#hey look a lizard sandwich

[the-oblivious-writer]

After The Storm |2|

Tara Carpenter x Spider-Woman!Reader

Chapter two: Repeated Mistakes

Summary: Another time's a charm, right?

Warning(s): Swearing, Police!Sam, & spidey level violence

Notes: Not my gif! Writing for spider!reader is literally so fun

Masterlist|Previous Part|Next Part

“So if you need a hero, just look in the mirror~” You quietly sang between bites of the sandwich Tara packed for you. You were currently on a rooftop with your feet swinging off the edge and mask half up as you ate. 

You continued to hum along to the song that was playing in your head when you heard your phone ring. You turned it over to see Tara calling you.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“You need to come right now,” a loud crash could be heard in the background, “It’s Dr. Connors—shit!”

“Tara? Tara!” The phone cut out and before you knew what you were doing, you dropped everything and started swinging to Blackmore.

When you got there you could see The Lizard through one of the windows as he shredded the place to pieces. He was in the middle of clawing up the wall when you snuck up on him.

“Ugh, we have to stop meeting like this,” you leaned up against the wall on the opposite side, arms crossed.

“Spider-Woman…” The reptile snarled. 

“Dr. Connors! How've you been buddy? You know…since we squared up in the sewers?”

He didn’t respond verbally; he swung his large tail at you and you jumped up to the ceiling, dodging it. He didn’t relent, continuously attempting to grab and claw at you. You were able to land a few punches to his face but not before he lunged at you, landing the both of you in the college’s lab.

He now laid on top of you with one arm raised, ready to claw out your eyes. “Your breath is horrible by the way,” you remark before webbing his eyes, using that distraction to slip free.

You both wrestled with each other, causing an even greater mess. You were on his back, holding onto him by your webs as he tried to get you off. Suddenly, he rams his backside—you—into the wall and it feels like the wind just got knocked out of you.

He looks over to the filled beakers and combines its contents, throwing them at you as it explodes. It looks like it took you out but suddenly you emerge from behind him, putting him in a headlock.

“Why can’t you be a normal lizard,” you grunt as you do this.

He throws you to the ground, slamming his fist down with a great force. You quickly move your head before it could get squashed from the giant lizard's hand. You leap up, quickly dusting yourself off and your fight with The Lizard continues.

You’re able to get him out in the halls, trying to control his movement with your webbing. “Can’t we just talk this out? You’re not thinkin’ straight doc!” You shout as he tries to rip off your webbing. He takes another swing at you, and you leap up to the ceiling. 

You swung and crawled around the ceiling as he tried to forcefully tear you down. You grab a light but it falls, causing you to drop to the ground and Connors leaps at you but the light from before falls on his head.

By the time he’s up, you’re ahead of him, webbing his hand to the locker but unfortunately giving him a weapon as you see him ripping off the locker door you webbed him to, raising it in the air and ready to swing.

“Oh boy.”

You leap backwards with each swing he took then slid between his legs using a web. He turns around to see you squatting. 

“Alright so you don’t wanna talk?” As the reptile responded with a growl you cut him off by webbing his mouth. “There you go!”

 He ripped off the webbing and swung around his tail. You held onto it… What a mistake.

“Don’t–uff–make me–uff–have to–” you said as he swung the tail you clung on back and forth against the walls, “hurt you!” Suddenly you fly further down the halls, still holding onto the tail that has now separated from the reptile’s body.

“Ahh!” You screamed before harshly hitting the ground. “Ugh, disgusting,” you threw the tail off of you before leaping back up. The Lizard, who already had a freshly grown tail, was walking towards you with loud stomps. 

You webbed both sides of his shoulder, lunging forward at him but he quickly reacted by grabbing your head and slamming it into the window beside him. You were practically suffocating under his giant hand as you struggled to tear away from his grip.

You grunted when he suddenly dropped you and turned to face his left. You looked over to see Tara, raising a trophy that you assumed she hit Connors with.

“Tara,” he growled, stomping towards her as she backed away with each step he took.

The Lizard was about to attack Tara but you pulled his raised arm back with a web. You continued to web him up as you crawled around him, trapping him as a spider does with its prey. 

He struggled to break free from your web jail as you immediately went to Tara, taking the trophy from her hands and throwing it out the window, causing the glass to break. You pulled Tara close to you, hands on her hips as her hands held onto your shoulders.

Tara’s eyes shifted up and down your mask face before you finally spoke. “I’m gonna throw you out the window now.”

“What?!”

Before Tara could process what she just heard, you did as you said and threw her out the window. She shrieked and you shot out your web for Tara to hang by. Tara was still gasping in shock as she felt around the web that was now sticking to her waist. She swung back and forth as she was finally able to process being thrown out a window.

By the time The Lizard was finally able to break free, police sirens could be heard. You smirked behind your mask as you heard them, moving into your notorious Spider-Woman squat.  

“Uh oh…someone’s been a bad lizard,” you quipped in a teasing tone. 

Your fight quickly travels to the library but by the time you lift yourself up from the last blow, Connors is nowhere to be seen. You let out a sound of frustration as you looked around the destroyed room, no sign of where he could have gone.

—

“No,” Sam said with firmness in her voice as she and Tara washed and dried the dishes.

“Pleaseee?” Tara begged her sister. She was trying to convince Sam to let you come over for dinner but it was no use; Sam was never your biggest fan. The fact that you were a genuine kid with a high IQ didn’t matter at all to her. Tara knew Sam was being biased because of how you defended a certain masked vigilante. She’d be grounded for life if Sam ever found out Tara’s relationship to said vigilante. 

“No is my final answer.” Sam turned off the water, walking over to sit on the couch. Tara put down the rag and followed her sister.

“You just need to get to know her.”

“I know plenty.”

“It’s not fair Sam; you haven’t even given her a chance,” Tara’s voice ran hot with frustration. She let out an aggravated groan, stomping off to her room and slamming the door shut before Sam could stop her.

Sam sighed, rubbing her temples as Tara took out her phone and sent you a text.

Ace (8:43 pm) you doing anything rn?

Bug Girl (8:43 pm) possibly getting ready to see you if I get a yes

Ace (8:44 pm) See you in 10?

Bug Girl (8:44 pm) ofc<3

Ace liked ‘ofc&lt;;3’

Just like you said, you were there in ten minutes. Tara heard a light knock on her bedroom window and turned over to see you giving her a dopey smile. She giggled before walking over to lift up the window. 

“Hey, bug girl,” she greeted before leaning in and giving you a kiss. You melt into the kiss as you both wrap your arms around each other. 

When you break apart, you look into her eyes with that same dopey smile. “Hey, gorgeous,” you replied before giving her another kiss. 

“Come on, it’s cold out. Let’s get you inside,” Tara said after the kiss, not waiting for a response as she pulled you inside by your sleeve. 

“You okay?” 

“Hm? Yeah—yeah of course. Why?”

“You just seem…off,” you answered, giving her your full attention.

“Just another fight with Sam,” Tara responded, waving you off as she sat down on her bed. Her head followed your movement as you walked over to sit beside her, gently placing a hand on hers.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” she answered honestly.

“Okay, we don’t have to,” you turn over and reach into your bag, grabbing something, “Guess what I got…”

Tara grinned as she saw you had something behind your back, “Is that what I think it is?”

“Depends,” you reveal what’s behind you, putting it to your chest for Tara to see, “how passionate are you about sour gushers?”

“Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?” 

“Are you talking to me or the gushers?”

Tara pretended not to hear you as she grabbed her laptop from the nightstand and opened it. “I’m in the mood for some horror,” she said as she took your arm and wrapped it around her. "Wow, guess I know my worth when gushers are involved."

A couple hours go by and you’ve fallen asleep on her shoulder. Tara looks at your resting face and smiles to herself, but her admiring is quickly interrupted by police sirens coming from outside. The sounds quickly wake you up. You look around as you become self aware of your surroundings.

You look out the window from where you sat, seeing the flickering lights as the police cars raced through the city’s streets. You give Tara a look that she has gotten enough times to know the meaning behind. 

She lightly nods at you, giving you a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, “Go get 'em, spidey.”

You grab your bag before jumping out the window, luckily wearing your suit under your clothes.

Tara sighed to herself as she stared out the window you just leaped out of. 

“What am I gonna do with you?”

—

A few hours later, you decided to revisit the sewers. You were determined to have your traps work this time. After some tweaking and adjusting, they were all set for a re-do. You refused to just sit back while The Lizard crawled the city’s sewers, endangering the city.

As you set up the last trigger, you heard a noise. It sounded like a low growl that only grew and grew with time. You hurriedly shot a web, now hanging from above.  You carefully, and quietly, watched as Dr. Connors rummaged through his belongings; it looked like he was looking for something.

You hung for a few more seconds until suddenly your spidey senses went off; you immediately swung down, dodging The Lizard’s mean claws when they swiped at you.

“Filthy pest,” the mutant growled with venom laced in his tone. When you finally got a good look at him, you could tell he was more far gone than the last you saw him.

“Damn, doc. You look like shit,” you said before he whipped his tail at you. You jumped up, quickly webbing his eyes and feet. While he was distracted by the webbing, you took that as an opportunity to lure him closer to your traps.

You thought back to your crawler trap you performed at the school, thinking it could work again. You crawled around the lizard, webbing him up as she struggled and swung his claws and arms. You could see it. He was about to take one more step and your plan would have worked.

Suddenly, your spidey senses went off. You looked to your right to see him crashing into a pipe. You were able to move before it fell onto you but when you looked back to The Lizard, he had broken free.

The reptile growled before running at you with full force. Instead of moving, you stayed there until you jumped at the last minute; he crashed into the wall, letting out a loud and frustrated growl.

He quickly picked himself up, ripping a pipe off of the wall. That’s when you realized. He had cornered you. This whole time you thought you were setting a trap for him, but alas he’s done it for you. 

Your senses were going off but you had nowhere to go. There wasn’t even enough room to crawl upward. Before you could even think of where to escape, you felt the metal pipe The Lizard harshly swung at you. It made contact with your ribcage, causing your breathing to grow slightly heavy. 

Surely The Lizard knew a metal pipe wasn’t enough to keep Spider-Woman down?

Suddenly, he threw it to the ground. He picked you up then harshly threw you back down, and you were now doubled over with your backside showcased to him. He balled up his fisted then slammed them down on your back, causing you to let out a loud gasp as you felt the air being sucked out of you.

It all made sense; he was just warming you up with the pipe.

He turned you over and slowly dragged his claws across his chest as they grew in size. You groaned in pain as you tried to push his big hands away but he only pushed his claws in deeper. “There is no stopping me. I’m getting stronger everyday!”

He tightly gripped your throat as he raised you up, slamming your head harshly against the wall. You gasped for air as you felt tight pressure surrounding your throat. “There’s no stopping…what you too will soon become,” The Lizard snarled before throwing you to the ground.

You weakly lift yourself up by your arms, now on your knees and coughing. You were hardly catching your breath when your senses went off again. 

You were too weak to react when it happened. When his large hands slammed on both sides of your head. The ringing in your ears being so loud you couldn’t hear your own screams. You couldn’t hear…anything. 

You were helplessly laying in pain when The Lizard made his escape. When you couldn't hear his loud stomps, or even the dripping water; you knew you were screwed.

You were scared and alone.

-----------

A/N: I swear I'm gonna make up for the lack of Tara and R scenes in this chapter with a one-shot/drabble for this story

#tara carpenter x reader #tara carpenter x you #tara carpenter x y/n #tara carpenter x female reader #tara carpenter x spider reader #tara x reader #tara carpenter #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega #jenna marie ortega #spider!reader #scream fanfic #after the storm au

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

hihi !! kinda a specific request i apologize- can i get a pre-terapagos confrontation kieran having beef with the readers ‘raidon please? (also if possible i wanna claim 🧃as an anon emoji)

"So...you're a legendary too, huh? Brought here from the past/future?"

"Agia.."

"I bet [y/n] loves parading you around. Everyone in the damn school can't stop talking about you....if only I had a Pokémon like that."

"Agiii?"

"No, not you. I want one like Terapagos..assuming it even exists."

Overhearing the obvious beef Kieran had with your 'raidon made you frown a little, especially as you, him, Carmine, and Briar were supposed to be enjoying a picnic right now.

Exploring Area Zero's underdepths became quite exhausting, so you suggested taking a small break from the Terapagos hunt. There weren't many safe spots down here, but after you eventually defeated a Garganacl with a mysterious tera type, you settled for the small island where a beautiful crystalline tree stood.

Apparently, the type was coined "Stellar" by Professor Sada/Turo, and it wasn't anything like the ones you've seen on Paldea's surface.

Its crown was certainly beautiful to look at, yet the lights were blinding as your Pokémon shattered it into pieces.

Carmine and Briar didn't get the chance to see it, and neither did Kieran...not that he really cared to begin with. But they all came over after you called out to them, before (mostly) everyone agreed to a picnic.

But even as you finished splitting up a sandwich, Briar was documenting some more stuff in her book, and Carmine was cleaning off the ceramic cup Sinistcha was in...all you could do was look at the boy who was still sitting alone by the water. He only took a bag of chips from the table, albeit scarcely munching on them.

This whole time, he was still sulking over you beating him back at the academy...so much so he didn't let any of his Pokémon out.

You didn't know whether that was because he felt like "punishing" them for losing, or that he simply didn't want them buddying-up with the ones who defeated them, being fully convinced you two are enemies and rivals. Nothing else.

He's still resentful of you...but isn't being as loud about it as before.

For whatever reason, though, your 'raidon decided to forgo drooling over the sandwich you were crafting in favor of keeping him company. But he didn't really seem to understand or care too much.

If anything, he couldn't stand to look at it.

Back in Kitakami, Kieran was stunned that something like an ancestor/robotic copy of Cyclizar could even exist in the first place. Watching you drive it around the land and fly on its back was the coolest thing in the world, and while you offered..he was far too scared to try it for himself...

Now?

To him, it's just another Legendary you could brag about.

Another Legendary that chose you and not him.

Just like-

"Giiiaoooo?"

"What the..? No. You can't have this. It's mine." He scowled, trying to push back the 'raidon's snout as it tried grabbing at his snack. "Go away, dumb lizard."

"Hey. Watch what you say to [Koraidon/Miraidon]."

Tensing, Kieran looked up to see you approaching him. Although he didn't move from his spot even as you sat down next to him, his brows still furrowed with annoyance and disgust.

"But that's what it is...a dumb lizard begging for scraps." He scoffed, watching as your companion rested its head across your lap, your hand on top of it. "Can you even call that a "Legendary?" I bet I can train it better.."

"We've..already taken care of that, but thank you." You huffed, shifting your gaze to the Carbink that were hovering nearby, before glancing back at him. "I left you half a sandwich if you're hungry."

He blinked, at first a bit surprised by your kind gesture. But he just shook his head, refusing to let his guard down. "Just give it to your 'raidon. I don't need it...b-but thanks anyways." He quickly added, seemingly flustered as he grabbed a rock and skipped it along the water.

Both you and the 'raidon seemed to notice this, smiling a little. It seems his politeness hasn't totally gone down the drain just yet. "You're welcome."

"So you told us the professor managed to bring two of 'em into the present, right?"

"Yeah."

"...well, where's the second one?"

Your smile faded a bit, and that was all that he needed to know.

'It's not fair...why do they get to have two?'

"...I see, of course. What a stupid question for me to ask." His shoulders became slumped. "I don't get what's so special about you, [y/n]. You can catch any Pokémon you want..even ones that shouldn't even be here in the first place." Once again, he was directing his frustrations at your 'raidon, who just chuffed at his remark.

"Agiiaaaa.."

"Shhh, easy.." You soothed, petting its head, before you frowned at the boy who was holding onto so much hatred and envy for you, wishing things didn't have to be this way. "Kieran, I swear there's nothing "special" about me. You think I'm some "Pokémon magnet", but that's not true. You don't know what-"

"I'm ready to go. Here, [Koraidon/Miraidon]. Since you want them so badly." Without warning, he threw down the bag of chips in front of the 'raidon's face, getting up and storming back to the picnic table.

Briar and Carmine wondered what was going on, although the latter hoped that you would've snapped her brother out of this "funk" of his by now, seeing as you went over to talk to him.

Instead he seemed even more pissed off, insisting upon packing up and continuing further down. You just let your 'raidon eat the chips and listened in on the siblings' conversation.

"Jeez, there's no race to get to Terapagos, Kiki. If it's been down here for 2 million years..I doubt it's going anywhere."

"Well we should get a move on anyways. Getting too relaxed here. I wanna see it--no, I need to see it." You heard him mutter under his breath, seeing the way his fists clenched.

Despite them being literally two feet away, Briar was still off in her own little world, writing down more stuff in her journal. And she was more than ready to jump up and continue the journey if it meant seeing Terapagos for herself, too.

If anything, you, Carmine, and Kieran all felt like the adults here..making sure she didn't rush into an unknown section of the winding caverns the moment you cleared them of crystals.

"Agii.."

Looking back at your 'raidon, you noticed that it also upset by Kieran's attitude--especially when it was just trying to cheer him up and be nice.

"Don't worry about him, bud. You did nothing wrong, he's just...lashing out." You cradled its head, touching noses affectionately. "Yknow, Arven kinda acted the same way when we first met him, didn't he?"

The Legendary nodded.

"And he eventually came around to liking you. So...I'm sure Kieran will, too. He just needs more time."

"Agias!"

#they 100% had banter in canon #full stop #clanask #juicebox anon #pokemon x reader #pokemon sv x reader #pokemon scarlet x reader #pokemon violet x reader #pokemon kieran #miraidon #koraidon

[ridreamir]

Hey!if you write for Arven would you be willing to do platonic Headcanons for him?

Yes I could! I haven't been writing on here but I am open to it!

(Just to let you guys know though I am in school full time so I might be a little slow haha, here's a short post!) This could potentially be interpreted as romantic! There isn't any romance explicitly stated but they are kind of close/friend date scenarios almost just to let you know!

__________________________________________________ Some platonic moments with Arven might include: Going out into the forest to forage for ingredients, since you two already made such a duo trying to hunt for Herba Mystica! He's constantly reading new foraging books and is very careful, it almost makes you wonder why he doesn't do so hot in his other classes. He does have reading glasses, but he's too embarrassed to wear them in front of others. That could partly be the reason why he's been flunking, but then again a big part of passing class is showing up and he's the type to want to be everywhere but the classroom (except for Mr. Saguaro's class of course!) Sitting in fields and having picnics, making sandwiches together! Arven is a next-level chef so he carries around a mini hot plate and pan so he can cook things up on the spot, and most of the time it ends up incredible. ...Sometimes though, you've both been prone to burning certain ingredients or accidentally mixing the wrong things. Not to mention how often you drop stuff. Those sandwiches often go to Koraidon and Miraidon because they're quantity over quality type lizards.

