#you cannot simply pick up and play WoW if you want to do any content because the community as a whole expects you to know so much

[amani-outrider]

honestly the best way to play WoW is to go into content playing whatever the fuck you want and pressing buttons and not giving a fuck about what is the best way/thing to play

#amani chattering #i went into keys last night and got a whole run down of 'this is what's best for demo now' and was just like haha ok :) *does whatever* #the fact that WoW meta shifts so much in like under a month is so weird even doing the same content #and it's tiring just thinking of trying to keep up with that! #you cannot simply pick up and play WoW if you want to do any content because the community as a whole expects you to know so much

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Surprises

Surprises of all kinds, found after a shopping trip goes wrong. Content warning for coarse language, sexuality, threats of violence, mentions of suicide and incest, and copious amounts of headcanons.

As always, there is more in my Twisted Wonderland Fanfiction tag, and send me a message if you liked it, I crave positive feedback.

~*~*~*~

TXT: where the fuck are you guys it's already quarter past

After a few minutes, you got a ding.

M: idia doenst want t leave something about a person see you aftr he needs freind

Oh goddammit, it's so fucking hard to get him out and about. At least Mal was with him.

You looked to Grim at your feet. "Looks like it's just us, buddy."

~*~*~*~

It was just you and Grim browsing through the dollar store, when a boy in a ratty shop apron came up to you. "Ma'am?"

You turned to him, and he coughed. "Uh, Miss. You're not supposed to have pets in the store."

Grim bristled at him. "I'm not a pet!"

Poor kid, he looked so startled. And you decided to make it worse, because yanno, why not. "How dare you refer to my son as a pet! Does he look like a pet to you?"

He looked between your face and Grim's, confusion growing. "Wh-"

"I know the resemblance isn't the strongest, but honestly! How could you say such mean things about him!"

Grim, bless him, actually caught on and decided to play along for the chaos of it. "Why are you being so mean to me? My mom works hard to keep me happy! She said I could pick out a toy today!"

The confusion had turned to anger. "That's not your kid! You're too young and he's an animal!"

Grim looked up at you, mock tears in his eyes. "I'm your kid, right? I'm not adopted like the boys at school say?" He started sniffling. "I'm not adopted, right?"

You clapped your hands over Grim's ears and glared at the now horrified shopboy. "Look what you've done! I hadn't told him yet!"

He just fled in horror, and it was all you could do to keep from laughing.

~*~*~*~

The village on the island wasn't the worst appointed. Being equidistant between two prestigious magic schools, it had a few places worth going, and after hitting up your personal favourite, you went to a small park, settled down on a bench, and started unwrapping your prizes.

You have a love for gashapon machines that bordered on a serious problem. In your biweekly trips to buy snacks and supplies to stock up your miserable, beautiful dorm, you easily fed 3000 madol (which you think was about thirty-five dollars or so at home, but couldn't be sure) into the long rows of machines in the drug store, coming out with tiny keychains, figures, and various useless but wonderful little totchkes that you kept lined up in rows in your bedroom. The joys of tiny presents! And the containers were useful too; for a creature who heavily insisted he wasn't a cat, Grim lost his shit like one every time your rolled a ball with a bell inside across the floor.

You were marveling over a tiny, perfectly realistic jellyfish on a phone strap as someone sat down heavily beside you. "Is that," they pointed to Grim poking his way around the cattails by an ornamental pond, "yours?"

"... Yes?" You turned to examine your seatmate. Charmingly strange looking, they sat impeccably robed in forest green velvet and squinted at you from behind perfectly round sunglasses. Flat-faced and thin-lipped, they reminded you of a toad, with their roundness and severe expression.

"Ah, then you are the one I am looking for. You're the pet of the prince."

"I'm a friend of his. Is that a problem?" You decided to keep opening your prizes, and pulled out a heavy ball from the bottom of your bag.

"His Highness does not have human friends."

"And yet, I am." This one, unwrapped, was the chase in the set: a tiny cauldron the size of a thimble that seemed to be actual cast iron. The chill of it was pleasant in your hand, and instead of returning it to your bag, you left it in your lap.

This presumptive stranger leaned in. "You're a diversion. A distraction from what he should be learning. Instead he plays with mortals and lets them forget their place."

"If it was so important that he didn't play with mortals, then why was he allowed to attend here?" You got a cheap set of rings on a goldtone chain in this one. Boo. You'd wanted the miniature necklace of the set for your doll. "He's very happy with the company of us all."

"Too happy. He forgets his place." The toady eyed the glittering paste gems before looking away. "Above you. Instead he crawls into your lap and serves you like a dog."

You froze. "Now, where did you get that idea?"

"We have sources." They leaned in further, smiling. A barely perceptible line of triangular teeth, sparsely placed and translucent in tone. "Foul things happen to the unwanted lovers of heirs, don't you know?"

"I am a wanted friend." 

"You're a parasite who should flee."

You realized something, and turned to face your strange benchmate. "Why are you threatened by me?"

They scoffed. "Why would we be threatened by you?"

"If you weren't," you said, dropping your voice as your leaned in, "then you wouldn't be here trying to put the fear into me." They leaned back, glasses slipping off their nose. The eyes in their face were exquisite, shining gold and black speckles with a ring of gold around an oval pupil. You could help but laugh. "Pretty eyes. You really are a toad. Who sent you? The Thorn Witch? Can't be, I'm not worth her time and if I was, she'd've sent a fucking letter."

"We're a concerned party, preventing our future king from making the mistake of dealing with filth." 

Well, that one pissed you off. You grabbed their wrist, feeling bumps and warts on their skin through the fabric, and pressed the tiny cauldron to the back on their hand as they started screeching.

"You," you looked them dead in their impossibly lovely eyes, "You go back where you came from, tell them I'm not a threat to whatever stupid bullshit they're worried about, and never bother us again. Or I will make you swallow this and you'll beg the precious prince you're so damned worried about to burn you alive to stop the pain."

You'd never seen anyone run so fast in your life when you let them go.

"Hey, Grim! We gotta go."

~*~*~*~

TXT: MAL SOMEONE SENT ME A TOADY SAYING I CAN'T BE AROUND YOU ANYMORE

TXT: MIGHTA BEEN YOUR GMA BUT I DON'T THINK SO

~*~*~*~

"I'm gonna kill that fucker."

"Killing them might start an international incident. If one hasn't happened already. You burnt them with iron, Yuu."

"I should have done worse! Whoever the fuck they were, that's two friends they've tried to threaten to stay away from you! That we know of!"

It turns out that the mystery toady had been the person to scare the piss out of Idia the night before. Not that they'd gotten far into their leave-the-prince-alone spiel, Idia had simply kicked them square in the stomach and fled, assuming another kidnapping attempt.

"It wouldn't have been my grandmother. In the last letter I got from her, she said it was very nice that I was making friends. She said to keep making them, even."

"She'd probably care if she knew you were sleeping with said friends." Idia was curled into the corner of his bed, and from the looks of it hadn't slept since his own encounter.

"No she wouldn't."

"You sure about that?"

You'd said that that was only going to happen once. Everyone agreed. But when all three of you settled in to play a game or watch a movie, hands moved and bodies flushed and you all seemed to find yourself tangled and gasping. And it didn't seem to require all three of you - you no longer had the strength to say no to Mal's obvious advances, and you'd walked in on your boys more than once. At least you were still friends? Really, really close friends?

"She wouldn't."

"Could they be worried about heirs?" That seemed logical. Even if no accidents were happening, they might not know that.

"That's not possible."

You raised an eyebrow. Everything worked right, and you all knew it.

Mal looked back at you. "Yuu, I hatched from an egg. I could have you both five times a day for a decade and all there would be to show for it is you couldn't walk. I cannot have children with either of you without magical intervention."

Idia made a truly impressive death rattle before mumbling something about the end of his bloodline, and you just nodded. "Makes sense."

"It's quite interesting, really, it requires numerous spells and potions, that if not kept up on, the babe will-" Malleus placed his hands together, back to back, and mimed the motion of tearing something open.

You flinched. "That's awful, goddamn."

"I have a direct ancestor who took a great deal of human women as breeding stock and simply let them be eaten from the inside out. That's what started one of the earlier human/faerie wars." 

"... Wow."

"I am not proud of her."

"Can we please talk about anything else?" Idia looked ready to be sick. "I don't want to think about any of this."

"Sure, let's grab one of your doujins."

~*~*~*~

"So you're already engaged?"

"As soon as it was clear I would survive to adulthood, yes. Idia, what is this series?"

"Nyan Neko Sugar Girls. It's not that great storywise, but it has great gags." He reached over and grabbed the next one in his pile. "It's not that unusual. My mother wanted Ortho to marry my cousin Alecto when they grew up, before..."

"Before he made a lifestyle change?" That seemed the politest way to put it.

"Before she went to the criminal ward."

You shut your book with a soft thump. "What?"

"I remember the trial." Mal sighed. "Strychnine in the sugar bowl at Sunday dinner. I made sure to get the newspapers sent to the palace."

"Mother was heartbroken over it, until she realized that the wealth of that entire Shroud branch defaulted back to us." Idia shrugged. "It's sad. She was just eleven. I still send her emails."

"Idia."

"Mm?"

"Why the fuck would an eleven year old poison someone?"

"My uncle said she couldn't get a puppy until her grades went up."

"What the fuck." You'd lie down if you weren't already doing so.

"It's the curse." He sighed. "We thought she might've been from an affair? But that proved it."

"My dearest Shroud, you can't guarantee it was from the curse." Malleus turned a page. "It might have been trauma from her mother's death."

You could see more bad history incoming. "Oh no."

"Alecto was from Uncle Jo's first marriage, to my dad's cousin Alita. She had a sister, but when her mother drowned herself, she only took-"

"Is this normal for your family? Or is that just some exceptional bad luck?"

He leaned in, lamplight eyes flashing. "Out of all the Shrouds of my generation that are still capable of inheriting, I'm the most mentally sound."

Both you and Mal had to stop and really consider the implications of that.

"So, Mal. Yours isn't that closely related?"

"Fifth cousins at most when they're finally born."

You sat up. "What?"

"I'm supposed to marry the third grandchild of the Hollyoak Baron. They're a well-respected family, and of snake fae descent so little aid will be needed for conception. His eldest child is in..." He had to think about what words to use. " I believe the term is 'middle school'?"

"They really planned it that far ahead?"

Mal shrugged, the movement rolling down his whole body. "I cannot complain. It gives me a very long time to learn how to be a husband before I have to be one."

"But what if you don't like them?"

"Marriage is chiefly a contract to produce heirs. I'll learn to like them, and ideally love them."

"And if you don't?"

"I'll still treat them as kindly as I can."

"And I suppose you'd take a lover."

"Maybe. They can too, as long as all the children are mine. For legal reasons," he added.

Idia, snapping out of his thoughts, tapped Mal's shoulder. "Does the Hollyoak Baron have any friends who are toad faeries?"

It was Mal's turn to sit up. "That... He could be worried that if I have favourites at school, I'll resent my betrothed for not being either of you. Or that I would attempt to break it off entirely."

"That still doesn't tell us how he found out about..." You gestured around the room.

Idia rolled his eyes. "All that would have to happen is any one student from the Valley of Thorns writing a letter home."

"But -"

"Malleus, you're not shy in your affections. At all."

"Yes I am," he bristled.

~*~*~*~

"Mal?"

"Mmph?"

"You have to put me down. I have class."

He made a slightly different mmph and shook his head.

You tried to pat his head, but your arms were securely pinned to your sides. "I know they're fantastic, but you have to stop."

He still refused to remove his face from your chest, making a noise that could have been purring if it cane from anyone who was a proper mammal.

"Mal, we're blocking traffic."

He still wasn't putting you down, instead swaying slightly in place.

A familiar long-fingered hand with dark nails reached from behind you and tugged at Mal's lapel. "Malleus, please stop, it's ten AM and everyone is staring."

Mal finally put you down - only to switch targets, wrapping his arms around Idia's waist and pulling him flush, fixing him with such a look of besotted fondness that you immediately felt like you were intruding.

"You look beautiful today."

Idia immediately burst into a ball of pink flame.

~*~*~*~

"... Perhaps I am a bit obvious."

Idia stared up at his ceiling. "You'd be at home in my otome games."

You chimed in. "What would be obvious, in your mind?"

"Very easy. I finish the paperwork declaring you Lord and Lady of the Bedchamber and have you officially ensconced as Court of Thorns royalty, ensuring you're both taken care of for the rest of your days."

"... Finish?"

"It seemed the easiest thing to do if either of you chose to visit my homeland."

You swatted his leg. "And you didn't think to ask us first?"

Mal was starting to clue in that he had once again overreached himself. "... Surprise?"

"I'm okay with it."

You glared over at Idia. "That's not the point."

"Look, if I ever get disinherited, I have a place to go. He won't make me go outside if I don't want to. I'll bring Ortho. It'll be great."

"They don't even have dial-up over there, Idia. Lilia told me he had to get all this stuff installed to play his MMOs."

Idia pointed at Mal, easy smile turned to outrage. "How dare you try and trap me!"

It honestly seemed like Mal and Idia had switched expressions, the look of worry on his face so strange. "It's a protective measure! If you're titled, people will get in trouble if they try and remove you!"

"That's still... wait." The gears were turning in your head. "If you finish that paperwork, whoever sent Mixter Toad is going to get in so much more trouble."

Everyone went silent as they considered this.

"... As soon as I get the official permission from my grandmother. She won't like it very much, but if I explain..."

Idia turned to Mal. "You were going to make your human fucktoys official members of the Court of Thorns without telling your grandmother, the queen. Who has a notable and often justified dislike of humans."

"No?"

"Mal."

"I simply prepared ahead."

"Mal."

"I - "

"Malleus." You leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're so goddamned stupid. Love you."

He didn't say it back with words, but you got the message loud and clear.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fanfiction #idia shroud #malleus draconia

[shirophantomvox]

Lotor's Nanny

Hello y’all! I am back yet again with another Voltron short fiction! I got this prompt from @vld-prompts and this one is great! Some dialogue in this are mixed quotes from the show. The prompt is: “Dayak comes to Galra HQ unexpectedly.” The link shows the reference I used in this story. Its somewhat the same, I changed some elements and dialogue. I mentioned the Code of Ethics because some companies do not allow in-dating. That means you cannot date one of your coworkers. This story has been on my mind for a while and it came out better than I expected! I hope you all like it. Be sure to follow me for more writing content!

Team Voltron slowly walked across the bridge of Galra HQ formerly known as Zarkon’s ship. Chills ran down their spines as they approached the now Emperor Lotor and his staff. Right above them were tapestries filled with light purple, white, and yellow; the same colors the paladins of old had. The expression on Lotor’s face was the complete opposite of his new comrades. The paladins had been through enough; their lives could end at this very moment and to think they blindly walked into Galra HQ? Thank God, Lotor didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve...or did he?

Lotor approached the Paladins with open arms aimed at Princess Allura; hoping she’d give him a hug and not leave him looking like a fool. Reluctantly, she embraced him softly, barely placing her arms fully around his back. That was good enough, for now. She backed up quite smoothly, lifted her head, and looked at the tapestries that hung above her head. They all gasped and at the beauty and detail of them. The yellow had thin lines of dark yellow as the outline. They glistened in the spotlights because of the white glitter that was in its place. Lotor smiled large, folded his arms, and lifted his head. This was his time to shine and he was ready to do so.

“The colors you see before you are the same ones that our fathers used while battling. These colors represent friendship, leadership, and an emphasis on an unbreakable bond. Although the unbreakable bond didn’t workout well the first time, I’m certain it will now.”

Lotor’s smile slowly faded as he glanced directly in between Allura and Shiro. “Lover Boy” Lance McClain came storming between the two, stood toe to toe with him, and pointed his lengthy index finger in his face.

“Lance, that’s rude! What are you doing?!” Allura’s tone wasn’t her usual sweet, calm reflection but instead more like an irritated mother. She had been used to Lance’s irrational fears but this was TOO FAR for her. She developed feelings for Lotor, she is one of the leaders of Voltron, and having him misbehave insulted her leadership skills.

“Don’t worry, princess. I just want to make sure he doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”

Lotor arrogantly chuckled quietly to himself. Although Lance appeared to be the airhead surfer boy, he took his role as paladin and valued his team seriously. They had been ambushed several times by Zarkon, his father. They have every right to be paranoid even if Allura didn’t think so. One thing that irked the team was her sense of trustworthiness. She hated Lotor simply because he was truly a threat and was Zarkon’s son but once she found out he was half Altean, it appeared as if she did anything he said. She fell for him; hard and that isn’t always good.

“I assure you, I am not here to play games or have any “tricks up my sleeve”. Trust me, if I did, you would know about it already. I am more skilled than you. There’s no need to lie.”

“As much as I would love to believe you Lotor, the Galra aren’t the ones to ‘turn the other cheek’. They keep fighting and fighting until they die.” Hunk began to sweat a little as his nerves began to run amuck.

“Hunk has a point. Why all of a sudden are we teaming up with Zarkon’s son to fight against his own empire that your the head of? It doesn’t sound right.”

“If Pidge agrees with me, it must be a set up.” Lance turned around and allied himself with the rest of the team. They were not pleased at all. Could it be a possibility that they were being paranoid? Is it wrong that they haven’t given him a chance to prove himself? Lotor released an irritated sigh, closed his eyes, and opened them again.

“I assure you, I have nothing to hide.” He snapped his fingers and two robots came at his side quickly. “If you all don’t mind, we are going to HQ and we will have a chat about what our next steps are going to be.”

The centurions led the way to HQ. On the way there, it was quiet and awkward; the only ones that were talking were Allura and Lotor. He had a large binder open with pages and pages of scientific research that Honerva had been using to figure out information regarding the creatures from the rift. Both were so intrigued by the findings that they began to pick up speed next to the centurions, leaving the team a bit behind. Allura took hold of the binder to find something specifically related to Oriande relating to “life givers”. Lotor began to close the space between the two placing his arm around her waist and gently placing his hand around her thigh. Lance was about to blow his fuse! Pidge and Hunk reassured him that Allura has stated several times before that she is not interested in dating him. It would be unprofessional; Lotor and Allura were considered to be allies. If they dated they’d be violating the Code of Ethics...somewhere.

“If she wouldn’t be interested in dating him, why isn’t she throwing his arm off her?”

“Lance, I haven’t dated yet but I know something about girls.” She pushed her glasses closer to her face and pointed in the air. “Some girls just entertain the behavior in the moment so the guy doesn’t flip out. They also do it so the man’s ego won’t get hurt. Both reasons are stupid and unhealthy but that is why. I have no idea why a man’s ego is so easily destroyed just because a girl rejected his passes.”

“Good question. It makes the good guys look bad.” Hunk stuck his finger in the air and smiled. “I’ll always treat my woman like a queen!”

The team had finally reached HQ. Lotor suddenly became quiet and stood still. He squinted his eyes, frowned, and slowly moved away from them. Once he approached his subject, his eyes widened. There was a tall woman dressed in long black clothing, her head covered, with her back turned. She had two blue binders that said “memories” on the binding side and an old cloth blanket. The emperor face palmed himself quietly backing away instructing the team to leave HQ quickly without making a sound. As soon as the robots began to move, the woman turned around, gasped and yelled his name.

“Lotor!”

“Goodness gracious,” he replied quickly under his breath.

The woman came walking towards him with a smile of endearment. He could now see the front of the binders and nearly lost his mind. He blushed at the sight and glanced back at her. She laughed, assuring him that she was moving his belongings to another part of the ship.

“Oh, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Embarrassed about what?”

Lotor changed his expression and turned around. Still blushing, he managed to smile.

“This is Dayak, my governess. She raised me when I was a child, trained me, and helped me become the man I am today.”

“Barely,” Lance blurted out. He snapped his head and smiled oddly at Lotor. Lance was able to put two and two together and realized what he was embarrassed about.

“Wait, wait, wait. She raised you from a child? As in your nanny?!”

“Governess!” The emperor face palmed again, not able to look in Allura’s direction.

Why would ANYONE want their old photos to be shown to anyone they liked?!

“Oh boy, you had a nanny! Oh my goodness, I didn’t have one!”

“That’s why you're lacking in so many areas. Can’t you tell?” He began to flex his arm, showing the implied muscles through his shirt.

“That’s all you’ve got? At least mine are real!”

“Mine are too! You look like you’ve been using steroids!”

“Steroids? How do you know what those are? You’re an alien.”

“Ok, Lance, that’s enough. Dayak was going to speak,” Shiro said, somehow not irritated. Given the chaotic life he has, this was nothing but pure entertainment.

“Thank you. True enough I am this young emperor’s governess and I did far more than nanny duties. Lotor underwent intense training at the age of 6 years old. Many doubted his abilities but I knew he had it in him.”

“Thank you, Dayak.”

“Lotor, don’t hate me for this. Dayak, what are in the books that you are holding?” Hunk was generally curious and had no ill intent in asking unlike Lance. Still, Lotor was pained to see what was in those books. His style would have definitely been cramped.

“I’ll show you if it’s ok with the emperor.”

Lotor sighed heavily and threw his hand in the air.

“Yes, it's ok.”

Everyone gathered around his governess as she opened one of the books. The font read “Memorable Moments” and God knows what was in them. The team released a number of “awws”, “wows”, and “oohs” . Dayak, the nanny--governess, smiled as she turned each page remembering how cute the emperor looked in his formal clothing and how hot she looked when she was younger. This stage in his life would have happened matter what; Honerva would have done the same thing.

“This picture was taken after Lotor learned the Galran alphabet, vowel sounds, and numbers.”

“Wow! Lotor used to take a stuffed animal to class?” Hunk laughed. “Ha!”

“I was afraid, ok? I was all by myself.”

“And no one is shaming you for it buddy! Well, maybe Lance, but we aren’t.”

“This picture was taken during PE class. He loved to play buckets. I thought he was going to pursue somewhat of an athletic career!”

“I have to admit, he gets his muscles from Zarkon.”

“Aw. Thank you Princess.”

“That’s not a compliment dude.”

The emperor realized that the old photos of him weren’t so bad after all. They were milestones; it showed how well he has progressed and how he will continue. These were his allies after all. It was important for them to see him during his softer moments to know that they could talk to him about anything.

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #keith kogane #lance mcclain #allura #shiro #lotor #pidge #hunk #vld lance #voltron fan fiction #vld prompts #my writing #prince lotor #zarkon #vld haggar #takashi shirogane #voltron season 5 #dayak

[my-happy-little-bean]

The Bookkeeper – Chapter 6

Chapter 6: 50 First Dates

pairings: logicality, prinxiety words: 3369 chapter warnings: mild swearing, mild NSFW content, reference to death  chapter summary: and hijinks, do in fact, ensue.

[read on ao3] [masterlist]

< previous chapter

–

Roman has been on two dates before. 

It’s not like he couldn’t get any– oh, he could get many–  but he never really considered the several outings he’d been on ‘dates’. He had met a lot of wonderful people, but when the star met the moon, he didn’t need any more stepping stones; he had landed, safe and sound, in the clouds. 

And he thought about his first date (he liked to think they had only been on one date before a series of adventures) almost constantly. He thought about it whenever he would travel idly through stories detailing a million first dates. He thought about it whenever Logan wasn’t around to guard his precious books. He thought about it whenever the thought of his first book nook crossed his mind. 

Roman has been on two dates before.

His last date was so boring, it killed him.

His first date, however, was in a library. 

--

“That simply won’t do.” 

Logan threw yet another argyle vest into the growing pile of sweater vests on his bed. 

“What should I wear then, Roman?” 

“For a first date? Something else.” 

Logan groaned, turning back to his wooden wardrobe and fishing through all his clothes.

“This isn’t a first date, Roman.” 

“Riiiiight. On a completely unrelated note, Patton told me that he wanted you to have this!” 

Roman flew up to Logan and blew him a kiss. A flurry of red magic hit Logan’s cheek and left a lip-shaped mark. Logan huffed, swatting the magic away as Roman simply laughed, flying into his wardrobe and giving a few clothes a red aura — Roman’s stamp of approval, Logan presumed.

Logan begrudgingly picked out a few of Roman’s selections and began to try them on. 

“He is simply accompanying me on this...art-venture,” Logan continued, slipping on a white button-up. “It is in the pursuit of knowledge–” 

“Call it what you want,” Roman cut him off, tossing a bit of magic to neatly fold Logan’s sleeves just below his elbow. “But I’m telling you, you’re on a date.” 

“And how exactly would you know that?” 

Roman narrowed his eyes at Logan. “I’ve had a very full life before becoming your magical librarian, thank you very much.” 

“...Right.” Logan cleared his throat. A beat of silence passed. Logan half-expected Roman to lift the mood right back up, but all he did was stare at him. 

“I...I’m sorry, Roman,” Logan finally said. 

Roman’s aura dimmed. “It’s all good, Specs. I just...I’ve never seen you care about something this much before. I’m just trying to help.” 

Logan paused, before hesitantly outstretching his hand towards his wardrobe. A trail of navy blue magic was thrown into the closet like a rope and pulled out a grey blazer towards him. 

“Fine.” Logan put on the blazer and went over to the full length mirror leaning against the wall, adjusting the collar. “Say this is–  hypothetically – a date. What would you recommend I do?” 

“Stand a bit straighter and be yourself,” Roman recited, flying up behind Logan and forcing him to straighten his posture. He eventually rested on Logan’s shoulder and smiled. “You tend to show others a good time when you’re having a good time, Logan. I don’t think there’s much you can do that’s wrong.” 

A pause. “Except for wearing ivory socks when they should be eggshell-white.” 

Logan huffed, going over to his dresser as Roman floated right off him. Mid-way through switching out his socks, he heard bells chiming downstairs. Logan checked his watch. 

“How is he already here?” he muttered to himself, slipping on some black dress shoes and taking one more look at himself in the mirror. Logan sighed, smoothing out his tucked in shirt. “How do I look?” 

“...Just fine, Lo.” Logan caught sight of Roman’s smile falling in the mirror. “You look just fine.” 

