez past (another friend who left).

A paranormal investigator shows up and insists the lighthouse is haunted. Everyone says no, the lighthouse is not haunted. Eventually the investigator turns out to be right, though the spirits haunting the lighthouse are just chilling and that's why no one thought it was haunted.

Rae, Tirias, and Ysa team up to turn the pub into a club for Jes's birthday, with the heavy bass he so loves (he's deaf). Unfortunately they instead succeed at blowing out Ysa's custom skylight and invoking the ire of Ellery, one of the few people on the island who has ever been to a club. In the course of putting in a new skylight they hatch a better plan: a sort of silent disco-esque setup where they will not shatter the skylight a second time.

For some reason Haskell has to leave the island for a bit and asks Nid and El, who have been considering having kids for a while, if they would watch Lacey. I feel like everything that happens after that is just par for the course for having a 4 year old around but still it seems like even Nid will have changed their mind about kids. When Haskell gets back and is like "haha hope that didn't put you off of sprouting" the two of them are like "nah. we'll survive it with the power of friendship" with the whole solidarity clasp and everything. Then the shine fades and they say, "in five more years maybe".

Tirias becomes obsessed with a wedding shoot he found on the network and starts bothering Ysa and Jes about it. They misunderstand and think what he wants is to get married when in actuality he just wants to have an event for wearing a princess dress. By the time they get on the same page Ysa and Tirias are practically standing at the altar (I don't actually know how Elbas weddings work but you get the idea). But in the end Tirias gets what he wants and they don't actually get married...probably.

I think there should be a season devoted to Dez being there too, with episodes such as:

The rootspace episode, where Dez figures out how to decode the chemical messages of rootspace and becomes obsessed with sharing rootspace with people ("for the love of god Dez PLEASE use your words I'm tired").

The radio show episode, where Dez becomes the synth.

The toilet humor episode, where Dez discovers that one of Elbas's imports is literal shit, which goes into the dirt beds they root into at night. Have I mentioned Dez doesn't really get toilet humor? Uep and neriem, however, do on some level, even though that's not how their digestive systems work.

The laugh scale episode, where Dez notices that making serious Milo laugh is a particular point of pride among the Council. The Council in turn notices that Dez has never once laughed and try to figure out what would make him do so. 50/50 chance they either realize he can't/doesn't laugh OR some random apparently nonhumorous thing happens at the end of the episode and Dez snickers, which is enough of a laugh to celebrate.

The prank episode, where Dez takes the role of the answering machine that has a bunch of snippets of someone's voice to remix except he has extensive recordings of most islanders, which makes it extra fun. He starts pranking people with Nid but as people discover the prank they join in, and after a few days everyone on the island is in on the prank and there's no one left to bother. But then Casper shows up.

#ugh I love them #sitcom au #c: Milo #c: Dez #c: Tirias #c: Nidilaenn #c: Ellery #c: Vinnek #c: Herric #c: Marietta #c: Tem #c: Casper #c: Rigo #c: Madge #c: Rae #c: Amadjes #c: Ysa #c: Patience #c: the As #c: Emil #c: Urielte #c: Binna #c: Fira #c: Lacey #c: Haskell #elbas island #asks #wip: tfa