If it weren't for his health, Mabostiff would also be feasting. Arven is really careful with his diet, and you're not sure his dog friend always likes being denied a gross burnt burger sandwich but it just goes to show how much Arven really cares. You both like to take naps in the grass, but you've found him snoozing in some very odd locations. He's usually propped against a rock or tree in the shade, or lying with his arms folded. Needless to say, you have nearly tripped over him before because he literally will choose any spot that looks like it might be even remotely comfortable.

He doesn't seem like it, but Arven is an incredibly strong trainer, and if he put his mind to it he could absolutely beat the gym challenge. You never really catch him training, but his Pokemon eat Michelin-star-level meals daily so you're starting to think that might be the secret to his incredible strength. Speaking of strength, he suffers from mild back pain from carrying that huge heavy pack around 24/7, but he'll still do wild and crazy things. He's not the most outwardly athletic in terms of sports but he's really good at hiking and climbing, and he's gotten very strong physically from exploring Paldea. When exploring, he's constantly trying to feed you. He's not the type to pull out trail mix either, he'll literally stop and park in the middle of nowhere if he finds out you haven't ate in a while and will sit there and angry-cook a whole meal in front of you. You do annoy him a little sometimes, but you think that he might have such a hyperfocus on food because of his childhood. It's not a fun topic for him though so you never try to pry. He knows you're a busy person, but somehow you always find time for each other. You're still attending the academy together at least, so it's not hard for him to stop by and check in on you. He's been barred from wandering off too far because of his grades, but you're not going to rat him out for sneaking out (partly because you come along and could get in trouble for encouraging him.)

#x reader #pokemon #reader insert #pokemon x reader #arven x reader #fanfiction #platonic #pokemon scarlet and violet #scarlet and violet #imagines #platonic headcanons #childhood trauma #mild trigger warning

[missusk]

have you eaten yet? (ArvenxReader)

Summary: You’re everywhere, always, helping everyone all the time because you’re as kind as you are strong. You saved the academy and you saved Paldea and helped him out too, what with those Herba Mystica, so Arven wants to show you how much he loves you give back in the way he does best! Everyone loves homecooked meals, right? So why can’t he spit it out so that’s why the words so often falling from his lips are

“Hey, little buddy! Have you eaten yet?”

Word Count: 6173 Warnings: Game spoilers Author’s Note: this was sprouted from shower thoughts!!! Oughgh I love arven!!!! Just thinking about what your little journey could be like from his perspective AND IF HE WAS FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU .but also has inner conflict bc this guy really needs a hug. please enjoy!! :) - missusk

Read here on Ao3

~~

“Have you eaten yet, Arven?” came a call from the lighthouse.

“No!” the child said enthusiastically, bounding up the dirt hill to his dear father. A Maschiff was hot on his heels, panting alongside the boy after their rigorous game of fetch-and-chase. The sun was beginning to set, with rays of gold glimmering on their toothy smiles.

“Well come on,” Dad chuckled. “Let’s cook together before I have to get back to work.”

“Okay!” Arven replied, giddy with anticipation in what he’d get to cook with his favorite person in the whole wide world. What would it be today? Pasta? Curry? It’s been so long since they last ate together, and now they can cook together too?!

“You didn’t peek at that new book, did you?” Dad asked from the lighthouse. Arven faltered in his run home. Whoops, he didn’t put the storybook away correctly, did he…?

“Uh-“

There came a chuckle, then a tousle of his hair as Arven finally reached the threshold of their small home. Arven clung with sticky fingers to his father’s dress pants in a quick apology.

“Well, that might’ve spoiled it, but let’s read from it together after dinner, shall we?”

“Okay!” Arven said through a now-guiltless grin, kicking off his boots as they walked together into the lab. “Can we have sandwiches?” He hoped that sounded like an innocent, totally random request, and certainly not inspired by a storybook he didn’t steal a glimpse of earlier that day when Dad was busy.

“Of course, my son.”

Those words were so seemingly inconsequential at the time, but as Arven sits drumming his fingers on the doodle-smudged desk, watching the second hand of the clock tick-tick-tick by, he only wished he remembered more of those seemingly inconsequential times. He heaves out a sigh – whatever, those thoughts haven’t gotten him anywhere before, and it’s not like anything would change by thinking about it more today.

“Phones away, please,” came Mr. Saguaro’s voice, interrupting Arven’s hazy sepia-toned memory like a shock of bright blue. “Before we begin class, I’d like to introduce our new transfer student.”

Oh? A new student in this part of the term? That was interesting enough to draw his attention away from missing his dad the hangnail he kept picking at.

Arven glances up, teal gaze meeting that of the new student. He immediately recognizes you as the very same student who took responsibility for that brute back at the lighthouse few days ago. So, you were a student here after all. Perhaps he should be keeping better track of you and Miraidon… but then again, what would that matter? Not like dad would care anything would be traced back to him if a weird looking robot lizard thing was suddenly crawling around Paldea. Lots of weird things happen in Paldea. If anything got back to him, he’d just say, that, like, 80 percent of the ocean was still unexplored, so that’s where it was from. Or something.

Your introduction is normal enough. You like Pokémon, are excited to be here, blah blah blah. Minus the innate talent you had for battling, you seem as average as the next person. Arven did notice your sweet smile, but brushed it off as easily as he would crumbs off his apron.

Well, whatever.

While a new student was seemingly inconsequential to the esteemed Uva Academy, you’d think the hallways had a mass outbreak of Combees with how the students buzzed with rumors about you the next few days.

“I heard she fell off a cliff before coming to the academy.”

“Well I heard she already beat student council president Nemona in a Pokémon battle.”

“I heard she took on Team Star on her first day!”

Even some of the academy’s teachers seemed to be whispering among themselves. While many of the rumors were stupid and mostly untrue from what Arven could tell (as he himself was well acquainted with being the butt of weird rumors) one thing seemed certain – this new student was quite skilled with Pokémon battles. Perhaps his defeat at the lighthouse wasn’t explanatory of his lack of skills, but rather a signifier of yours.

As the days passed and the academy settled into the term, Arven became less aware of the latest gossip and more focused on slowly connecting the numerous sticky notes and push pins scattered on the Paldean map on his dorm room wall. It had taken countless nights of coffee and research and more coffee, all until he was able to identify five locations mentioned in the Violet Book. The only real obstacle would be what the book called ‘Titan Pokémon,’ and with his ace being unable to even open his eyes at this point, he needed some help, fast. Thankfully, while cleaning up in the home ec classroom, another bout of whispers made it to his ears.

“I hear she claimed war against Team Star!”

“What, seriously?!”

Geez, this new girl couldn’t catch a break. He knew the annoyance of having a million rumors about him, so his heart went out to the poor transfer student.

“She transferred in at a weird time, I bet she’s just trying to get people to like her.”

“Oh, that’d make sense. Why else would you do something like that, if not for attention?”

Arven raised an eyebrow. A new, fresh face, wanting attention and affection in a scary new school? In a new country? With no friends and barely any family? Perhaps someone so moldable could help with his own little treasure hunt…

It barely took a day before catching you in the cafeteria. Arven didn’t mean to be so selfish when requesting help, but he also didn’t try to not be selfish when requesting help. He sprinkled in a little flattery, a big smile, and played into your desire to ensure your classmates like you. He spouted some nonsense about loving that picnic life, and more compliments about how you’re such a natural with Pokémon – you’d be perfect to help, so please please please?!

And just as he was hoping, he was able to rope you into helping with those pesky Titan Pokémon.

 ***

 It didn’t take long before you were both in the South Province fighting a Klawf that had no business being that size. You made quick enough work of it, and gloriously enough, the first Herba Mystica was in Arven’s grasp – and soon to be in a delicious sandwich. Step one, done, and it barely took any time! Despite all the prep work he had to do with those news articles and dusty library books to locate it, the actual Titan-beating wasn’t all too bad.

Arven splays out his purple gingham tablecloth, flicks on his lantern, sets out the ingredients, then notices you’re still standing there.

Oh, right, new student girl. You ran all the way out here to find the Titan, and he probably wouldn’t have beaten that giant Klawf with just his Shellder and Squovet, so perhaps some form of payment was due.

“Have you eaten yet?” Arven asks casually, and when you shake your head, he sets his hands on his hips. Alright, easy enough. One five-star sandwich seemed a fair enough trade for your work. “Well, then it’s your lucky day! You’re about to get a taste of my delicious, nutritious, herb-mysticious cooking.”

You smile at that, which for some reason, seems to catch Arven’s gaze for an extra second. Once that second is up, he turns back to his tablecloth filled with sandwich ingredients and gets to work. He slices, he dices, then he hands you a sandwich.

He wonders if you’ll like it.

Then he strikes the thought from his head. Of course you’ll like it! He’s a good cook. Despite that self-reassurance, Arven glances to you a few times, waiting for your reaction to the first bite. Just to see what the Herba Mystica does! Yes, that’s the only reason he’s scanning your features like that. But, despite that herb being the only reason he’s watching you, his brow furrows when that brute of a Pokémon blasts out of its Poké Ball, sniffing away at the sandwich he made for you. His jaw drops when you don’t even hesitate to give it to Miraidon! What the heck?!

“Hey!” Arven bursts out. “I went through all the trouble of making that for you, and you just give it away?! That thing didn’t even taste it, just inhaled it whole!”

You then have the gall to simply shrug. Arven scoffs.

“I hope you realize that’s all there was, so now there’s none left for you.”

“That’s fine,” you say with a smile. There’s that smile again.

“Aw, come on,” Arven sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. It’s fine, he shouldn’t get mad at you. You don’t realize the importance of the ingredients that were in that meal, nor do you know what else Miraidon has stolen from him. “Now you’re making me feel like I’m the selfish jerk here.”

You blink a few times, but when your mouth fumbles for something to say, Arven rips his sandwich in half and holds it out to you.

“Here,” he sighs again. “You can have half of mine. But you’d better savor every last bite.”

You smile again and nod, accepting the sandwich half. He doesn’t bother watching to see if you like it – hmph.

Soon you’re both done with your respective sandwich halves, and he really needs you to get moving so he can do what he really came here for. Maybe if he started to pack up, you’d get the hint. When you motion to help fold the tablecloth, Arven shoos you away. Geez, can’t you be bothered to be selfish for one second? You find the Titan Pokémon, defeat the Titan Pokémon, give away your dinner, and are going to help with the dishes too?!

“Oh, don’t worry about cleaning up, I’ll take care of it,” Arven says. “But I suppose if you want to help, I’d be much obliged if you started looking for the next Herba Mystica.”

And you actually agree.

Arven blinks a few times, returning your wave as you bound off into the night.

Huh.

You’re pretty nice, aren’t you…?

He bites his lip. Maybe you really did just help him out because you’re a good person. He lets out a sigh.

“I really owe you one,” he mutters to himself, as he pulls the Poké Ball out of his bag. Though he knows you’ve already left, he glances around just in case. His thoughts fully turn to what he really came here for. “Okay, the coast is clear. You can come out now.”

 ***

 “Did you get a good look at its face, though? I didn’t expect a Titan to be such a li’l cutie!” Arven says. He wants to call you a li’l cutie, what with how sweet and shiny your little smile was, but he settles for calling you his little buddy instead. He prepares four sandwiches, and when you raise an eyebrow at him, Arven feels a hint of red seep into his cheeks.

“O-one is to-go,” he lies. “And the other one, uh…”

You add a smirk to your raised eyebrow, and his blush deepens despite himself.

“I definitely, absolutely, did not make extra so that brute could have a sandwich, okay?” he huffs. You respond with a sarcastic ‘mmhmm’, which for some reason makes his insides twist.

Miraidon inhales the stupid sandwich whole, again, but at least he got to catch your expression after your first bite this time. You seem to like it. That’s a relief.

“Wow, this is really good Arven!” you enthuse with your shiny little smile and crumbs on your cheeks, and that makes his insides twist even tighter. Usually he’d simply agree and move on with his life, so he’s not sure why time seems to snag when he’s around you.

While he’s searching for something to say, suddenly Arven’s composure cracks when Miraidon goes for the last sandwich.

He can’t have that.

He CANNOT HAVE THAT.

“That’s not for you!” he bursts out, causing you and Miraidon to jump as his shout fades from the cave walls. Miraidon shirks back as Arven quickly snatches the sandwich from the plate. Your eyes are wide, and there’s a small pang of guilt tugging at his gut for being the reason for that fear on your face.

“I, sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled,” Arven says meekly. When you don’t say anything, just nod after a moment, he bites the inside of his cheek.

As the last echo of ‘he can’t have that’ finally fades from his mind, Arven lets out a sigh. He calculates and derives and estimates, but finally thinks that maybe… maybe it would be fine. If you knew.

Arven didn’t have any intention of sharing his deep dark backstory, but he supposes he could share with you. He kind of wants you to know, maybe it would be more bearable to not be the only one holding onto this pain. You deserve to know, now that you’ve helped him out thus far.

So, he lets Mabosstiff out of his Poké Ball. He shares what happened, and you listen intently. He can’t seem to meet your gaze, for some reason. Would you call him stupid? Unimportant? Would you leave him too?

“He’s the only thing that I really care about.”

The words slip so quietly from his lips, as gently and inconsequentially as water melts from a frozen branch when the backdrop is the sun. He isn’t sure what else to say, or why he said so much. He nearly jumps out of his skin when you suddenly pat his arm – a little awkwardly – and say,

“I’ll help.”

He meets your gaze. The intensity in your eyes is as fiery and as bright as cloudless dawn. Now it makes more sense why everyone talks about you, why everyone wants to be around you.

“I’ll help you,” you repeat. “I’ll help you find the rest of the Herba Mystica.”

It’s not that Arven ever bothers to hide who he really is (he’s been called weird and strange many times), and yet that hardened something within him seems to crack when you look at him like that, when you say something like that.

“Thank you,” is all he can manage to reply.

You nod, removing your hand from his sleeve.

Thank you… he repeats in his mind. Thank you. How can he thank you? What does gratitude look like? What does care look like? What does importance look like?

“H-have you eaten?” Arven asks suddenly, eyes flicking between yours.

You smile, eyebrow raised again. Did he say something stupid? Have you ever stood this close before?

“Um, yeah,” you say. Oh. “I just ate your sandwich.”

Oh yeah.

“Oh yeah.”

You blink. Arven blinks. Have you always had those little freckles on your nose?

“R-right!” he finally spits out. “W-well let’s get on it then, yeah? Only three more to go!”

He flashes a shiny smile at you, unsure of why his heart is pounding so fast, nor why his skin seems to tingle where you touched.

 ***

 “Ever since I teamed up with you, good things keep happening!” Arven exclaims, jumping up and down. That makes you laugh – the first time he’s heard it – and now he kind of wants to do everything he can to make you laugh again.

So he jokes and he’s a little more weird than normal and it works. It works, and he smiles because it works, and he smiles because you smile. He smiles and you smile and Mabosstiff is smiling too. It’s weak, and it’s small, but it’s the most uplifting thing he’s seen in a long time. This is the most he’s smiled in such a long time, and a lot of it is thanks to you.

“Thank you,” Arven says, suddenly gripping your hands in his. He can’t help it, he can’t help the joy that’s spilling out of every pore. “So much, thank you!”

“Y-you’re welcome,” you reply bashfully, a bit of red staining your cheeks. He wonders why you’re blushing, and it isn’t until your hands fidget in his that he realizes how close you are. Your hands are so small in his, he wonders how long you’ll let you hold them.

“Oh, sorry,” he says, quickly releasing your hands, yet still reveling in the deep blush in your cheeks.

“That’s okay,” you stutter. “I-I’m glad Mabosstiff is feeling better.”

“Me too,” Arven says. “Only two more to go.”

 ***

 It was just meant to be a brief glance your way to make a silly joke about the Stony Cliff Titan and the Klawf sticks he was putting in this sandwich, but Arven’s breath catches when he sees you in a quiet moment.

You seem so… tired, the way your head so delicately leans against that beast, the way your eyelashes flutter closed in what you think is a private moment of reprieve. Your shoulders slump, and Arven wonders how heavy that backpack is that you’ve been carrying.

His brow furrows when he wonders how heavy your shoulders feel with everything you’re carrying. Tackling the gyms, always battling that psycho student council girl, whatever it was you’re doing with Team Star, then keeping up with your actual studies, all on top of having just moved here…

His hands pause.

And here you are, donating your time and talents to a guy you barely knew.

He chews on his cheek, trying to figure out what to say. How could he help someone like you? Someone so kind and capable and kind of beautiful, he’s just now noticing? You really are just helping him because you’re a good person – what’s in it for you? He shoved off a practically useless Pokémon onto you, and you just took it in stride. At least it can glide now, apparently. Arven drums his fingers on the tablecloth, watching your chest rise and fall with each slow breath. The lamplight catches the color in your eyes, and Arven wonders again if you’ve always been this beautiful.

He's not sure why his cheeks feel warmer, now that you’ve caught him staring.

“Hey, uh,” Arven coughs out, eyes flicking back to his hands. “Have you eaten yet?”

You shake your head, eyes flitting towards the sandwiches on the table.

“Here, this one’s on the house then,” Arven says, smiling and handing you a sandwich.

You take it, smile shining as you chirp out a ‘Thanks!’ like a little bird. It makes him smile too.

“Just don’t give it to that brute,” he added with a grunt.

“No promises,” you say, and that earns you a roll of the eyes.

He’s not sure what else to say, he just knows he wants to keep talking to you. He’s not one to often get tongue-tied, so he’s not sure why it so often happens around you. You barely take a bite of the sandwich before your Rotom phone suddenly rings.

“Hey, Cassiopeia here,” came a tinny voice. “How’s Operation Starfall going?”

“Um,” you reply. Your shoulders are stiff.

“Not that there’s a time limit, but the sooner we can finish off the last three, the better… Since you’ve only gotten through two so far…”

There’s a tense silence for a moment.

“I-I was just on my way to the next base,” you spit out.

“Great to hear, I’ll be in contact when you’re close.”

“Okay,” you say simply, and start gathering your things. “I’ll be there soon.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Arven’s not sure why his heart drops. Maybe it’s how guiltily you set the sandwich back onto its plate. Maybe it’s how rigidly you sling your backpack onto your shoulders. Maybe it’s how stiffly your hands brush off the lackadaisical crumbs from your shirt.