Logan nodded and rushed down the stairs, Roman trailing not too far behind him. When he got downstairs, he found Patton sitting on the armchair, waiting for him. He wore some bootcut, light-washed jeans and a long, grey cardigan over a light blue dress-shirt. In his hair were little, blue and white plastic butterfly clips buried between each curl. His eyes went starry and wide behind his round glasses as he stood up and grinned. 

“Hey! You look just–  wow .” 

Logan felt himself go warm. “Er, thank you. You...you look good...too.” 

He could hear the muffled sounds of groans behind him. 

Patton giggled, outstretching his hand towards Logan. “Shall we go?” 

Logan swallowed down his nerves and took Patton’s hand, wordlessly nodding. 

As Patton led Logan out, Logan turned around to face Roman.

“Roman, are you sure you do not want to join us?” He patted his small shirt pocket. “You’re always welcome to.” 

Roman’s expression twisted ever so slightly. 

“I’m fine here, Specs,” he finally said with a faded smile. “I don’t know, maybe I can really get some work done around here without you.” 

Logan stuck his tongue out at Roman before finally turning back around and out the door.

Patton smiled and leaned his head against Logan’s shoulder as they began walking towards the theatre. Logan initially stiffened at the contact, but eventually relaxed his shoulders and let himself melt under Patton’s touch. 

Logan took one more look through his shop windows as they passed by it. He caught a glimpse of a blur of red near the shelf behind the front counter. A few seconds later, he saw a brown book floating through the air.

But before he could catch sight of what the book was, Patton dragged him past the window with a smile brighter than the stars above him. And then he was gone.

—

They arrived early at the theatre, settling in their seats with a large bucket of popcorn. Logan watched a few trailers that advertised some of the romantic-comedies that would be playing for the next few weekends. He grimaced. 

“Why do these movies...hm, how do I say this – exist?” 

Patton laughed. “Maybe someone felt like they needed to exist! Every story means something to someone, Lo.” 

The title and tagline of a rom-com flashed on the screen in front of him: " Around Him for 80 Days": Your Hot-Air Balloon of Love, flying soon next week… 

Logan stared at Patton with a deadpanned expression. Patton sheepishly smiled. 

“Okay, so maybe the answer is money…”

Logan snorted, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

The lights around the two eventually dimmed, and Logan let himself be immersed in the movie, as cheesy as it was.

The film eventually began with bright, blue, all-too-cheery skies. And as the film progressed, the plot, Logan told Patton, stayed fixated in its ‘lightly humorous but completely unrealistic’ nature; which, Patton informed him, was not the point. 

The movie followed the shenanigans of Henry falling in love with a girl named Lucy, who suffered from anterograde amnesia. Logan did his best to keep his mouth sealed at every inaccuracy, if only to impress Patton, who was beaming the entire time. He even found himself following in Patton’s laughter like some sort of a strange puppet (though there were some moments that admittedly made him chuckle on his own). 

However, against his will, Logan found himself endeared to the story towards the end. He watched the blurry VCR footage of a wedding unfolding in front of him with wide eyes and, for a brief moment, felt himself being pulled into an unknown world that was still similar to his own. The film’s message wasn’t too hard to extract. Two people were able to form a bond that transcended their adversities because of love and...

‘And someone wanted to share what that feeling was like.’

Logan snuck a glance at Patton, who was tearing up at the end (of course). His vision went blurry for a split second, a flash of navy blue flickering in his line of sight; and then, it was gone.

Logan reached inside the bucket of popcorn to see if there was anything left, and felt his hand graze Patton’s. Warmth fluttered in his chest. Of course. 

When they left the theatre—and eventually got the ice cream Patton had promised—Patton rambled on and on about the movie, with Logan quietly walking beside him. Logan switched his focus between Patton’s words and the cool, night air hitting his face. He furrowed his brow as he became lost in his own thoughts. 

‘ Everything was real, even that story which wasn’t real– but it felt real, it is all real…’

“How about you?” Patton said, snapping Logan out of his trance. “How’d you like the movie? I know it’s not really your thing–” 

“No no,” Logan said with a smile, toying with his spoon in cup. “I cannot believe I am truly saying this but...but I enjoyed it.” 

A gasp. Patton stopped dead in his tracks beside him. He rolled his eyes. 

“Oh come on , you drew this out of me...” 

“Logan Fray–  the Logan Fray– enjoyed a ‘nonsensical’ romance movie?” 

“It was a fine story, Patton, no need to over-sell this–” 

“I can’t wait to tell Roman!” Patton’s smile was oh-so blisteringly bright as he danced ahead of Logan, nearly dropping his ice cream cone and singing a song Logan didn’t recognize. Logan chuckled.

The streets felt emptier in Patton’s company, Logan noticed. He wasn’t quite in solitude, but he was not overrun by a crowd of thought, opinions, and expectations held by not only others, but himself — it was just him and Patton; it was just the two of them together.

“What’s on your mind?” Patton asked, suddenly beside him. Logan blinked, then shook his head. 

“Nothing, Patton. I am having a lovely evening with you.” 

Patton squinted at him. “You have your thinking face on.” 

A pause. 

“I am just thinking of how I could tie this experience to my research,” he finally responded, a feeble attempt at a lie. Patton’s mouth thinned into a small frown. 

“Ah...right.” 

Patton continued to walk, now alongside Logan in an awkward silence. Logan, not really knowing what he had expected, followed suit. 

“Logan?” Patton asked after a few minutes.

“Yes?” 

“...Why do you want to know what the meaning of art is?” 

Logan frowned. “I have to, for my–” 

“For your speech, yeah,” Patton finished for him. “I know it’s for your speech, but...”

“It could possibly serve as an onset to a prospective publication,” Logan tried again.

“It just seems sad,” Patton blurted out. “Don’t you think?” 

Logan felt his heart drop, almost ashamed. Patton seemed to catch on almost immediately.

“Sorry, that was like– wow, so uncalled for–” 

“You’re not wrong.” Logan squeezed his eyes shut. “You are not wrong at all.”

They walked in a bit more silence before Logan sighed. 

“Sometimes, after what feels like a lifetime of barely-surmountable adversities...you tend to lose sight of the path, let alone what lies at the end of it.” Logan looked at Patton, eyes wide and earnest. “Have you ever felt that way?” 

“A little, but not as much as you do, maybe.” Patton shrugged. “I have never really lost anything. Though, I have never had too much to lose, heh.” 

“I see,” Logan murmured. 

A beat of silence. 

“I suppose art has always followed me,” Logan said, voice barely above a whisper. “My grandfather would bring stories to life in front of my very eyes, every single night. And then...well, they died with him. At some point in my life, I couldn’t live without his stories and...and now I can . There...there must be a reason for that, no?” 

“I’m not sure.” Patton looked up at Logan. “Do...do you think you have ever really lived without his stories?” 

Time seemingly stopped around them as Logan felt himself taken aback by Patton’s question. For a few moments, he thought about the shop, the way the books on the shelves have always been there. He thought about his grandfather and the stories he would bring to life. He thought about his parents and the hazy memory of the summer days he’d spend with them in the backyard, looking at insects with a magnifying glass and a toothy grin. He thought about his magic, the way it was first pulled out of him and into the air above his head in a swirl of faintly-coloured wind. 

He thought about Roman, and how he’s always been there. Always. 

(And in his chest, Logan felt a puzzle– one he almost forgot was ever fragmented– slowly piece itself back together.)

They eventually find their way back to Fray and Far Fables, with Logan mostly quiet the whole way back. He had reassured Patton that he did nothing wrong; he was just thinking, as he always did. Patton didn’t press on. 

“Well, here we are,” Logan said as they neared the front door. He awkwardly shifted in his place in front of Patton, averting his glance to the floor. 

“Here we are!” Patton echoed back with a nervous laugh. He smiled at Logan regardless. “I had a really good time, Logan.” 

“I did as well.” A pause. Logan hesitantly added, “I...I enjoy spending time with you.” 

“Aw, Lo! I like spending time with you too!” Patton smiled, almost embarrassed. “You...you make me think! And I like thinking with you, really.” 

Logan couldn’t help but look at Patton. Under the faint lights of his shop, Patton’s eyes looked like a mix of honey and wine, sweet and tempting. And Logan never realized it until now, but his freckles reassembled the same sort of stars he always saw in Patton’s smile.

Logan blinked, and felt Patton’s gaze on him narrow; perhaps he was under similar examination.

“Um...I should get going.” 

Patton laughed, even more nervous than the first time. 

“Oh! Yes, of course!” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And hey, thank you for indulging me in these silly art-ventures, heh. I know you don’t have to, but...well, it’s nice to know that you’re getting something out of these.” 

“I…” Logan took a deep breath. (For a brief moment, he wondered how one would encapsulate this crazy and horrifying feeling in a campy romantic comedy.) 

“I get more from being with you, Patton,” Logan finally said. “You...you challenge me in a way that reminds me that there is more than just a...a finite answer. You make me want to seek more .” A step forward. "And...and there has to be more."

And before he could say anything else, Patton leaned forward on the tips of his toes and pulled Logan into a kiss.

—

Here’s what Logan knows. 

He knows that despite there being something out there, there is nothing—truly nothing—in this life. There are bonds and spirits and magic that surround the world, sure. But you come from nothing and leave, ultimately, with nothing, because everything you could ever want to have is left behind. 

However, he now knows this as well: the very act of creation immortalizes what little space you make for yourself, and everything that he once believed was true is actually—and this is rather unfortunate—complete and utter bullshit. 

--

Logan felt his back hit the door as Patton pressed against him in their kiss. He swore he could feel both their hearts racing through their clothes. And in that very moment, Logan decided that he would do just about anything to be as close to Patton’s heart as possible, as if the two of their heartbeats could create a symphony if they were just a bit closer, closer, closer.

Logan fumbled for the door handle and with a struggled twist of his wrist, he sent the two of them stumbling backwards into the shop mid-kiss. Patton pulled back for a moment to let out a breathy laugh. Logan, almost desperately, ran his hand through Patton’s hair and pulled him into another kiss, and another, and another. 

They bumped into a few display tables, knocking a few books onto the floor. Logan jumped back at the noise, then looked at Patton. Patton was still clutching onto Logan’s blazer collar, his cheeks glowing red. He wore the smallest and shakiest of smiles. A few of the butterfly clips in his hair were askew, and Logan didn’t even know when this happened, but Patton’s cardigan was completely undone, as well as a few buttons of his shirt. 

He nodded towards the staircase and Patton nodded, seemingly breathless. 

As they were heading up, it dawned on Logan that he had never had someone else upstairs since his grandfather passed. It was mostly rather small and, quite frankly, unimpressive. A rush of insecurity flooded Logan’s being, but all too late. 

There were two doors when they reached the top: to the left was a small, cramped bathroom; and to the right, his bedroom. 

Patton looked at Logan, who sighed and braced himself as he opened the right door. 

In typical attic fashion, the ceiling was slanted towards a small window near the back of the room. Underneath the window was a kitchenette with a sink and a few appliances, as well as a rack of pots and pans lining the walls beside the window. His bed rested on the right side of his room, and across from it were rows of shelves filled with old books and picture frames, with some boxes and drawers laying underneath. A string of fairy lights and small light bulbs were strung from each shelf and illuminated the room with a warm glow.

In a small interlude from their intimacy, Patton looked around in awe.

“ Wow. I can’t believe this has been up here the whole time.” 

Logan shifted in his place, taking a deep breath.

“I know it is not much, but this...well, this is home. Always has been.” 

“I love it, Logan.” Patton looked up at Logan with a small smile. “I love it.” 

Logan grinned, a mix of relief and realization settling in his chest. He felt himself become lighter in Patton’s presence as he pulled Patton into another kiss, one that was softer than the previous ones.

And Logan held Patton close as if he was every answer he was searching for, as if their embrace could create a space in the vast world for just the two of them; as if life was no longer empty, but full. 

Logan held Patton close in a warm, ‘ thank-you-for-all-of-this’ kiss, and then closed the door behind him.

—

When he heard the sound of the door closing upstairs, Roman decidedly floated up from behind the counter. He looked at the staircase and in his mind, remembered the sounds of Logan and Patton’s hurried footsteps leading to Logan’s bedroom. 

Roman flew over to lock the front door and took a glance out the window. He stared at the place where Logan and Patton were standing before he had hidden behind the counter; he recalled the way they looked at each other, the way they held each other in such closeness and warmth. And he recalled seeing something that he knew Logan wouldn’t have noticed: he saw the glow of a pulsing, navy blue aura surrounding Logan when he kissed Patton. 

Roman held his gaze with the city outside of the shop, and realized with a shattered heart that he had been in here longer than he had originally planned for; that someone was waiting for him in the same way he knew Logan had been waiting for someone like Patton (even if that someone was there, he was always fucking there–)

At that moment, Roman realized that he held every answer that his new life ever needed, yet everything was out of reach once again.

Fighting back tears, Roman locked the door and quietly floated back onto the surface of the front counter. The brown, leather-bound copy of The Midnight Forest laid open in front of him. 

Roman looked up at the staircase one more time, forcing himself to not hear the giggles and the creaking of the bed and the love, love, love. 

He steeled himself and silenced it all, before pressing his hands against the pages of The Midnight Forest and disappearing in a flurry of red smoke.

—

next chapter > 

#TS Storytime 2021 #gabbie writes things #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #logicality #prinxiety #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan/patton #roman/virgil #logic/morality #creativity/anxiety

[ayyyez]

Omggg your requests are open!! I’m so happy. So, how do you think (headcanon or scenario or whatever you’re comfortable with) will Itachi and Neji admit to the person that they really REALLY like that they, well, have romantic feelings for them. Also, if possible, can you also please include how they’ll realise that they like someone A LOT and the subsequent reactions they’ll have like OMG I LIKE so and so 😱 Thank you so much!! I love your writings 💕

a/n: Thank you for your request, I’m glad you love my writing! <3 warnings: none, fluffy times below

Neji Hyuga

-The first stage of realising he has romantic feelings for someone is DENIAL DENIAL AVOIDANCE DENIAL BURY DENIAL AVOID! He absolutely rejects his feelings because he cannot handles them lol. Poor boy just can’t deal. At first confessing is way off the radar and avoiding you is key. 

-Takes him a long time to get out of this denial funk and give himself a chance. Tries to go back to normal and act like his usual self around you. He get’s a little on edge at times but then comes to deal with it. 

-Then the closer you two get the more he entertains the idea of you returning his feelings. Still isn’t quite at the confess stage yet but he is much more comfortable in your presence and seeks out the adrenaline feeling he gets whenever you meet up. He’s smitten. Smiling at you a lot! Soft in general. 

-Then all of a sudden there is this countdown that appears. One that tells him he might miss his chance with you and you could pick someone else if he doesn’t do something-say something! He panics. Doesn’t know how to say it. Goes over and over it in his head many times. Freaks out every time. He gets really hot and blushes a lot just thinking about it. 

-Will honestly be relieved if you confess first. But you don’t so here we go. Fails several times. Says he needs to tell you something important. Gets interrupted or you get distracted or he just straight up chickens out. But then he gets sick of it! He needs to get the words out so he can sleep at night. 

-Goes to your house in the middle of the night. Okay not bedtime late but later than usual. Kind of just stomps into your house without a proper greeting. You shut the door and ask if he’s alright. Your concern straight up turns him super soft. He loves you. Takes a deep breath and queue internal freak out. 

-You reach out and cup his cheek. He’s hot. Grabs your hand in his, closes his eyes a blurts out that he really loves you, romantically loves you and he can’t hold it back any longer. followed by a ‘please go out with me, I hope you return these feelings.’ Answer him straight away to prevent complete shut down. 

-You chuckle and return his feelings and wow the relief! The weight off his shoulders! He can sleep! But wait you love him too????? He’s a flustered mess but plays it cool. ‘I’m glad.’ His smile his soft but his cheeks are very red. Give him a kiss okay. It’s the perfect time and he won’t dare initiate. Otherwise give him a hug because wow he deserves it. It took a lot to confess! 

Itachi Uchiha

-Alright he’s not clueless about his feelings but he kind of buries and ignores them? Doesn’t feel like he deserves to pursue you? He is not even sure why it’s just the initial feeling. Also he’s content at watching you from the sidelines, cheering you on in your life as the supportive friend.

-He’s warmed and calmed by your presence. It’s enough to get him through the day and give him another pep in his step. Seeks you out often when he begins to crave your presence. You are simply divine and can remedy any bad day with a single smile or accidental graze of your arm. 

-But then those feelings don’t go away and a voice inside Itachi tells him to pursue these feelings. He becomes selfish with you and wants to monopolise your time. He wants your eyes to be on him and him alone. Becomes bolder with his gestures but still no confession of the tip of his lips. 

-Get’s a little salty when you tell him you already have plans. He’s not irritated at you, that would be irrational, he’s mad at himself for not being a better person. Someone worthy of your time. He broods a little. Then you seek him out and tell him you sensed he wasn’t okay recently. It warms his heart and makes him smile. ‘You were worried about me?’ It’s enough to make him want to kiss you. He doesn’t. 

-Each night before he goes to sleep he imagines your face, your smile, your touch. He gets all warm inside. He might explode. But then he wonders how you feel and your feelings toward him? Could it be you felt the same? Or perhaps you coddled him a little too much. He needed to know now. 

-He seeks you out and asks for a moment of your time. Outright confesses his feelings, the warmth he feels around you and wonders if it is the same for you. If you accept and tell him your feelings he is the happiest he has been. Presses his forehead against yours with a smile. ‘Thank god.’ He is relieved. He had gotten more worked up than he realised. 

-Insists on taking you on a date right there and then. Not necessarily out but doing something together somewhere excluded. There’s more touching than usual, a hand graze here, a caress there. He’s a little more open with how he feels in the moment too, it’s enough to make anyone blush!

#itachi uchiha #neji hyuga #headcanons #headcanon #hcs #hc #confessing #neji/reader #nejixreader #itachi/reader #itachixreader #neji headcanons #itachi headcanons #request #fluff #Anonymous #Ask

[nommy-thoughts]

Danger Noodles Epilogue

Wordcount: 4.4 K

Summary: You can’t just bring two giant nagas into town, even the outskirts of town, and expect that nobody will notice.

Breakfast, repercussions, and departure.

Cowritten with @that-prey-lounge​!