“I should get going,” you say.

And maybe his heart was on his sleeve more than he intended, because his expression makes you pause.

“O-or I could stay?” you say suddenly.

“What?”

“Do you, um,” you stammer. “I could stay? For a little bit longer? You just, um. You seemed sad.”

“No! No, that’s okay, you should get going,” he says. “Well, unless you want to?”

He wished he hadn’t asked, because he doesn’t like the thick pause that comes afterwards.

“O-or, you shou-“

“I should go-“ you say in unison.

Your eyes meet for another moment. Arven clears his throat.

“Just don’t forget about that last Titan!” he says, forcing a smile on his face. “I’m counting on you, little buddy!”

You pause, and something in your expression shifts. You don’t say another word when you hoist your backpack higher on your shoulders, then head out into the desert sand. As soon as you leave, Arven practically deflates, slumping onto the boulder beside Mabosstiff.

He’s heard you mention this operation before, but suddenly his skin prickles in frustration, especially when picturing your expression upon leaving. Why are you the one who has to do everything? Why are you the one that has to take down what’s basically an entire student rebellion? What are the academy’s faculty even bothering to do about Team Star?! Why do you have to leave him because of it?

…But then again, why are you the one that has to tackle the Titans for him? Arven rubs his hands over his face.

“I wonder how often she hears that,” Arven wonders aloud, patting Mabosstiff on the head, who lets out a curious grunt. “’I’m counting on you,’ I mean. People always need her for stuff. She shouldn’t have all of that pressure on her.”

Mabosstiff just grunts again.

He’s so close to the last Herba Mystica, and the herbs really are helping Mabosstiff, so he still needs your help… but…

Arven lets out another thoughtful sigh.

But maybe after that… he could… do something for you? Or something. Just… something to make you smile again. Or smile more. Or just something to help ease that slump in your shoulders.

You are his little buddy, after all.

 ***

 You’re both soaking wet and shivering from the False Dragon Titan, then the other False Dragon Titan, then from the storm outside the cave, but you’re both smiling. It was maybe a little too early to play some hardcore fetch, but Mabosstiff had been romping around the cave for a while. Arven said it was just the rain, but he knew you didn’t believe him when the tears kept pouring.

His tear tracks have since dried, and Mabosstiff and Miraidon are snoozing beside the makeshift fire he started. The storm doesn’t seem like it’ll be letting up anytime soon, but Arven doesn’t really mind since you look really pretty in the light of the fire you both could use a rest after felling the final Titan. You’ll get to the lighthouse lab soon enough, as Dad requested, but right now it was nice to just… sit. Alone with you.

“Are you cold?” he asks, and just as you knew when he was lying about him crying, he knows you’re lying when you shake your head. He rolls his eyes and pulls his winter jacket out of his backpack, draping it over your shoulders. “At least this is dry.”

You mutter out a sheepish ‘thank you’, and Arven nods, smiling lightly at how his coat practically swallows you whole.

“I should be the one thanking you,” he says as you adjust the coat around you. “For your help.”

Maybe it’s the euphoria of his best friend feeling healthy again, or maybe it’s the subdued atmosphere of the cave’s thick air, or maybe it’s some third thing, that Arven lets slip something he would usually keep hidden.

“You mean a lot to me,” he says suddenly. He’s not quite sure what he’s saying, or why he’s saying it. “Thank you, really.”

“You’re welcome,” you say, smile forming on your lips. You’re so cute in his coat. He wonders if you’re any warmer.

You sit in a peaceful silence, save the rain outside and the crackling of the fire. You rustle when you pull his coat tighter around your shoulders.

“If you’re still cold, I-I could, uh,” he stammers, words still spilling from his mouth like melting snow. He could what? His voice catches. “I could…”

I could hold you

I could hold you close to me

I could help keep you warm

“M-make you something else to eat? Something warm?” he finally spits out.

“That spicy Herba Mystica was more than warm enough,” you chuckle. “But thank you, Arven.”

His name sounds so sweet when it slips from your lips like that.

He isn’t able to revel in it long before your Rotom phone sounds its familiar ring.

“Hey! Where are you at now?” came the tinny voice.

“Lake Casseroya,” you say. ‘With Arven’ is what he wants you to add.

“How’s your gym circuit going? You’re so close! You should head to Montenevera next, I’m actually headed that way myself!”

“Okay, I’ll meet you there,” you say, and Arven’s brow furrows.

“Great! I’m counting on you!”

The click of the phone is a click of closure as you shake off Arven’s jacket with a quiet sigh.

You both stand, and you turn, just for Arven to catch your hand.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and your eyes widen at the question. “How have you been faring?”

Your eyes immediately well with tears – an expression that tightens Arven’s chest, that swirls guilt in his gut. The glassiness in your eyes formed their sheen as quickly as the rain hits the lake outside. How long have your tears been barely at bay?

Oh, little buddy… how could he have not even bothered to ask this until now? His brow furrows when you tear your gaze from his to look at a new text on your phone.

“N-Nemona is waiting for me,” you say suddenly. “She wants to be champions together s-so I have to… I want her to be happy. She needs my help. I’ll meet you at the lab afterwards.”

And with that you push his coat into his chest and run out of the cave, and Arven can only watch your retreating silhouette until its melds with the pouring rain.

His fists clench, heat welling within him.

That stupid student council girl, what was her name? It didn’t matter, but what mattered is how his chest tightened when someone’s stolen you away from him yet again. Didn’t she realize the world doesn’t revolve around Pokémon battles?! Did you even want to be a champion, or are you just doing the gym circuit because Nemona said you should? Had she ever even asked?

His heart dropped.

Had he ever even asked…?

Had he ever even asked about what the treasure was that you were looking for? Had he ever asked what was important to you? You’re running errands for everyone in Paldea, and his dad too, apparently, but was any of it anything you even wanted?

He wanted to think of you, of how to help you, but the thought of his father welled an overwhelming wave of anxiety in his chest. He had to be selfish for a little longer, at your expense. He pinches the bridge of his nose, patting Mabosstiff when he rests his head on Arven’s lap. This was supposed to be everything he wanted – his Pokémon was the only thing he cared about. But now with you and with Dad and with Area Zero…

Arven heaves out a deep sigh, as heavy as Lake Casseroya itself.

 ***

 It’s time. He’s collected Nemona and Penny, and now he just needs you before heading to Area Zero. Mabosstiff is barking away, jumping at his phone at the sound of your voice, but it just makes Arven’s chest tight.

 ***

 The student council president and the pipsqueak are snoozing soundly inside while you and Arven forage for snacks. Nemona was trying to secretly nurse an injury, but her suspicious lack of stamina didn’t go unnoticed by him. Penny wasn’t used to the treacherous landscape either, so spending the night in the third base of Area Zero seemed like a wise move. They had an incredibly strong team between the four of them, so there were plenty of Pokémon to keep watch while they slept and while you foraged close by.

“Do you need a break?” you ask.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Arven replies, sighing as he stands straight. His back cracks as he leans backwards far enough to see the sky – or rather, the layer of fog that separated this world from the rest of Paldea.

The air between you has been tense since the final Titan, and Arven knows it’s mostly his fault. Maybe he feels guilty. Maybe he’s scared. Maybe he's had every emotion coursing through his veins and beating through his heart for the past few days. There’s you and his dad and… well, mainly that was it. But there were so many combinations of those two things, of those two people, that made his head feel like radio static the entire time he’s been in this forsaken place.

“Do you want to go back in?” you ask, stepping over to him. Your skin and eyes seem to glow as glitter floats around you. He wishes you weren’t so beautiful.

“No, it smells like mildew in there,” Arven says, snacking on a Sitrus berry he found.

There’s another tense pause between you.

“Arven,” you say suddenly. He feels like when Mabosstiff eats off the counter when he shouldn’t – he can barely look at you, but he does.

He wishes he hadn’t. While you don’t have the bags under your eyes like you used to, the sorrow in your gaze cracks his heart even further.

“Arven are you mad at me?” you ask, so brokenly.

“What?” he breathes out. “No, of course not, why would you think that?”

“You just… you’ve been distant. And distracted, I don’t know,” you say.

“I just have a lot on my mind, it’s not you,” he says. Only one of those things was a lie.

“You’re right, you’re right,” you say quickly, shaking your head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be selfish.”

“You’re not!” Arven blurts out. “You’re not selfish, don’t say that. You’re the least selfish person I know, honest.”

You shrug, and before he can stop himself, Arven is stepping towards you, gripping your shoulders in his hands.

“I mean it,” Arven says. “This has just been…”

The worst few days of my life

My dad loves you more than me

My dad loves Miraidon more than me

I’m scared of seeing my dad.

“I’m scared of seeing my dad,” he says.

He didn’t realize he had said it.

What is it about you that loosens his tongue like this? You’re confusion and clarity all in one.

“Arven,” you say again, and the determination in your voice draws him closer to you like a magnet. “Whatever happens,” you say, emotion catching in your throat. “Whatever happens I’ll be here for you, okay? I won’t leave you. I hope you can make amends with your dad but… but whatever happens I’m here for you.”

His heart can barely beat, as shattered as it is, and yet you try to mold it back together as you wrap your arms around him.

 ***

 “H-hey,” you say, gently closing the door behind you. Mabosstiff bolts off the bed to greet you, which is just enough distraction for Arven to wipe the tears from his face. In his defense, Mabosstiff hasn’t seen you since the events of Area Zero. When you finally manage to push the Pokémon off of you, you make your way to Arven, then gently sit beside him on the bed.

“Hi,” Arven replies thickly, trying to discreetly shove the bundles of tissues beneath his bed.

“How are you doing?” you ask. He wishes you wouldn’t look at him like that, with such genuine care in your eyes. When you so delicately set your hand on his arm, immediately everything comes flooding back – the memories and the feelings and the tears, so overwhelming that all he can do is turn to you, to fall into your arms, to sob into your shoulder as you wrap your arms around him.

Everything. The loneliness, the pain, the betrayal, the abandonment. What was he to his father? What was he to anyone? Was there anyone who cared? If his own mother left when he was born and his father left years ago too, who was he but a lump of rotting meat, just taking up space in a world so hastily moving towards the future?

He isn’t sure how long he’s crying into your shirt, nor how long you’ve been rubbing his back as you sit on his bed. Mabosstiff’s head is resting beside him, and Arven sniffles when he pushes his cold nose under Arven’s hand.

“I’m here for you,” you mumble into his hair, and Arven can barely manage a nod. You don’t seem to mind.

More time has passed, where now you’re cradling him in your arms, leaned against the wall beside his bed. The window is cracked, letting in the cool breeze of dusk. He pushes himself off of you, surprised to see your eyes are red too. You stare at one another, unsure of what to say. He rests his head on top of yours, since now your shoulder is soaked with tears. You sit there, beside one another, until dusk pulls into the night. Arven eye’s flutter open when you clear your throat.

What will you say? ‘Get over it’? ‘You should be proud to have a father like him’? ‘It’s no big deal’? How will you frame your sentence to hide the fact that the world lost his father, rather than the fact that he lost his father?

“Um, h-have you eaten yet?” you ask.

Has.

Has he

Has he eaten yet?

Arven blinks.

Has he…

He shakes his head.

“I brought some sandwiches,” you say. He nods, and you wiggle out from your spot on his bed and over to your bag. “They’re not as good as yours, of course, but I thought I’d try my hand at a new recipe.”

He meets you at the edge of the bed, where you hand off a sandwich. You got one for Mabosstiff, because of course you did, and when you look at him with such kind, hopeful eyes, Arven isn’t quite sure what to say.

“I know you’ve been through so much,” you say. “But you’ve got people who care about you and want to be there for you!”

You smile at him – that small, shiny smile, and Arven’s breath catches in his throat.

Thank you

This means so much to me

I feel so seen

So cared about

You’re so thoughtful

“I love you,” he says.

And something finally clicks.

That’s what this is – love.

You’re attentive and kind and you’re there for him. You’re here. You’re here, right now, holding him, and you have been for hours at this point. For days, for weeks.

You’re here.

You’re here, and, and, and and you help him and you think about him and he doesn’t have to beg for your attention and and… and.

“And you’re everything I’ve needed,” Arven says through a wet sniffle. His words are pouring out like a snowy peak’s river – building strength the further it travels, the further it warms. “I’ve been through a lot and you’ve been through a lot but you’re there for me and you help me and I want to help you and when I’m around you I feel supported and I think you’re so beautiful and-“

Arven keeps listing, and listing, and revealing every thought he’s crossed out in his mind until Mabosstiff lets out a whine, reminding him to breathe. Arven sucks in a breath, closes his mouth, eyes wide, now realizing that while he’s finally realized it to himself, he’s now realized it out loud to you.

“I love you,” he says again. “Sorry – was that? Was that a lot?” he sniffles.

And your smile isn’t like the sunset of a sepia-toned memory, but like the bright clear dawn of home and of comfort and of knowing that you’ll always be there. You lean in and press a gentle kiss to his cheek – it’s a little sloppy, and a little wet, but neither of you seem to mind.

“I love you too,” you say simply. “Now lets eat before the sandwich bread gets any soggier… or before you get any soggier.”

“Gross,” Arven says, smiling a free, warm, genuine smile for the first time in days. In years. As you head towards your bag, he risks another question. “Maybe after dinner, we could read something together? Or watch a movie or something? Just…just be together?”

“I’d love nothing more,” you say with that shiny smile as bright as the dawn. “Than to always be here, together with you.”

#writing #pokemon #pokemon scarlet violet #scarlet #violet #reader insert #mc #arvenxyou #arvenxreader #arvenxmc #arven #fanfiction #fanfic #scarvi #pokemon scarvi #nemona #penny #cassiopeia #romance #hurt/comfort #angst #spoilers #angst with a happy ending #character study #falling in love #daddy issues #feelings realization #female reader #oneshot #one shot

[wardenred]

Flufftober 7: Porch Swing

One of those random freewriting things, except now it's giving me more ideas. Maybe I'll write more about these two sisters reconecting, or maybe I'll use those ideas to rework an old WIP that kind of fell apart... 🤔💭

The porch swing creaks on and on while I cook. I choose to perceive the sound as soothing rather than annoying. In truth, I kind of envy my sister’s energy. I would’ve been dizzy thirty minutes ago, but she just keeps swinging. Sometimes, she slows down, and I start wondering if she’s going to stop after all. Quickly enough, she picks up the pace again.

The kitchen around me is exactly the way Grandma left it, except cleaner. I spent most of the morning getting rid of the dust and old grease spots. The surfaces are clean enough to operate on; if they don’t look like that, it’s only because their age is showing. It would make sense to get rid of some of the useless knick-knacks taking up space: framed embroideries on the walls, chipped vases and candle holders lurking in the cabinets. I don’t have the heart for it. Not yet.

I find myself wondering how much effort it will take to keep the place just as pristine in the long run. Camilla and I haven’t really been under the same roof for a decade, but I remember her uncanny talent for creating messes whenever she went, like a hurricane of misplaced objects and stray sandwich wrappings. People change, of course. Maybe she has, too.

I stomp down the sudden urge to go up to her room and assess its state  in the name of testing this theory. This entire thing will only work if we respect each other’s boundaries.

My hopes for that are slim, but there.

I fill two bowls with hot soup, grip two spoons tight in my fist, and nudge the door with my shoulder. The backyard greets me with a gust of cold breeze. I should have grabbed a hoodie. Oh well.

“Hey,” I call from the worn wooden stairs. There’s moss growing in the cracks, and at least one tiny, weird red-capped mushroom. A line of aunts marches around my sandal. “I’m not going to make you come inside, but you might have worked up an appetite. So.” I hold up one of the bowls, suddenly self-conscious. “Want some?”

Camilla digs her hills hard into the gravel and dust, bringing the swing to a halt. She blinks owlishly at me, and I’m once again caught off guard by the sight of her without her glasses. I got the same feeling every time I pulled up her Instagram account in moments of nostalgia. In person, it’s even stranger.

I wonder how strange she finds me now.

“Um, yeah. Thanks,Nat,” she says after a small delay. Her breathing is heavy, like she’s holding back tears. Probably just exhaustion. “Can I ask you to bring it down here though? I think if I get up, the world will tilt.”

“Sure.” I briefly debate putting my own bowl somewhere while I do that, but there are too many insects in the air. A lizard crawls down the porch railing. A frog croaks from somewhere uncomfortably close, and I swear the chuffing sounds in the tall grass come from a pair of hedgehogs. How is everything here so brimming with wildlife? Grandma’s house stands in the middle of a regular street in a regular small town, not even on the outskirts. Cars are driving past our fence this very instant.

Camilla gingerly takes a bowl from me and balances it between her knees. Good thing I waited until it was steaming hot, not scalding. She frowns at the contents. “Is that chicken soup?”

I shrug. “I didn’t know what to make. This seemed fitting.” Grandma always insisted on making us soup whenever she thought we were sick or upset. The latter definitely applies.

On the back porch, there are two mismatched chairs. I pick the smaller one for a seat and the taller one for a makeshift table, but only after a thorough inspections for any cobwebs, insects, or snails. My arms are covered in goosebumps, even though the wind is settling down. Definitely should have put on a hoodie. How did I even let the weather fool me into wearing a sundress? Have I forgotten how quickly it changes here in autumn once the clock ticks past noon?

“It’s good!” Camilla announces from the swing, and I roll my eyes lightly at the surprise in her voice. She studies her spoon like it has all the answers to the most complicated problems of the universe. “Grandma always used to overcook the noodles.”

“I like to think I’ve improved on her recipe.”

She smiles. “You definitely have.”

Wow. For our first conversation in almost ten years, we’re unironically doing great.

For a while, we both eat in silence. I survey the overgrown flower beds nestled against the fence—more like weed beds at this point. The last time I tried gardening I was still in high school, and I can’t call it a rousing success. I wonder if we can get someone to help us turn this place into something less decrepit. Perhaps some of the neighbors have kids looking for weekend jobs. Not that I’m looking forward to mingling with the locals, but it’s not like I’ll be able to avoid that. Today has already been full of interactions, between the grocery store and the home supplies one and random people approaching me in the street with out-of-the-blue greetings.

“So,” Camilla says eventually. “A year here, before we can sell the property. Seems...” She scrunches up her nose, looking around the yard, as well. “I don’t even know. What was Grandma thinking?”

“Something about family and legacy and embracing the secrets of life, according to her letter,” I reply. A twinge of uncertainty pulls at my mind. “You got one, too, right?”