[Danger Noodles Masterpost]

~~~~~

The two giant nagas woke at dawn, as was their habit. The others, unused to rising so early, remained asleep. Luckily for them, their scaled beds seemed perfectly content to be still and watch the little ones sleep. Remus gently stroked Patton’s hair, an extremely fond expression on his face.

Dee-Dee was the next to wake, stretched out over a few branches inside his tank. With a little yawn, he started to stir slowly, but jolted up at noticing the giant naga scent that had filled the house. He peered through the glass and soon spotted all three of his humans sleeping in the nest made out of the giant nagas’ coils.

They must have fallen asleep there since they couldn’t get to their bedrooms. Dee-Dee vaguely remembered Logan pulling him away from Patton at some point last night and putting him to bed in his tank instead. For his own safety, Logan had said, though Dee-Dee would have preferred to stay with Patton, to protect him.

Well, he would just have to go back to Patton again now. With that decided, Dee-Dee slithered up the ladder-like slope Logan had installed in the corner of his tank when they’d first gotten it, which allowed him to get in and out on his own.

A rumbling voice filled the air. “Hello, little one.” Dee-Dee blinked and peeked out over the rim of his tank. The red naga had turned, looking at him. “Sleep well?”

“As well as I could, with my humans in the coils of hungry giants,” Dee-Dee answered pointedly. He tugged on his capelet, adjusting it minutely.

The giant naga chuckled softly, while the other continued to pet Patton.

Dee-Dee huffed and lowered himself down to the table and then to the floor. It seemed he’d have to wake his humans up himself. He slithered across the floor, and froze when a shadow fell over him. He looked up to see the red naga — Roman, Dee-Dee recalled — looming over him.

“Where do you think you’re going? Hm?”

The micro naga couldn’t allow himself to be intimidated like this. He gave a fierce look up at the giant. “I’m going to get my human up so I can get some breakfast.”

“It’ll take ages for you to climb over to Patton, if you can even scale our tails.” Roman lazily draped his torso over the nearest bend of his tail. “Want a hand?”

“I can get him myself!” Dee-Dee determinedly slithered forward, but stopped short as he approached the nearest massive coil, thicker than he was long.

“Still don’t want that hand?”

“No!” Dee-Dee hissed softly. He reached out a hand, hesitating for a moment, and then pressed his fingers into a crack between two of Roman’s scales, trying to ignore how much larger than his hands each scale was. Using his grip for leverage, Dee-Dee pulled himself up an inch or so. He reached up with his other hand, feeling for another crack. As he felt around for some place to hold onto, his other hand slipped from where it had found purchase, and Dee-Dee landed back on the floor. He huffed in annoyance, readjusting his capelet once again.

Roman laid his stupidly big hand on the floor next to the micro naga. Dee-Dee glared at the offending appendage before glancing around for another option.

“C’mon, little noodle, I don’t bite.”

Dee-Dee still glared at Roman, but he did pull himself up onto his hand, climbing over fingers that were thicker than his entire body, and settled in his palm. “Bring me to Patton, and no grabbing!” he commanded.

“Yesssssir.” Roman teasingly flickered his tongue before carefully lifting Dee-Dee and moving him over their tails. Dee-Dee could not allow himself to be intimidated by the height. He was on a mission. He needed to get his human up.

“Oh em gee!” Remus suddenly loomed over Dee-Dee, who had to suppress a shudder. “He’s so liddle!”

“Yeah, so don’t bump me.” Roman glared at his twin.

“Right, can’t let Patton’s precious baby go ‘splat.’” Remus backed off and settled back down, resuming his petting of Patton.

Roman allowed himself a put-upon sigh before lowering his hand so his fingertips rested on Patton’s chest. Dee-Dee quickly slithered off. He brushed off his clothes once more, offended that those annoyingly big brutes had got their scent all over him. But at last he was where he wanted to be. “Patton. Patton, get up!”

Patton only mumbled softly, so Dee-Dee resorted to drastic measures. He slithered across Patton’s chest, up to his ear, and licked it, flicking his little tongue inside the ticklish opening.

Patton sat bolt upright, smacking his head against Remus’ palm in the process. “Ow!”

“Sorry.” Remus quickly pulled his hands back. “You okay?”

“’M fine.” Patton yawned, rubbing at his ear. “Dee-Dee, what was that for?”

“I’m hungry,” Dee-Dee said with a pout. “And I didn’t like this giant petting my human.” He wrapped his arms possessively around Patton’s neck as far as they could go and glared up at Remus, who only grinned back.

Patton gave him a fond pat on the back. “It’s okay, kiddo. We’re safe here.” He glanced around the nest of tails. Roman had started gently petting Logan instead, and Virgil lay tucked against a loop of Remus’s tail, arms and legs wrapped as far around it as he could reach. Patton yawned a bit. “I think I should make pancakes. What do you think, Dee-Dee?”

Dee-Dee relaxed with a smile. “I love pancakes.” He nuzzled Patton’s neck.

It was a slight struggle for Patton to get to his feet without upsetting Dee-Dee’s balance or stepping on a sensitive part of the twins, but he managed to get out of the impromptu nest without incident.

Patton stretched his legs and his arms out forward. “Could you wake the others? I’ll get started on breakfast.” He wandered into the kitchen, stifling another yawn. “Coffee first.”

Remus glanced at the sleeping humans. “Do we have to? They’re so cute all snuggled up.”

Roman heaved a sigh, and then gently poked Logan in the side. He didn’t react, so Roman did it again. Meanwhile, Remus pried Virgil off his tail, easily waking the young man.

Virgil scrambled for a second, trying to get to his feet, but he stumbled and fell right back into Remus’ hands.

“Morning.” The giant naga softly grinned and set Virgil on the couch cushion.

“Oh. Morning.” He blinked softly. “Sorry about intruding, we couldn’t get into the bedrooms.”

Remus waved him off. “It’s fine. I enjoyed cuddling, and you’re cute.”

By now, Roman managed to wake Logan, who grunted and crawled out of the nest.

“Well, good morning to you too, grumpus.”

“Logan normally doesn’t wake up well if he stays up late.” Virgil picked up the notebook left on the couch, glancing through the pages. “And looking at the details in these, he stayed up late.” He looked over at Logan, who was currently retrieving his glasses from the table to put them on his face. “I told you not to stay up too late,” Virgil scolded. “You promised not to.”

“I had the scale reference of not only multiple humans in their coils, but everyday furniture,” Logan pointed out. “It was an opportunity I simply could not pass up.”

Virgil gave him a Look. “Am I going to have to make you take a nap?”

“Virgil, you cannot force me to nap,” Logan answered, avoiding the question.

“I’ll get Patton to help me,” Virgil retorted. “If we both lie on top of you, we can probably hold you down.”

Logan frowned, then glanced towards the kitchen, from which the scent of coffee was beginning to emanate. He visibly perked up. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Virgil chuckled softly to himself before stretching. “That’s Logan.” He flipped a couple pages in the notebook. “Oh, wow. He’s just been a drawing machine.”

Remus leaned against the wall so he could look down over Virgil’s shoulder at the notebook, and he couldn’t help but be impressed. There was a lovely drawing of himself in the middle of eating prey. He softly touched his face, wondering if his scars really were that pronounced. Before he could ask Virgil that, however, his twin shoved at his coils.

“Hey, move.” Roman was trying to uncoil, but Remus had shifted and had too much weight on a part, so that they were tangled together.

It took a bit for them to uncoil from around each other, made more awkward by the close quarters of the humans’ living room. Virgil had to force himself to not be intimidated as red and green tails sprawled across the entire room. The twins were just so big, and Virgil felt very small beside them.

A little later, Patton came out of the kitchen with a stack of pancakes on a plate. Dee-Dee, playing scarf once more, had a silver dollar pancake in his hands and was contentedly munching on it. Logan followed with a mug of coffee in each hand. “Virgil, breakfast.” Patton set the plate down in the middle of the table. Looking up at the brothers, he added, “I’m working on getting a couple of big stacks for the two of you, so it’s going to be a bit of a wait.”

“You won’t be hearing any complaints from us.” Roman waved his hand. “Cook away, Patton.”

Logan set one mug of coffee at Virgil’s place and took a few long sips from the other.

“What’s that?” Roman asked curiously.

Logan looked up. “Hm?”

The naga pointed. “Your drink.”

“Coffee.” Logan took another sip, then asked, “Have you ever had coffee before?”

“No,” said Roman, shaking his head.

“Is it good?” asked Remus.

Logan shrugged. “I like it, but not everyone does. The main allure is the caffeine, which provides a burst of energy and allows one to wake more rapidly.” He looked down at his mug, then up at the twins again, lifting it. “Do you want to try?”

“Sure!” Remus said eagerly, reaching down.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Logan cautioned, handing his mug over.

Remus took it between two fingers, looking curiously at the dark liquid within. Then he poured the entire thing into his mouth. For a second, he was still. Then, turning excitedly to his brother, he said, “Roman, you gotta try this, it’s awful!”

“I’ll pass.” Roman shook his head. “That trick only works on me once.”

Logan had to suppress his offended look at Remus insulting his coffee before going to get himself a fresh cup. Virgil quietly snickered into his stack of pancakes before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“How can you guys drink that stuff?” Remus shuddered softly. “It’s so… bitter.”

“That’s because Logan likes his black.” Virgil set his mug down. “I’m not crazy and put creamer and sugar in mine.”

“My mental state has no correlation with how I take my coffee.” Logan sat down at his place with a fresh mug and started to eat. “For decades coffee was consumed by the masses with no additions.”

“Yeah, but we’re not cavemen anymore. We have technology… and flavored creamer.” Virgil took a long sip before returning to his pancakes.

“Can I try yours?” Remus asked, already reaching forward.

“Yeah, I guess.” Virgil handed it over, and Remus downed the entire mugful. He licked his lips, loudly smacking with his tongue.

“How is it?” Roman asked.

Remus shrugged. “Still weird,” he said, giving Virgil his mug back. Virgil got up to refill it.

When he came out, Patton followed behind him. “I’ve got another batch on the griddle,” he said, looking up at the twins. “It’d be barely a mouthful for you, though, so I figured I’d give you several batches at once.”

“That’s fine,” Roman reassured him again. “We appreciate any breakfast at all, since you originally only invited us over for dinner. You’ve been very hospitable.”

Patton grinned, sitting down at the table with his housemates. “Well, thank you,” he said.

The three humans and the micro naga ate, making casual conversation. Patton went back to the kitchen every so often to flip or pour pancakes, but rather than bring them out, he put them in his big roasting pan to keep them warm and soft.

Finally, it was full. Patton brought the heavy pan out, lifting it up triumphantly.

“Thank you,” Roman said, taking it from him. Remus leaned over, looking into the pan. They shook the pancakes out into their palms, half for each brother.

Logan, having finished his own meal, wiped his hands and mouth on his napkin, setting his dishes aside in a neat pile. “Roman, if you don’t mind, may I observe you eating?”

“You’ve already done that?”

“Apologies, I didn’t properly articulate my meaning.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “I’d like to physically observe how things pass through your body, preferably through applying small amounts of pressure to your torso to estimate the location of your esophagus in relation to your internal organs.”

At the bewildered look, Virgil translated. “He wants to Science you to find out more about how you eat, but it’s gonna take him getting in your personal space.”

“Oh.” Roman thought it over for a minute before nodding. “Sure. I don’t mind. Just don’t go sticking your hands in my mouth again. I don’t wanna accidentally bite you.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“He is about to get pretty hands-on, though,” Virgil warned, taking another sip of coffee. “If he’s too much, you can tell him to stop. He doesn’t get nonverbal cues super well unless you’re an animal.”

Roman nodded. Logan approached excitedly.

The doorbell rang, and everyone looked over, startled. Who could possibly be visiting at this time of the morning?

“I’ll get it,” Virgil sighed, putting his mug down and getting up. He glanced out the window and saw a woman with a big hat at the door. He sighed again and opened up, holding the door mostly closed so that his body blocked the view into the rest of the house. “We’re kinda busy- oh.”

It was the park ranger they had talked to before going into the woods months ago, the one who’d warned them of the naga sightings.

“Hello,” she said. “Do you live here?”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah.”

The ranger glanced down at the clipboard in her hands. “I’m just following up on a call we got. Your neighbor says they saw a huge snake go into your house; they were concerned for your safety.”

Virgil winced. Right, they’d forgotten to warn anyone that the brothers were coming over, and that there was nothing to be worried about. “Uh. Yeah…”

“There is a giant snake?” the ranger asked, immediately concerned. She pulled the radio from her belt. “I’ll get animal control right away. Has it attacked anyone?”

“No, wait!” Virgil exclaimed, throwing out an arm to stop her. “It’s okay, they promised not to hurt anybody!”

The ranger froze. “‘They promised’?” she repeated. “There’s more than one? And they can talk?”

Virgil nodded, trying to think of how to explain this. “There’s two,” he said at last. “And they’re not snakes, they’re giant nagas.”

The ranger gave him an odd look, like she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him. “You have two giant nagas in your house,” she repeated flatly, “and they’ve promised to go against their man-eating nature and not hurt anyone?”

“Yeah.”

The ranger scoffed.

“I know, it sounds ridiculous,” Virgil said. “But-”

“May I see these friendly nagas?”

Virgil hesitated for a moment. “Uh.”

“Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll have to write you up for misusing a ranger’s time.”

“Fine.” Virgil opened the door the rest of the way, gesturing for her to come inside. “But don’t freak out, okay?”

The ranger walked past him into the house, glancing around the entryway. Virgil closed the door and followed. Then she stepped through the doorway into the living room and stopped short.

Looking over her shoulder, Virgil saw the twins, somehow taking up even more of the living room than they had before. Logan was sitting on the base of Roman’s tail, raptly observing and taking notes as the giant naga ate pancakes one by one. Remus was watching them, with an almost jealous look on his face. Patton and Dee-Dee were nowhere to be seen, but Virgil figured that they were probably back in the kitchen.

Going past the frozen ranger into the living room, Virgil cleared his throat, and the others looked up. For several seconds, there was silence. Then, before anyone else could break it, Virgil explained, “The neighbors called the ranger station, because they saw someone’s giant scaly behind going into our house and thought we’d all been eaten.”

Roman shook his head. “We wouldn’t eat you!” he protested.

“Yeah, but our neighbors didn’t know that.”

Patton popped back around the corner at that moment, carrying a plate with a big stack of pancakes on it. “I’ve got more pancakes!” he announced cheerfully. “Oh, hi Virgil, who was at the door?”

Virgil gestured to the ranger standing just behind him. “Apparently nobody remembered to tell the neighbors that you invited giant, man-eating nagas over for dinner.”

“Formerly man-eating,” Roman corrected.

“We haven’t eaten a single human in months,” Remus agreed. Patton offered him the plate, and the giant naga took it gratefully. “Thanks.”

The ranger seemed to find her voice. “You… gave up eating humans?” she repeated incredulously. “Just like that?”

The two giant nagas nodded.

“Why?”

Both glanced in Patton’s direction. “Patton would be sad if we ate humans,” Roman explained.

Remus nodded vigorously. “It felt wrong to try and hunt something that looks so much like him.”

The ranger looked at Patton, then back up at the two giant nagas, and then back at Patton again. He gave her a small grin.

“Want to join us for breakfast? We can talk it through.”

The ranger declined, shaking her head. “This is insane.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “I can agree this is certainly… strange, but they speak the truth. I kept an eye on any news surrounding the forest since we first encountered the twins, and they’ve not harmed any humans since Patton here first convinced them not to devour us. Surely you’ve also noticed the recent drop in missing persons cases.”

Remus stuck his tongue out, poking Logan in the shoulder. “Aww, you kept tabs on us?”

She lifted her head, blinking owlishly. “They were going to eat you… but you convinced them not to? How?!”

Roman picked Patton up, ignoring Dee-Dee’s immediate protests, and dangled him directly in front of the ranger. “Just look at his face, and tell me you’d still try to eat him,” he said. “Patton, do that thing, the really cute one.”

Patton looked over his shoulder up at Roman, eyes widened and head tilted just slightly. “What thing?”

“That’s the one!” Roman beamed. “That’s the look that made me realize I couldn’t.” He set Patton down with a fond smile.

The ranger groaned and glanced at Virgil and Logan. “And you two?”

“Patton informed them of our bond,” Logan explained. “Something along the lines of ‘If you eat them, you’ll have to eat me too.’”

“And obviously we couldn’t do that,” Remus said, looking fondly at Patton. “So we didn’t!” He patted Patton on the head. Dee-Dee hissed up at him.

The ranger looked around the room and slowly rubbed her face. “Fine. Fine. I’ll call off animal control. I’ll explain everything to them, but I’ll be needing statements from the three of you to corroborate the story.” She pointed sternly up at the nagas. “And next time, you need to give prior warning before coming into town. We can work out the details later regarding what kind of warning and how much prior.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Logan said. “Wouldn’t want everyone freaking out.”

“Again,” Virgil added softly, rolling his eyes.

The ranger glanced around the living room one more time. “Alright, well then. I should go, make sure nobody sends backup in here after me. Wouldn’t want anyone panicking and making rash decisions.”

Virgil glanced back the way they’d come. “Yeah, I’d prefer to not have the front door kicked down.”

She started back towards the door. “Can you three come by the station this afternoon to give your statements?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Patton nodded and glanced at Logan. “After we send the twins home?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll see you three then.” And with that, she left.

Virgil sighed and sank into one of the table chairs. Logan sat in the chair beside him. “I feel as though we should have foreseen this.”

“Sorry,” Patton said, heading back into the kitchen. “I forgot that they were scary.”

“With how we met, you think we’d remember.” Virgil shook his head. “Especially Logan and I.”

“Yeah, but they’ve been so nice since then, and it’s been months!”

Virgil looked up at the two nagas. “You’re gonna have to go home pretty soon,” he told them.

“Yeah, figured,” Roman chuckled.

“We probably ought to escort you back to the edge of the woods, to ensure your safety,” Logan mused. “I’d hate for someone to shoot at you.”

“I’ve been shot before,” Remus said. “Zero out of ten, would not recommend.” He scowled. “I didn’t even get to eat the guy! He got away while I was distracted by the pain.”

Virgil chuckled, patting him on the hand. “Poor baby,” he said, his voice somehow both sympathetic and teasing. Mostly teasing.

Remus pouted.

“Well,” Roman said reluctantly after a moment of silence. “We should probably be heading for home.”

“Yes, that would probably be best,” Logan agreed, just as reluctantly. He paused. “How did you get in here in the first place?”

“It wasn’t easy.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “We had to turn sideways and squish ourselves through your little entrance tunnel. The first part especially was really tight to get through.”

“I would imagine so,” Logan said, looking over at the entryway, then back at the twins. “Lucky we have a wide front door, or else you’d never have gotten your hips through.”

Virgil glanced at the door, then around the room. “D’you think they’d fit better going out the window?”

They all looked. The living room window took up most of the wall, and was certainly wider than the front door.

“They’d have to be more careful not to break it,” Logan said musingly. “Also, that would put them in our backyard.”

“And we’d have to take the screen out,” Patton pointed out, coming back out of the kitchen with another plateful of pancakes. “You still hungry?”

Remus perked up. “Yes please!” he said, reaching for the pancakes.

Roman was staring at the door, occasionally glancing down at himself. “Don’t stuff yourself, Ree,” he said finally. “It was enough of a squeeze getting in on an empty stomach.”

Logan nodded, giving Roman’s tail a significant glance where he had been palpating it. “You’ve certainly become much firmer than before you began eating,” he said. “I expect you’d have trouble fitting through as tight a space as you could slip through before.”

Remus begrudgingly put the stack of pancakes down. “Fine, fine.” He scowled briefly, then sighed. “I guess we’d better go, then.”

Virgil got up. “Door or window?” he asked.

They considered. “Door,” Logan said at last.

With a nod, Virgil went and opened it.

Roman went first. Virgil stepped out of the way as the big red naga slithered past. Roman had to duck his head to enter the hallway, and basically crawl to get through the door. However, despite having to turn sideways and wriggle awkwardly, he made it through without too much difficulty.

Remus stuck.

He got his upper half through alright, as well as about a foot of scaled tail, but just below that, it was thicker, and he jammed in the doorway like a plug.

“I’m stuck,” Remus whined. “Help.”

“Yes, we noticed,” Logan answered. He eyed the giant green tail. “How exactly are we supposed to help?”

“Push!”

“There aren’t exactly handholds, you slippery snake!” Virgil retorted. But all the same, all three humans clustered around, doing their best to push Remus through the door. On the outside, Roman took his brother’s hands, pulling.

Dee-Dee didn’t try very hard to hide his amused, smug smirk at the sight of the giant pest, stuck. But, at least he didn’t taunt him.

“C’mon, suck it in.” Virgil growled. “Logan, on three. One, two, three!” The pair gave an enormous shove.

There was a creak and Remus popped through the doorframe. He tumbled into Roman, and they made a tangled naga knot on the road.

“Are you okay?!” Patton quickly stepped out to check on them.

“We’re fine.” They dusted themselves off, untangling a little, but leaving a loop of tail entwined.

Virgil grabbed Patton’s jacket from its hook by the door as well as his own, following him out. Logan paused in the doorway to check for damage.

“If you get any bigger, we won’t be able to have you over,” Patton said sadly. “Are you done growing yet?”

The twins exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

“Sorry, Patt,” Roman said. “We’re not gonna be full-grown for a while.”

Remus patted Patton’s head. “Don’t be sad, little Patty,” he said. “You can still visit us in the woods.”

“Or get a bigger house!” Roman added.

Remus grinned. “Or get a bigger house,” he agreed.

Patton chuckled. Virgil dropped his jacket on his head. “Don’t catch a cold.”

Patton put it on, and Dee-Dee settled down around his neck again, huddling close for warmth.

“Do you wanna stay home, Dee-Dee?” Patton asked. “You don’t have to come.”

“No,” the little naga said firmly, snuggling down even more. “I’m curious.”

“Alright.” Patton touched him on the head. “But you should probably wear your hat, at least, keep your ears warm,” he added, reaching into his jacket pockets. He found the little soft, warm hat fairly quickly, and passed it over to Dee-Dee, who put it on. “C’mon, Lo.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Logan closed and locked the door. “Looks like Remus didn’t break the doorframe,” he reported. “I’d rather not put that kind of stress on it again, though.”

“Remus, you glutton.” Roman softly punched his brother in the arm.

“Patton is good at making food!” Remus answered, not looking the least bit ashamed. “Come on, let’s go home.”

~~~~~

Fin

If you like this story, check out There’s a Snek in the Woods, a reversed AU in which we swapped the humans and the nagas!

#original #my writing #collab #that prey lounge #sanders sides #danger noodles #writing #tangentially nommy related

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #299

“you look so beautiful tonight  /  reminds me how you laid us down and gently smiled before you destroyed my life.”

Ever done any drugs? Besides alcohol, no. How many people have you kissed? Three or four. What’s your favorite show to binge? I could only ever willingly *binge* Meerkat Manor and not get bored after like, two episodes. Do you watch porn? No, it's never appealed to me. What’s one of your fantasies? Being financially stable. :^) Do you have/would you get your nipples pierced? I've lightly considered getting one, but I really doubt I ever will. What’s the most overrated movie? /shrug. Let people like what they like. Tag someone you want to talk to but have been too shy to message. I'd love to get to know my Facebook acquaintance Courtlynn better; I've wanted to for a long time. I think we could be fantastic friends. We'll like each other's stuff regularly and occasionally leave comments, but we don't really talk. Do you like paper books or ebooks better? Paper ones, by a long shot. I just really like the feeling of a book and being able to clearly see how far in you are. I enjoy the smell and sound of turning pages. If you could live in a fictional world, what world would you pick? Probably Wonderland, realistically. I would say Azeroth, but too much world-threatening shit goes on every day lol. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like? G O T H Do you still have feelings for any of your exes? Yep. Do you drink? Very, very rarely. Almost exclusively during celebrations or on the once in a blue moon occasion we go to a sit-down restaurant. Do you read erotica? No. It would make me super uncomfortable. What color was the last candle you lit? I don't remember at all. Do you own a treadmill? No, but I want one. Have you ever signed up for a gym membership? Well, not exactly me. Mom and Nicole both had memberships to Planet Fitness, and I was able to come as a guest. It was just cheaper that way. What color was the last fish you had? That I owned or ate? Either way, idr. Is there a garbage can in your room? What color is it? No. If you play The Sims, do you download custom clothes, hair, etc? I don't play it. Does your animal sleep with you? Roman does, yes. He legitimately spoons with me lmao. Sometimes he'll move to the bottom of the bed, other times he'll sleep through most of the night there. Have you ever had to wear a hairnet? Yes. What is your favorite song to play on Guitar Hero or Rock Band? "Hotel California" by The Eagles on expert is so much fun and just feels good. The ending solo is just great. When you drink chocolate milk do you just buy the jug of it or the syrup that you can put into the milk? Almost always just the chocolate syrup. Do you own a robe? What color is it? No. What’s the worst abuse you have done to your phone? I know I've thrown it across the room once. Well, not my current phone, but a really old one. How did you meet your first love? High school. Well, you could maybe say Facebook. He sent me a friend request and I literally only accepted it because I thought it was another Jason. We talked via messenger some and then we ran into each other at school, and tbh I kinda knew I was fucked from there lmao. Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s underwear? I don't believe so, no. Have you ever kissed in a pool? Yeah. Are there any hobbies you have that you don’t perform in front of others? I absolutely cannot write in front of others, and I HATE drawing when people are watching. What do you do when you simply don’t know what to do? Odds are I'll probably be scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something in WoW that sounds even remotely fun, or I'll browse Facebook. How did you find out about your current favorite band? He's one of my mom's favorite singers/bands, so I grew up with some of his music, and when I was getting into rock and metal, I decided to go through her music case and listen to some of it. Ozzy's Black Rain album set the adoration into motion. Where are you most likely to go when you need clothing? The Internet or Wal-Mart, depending on what kind of clothes I need. When was the last time you tried to do something yet failed? I should have an answer for this very quickly... yet I'm unsure. I don't think anything *major* has happened in a while. Oh, this is a tiny thing, but I did look really hard for the pencil sharpener so my niece could finish coloring her drawing, but I couldn't find the damn thing for anything. Do you think your life is comprised more of success or failure? Lots and lots of failure. What’s one personality trait that’s not strong in you? Uhhh outgoing, ig. Are you a difficult individual to get to know? Considering I hide a lot about myself to try and be accepted, yes. When was the last time you opened up to someone and about what? Literally yesterday to my mom about this unreasonably massive fear I've had lately that she doesn't have much longer in her. I'm terrified she's going to get COVID or her cancer just comes back faster than we hope. To whom do you feel the most important? My mom. Is there something you want but might not ever have? Many things. What’s something you’re working to obtain? Mental stability. Do you tend to enjoy your dreams? No, considering they're usually violent and rarely just psychotic nightmares. Are there any projects or goals you’ve recently abandoned? Hm. What in life serves to keep you going? The hope it'll get better, and I'll reach a point of actually being happy and content with my life. What was the last good news you received? Nicole's trip to Maryland to bring back a baby was successful (if that sounds weird, she's a child social worker). He has a heart condition where if his heartbeat or something like that was irregular, she'd have driven all the way up there for nothing; the baby wouldn't have been able to take the ride. Are you more inclined to appreciate sweet or savory foods? Sweet. Are romantic relationships important to you at this point in your life? I mean I'd like to be in one, but I highly doubt it'd be successful, just given where I am in life. I'd be signing up for heartbreak. Who was the last person to apologize to you for something they did? I don't know. Probably Mom for something minor, like just bumping into me or something. Are you wearing a necklace, and if so, who got it for you? No. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done lately? Lately? Uh. I don't know, but I can guarantee to you it wasn't long ago at all, considering breathing embarrasses me, pretty much. Do you ‘think out loud’? Sometimes. Do you take gummy vitamins? No. How do you know the majority of the people you know? Former schools. Hell, or maybe various online locations. I just might have more online friends and acquaintances than in-person. Is there a random object you own that has a huge personal significance? I've talked about my pebble from my partial hospitalization program enough. Can you play electric guitar? I used to be able to play a little bit; I took guitar lessons for a short while in high school. Best I could do was the intro to "Crazy Train," but I'd still occasionally mess up. Are you one of those people who chew two pieces of gum, not one? Usually. Do you believe in ghosts/supernatural occurrences? Yes. Without the aid of mascara, do you have long eyelashes? Yeah. Is there a kind of music you listen to that helps you release your anger? Yes, usually songs that are also angry. How does it make you feel looking at pics with your ex and someone else? The only case this has ever happened was with Jason and his gf after me. There are no words to describe the fucking hatred I felt. I haven't seen pictures of him with an s/o in a long time, and I absolutely never plan on seeking them out ever again. What song are you listening to right now? "Rest In Pieces" by Saliva. If you’re not in college, why? I couldn't handle the stress anymore. Just couldn't. Do you own a studded belt from Hot Topic? I have a good number of old ones from high school, actually. I wore them all the time. I could never fit into them now. Favorite fictional character? Um, Darkiplier, duh. Most recent thing you are looking forward to? I think it's finally set in stone that I'm getting my tattoo redone soon. Thanks to my laptop saying "ha fuck you," it's not as soon as I originally planned since I had to pay to fix it, but Mom seems fine with helping me pay for my birthday. Not a guarantee that it'll happen on that date of course, given scheduling, but yeah. It should fucking finally be happening. How many stairs can you climb before you wanna pass out? This is too embarrassing to even answer lmao. Have you ever kissed someone with braces? No. Would you ever consider adoption? I don't want kids, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't. I feel like I'd personally need the "wow this is a part of me (and/or my s/o)" connection. Do you ever go hunting/fishing? I would never go hunting, and the only occasion in which I'd fish again is if Dad asked me. I don't like the idea of fishing for fun anymore, but that's like... always been our bonding experience, and I wouldn't tell him no. Do you know anyone who plays guitar? Knew. What are you currently sitting/laying on? My bed. Who are your godparents? I don't think I have any. Do you have any friends who are famous? I have two friends who are parts of bands, but idk how successful they are. I don't think either are like, huge. Nova Mortis if you're into heavy metal and I think Toukan does rap? When was the last time you stayed at a hotel? Hm. I have no idea. What side of a heart do you draw first? Uhhhh I think the left? What is your mom saved as in your phone? "Mama Bear." Do you want your tongue pierced? I had snake eyes for a while, but I took them out because I kept chipping my teeth. I miss that piercing, it was so cute, but it wasn't worth ruining my teeth. Ever made out in a pool? It's possible very briefly, idr. Do you like to have long hair or short hair? SHORT. SHORT. SHORT. Do you change your phone background a lot? Not really. Would you get back with your last ex if you could? Yeah. Have you ever been strip searched? No. Has the person you like ever seen you in your pajamas? Yes. What is your least favorite type of chocolate? White chocolate is way too sweet. Did anyone see your last kiss? It was at an airport, so probably. Do you want a boyfriend or girlfriend? I mean, I do, but I don't really know how smart it would be right now. Is there anyone you wish you could fix things with? A few. Who IMed you on Facebook last? My friend Girt. Were you kinda scared of the goths in high school? Hell naw man, I looked up to them lmao. What size is your mattress? (single,twin,double,queen,king) Queen. Do you like spaghetti? Hell yeah. It was my favorite food as a kid. What about lasagna? No; I don't like the cheese at all. Have you ever been stung by anything? What was it? Mosquitoes of course, as well as a bee once. Maybe other things, idk. Have you ever worn contacts? (even just to try them out) Yes, but I changed to glasses because I had too much trouble putting them in and taking them out. Have you ever had any suspicious moles removed? No. Have you ever been screened for STDs? No. Did you have your tonsils taken out? No. Did you have your appendix taken out? No. Do you have any collector’s glasses or cups or mugs? What is a "collector's" glass or mug? Were you your parents’ first born? No; I'm the middle child. Do you have a child? Is the father still with you? No. Were you born perfectly healthy or with some (or a lot) of health issues? I was born healthy. Good 'ole days. Did you ever catch any bugs or insects with your friends as a kid? Ohhhh yes, my neighbor and I loved doing that. My favorite was catching fireflies with my sisters, though. Would you prefer to travel around the world by yourself or with a friend? With a friend. I'd get lonely. Do you know anybody who has been diagnosed with cancer? A whole lot, sadly... I'm despising that disease more and more every day that goes by. I know far too many people who have it or have died at its hands. Have you ever had to take care of an intoxicated person? No. Do you and your boyfriend/girlfriend fight a lot? N/A. Do not stay in a relationship where fighting is common. Would you ever share a site password with a family member or partner? I mean sure, depending on the site and person, and the reason they (may) need it. Has anyone ever told you they couldn't trust you? Hm... I actually don't think so? Who in your family has the prettiest eyes? Idk, I don't see enough of my extended family to know. What is an odd food item you would like to try, or have tried? I'm sure there's something I'd like to try, but nothing I think about with consistency, really... Most "odd" food I find unappealing anyway. When/if you drive, do you go the speedlimit? When I did, I certainly always tried to, but I was bad at maintaining a stable speed. I went up and down too much. Are you an aggressive driver? Or more passive-aggressive? I was dangerously passive at driving. Describe a hairstyle you had as a little kid? Well, I had long hair with bangs. What routine of yours would you most hate to break? Probably stopping getting a soda first thing in the morning... That is like so deeply ingrained into my day and is a motivator to get up in the first place. I want to change this to where I'm not allowed to grab one until I've had a full cup of water, but yeah, that hasn't happened yet. Has jealousy ever ruined one of your friendships/relationships? Honestly? I think it's possible that Jason totally split on me because of it. We were in this very unstable "friends" position after the breakup and hung out very briefly and awkwardly twice (which I'm pretty sure he didn't want), and I think one of our last attempts at conversation was who a girl he was talking to via Messenger was. No, before any assumptions are made, I didn't snoop. He showed me something on his phone and I just inevitably saw the little Facebook chat icon of a girl I didn't recognize. I don't even remember his answer. I just know it wasn't too long later I was blocked and everything. What is one restaurant you would NOT recommend? I personally am not a Chili's fan. What was your last conversation about? Mom and I were just talking about what a mush the cat is, haha. Who is your favorite person to debate or discuss with? Yo fuck debates, I got mad anxiety over that kind of stuff. Are you more likely to praise or insult yourself? Why? Insult. I don't even believe myself when I try praising, so it's not worth the effort. I have a billion and two reasons. Do you enjoy cloudy days? Why or why not? Honestly, not very much anymore. I've found that it actually does affect my mood. I like some cloud coverage, though. Would it bother you to be forgotten after death? Yes, even though when you think about it, most of us will be. I want to do stomething so badly; not even particularly something major, but just contribute to things and causes that matter and slowly change the world for the better. It's especially likely I will be forgotten though at some point because I don't want kids, so my blood isn't carrying on. Do you tend to prefer healthy or unhealthy snacks? Ugh, unhealthy. Has anyone ever asked you for diet advice? I think so, back when I started recovery and lost like 60 lbs fast as fuck. I wasn't even dieting though, just... came off awful meds. What age is your youngest aunt? Ummmm I have no clue. Do you like bowling? Yeah, it's fun, but I'm not good at it. Do you like roasting marshmallows on a bonfire? Totally. Do you prefer sweet or sour fruits? Sweet. How're your dancing skills? Rusted to the point of just not functional anymore lmao. What brand of batteries do you usually get? I don't pay attention to the kind Mom gets. Are any of your friends pregnant or have kids? A lot of my FB friends have kids. At least two are pregnant, but I only consider myself remotely close to one. I'm beyond worried about how she's going to be as a mom. Where's the strangest place a fast food restaurant was located? I've certainly seen some questionable placement in busy areas, but none that are super odd. Do you stay up all night on New Years Eve/Day or go to bed after 12am? I don't care nowadays; I just stay up until I'm tired like every other night.

#survey #surveys #questions #questionnaire #lyrics: ''rest in pieces'' by saliva

[teffyjeffy]

Fabric Tears (Part 1)

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It was a quiet night in Gravity Falls.

...okay, no it wasn't.

Owls were hooting, bats were shrieking, cults were chanting, the usual stuff.

Most of the townsfolk on the other hand were sound asleep, oblivious to the eerie noises surrounding them outside their living spaces. They took no notice of the gnomes scrounging for food. Of the black cats hissing a warning. Of the wind howling at the moon.

Because of this obliviousness, nobody noticed the pitter patter of a lone critter stumbling down the road, malnourished and shivering from the snow that stuck to it like soot. The critter scuffled down the streets blindly, letting out small ragged huffs of air. Eventually the critter had no strength left. It crawled its way to the nearest shelter it could find. Luck was on its side apparently, as there was a giant spot up ahead. It had lights that could keep the creature warm, and an overhead structure to keep it sheltered. But food... it needed food...

The animal's blurry senses could not pick up any source of food, so it moped along, hoping to at least find a good place to rest.

Then... it saw something in the distance... a large structure, lights shining all around it, inside and out. The obscured figure rushed over to find a way inside. But it's depleted strength made it impossible to find a way in. Feeling sleep overcome themself quickly, the creature huddled over to the softest thing it could feel, and huddled up against it for warmth. Oh... there was food too... it managed to get a few nibbles in before drifting to sleep

It would resume its hunt for other food tomorrow night...

GravityTale

Everybody at the Mystery Shack was dead.

Figuratively, of course.

The Mystery Shack was finally ready to open to the public. But as the last slab of wood was hammered into the ceiling of the gift shop, and the last exhibit burnt in the Tim incident was finally replaced, the whole crew came to a realization.

After all of that work, the last thing anybody wanted to do was spend the day dealing with the mad rush that always comes with the reopening of a popular store.

"All in favor of not opening the shack today, say aye," announced Wendy from her usual spot in the gift shop.

"Aye," replied human and monster alike, except for Sans, who was out cold.

And so that was that. Today was immediately established as a take-it-easy day.

It appeared that Mabel missed the memo.

"What do you mean 'No?'" she griped at Dipper, who was refusing to get out of bed to play with her.

"I mean the phrase that is usually uttered in order to express disagreement, disapproval, and a whole lot of other words that start with 'dis-' that I am way too tired to recite right now," mumbled Dipper in his bed. "And violently shaking my bed is not going to help you change my mind. So cut it out."

Mabel paced around the room, her hands up in exasperation. "It's a sunny winter wonderland outside, and you're telling me I'm the only one eager to get out there and enjoy it?!"

"That's precisely what I'm telling you," Dipper groaned in his pillow. "With all the stress of fixing the shack, and nothing around to fuel me but coffee and Pitt Cola that I'm tired of drinking, I feel like I'm at Death's door. Like, Death has a welcome mat out for me and everything. Maybe he's even making tea."

"Not with your current attitude he wouldn't," grumbled Mabel. "He'd just give you more coffee and Pitt Cola."

"Then let me sleep! The more you keep me awake, the more cranky I'll get from it!" argued Dipper.

But Mabel was quick to shoot back. "If I let you fall asleep now, you're just gonna wake up in the middle of the night while I'm asleep! That's no fun, Dipper! Stop being such a Mr. No-Fun!"

Dipper simply grumbled back at her. "Just drop it Mabel. I'm tired. I'm only getting out of this bed if a future-me teleports in here and demands that I do so."

A second went by. Two seconds. Three seconds. No time machines materialized in the kids' bedroom.

"I rest my case," said Dipper, before pulling the covers over his head. Any further attempts to get him out of bed were futile.

Mabel frowned. "The next time we have a snowball fight, your team is going to get an automatic penalty."

But Dipper was already fast asleep.

Mabel huffed, opening the door to exit the bedroom.

WHAM!

Only to collide right into Frisk.

The collision sent both kids to the ground, landing on their bottoms somewhat painfully.

"Owwwwww," Mabel muttered, before looking up and seeing who it was. "Oh! Hey Frisk!" 

"Hi Mabel," greeted Frisk, rubbing their forehead as they stood back up with Mabel's help. "Sorry about that. I should have knocked..."

"Don't worry about it~! I've collided with Dipper's forehead so many times in my life, I barely feel a thing now!" she said while beaming with pride.

"That's... good I suppose," said Frisk with a gentle chuckle of embarrassment.

"So watcha up to?" asked Mabel, causing Frisk to stumble a second, still not used to how quickly Mabel could change subjects.

"I'm um... pretending to look for my dress-up cowboy lasso," said Frisk, looking back with a hint of annoyance towards the stars that lead down to the first floor. "Dad insists it must be somewhere in this shack, but I am almost certain that it was gone before my family and I entered the Mystery Shack for the first time."

"Huh," said Mabel, putting a hand to her chin and looking upwards at nothing. "Perhaps some gnomes snatched it while you weren't looking?"

"That seems very possible, albeit unlikely," said Frisk, ending the topic by tilting their head to see Dipper's slumbering figure and asking, "He still isn't up?"

"Nope," growled Mabel. "He's insistent that he won't change his mind later, either. Ugh, and I had a bunch of winter activities planned for today!"

"Well that's a shame," said Frisk. "But then again, when it came to maintaining order in the shack for the past couple of days, Dipper did do the most work out of all of us."

"Like what?" asked Mabel.

"Well..."

"Papyrus, what are you doing?! Spaghetti is not meant to be baked at that temperature! Grunkle Stan, where do we keep the fire extinguisher again?!"

"No Mettaton, I cannot listen to your historical life of glamour right now, I need to put out another fire in the museum! Now hand over the hose, and stop pouring it all over yourself! And while we're on the subject, how come you don't rust or short circuit by doing that?!"

"Undyne! It's a washing machine! It's not going to hurt you or anyone else, so just put the spear away! Wwwwwwhoawhoawhoa WHOA HEY DON'T AIM IT AT ME!!!"

"Napstablook, I appreciate it, but I don't think that you are capable of helping me move this piece of furniture. No no no don't cry! I wasn't trying to bring you down, I mean you're LITERALLY incapable of- oh! H-hey Mettaton! Hoo boy... you look like you're ready to kill me..."

"Yeeeeaaaaaahhhh I guess you're right," concluded Mabel.

"I really am sorry that my family can be a handful sometimes," said Frisk somewhat embarrassed.

"Nawwwwww it's alright! It's a lot of fun!" said Mabel, patting Frisk on the back.

"I am pleased you feel that way, but I have a feeling that Dipper would disagree with you," said Frisk in a joking manner.

"Well that's because he would rather suffer from his lack of energy instead of taking some time to drink some Mabel Juice. If he did, he would never complain about being too tired ever again!" countered Mabel, speaking as if she was a superhero addressing a nation.

Frisk laughed. "You know, you keep bringing that drink up. But for a drink that you're always talking about, I don't believe I have had a chance to try it."

Stars twinkled in Mabel's eyes. "Well then let's put a stop to that! TO THE KITCHEN!"

Before Frisk could agree or disagree, Mabel was pulling them down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Mabel pulled out a seat for Frisk, who calmly sat down. After that, Mabel darted for the fridge and cupboards, snatching an unidentifiable liquid, some ice cubes, and a whole lot of sugar. She didn't bother to shut any of the cupboards as she went over to grab a couple of measuring pitchers and measure out more sugar than actual liquid. After that, Mabel poured the sugar and juice into a giant mixing bowl and rushed off to hunt down the other ingredients. All the while, Mabel was eagerly explaining the process to Frisk.

It was during this excited chatter that Frisk observed Mabel open another cupboard and take out a box of... crayons?

"Ummmmmm," said Frisk.

"No interrupting!" hollered Mabel in an off-key sing songy voice, dumping the (yep, those were definitely) crayons into the mixture. "Never disrupt Master Juice Mixer Mabel when she is guiding her newest pupil through the process!"

"I um..." Frisk paused for a second before pushing through "I l-like my drinks without crayons. I er... I don't like the way they taste."

Mabel paused. After an awkward amount of time passed, she looked down at the now-empty box of crayons that was floating at the top of her brew. Her gaze eventually trailed down further, to spot the aforementioned crayons that had sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Frisk still did not know what made Mabel tick, but their guess was that Mabel would simply tell them that the recipe calls for food coloring. As such, Frisk was ready to give her some alternative solutions. Such as using normal food coloring.

So it was a little surprising for Frisk to see Mabel's smile become a concerned frown.

"...was I responsible for this?" asked Mabel.

"...I believe you were," replied Frisk awkwardly.

"That's.... pfft, yeah, those crayons are not supposed to be in there. Heh wow, how did I manage get so sidetracked...?" concluded Mabel, dumping the bowl and starting over, her face a little more pink than before.

Well that was... weird. Now the mood of the whole room felt... extremely awkward. It was the same uncomfortable atmosphere that Frisk experienced when they forgot to get hot dogs for Dipper and Monster Kid, during the Bike Romp Race...

Frisk concluded that desperate measures were necessary in order to bring the mood back into a state of normalcy.

It was time to unleash... the puns.

"It's fine Mabel. I'm sure the fruit juice will come out just fine, as long as you concentrate on doing your best~"

Mabel had to halt the process of making the drink just so she could keep a straight face. This sudden pun-attack could not go unpunished, of course. So she retaliated. Hard.

"Ha!" said Mabel, standing up in a pompous stance, her left hand on her hip and her right hand open and hovering a few centimetres in front of her mouth in mock laughter. "A stranger waltzes in and has the gall to coach me on how I concoct my signature drink? You clearly are not one of my staff! You mean to overthrow me! I Vitamin-C right through your pathetic scheme~!"

Frisk snorted. "Why no, what ever gave you that idea~? I beg of you to take a step back and recon-Cider my intentions!"

"How dare you!" reprimanded Mabel, giggles no longer able to be withheld. "I will hear no more from you! Cease this attack, or face Juicetice!"

"Okay! I sugarrender! I sugarrender!" hollered Frisk, holding their hands up in a mock-yielding before flopping down on the table in a fit of laughter, while Mabel was sprawled on the floor cackling.

"That's another swift and powerful victory for me!" said Mabel when she finally regained composure. "Just wait till I tell Undyne!"

"She'll be quite impressed, I'm sure," said Frisk, playfully. "Careful though, she might challenge you to a fight if you boast too much."

After a few minutes, the questionable drink was ready for serving. Mabel grabbed a few translucent mugs and poured out the Mabel Juice, allowing her own glass to have just a little more of the drink than Frisk's. Frisk thanked Mabel as she gave them their drink, despite how uneasy Frisk felt about the whole situation.

"You ready to give your body a giant wake up call?" said Mabel excitedly. 

"No time like the present..." said Frisk nervously.

Frisk took a decent sip of the concoction while Mabel downed hers in just a couple of gulps.

"SO!!!" barked Mabel, slamming her fists on the table and almost spilling the startled Frisk's drink. "What do ya think? It's good, right?"

The lack of crayons definitely helped, thought Frisk.

"Very energizing," spoke Frisk.

Frisk felt that their answer was peasant enough, so they grew a little concerned when Mabel's response was with a slightly slacked jaw accompanied by absolute silence.

"M-Mabel? You oka-?"

"eeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" screamed Mabel, leaping out of her seat and running around the kitchen. "FRISK LIKES MY DRINK!!! FRISK LIKES MY DRIIIIIIIINK!!!"

Frisk couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle before them. "I guess so!"

At that point, Stan decided to step in.

"Alright ya trouble makers, I'm gonna have to confiscate these for the time being," said Stanley, carefully yanking the drinks out of the kids' hands and returning them to the mixing bowl, which he put in the fridge. "You're gonna have to wait till tomorrow to finish the rest."

"Awwwwww why?" pouted Mabel.

"Because as we all have established, today is a take-it-easy day," explained Stan, before calling outside. "Right Soos?"

"That's right, Mr. Pines!" answered Soos with a thumbs up. "All dudes within the Mystery Shack are being subjected to a 24 hour stress free environment with no exceptions. I cannot stress this enough. Oh wait, heh, guess that defeats the purpose. Wow, this is harder than I thought..."

"You see?" said Stan, returning his focus to the kids. "You gotta understand, we've all had a giant string of eventful days. New faces, bedding arrangements, the Mystery Shack getting destroyed again, me training for a bike competition and winning it- you folks seeing the pattern here yet?" A single nod from both children was all the man needed. "We've all been running on adrenaline for a good long while now, and we're starting to feel the aftermath of it. So just this once, you're going to have to lower the energy, Mabel. Or at least the volume of it."

"C'monnnnnnnnnnn" guffawed Mabel, one hand giving a wrist flick while the other hand rested on Frisk's shoulder. "It's not like there's other folks here that are as anti-Mabel-Energy as Dipper is today."

It wasn't like she was lying. She saw energetic faces all around the place. Papyrus was as attentive as always, sitting in one of the four living room chairs (since Soos had finally gotten around to adding more seats to the shack from the storage room to accommodate for the monsters) and he seemed to be... knitting. Asgore didn't appear to be exhausted either; the only sigh he gave was one of contentment as he sat on the back porch couch and took in the scent of pine covered in snow. Napstablook was never capable of falling asleep, and as he fazed into the living room, he seemed to have a face that suggested that he felt lucky that ghosts never feel tired. Mettaton had just replenished his battery, so he could be heard loudly singing from the basement. Sans was snoring in the attic, but it's not like Mabel had to worry about waking him up. Stanford was studying in his lab, and it was located deep enough underground that no chaos on the surface floor could distract him, not unless the chaos was catastrophic. So honestly, where was the harm?

Stan shook his head with a slight frown. "I dunno about that, sweet cheeks," he said with a grumble, pointing to the gift shop.

Frisk followed Stan's gaze and scanned the gift shop as well. They then turned back to look at Mabel, their face emanating concern. "He's right, Mabel."

Now Mabel was curious. She peered over to the gift shop to see what kind of fuss was happening over there. 

What she found were Toriel and Wendy, who appeared to be having a normal conversation. But Mabel was a dowsing rod when it came to cheerfulness. And boy oh boy were Toriel and Wendy devoid of it.

Toriel seemed especially distant. She still greeted anybody who passed by with a cordial "Hello," and she always gave nods and similar minuscule movements in response to whatever Wendy was talking about. But the Goat Mom's usual cheer and open personality was disturbingly lacking today.

Wendy, while not looking as troubled as Toriel seemed to be, appeared miserably drained. Her complexion was paler than usual, her hair wasn't as brushed, and the bags under her eyes looked heavier than... heavy stuff.

"Whoa," managed Mabel, looking back to Stan and Frisk.

"So yeah," said Stan, "Let's try to keep the noise down, eh kiddos? For their sake if not my own?" He added, ruffling Mabel's hair.

"Of course, Mr. Stanley," said Frisk with a nod of understanding, before adding a little more quietly, "Are Mabel and I still allowed to play?"

"Huh," said Stan with a huff. "Looks like someone's trying to find a loophole in my instructions."

Frisk blanched slightly. "Well sir I-"

"I like your style, kid. We'll make a shady businessperson out of you yet!" declared Stanley, hefting Frisk up to give them a noogie. Frisk, having grown accustomed to Undyne's noogies, found Stan's to actually be ticklish. 

"Sure, go on and play! Knock yourselves out!" said Stan, setting a softly laughing Frisk back down in their seat. "This is considered a 'me day' after all!"

"Can it really be called a 'me day' when all of us are expected to relax today?" asked Mabel slyly. "Sounds more like an 'everyone day' to me!"

"Mabel, sweetie, I already have my snot nosed smart-alec of a brother criticizing me on my grammar. I don't need my bubbly grand niece chastising me on my word choices. Besides, calling it an 'everyone day' makes you sound like Karl Marx. And we all know what that lead to."

"I dunnooooo," said Mabel, looking off to the side and giving a comical shrug, which gave Frisk a small chuckle. "'Mabel Marx' has a nice ring to it~!"

"Yeah well so does 'Stanley Stalin,' but you don't see me changing my name to that, do ya?" countered Stanley.

"Good point," said Mabel with a nod, before walking up to Frisk, gripping their arm, and pulling them out of their seat. "Welp, I'mma go play with Frisk now! C'mon Frisk! Let's see what Undyne and Alphys are doing! I wanna tell them about my drink!"

"O-okay!" said Frisk, slightly startled but not putting up a fight as they were guided away from the kitchen. "S-see you later, Mr. Stanley!"

"Play nice now!" said Stanley. "Oh, and hey! It'd be best if you left my brother alone for the time being, alright?! He’s trying to coax some info out of that weirdo Tim, and I have a feeling it isn’t going so well! The runt chucked a globe at me just for startling him!"

"Got it!" Mabel hollered, while Frisk simply gave the man an 'OK' sign. Then they both darted off.

Under his breath, Stanley muttered, "That man really needs to cool his jets sometimes..."

"Is This Action Of Globe Throwing A Habit Of Yours?" asked the metal head of Tim. "If It Is, I Must Urge You To Drop This Habit As It Is Unhealthy To Maintaining Strong Relationships To Friends and Family."

"Argh!" groaned Stanford, pounding his hands on the desk in front of him and darting his head to glare at the talking scrap metal. "No, it is not a habit, and if you would stop freaking out every time I say 'proph-' ... I mean, every time I say that word, I may not feel so inclined to throw things! So why can't you just cooperate?!"

"Sir, This Is No Mere Bug That I Can Just Erase. It Is Elusive As Much As It Is Exclusive. But If It Makes You Feel Better, I Am Able To Bring Up Other Methods Of Destruction Without Being Overpowered By The Error That You Identify As 'Insanity.'"

"That's not going to help me much, Tim. But I suppose it gives you credibility. Alright fine, go ahead," said Stanford, tapping his foot impatiently.

"As You Wish," said Tim. "Storms. Solar Explosion. Volcanoes. Tidal Waves. War. Meteors-"

"Okay that's enough," said Stanford, holding up a finger to halt Tim's explanation. "You made your point."

"Perhaps We Should Save This Conversation For Another Time. Maybe Then, I Will Have Figured How To Delete This Malicious Program. Perhaps With A Proper Wipe Of My Memory Banks, I May-"

"No no no hold on. Your memory of this pro-... omen is important. I just need to find away to coax it out of you without triggering the bug."

Stanford took a long deep breath. "Now then. Let's start from the top again. A couple weeks back, my grand nephew presented me with this black journal that he found. At the end of the first page, it appears to speak of what seems like a proph- let me rephrase that-"

"Stop Thinking About Not Saying 'Prophecy.'"

"Tim, I'm not a helpless buffoon. I can keep myself from saying- wait, how come you have no problem saying 'prophecy?!' Oh shoot-"

"THE ANOMALY WILL DOOM ALL." shrieked Tim, eyes glowing red while sirens blared throughout the lab. "IF THE DOOR STAYS LOCKED, ALL IS LOST! LOST!! LOOOOOOOOSSSSST!!!"

"Sigh... Nice going, Stanford..." cussed the scientist to himself, reaching for his ray gun once again to shut the screaming contraption up.

Mabel was just finishing up explaining her drink, with Frisk alongside her, to Undyne and Alphys in the museum when the shack quivered for a second.

"Whoa, did you feel that Alphys?" said Undyne, standing up straight "Something caused the floor to violently rumble. Another attack? Would people get mad if I said I wanted that to happen?"

"Th-they probably wouldn't get mad at you Undyne," responded Alphys, having also felt the rumble. "B-but I reeeeaally hope we aren't getting attacked again. Stanley would s-surely make us leave if the shack were to be destroyed a second time. Especially after we had j-just finished fixing it."

"No worries, ladies!" chirped Mabel, "It's probably Grunkle Ford. Grunkle Stan said that he's been toying with Tim's head and that the results were leaving him um..."

"Frustrated?" tried Frisk.

"Yeah, frustrated!" said a smiling Mabel. "Grunkle Ford tends to get a little explosive-happy when he's frustrated. But only while working in his lab."

"Why is he trying to get information from the head of a murderous AI? Doesn't that sound a little counterproductive?" questioned Undyne with slight exasperation.

"Y-yes, it is quite improbable that Tim will be willing or able to t-tell us anything," said Alphys, her hands marginally fidgeting. "B-but unfortunately, Tim is the only lead we have to find out if this a-anomaly is simply a glitch in the AI's system or is actually a real-life threat."

"Hm. You have a fair point there babe," said Undyne, satisfied with Alphys's answer. "Well, if that anomaly exists, it better stop existing reeeeaaal soon, or it's gonna have to say hello to my fists! And then it'll immediately have to say goodbye to my fists! BECAUSE I WILL KILL IT! WITH MY FISTS! NNNNNNNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"U-undyne, please lower your voice," said Alphys in nervous hushed tones. "Some of our friends are trying to n-nap."

"Pfft. Lower my voice? You know I can't just do that," said Undyne, folding her arms almost in a grumpy pout.

Mabel looked to Frisk. "I connect with this woman on a spiritual level."

Alphys fidgeted with her hands. "W-w-well then how about we go outside for a walk? O-or a run if you prefer? That way you can shout all you want without bothering anybody in the shack?" suggested Alphys, her own cheeks beginning to turn pink.

Frisk caught this and smirked at Undyne. "Undyne, I believe you are being asked out on a date~"

"M-maybe," timidly admitted Alphys, looking down to the ground, smiling despite her embarrassment.

Undyne blushed as well, her normally huge toothy grin shrinking down to a tiny nervous smile, almost cat-like. "No fair Alphys, you know I can't say no when it comes to going on a date with you..."

Alphys shyly chuckled. "It's my ultimate t-trap card."

"Oooh, maybe we'll encounter the anomaly while we're outside!" said Undyne to Alphys, the former's fists clenching in excitement. "And then you can watch me bash its skull in!"

"I fear for the survival of the anomaly's skull," said Frisk, making Mabel giggle.

"W-well if we stumble across it, I'll leave it to you, Undyne" said Alphys, a smile on her face.

"Shall we?" said Undyne, extending her hand with a grin.

"S-sure," said Alphys, taking Undyne's hand bashfully.

Without warning, Undyne flung Alphys onto her shoulders, and they charged out of the exhibit room and out the front door.

"Are they always like this?" asked Mabel to Frisk. "Please tell me the answer is yes."

"The answer is yes," confirmed Frisk, their classic stoic expression never leaving them. 

"I have no idea if you are being sincere or just parroting what I said," said Mabel bluntly.

"And thus, I have created the one mystery that shall never ever be solved by either of the Pines Twins," said Frisk, a tiny smirk showing on their face.

"If Dipper was here, he would smack you for that remark," teased Mabel.

"He can try~" said Frisk, the smirk becoming a smile.

Papyrus had just finished putting his knitting needles and scarf away in the small lamp cabinet next to him in order to take a quick break, when he noticed a very peculiar occurrence happening right in front of him.

Toriel had unplugged the television from the wall and was getting ready to pick it up from the floor. 

"UM, QUEEN TORIEL?" said Papyrus, cocking his head. "MIGHT I ASK WHAT YOU ARE DOING?"

"What I am doing is none of your concern. And please stop calling me 'Queen' Toriel," said Toriel, in a very harsh, un-Toriel-like tone.

"THE WEIGHT OF THAT TELEVISION SEEMS TO BE AGGRAVATING YOU, MISS TORIEL," incorrectly deduced Papyrus. "NOT TO FEAR, FOR I AM TRAINED IN THE ARTS OF LIFTING TV'S! GENTLY SETTING THEM DOWN, ON THE OTHER HAND, TENDS TO BE MESSY. BECAUSE MY ARMS FALL OFF."

Toriel's took in a very strained inhale of breath, before she released her tension with a deep sigh. "I do not need any help lifting this television, thank you Papyrus. But if you would be so kind as to not look into this matter any further, I would greatly appreciate it."

"OF COURSE, MADAM!" bellowed Papyrus with a hearty salute. The salute then slowly descended as Papyrus's face expressed confusion. "UM... WHAT MATTER ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT?"

"Nothing Papyrus, nothing," said Toriel with a half hearted chuckle as she resumed carrying the heavy television out of the living room.