It’s a relief to see her nod. “Probably a copy of the same one you got.” She drops her spoon and tugs at the single green strand in her otherwise pastel-pink hair. “Well. This is going to be an adjustment.” She hesitates before adding, “I’ll probably want to invite friends over now and then. I’ll start climbing walls otherwise.”

Camilla having friends over never meant anything good for me when we were kids. But people change. I’ve changed. She clearly has, too.

“It’s fine,” I say. “Just as long as you warn me beforehand so I can stay out of the way or whatever.” And as long as you don’t make too bad of a mess, I don’t say. I really have to give her the benefit of a doubt. “Hey, speaking of ‘out of the way,’ do you have any plans for the basement? I was thinking of setting up a studio there.”

“I don’t mind,” she says with a shrug. “Though don’t artists usually need plenty of natural light?”

I laugh. “Yeah, well, with all the trees growing right by the windows, I think I’m better off investing in a bunch of lamps.”

“Makes sense.” 

She gives me a long look I can’t quite decipher, then twists down and around to place her bowl by the swing post. The next thing I know, she’s tugging off her studded suede jacket.

“Here.” She tosses it my way. It lands in a heap over the railing, right on top of a fiendishly big bug that buzzes in indignation. “I’m getting cold just looking at you.”

I could tell her I was going to head inside and find my own clothes anyway.

Sticking around feels like a better idea.

#warden's random scribbles #writeblr #original fiction #flash fiction #flufftober2023 #day 07 #my writing #writers on tumblr #snippet #sisters #siblings #family #on one condition trope

[goldieclaws]

Hey! A few days ago I made a post how I drew Miraidon and Koraidon eating sandwiches, with them both being available on products on my Redbubble.

For a time, Koraidon was stuck in review hell, but now they're finally free AND there's currently a 20-60% discount on everything you can get these two lizards on (t-shirts, prints, pillows, phone cases etc.)!

Please consider checking these two out! I worked hard on them and making them look pretty :>

Reblogs are appreciated, thank you! 💖✨

Patreon | Tw//tter | AO3 | Itchio | Commissions

#koraidon #miraidon #here's hoping they dont get taken down again AS i make this post #pokemon #pokemon scarlet fanart #pokemon violet fanart #pokemon fanart #redbubble #pkmn fanart #pkmn sv

[aifastic]

Party Havoc

Hello, everyone! I’m here today with my piece for the At Ease, Soldier zine—which I hope you all got to read because everyone did an excellent work!! :D I apologize for the lateness, I haven’t been able to comfortably use my computer for months klfdslkf

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! ♥

------

"So, is everyone here? No more, no less?" Demo asked, counting heads for the nth time.

"We're all here, pardner," Engineer reassured him, stopping him before anyone could protest—or set something on fire.

"And Soldier's busy outside! I took care of that," Scout said with a smirk. I don't want to know , Engineer thought, for his own sake.

"Perfect!" Demoman clapped his hands, grinning. "Let's get into business, lads: it's Soldier's birthday next week."

"Next week?" Scout counted with his fingers. "Isn't that near to the Fourth of July?"

"Exactly! Janey and I always celebrate his birthday on the fourth. Tradition, y'know."

Everyone nodded; after all, everything Soldier-related is even more of a mystery than Spy. No more than Pyro, though.

"So, what do we have to do?" asked Heavy, frowning.

"Aye! I have a list." Demoman retrieved a torn piece of one of Engineer's blue schematics paper, all scribbled in white chalk.

"Hey!" Engineer protested.

"It was the longest sheet of paper I could find." Demoman shrugged. "So: We have to choose from this list! Who wants to do what?"

Everyone leaned in to check the list.

"I'll get the food," Sniper said.

"If you think you will make us eat roasted lizard or whatever—ugh—roadkill you find—"

"Christ, I was just gonna drive to Teufort to get meat from the butcher!" Sniper cut Spy off, offended.

"Whatever," Scout said. "I'm gonna be in charge of the decorations!"

"Hmmmphmmph!" Pyro elbowed him.

"What? No way! I'm an artist—" Pyro stared at him. "On second thought, we both could do it."

"Hmmmph!" Pyro celebrated, hands up.

"Heavy will take care of gift. I have many Mann Co. coupons to use."

"Alright, that leaves us with… Hm… Engineer will be cooking," Medic declared, and everyone nodded in unison. "And um… I can get the drinks!"

"Uh, I was going to do that," Demoman said nervously.

"Nuh-huh!" Medic tut-tutted. "You," he pointed at him, then to the hastily scribbled last item on the list, "are going to do this."

"Nah," Demo said. Everyone stared at him. "Come on! The man hates me. I hate him. Can't we just not—"

"To be honest? I agree." Scout looked at him. "Why did you add it to the list?"

"I guess…" Demo sighed. "He seems important to Soldier. Somehow.” He threw his arms up in exasperation. “Oh, alright." He gave in. "I’ll do it.”

"Well, I guess that's it. Uh." Engineer hesitated, but they really needed to know sooner or later. "Where's Soldier, anyway?"

"Uh," Scout looked to the ceiling in avoidance. "Did you know that raccoons like sour cream? Like, a lot?"

"What the hell," Sniper said.

-----

Scout cleaned up the last remains of the mess that Soldier left when he was bathed in sour cream and the raccoons chased him all around the base. "I shouldn't have to do this," he complained. "They asked me to distract him!"

"Mmph mmphmmmphmmph."

"Well, yeah, not exactly but… Done!" He cleaned his hands on his clothes. "Man, we can finally start with the decorations. We should do a big poster! With 'Happy Birthday' on it." He looked at Pyro, a bit subdued. "Uh, by any chance, do you know how to spell it?"

Pyro shook his head.

"Damn it!"

-----

"What do you mean, 'there's no meat'?"

"Sorry!" squeaked the Teufort butcher. "There was a flu that killed all our provider's animals; we can't sell the meat in those conditions!"

"Bloody hell." Sniper put his hat back on and exited the shop. "What am I gonna tell everyone—? Hey!" A little kid eating a sandwich had just bumped into him. "Watch it!" The kid blew a raspberry at him.

Wait a minute. What if…?

-----

"What d'ya mean there's no meat?" Engineer asked Sniper, scratching his head. "What are we gonna do?"

"Well, I went to several places and bought these." He pointed at the back of his camper, filled with boxes of bread, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce, among other ingredients. "Think the big guy can make do with all these?"

-----

To the relief of Engineer and Sniper, Heavy nodded. "Some ingredients missing, but Heavy can do this."

"Thank you, big fella," Engineer said. "We all know who's the best here at sandwich making."

"Thank you." Heavy said. Then he asked, somewhat sheepishly: "Can you help me with gift? I think I made mistake. Ordered too many?"

"Too many?"

"I thought you added coupons together for big discount. It seems it is one coupon, one item."

"Oh. Oh." Engineer said.

"Too many of what?" Sniper asked again.

------

Spy was busy figuring out a way to distract Soldier, as per his task. Soldier was already antsy with all the unexplained movement. "He's paranoid," Spy reasoned. "I could give him another reason to be." He grinned, donning his BLU Spy disguise.

-----

"Ach, I forgot I have been banned out of town!!" Medic yelled, driving Engineer's truck out of Teufort like a maniac, bottles of beer clinking against one another on the back as a mob chased him away.

-----

"For the last time, you bloody bastard!" Demoman yelled. "You are important to Soldier, so you will come!"

"MERASMUS SHALL NOT!" The wizard levitated, making things fly all around them. "SOLDIER IS NOTHING BUT A NUISANCE TO ME! HE SHALL NOT HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! EVER!" He abruptly stopped, catching himself. "Look what you made Merasmus do! My room is ruined. NOW BEGONE!"

-----

Demoman appeared at the base, falling over the cake Engineer was decorating.

"Bloody hell!" Demo cursed, smashing one fist on the icing-covered floor.

"I hope you have good news because I swear to God, I'm counting down to ten right now," Engineer said.

"I…" Demoman started cautiously.

"It was the third cake."

"... What happened to the others?"

Engineer deflated. "Pyro burned the first one while chasing Scout due to 'artistic differences,' and the second one was 'borrowed' by Medic in order to use it for self-defense against a Teufort man who was chasing him with a fork."

"Woah, that's… Do I want to know?"

Engineer sighed. "Hell no."

"Alright, so Merasmus isn't coming."

"Well, I guess it's better for us, anyway," Engineer said honestly. "It means less trouble."

"I guess so."

They sat on the kitchen floor, taking a breather.

"At least we still have five days left."

Engineer looked oddly at him. "Demo, it's July 4."

"Wait, what? How?!" He thought back of Merasmus. "That bloody wizard made me time travel, bloody hell!"

"Well, the thing is, you're gonna have to help me make another cake in record time."

Demo wiped a hand down his face.

-----

"What does it say there?"

"Don't mess with me! It clearly says 'Happy Birthday'!"

"I wish," Sniper said, squinting at the letters. "This is a 'b' instead of a 'd,' the 'p's look like 'f's…"

"Oh, shut up," Scout muttered, turning beet red. "I bet he doesn't even notice."

"Hmmph hmmph," Pyro told him in consolation.

"Sandviches ready," Heavy announced.

"Awesome. How's the cake going?"

"We're running out of icing!"

"Try to economize it—apply it only on key areas, not on the whole surface."

"Thanks a lot, Doc. What'd ya think we've been doing?!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't crushed the fourth cake—"

"It was an accident, I swear!"

"Guns are arriving."

"Guns?!"

Engineer sighed. "Heavy wanted to gift Soldier something practical. He bought one too many killstreak guns."

"Black Box. Practical. Effective."

"Loaded. Those weapons come loaded."

"Bah. We have ammunition all around the base. Nothing's gonna happen," Scout reasoned

"I hope so," Demo said. He went back to applying icing to the cake but he abruptly stopped. "Wait, where’s Spy?"

"Distracting—"

The wall of the main hall suddenly exploded, debris flying everywhere. When the smoke cleared they all saw a bunch of Black Boxes scattered on the floor, next to Soldier who was choking… was that BLU Spy?

"I finally got you, maggot! Your days of playing hide-and-seek are over!" Spy's disguise disappeared and revealed his true features. "Wait, what?" 

A chunk of the ceiling fell onto the (fifth) cake.

"Surprise!" Scout yelled, waving at the poster that proudly announced… 'naffy dirdbay.'

"Yaayy," said everyone with different degrees of enthusiasm. Engineer was too broken to say anything, staring in despair at the place where the cake used to be.

Soldier threw Spy to the side. "You remembered my birthday!"

"How could we forget, Janey," Demo said, putting him in a headlock.

Spy coughed loudly a few meters away from the floor.

"You put a lot of effort in this and I couldn't be prouder of you! Every single one of you is an honor to America!"

"We're glad you liked it, mate."

"Hmmph hmmmph!"

"Uh, we had cake but—"

"Please don't say anything else about it," Engineer muttered.

They were all going to grab their sandwiches when a puff of green smoke filled the room.

"Oh god, now what?"

"MORTALS!"

"Merasmus!" Soldier grinned. "You came to celebrate!"

"Not at all! I came to RIGHT YOUR WRONGS!" Merasmus's voice echoed in everyone's ears. He took from between his robes a birth certificate. "This impostor's birthday is in MAY!"

"What?!"

"I WILL MAKE YOU SWALLOW YOUR WORDS, MERASMUS!"

"MAKE ME IF YOU CAN, SOLDIER! MAY DESPAIR RAIN UPON ALL OF YOU!"

"... Alright, fellas, what about we kick this son of a gun's behind?"

"Hell yeah." Everyone nodded and ran to get their supplies.

-----

"BEST! BIRTHDAY! EVER!" yelled Soldier as he spun around in a hurricane that Merasmus commanded, shooting rockets at him with one of his many new killstreak Black Boxes.

"Happy birthday, Soldier," everyone yelled back, grinning despite themselves.

#Team Fortress 2 #fanfiction #Soldier #BLU Team #Soldier Zine #TF2 Soldier Zine

[hi-im-erick-and-this-is-my-story]

the camp of cannibals ep6 s 3 part 1

as they were following the sound of Margareths voice they noiticed that the trees and the colors of the surroundings changed, what was withered, leafless oak changed into fresh and young spruce and what once was gray now was green and brown. They went forward and the voice was getting loauder and louder. And then when the voice was almost next to them they found a camp full of life there were, rat, kobolds, lizard folk and even a krikkrack althoug only one and there was Margareth as well, her hood was of and her face was bright as day, she was no longer sceared of the new planet, she was enjoying the stay here. who knew that it would only take her to join a cannibalistic camp to see how nice this world was. she got off her horse and welcomed everyone to the camp.

Margareth - hello i see you've made it safe and sound

Erick - it umm appears we did …

Margareth - alrighty, so theres a need for you Erick, I have to take you to Arkhel so you can meet him and talk things throug

Erick - who is-

Margareth - you will see soon. and the rest is free to explore but don't go too far from the camp.I will join you shortly when Erick is in the rigth place

Dorothy and Markus - Right

So the group split off. Erick went with Margareth, Dorothy went to the left and Markus to the right. When Erick got to the right place Margareth came up to Dorothy and she led her to a nice spot by a lake and Markus just ignored where they went compleatly

the camp of cannibals part 2

Markus went around seeing as Dorothy and Margareth left him behind he was finally alone to his own thoughts and actions. He was relived at the thought of no longer having to deal with the others. Until he heard it, a faint noise it was a song "only you" why did he hear it he was wondering and then something jumped at him from behind, pinning him down, and flipping him so his back is on the ground. It was a plantoid, a lotus flower to be specific, it looked nightmerish, it had thorns covering his entire body and claws made out of split leafs that imitated hands, it was dressed in clothes of a preist but his collar was black and on it's head were headphones that were playing this wreached song. He was just about to attack when the headphones were taken off his head and thrown away by an ant. The plants body changed the thorns grew into his body and the splits at the leafs combined into one big leaf. he began to apologise and got off of Markus

Plant - I am so so sorry

Markus - what the heck was that, who the hell are you even supposed to be huh

Ant - look he is cursed whenever the song begins to play he goes feral and starts attacking everything alive

Markus - Well i don't care and plus even if that little curse actually exists then why doesn't he have to wear i don't know a bite mask perhaps

Ant - what! That would be terrible, why would anyone even suggest that, who the hell are you and didn't you see the headphones he literally couldn't do anything about that, somone put them on him to play a dangeorous and mean prank on him

Markus - Oh well that seems like his problem

Ant - you are some terrible asshole, why would anyone take you here is beyond me, come on Philip let's go

Philip - ok Baryxon

Markus was left alone and he decided to go and sit down somewhere.

the camp of cannibals part 3

Margareth joined Dorothy now she had a backpack she must have been to her tent in the camp, she spoke

Margareth - Hey, come with i know a nice spot by the lake

Dorothy - lead the way then

And they went together to the lake and when they got there Margareth got a cozy blanket from her backpack and layed it on the ground. They sat down and Margareth got them some sweets and two sandwiches to munch on. At first they didn't talk they just sat and ate. Then Margareth layed her hand on the ground and Dorothy tried to do the same but accidenatly she layed her hand on that of Margareths.

Dorothy - oh, i am sorry i didn't mean to

Margareth - don't worry it's fine, i don't mind

Dorothy - you don't

Margareth - not at all i actually like it, i like you after all

Dorothy - Y- You do

Margareth - you really didn't notice, I always am by your side, sometimes I even sleep in the same room as you

Dorothy - so do friends i really didn't know that there was something more than that

Margareth - well you know that now

but before they could do anything more with this new found love a new voice called out everyone to come to the middle of the camp so they packed up and went together. Holding thier hands

the camp of cannibals part 4

Erick went with Margareth. He was taken to a huge tent and they went inside or at least Erick did Margareth got in called out the name "Arkhel" and went on her sweet way, so Erick just sat there awaiting whats to come. Then a figure came in from the tents other room

Figure - you must be Erick. Honey your visitor is here!

??? - get him here

Figure - please follow me

Erick followed the figure into the other room which it came from there was a chair there and someone sat on it but it was facing the other way then the chair turned around and Erick was shocked at who was in the chair. He was now sure he will get hurt and that he shouldn't have come here at all

Jayse - Good morning, Erick

Erick - Jayse! how did you get here do you live here?

Jayse - well after your little parthner threatend to scrap me i decided to run away

Erick - INTOMNIA DID WHAT!

Jayse - … you didn't know?

Erick - No

Jayse - …

Erick - i left when he started to talk about repeating this experiment on a lost soul, my theory is that he treats you as a failed experiment

Jayse - He wanted to repeat this?

Erick - unfortunetly but now we have new humans, as you noiticed, and me leaving erased the thoughts of repeating this experiment from his mind compleatly which is good news

Jayse - well then i think you would be interestead to break our little argument

Erick - what are you suggesting?

Jayse - i need your kidney for Margareth

Erick - what?

Jayse - she needs to eat a part of a human. You see her soul is connected to Arkhels like everyones from here, and because of that she needs to eat one of her own kind to not lose her mind and go feral, I suppose you would know him but i will ask it, Do you know Saint Philip?

Erick - yes the lotus flower preist

Jayse - she would be like him when he hears "only you" if she doesn't eat a human part

Erick - and if i give you my kidney you and i are even and we won't be enemies?

Jayse - exactly

Erick - then please take it

The whole operation took around 2 to 4 hours but i was worth the time. after it the kidney was prepeared and a feast was called after some more cooking, Margareth was sat at the main seat and was served the meal, she was informed what she was served, but the others weren't, for everyone it was just a feast to welcome all of the newcomers. Everyone ate and once they were finished the waiters cleand up after everyone. Everything was a success they spent some time at the cult and then were taken to thier home by Arkhel and Margareth. Margareth now was living in the cult but before she went back she kissed Dorothys cheeks as a goodbye. It was a good day for everyone

[silvermuffins]

Pokemon Scarlet Livblog! Part 7!

I have a goal of accomplishing three objectives in one part. Also the war with my E ky ragees on.

We lft off at thee Levincia lighthouse! oh tumblr is glitching.

A random trainer battle was like "Hey! Wanna buy this?" and I felt sure I was about to b faced with a poke-mlm scheme or a cryptobro.

Anyway, Rolycoly. Gonna name you Lizard. I actually want to complete the dex in this game, it's insane. Chank the Cufant. Plyfon the Voltorb. Oh! A Varoom! You'r Ponk now.

Picnic....which of cours mans naptime. Oh my gosh Pebbles sleeps on top of her hammer. She also now gets mad if I try to clean it. Today w are making a fruit bonanza sandwich, with lots of banana, and also...strawberry, apple, kiwi, pineapple. And whipped cream, marmelade, jam, and butter. Barely held together, the game was glitching graphically, and i lost a berry, but i got it!

special fire tera kirlia! with volt absorb...oooh. Now how to catch without killing...fuck i need to hope. OKay I broke tera. Crit capture! Okay! You're Palermo!

heey Arven tell me about the local Beast. oh hey he's being nicr about Koraidon. Okay, i found an exit (there is a cave too step to walk into)...there's a distinct Area in front of m and supposeedly thre's an amazing pokemon here but my marker's a ways west...

Well. I definitely see whre the herb hollow is gonna be. ?!?! Holy shit, shooting stars?!

one break for some christmas shopping latr, w're back! And I think I found the titan. Man from up on the watchtower this whole area is caves. Orthworm?! Don't mind Jupe oneshotting it. Twice.

Okay! Time to be sad again! As pr usual Koraidon want snac. Arven is getting less angy. Ooh! I get More Jump, thank god! So the remaining two are "climb stuff" and "glide", neat.

HELP ARVEN IS SO CUTE once again sada how do you know. Actually how does Arven keeep knowing when I'm somewhere near a titan? Nemona is stalking m and Cassiopeia has a tracker in my phone, but Arven and Sada...

Excellent, got into a battle with an Orthworm. Your name is Nood. Excellent, Ankles is volving, can swap out for Chonkster. FOUND GOOMY. Finoo.

I have reached Zapapico! Gonna take down Atticus soon....once I decide which Pokemon to use for that. Poison, so I want steel and ground... Town explored, found Torkoal! Kettelmint. What's this? Glimmet? You'll b Dohrts. Aaaa so many caves around here! Where am I now?'

sir if your baby is due any day now WHY AR YOU IN A HOLE OKAY i think I'v xplord almost vry hol in the ground. Now then. Atticus. I mean, Pebbles is a must, Sotero is a shoe-in, too. Daya hasn't done much in a while and will have levels if nothing else.

oh yah Clive is here. Kind of wish these cutscenes didn't move me, I am lost again. Love that you can se the trees all graffiti'd up. Oh goddammit you're a Zorua? I thought you were an Impidimp! Oh well. Oh fuck you the Oranguru is a Zorua too??? Okay YOU'RE a real Impidimp! Hraivin! And a real Oranguru, running into a wall for some reason. you're Galatz.

Found the base! Oh no, there's a kid. Listen to the kid, my guy, he seems to know what's up. ...awww this is the gamer base? KID WHO ARE YOU. ???? HY CLIVE NO I want in on the chitchat!

Navi squad....playing video games.... They totally named themselves after a certain fairy, didn't they. Ooh, atticus designed their outfits? And he's a bit of a maverick...

Oh my god this nerd. Oh my god he's in fucking cosplay. And now the car. ...wait h actually sent out a Pokmon it's not JUST the car this time? It's clearly the same Pokemon that's ON th car...maybe this is a bug. Or is that just...a diffrent Revavroom? Bc now Muk...okay yah it was a different Revavroom. This is a war of attrition.

oh....that's what h looks like under there. What a handsome fellow. such pretty eyes.....and of course, he was bullied. I LOVE THESE KIDS......i want to protect them.

ok no seriously can i just defeat all five bases and be the new boss and take over the world i don't want to destroy their safe space

so Team Star made it so a lot of bullied kids could go back to school... No big boss means no tam star means no good going back to school. Nobody has actually sen or met the big boss? Cassiopeia grows more and more sus.

A bullied recluse. Penny???

yeah mr director you're pretty out of touch

i am Hurting

Yes, Cassiopeia. Enlighten me. What are we aiming to achieve? Take down the big boss, okay, I could have guessed that. There has to be more to this. OKAY everything is good now Penny is here!

Taking the big boss down will protect Penny's treasure...

Alright. Next....i ascend the peak, tackle the ghost gym, then had south for the psychic. Then I'll do the desert titan and Eri's squad...then it's just ice, fairy, and dragon, thn the capstones to each plot.

Okay I have consulted the Nebula and I am gonna approach Icefuck Mountain from the west. Which is Medali. i have the correct west this time. Once we download an update.

Found a Cetoddle oh my gosh look at it. Baby. ...o.o okay so i just watched the baby eat a vigoroth. So, your name will be Slotheater.

ah heck that's probably my worst sandwich yet...oh this is not where I'm meant to be. OH I FOUND A DITTO. You'll be Fred. Okay now we are properly en route to the ghost gym! I have also been advised to do Ortega before Eri so we're doing it that way now. TOEDSCOOL i am not going to kill it this time! You're gonna be Hogus.

Got it~ Okay and then we go up icefuck mountain, because it just isn't an rpg without at least one icefuck mountain. Chonkstr finally evolved, we'll get a level on Vani before we swap out. Next we need...sunkern, kricketot, and rookidee, then happiny, since som of those will happen real quick. Bob is only here to fill my dex so I'm using a sun stone right away. The rookidee is going to take a while, though...okay that's the cricket, so it'll be Happiny next.

There's Sunny's evolution! Now just gotta befriend this brat and level up and she'll evolve again. ...oh that was fast, turns out three baths and a yummy sammich will do it. So Azurill is next! Let's try the same techniqu for friendship....

I JUST FOUND SIX EGGS IN MY BASKET AT ONCE?

Okay Balto has evolved once, and Orb will be an Azumarill in no time....if it ver warms up to me. Hm. Happiny went much faster. THERE we go. One more level and Azumarill. doot! I don't hav a Surskit, never went back for on, so nxt is Buizel. And I think i'll actually start heading up Icefuck Mountain now.

OKAY up th airy mountain down th rushy glen! Nanze the.....first ice typ Jupe dosn't murdr. Snover. Mechalli the Sneasel. Koeagal the Cubchoo. Havdy the Bergmite. Camdycor the Snorunt. Tachulca the Delibird.

Oh, sure, THAT'S a safe place to be (on a narrow cliff, over about a million foot drop, in a blizzard, cornred by a floatzel)

aaaaaaa this cliff doesn't go anywhere

[ALL SCREAMING]

it's fine we're fine

AAAAAAA I FELL OFF A DIFFERENT CLIFF

what is tatsugiri it's strong wait is that th psudo

im gonna name you Maya. Ooh and here's a boy to name Tatsuya, because I am An Nerd. I think this is yt anothr version? nope it is not. Oh but THIS is! This on can b Lisa.

wherever th hll I am is th prettiest picnic spot. One horrifically spicy sammich later...

there is a cav hre...what's inside? Pokemon. Frigibax. You can be Zartd. Oops nvermind, you faintd and thre isn't another here. Ah! Mermert volved! Swapped for Psyduck. Whoa, hello Hawlucha! Annnd it died. Found anothr one you can b Rhumbacho.

We are going to fly back to Glaseado's Grasp bc otherwise im stuck here...thr's a wild flaron just chillin here....oops i killd it. Gonna ned this lady snorunt. Zaleet.

How the hell do I gt where I'm going??? Oh well. This femal Glaceon could be my tickt to more eeveelutions. You'll thusly b Mamedar

I MADE IT. Oooh, hypr training is back? oh! this sushi place has an xclusiv menu! Whether or not I accomplish my third objcetive today depends entirly one the gym test.

#letty plays pokemon scarlet #letty plays shit #livebloggin #had to delete som sntencs #apparently tumblr has a lngth limit

[zaphiregz]

And this is the result of have those icons on discord. @lilfriezatyrant . @susiceri. Your fault for inspired me for this 💙💜💙.-

The first one just want to hug Frieza, but the other one wants something else✨~.-

#frieza #freezer #frost #dbs fanart #dragon ball super #freerost #icejin #hey look a lizard sandwich #digital art #dbs #dragon ball

[mrpenguinpants]

Genshin: University AU [V1]

I love modern au. Or any “everything is fine, no one died, it’s just a fever dream” au. Half of me is thinking, damn maybe I should answer this serious- LOL HAHA no. That’s not happening. Time to crack my knuckles and let my brainworms take over again.

Once again, this is 90% crack 10% content. I want to switch up my characters from the last brainworm post but I included Kaeya and Diluc.

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Today’s appreciation post goes to twistedwishes. Hey! I’ve been seeing you pop up a lot lately and thanks for the support 💕💕 I hope things are going better for you and you’re doing alright^^ I feel kinda bad for making appreciation posts on crack fics but hopefully this is somewhat funny haha. 

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Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]

Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]

Genshin: Roommate [V1]

Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

  @mikeysbike @hanniejji@unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @thicmitten @youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife  @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki​

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Diluc

Absolute pretty boy who has braincells, but only if Kaeya is not there. In his mind, Kaeya’s presence makes his room loose 40% of their common sense. He can’t prove it just yet but he’s working on it. He majors in accounting but also has a minor in marketing, logistics’ management, fia- he majors everything business related. He’s going to become the next Elon Musk through smarts or by getting the competition drunk. There can be no contest if he’s the only candidate. He’s actually a hard working guy that overworks and stresses way too much. You have daily “Diluc recharge” evenings where he just hangs onto you while you go through your day.

“Don’t fucking talk to me until I’ve had my coffee,” except there is no coffee - he drinks grape juice out of juice boxes and his only energy boost is when he meets up with you - and that’s his constant mood. So he usually only hangs around you and Jean, since she has childhood friend status and is actually an angel. By default, Lisa is added and Diluc doesn’t mind her but if he see’s Kaeya, it’s full on war paint mode. If he's not busy with work or studies, he's usually with you either in your dorm or his apartment.

He has a fanclub and he seriously hates it and tries to do everything in his power to get Ningguang to take it down. Shouldn’t this be against his rights? But she refuses for whatever reason and makes a whole speech about free will. No matter what he does, someone manages to take a picture and it get’s printed in the university’s newspaper. The only bonding time he has with Kaeya is every Monday, where they collect and burn all the universities newspapers before anyone can get their hands on it. You always bring marshmallows to make smores during their arson activities.

“When I graduate I’m going to burn this school down to the ground. That’s not a threat it’s a promise.”

Ningguang

Is secretly the leader of the Diluc fanclub - not that she likes Diluc, she’s in a questionable platonic poly marriage with you and Beidou - but it was the easiest way to gain funds for the student council. Which she is the president of, so rip Diluc the fanclub stays. Ruthless business woman I tell you. But she can run in heels so her danger factor rises by at least 20%.

Majors in social sciences and law but more specifically the political science & government. She saw the Imperial State Crown that the Queen of England wears and says yes, that’s mine now. If she’s not with Beidou and you planning on “how to infiltrate the state government just for lols”, then she’s with Keqing, Ganyu, and Zhongli discussing student council things. Should they or should they not tell the student body that they can see everyone’s search results? Sit back and relax as the school goes into chaos. 

She’s probably the scariest person on campus No, she is the scariest person on campus. She’s the scariest person on campus. But secretly she’s popping 20 aspirins just to make it through a night. She has the digestive system of steel. She still holds the title of "seriously do not try and beat her in a drinking game it's never going to happen" and that's her proudest achievement in life but sadly she can’t put it on her resume. Kaeya is still trying to beat her out of spite but so far it hasn't been working. You’re seriously concerned for her when she get’s challenged but Beidou gives you a way-to-hard slap on the back and cheers her on. If Ninngguang somehow get’s alcohol poisonings she’ll somehow find away to make a profit out of it.

"I'll let him die, I'll get the insurance money."

Kaeya

One day he chugged too much mouth wash, passed out, and somehow woke up in university majoring in law. His idea is that if he is apart of the law, he can therefore stand above it. To be fair, his only goal in life is to say “I am the manager” and he can go live the rest of his life in bliss or as a hermit. He’s secret best friends with you but wouldn't be caught dead beside you. He will stab a bitch if you ever get hurt but will still trip you on the way home. Seriously, you have no idea why people find him attractive. Your guess is it’s the eye patch or the clap of his ass cheeks that keeps alerting everyone.  

He’s apart of the newspaper club and if anyone asks: No, he has no idea who keeps taking all the newspapers and burns them in the back of the campus. Originally, he joined because he was nosy and needed to join some type of club for his resume. He sometimes feels bad for his junior assistant Amber because he keeps tricking her and says that Diluc is secretly a demon that is trying to steal all the jobs and is apart of the lizard government hell bent on eradicating the human race. He even brought out a whiteboard for this joke, he’s dedicated to his job ok? 

The type of guy to try and be humble and say his work is “okay” but will choke a bitch if anyone agrees. He tends to leave everything last minute and says that it’s his drug since actual drugs could land you one year in prison and a maximum penalty of $2,000. You have to awkwardly hold in your concerned mother head shake when you see him speed running his assignment literally right when the professor is walking around to check if students finished. 

“I was taught how to lead not to read.”

Mona

Broke wallet #2. Zhongli is broke wallet #1 but Childe simps for him so is he really a broke wallet at this point? In this essay, I Mona Megistus, will explain why I have the rights to the title “Broke Wallet #1″...

Believes that astrology should be an actual career path but refuses to take astronomy as her major. I can read the stars not a textbook that tells me how to calculate the mass of the sun divided by the fucks I give. Instead she went into Philosophy and cries to Albedo, who is an actual prodigy genius- sir lend some braincells to everyone else please?, that her professor keep turning her paper down because “star reading” is not an academic source.

Fischl wants her to join the occult club because, surprisingly, Mona is very good at telling people’s fates through her crayon sketch ouija board. She thinks first year Fischl is cute but is put off by the cosplay roleplay that she has going on. She would join except that stupid hat wearing gremlin in her lit class would make fun of her if he found out.

You gave her half your lunch one day and bought her a doughnut "because she seemed upset" and "out of the goodness of your heart" whatever the hell that means. She thinks you pensioned it but once that thought comes she takes a bite. Poison from a doughnut is not the worst way to go out, classes are hard enough. She’s waiting for the lord to strike her down anyways. 

“Its not about passing, its about doing better than everyone else.”

Venti

Slept through most of highschool and people question how he got into university. He’s a music major (wow how fucking original is that), and if anyone asks him to serenade someone or just do anything, he’ll do it for the right price. Or if you buy him alcohol because he still keeps getting ID checked. He’s banking on Kaeya actually becoming a lawyer or being on good terms with Diluc so he can finally stop being arrested for looking like a toddler.

Takes one step into classes and quickly nopes out and goes back to bed. Professors have no idea how he hasn't dropped out or failed. He just has some god given talent. He does whine at you to pretty pretty please with a cherry on top tutor him because you're such an angel and would never leave your poor but awesome best friend hanging right? He needs to get this essay down but how he is suppose to explain how the number 10 is symbolic and connects to the universe or the meaning of life. Do you think he can just say it’s apart of his culture and make up some random myth to pretend it looks like he knows what he’s doing? 

He’s honestly going with the flow and put his brain on the back burner all of highschool and only now realizes wait, I actually have to use my brain?

He’s been banned from most club chats since Venti has the no chill card. Someone says “lol I look ugly today.” and he’ll respond "yup, you look like a cow." and he get’s banned. Zhongli keeps a speed run timer on his phone just to document these occasions.

"Sad spelled backwards is das and das how it be sometimes."

Childe

An actual dumbass that somehow does well. He eats sandwiches with the crust off, this heathen. Surprisingly he’s studying to become a physical therapist but most of his experience has come from breaking his own bones. You’re scared how he's going to be if he actually becomes a therapist. If he'll make bets with his patients or try to one up whatever crazy injury they get into. Everything is a challenge to him that sometimes the best way to deal with Childe is to knock him out. 

This man really knows the way to a Zhongli’s woman's heart. Through micro transactions. Mona saw him accidently drop $20 and just shrugged and walked off. She has never been both spiritually and physically offended in her life. She did take the $20 though. As much as you hate leeching on Chile when he’s basically a walking wallet that probably uses bills as tissue paper, you can’t help but give him puppy eyes while planning on how to get into his will. If he even plans on having one, he might honestly write “whoever wins in a gladiator style duel in my funeral’s tournament, they will get my fortune.”. 

Any sport the university offers Childe is probably in it. Which is how he met Zhongli, challenged him to a fight, proceeded to have his ass handed to him, got a backhanded compliment, and screamed to you he was in love and how he found his soulmate. He's secretly very sappy and has cried and watched every Disney and Pixar movie at least 28 times.

"IM NOT TOO SPICY! I’M A TINY BIT ABOVE MILD IF ANYTHING!”

---

God if it isn’t Scaramouche, it’s Childe that ruins the aesthetic. This is why I hate you. Why do you people enable me like this, it isn’t even good. This is pretty much a @ yourself moment and I vibe hard with Venti. This entire post was just to make a joke about the clap of Kaeya’s ass cheeks alerting the guards.

This week might slow down since I have classes and assignments. My reply’s are gonna be late too, sorry;; (oh and thank you to everyone that was so supportive and nice when I mentioned it. All of you. Beautiful 💕💕 )

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact imagines #genshin fanfic #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin headcanons #genshin impact headcanons #genshin crack #genshin childe #childe x reader #genshin childe x reader #genshin venti #venti x reader #genshin venti x reader #genshin mona #mona x reader #genshin mona x reader #genshin kaeya #kaeya x reader #genshin kaeya x reader #genshin ningguang #ningguang x reader #genshin ningguang x reader #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #genshin diluc x reader

[verse50]

Heat

It was the first weekend over 80F and we took full advantage of it on our six acres. Friday night we let the kids loose on the rock pile, loading up the trailer for the dump, then packed them off early Saturday for soccer camp. All morning he bush-hogged the treeline while I wrestled the sunken raised beds into shape. This house had been so neglected when we bought it two years ago. Finally we had the time and money to make it nice again.

I was pulling weeds when he tromped out in chaps and ear protection. Chainsaw hanging from his belt. That and the sweaty dirt on his face made me look a bit longer.

“I’m gonna saw up that alder and then get to the stairs,” he half shouted. Bush hogging will do that to you. He grinned and took out his ear plugs. “The beds are coming along, maybe-” I was on my knees and gazed up at him quizzically.

“You’re not wearing a bra,” he said, at the perfect angle to peer down my shirt.

“Nope!” I agreed, and swung myself back and forth. It looked and felt like two water balloons bumping in a pillowcase. Then stuck out my tongue.

His mouth set. “I gotta get the stairs done today.” Then he was gone into the brush, chainsaw revving. I bent down again to the weeds, trying to drown my frustration with deep breaths. 

He was so hard to read. I was a free spirit, a spitfire, and he was a calm, methodical engineer with a heart of gold. There was no better man on the planet, I was convinced, but gosh sex was tough with him! It took him so long to adjust to change. A toe ring. The tiniest gold nose ring. A tattoo on my ankle. Introducing him to my vibrator. I had to pace everything at six month intervals or it was too much.