Mabel and Frisk tiptoed through the gift shop, not wanting to bother a cranky Wendy who was venting to Napstabook. The ghost was, to his credit, listening very attentively.

"Then Undyne says that I should look them all in the eye and yell 'If any of you have a problem with that, I'll suplex you into a mountain!' Which, I mean, I appreciate her willing to help, but nothing she ever suggests to me is a good idea when put into practice. It's frustrating, you know?"

"I'm sorry to hear that................" mumbled Napstablook sincerely. "I would offer you my own advice, but I'm sure you'll only find it worse than Undyne's...................."

"Napstablook, you absolute sugarcube, all I need is your listening ear right now."

"I technically don't have ears......................"

As soon as Mabel had both of her feet on the living room carpet, she bounded right up to the still-confused Papyrus.

"Hey there Pappy Man!" said Mabel, using her inside voice but vigorously waving hello to make up for it.

"HM?" said Papyrus, Mabel's greeting shaking him out of his stupor. "OH! GREETINGS, MABEL! HAVE YOU ALSO COME TO TAKE A PIECE OF FURNITURE? IF SO, I WILL GLADLY HELP YOU CARRY IT!"

It took a second for the baffled Mabel to realize the TV was missing. "Huh. I was wondering why this room seemed a little roomier than usual..."

"We do not require any furniture, thank you Papyrus," said Frisk, having caught up to Mabel. "May we ask who it was that took the television?"

"I WOULD LOVE TO!" exclaimed Papyrus. "HOWEVER, I WAS ASKED TO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER INTO THE MATTER!"

"Oh..." said Frisk, hiding their disappointment. "And... who asked you to not do that? Is it somebody we know?"

"OH YES, IT IS SOMEONE YOU KNOW VERY WELL!" said Papyrus with a single solid nod.

"So, not a burglar then?" said Mabel, almost bummed out that there wouldn't be an opportunity to chase a robber down the streets of Gravity Falls. On her list of things to do when she was the only energetic person in the room, chasing a robber was number four. Numbers three, two, and one were classified.

"CORRECT, HUMAN MABEL! MISS TORIEL IS MANY THINGS, BUT A BURGLAR IS NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS," said Papyrus proudly, before realizing his mistake two seconds later. "NYOO HOO HOO!!! I PROMISED HER I WOULD NOT LOOK FURTHER INTO THE MATTER, BUT I CANNOT HELP IT! WHAT IS SHE PLANNING TO USE THE TELEVISION FOR?!"

"Mother took the TV?" said Frisk, perplexed by the answer inadvertently given to them by Papyrus. "But why would-"

Frisk's eyebrows rose up in sudden understanding, and they went uncomfortably silent for a few seconds, much to the curiosity of Mabel, and Papyrus to a lesser extent.

"Thank you Papyrus. I appreciate your honesty," said Frisk, ending the subject before anybody could say anything. Just as quickly, Frisk started up a new conversation, having now noticed the knitting needles poking out of the lamp cabinet. "Papyrus, are you knitting something?"

Papyrus beamed, all too eager to talk about what he was currently working on. He opened the lamp cabinet to bring the needles and scarf out and showcase them to the two kids. "INDEED I AM, HUMAN! MISS TORIEL HAD BROUGHT THE IDEA UP TO ME AFTER TASTING MY LATEST (AND DARE I SAY GREATEST) SPAGHETTI DISH! I'M SUPPOSING SHE BELIEVED THAT I HAD ACHIEVED THE MAXIMUM LEVEL OF CULINARY PERFECTION, BECAUSE SHE WAS VERY INSISTENT THAT I PERHAPS MOVE ON TO A NEW HOBBY!"

The kids were pretty certain that Toriel's reasons for doing this were different than from what Papyrus believed them to be.

"SO I DECIDED THAT IF I HAD MASTERED SPAGHETTI AS AN EDIBLE DISH, PERHAPS I COULD MASTER THE ART OF SPAGHETTI THROUGH A DIFFERENT CREATIVE OUTLET!"

Frisk and Mabel realized that the primary colors of the scarf that Papyrus was knitting were faded orange and vibrant red.

"You're making a scarf that looks like spaghetti?!" asked Mabel, her eyes brimming with total awe.

"YOU GOT IT!" said Papyrus excitedly. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE FASHION INDUSTRY WITH MY AMAZING SPAGHETTI SCARF!!!"

"Ooh! OOH!" said a bouncing Mabel, a super awesome amazing idea spawning in her head. "Can you knit Teddy bears?! Do you charge for them? What do you require? I'll give you the money from my Brother's secret stash! I'll give you every single one of my friendship wristbands! I'll give you the schematics for the Human Sized Hamster Ball." pleaded Mabel, getting right up to Papyrus's ear-socket to intensely whisper the last part.

"OF COURSE I CAN KNIT TEDDY BEARS, LITTLE MABEL! UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE YET TO MAKE ONE THAT IS RECOGNIZED AS A TEDDY BEAR BY EVERYBODY ELSE. THEY USUALLY MISTAKE THEM FOR OTHER OBJECTS. LIKE A PILE OF LEAVES, FOR EXAMPLE. OR A SMASHED CAKE. OR TRAMPLED FLOWERS. SANS ONCE MISTOOK ONE OF MY KNITTED TEDDY BEARS FOR THIS VERY PECULIAR RESIDUE THAT SPAWNS WHEN A HUMAN 'DRINKS' TOO MUCH... BUT HE ASSURED ME THAT HIS EYES WERE STILL BLURRY FROM JUST WAKING UP AND THAT HE WAS CERTAIN THAT IT WOULD LOOK A LOT BETTER IF HE WAS FULLY AWAKE. WHICH IS WEIRD BECAUSE HE MOST CERTAINLY HAS NO EYES... WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT HE WAS LYING TO ME... WHY WOULD HE FEEL THE NEED TO LIE ABOUT HIS OPINION OF ONE'S ART? ISN'T ART SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN TO THE VIEWER'S INTERPRETATION? THAT'S WHAT UNDYNE TOLD ME ONCE, AFTER SHE HAD ALMOST SET ONE OF FRISK'S DRAWINGS ON FIRE BECAUSE THEY MADE HER FACE LOOK SILLY..."

"Did Undyne really try to do that?" asked Mabel to Frisk, in surprise.

"She did try," confirmed Frisk, with a stoic-faced nod. "She failed though. She left my drawing alone. She used to tell me it was because she wanted to come up with a better punishment for the drawing. But quite recently, she admitted that she caught a glimpse of how upset I was and decided not to go through with torching the drawing I made."

"Can I see the drawing?" asked Mabel sweetly.

"No," answered Frisk, maintaining their emotionless expression flawlessly. "Undyne's face is too weird. You may develop the urge to light my drawing on fire."

"Nawwwwwwww, no I wouldn't!" said Mabel, jokingly rolling her eyes as she smiled brightly. "I'd put it in my scrapbook!"

"I cannot risk it," said Frisk, clearly joking.

"You cannot hide from Mabel Piiiiiines! No secret is safe from herrrrrrrr! She knows all, and whatever she doesn't know about, she leaaarrrnnns aboooooouuuuut!" said Mabel, moaning and wiggling her outstretched hands like a cliche ghost from any old Saturday morning cartoon.

"That sounds like a massive invasion of privacy," pointed out Frisk.

"No secret is saaaaaaaaafffeeeeee~!" wailed Mabel, completely ignoring Frisk.

"ACTUALLY, WHILE WE ARE STILL ON THE TOPIC OF TEDDY BEARS," chirped up Papyrus, "I BELIEVE THAT THE LAST TIME I SAW KING ASGORE, HE WAS HOLDING WHAT LOOKED LIKE A TEDDY BEAR IN HIS HANDS. HE DIDN'T LOOK TOO EXCITED ABOUT IT THOUGH... PERHAPS HE HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT A TEDDY BEAR LOOKS LIKE?"

"Well then perhaps we shall visit him next?" Frisk asked Mabel.

"Well duh! Of course we are!" said the very excited Mabel, taking Frisk's arm. "Have fun with the knitting, Papyrus!"

"WILL DO!" hollered Papyrus, waving enthusiastically as Mabel and Frisk made their way to the back porch to meet up with Asgore.

Asgore wouldn't say that the object in his hands disturbed him, but he would not say that it didn't unsettle him either.

The Teddy bear that he currently hand in his hands had seen better days. Its dark plum fur was damp from snow and crusty from dirt. There was also a substantial amount of stuffing that was missing from it, but no matter how hard Asgore investigated, he could not find a single tear in the stuffed animal's stitching. 

"Strange..." muttered Asgore, for perhaps the fifth time since discovering the stuffed toy curled up next to the tattered couch.

Did it belong to Mabel? Asgore wanted to say yes, but then again, Mabel was a girl who treated stuffed animals like her own children, surely she would not let a Teddy bear become so void of stuffing. And she had a knack for keeping track of her items. If this bear belonged to her, it never would have ended up abandoned outside in the first place...

Maybe the lack of stuffing meant it belonged to Undyne? No, of course not, don't be silly Asgore. Undyne was ferocious, yes, but she is not one to use her own stuffed animal for training practice. And if she did, the Teddy bear would be in tatters...

Maybe Frisk? No, once again. Of the many toys that they had brought up to the surface after their journey in the underground, a Teddy bear was never in Frisk's box. And besides, Frisk is as kind to stuffed animals as Mabel is.

Asgore continued to list off possible owners of the strange toy, and all of them resulted in a no. He was so preoccupied with figuring out this mystery that he never saw Mabel sneaking up on him to scare him. Or so she thought.

Instead, Asgore startled her by jerking his head in her direction, a joyful smile on his face.

"Why howdy Mabel! Trying to give this old soul a scare, are you? I apologize, it will take more than that to catch me by surprise."

"Awwwwww man! Why do you have to be so cool, Goat Dad?!" complimented a pouting Mabel.

Asgore responded with a boisterous laugh, reaching out to scratch Mabel's head with a big warm fluffy paw. "I don't know if I see myself as 'cool'. Just 'prepared.'"

"What are you doing out here, Dad?" asked Frisk, joining Mabel. "I find you sitting on this couch more often than I find you inside. Aren't you cold?"

"Not at all, child!" laughed Asgore. "Winter on the surface is a wonderland compared to the underground. As for what I am currently doing out here..."

Then Asgore held up the malnourished looking Teddy bear for the children to see.

"I found this small toy nestled up next to the couch. I have no idea where it came from or who it may belong to. Would either of you have an idea?"

Frisk took the stuffed animal to inspect it more thoroughly. As they did so, a frown slowly developed on their face.

"There's something about this bear that I don't like..." commented Frisk.

Mabel peaked behind Frisk's shoulders, since Frisk appeared to be too focused on the item to hand it over to her. As she inspected it, her expression turned quizzical. 

"It's probably because this poor Teddy is absolutely filthy!" remarked Mabel. "He needs a bath, pronto!"

"Well yes, but that's not what I meant-" Frisk attempted to interject, but the blink of an eye, the Teddy bear was gone from their hands and into Mabel's hands. 

"Just look at the poor guy!” said Mabel. “He looks miserable!"

"Are you sure that it's the dirt that's making the Teddy bear look miserable, and not the facial thread itself?" replied Frisk after a few seconds of silence.

They weren't far off. Looking at the toy's face, the stitches and threads definitely gave the Teddy bear a forlorn expression.

"Okay so maybe the designer of this bear hated their job and wanted to let the whole world know," said Mabel, rolling her eyes. "But a clean bear is a happy bear, even if their stitched face does not reflect it!"

"Let her wash the bear Frisk," kindly advised Asgore. "It's best that we have it nice and clean in case its owner shows up to the shack looking for it."

Frisk pouted for a second before conceding with a nod of their head. "Yes Dad." 

"Very good," beamed Asgore. He ended the issue by patting Frisk on the head, which managed to coax a smile out of the young ambassador.

"Great! Meet you at the laundry room!" squealed Mabel, darting back inside the house with bear in hand, not feeling the need to drag Frisk with her this time.

This gave Frisk a chance to get up on the couch and sit next to their father. They looked up at him, their stoic expression showing a hint of concern.

"Um... Dad? Mother hasn’t been looking too well..."

"I know, Frisk," said Asgore, his voice low and somber. "As much as it hurts though, we need to leave her be. It's what she wants."

"But is she like this every year? Isn’t that unhealthy for her?" asked Frisk with growing concern.

Asgore gave a long sigh, sinking into the couch despite his sitting position remaining rigid. "That is probably the case, my child. But you know how bad I am at making the right call when it comes to those who are in distress.”

Frisk looked down, not knowing how to reply to that. Instead, they slumped off of the couch, walking over to the back door leading back inside the shack. They turned to Asgore, looking ready to say one last thing, but debating whether or not it will have any effect. Finally, they spoke.

"Then I will."

And they opened the door and walked back inside.

The king let out a downtrodden sigh, unaware of the miniature hole in the side of the couch that appeared to have been bitten into recently.

"And those are the steps involved!" finished Mabel.

"My my! Such a complex system~! Even though I'm sure I could come up with a much better one~ Alas, you beat me to the punch~ I envy you, little Mabel~! " Mabel had decided to chat with Mettaton, who was in his EX model, while waiting for the loud drying machine to finish drying off the Teddy bear. The discussion had started with Mabel's plans for fixing the Teddy bear, and eventually evolved into discussing an interesting monster from the Underground, named Woshua.

"So wait," said Mabel, "The reason you guys didn't have washing machines in the underground was because you had somebody who was basically their own washing machine? That's wild!"

"Indeed!" confirmed the charming robot. "He was not a fan of it though. At first, the poor fellow was very cross with being one of the very few sources of cleanliness in the underground. And even though they loved to clean, and eventually grew used to their new role in the underground, it was only a matter of time before they began to grow tired of it. Burnout is never to be taken lightly, darling. Remember that~"

"Oh believe me, I'm aware," said Mabel with a wearied huff of laughter. "I've been trying to teach my brother that lesson for the last five years. Actually, for the last forever."

"Oh yes~ The boy gags at the mere thought of taking a break," chuckled Mettaton, before deciding to change the subject. "So, you said that Asgore found this beaten up stuffed toy next to the couch outside? And nobody has seen it prior to today? Sounds like the perfect premise for a B-list horror flick~"

"You mean a flick where the animation is stop-motion and the monsters are made of clay?"

"Well I wouldn't stoop to such shallow effects if I was directing that kind of movie. But yes~"

"Would I be the leading costume designer?!"

"You would splatter bright and loud colors on every single costume, for every single lead and ensemble member, and completely ruin the common color palette of horror movies," said Mettaton. "Of course you would be my leading costume designer~" he added with a smile of delight. 

Just then, the dryer emitted a small *ding!* and the machine grew silent.

"Allow me~" said Mettaton, extending his arms to fetch the toy from the dryer without ever having to shift from where he was standing, eyes closed and a glamorous smirk donning his face, like he just finished juggling ten knives flawlessly.

Mabel giggled, rolling her eyes in a teasing manner, and took the bear from the proud robot's hand. "If I could be as glamorous as you are, I don't think my body would be able to handle it. My spirit would break free from this physical vessel and ascend to Glamour Heaven."

"Of course it would! Which is why I, a ghost in the vessel of a robot, am the only one capable of reaching such heights! Although... doing so would mean losing contact with my friends and family, so... I'm going to hold off on that for a while."

"Awwww that's really sweet of you to think of them!" said Mabel, squeezing her bear and swinging it from side to side while keeping it close to her chest.

"Thank you Mabel," said Mettaton, giving the young girl the most genuine smile she had ever seen from him.

Mabel beamed back, and lifted the bear to give it a proper look now that it had been cleaned.

Except for the sullen expression that remained on the toy's face, the bear looked much better. Its fur was radiant and smooth, and its cute beady eyes almost shined. The bear was still somewhat raggedy due to its lack of stuffing, but Mabel decided that she would address that on a later date. Knitting was one thing, but sewing a bear back up was a different beast. A beast she could easily vanquish, but the only weapon in her current arsenal that could slay the beast with was the Mystery Shack's old sewing machine. And that thing was loud. And given the typical luck of the twins, it was probably haunted too.

"I hope this new companion of yours does not spark envy from your pet pig," joked Mettaton, bringing Mabel back to reality.

"Naaah, Waddles is very understanding! Besides, he's lately been very occupied by playing around with Frisk's dog."

"Frisk doesn't own a dog though..."

Suddenly the door for the washing machine burst open, revealing a pig and a Samoyed dog, both sopping wet and smiling. They leaped out of the device, shook themselves clean, yipped and oinked with supposed satisfaction, and trotted out of the laundry room.

"Oh!" exclaimed Mettaton in understanding. "That dog!"

"Yeah, that's the fluff-ruff that I was talking about!" said Mabel, not appearing to be phased by the fact that both the puppy and Waddles managed to get inside an active washing machine and survive. She did know however that there was no collar around the puppy's neck.

"Yeah, he's a curious fellow," admitted Mettaton. "I don't think anybody I know has ownership of that particular puppy. Actually, he has this look in his eyes, like he believes he owns us."

"What, you think we are dealing with a possible puppy dog uprising?!" said Mabel, seeming more excited by the idea than intimidated by it.

"That would be headline-worthy indeed~ Don't let your guard down, my little maple leaf~" joked Mettaton, using the nickname that he had established for Mabel.

"Oh stop," replied Mabel, playfully elbowing Mettaton's leg, since that was as high as her elbow could reach.

"I should probably get going," continued Mabel. "Don't wish to keep you from your singing! Sounds great by the way! The next time I host a karaoke night, remind me to invite you!"

"No need to invite me! I am more than happy to crash your party~" proudly proclaimed Mettaton, which Mabel guessed was his way of expressing gratitude for being invited. "Now run along, darling~!"

When Frisk found Mabel again, it was in the parlor room. She was in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth excitedly, her arms extended forward and wiggling the bear in her hands.

"And I’m gonna call you Mr. SnuggleLots, and you'll be the honorary guest at my next tea party, and I'll introduce you to Waddles, ooh, OOH! And also I'm gonna find a way to get more stuffing for you so you can be all plushy again!! GO ME!!!"

"Hello again, Mabel," greeted Frisk.

"Frisk!" exclaimed an excited Mabel, her face lighting up when she saw them. She sprung out of the rocking chair, shoving the Teddy bear into Frisk's field of vision so it was the only thing that they could see. "Look at this sparkling clean little cub! Isn't he the cuuuuuuutest thing ever!?"

"I admit that he looks a little better now that he is clean," admitted Frisk, "but I'm still unnerved by how abandoned he looks."

"One step at a time, Frisko," soothed Mabel, patting Frisk on their shoulder. "I am going to put Mr. SnuggleLots through Mabel's Rehabiliteddy Program™!"

"Mabel's Rehabiliteddy Program™?" repeated Frisk, subconsciously surprised by their own curiosity. "What is that?"

"A list of steps I've made for abandoned Teddy bears that I find. I would have told you about this earlier if you joined me in the laundry room, but it's okay; I'm telling you now!"

"So what are the daily steps?"

"Day one is washing the bear. Day two is feeding the bear. Day three is a tea party for the bear. For Mr. SnuggleLots, I may need to add a fourth day for emergency surgery to take care of his unsatisfactory level of stuffing."

"Or to locate the owner of the bear," responded Frisk.

Hearing that, a thought crossed Mabel's mind.

"Yeah, but, here's the thing," said Mabel, beginning to lightly pace in a circle, "What if this bear has no owner?"

"What gave you that idea, Mabel?" asked Frisk, tilting their head and raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Mettaton and I encountered the white dog again. You know, the one that I saw in the cave full of ice crystals? Ooo that reminds me I still want to make a charm necklace with the crystal that you gave me BUT ANYWAY-! That dog? He had no owner!"

"So you believe we are dealing with a stray Teddy bear?" deduced Frisk, having followed Mabel's line of thinking after deciding that explaining the difference between stuffed animals and pets to her would be futile.

"I'm not saying we are," corrected Mabel, lightly poking Frisk in the center of their chest. "But I'm saying we could be."

"I see," said Frisk.

"So, if need be, day five will be dedicated to finding a home for this little tyke if we can't locate his original owner!" concluded Mabel, squishing the bear one more time before setting it down on the rocking chair. It said in a sitting position for a few seconds before the insufficient amount of stuffing caused it to slump over. "Day four will definitely be for stuffing him up again though."

"That sounds like a plan," concurred Frisk. "I have one more question though."

"Ask away!" said Mabel, folding her arms and taking a proud stance.

"Is there any downside to doing more than one step on the same day?" proposed Frisk.

"Not really..." said Mabel, beginning to gently pace in a circle as she contemplated Frisk's question. "It depends on how the bear is feeling. I can just tell from the fur and the face if they wish to speed up the process or not. But for Mr. SnuggleLots..." she glances to the slouched form of the thin bear, "I believe taking our time is crucial. As much as I don't wish to spread it out, it is better in the long run. Malnourished creatures can easily get sick if you try to take care of them all at once."

"You learned that from Dipper, didn't you?" said Frisk with a knowing smirk.

Mabel blushed slightly. "Yeah..." she admitted, "...but I'm the one who puts his knowledge to good use!" she added, regaining her honor.

"Well that's good," said Frisk, the smirk becoming a smile. Then they walked over to the bear and picked it up. "We should probably get this guy to our bedroom."

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly. Frisk and Mabel enjoyed dinner with the rest of the crew, though Dipper was absent, and Sans as well, strangely. All the while, Mr. SnuggleLots was sitting pretty and piper atop the nightstand that separated Dipper's bed from Mabel's. When Frisk and Mabel returned to the bedroom, Dipper was still fast asleep.

"Wanna draw a mustache on him???" asked Mabel with a devilish grin.

"It's best we don't test him," said Frisk, before adding with a sly smirk "Another time perhaps~"

Mabel giggled once more before stifling a yawn. "Goodnight Frisk."

"Goodnight Mabel," replied Frisk, sleeping into their sleeping bag.

Then the lights went off.

Just as Mabel suspected, the middle of the night had Dipper suddenly turning in his bed. But it wasn't because of how royally messed up his atomic clock was.

It was in fact because his face was being blasted with hot air that smelled like dog breath.

“mmmmf… mmmno… no I don’t need anymore candy… mm? chocolate taffy? Mmmmmy favorrriiiite…"

Then there was an audible "huff" and Dipper was wide awake.

"Wha...?" 

And there, atop of Dipper's chest, face hovering over his...

Was a plum furred, hungry bear. One that was very much alive. And Drooling. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

PART 2

SKIP TO PART 3

NEXT CHAPTER (Coming Soon to the Mystery Shack!)

PREVIOUS

ONCE UPON A TIME...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

#gravitytale #gravity falls #undertale #underfalls #surprise! #I forgot I used to post these to tumblr in parts #and I definitely thought this was enough for a part one #hope you enjoyed!

[dreamcatcherfication]

Skin Deep - Results Pending

Wow guys! This is the last chapter of Skin Deep before the epilogue, I can’t believe we made it this far! I was going to post this on Friday, but I got backed up working on requests and updating other fics, but we finally made it. Again, I’m very bad at creating an accurate court setting, but I tried my best. Hope you all enjoy! Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, my singular braincell is on holiday.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

Prompts | More Prompts | The Trifecta of Prompts | Original Prompts

Trigger Warnings: Talk of sexual abuse, references to panic attacks, attempted assault

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“Miss Parr, please sit down,” Judge Cranmer shot her a glare, “We cannot introduce any more evidence into this case unless it has been processed by both parties. You should have brought your evidence to court before we began the trial.”

Stalking forward to the middle of the court, Cathy slammed her phone down in front of Maria and Joan. “That would’ve been impossible your Honor, because this evidence - this conversation happened not even five minutes ago. And I would say it’s a confession, if anything.”

Suddenly, the entire court was interested in what Cathy had to say. “A confession? From who?” Maria asked, picking up the phone.

“From Edmund Howard,” Cathy pointed a finger at the man, waiting for the dramatic gasps of the jury. Instead, she was met with an awkward silence as everyone waited for more information. Slowly dropping her hand with a sheepish shrug, Cathy returned her attention to Cranmer. “If you let us present this to the court, we can get the truth.”

Joan stood up. “We vouch for her,” she shot Cathy an indistinguishable glance out of the corner of her eye. “Whatever the contents of this so-called confession, we will take responsibility for it.”

Rubbing his eyes, Cranmer sighed. “I’m not supposed to be doing this, but fine. Present your evidence to the court.”

“Your Honor, they can’t do that -” Culpeper’s lawyer argued, practically rocketing out of his chair. 

Silencing the lawyer with the wave of his hand, Cranmer commanded the court with his voice, “I am allowing it, and you will allow it too, unless there’s something you wish to hide?”

Swallowing thickly, the lawyer shook his head, “No, your Honor,” and sat back down. Culpeper’s eyes hadn’t left Kit, who was curled up in her seat next to Maria and Joan. Cathy noticed the way her eyes roamed over the cracks in the wood table, pretending as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. 

Tension spread throughout the entire court as Cathy opened her phone, pulling up the video of Edmund and Kit’s argument. When she got a nod of confirmation from Joan and Maria, she hit play.

“Thomas and Francis were doing as I told them. The only way you would ever win is if I do all the hard work for you.”

“You what?”

“We needed that prize money, and the only way you were going to win it was if the judges had a reason to pick you. It’s surprisingly easy to whore you out to these men.”

“It’s my body! You can’t sell me to them for money.”

“I can, I will, and you won’t say anything about it.”

There was silence throughout the court as everyone stared, their eyes divided between Cathy, Kit, and Edmund himself. Everyone was frozen, unsure of what to do. Breaking the moment of suspension, Kit scrambled out of her seat and sprinted out of the room, escaping from the court. Cathy could’ve sworn there were tears in the girl’s eyes, but Kit was gone too quickly to be sure. Without waiting another moment, Anna was out of her seat as well, chasing after Kit while calling her name.