 But once he got used to it...holy fucking shit. He basically dissected that vibrator and and studied the user manual. Found similar ones, tested them on me like I was a guinea pig. Even took me to a toy store in Dallas then fucked the daylights out of me until 3am. And then...it all petered out like a spent firework. I would try to keep the energy going, keep him interested, but I could never tell what worked. He was pretty shy about sex, almost embarrassed. He wasn’t comfortable with dirty talk. We couldn’t really sext because his job required cellphones be lockered except at lunch. We could go months on once a week then he would surprise me with a two day fuckfest, like a volcano erupting. I lived for those times but could never figure out how to make them happen more often. All it did was make me ramp up with excitement, feel more free, then try to cram myself in a box again. He was such a good man, though. I just needed to be more patient, less wild. I ripped up the weeds angrily.

The sun was high when he came in for lunch. I had sandwiches, chips, and his favorite tea ready. There was even more dirt on his face and I sat there awkwardly, trying to equate my silent chip-crunching husband with the dirty woodsman I wanted to pounce on.

“I think I’ll build out the landing a bit from the stairs, maybe put in a new handrail,” he said. I sipped my tea and nodded. “The driveway could use some gravel.”

“The trailer has all the rocks in it still,” I pointed out.

“Mmm. I’ll go to the dump first, then hit Home Depot and Brother’s Fieldstone.” He looked at me as if I had just appeared at the table. “You’re wearing a bra now.”

“Uh-huh.” I cut off a smart-ass retort and became very busy fishing pickles from their jar. “I’m gonna work on the petunia baskets.”

After the peck on my cheek he would be gone for at least two hours. I ripped off my bra, blasted Slayer on my bluetooth speaker, and delved into the hanging baskets. By the time I had repotted everything and cleaned up the cobwebby  lounge chairs I was a filthy mess. Shower time.

You couldn’t see our house from the road. I went out on the deck in just a towel, then threw it off and lay naked on a chair, basking like a lizard. Big fluffy clouds blocked the sun momentarily, then shooed away when I spread my legs wide. Everything needed to dry. My hair would need a serious flatiron session. Idly I thought of him coming out of the forest...rushing home...making a beeline for me...a naked woman tanning herself alone...so easy to take advantage...helpless...but there was a shotgun behind the door...

Damn it, I thought. Can’t even have a fantasy and it gets all practical. He’s wearing off on me. I looked at my phone. About 30 minutes of naked freedom left- I should water the baskets again. I picked up the hose and my phone rang.

“Hey baby,” I said, working up the cheerful wife tone. He really was wonderful. I just needed to...not need so much.

“Baby, guess how much the lumber cost for the deck, right now?”

I thought for a minute. It has been awhile since we did a major project. “Um, I think we did the brown house for under $600?”

“Yeah, well, I priced it all out. It’s gonna be over $2000! We can’t swing that now. It’s insane, the prices. Never seen anything like it. And Brother’s is out of pea gravel!” He was worked up. This man stuck to budgets religiously.

“O my God! No, you’re right. We can’t do that now. The deck will be fine for awhile, definitely. It’s sturdy at least.” The sun was so hot on my back. I stared at my shadow, waving the limp hose to and fro.

“So I emptied the trailer and uh, checked everything out. Since we can’t do anything more on that today I, um....” he coughed. I waited, cautiously easing on the water. “I went to that new little toy store in the strip mall.”

Water spurted out onto my shadow. “I see. What kind of toys?”

“The only kind!” His voice rose. The hose engorged and gurgled. “I found one like your pink one, you know that does the swirly thing, too? But this seems to be a softer material, a better grade of silicone, I think this company merged with a big distributor and, uh...”

My mouth twisted. It was just like him to get carried away on technical aspects. “That’s so sweet, baby. What are you wanting to do with that?”

“I want to use it on you.” He was almost whispering, as if there were seven other people in his F-250. “Like Dallas.” It was such a distant memory. I couldn’t work myself all up again, it was too exhausting. But he went to the store, my dear husband...he wants something.

“You can do whatever you want to me, baby,” I said sincerely. “Just come home and we can hang out the rest of the day.”

“I don’t want to hang out. I want- I want you to not wear a bra again. I don’t want you to feel, uh, like you have to put it back on? Around me?”

I aimed the water where my shadow’s pussy would be. Cool drops sprayed up onto my flushed skin.

“I’m not wearing a bra right now.”

“What?”

“I’m naked out on the deck. Been tanning after I took a shower.”

Silence. He was gunning the truck, I could hear the roar.

“I hope you’re bringing some wood home for me.” VVVBBBBRBbbbbRRRRrr.

“Baby, if you can just let me plan stuff. It’s easier for me. I’m sorry I’m slow and I disappoint you. I wanted to tear your shirt off there but I’m just never sure...I don’t want to do anything you don’t like, I don’t want to hurt you- really- just let me plan sometimes and maybe try to go along? I promise I’ll do better, you are so sexy-” sfhkhfffffppp. His phone cut out. I stood there, dumb, watching the water drip my shadow off the edge of the deck. He had never talked to me so much at one time. “-if I can plan and know in advance that you like it we can do more, you drive me crazy you know that, right?”

I took a deep breath. My legs were shaking into the damp, hot wood. “How do you want me to be, when you get home?”

Pause. More gunning. “On the deck chair, doggy. Ass in the air. Wait- I need to shower first.”

“No, you don’t. You’re sexy with the dirt on you. I love it.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I love my sexy, dirty husband.”

“Ok.” He was firm. The blinker was on, he was at the intersection ten minutes away. “Ass up, doggy. Hands by your side. Face turned away from the stairs. I don’t want you to see me. I have-have- a special delivery.”

I turned off the water. The whole deck was soaked. Not one basket had gotten a drop. “Ass up ready to receive. I’ll be waiting for you, baby.” I was so excited my words came out slowly, bouncing through a lump in my throat. The sun was cold and hot at the same time.

“If you respond well there will be future appointments.” His voice was full of confidence before the phone shut off.

I almost tripped on my way over to the lounge chair. Fortunately my towel was there in case things got really wet.

Thank you to @daily-esprit-descalier for sharing the photo that inspired this story.

Linktree

#verse50original #relationships #nature #writersontumblr #married

[insomniac-dot-ink]

Hey! A new wlw short story is up on my Patreon. Check it out! And please consider becoming a Patron for more wlw writing and more. As a struggling artist anything helps.

Here’s a free preview:

Headlights Girl

Most humans carry the night with them. Even during daylight hours, they can shut out the sun, turn off the light, recede into themselves and into that soft secret place behind their eyes.

Did you know certain animals don’t have eyelids? Gecko’s have nothing between them and the violent sun which wishes to cook the colors of their world. They have to use their tongue. Dust and sand and rain, can you imagine? I was obsessed with lizards as a kid.

I stacked up books on snakes and lizards and skinks. I traced the way that sand snakes crested across the land, sideways and wrong. I put glue on the pads of my hand and tried to climb the walls of my room— I didn’t even get one handhold up. I went to the zoo and peered into their cages, up on my tiptoes, trying not to smudge the glass or breath too hard. I tried make out their triangle heads and slow tongue-flicks, but they shrank away from my gaze deep into their cages into the nooks and crannies. Most things do.

Most humans carry the night with them, right there behind their eyelids is an entire world of darkness and sleep. I have something else inside me, not quite, not soft, not secret. They called me “headlights girl” in the newspapers.

There have been stranger kids born in the age of spirits. I checked. Every morning of fifth grade, I scanned the papers for small articles and mentions of “oddities” growing into anomalies.

A boy with fire on his breath. A girl with leaves sprouting from her head. A kid with antennae that could taste the wind. There are stranger things than me in the age of beasts and magic. My father calls it the “Epoch of Bastards,” sons and daughters of flickering fire elementals and wind ghosts who seduced half-asleep ladies from their beds.

He doesn’t look at me much. And I know what he means. I know what he means when he calls it the Epoch of Bastards. Growing up, I played in my little puddle of carpet on the floor as he blustered in and out of rooms like gale force winds. He’d be looking for his keys or left shoe or wallet since he was going out, out, out. I think I missed him at first, in the way you miss strangers you’ve never met.

Later, still on my puddle of carpet, still on my island, I would glare at him with that sour, acid taste in the back of my throat. Acrid, smoky, I would barely blink as he passed; he’d jump when he turned too quickly and accidentally fell into my path. Later still, I would begin to wish they were both like that—blustery and calling people names.

It sometimes felt better than hearing my mom weep to herself on the couch. I wish she’d do it in her room or outside or anywhere else than that theatrical sobbing in the middle of the house, a naked heartbeat to the place. She spoke to her friends on the phone in that same watery voice, handkerchief in hand and sniffling, she spoke to them more than me.

What else am I supposed to do? This isn’t how it was supposed to be. They could barely afford to send me to That School. I didn’t want to be there either.

We weren’t the same, not really. None of us are the same age and most everyone else stayed in dorms where they bonded with secrets and whispers and hiding from matrons under flat mattresses. It wasn’t the same.

They called me The Lighthouse and Car Face and Nightlight. Sometimes they’d give me a few bucks to close my eyes so they could see my face. I did it. They’d laugh and reassure me I was as ugly as you’d think. Or beautiful. Or perfectly average-looking or have a pig-nose or blackhole for a nose. I’d never seen anything but the blinding light of my own eyes in the mirror so I could never contradict them.

A boy with antlers handed me a twenty for a kiss in the 6th grade. I closed my eyes for that too. It was chapped and dry and he runs away with a screaming laugh afterward. There are stranger kids than me, I reminded myself. So why do I feel so much stranger than the rest of them?

I’m 16 when I heel-toe my way down the stairs toward the front door. A duffel bag slung over my shoulder stuffed with a collection of loose clothes, change, a bath towel, sewing kit, a bible written in a language I don’t speak, all the tampons in the house, and a Swiss-army knife.

I hoped to stuff as many cheddar-cheese sandwiches in my sack as possible before the midnight bus came, but he’s at the kitchen table. I don’t think either of us expected it, like running into your teacher at Target and you’re both buying the same brand of toilet cleaner. There’s a beer in front of his idle hands and he glances at the bag on my shoulder.

He sighs like I cut him off in traffic.

“Gimme a moment.”

My father leafs through a wad of cash he kept in a safe in the garage. He hands me almost three hundred bucks and we nod at each other. I’m out the door before the midnight bus arrives.

I watch the headlights of the bus approach through dense summer night and think it must be like looking at like, the glow of my eyes against its eyes. Can a bus be your father? Can your father be a man after all this time? Will your mother come looking for you?

I get on the bus and kick my feet up against the seat in front of me. Scrunched into a ball, I cross my arms over my chest, and watch the trees turn into flickering bodies of shadow with each passing mile. ------------- My feet move like tides. They toss me against nameless city streets and toward empty forested slices of land. I taste the painted deserts toward the west. I dip my toes into the largest cities with lights brighter than my own. I graze my palms on neon signs and hunch my shoulders against brick walls of back alleys.

No one touches me. They don’t come close enough when I open my eyes and they see nothing but heaven or devils or an absent lightning-God father that will smite them.

I find my way to the ocean; beaches where other stragglers gather. I don’t talk much, I don’t like to, and people stare at me whether I’m speaking or screaming and clamping down on my jaw so hard it aches. Sometimes I get yelled at: Turn that off! No phone lights in here. You’re blinding me, bitch!

I’ve never seen a movie in any theatres, but I can imagine what it’s like.

I like the ocean cities best with their pale buildings built into cliffs, narrow winding white paths, and crushed seashell parking lots. I like the tang of salt in the air and the way my hair crinkles from the ocean water as it sun-dries. I camp out on beaches and bum cigarettes and hotdogs off strangers. I’m good at taking care of myself once I get in a rhythm.

Sometimes, or often, I dream of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I dream of descending on pointed ballerina-feet to the silted black bottom. I am weighted down through the cold to where no human has ever been before. I open my eyes there, I open them all the way, lightning-bright, and in my dreams, the salt doesn’t sting. It doesn’t hurt, instead, I light up the world, the whole untouched world of whales and fish and terror and maybe I do something good then. Maybe I do something good and bring the sun to places that have forgotten it.

I meet Mags on the beach. She’s got one eye and five teeth and carries around string and scissors everywhere. She smells like seawater and roasting kelp, dank and crusted over. Her clothes are neat despite her leather-cracked skin and her arms and neck are covered with tattoos of shipwrecks. She cackles and pulls me aside the first night we meet.

“What’s your name?” Her voice is old creaking wood. I am quiet. “I could give you one.” She offers with a grin that is more empty space than anything.

I shake my head. “Nana.”

“What do you like, kid?”

I shake my head again.

Mags likes me more than I deserve. I pocket her last pair of socks when she’s not looking. She never mentions it and drags me down to the community showers to get clean with soap and shampoo. She takes me to the soup restaurant for something that isn’t burnt or freeze-dried or from a convenience store. She cackles, she spits when she talks, people glare at her as well.

I think she’s normal, not touched by the spirits, but she likes me more than most people and I don’t know why.

“You like art, kid?”

I snort. “No.”

“Why not? You broken?” Yeah. Probably.

“How am I supposed to know?” I snap.

“Lippy-wild thing. Come on, I’ll show you something worth your forked tongue.”

She heats the needle before she uses it, red hot and untouchable. She dips it into deep black inks, only black and sometimes red, she calls them the only colors that matter. She shows me how to prick the skin with color and movement. She shows me on her right foot first, all over those fine little bones that must hurt, in and out, a little bloody.

It takes her six hours to make a little shipwreck right above her big toe. It’s a schooner going under and I’m the only witness to the way she makes the waves come to life and crash against its sides. I can’t look away and I forget to blink. She didn’t seem to mind.

She washes another needle. She heats it red-hot. She dips it in ink and hands it to me.

I practice all over my thighs first, there’s enough meat there and it’s easy enough to reach: a lizard design that looks like nothing but squiggles, a wobbly stick figure on a skateboard, a tiny smudged skink with its tongue out. I practice designs in the sand. Mags takes me to the museum on Sundays. They’re free on Sundays.

Something stirs in my chest, even as the guards yell at me about how flash photography isn’t allowed in the museum. Even as I’m shooed out of exhibits for ruining the paint. Still, an ache so old it rots roars to life in my chest.

I stab in and out, gentle, a collection of stars right above my right knee. A winding sand snake next, and then finally, something good, something that gives people a reason to stare. I make it in the mirror: a ghost on my collarbone. Shadowed and intricate and simple, I put a ghost right above my collarbone and it bleeds more than the others.

I don’t want to leave the ocean city. Mags says she has to keep moving though. She gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“You're a gem, kid. You’ll knock ‘em all to the pavement.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “You’ll be back?”

She cackles. “Wouldn’t miss it. You know me.” She winks as she turns to the bus, my second father. “You think I’ll miss your great becoming, kid? I’ll be back.”

I want to make her pinky-promise like I’m a kid again and begging one of the other kids to tell me if I’m actually beautiful when I close my eyes. I can’t do that; I wave as she totters up the steps of the bus and is taken away with the tides of her own feet. ------------ I get an apprenticeship. Technically, Mags talked to them first and I just followed up when I had nothing better to do.

I didn’t think I’d like it much, but coach surfing and camping out on beaches is a tiring pastime. Penguin Davies and Bitch-Annie run a tattoo shop together. Davies walks like he’s never encountered land before, and Bitch-Annie has a throw-pillow that says “If you don’t have anything nice to say then come sit next to me.”

Davies is nothing but birds and dizzying M. C. Escher house-designs up and down his chest and arms. Bitch-Annie has topless mermaids and pinup girls across her shoulders and legs. She’s been asked to leave a number of stores before the children start staring or thinking thoughts.

Neither of them had ever met someone like me, it’s not that type of town. I rankle at most their questions, a cat meeting a steel brush. I brush off anything more personal than my favorite type of soda. Bitch-Annie calls me “Shadow” and I think it’s a joke. Davies says I must be possessed by the ghost of a dead star and now I’m nothing but a blackhole: take everything in and let nothing out.

Neither of them lets me touch a needle in those first six months. They have me practice on pig skin and stand by their shoulder as they work. I feel like a dental assistant except I’m the hanging light above shining into open mouths instead of anything with a pulse. I stand at their shoulder as they draw thick lines and thin dots and make hearts and wolves and names of dead lovers come to life.

They ask me to stop blinking and stand still. I almost walk out and find a new cliff to crash against, almost. No one had ever expected me to show up to something before. No one cared if I went to school or when I got home. And no one kept any tabs on me after I took that first bus. That’s how I liked it.

I should’ve left, it didn’t mean anything to me, not really. But Bitch-Annie stomped up to my attic-apartment one morning and threw pants at me.

“Get up, Shadow.” She was sterner than Mags, no hint of humor in her eyes. “I told you 9am so I expect 9am.”

“The fuck!?” I am eloquent in the morning.

“Pants, shirt, shoes, and bra if you don’t want the desk idiot staring at something other than your eyes all day.”

I grumble. I put on everything but the bra. No one ever expected me to be anywhere before. I tell myself I’ll just try it out, no harm in having a bit of a savings anyway. No harm in seeing what the fuss was about.

I wasn’t an artist of course. I didn’t understand what everyone else was seeing when they looked at the “old masters” paintings of water or war or lovers pulled apart. I didn’t feel anything in front of stain-glass windows in churches or mosaics on walls. Maybe there really was something wrong with my eyes. I don’t let up though. I put on pants for this, after all.

Penguin Davies hovered by my shoulder now.

“Mm.” He rumbled deep in his chest. He’d gone grey at an early age, he had tired eyes and quick hands. The desk kid said he’d been in medical school once, a surgeon. Davies muttered a lot, stared off into space too much, and laughed like it was always a surprise

“Perfectionist,” he muttered at me now as I start over on a crappy unicorn design. “The line’s barely off. You’re being a perfectionist, Nana.”

I scowled over my shoulder and let the full weight of my light hit him across the face. “Got a problem with it?” He chuckled darkly. His grin is crooked like a broken door handle. I tried to hide my work from him with my shoulder. “It’s not done yet.

“Look at you go. You know who makes the best artists, Nana?” He was always a bit of a philosopher. Maybe he used to study that before medicine.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I’m working on it.”

He gave my shoulder a light push. “The ones that don’t quit.”

They let me touch a needle gun before the new year. I tell myself I’ll only sign my new apartment lease as an experiment. I don’t have to actually stay. I’ll just run from the ink on paper and hope no one chases after girls with eyes that glow.

I don’t break my lease. I draw cartoon heroes in speedos on tipsy college girls who swear they’re sober and erotic vampires on the chests of men getting their first divorce. I have to give two refunds for a duck that turns out lopsided and a tattoo of someone’s dog which I swore really was that ugly to begin with.

There was one at the end of that next year though, another college girl with nothing but doors ahead of her. She asked for a stick and poke, that was what I’m best at anyway, she asked for a butterfly. Butterflies were easy, I could do the little ones in my sleep. She wanted one all across her back, she said I could make it look however I wanted. So I did. Wings like fringed shawls and straight heavy lines combined with wispy swirling ones. It’s dark, black ink with red highlights and gray shadows under each wing to give it movement and flight.

I hide my smile when she goes to my bosses and points at it while jumping up and down. The best thing she’s ever seen. She should pay us double. Where did you get this girl? I try not to blink so they can’t see the wetness under my eyes.

Sometimes I still stand by the bus stop to check who’s coming off. I don’t expect to see Mags again so soon, but sometimes I want to show her: Hey, maybe your work wasn’t all wasted. Maybe I did start to become.

🌸Check out my Patreon for the full story! 🌸

#wlw #urban fantasy #writing #found family #sapphic #short story #femslash #writers on tumblr #writeblr #magical realism #patreon #my work #long post #long post cw

[taizi]

enough here to survive

@natsumeweek 2021 day 3; seasons/change

read on ao3

(previous part)

x

It will take almost a full year to convince his father. 

Shuuichi has to throw around words like “recruitment” and “investment” and “contingency” that taste like ash in his mouth, feeling like some kind of sleazy salesman. 

But that’s what it takes to get the man’s flat refusal to move into reluctant consideration instead. 

Explaining Takashi’s situation at home—describing his bruises and the way he flinches when someone raises their voice—isn’t enough to make his dad think it over, but his own family’s health and safety certainly is.

Shuuichi paints him a picture of a potentially powerful protector, should those vengeful spirits they’re all so afraid of come knocking someday; and, if that fails, a fall guy. A patsy. Someone to take the blame.

This is as much as Shuuichi can do for now. 

In the meantime, he picks Takashi up from school, as promised. 

Sometimes they end up in the park where Shuuichi will help him with his homework, and sometimes they end up at a combini where Shuuichi will cajole him into spoiling his dinner with expensive ice cream. Sometimes Takashi will have marks on his arms from human hands, but at least there are none left there from random yokai anymore. 

He comes out of his shell more and more every day, like a brave little hermit crab. It’s amazing the difference it makes just having someone around who sees the same world he sees. It makes a difference to Shuuichi, too. It peels him out of his bitter, angry armor, piece by piece.

Now and then, they encounter some of Shuuichi’s classmates around town. He doesn’t talk to much of anyone at school—and no one goes out of their way to talk to him, either—but apparently he’s much more approachable when there’s a little kid clinging to his hand. 

“Is this your brother, Natori?” Hinata, a girl from his homeroom, asks one day. They ran into her outside the convenience store and her eyes lit up when she saw them. Crouching in front of Takashi with bright eyes, she coos, “Oh, he looks just like you! You both have such fair hair.”

Takashi glances up as if to gauge Shuuichi’s reaction to this assessment, but at that moment, apparently, the lizard chooses to slink across the bridge of Shuuichi’s nose. Takashi dissolves into giggles, and Hinata clearly thinks he’s the cutest thing since Cinnamoroll. She refuses to let them leave until she’s bought Takashi some candy. 

After that she seeks Shuuichi out in class to ask about his brother—and then somehow that evolves into heated discussions about a TV drama they both follow religiously—and within a month Shuuichi ends up with her cellphone number and a standing invitation to watch new episodes with her and her boyfriend every Sunday. 

“My life has gotten a lot weirder with you in it, kid,” Shuuichi tells Takashi one day, only half-joking. 

He’s sitting in the grass with his arms spread out in front of him while Takashi conducts an experiment with the lizard tattoo, asking yes or no questions for it to respond to—right arm being ‘yes’ and left arm being ‘no.’ So far nothing much has come of it, the lizard curled up in the hollow of Shuuichi’s throat instead, but it seems to like the attention. It keeps wagging its head or tail when Takashi talks to it. At one point it appears to roll over. This is a magical development as far as the kid is concerned. 

“Good-weird?” Takashi asks hopefully. 

Rolling his eyes, Shuuichi says, “Obviously. You don’t have a bad bone in your body, Takashi.”

Takashi beams, as delighted by that as he is by the stupid tattoo. 

“You should give the lizard a name,” Takashi adds a beat later. 

“Absolutely not.”

Then one day in late September, Shuuichi stops by Takashi’s school only to find out he never showed up that morning. Takashi’s homeroom teacher recognizes him and seems to have made the same assumption everyone else has made. 

“Your parents called him in sick today,” she says, looking faintly worried. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Shuuichi doesn’t even remember to say goodbye. He just spins around and starts running. Sasago appears beside him, and he says, “Find him!”

For a shiki that doesn’t truly belong to him, she obeys swiftly. Takashi just has that effect on people.

Sasago has never had any trouble finding Shuuichi no matter where he goes. It’s not something he’s ever thought to test, it’s just something he counts on. He doesn’t know how he knows that she’ll be able to locate one little human in a city of about one million humans, but he knows she will. 

And she does. 

She returns to Shuuichi not even five minutes later and guides him to a nearby hospital.

He’s almost fifteen years old and entirely frantic, and if everyone is going to take one look at them and decide they’re family, then Shuuichi is going to make that work for him. 

“My little brother is here,” he says, his words coming out in unsteady lurches as he gulps for air. He doesn’t even have to fake the plea in his tone. He really doesn’t have to act at all. “Natsume Takashi, where is he?” 

Later on, he’ll scoff about the thin veneer of patient confidentiality, but he’s hardly going to complain about it now, as he’s almost immediately ushered down the hall. He outpaces the nurse when he sees Takashi’s name on a temporary door placard, and lets himself into the room without waiting for permission or approval. 

Some adults are lingering in the corner, talking in low voices, and they barely glance at Shuuichi when he barges in. Whatever, Shuuichi doesn’t care about them either. His eyes fly straight to his shiki, where she hovers protectively over a tiny figure huddled in the chair next to the window. 

Takashi has two black eyes and his arm is in a short cast. He doesn’t even lift his head when Shuuichi stumbles over to him.

“Oh my god, kid,” Shuuichi whispers. “Hey, look at me. Takashi?”

It takes a minute, but Takashi finally glances up at him through his fringe. Shuuichi sinks to his knees in front of the chair. It almost feels like the moment they first met, except it’s a different manner of monster that hurt him this time. And it’s not just cuts and bruises.

There are shadows in his face that have never been there before, ones that look as though they’ll cling to him permanently if no one does something about them. He seems so vacant and forgotten. None of the adults are even looking at him. It’s like no one sees him. He might as well be another ghost. 

“There’s nowhere else to send him,” one of the strangers by the door is saying grimly. “We might have to look into an institution.”

“Actually,” Shuuichi blurts loudly, “he’s coming with me.”

It turns out they have a lot of opinions about that but he doesn’t care. He scoops Takashi up and sits down in the chair Takashi was sitting in and holds him in both arms. Just refuses to get up or let go. His heart is rattling in his chest the whole time, but this is important. 

And Sasago is right beside them, where she always is. She’s ready to attack in whatever direction Shuuichi points her in. He won’t let it come to that, but it’s reassuring to have the option. 

Eventually, when it’s clear he won’t be reasoned with, someone calls his father. 

His father takes one look at Shuuichi and sighs. Shuuichi lifts his chin. His father calls the family attorney. 

Afternoon passes into evening. All the adults are having a heated, complicated-sounding conversation behind a closed door. When it becomes clear no one will be home in time for dinner, a receptionist stops by with sandwiches and sports drinks for Shuuichi and Takashi. Her eyes look ancient with sadness when she takes in Takashi’s battered little face. 

Takashi’s guardians finally show up when the supervising doctor and the Natori attorney start making noises about getting the police involved. By now, Takashi is asleep, but Shuuichi is still wide-awake. He glares at them with all the hate he keeps saved up in his heart for monsters. They don’t even glance at the boys on their way past.

“He’s a clumsy kid,” Shuuichi overhears the woman saying frantically, through the door she and her husband left cracked open behind them. “He fell down the stairs.”

Bullshit, Shuuichi thinks, and is surprised to hear his father say it at the same time. 

“Apparently the child has made quite the impression on the staff here,” their attorney says amiably. You’d never guess how blood-thirsty he actually was from his tone. There’s a reason the Natori family keeps him on retainer. “We’ve got quite a few people willing to come forward if this situation goes to court. Maybe there’s a way we could settle this peacefully.”

By midnight, all the papers are in order. Bureaucracy moves quickly when you have enough money to throw at the right people. Takashi’s guardians sign him away like he’s a used car they don’t want anymore and arrange a time to drop off all of his possessions, and that’s it. 

Shuuichi is no longer an only child. 

It might not stand up if a long-lost relative comes along and presses for custody, but relatives like that seem to be in short supply in Takashi’s family. 

“He’ll be your responsibility,” his father says on the ride home, as if he’s not talking to a teenager who shouldn’t even be responsible for himself, let alone a five-year-old. 

Shuuichi nods anyway. Takashi is asleep against his side again, a heavy reminder. Shuuichi will do whatever he has to. He’ll be whatever he needs to be. 

He promised Takashi he would keep the monsters away, and that’s what he’s going to do.

#natsume yuujinchou #natsumeweek #natsuyuu #natori shuuichi #natsume takashi #my writing #natsuyuu fic #second hand

[onelastfic]

Got any Remus interactions?

“Of course you can have a slumber party, Moon Pie.” Winnie said, stirring the bubbling, smoking cauldron as Sibella chopped the necessary ingredients listed in the latest issue of Better Tombs and Gardens.

“What a fang-tastic idea! You’re older sisters used to have slumber parties with their friends all the time.” Sibella smiled.

Remus clearly wasn’t expecting this response when he asked his moms this. “First, it’s not a slumber party. It’s a sleepover with a few guys from the volleyball team. Second, I need you guys to tell me no. Don’t you want to spend a quiet evening at home?”

“This is more important, your first party.”

“And we’ll finally get to meet those new teammates you’ve been howling about. Plus, it’ll be nice to have some new blood in the house.”

“You’re right about that. Why don’t you have friends over more often?

“Because, like most teenagers, I’m very self-conscious about my family embarrassing me!” Remus shouted, pointing at the massive bubbling cauldron, the wide array of spooky ingredients like newt eyes and lizard tails on the counter, and the floral aprons his moms were wearing. “I don’t want to scare off my teammates with all this spooky weirdness.”

“Hey, we’re spooky monsters, but we’re people too. And if you're that worried, we’ll make sure to tone down the spooky stuff that happens during your sleep over.” Sibella said, pouring an ingredient into the cauldron producing a large puff of smoke. “Mmmmm, smelling deliciously rotten already.”

“Sure does, babe. Come on, think about it, son. All your friends are having fun.”

Remus sighed. “Actually, I think it would be fun to have some people over. You know, be normal for once.”

“And if all goes well you might just go from normal to toast of the town.” Sibella taste tested the brew. “Needs more wormweed.”

“And if anything goes wrong I could always move to another town.” Remus mumbled, already feeling that this sleep over is going to be a disaster.

——

“Oh my god!” Newton yelped, looking concerned at Remus who suddenly flopped onto the lunch table right in the middle of peeling his orange. He looked around, wondering if he should get help but the others were weirdly calm. “Um, is he okay?”

Ichiro paused his bite to his sandwich, looking unphased. “Oh, he fell asleep again, didn’t he? Don’t worry about it. This happens all the time.”

“I-it does?”

“Yep.” Mark added. “No need to be so concerned.”

“Is he sleepy because he’s part vampire?” Newt asked.

Ichiro looked at him confused. “What? No. Remus just has anemia and has to eat something around this time…Speaking of–” He shook the werewolf boy by the shoulder. “Moony, get up. You need to eat your orange to get your energy up.”

Remus stirred, groggily getting up. “Wha–? What’s happening–? Practice time already, Ichi?”

“Nope, still in lunch period. You need to eat your orange.” Ichiro explained.

“You also might want to drink some more soda too.” Mark added. “You already nodded off during math class too.”

“Aw, okay.” Remus said, coming back to his senses. He brought the blood orange up to his mouth and sunk his fangs into it. Soon the orange started to shrivel up and dry as Remus sucked all the liquid out of it. He clicked his tongue. “Awww, that’s much better. Now what were we talking about again?”

“Scary thing is, even though he dozes off in class a lot he’s on the honor roll.” Mark whispered to Newton.

“Hey! I heard that!”

——

Mark sighed in content. He ran a hand through his damp hair. “Gotta say, it’s not too bad doing laps in the rain, kinda refreshing.”

“Speak for yourself!” Remus shouted from behind him. His fur was soaking wet and he was dripping water all over the gym.

“You’re cleaning the gym floor after you dry off, Moony.” Ichiro said.

Remus growled. “Oh c’mon! It’s not like I made it rain or chose to be covered in fucking fur!”

——

“Look, Newt, you've got to treat a volleyball like you treat a woman—” Remus said, but stopped as the Stacies all gave the werewolf boy a hard look.

“What was that you were saying, Remus?”

“C’mon, Remus. Aren’t you like going to finish?”

“Yeah, we’re really interested in what you have to say.”

“Totally, go on, Remus. Say it.”

Remus paused. “No, no, no. I’ve dealt with my sisters enough times to know that look. I ain’t saying anything and you can’t make me.”

——

“Hah! That’s another point for me!” Remus shouted, smirking. “Suck it, guitar boy!”

“Fuck you, you oversized throw rug! That shot was clearly mine!” Beat spat back with a scowl.

“What the hell did you just call me?!” Remus snarled as he and Beat glared at one another. “You wanna say that to my face?!”

“I would but I don’t feel like bending down that low.” Beat said, knowing exactly what to say to get under his upperclassman’s skin.

One of Remus’s eyes twitched at the jab before letting out a loud growl. “That’s it! I don’t fucking care if you’re the next captain or some shit, I’m kicking your rocker wannabe ass!”

“Bring it, you Teen Wolf reject!” Beat said, gesturing to the senior to come at him.

——

“Do a fang-tastic job, Moony!

“You got this, little bro!”

“Awooooo, show em’ what I taught ya kid!”

Rico looked at the Townsville stands and wolf whistled. “Woah, who are those purple bonitas?”

Remus twitched and clutched his water bottle tightly. “Those are my older sisters, asshole…”

Rico smirked, still eyeing his sisters. “Are any of them single?”

“…You are so going down, you punk ass.”

——

Mark and Ichiro gawked as they took in Remus’s house. It looked exactly like a haunted house.

“Wow, your family starts decorating for Halloween early.” Mark whistled, looking at a giant cobweb near the door. These decorations were next level.

“These aren’t decorations. This is how it always is. My parents like the spooky monster lifestyle. Oh and be careful of any of the plants you see. Some of Morticia’s plants might try to eat you.” Remus explained.

“What?!”

——

“Reeemmmmuuuuussssss!!!” Rowena howled as she barged into her older brother’s room. She dragged her struggling little sisters in with her.

Remus groaned. “What is it this time?”

“Badriyah and Bellatrix stole my shoes and jacket—”

“No we didn’t!” The two younger girls said in unison.

“Then why did I find them in your room?!” Rowena growled.

Badriyah and Bellatrix’s eyes widened before hissing at their older sister. “Why were you in our room?!”

“Because I know you twerps always take my stuff without asking!” Rowena shouted, holding up the stolen shoes and jacket.

“So! You don’t even wear those shoes anymore! You said they were too small!” Badriyah screamed, making a grab for the shoes.

“Yeah! And you said that jacket was ugly and that you were going to donate it!” Bellatrix added, making a jump for the jacket.

“That still doesn’t mean you can come into my room and take stuff, you little twerps?!” Rowena shouted. Then she turned her eyes to her older brother. “Remus?! Tell them to apologize for taking my stuff?!”

“No?! Rowena should say sorry for going into our room?!”

“Yeah!”

Remus looked between his three sisters. Honestly he hated having to be the decider for their arguments. Things always got messy and no matter what side he picked someone was always mad at him.

Remus opened his mouth, looking like he was about to say something only for a puff of smoke to go off and a dark purple bat to come out. Knowing he’d have to move quickly, Remus, in his bat form, flew out the open window.

“Hey! Get back here!”

“You haven’t picked yet!”

“This isn’t over!”

After dealing with seven older sisters, Remus learned that the best thing to do with a sister fight is to let it run its course and not get involved. He’ll kill time at the arcade till things blow over.

#callyieverse #tales of mewni #oc #next gen #nextgen #remus dracula #the stacies #marc #ichiro #beat #rico #newt

[divineluce]

Let’s Marvin Gaye and Get These Lizards Out || Rosalyn & Luce

Timing: Backdated to April 21st, 2021

Tagging: @truecolorcollector & @divineluce

Location: Rosalyn’s Apartment

Description: Rosalyn needs help evicting some unexpected roommates, Luce offers a hand. Chaos ensues.

Was Luce the most in touch with nature? Not really. Not in the conventional sense, at least. She hiked, she’d lived in the woods, she felt more comfortable out in her cabin surrounded by the sounds of the forest than she did other places. But she wasn’t a tree hugging hippy or deluded enough into thinking that nature was all sunshine and rainbows. She’d been chased down by too many monsters in the woods to think that. Either way, it didn’t really matter if she was some nature girl or not-- she knew fire salamanders. And more importantly, she was still fireproof. Her flames might have left her, but at least she still had that. Grabbing the hamster cage from her passenger seat, Luce made her way to the apartment building and texted the number to let the woman know she was here. As the door swung open, Luce held up the cage and nodded, “Someone looking for lizard removal?”

Rosalyn had been eating lunch at her small dining room table when she saw something skitter across the floor out of the corner of her eye, nearly making her choke on her sandwich. Her first instinct was to grab her glass of water to chuck it at the creature. Luckily for it, it managed to quickly scramble under a large cardboard box and Rosalyn stopped herself before she could dump water all over her stuff. Then the text came in, as if on queue, and Rosalyn rushed downstairs

“Perfect timing!” Rosalyn said slightly frazzled from running to get the door. “And I’m not being hyperbolic. I actually managed to see where one of them went.” With that, she motioned for Luce to follow and made her way up the steps to her apartment.