With that, the room fell into chaos. Cranmer tried to scream order, but everyone was freaking out. Aragon and Jane were standing up, looking around for any way to help. Anne was making her way over to Cathy, pushing through jurors who were all demanding to speak to the judge or Culpeper’s lawyer. Culpeper and Dereham were hovering over Culpeper’s lawyer, yelling at him unintelligibly over the sounds of the room. Maria and Joan were trying to get Cranmer’s attention as they held Cathy’s phone between them. “You bitch!” sounded over the waves of voices in the room.

Spinning around, Cathy backed up in fear as Edmund started approaching her. “You’re going to regret this,” he hissed, beelining towards Cathy. Edmund raised his fist, ready to strike Cathy as she looked for any escape from the raging man. The courtroom was crowded and already in chaos, she had nowhere to go.

“Get the fuck away from her,” Anne threatened, stepping in front of Cathy, her eyebrows set in a hard line. “One step closer and I’ll beat you to death you bastard. Do you know what you’ve done to my cousin? Do you know?!”

Edmund didn’t seem the least bit bothered by Anne’s threats. Without a second thought, he hurled a fist at Anne, hoping to smack her right in the cheek. Before his fist could connect, he was yanked back by two sets of hands. Cathy sighed in relief as Maggie and Bessie hauled Edmund away from the two teens. “Let go of me!” Edmund demanded, thrashing in their grips.

As Maggie handcuffed him, Bessie explained, “You’re under arrest Mr. Howard, and you’ve only made it worse by attempting to assault a minor, not to mention the abuse you’ve inflicted upon your own daughter. I suggest letting us handle this unless you want things to get much worse for you.”

Reluctantly, Edmund stopped struggling and let the cops drag him away, but not before shooting one last glare at Cathy and Anne. “Are you okay?” Anne spun around, pulling Cathy into a hug. “What you did was stupid, you could’ve gotten hurt.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to help Kit. She deserves to be heard, you know that better than anyone Anne,” Cathy mumbled into Anne’s shoulder.

Leaning away from the hug, Anne sighed, her eyes drooping. “I know. Kit deserves the world, and everything keeps getting taken away from her. Believe me, I’m so happy that you can prove those bastards are at fault but… I just don’t want you getting hurt in the process.”

“Well I’m not hurt now, am I?” Cathy quirked an eyebrow, a soft smile splayed across her lips.

Rolling her eyes, Anne gave Cathy a short kiss on the cheek. “Don’t get cheeky with me, Miss Parr.”

Not needing to respond, Cathy simply sunk back into Anne’s arms, relaxing in another hug. A cough brought them back into reality. Turning their attention to Joan, the person who had coughed, Anne slipped her hand into Cathy’s, squeezing it tightly. “What you did was incredibly irresponsible,” Joan started, although her tone wasn’t too serious. Maria was standing off to the side, conversing with Aragon while Jane kept walking towards the door before stopping indecisively. “But I’m glad you did it anyway. None of us wanted to see Katherine suffer, and you may just be the one who’s ended this,” Joan explained.

Cathy tried to focus on her hand in Anne’s. “It’s not a big deal. Anyone would have done it.”

“But you did it,” Maria joined the conversation, her eyes drifting away from Aragon. Jane was still pacing, but Aragon followed Maria into the conversation. She and Anne shared a knowing look, but they said nothing. “I wouldn’t recommend doing something like that again Miss Parr, but thank you.”

Noticing Jane’s pacing, Cathy quickly replied, “You’re welcome,” and broke away from the group. She moved over to Jane and stopped in front of her, forcing the other girl to stop moving around. “Is everything alright Jane?”

“I’m worried about Kit - Katherine,” she admitted.

“You can call her Kit you know,” Cathy offered lightly. “You won’t get yelled at for calling her by a nickname.”

Chuckling nervously, Jane nodded. “Right, well Kit disappeared with Anna and neither of them have come back. I know I’m not particularly close to either of them but I need to know that they’re okay.”

“You aren’t restricted from caring about them,” Cathy was confused by Jane’s perspective. Why did Jane feel like she couldn’t care about Kit and Anna? “Jane, you know you’re allowed to care about people you don’t know, right?”

“Right,” Jane mirrored Cathy, putting on an uncomfortable grin.

Pushing her confusion away, Cathy told herself it wasn’t her place to delve into any of Jane’s inner turmoil. If Jane was going to talk about something, she was going to talk about. If she never did, Cathy didn’t need to know. “Why don’t you come with me to go find them?”

Eyes lighting up, Jane nodded. “Can I?”

“Sure. Let’s get Aragon and Anne to come too,” Cathy tilted her head towards where the two girls were talking with Maria and Joan.

When Anne saw Cathy coming back to her, she opened her arms as an invitation for her girlfriend. “Jane and I are going to go find Kit and Anna, would you want to come with us?” Cathy asked, resting her head on Anne’s shoulder.

“Yeah, we need to find Kit. She has Anna, which is good, but I want to be there for her,” Anne replied, running her hand through Cathy’s hair. The writer wasn’t afraid to admit that she loved when Anne played with her hair, and it never failed to calm down her anxieties. 

“Can I come as well?” Aragon asked, watching Cathy and Anne.

When Anne agreed, Maria and Joan took that as their cue to leave. They dismissed the four girls and went to go talk to Judge Cranmer who was already preparing a sentence for Culpeper, Dereham, and Edmund. The four girls made their way out of the courtroom, looking around for any trace of Kit or Anna.

Anne pulled out her phone and dialed Anna’s number, hoping she would pick up. After a couple of rings, the other line picked up with, “Anne? Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine Anna, but we’re trying to find you and Kitty.”

There was an inhale of realization from across the line. “Oh, we’re behind the building. Kit was having a panic attack earlier.”

“But she’s fine now, right!” Anne gasped, starting to jog towards the back doors. Cathy, Jane, and Aragon followed closely behind, listening as best they could to the conversation.

The quartet could practically hear Anna’s shrug over the line. “As fine as she can be. Kit’s not having a panic attack anymore, and that’s what’s most important.”

Anne hung up the phone as she burst out of the doors, spotting Anna and Kitty a few metres away. The four girls jogged over to them, Anne crouching down beside her cousin. Cathy stayed standing with Aragon and Jane, making sure they wouldn’t crowd Kit. “Hey KitKat, how are you doing?” Anne asked as a starting point.

Kit was hugging Anna, her breathing abnormal, but not enough to be a cause for concern. “I’m fine Anne,” she promised, pushing away the worry. “But hearing that conversation… it was a lot.”

Cathy cringed. “I’m sorry Kit, but I had to. Otherwise -”

“Otherwise they would’ve won and no one would ever know that I’m not a whore.”

Aragon frowned from beside Cathy. “You don’t have to say it like that.”

“Being blunt sometimes helps,” Anna explained, rubbing Kit’s knuckles with her thumb. It was a soothing gesture Cathy had seen her use for as long as they had known each other.

Kit nodded at Anna’s explanation. “She’s right. The sooner I face the reality of it, the sooner I can get up and move on.”

“That’s a nice way of thinking,” Jane spoke up, her voice hollow.

For some reason, Kit must have sensed the same thing Cathy had in Jane. “Thank you for coming out here Jane.”

Jane averted her eyes, staring at the ground. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m not okay,” Kit admitted. “But I will be. One day.”

For the first time in a long time, Kit’s smile was completely genuine.

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

Tag List:

@radcowboyalmondtree@boleynhowards@annabanana2401@babeebobo@dont-lose-your-queerhead@everything-insanity@mindless-pidgeon@i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six@thedemidisaster@its-totes-gods-will

#six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fic #six fanfiction #six fanfic #sixfic #skin deep #last part before the epilogue! #beauty queens au #i don't know what other tags to include here #men are assholes #that's a common theme #there's a lot of cursing #well not a ton #but enough that i should warn you #tw: cursing #and then all the trigger warnings at the top

[itsomgitsgreenblogging]

Consumption: A Critical Role Fanfic

Okay so for day 7 of @essek-week...it’s a Vampire AU but I feel like I should tell you guys the story behind this fic because it’s honestly pretty funny. I’m part of the Essek Theylss Fanclub Server and it’s an amazing place full of amazing people and we have a rule about being inclusive. Which is like hella awesome, and one of the rules is no nsfw content to make sure everyone is comfortable. Which is like, a great rule and I’m 100% for it. But I’m writing this fic...a vampire AU...and I go...wow this is sexy (because vampires are sexy)...I think it’s too sexy to go with my other fics...uh....I’m probably not going to be able to post this in the ETFC...well you know what I may just go all the way then.  

So that’s how we got this fic. Enjoy! 

Trigger warnings:  NSFW, Vampire related content (biting, blood drinking, hypnotism), corruption kink, master and servant play, voyeurism 

Read on AO3

You would think facing an eternity of endless darkness would be depressing, but Essek often found that the key was to remain busy. If you remained busy, interesting things tended to happen. One couldn't be busy all the time though, and even the undead couldn't stay awake forever without suspicion, so when that happened Essek commissioned a nice coffin for a handsome rich socialite who oh so tragically found their life cut short in whatever way it was fashionable to go in the time period. And then he played dead for a few years before picking up again wherever he left off. 

This time, it was consumption. There was a small closed casket funeral because an open casket was so gouache, what was the point of everyone looking at you when you couldn't enjoy their attention? And then Essek buckled down for a nice long nap in a marble mausoleum that was in a graveyard in a property by a mansion that of course was in his name and tied up in so much legal nonsense that no one but the person who had the deed would ever be able to claim it. 

So Essek slept, and slept for a good long while. Sleep for a vampire was different than for a mortal, for all intents and purposes it was much like death had been...even if death had been a temporary state for Essek when he had first been turned.  There were no dreams or consciousness of any sort, just darkness. It wasn’t comforting or distressing, it just was and there was nothing else to it. Essek, when he was awake, often wondered at the simple pleasure of it. When he was mortal he had tranced, dreamt seldom, but now he couldn’t even remember what that had been like. It seemed too messy for his tastes. 

And then one night, Essek woke up. 

Essek knew immediately that something was different than usual because he definitely was not ready to emerge from sleep. Usually he would awaken when his body at least ran out of its stores of energy, but this was not the case this time. It was the sense that someone else was there that sent him on alert. There was someone else’s presence ripping him from his darkness and back into consciousness. He was thirsty (ravenous he supposed) and outside of his coffin Essek could hear the sound of a heartbeat thick in his ears, of something metallic being settled down. A vampire hunter? No, there was no garlic and there was no sense of danger.  He couldn’t yet smell, because the coffin was sealed, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt...would it? After all, whoever had awoken him had clearly been rude. 

Essek remained still as the lid of his coffin was slid off heavily. Once the coffin was cracked open the scent of a human was perfumed in the air, there was silver but not enough and far enough away that Essek knew he was not dealing with a hunter. But he waited, and waited--

There was an intake of breath, and then-bizarrely Essek felt a finger trace his cheek. 

Essek grabbed the offending hand, causing whoever it was to yelp in surprise. Essek’s eyes did not need any time to adjust to the darkness as he lunged out of his coffin and pinned the attacker to the floor. There was a man underneath him, frozen in fear. Essek’s other hand found an anchor, fingers were settled on his throat--hard enough to threaten but not hard enough to kill. The man underneath him was scruffy and underfed, his heart moved and at a jackrabbit rhythm in his chest. There was candlelight--the fool underneath him had a lantern. In the flickering light there was a blue shine to his eyes and it was the only color he seemed to possess. Everything else about him was sallow and starved and a layer of dust and grime clung to him and soot stained his fingertips and caked his nails. 

“I think we both know that you have done something wrong,” Essek admonished him sweetly, like a nanny scolding a misbehaving child. “It is very rude to wake up someone who is sleeping. I shall have you know that. Now, what you are planning on doing to make it up to me is the question.” 

“You-you-!” the man stuttered before cutting off in a desperate sound as Essek’s fingers slid up his neck, raising his chin so he could see exactly what treasure he had in front of him. At the sight of the pale freckled skin rooted with thrumming blue-green veins, Essek felt his canines ache and elongate. What an utterly delectable prize this human was in possession of, it would really be a shame not to open it up. Essek could smell the fear rolling off the man in waves, ruining his revelry.   

“Now, now. No time for that. Speak convincingly and quickly,” Essek told him, licking his teeth. “I am very hungry and you are extremely distracting. But if you convince me, I may not leave your corpse for the crows to peck at.” 

“I did not...mean to disturb you,” the man croaked, struggling beyond his panic. Essek felt him attempt to take a steadying breath. Good, he could take orders. That was a pleasing sign. “I was simply looking for spell components. Tombs and graveyards are full of things that can be used. That was a mistake on my part, one I understand was grievous.”

“So you fancy yourself a tomb robber,” Essek chuckled in spite of himself. He liked this human’s voice, his accent and the soft deep tones of it. “Stealing off the backs and from the coffins of poor dead grandfathers and grandmothers.” 

“I am a wizard,” the man corrected guiltily before closing his eyes, the violet hollows underneath stark and beautiful despite what they meant. When he turned his head Essek could see the lantern-light caught in his curls. And below the grime, Essek could tell his hair was a rare red. “A poor one. I ask only for your mercy, that you should leave me alive once you are done feeding from me...not that I deserve it.” 

“Perhaps I will, perhaps I won’t,” Essek sighed, giving the man’s wrist a teasing squeeze. He released his fingers from the man’s throat and caught his other wrist before he could move. “Now, relax. This feels so much better when you are at ease.” 

Normally Essek would have charmed his victim, but he wanted this one to have the full effect of a feeding. After all, he hadn’t made up his mind yet about whether what he had done was a killable offense. The punishment did have to suit the crime, after all. With little hesitation, Essek savored the sensation of his fangs sheathing into skin. The taste of his blood was utterly exquisite, hot and sweet with the dying embers of his magic. It soothed the ache of his parched throat, instilled new strength into his limbs. The man made a broken noise, caught between a cry and a moan, but then went quiet and still except for the occasional whimper as Essek drank long and deep from him.

He had talent, was easy on the eyes, and had a delicious flavor to boot. It would be a shame to not ruin him, when there were so many more interesting things they could do together. 

“Good boy,” Essek purred as he pulled away, careful to press the punctures and blooming green-blue bruises with pressure to stop the bleeding. Though he had been pale before, his intruder was now almost translucent. “See, that was not so bad was it? I have been told that the feeding is as pleasurable for you as it is for me, and you certainly are delicious.” 

“More,” slurred his guest, head lolling to the side in an adorable attempt to seduce him back to his neck, where two trails of blood traced the hollow of his throat from the place Essek pressed. “Please...please, more.”  

“You are quite talented at begging when you put your mind to it,” Essek soothed, using his free hand to trace his lips, they opened under his touch like a spring flower in the sun. “I will be happy to indulge you again soon, but only once your marrow has seen fit to fill your veins completely. Now tell me, what is your name?” 

The man’s blue eyes fluttered open. His expression was utterly guileless and dazed, it made something in Essek shiver in desire. But it would have to wait...good things came to those who waited.  

“Caleb...Caleb Widogast,” the man said before frowning, and Essek could see the effort he was putting in trying to think beyond the poisoned haze. As much as Essek would have liked to praise him for it, he also knew the benefit of restraint. After all, why give praise away easily when you could make the beneficiary work for it? The best things always came to those who waited. 

“Well Caleb Widogast,” Essek said, testing the name...tasting it, and finding it satisfactory. Caleb was a lovely name, he had always had a penchant for strays. “Tonight seems to be your lucky night. It appears that I have an opening available for a student, and you are in need of a teacher with the funds to support your endeavor. I see no reason why we cannot come to a simple agreement that will benefit us both.”  

____________

Caleb settled in nicely to Essek’s estate. He had already proved himself smart, and as sharp with numbers as a knife on top of being a talented wizard once he had the funds. The property itself found its way back into Essek’s hands easily as usual, and Essek found teaching to be a happy way to spend his days and a good excuse to stay inside and away from the light.

 Soon enough the whole estate was up and running once more, awoken from its dormancy like a hibernating beast. All the proper signatures and dotted i’s and crossed t’s that usually took Essek some significant effort were dealt with in a manner that was orderly...and honestly impressive. Servants were acquired from the surrounding village with relative ease...which provided Essek with a steady source of sustenance. He had always had a good amount of self-control. Though others in his coven had often accused Essek of being cutthroat, Essek found it to be so much better to keep your meals alive. After all, why feed deeply once and arouse suspicion when instead you could feed lightly and conservatively and stay alive. There was a reason that Essek had outlived a good many of his brethren.  

But speaking of aroused…

“My lord…” the maid gasped, her whole body trembling as Essek ran his tongue over her wrist...where she still bled. She was a pretty youthful looking half-elf, not that feminine beauty did much for him outside of just aesthetics. This wasn’t really for him though, and considering the response he was getting from the shadowed alcove by the door the act was appreciated. The dulled effect of the charm kept her compliant...while the poison did its work. However, as he saw when looked off to the side, this was all having its desired effects. 

“Now, now, no need to fuss,” Essek bid her as he extricated himself from her wrist, taking his handkerchief from his jacket and tying it to her wrist to stem the flow of her blood. She leaned forward, love-drunk to kiss him but he chuckled as he dodged it, and gave her hand a pat. “That was quite careless of you...holding that knife in such a way. But it is alright now. You may feel a bit lightheaded but that’s normal.”

“Yes...the knife…” the maid repeated, the story seeping into her ears sweetly.  

“You know I eat lightly, I’ll have the cook package some food up for you...to make up for the trouble and to keep you strong. Go home to your husband and be sure to get some rest...he’ll tend to your needs well.” 

“Thank you...thank you I’ll just…” she said, before swaying and stumbling off. Caleb caught her as she approached the door, making sure she was steady on her feet before letting her go.

 Essek took the moment to appreciate him. Even with just a few weeks of good food and Essek's meticulous care he had already filled out nicely. Essek certainly had to pat himself on the back for that. Gone was the diamond in the rough, and there stood a man who looked naturally fit to stand between marble statues and crystal chandeliers. Part of that was the work of Essek's newly acquired tailor, outfitting Caleb in high collars and waistcoats that brought out the blue in his eyes and the red in his tied back curls. Truly on that night Caleb looked the part of the nervous bachelor arriving at the matchmaker. He was a present for Essek to unwrap. 

“Make sure that’s done, Caleb,” Essek said as he tossed the napkin on the table before offering Caleb his own pristine plate and motioning towards the filled dining room table. “And please, as always feel free to help yourself as well. I have heard from the other servants that the cook’s beans are to die for.” 

“You are doing this on purpose,” Caleb accused softly. “You have been for weeks.” 

“Oh? Are you not hungry?” Essek asked innocently as he placed the plate down and pushed out his chair to angle towards Caleb. “Well, I suppose I am doing it on purpose. You were nearly skin and bones when we first met and having a mansion with no cook is suspicious-”

“That is not what I meant and you know it,” Caleb said, blue eyes dark with longing as he crossed the space between them and stood before him. “Night after night...you make me watch this. Why?” 

“Am I making you uncomfortable, Caleb?” Essek asked, crossing his legs. “You should be grateful you aren’t my meal...that I’ve given you a warm bed and books and spell components and a job. A little blood is enough to make you regret it? Why...now I am feeling a little unappreciated, Caleb. I suppose I can excuse you from this...all you have to do is ask.”   

Caleb’s breath caught, loud and ragged. His face was flushed deliciously, rounded ears warmed through with color. Essek could hear his heartbeat from here and his grin felt victorious.  

“So it is not the watching then, you naughty thing? You like that part, I know you do...watching me ravish a poor maid or stablehand. Though I must admit the maidens are more for your benefit then mine.. they don't get my blood going if you'll excuse the tawdy joke. Perhaps it is something else, Caleb? Go ahead, tell me.” 

“Essek...I…” Caleb swallowed heavily, fists clenching and unclenching. His voice cracked and frayed with barely contained desire, as plain as the very attractive nose on his very attractive face. “Why is it them? Why not...why is it not…?” 

“Ah...I see,” Essek said, a victorious smile spreading across his face. “Am I making you jealous? All of these things I’ve given you...a home...food in your belly and coin in your pocket...my hands bathing you...and yet you feel covetous over this? You know I charm them...they only feel a dull watered down sensation to the pleasure you felt, and yet you are fantasizing about me opening your skin...sinking my fangs into you and filling your veins with poison. How greedy of you, but that’s what you want isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Caleb admitted raggedly, sinking to his knees, taking Essek’s foot in his hand, kissing the top of his shoe. “Yes, please.” 

“Ask and you shall receive,” Essek said leaning on his hand as he smiled sharply. “Don’t fret, my love, I’ll give you an even greater pleasure than any of them could ever dream to achieve tonight. I will always give you what you deserve so long as you ask nicely.”  

“Thank you,” Caleb gasped, fingers sliding up his pants...hot on his calf and running his tongue along his shin. Essek had known vampires who scoffed at the common pleasure of sex...after all nothing ever would compare to the ecstasy of a feed. The sensation of hot blood filling the mouth and wetting the throat was truly a pleasure most profound. But sex was not just a physical act, and with the right person of a similar mind? Well, that too could be something profound. Essek certainly found something interesting and worthwhile with this beautiful man on his knees before him. 

 “Patience, Caleb. Patience is indeed a virtue,” Essek promised him. “Go ahead, I’m watching you now Caleb. You have my attention, tell me...what would you like?” 

“Anything,” Caleb begged, eyes dilated. Kneeling on the ground he made quite a pretty picture, flushed and wanting already with his legs spread so Essek could see and smell how affected he was. “Anything you want.” 

“And if I just want to watch you debase yourself?” Essek asked him, pressing his heel into Caleb's shoulder. “Maybe I’ll deny you instead, you should know by now how entertaining I find that...to see you so tightly wound. Perhaps you don’t even want me? You just want something to fuck into like an animal in heat. I'll find a pretty maiden or handsome gentleman for you to have your wicked way with.”

“No...it’s you, it’s only you,” Caleb promised desperately. “I’ll give you anything you want, I’ll make it good, I’ll-”  

“Now, now,” Essek soothed, cradling the back of his head and bringing him to lean against his knees. At the sensation of Essek carting his fingers through his hair, Caleb shuddered. “I’m just teasing. I am sorry if I ever made you feel as if I don’t appreciate you. Tonight I’ll have my fill of you, and you shall have your fill of me. Sometimes it’s the wait that makes it worth it.” 

“It’ll never be enough,” Caleb said astutely standing, catching his hand to kiss it. Caleb looked up at him, with eyes half-lidded and tender. They certainly were a pair the two of them, that meeting had been serendipitous in more than one way. After all, a vampire was a creature who only knew how to take...one needed someone to give as well. 

“No, I doubt it will be,” Essek observed with a smile just for Caleb. 

#critical role #critical role fanfic #Essek Week #essek theylss #caleb widogast #vampire au

[badheart]

Anonymous said: hi, i've been following and lurking on your blog for a while and the way you manage to give life to so many muses and write them in a way that feels so authentic is so impressive. would you have any writing advice for a beginner ^^'?

Oh wow, my dumb ass doesn’t know how to react at first haha, but thank you very much, m very glad to hear that my portrayal / writing give such vibes c: Even though it is far from the best, most simple english here. 

And well that depends entirely on how you want to manage your rp-blog, and how serious you want to be about it. The best way to improve / explore your muses is certainly through writing and finding the right partners & muses for it. 

It already helps a lot if you find someone, who rps a muse, who is significant to your own. As I begun my blog, was still Grimm the only muse and I had the luck to win ila / @ilusionis​ very early as my partner (& friend, love u♥) , somehow, idk... her take on Aizen is amazing and mind-blowing and now even more than ever, I rarely met someone, who seems to understand him as much as she, and I am still wondering myself, how she does it. He is definitely one of the more complicated characters and there I think, comes already the first advice? Be sure you can understand the character and give him justice (but again, depends on you how important it is for you to play him as ic as possible). Personally I really love Aizen, and I thought about rping him myself a few times, but ila’s portrayal scared me off and I really cannot grasp him as much if I am being honest with myself, even less through my writing. Shutara is actually also one of those more difficult characters for me, reasons you don’t really see me crying out for interactions for her. But perhaps, I felt more confident with her, because there is even less known about her, which allows me more freedom, but yeah I wish I could capture her a bit better through my writing, so she gives off some more frightening, superior vibes.

Some real commitment is also good, and actually being here for writing. You must really want to explore your muse, to rp them with others!!! And that you usually show through ic-writing. I’ve seen enough blogs, who seem to manage their blog more as a fan-blog than actual rp-blog as I witnessed them rarely writing anything ic, or managing to continue a thread for long. Reasons, I actually do not have a promo for my blog, first because I have already (theoretically) enough rp partners, second, the best promo is via your writing and interacting with others, which may catches the interest of their mutuals. And again, ain’t we here for interaction? Tho certainly, if you make a new blog, a promo may help (or simply following others & already having an about page and some ic writing, idk a drabble or hcs on your blog) 

And I think, such commitment you achieve only, if you finally find the one inspiring muse for yourself, in which you feel confident and inspired no matter what. Of course, I have my ups and downs as well, but my muse is never completely gone. If you pick a canon-character, the world must inspire you & the characters and whatever the topic in the story is. Of course, when the story ends, you may start to struggle as there will most likely not come any new content, but it is not something you need to worry over, if your muse inspires you. It is called your Muse for a reason. A character which will always inspire you, help you find new ideas, or explore this or that. And if you find a bunch of close friends on the way, even better! They can help you world-building, make hcs, etc. Having some support and people to talk to helps immensely, even if it is just one person, that it is more than enough already to keep the inspo going for very long. 

And well, to find that one muse... you gotta have a type, mine is rebellious boys haha. And if you can combine them with some things you love as well (inspire u, catch your interest), it will be even easier to rp them for long and give them some more substance / depth. Proper research is also very important, even if it can be annoying sometimes, considering you may not always find the answers in the internet. But simply try your best and it will definitely take time as you cannot fully flesh out your muse within a day. I think to enjoy roleplay, you must be bit of a fan of research though and wishing to see your muse in all kind of situations, scenarios. If the desire is not really there, you already lost or haven’t found the right muse yet. 