The apartment was nice, if a bit cluttered, a good portion of the large living area taken up by an L-shaped work desk and large shelves packed with boxes and other containers. Not to mention several moving boxes still strewn about.

“Sorry, that wasn’t really a proper greeting.” Even as Rosalyn spoke she was scanning the room for signs of any other lizards. “Rosalyn Holt. And you’re Luce?”

A blonde woman who Luce didn’t recognize opened the door and ushered her in quickly. “Oh hey, lucky me.” Luce said as she looked around the apartment, taking in the moving boxes and slight disarray of the space. No wonder she didn’t look familiar-- this lady must have just moved into town. And already her place was infested with fire salamanders? Christ, that sucked. Not everyone had fireproof houses like she did. Looking around, Luce could already spot a few places that Iggy would love if he was here. A bunch of crumpled up packing paper, perfect kindling for a nice warm fire. Some flattened cardboard boxes that would be excellent material to chew on. Setting down the cage, Luce held out a hand, “Yep. Luce Vural, unofficial sa-- specialty lizard wrangler.” She said with a nod. “Seems like White Crest is giving you a nice warm welcome with these guys.”

Surveying the area, she asked, “Do you have a fireplace? Lizards. They like warmth-- starting a fire could draw them out.” Yeah, it’d sure as hell draw them out, they’d want to get it on in the coals. _

As Roslyn shook the woman’s hand she tried not to get distracted by the mirage-like purple shimmer rising off of Luce like heat off of blacktop. In her rush upstairs she hadn’t even noticed until, not until they were standing in the living room with Luce looking around. So this woman was a spellcaster? That was promising.

“Go figure the landlord wouldn’t mention the springtime roommates I’d be getting. And I’ve got-” Rosalyn looked towards her kitchen with a sigh. “An oven. And matches. Not sure if that works for whatever you're planning but I’m not exactly eager to set my fire alarms off if we can avoid it.”

As she finished speaking a rustling sound came from near one of the shelves, close to where she saw the lizard duck under the box. She pointed. “Oh right. Lucky me, one of them decided to get into my supplies. Anything else that draws them out? Food? What do those things even eat?” The rustling grew louder and Rosalyn furrowed her brow. They better not have a taste for jewelry supplies and werewolf fur, otherwise this was about to turn into a much more expensive problem.

“If it makes you feel better, this sorta thing doesn’t happen often. It’s like cicadas. Some springs they’re super active and other times no dice. Guess you just happened to move in during a bad year.” Luce said, not entirely sure if what she was saying was true or not. Iggy was being a little more antsy than normal, trying to get free from his terrarium more than he usually did. But, Bea’s house had wards around it that made the bracelet around her wrist ping when people came or left, so she’d always been able to scoop him back up when he’d scuttled off the property line.  “Hm. In the interest of not blowing both our ears out, I think I’ll try something different.” She said, rummaging around in the cage for the paper bag she’d shoved in there.

“I’ve got something that might work. It could lure them out.” Luce said. Iggy, like most growing fire salamanders, shed his scales. And Luce didn’t know much about animals, but hey. Maybe the smell of a fire salamander in the prime of his life would lure out some of the lady salamanders? Who the fuck knew. Worst came to worst, she’d just shake the boxes and try to grab them. But, as luck would have it, before she even had a chance to shake some of the scales out into the cage, Rosalyn had pointed out a rustle of movement. Setting the cage down, Luce began to poke around the boxes, eyes focused on any kind of movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tell-tale glimmer of scales and she darted forward, hand closing around a squirming, scaly body. “Gotcha! Hey! Knock it off!” She gasped as the fire salamander’s scales glowed the color of coals. If she was a normal human, it would have burnt her skin, but all she felt was a light warmth. The fire salamander stared at her as though it was startled she wasn’t hopping up and down in pain. “I’ve got one. Can you grab the cage for me?”

“So just something that I’ll keep having to deal with every couple of years, that sounds lovely.” Rosalyn's tone was joking but she certainly hoped that one lizard extraction was all she would need. As Luce pulled out a paper bag she quirked up an eyebrow, curious. “What’s in there?”

But before she could find out there was more rustling and Luce was off to search the area. The sight of her grabbing the glowing creature in her hands made Rosalyn flinch before she realized that Luce wasn’t smoking or shouting in pain. “So they really are fiery...” I mean, there were clearly signs that they weren’t some normal pest before this, but seeing the unnatural glow up close made it clear. Rosalyn watched the squirming creature curiously. It was rare that she got to see supernatural animals up close.

“Is that thing not as hot as it seems, or do you just have some tricks up your sleeve?” Rosalyn shot Luce a knowing look as she brought the cage over. Well that was one down. Hopefully just one more to go. She didn’t want to think about the idea of any more than two hidden around her place.

“Only if you’re unlucky. These guys don’t usually hang out in this part of town.” Luce said as she kept her hand clamped around the squirming salamander in her hand. She could tell that they weren’t exactly to have their time interrupted. She couldn’t blame the salamander-- she wouldn’t exactly be thrilled if someone barged into her room when she was trying to get it on. But, this was better than Rosalyn accidentally murdering two horny salamanders with a hose. “Fiery? Nah… Just, uh,” Luce looked again at the angry glow of the salamander’s body, the red and orange pulsing like the coals of a fire. “Trick of the light.” She said before gently sticking the salamander into the cage.

Opening up the bag of shed scales, Luce dumped some into her palm before scattering them on the ground. “Scales, from the same kind of lizard. They release a kind of pheromone when they’re trying to hook up, so I figure this might lure the other one out.” She said before glancing over at the other woman and holding up her hands, arms bare in her tank top. “No sleeves and no tricks either.” She said with a neutral tone. “I’m just good with lizards.”

“Do tricks of the light normally smell like burning?” Rosalyn asked with a quirked eyebrow. At least she could trust it wasn’t that hot, or the cage Luce was holding would be having a much worse time. Then again, she knew little about what this creature was capable of, or Luce for that matter.

“So you’ve had your own infestation before?” Rosalyn asked before grimacing as the scales fell against her hardwood floors. She hoped Luce didn’t expect her to pick that up herself. Then again... “Are these creatures rare? Or their scales at least? Just asking since you seem to know a lot about them.” Right now they seemed just like little black specks, but she wondered how easy it would be to get them to glow like the angry one in Luce’s hand had been. But if they were worth something Rosalyn couldn’t imagine a spellcaster just scattering them around for bait.

Well, Rosalyn had a point there. Luce shrugged, knowing when she was caught in a lie. No point trying to pretend like shit wasn’t magical as hell when this lady didn’t seem all that bothered by it. “Touché.” She said as she looked around the house, waiting to see where the next salamander might pop out from. “Nope, never dealt with an infestation before, I have one myself.” Luce said as she nudged some cardboard boxes aside, looking around for the other salamander. At the question of rarity, Luce cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?” They weren’t rare at all-- the salamanders, or their scales, but it was a weird question all the same. All signs were pointing to the fact that this lady was in the know with the supernatural. Which, cool. Good for her. Luce just couldn’t help but wonder what brand of strange she was. She looked human, but pretty much everyone did under the right circumstances.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luce caught sight of some of the boxes rustling and she grinned. Nice, looked like the scales had worked. “Come here little guy,” She said, shifting the boxes out of the way. As she pulled the last one back, Luce blinked as she was face to face with a spitting, sparking salamander, the frill around its throat puffed out and a deep scarlet color, “Ah shit…” She muttered as the salamander burnt a hole straight through the cardboard boxes and began to skitter across the floor in a trail of sparks and sputtering flames.

“So...as a pet?” Rosalyn didn’t like to judge (okay she did sometimes) but a flaming lizard seemed like a less than ideal pet. She was about to answer Luce’s question to her when nearby rustling distracted both of them. While Luce pushed around the boxes Rosalyn picked up a bit of scale from the floor and looked it over. But she barely had time to inspect it before she heard cursing and smelled smoke.

Rosalyn's first instinct was to rush toward the now on fire boxes. Or try to at least. But before she could even move a streak of black and orange rushed across the floor towards her feet. Rosalyn shrieked as she stumbled back, nearly falling as the creature hissed and charged towards the nearby kitchen.

A slew of curses came out of Rosalyn’s mouth as she watched the thing leave singe marks in its wake. But her attention quickly turned back towards the boxes. In any other moment Rosalyn would have been fully aware of how dumb it was to try to kick out the flames. But the moment she smelt burning hair she knew the fire was spreading to the bottom shelf and panic took over. “Fire extinguisher! Under the sink!” She shouted to Luce. Rosalyn would grab it herself if she wasn’t too busy pulling boxes from the shelf before they could catch and stomping on embers. A few burns were worth not losing her entire stock.

As much as Luce would have liked to correct Rosalyn on the fact that no, it wasn’t like a pet at all, she was a bit preoccupied. The fire salamander was hissing and spitting,hell bent on tearing up the apartment as it ran along the floors. Sparks filled the air as the lizard made a break for the kitchen. Staring at the boxes that had caught on fire, Luce’s eyes widened. Shit. She was pretty fireproof, but with her magic being what it was… she didn’t want to risk trying to smother the flames with her hands. Taking a deep breath in, she tried to pull the fire to her will, tried to focus on the magic within her. But, the magical flames lay dormant, unmoving. Cold. Fuck.

“Fire extinguisher, okay!” Luce called out, following the salamander into the kitchen. The creature had climbed up onto the countertop via a dish towel that had been hanging from the oven. The fabric was already in flames and Luce let out a startled yelp as the fire leaped to a nearby roll of paper towels. Jesus fucking christ, was this what normal people dealt with? Shit just bursting into flames? Running to the sink, Luce grabbed the fire extinguisher from underneath. She pulled the pin from the neck and aimed the nozzle at the ball of flaming paper towels before tossing the dish towel on the ground and stomping it out with her foot. The salamander, seeing the flames going out, let out a frightened shriek and its frills shrank back into its neck. “I’m not trying to hurt you! Get back--” Luce said as the salamander made a bee-line back to the living room, towards Rosalyn. Even from here, Luce could smell the acrid scent of burning hair filling the room. Jesus, why the fuck did this lady have hair in the boxes?

Pulling what she could from the lower levels of the shelf was only going to help Rosalyn so much if the fire kept spreading. She turned to shout at Luce to hurry, but as she looked towards the kitchen she could see the woman shooting the fire extinguisher at even more flames. Not even a few weeks into moving to White Crest and was she already going to have her entire apartment burn down?

It was at this point that the fire alarm started blaring above them. Rosalyn wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or curse that this apartment didn’t have built in sprinklers. She kicked the still burning boxes across the floor, away from where all her creature parts and craft items were being stored. As she did she could hear Luce attempting to reason with the creature, and then moments later Rosalyn was again being charged by the fiery monster.

No way in hell she was grabbing that thing the way that Luce had. In panic Rosalyn grabbed one of the shoebox sized plastic containers she kept jewelry pliers and other small tools in and flipped it over onto the creature. She crouched on the floor, putting her weight on the plastic box as she heard the creature hiss and felt it ram itself against the plastic sides. The plastic was partially opaque, but she could still see the glowing orange of the creature inside. And feel the box start to heat up as whiffs of melting plastic started to hit her nose.

“Can’t you just dump water on it!”

A fire witch using a fucking fire extinguisher, Jesus. And, even as she was putting out the last of the flaming dish rag, Luce could hear the fire alarms begin to blare in her ears. Great, more chaos. Looking around the kitchen, Luce saw a glass pitcher of water resting on counter as Rosalyn shouted at her. “Water kills them! I’m not killing him for wanting to get it on!” Luce shouted back at the woman. But… the pitcher. Hm. Grabbing the pitcher, she dumped the water down the sink and raced back into the other room. It looked even more like a disaster zone, with tools flung over the place and boxes still burning. But, she needed to focus on the source of the fire, where was-- her eyes fell on the woman struggling on top of a rapidly melting plastic tub.

“Here,” Luce set the fire extinguisher next to the woman, “For the boxes. Take the tub off him and back up. Don’t. Spray. The salamander. I’m going to stick him in this.” She said, holding up the glass pitcher. “They have a hard time climbing out of glass and it’s not that easy to melt through it. Just let him out and I’ll grab him.”

“He is burning my apartment down!” Yes, Rosalyn would shame this stupid lizard for being horny if it meant her entire livelihood was set ablaze because of it. Not to mention the danger her and Luce were in if this got more out of hand. Luckily Luce seemed to have a plan. For a moment Rosalyn glanced between the pitcher and the plastic container under her, debating whether she trusted Luce to scoop it up in time before the creature ran off to another part of her home to cause chaos. But with a quick nod to Luce she pulled the tub off of the lizard and grabbed the extinguisher instead.

As soon as she did Rosalyn started spraying the boxes, and the bottom shelf for good measure. Did fire extinguisher foam mess with the magic properties of werewolf and bugbear fur? Who fucking knew but it didn’t matter at this point. As the flames were put out Rosalyn glanced back towards the other woman, praying she wouldn’t see her chasing the thing around again.

Rosalyn had a point there. God, was this what being a normal human in White Crest was like? Having to worry about shit like fires burning down your home? But, Luce didn’t have much time to dwell on that because the tub had been pulled off the salamander and suddenly she was face to face with an angry salamander, frills puffed out and a vibrant red. Before he could run away, Luce grabbed the squirming creature in her hand and shoved it into the bottom of the pitcher. Fingers smoking slightly, Luce shook out her hand as she watched the salamander scrabble against the side of the pitcher. But, just like she’d guessed-- because it really was a fucking guess, she wasn’t an expert-- he was unable to get any traction. Exhausted, the salamander slumped in the bottom of the glass, leftover droplets of water sizzling against his scales as he stared angrily at her with beedy, orange eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Luce held up the pitcher. “Got him! Sorry about,” She glanced around at the smoke filled apartment, the fire alarms still blaring, extinguisher foam coating at least a quarter of this woman’s apartment. “All of that. You’re okay though, right?”

Rosalyn let out a sigh of relief when she heard Luce shout that she got him. Placing the used up extinguisher on the ground (great, now she would need to buy a new one) she ran her hands down her face, giving herself a moment to just breathe and not look at the utter mess in front of her.

“I’m fine. I think I might have burned my hands a little but-” Rosalyn could see a few blisters forming along her palm and fingertips. Nothing that wouldn’t heal with time but something that would make picking up everything and crafting a pain in the ass for a while. “I’m fine. But you wouldn’t happen to have-” Healing magic. She wanted to ask about healing magic but she tried to be careful about outing people’s powers on the spot. Then again, they were both past the point of dealing with anything a normal person should be handling.

“Magic. Do you have anything that can heal? Your hands seemed pretty protected and,” Rosalyn waved vaguely at the shimmering purple around Luce that only she could see. “I can tell. Don’t worry, I’m used to spellcasters.”

The salamander continued to skitter up the side of the pitcher, but the sloping sides were too steep and he eventually gave up and curled into glowing ball of orange and red in the bottom of the glass. Luce lowered the pitcher carefully, watching to see how the female salamander in the cage might react. The creature blinked at her with interest, but didn’t show any of the aggression the male had. Good. Turning to Rosalyn, Luce grimaced at the sight of the woman’s hands. “Ouch. Sorry about that.” She said with a shrug as she picked up the cage in her free hand. “Aloe might help. Burn cream too.” That was what people said, right?

But, at the mention of magic, Luce nearly dropped the cage. “Siktir,” She swore quietly, catching the cage before the salamander could break free. “Uh. No. I don’t. And that’s not me pretending that I’m not a witch.” She said, shrugging. “You saw me pick them up. But, no, I don’t have anything that can heal burns.” All her life, her mother had been the one to patch her up, to fix her scrapes and bruises. But she didn’t have that card in her back pocket anymore. At least… She didn’t. This lady, if she knew about spellcasters, she’d probably be alright. Right? And she’d gotten hurt because Luce hadn’t been careful enough. “I know someone who would be able to help you, though. Her name’s Nisa Vural. You might have seen ads about her acupuncture clinic. She does magical healing stuff too. Tell her a friend in silver sent you. And,” Luce said, her voice taking on a more serious tone, “Don’t, don’t tell her that I sent you.

“Mhhm.” If she wanted to lie to Rosalyn about having magic she certainly could. Maybe people in White Crest were a bit more cagey than she was used to back home. Not that the spellcasters she met in the city weren’t, but most wouldn’t try to hide what they were if they were willing to do magical stuff in the same room as her.

“Nisa Vural, a friend in silver, got it.” Rosalyn smiled. “Don’t worry, I'm good with discretion.” Maybe not the best statement to make after calling out the woman’s aura but it was true. She wasn’t one to go around telling others things they didn’t need to know. Not unless there was a good reason for it. If anyone asked, Luce was a normal person who had definitely not told her about possible healing magic.

Rosalyn glanced around at the destruction but quickly stopped herself. If she took stock now she was going to want to pull her hair out and Luce didn’t need to see her freaking out over the state of the apartment. “Thanks for the help. Do you have a plan for what to do with them?” she asked, motioning toward the cage.

“Appreciate it. A little bit of discretion goes a long way in this town.” Luce said with a firm nod. It was true. As often as weird shit happened here, they all had to just go along pretending like White Crest was just a quirky little town. “But yeah. She’ll be able to get you fixed up no problem.” She repeated, though the words made her ache. It had been over six months since she and her sisters had been excommunicated, banished from their coven and blotted out from their own family. And even though she’d seen her mother, had tested the bond of mother and child over duty and oaths to the coven… Luce didn’t want to push it. The less Nisa knew about what was going on in her life, the better.

Seeing how Rosalyn was looking around the apartment, Luce winced. Her place looked like… well, it looked like shit. Burnt boxes, dissolving foam leaving smears of chalky white against the floor, and the alarms still screeching overhead. “I’m going to release them in the woods, I know a place that should be safe for them.” A gully at the end of a creek that ran through the outskirts, a nice damp spot that would be perfect for the lovebugs.

“I’d offer to stick around and help clean up, but I get the feeling you want these guys outta here right now.” She said and shrugged. “Let me know if you ever need help again. I know a thing or two about stuff here, I can lend a hand if you need it.” With that, Luce headed out the door of the apartment, fire salamanders in tow. She couldn’t help but wonder how the woman had clocked her as a witch, but… it didn’t matter right now. The cage in her hand rattled as the female salamander sent a wave of sparks in the air. “If you light my Jeep on fire, you’ll wish I let that lady dump water on you guys.” She warned before sticking the salamanders in her car and speeding off.

#p: rosalyn holt #chatzy #wickedswriting #//this was a lotta fun to write lolololol