Also think about what kind of stuff you like to write. For example, I really love conflict. So Kugo with his views upon SS is simply perfect, additionally I really love his style, and I am certainly weak for the bad boys who can flirt. If you are a fan of Smut for example, you certainly should pick a character who is into that, otherwise your chance of ever writing it will be low af, if not even zero and that will certainly only frustrate you and not make rp fun for ya. Or it may even lead you to write your character ooc, just so you can finally rp such a scene, but then it will feel less realistic and be less fun (depending on how much you care). I certainly have been guilty of it a few sometimes :^) and if it starts to upsets you or well you notice what you have been doing, some communication with your partner will certainly help, so they know whats up. Like, you can simply ignore that this interaction happened between them now. 

HOPE THIS GIBBERISH MAY HELP, it is certainly may way. And as we see I am still here ♥ Though I had some muses, I dropped over the years (that being Starrk, Lilynette, Arronierro, Zangetsu) as I accepted that I have honestly no real desire to properly explore them, or rp them, or could not grasp them so well after all. 

#╳ ——「 query.」 #╳ ——「 gray mask.」 #lemme swoon about ila for a moment B') not sry #u might me my muse as well haha

[signs-of-the-moon]

Moon Rise: Chapter 35

It had been a difficult moon for Swiftcloud to bare through, but a full moon nonetheless. Staying in camp was harder than she'd remembered it being as an apprentice. But at least she was in good company. Shadowfang was still on nest-rest along with her, but appeared to be handling it better than Swiftcloud was. He seemed happy for the companionship, and for the chance to spend more quality time with his father, young siblings, and mate. Swiftcloud had to agree that it was enjoyable, but she missed being out in the meadow. She so badly wanted to run in the open fields, chasing rabbits, and training Tulippaw for battle. There wasn't enough space in camp for her to properly stretch her legs, and the medicine cats would yowl at her if she so much as tried to join in a playfight. Still, at least Swiftcloud was kept busy. Just because she was camp bound did not mean she did not have things to do, after all.

Frequently, she had been called to sit in on strategy meetings; an honor that was usually only granted to the clan's most senior warriors. Whitestar seemed to value the young molly's input ever since she'd come up with the idea to push back the border; like Swiftcloud was some sort of master battle planner. But Swiftcloud didn't exactly understand why she was looked upon in this light. She wasn't much of a fighter herself. The strategizes she came up with didn't seem to be all that special either, any cat could think of them with enough information given. But Whitestar had faith in her, so Swiftcloud kept some faith in herself-even when she felt she shouldn't.

Beyond battle planning, Swiftcloud took some time to speak with Dewstone. Before, Dewstone had been very intrigued by Swiftcloud's theory that one cat may be responsible for the deaths of Waspwing, Butterflytail, and Ambereye. Between strategy meetings, Swiftcloud gave her opinions to the Code Keeper about the situation. Inside camp, she kept an eye out for suspicious activity. And outside of camp, Dewstone searched for anything unusual. She'd even follow battle patrols to the Forest Patch, just in case evidence may present itself. Or if another warrior fell victim to whoever it might be murdering Grassclan's cats. So far, both mollies had come back without proof of anything. But Swiftcloud was certain there was something going on. She could feel it.

Beyond those obligations, Swiftcloud spent the rest of her time helping the queens by distracting the pluthera of kits in the nursery. They'd grown so big within a moon's time, doubling in size and intelligence faster than the blink of an eye. Most of the kits were talking already, and trying to escape from the bear-length of space they were allowed to travel from their den. Jaybird's kits already had names picked out, being referred to by their prefix for the time being while they awaited their official naming ceremony. Mint, Cinder, and Bunny were their names. It seemed Ashwhisker was fixed on a couple of names as well; Pigeon and Oriole. Good names for good kits, Swiftcloud thought when she had heard them. All the nursery members were good. Once or twice during her camp confinement, Swiftcloud had imagined herself joining the queens. What if during this time off she decided to take the opportunity to have her own litter? Was she even ready for kits? Shadowfang seemed to be happy with whatever decision she'd make, but Swiftcloud was still unsure if she was prepared for motherhood. Especially at this time. Leafbare was fast approaching, and war still hung heavy over their heads. Even though there was a perfect opening, perhaps now wasn't best for starting a family. For the time being, Swiftcloud was content to settle down and watch other cats' families form and grow.

Today, Swiftcloud watched the camp contently from the edge of her den. Across the way she saw Frostfeather lounging outside the nursery, Quailbelly's shoulder pressed gently against hers. The two she-cats were busy grooming one of Jaybird's kits each, while the third bounced and circled around them on clumsy paws. After nudging the silver tabby kit, Mint, off to play, Frostfeather stuck out her tail to block the silver and black tabby's path. With a nod of her head, Bunny reluctantly came to settle between her older sister's paws. The kit wiggled and whined as Frostfeather took her time cleaning her.

"Bunny, lift your ears please so I can clean them." The kit didn't seem to want to listen, antsy within Frostfeather's grasp. Thankfully the older molly was a patient cat, but at this point she seemed to be getting a little annoyed. "Settle down, you restless mollykit," she chided playfully.

"I'm not a molly!" Bunny proclaimed suddenly. He puffed up, wagging his striped plumy tail with indignation. Swiftcloud couldn't help but be reminded of Jaybird in the way he was posturing. Frostfeather blinked, smiling at Bunny with a soft purr of amusement.

"What do you mean...? Ooh. Of course, I understand. Now, would you settle down you rambunctious tom?"

The kit let out a tiny "hmph" as a sign of both satisfaction and surrender, allowing his sister to finish tidying his fur. His ears flopped back down when Frostfeather had finished cleaning them, much to her chagrin. "Would you like me to tell the clan about your identity?" She asked. The silver and black striped kit looked back at his sister and gave an excited nod, bounding off as soon as the opportunity was presented to him. Swiftcloud resisted letting out an audible mrrow of amusement.

"Hey Frostfeather," Rabbitstorm meowed from across camp, prancing over to his sister. He had an unusual bounce in his step, and his face was lit up like sunlight on water. The fluffy tom came to a stop in front of his littermate who looked up at him with curiosity.

"I have some amazing news!"

"Oh really? What is it?" Frostfeather wondered, amused by her brother's lightheartedness.

"Heatherwing's expecting kits. My kits!" He proclaimed, excitement oozing from every flealength of his being. Frostfeather jumped to her paws, trilling with delight. Quailbelly purred out a congratulations, standing and bounding away to be with her sister.

Over by the medicine den, Swiftcloud saw the lilac molly in question. Heatherwing was standing with Whitestar, Cricketsong, and Chicorynose. Whitestar was rubbing her head affectionately against her younger sibling's, Quailbelly joining in as she caught up with her twin. The five sisters were having a conversation that could not be heard at this distance. They all appeared to be in high spirits. If she focused hard enough, Swiftcloud could barely make out the slight bulge of Heatherwing's belly. She must be farther along than I thought.

"Kits? Already?" Piped a voice. Snowfrost emerged from the nursery in one swift motion, drawing attention onto herself. Her tail-tip swayed with interest at the news, eyes narrowed skeptically. She must have been checking on Ashwhisker and Cricketsong's kits, overhearing the news as she readied herself to retire from the task.

"Yes! Goldensong says it'll probably be a large litter. Maybe with four or five kits," Rabbitstorm explained, the pride in his voice unmistakable.

"Wow! Congratulations, bunny!" Frostfeather purred. "I guess Heatherwing will be moving into the nursery soon, won't she?"

Rabbitstorm shook his head. "She's going to remain a warrior actually, and I've decided to become a queen. Heatherwing will nurse the kits, but I'll be the one to care for them."

"But what about your job as a guard?" Snowfrost fretted. "Will you return to your duties once the kits have been apprenticed?"

Once again, Rabbitstorm shook his head. "No...as much as I enjoy my job, and love being a warrior...I think I will like being a permanent nursery queen too. Mama will be proud, I think."

"Tch. You should not give up your career for this," Snowfrost warned. "You are a gifted fighter. And a great asset to the clan as a guard. We could do without another queen. But we cannot afford to allow good, strong cats like yourself to dedicate their time to kit rearing and emotional support. And there's a war going on; we need every claw in the fight that we can get. Or have you forgotten that?"

"This is my choice to make, Snowfrost," Rabbitstorm challenged. "I'll always be a great warrior. And I won't allow my skills to dull, either. I can be a queen and still be a great asset to our clan. I am simply changing my title, and taking on a second job. I'm not giving up anything. And if the clan should need me to fight, I'll fight with everything I have."

Snowfrost took a step back in surprise, disapproval gracing her sleek features. Her tail began to wag and her muzzle raised into the air with a small "hmph" in remark.

"You will regret this decision." Snowfrost almost sounded threatening. But Rabbitstorm remained calm despite his aunt's disapproval.

"If I do, that's for me to decide."

"What in Starclan's name is going on here?" Jaybird yowled by the fresh-kill pile. From the looks of it she had just returned from a hunting patrol, depositing an impressively sized rabbit to the food supply. The silver queen wasted no time stalking towards the group to join in their conversation. Her nostrils flared with exasperation and her tail swayed slowly behind her as she walked."I leave camp to stretch my legs for all of a heartbeat, and suddenly my kin starts to fight?"

"He is being a mouse-brain," Snowfrost insisted.

"Snowfrost won't accept the fact that I'm going to become a queen when my kits are born."

"Kits? I didn't realize cats born toms could give birth to their own litters," Jaybird's voice sounded skeptical and playfully teasing.

"Heatherwing is expecting. I want to be the one to take care of our kits in the nursery," Rabbitstorm elaborated.

Jaybird's tone immediately shifted. "Oh bunny, that's fantastic! Congratulations!"

"You're encouraging this?" Snowfrost looked shocked.

"Of course. If that is what Rabbitstorm wants, then who am I to deny him? I want my son to be happy. He'll be a wonderful father, and a great queen. He has the same natural instinct as I do. He has my blood."

"And mine," Snowfrost snapped. She seemed utterly offended at Jaybird's remark, like the queen had threatened to poison her firstborn. But this confused Swiftcloud. Rabbitstorm and his littermates were adopted. Did Jaybird and Snowfrost only discuss their blood relations now because they were in front of the littermates?

"Mama, why don't we relax a while together; have some prey?" Frostfeather interjected, trying to diffuse the argument.

Jaybird glared at her sister a heartbeat longer before relaxing. She turned towards Frostfeather, her scowl raising into a polite smile. "Oh yes, that sounds lovely. Going on that patrol did leave me feeling quite famished."

Frostfeather purred in response, swaying her fluffy tail. She herded Jaybird's kits back into the nursery then headed with her mother to the fresh-kill pile. Swiftcloud rose from her spot by the warrior's den, deciding to join them. As she matched pace with Frostfeather she could feel the piercing eyes of Snowfost on the back of their heads. Swiftcloud spared a look over her shoulder to see the medicine cat tense and bristling. Anger glazed her eyes, her gaze snapping onto Rabbitstorm who jabbed her side with a paw. Snowfost jolted away from his touch, storming off to another part of camp to get away from the tom.

Swiftcloud gave her whiskers an indignant twitch as she returned her attention towards the fresh-kill pile. Tulippaw and Tigerfang were there when the warriors and queen arrived. The dark tabby was looking just as proud as the apprentice did, who sat with a bird by the tips of her paws.

"Look what I caught today, Swiftcloud!" Tulippaw exclaimed proudly, jestering towards the blue jay with her tail tip.

"I helped to hold an assessment today," Tigerfang informed. "Tulippaw hunted expertly. She's on her way to becoming a great Grassclan warrior. Though, of course, she still has a lot to learn."

That was a relief to hear. Despite Swiftcloud's confinement, it seemed Tulippaw was keeping on top of her lessons. Swiftcloud couldn't be more proud.

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll be sure to work on Tulippaw's weaker areas just as soon as Goldensong gives me the all clear to return to my duties. I don't think it'll be much longer, thankfully."

"Maybe you should get yourself examined soon, see what the medicine cats have to say about your wounds?," Tigerfang suggested.

"You know, that's actually a good idea. It's been a moon after all. I think I'll go do that," Swiftcloud responded.

"We'll catch up later, then," purred the tabby warrior, touching noses with his clanmate. "Come, Tulippaw, let's bring some of this prey to the elders."

"Yes Tigerfang," Tulippaw responded obediently, snatching up the rabbit Jaybird had brought home. She dragged the plump creature by it's leg, disappearing into the rock which housed the elders with Tigerfang. Swiftcloud purred approvingly before turning to her companions.

"Save me some prey please. I'll be back in a little bit."

"I'm sure there will be plenty left over when you come back," Jaybird mewed with a smile.

"Not with the way Frostfeather eats," Swiftcloud giggled, watching her friend snatch up the blue jay and begin tearing into it. She paused momentarily, plucking a long feather from the bird's wing. She moved close to her mother, inserting it into the fur by the base of the queen's tail.

"There. I think that looks pretty," Frostfeather purred. Jaybird twisted around to inspect her daughter's handiwork.

"Oh, it's beautiful. Thank you, precious, what a lovely gift," Jaybird trilled, rubbing her cheek against Frostfeather. Swiftcloud nodded in approval, turning away from the scene, making her way over to the medicine den.

Goldensong was inside the tree's trunk alone, sorting some fragrant herbs that made Swiftcloud's mouth water. The warrior politely cleared her throat, waiting for the medicine cat to take notice of her.

"Ah Swiftcloud, hello," Goldensong greeted as she stood up. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could give me an exam. It's been a full moon, and I want know how much longer it will be until I can go back to my warrior duties."

Goldensong let out a thoughtful hum, approaching the patched warrior. She first made Swiftcloud lift her chin, pulling back the cobwebs that had been packed on her wound a few days prior. Swiftcloud could feel the golden molly's nose poking the area, tickling her as Goldensong took quick sniffs. The medicine cat pulled back after a moment, moving to look at the other molly's shoulder.

"It looks like everything has closed up nicely. There's still some scabbing along your neck, but it should flake off within another day or so. I'd say you're well enough to get back to work."

Swiftcloud's pelt prickled with excitement. "Really!?"

Goldensong nodded approvingly. Giddy as a bird, Swiftcloud thanked the medicine cat kindly. She turned quick as a snake, prancing out of the den. She'd go on to have a bite to eat, then maybe out for a bit of training with Tulippaw.

#long post #don't feel good today. so Im not getting on pc. I'll. try to put this chapt under a read more on Sat or Sun #warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats ocs #Signs of the Moon: Moon Rise #Signs of the Moon #Moon Rise #Chapter 35

[animeniacss]

6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 9 - The Flu Hits Home

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy)

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 4.9k words

Chapter 9 - The Flu Hits Home

As you stood beside the counter, running a hand through your hair, you could faintly hear Hoseok reading to the girls. Hearing his high-pitched voice as he read the story, it really made you smile. You were so glad that Hoseok had no problem reading to them. Curiosity got the better of you after a few more minutes, you walked towards the bedroom. The door was opened slightly, allowing you to get a glimpse of Min Ja’s bed.

           Hoseok was sitting with his back against the wall, book in his hands. Min Ja was sitting beside him, snug under her pink covers. Grinning, she watched as he turned the pages. Hyo Bin was on the other side of him, her eyes mostly closed. She was probably very close to falling asleep as she rested on his chest. Hoseok was beaming as he read the story, Min Ja copying all his wild noises and voices.

           “And then, the little girl ran alllllll the way through the forest with the magic jewel.” Hoseok beamed, pointing to the little girl on one page. “See? Look…. weeeee.” He traced his finger along the trail, and Min Ja stuck her finger out to do the same, giggling as they both made the noise together, quiet enough to not wake Hyo Bin up. “Where’s she going?”

           “She’s going to the castle.” Min Ja pointed out. “But I can’t tell you why because you have to read it.”

           “Oh, okay.” Hoseok chuckled a bit, turning the page. Resting against the door frame, you watched Hoseok finish the story about a princess who saved the world. Min Ja was getting sleepier and sleepier with every turning page, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she rested against Hoseok to listen to him read it. When he noticed she was getting sleepier, his voices toned down just a bit. “Wow, that was good, huh?” He asked, closing the finished storybook.

           “Mhm…” Min Ja nodded, rubbing her eyes.

           “Are you tired now?”

           “No. You have to read another one.” You murmured. Hoseok chuckled.

           “Min Ja, it’s time to go to sleep. Mr. Hobi read you a story already…” You finally cut in, walking towards the bed. You took Hyo Bin into your arms, not waking her up as she curled into your touch.

           “Mr. Hobi?” Min Ja began, yawning as she watched Hoseok get up off the bed. “Can you read more stories soon?”

           “Of course, I can.” He said cheerfully, watching you set Hyo Bin into her bed and tucking her under the covers. “But it’s time to sleep now, alright?”

           “Kay…” she pouted, nuzzling under her covers. You walked over, fixing her blankets before planting a small kiss on her forehead. Min Ja’s big eyes closed after a few moments, and it wasn’t long before the room was filled with only the sounds of faint snoring. Turning to Hoseok, you motioned for him to quietly exit the room, closing the door behind you.

           “I appreciate that…” you said softly as the two of you returned to the living room.

           “It was fun.” He said happily. “But it’s been a long day, I’m exhausted.” He admitted, letting out an exhausted sighed. “Taking care of two girls for a whole day is crazy.”

           “Please, tell me more about it.” You teased sarcastically, crossing your arms. Hoseok grinned a bit as you led him to the door. He slid on his shoes, grabbed his belongings, and turned to you.

           “I hope you had a good time today.” He said sweetly.

           “I had a lot of fun. I appreciate you taking us out like this.”

           “Of course. Like I said, I wanted to help de-stress you guys. Did it work?”

           “Well, my back still hurts, I’m starting to see double, and I really want a drink. So, not much has changed.” You replied, a grin forming on your face. “But I did get that amazing video of you being terrified by that snake.”

           “Aaaaaaah…” Hoseok groaned. “I cannot believe you got that on video. You do realize how long that thing was, right?”

           “Yeah. That made it even funnier. I think it was trying to play with you.”

           “Well, I wasn’t interested.” Hoseok huffed. You laughed again as the memory flashed through your mind. As you stopped yourself from laughing, you glanced up at Hoseok again. You felt so calm, which was what Hoseok was trying to have happened. Sure, any day dragging around two children under five would leave any sane person exhausted, but internally, you felt so calm and so relieved that you got to spend a day just enjoying yourself instead of stressing out over the thought of Weong-Bin and his idiocy. When was the last time you felt that way? You had no idea. Without thinking, you took a step closer to Hoseok, and he blinked. “Hm?”

           “Hey…weird request…but can I have a hug?” Without hesitation, Hoseok grinned and opened up his arms.

           “Of course.” He said, practically beaming. Almost immediately, you latched yourself onto him, your hands wrapping around his torso. He was so warm, and you couldn’t help but nuzzle your head into his chest. You could hear him chuckle as his arms wrapped around you. “Not that I mind, but any particular reason?”

           “Your hugs always made me feel better, that’s all.”

           “So, I could have saved a whole days’ worth of won today if I had just given you a hug?” He teased. You both let out a small laugh, and you only hugged him tighter. “I’m kidding.”

           “I know.” You said. “Thank you for today.”

           “Ahh, don’t mention it.” He repeated again. “I like spending time with you.”

           “I hope we get to do more stuff like this.”

           “Just let me know when you’re free and we can work it out.” He said simply. You sighed, closing your eyes as you just allowed this tight hug to envelop your entire body. “…Is there anything else bothering you?” He asked curiously.

           “Other then the ex-husband stuff? No.” you admitted. “Everything that comes and goes in my mind kind of falls back onto that.”

“Ah…”

You were silent for a moment. There was a wave of emotions hitting you right now, some that were good, and others that you would rather go away and never come back. After that moment passed, you let out a deep, almost frustrated sigh. “Damn you’re so comfy.” You pouted. Hoseok chuckled a bit, resting his chin on top of your head.

           “Thank you.” He said softly. “I’ll wait here for a few more minutes until you’re ready to let go.” You nodded, your hands gripping onto the back of his shirt. At this moment, you felt that if you let him go now, you may never get him back. It felt silly to think such a thing, that much you knew, but still. Being in this moment made you feel safe and content, and you didn’t want that moment to leave you.

           “Okay…” you said softly, finally pulling back from the hug. “I’ll let you get going.” Hoseok nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets, allowing only the thumbs to poke out. “Get home safe.”

           “I will.” He said happily. Nodding, you waved him off as he headed towards the elevator. Slowly closing and locking the door, you took a deep breath of air into your lungs, held it for a moment, and exhaled it out into the air. You always knew deep down, even when you were married, that the way you felt for Hoseok had never truly left you. It wasn’t something you ever spoke about, but you knew it was true. Maybe that was why Weong-Bin didn’t even like the guy. You knew him in college, and he was well aware of your relationship with Hoseok from beginning to end. Feeling your mind begin to race with different thoughts and feelings, you knew it was time to go to bed.

---

           Sunday was a good day too, another one that you had off. You spent the time with the girls in the apartment, giving the family a chance to sleep in before getting up and spending as much time as you could coloring, watching TV, or just playing some games. Time to just have a lazy day with the girls did not come around often, but you were so happy when it did. The three of you were sitting around the kitchen table, just after lunch, coloring. Min Ja was drawing pictures of the zoo to show to her daycare friends the next day, and Hyo Bin was scribbling. Well, sort of. She had woken up crankier than usual, but you assumed she was still lethargic from the day prior and needed more time to sleep. However, she was absolutely refusing to be put down for a nap. You were unsure why, you could see that she was tired, but every time you tried to put her into bed, she would kick and scream and cry, begging to be picked up again. It was odd, but you tried to push it off as a rough day, one that would balance itself out as the hours passed.

           It didn’t though. Instead, it only got worse. As Sunday turned to Monday, you found Hyo Bin only getting fussier and more difficult with every passing hour. It got to the point where she refused to eat. Anything that was put near her the mouth was quickly rejected and met with a fit of whimpers and sobs instead. You had no idea what to do. Trying to think of something quick, you gave her some children’s medicine, one that induced some drowsiness, and put her to bed early.

           “Mommy, what’s wrong with Hyo Bin?” Min Ja asked curiously as she watched you exit your daughter’s room. You sighed.

           “I don’t know. Maybe she’s getting sick.” You admitted.

           “Oh…” She nodded.

           “Yeah. So how about you sleep in my bed with me tonight? Just so we don’t get sick too.” Min Ja’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded eagerly.

           “Okay!” She said happily. You helped her get ready for bed, and the two of you spent the next little while snuggled under your covers with the TV on. Nothing much for kids was on at this hour, just a few different cartoons and game shows that kept Min Ja giggling at chatting for an extra hour. It wasn’t too much longer before the sound of the TV lulled Min Ja to sleep, and you turned it off. Hoping that whatever was bothering Hyo Bin would pass, you found yourself unable to sleep, anticipating the worst.

           Unfortunately for you, just as you were about to go to sleep, your mind trying to assure itself that Hyo Bin was most likely getting a little cold and would be fine, you heard a noise coming from the girl’s bedroom off the baby monitor. The sound of whimpering, the sound of sobbing, the sound of gagging. Quickly, you shot up in your bed, the sudden shift waking Min Ja up from her slumber as you got out of bed and hurried into the bedroom.

           “Hyo Bin?” you called out, turning the light on and hurrying over to the crib. Leaning in, you got a good look at your daughter. She was pale as a ghost, her eyes heavy as if she hasn’t slept since you put her into bed. You quickly scooped her up into your arms and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Oh my God, you’re burning up.” You gasped, rubbing her back. “Okay…okay…” Hyo Bin weakly gripped onto your nightshirt, sniffling as you tried to calm her down. She was coughing and wheezing as if she was struggling to catch her breath. “Ooooh baby, okay. Let’s go take your temperature.” Heading out of the room and towards the bathroom, you passed Min Ja, who was standing at the door watching.

           “Mommy?” she called out in curiosity. When she saw you enter the bathroom, she quickly followed. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” you could hear in her voice that she was starting to get scared.

           “Nothing, Min. Go back to Mommy’s bed. Hyo Bin just isn’t feeling well.”

           “Noo…” she whimpered, eyes watering as she hid behind the bathroom door. You sighed, deciding arguing would only make things worse. You sat on the toilet, Hyo Bin in your lap as you put the thermometer in her ear. She tried to squirm a bit, but you managed to get a temperature.

           “…Oh God, 103 degrees. You sighed, holding Hyo Bin close as she continued to cough. It was deep, and you could hear the phlegm in her chest as she coughed, making her whine. “Okay…” standing up, you headed into the kitchen and attempted to find an ice pack or cooling rag to use. When you did, you placed the cold rag around her neck and heard her let out a deep sigh. “There you go, better, huh?” you smiled softly, rubbing her back.

           “Mamaaaa…” she sobbed, sniffling. You tried to soothe her as you thought about how you needed to take off work for god knows how long, and somehow get Min Ja to go to daycare without causing too much of a fuss.

           “I know, sweetie. We’re going to go see Doctor Park tomorrow, yeah?” You hummed softly, kissing her forehead. You continued trying to soother her back to sleep, but there was no way it was going to happen. Checking the time, you saw it was 1 that next morning, and you needed to get Min Ja to sleep so she wouldn’t be tired the next day. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” You led the girls back inside, having Min Ja get into bed with the promise that you would stay in there with Hyo Bin. You made sure to keep your distance, grabbing a mask from the bathroom and using it to cover Hyo Bin’s mouth in case she coughed anymore. “Min Ja, you need to go to bed.” You said softly, watching your daughter toss and turn in her sleep.

           “I don’t wanna.” She pouted. “I wanna stay with you and Hyo Bin.”

           “If you don’t rest, you’ll get sick too.” You pleaded. “I promise, I’ll be right here.” Hyo Bin let out a few more coughs into her mask and you rubbed her back. “Please, Min….” Min Ja pouted, nuzzling her head into the pillow as she pulled the blanket over herself. You watched her eyes stare at you for what felt like forever, but the darkness of the room and the silence caused exhaustion to overcome her, and she was soon fast asleep. With that settled, you walked back out into the kitchen and sat on one of the chairs, Hyo Bin in your arms as you tried to get her to sleep next. She was much more of a challenge, sobbing and fussing the entire time. Every moment that she seemed she would be falling asleep; a deep cough would hit and startle her back awake. You knew that there was no way you were getting any sleep.

           The next morning, you woke up to the sound of your alarm blaring from your bedroom. You had fallen asleep on the couch with Hyo Bin on your chest only an hour ago, but it felt like five minutes. Groaning, you got up, carrying Hyo Bin in your arms. She was still sleeping soundly, and you took her to her room, placing her in her crib so that you could go get Min Ja ready.

           “I don’t wanna go to daycare, I wanna stay home!” Min Ja begged, trying to stop you from getting her dressed.

           “Sweetie, please.” You begged. “I need to take Hyo Bin to the doctor and if you’re to close, then you’ll get sick too. I can’t have two sick babies, now can I?” You asked. Min Ja felt her eyes start to water, and she quickly hugged you. “Min Ja…” you sighed softly, holding her close to you. “Hyo Bin will be okay.” You said. “I promise. I’ll pick you up early. I just need to take her to the doctor…”

           “Okay…” she sniffled.

           “Besides, don’t you want to tell the kids all about the zoo?” you asked curiously. Min Ja nodded. “I’ll send Miss Yun Yun the pictures while we wait for the doctor, I promise.” Min Ja sniffled, wiping her eyes dry. “Okay, good. Now, to call out of work.”

           When you called, you got Jungkook on the phone. Explaining the situation, he said that today looked like it was going to be slow, since not that many appointments were scheduled. It almost made him laugh when you asked to make an appointment for Hyo Bin as early as possible, and he managed to get you in first. Relief washed over you knowing that the staff insisted you take as much time as needed. With everything settled and prepared, you threw on a pair of stretch pants and a tee-shirt before whisking your kids out the door.

           After dropping Min Ja off at the daycare, and having another mini battle wither about going, you were on the next train to the doctor’s office. Hyo Bin had woken up by now and still had a deep cough, making you keep your distance from everyone else on the train. While you were glad that she began to show symptoms earlier rather than later, you knew that by the severity of the symptoms that you were going to be out of work for a few more days.

---

           “Alright, come on in.” Dr. Park called, smiling as you entered the waiting room. “Much different seeing you here without scrubs on.” He teased, making you chuckle.

           “I know, I’m sorry it was so last minute.”

           “Oh please, kid’s getting the flu is always last minute.” Once you got into the room, he began an examination of Hyo Bin. He knew all of her shots and records because he was the one to administer them to her since birth. Hyo Bin was squirming, not wanting to be touched, but being a professional, Dr. Park was able to complete the examination anyway. “Yeah, it definitely looks like the flu. She’ll be out of commission for a year the next four days.”

           “Christ, I don’t have anyone to babysit her.”

           “Don’t worry.” He assured. “You’ve racked up a lot of time off. Use it, stay with her.”

           “But who will you get?”

           “Actually, Seokjin was asking about taking a few hours here and there for some extra cash. I’ll call him and see if he can take over your shift at all.” You sighed in relief, though finding this out was new information. “I’ll go make that call and write her a prescription. You’ll be out of here in no time.”

           “Thanks.” You said softly, smiling as you watched him walk out. Moments later, there was a knock at the door again, and Jungkook stepped in.

           “Hey.” He smiled. “How is she?”

           “Flu.” You sighed. “I won’t be here for a while. Dr. Park said Seokjin might be able to take my hours for the next few days.” Jungkook grinned. He had always liked Seokjin, since Seokjin trained him when he first got hired. Jungkook saw Hyo Bin resting against your chest, hiding her face as she coughed into her little mask. When Dr. Park returned with the prescription and also confirming that Seokjin would be working those hours, you hummed and left with a thank you.

           On the train ride back home, you called in the prescription and then phoned Seokjin. It rang for a moment, but then he answered.

           “Heeeello~? World Wide Handsome speaking.” You heard him say. It’s been a while since you really got to speak to him.

           “Hey.” You hummed. “Dr. Park told me you’re taking hours again at the office. Is work not going well?”

           “Hm? Oh no. Work is going wonderful! But you would know if you came to see me.” He huffed playfully, and you chuckled. “But I only work four days a week at night. I need more money, so I called and asked if I could work a few hours here and there at the office in the mornings.” He explained. “And my first day back, I’m taking over for you? Lucky meeeee.” You chuckled a bit. You could hear him set you on speakerphone, most likely to get himself ready to hop on the next train to the office.

           “Well I’ll let you go get ready.” You hummed. “I’m going home to sleep, I’m exhausted.”

           “You sound it.” Seokjin teased, laughing a bit. “But I hope Hyo Bin gets better.”  

           “Thanks.” You said your goodbyes and hung up the phone. Hyo Bin was sound asleep the entire train ride home, thank god. You made sure to stop and pick up her medicine, along with a few home remedies from the local pharmacy, before taking Hyo Bin home. She slept soundly in her bed, the medicine coursing through her little body, and you collapsed on the couch not long after her. You were exhausted, only running on about 3 hours of sleep, if even that. It wasn’t long before sleep overtook you as well, and the apartment was silent.

           You slept for what felt like forever, but it was only for a few hours, before Hyo Bin stirred from her sleep and began coughing. Forcing yourself out of your seat, you headed into the bedroom. It had been almost 12 hours since your daughter had really eaten anything of substance, so that was the next thing to accomplish on your list.

           Hyo Bin was a lot easier to feed than she has been over the past few days. She took some scrambled eggs and juice without much fuss, and you could see how relaxed and calmer she looked now that she was eating. It calmed you down too, and though her coughing was still horribly deep, and she was still warm, you were glad she was eating again.

           “Feel better?” you hummed, smiling as Hyo Bin nodded. “Let’s go inside…” You found yourself sitting on the couch, your muscles relaxing as you turned on the TV. Hyo Bin lied on the couch, and you put a blanket over her before turning to her favorite channel. Time passed idly, the noise from the TV keeping Hyo Bin occupied as she drifted in and out of sleep. You took this newfound time to do some house cleaning. Dishes were finally removed from the dishwasher, you got to clean the counters, clean up the girl’s rooms, and do some laundry. It was exhausting, but if you didn’t do it now, it would never get done. You made sure to watch Hyo Bin closely, checking up on here every once in a while, as she slept on the couch. Once the bedroom was cleaned, you transferred your sleeping toddler into bed, turning on some soft music in hopes of keeping her to sleep with the gentle noise. It was just as you were heading inside to get some lunch for yourself when your phone began to ring. “Hm?”

           Pulling your phone from your back pocket, you saw that Hobi was calling you. You had changed his contact photo to a picture of him with the girls that you had taken at the zoo. He was sitting beside Min Ja with Hyo Bin on his lap, the selfie angled up to get all three of them in it. Min Ja was throwing up a peace sign with Hoseok, and Hyo Bin was holding her bag of popcorn in her hands. It was a cute picture. Smiling, you quickly answered.

           “Hey.” You said happily.

           “Hey.” He hummed happily. “I hope I’m not bothering you. Are you at work?”

           “No, not today.” You sighed. “Hyo Bin must have gotten sick at the zoo. She’s got a massive fever and hasn’t really been eating too much all day.” Hoseok let out a deep, sympathetic sigh.

           “Aww, man. That’s rough. I hope she gets better soon.”

           “Thank you. She’s sleeping now. Hopefully, the medicine will break the fever in a few days…” you let out a deep sigh. “Are you working today?”

           “Sort of. Jimin and I have started some auditions for the upcoming year. We start in about 20 minutes, so I thought I would just call and see how you were doing.” You couldn’t help but smile at the idea that you were first on Hoseok’s mind more and more with each passing day.

           “I hope that goes well.” You said. “Are you still just focusing on the studio's hip hop class?”

           “Yeah. Jimin said depending on who auditions, we might expand and add a few more classes for a few different ages.”

           “That’s wonderful.” You said happily. “I told you it would happen.” Hoseok chuckled. “Well, I’ll let you go. Let me know how auditions go, okay?”

           “I will.” He said. “And tell Hyo Bin to get better soon.”

           “Will do.”

           “Mostly because as soon as she’s better, I was hoping that you and I can get dinner again.” Hearing that made another smile grace your lips. “I know it’s something we’ve been talking about for a while.”

           “Yeah. That actually sounds really nice.” You said happily. “A friend of mine has been pestering me for months to come to see him at the restaurant he works at.” Hoseok chuckled a bit.

           “That sounds perfect. We’ll start making plans once Hyo Bin is feeling better again.”

           “Alright, sounds good.” You hummed. “I should get going, though.”

           “Absolutely. I’ll let you go.” Hoseok said. “Bye~.”

           “Bye.” You hung up and set your phone back in your pocket, biting your lip at the thought of going out to dinner with Hoseok again. It had been a while since both of you had alone time with one another, and it was something you were missing. So, you were hoping that Hyo Bin would get better as soon as possible, for both your sakes.

           Hyo Bin slept soundly until you had to go get Min Ja from daycare. You felt bad that you had promised to pick her up early, but after cleaning the house and trying to get things ready, you realized that more time had passed than you wanted to. Luckily, Min Ja didn’t really seem to notice. You had sent over the pictures of the zoo, and Min Ja spent the entire day talking about her experiences petting the alpacas, seeing the bears, and even tried to tell the story about the giant snake that terrified Hoseok and Hyo Bin. She even showed her red panda stuffed animal to her friends, which you brought with you upon picking her up.

           “Everyone said they liked my pictures, Mommy.” Min Ja beamed happily as you brought her back into the house.

           “That’s great, sweetie.” You said happily. “I told you everyone would enjoy it.”

           “Is Hyo Bin feeling better?” she asked curiously, looking up to see her sleeping sister in your arms.

           “She’s doing better.” You said happily. “But she needs to take medicine. Her shot didn’t work and she got the flu.”

           “Oh…” Min Ja said softly.

           Upon entering the house, you got Hyo Bin into bed and put the TV on for Min Ja before starting on dinner. Surprisingly, when you served the simple meal to your daughters, Hyo Bin was taking the food down without issue again. You were glad to see that she was eating, and hoping that it was a sign of her quick recovery.

           The girls went to bed early that night, you gave them a quick bath and managed to read one story before the girls were out like a light. With a kiss to their foreheads and a firm tuck into bed, you headed into your room and threw on a pair of freshly cleaned pajamas.

           “God, what a day…” you mumbled, curling up in bed and putting a pillow over your face. You tried to take solace in the idea that once Hyo Bin was feeling better, you would be getting yourself ready for another dinner date with Hoseok. That made you excited, and it made you motivated. Thoughts of that day helped you relax enough to fall asleep.

           You had slept for about 3 hours, before the sound of feet rushing into your room startled you awake. Sitting up, you saw Min Ja standing at the end of your bed. Turning on the light, you saw Min Ja looked frantic, eyes wide.

           “Min Ja? What’s wrong?!” You gasped.

           “Hyo Bin is coughing super loud, Mommy…I think she’s throwing up.” Min Ja said. Almost immediately, you jumped up and hurried into the bedroom, the sound of your daughter gagging, coughing and sobbing just as she was the previous night. Upon entering the room, you saw Hyo Bin standing up in her bed, face pale as she was covering her mouth.

           “Hyo Bin.” You hummed, scooping her up in your arms. She clung to you as you led her into the bathroom, giving her a toilet to continue any throwing up she had to do. You sighed, rubbing her back as you tried to calm her down. Min Ja was once again standing by the door, peeking her little head in as she watched her sister sob into your arms. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Your tummy is just not ready to eat the food right now. It’s okay.” As Hyo Bin finally calmed down, her body shaking as she coughed, you let out a deep and frustrated groan.

           The flu was a bastard of an illness, and you just wished you could take the burden of this pain from her, and get rid of it faster.

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#bts #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #fanfiction #reader insert #hobi x reader #kim namjoon #rm #kim seokjin #jin #min yoongi #suga #jung hoseok #jhope #hobi #park jimin #jimin #kim taehyung #v #jeon jungkook #jungkook #6 Years FF

[thewhumpstuff]

You and I, Me and You [13]

@badthingshappenbingo​ [Original characters and content for prompt: Strangling]

[Teaser and Master List] [Archives of our Own] (On their turf: Chapter 4)

[<– Previous] ~ [Next –>]

For Quantum Brigade.

Akira did not flood the bus with blood. The cube was used to check her vitals periodically. She remained stable and unconscious. When they finally pulled up to a rather unassuming looking compound of grey buildings, she was the first one out, followed by Vivianne. Or Vivi, now. “Anna did what? Oh wow, I didn’t think she had it in her!” Vivi spoke of her own skills in third person, she displayed reluctant admiration for Anne. Everyone was used to this too. They had always assumed it was some sort of an experiment gone wrong, that made Vivianne… Vivi and Anne. Anne preferred being called Anna. People obliged either out of respect or simply because they did not want to mess with a scalpel-wielding-blood-licking-sniper. Either way, Vivi gushed on about the scene as someone described Anne’s brilliance to her, following along the stretcher that Akira was being hauled off on.

Tariq grabbed Jared by his arm. Jared shrugged it off and got up on his own. He took small steps towards the door of the bus at gun point. A cursory glance past the open swivelling doors at the back of the bus was oppressive enough to make him realise he was as good as dead.

Having witnessed the callous nature of Q.B. with regards to suffering, and even the lives of their own alleged agents, Jared didn’t see a reason to hold his tongue any more. Akira was not in his vicinity. He could do nothing to help either her, or Nova, or anyone else… The antagonistic feelings mingled with a feral self-loathing. And it all found an outlet. Dead would probably be better. He teetered near the edge of the vehicle’s floor, pausing, he looked over his shoulder at Tariq. “Why carry a fucking gun if you don’t fucking know how to use it?” Jared really was not the kind who swore this much. He needed an idiot-proof way to get his taunt across.

Tariq used the butt of the gun to land a blow across Jared’s temple, catching the side of his head and his lightly cut up cheek. He placed the barrel against the back of his head. Similarly, for Tariq, now that his friend—his… Kira—was not in immediate danger, and he believed she would be taken care of, he felt his rage resurface. He was not ready to bear the brunt of the blame for Akira’s injury. The bash was hard enough to leave Jared feeling dizzy. “Do not fucking tempt me to kill you!” That is the point. Jared thought. Tariq’s voice was loud and venomous. He shoved against Jared violently.

The chains were too short to allow the lightly concussed man to keep his balance. He fell out of the bus. He angled himself so his left shoulder could break his fall. He was sprawled onto the floor with a soft grunt. The fall knocked the air out of Jared, but the pain wasn’t unmanageable; he’d had worse. Tariq leapt off with a certain flair and landed on his haunches behind Jared. He got up and dusted his hands. He beckoned his squad off the bus. They bustled about behind him, watching their leader eagerly. “Why do you have legs when you can’t use them?” It was juvenile and dumb, but Tariq was too wound to play with words. Jared chuckled bitterly at the poor retort and started rolling over, so he could get up. Tariq put his boot between Jared’s shoulder blades. He was not usually like this. He was kinder, he was fairer. The Q.B. agent let himself feel like a hero. He held out his arms, with his foot on the defeated Knight, “Look how far the Red Knight has fallen!” “Look how far you’ve sunk, Tar-iq.” Jared spat back, with great effort.

The two of them had had a common enemy once. They had once been on the same side. They had fought the same war, but not the same battles. There was no real sense of camaraderie between them though. It was not going to form now. Tariq kicked him in the ribs. Something cracked. Jared winced and squirmed under him as he involuntary tried to curl, to protect his injured side. He lay with his cheek against the tar-laden driveway. The boot made the fabric of Jared’s shirt scrape against his back, leaving some raw friction burns. His chest met a similar fate against the road.

Tariq let his foot drag down Jared’s spine, so it rested against the small of his back now. It gave him space to crouch with his knee pressed against the nape of his captive’s neck. He bent forward to speak words meant just for Jared. “Y’know, Red Knight, I really hate kicking a man when he’s down.” Tariq muttered through grit teeth. Something was conflicting within him. He clenched and unclenched his fists. Ezekiel had told him on multiple occasions, exactly what kind of a snake Jared Knight was. If had managed to fool someone like Nikolai, Akira was probably an easy target, he was probably playing her too. His fury had logical evidence… His heart was not entirely convinced. He is probably fooling you too, he doesn't really care about Kira, he cares about no one. “Free me then, and we’ll brawl it out, or are you scared you’ll lose?” Jared wheezed softly, even though he didn’t really feel the need to. He should have saved his breath, maybe if he had not shown any eagerness to get out of his shackles, Tariq would have made the mistake of letting him. I am still outnumbered.

Tariq was notorious for never turning down a fight. But he did today. And assuaged his ego by reasoning that Jared did not deserve the honour and glory of a fair fight. “No… I just… hate you more.” “Yeah? Why? Are you really doing this over a woman?” Most of his words were lost. But Tariq got the gist. He didn’t want to cheapen this moment by making it something so seemingly puerile. “You’re stupid if you think Kira belongs to you, or anyone. No, this is about so much more.” Jared actually felt schooled. Nothing that Tariq uttered had felt truer than this. He remained silent. Something was conflicting within Tariq; he clenched and unclenched his fists. He could not bring himself to unleash his fury on a helpless man. Just because I cannot doesn’t mean no one can.

He had never used his status or leadership abilities for something so personal. He gave into his churlishness. From what Ezekiel had told him, there was enough hatred for the Red Knight among the Q.B. folk. He picked Jared up by the shock-collar. Jared croaked softly; the metal strangled him. He did his best to hoist himself up with some semblance of dignity. Mostly, he just scrambled to aid Tariq and prevent sustaining permanent damage to the structures in his throat. He left Jared kneeling besides him, facing the squad.

“The heralded Knight. For what? All he really did was serve. He trampled on anyone in his way, including our predecessors. While they were busy fighting on the front lines, he was kneeling for Nikolai. He hurt, maimed, and killed so many of the Quantum Brigade.” Jared trained his eyes to the floor and tried to block out the words. His hands clenched into tight fists; his blunt nails managed to draw blood. He had always sought penance for his role. He had never really been able to weigh the numbers against one another in the end… All the pain he caused for the greater good. Perhaps this was it.

Jared got up and held his head high. He had done what he had to do, and if these were the consequences, he wanted to meet them with some honour. He expected resistance as he got to his feet, but Tariq did not make any moves, he spoke to just his captive again. “I hope you can show some spine and make this fun for my squad, Jared. You managed to get to your feet, let us see how long you stay on them.” Tariq plucked out his prod-baton and waved it in the air. “For Quantum Brigade and the blood we’ve shed. For the glory he stole, that belongs to us.” It was like his squad was in a trance. They all were flourishing their batons. Like a conductor, in a fluid, effortless motion, he struck Jared’s back.

Jared flinched and lurched forward. His back arched and contorted as his protesting muscles contracted. It looked like he was performing a dance move poorly. “FOR QUANTUM BRIGADE.” The others charged at him. Jared was lost in a flurry of batons. They flew at him from every direction, nothing was spared. He remained standing and silent for longer than one would have expected. But soon, he was brought to his knees, and every new hit elicited resigned groans. He wheezed as he breathed and periodically spat out blood. Then he fell silent again and keeled to the ground. Battered. Bruised. Bloody. Broken. It felt like an effort to hang onto consciousness.  

Tariq had unleashed a monster and he regretted it. He turned away, to come face to face Ezekiel. “Ez-” Smack. The ring on the blonde’s finger left a gash in Tariq’s face which swivelled with the sheer force of the slap. Ezekiel held Tariq’s chin. Almost tenderly, he coaxed it towards him. Tariq jerked away. The blonde did not press matters. His thumb grazed the gash fondly and he clicked his tongue. “That is no way to treat our esteemed guest. And it is abuse of power.” Jared’s eyebrows shot up, it suddenly felt like it was worth the effort to hang onto his consciousness just a little longer. He felt a sense of vindication that he hated. In the end, we are both slaves to the Crovus brothers, then? Tariq rearranged his uniform and walked away. Ezekiel dusted his hands as he sidled up to Jared. The blonde peeled the man off the tar with his collar. “Someone take him to Alcyone before I strangle him.” Jared choked; bloodshot eyes rolled upwards. Ezekiel’s ruby irises were the last thing he saw, before surrendering to the darkness that had been knocking for a while now. Hands groped at him and he was lugged into the building.

[Category - 2/3]  [Tags: @simplygrimly​, @cashieeetime​, @lettuceknighted​]

#whump #badthingshappenbingo #cuffed #chained #beated #broken #strangling #you and I me and you

[idolish7fanpage]

Ogami Banri Appreciation Post

Ogami Banri is the man that represents “10,000″ in IDOLiSH7 and is one of the hardest workers in Takanashi Productions! This is an appreciation post dedicated especially for him since it’s the 8th of September today - his birthday!

(Sources have also been included wherever possible so you can check it out yourself too!)

• Banri is the biggest IDOLiSH7 stan... in their first live, he was the person that held the most glow sticks and cheered the most! He’s waving his glow sticks so high that you can’t even see them anymore... they’re off-screen??? (What a mood though) Tsumugi and Otoharu, you can do better than him... she’s their manager and he scouted those boys You can even see Banri’s support for them from afar!

BANRI’S GLOW STICKS ARE LITERALLY THE BRIGHTEST THING EVER THOUGH??? Excuse my poor circling, I did it on mobile with my shaky hands lmao Anyways, in a Vibrato trailer, you can hear Banri playing “NATSU Shiyou Ze!” in the background! Moreover, his favourite song is an IDOLiSH7 song, Joker Flag! Banri is thoroughly enjoying himself and that makes me incredibly happy

• Banri’s been employed by TakaPro for (more than) 5 years?? That is a lot of dedication and commitment, whereas he also quite willingly does overtime and even became upset when he was asked to take a break. Wow I can’t relate, I love my breaks

Banri has sworn his life to Otoharu and has said several times that he’ll work for the president for the rest of his life (x) #No Retirement For Banri and has called Otoharu an ikemen before. God, TakaPro is such a wholesome place.

Anyways, Banri is an extremely hard worker as his duties include taking care of Kinako, fanclub registration, preparing lunchboxes, accompanying members of IDOLiSH7 when they finish work late at night (x), he used to pick Tsumugi up from school when it was raining (x) and also does many other things. He also manages the official Twitter page! Overall, a very hard worker! I cannot relate in the slightest but then again—

I, too, would like to sleep in a hammock (x). [I believe ’here’ is a typo and it’s actually meant to be ‘where’...? Random guess though]

• Banri’s househusband stats are over 9000! He can cook, clean and he can do hair too! He’s braided his own hair before, and he’s done a few hairstyles for Tsumugi before.

• Everyone loves Ogami Banri - IDOLiSH7, Takanashi Productions, TRIGGER, Okazaki Productions and Re:vale. There’s a huge joint effort to celebrate Banri’s birthday (x). Moreover, Anesagi’s commented that if they were to be wed to someone then it would be a man like Banri (but if they were to fall in love, then they would want it to be a prince... like Nagi) (x). Everyone loves Banri. Everyone. They even started a debate over it (x).

• Banri looks so good?? This lovely man is a combination of pretty/cute and handsome/hot (whichever words you prefer to use LOL). Moreover, he should be #HairGoals for any person with long hair. Look at how smooth and silky it is... must be spending all of his paycheck to maintain it, you know what though, I’ll bet he’s the type that does absolutely nothing to his hair and it still looks as gorgeous as it does

If you somehow don’t like this man’s appearance, I will convince you otherwise. I mean, even Otoharu says “Banri, you’re handsome as always” and Tsumugi goes “You’re beautiful Banri” (x). Experts at (flirting) praising: the Takanashi family

Like all wonderful men, Banri is actually quite dense! -starts sobbing uncontrollably- During her middle school years, it’s been hinted that Tsumugi had a slight crush on Banri (x) while she herself states it was simply admiration (Tsumugi giving out super mixed signals??) and gave him Valentine’s chocolates, but he thought it was out of courtesy (x). He does like chocolate though (Tanemura Arina’s “Re:member” manga Ch1, pictured below) and he also likes making and eating minced chicken lunchboxes (x)!

SPOILERS FOR MAIN STORY PARTS 2 AND 3 (from the game): Not recommended to be read unless you’ve already seen it, or you don’t mind spoilers

Banri is a former idol and he was a part of the original Re:vale! His singing voice has been praised by IDOLiSH7 when he joins them in karaoke and has sang the song ‘Mikansei na Bokura’!

Banri is absolutely merciless - he talks smack about Yuki whenever he gets a chance and will call Yuki “Disgusting” with absolutely no hesitation (x) but Yuki’s so pretty though. Moreover, Yuki literally got into so much trouble that Banri’s bloody desensitized to troublemakers. He thought of smashing a fake burglar’s face in so hard with a fire extinguisher that they’d never be able to go out in public again (x). A true savage.

He says “I’m trained for situations like this” but is that really the case...? Aren’t you just resorting straight to violence...? I mean, the burglar would’ve started the crime first but Banri’s escalating it to a whole different level lololol

Banri was actually quite good at nicknames surprised at Momo’s appearance in the audience, so he was constantly using nicknames to refer to Momo (x)!

Banri Mindset 101: Why use an actual name when you can just give him a nickname based off your impression of him (well he didn’t know Momo’s name at that time so chronology is doing its work)

According to Yuki, Banri is a natural player(?)! Actually, wait, no Yuki, he really isn’t... He’s had several girlfriends but they have dumped him as a result of Yuki, believing he had another woman on the side (x). I can just imagine it rolling out... “You have another woman?!”, “Wait no—”. I would actually want to see that, sounds like an afternoon soap opera LOL Banri did call Tsumugi cute though, but then Otoharu quickly intercepted LOL

Banri is actually very selfless, like to the point where he would severely injure himself?? What a nice boy -sobs incoherently- In case you don’t recall, the light that fell was originally aimed at Yuki. However, Banri noticed the falling light and shoved Yuki out of the way and then became injured in Yuki’s place. The damage has caused a permanent scar on Banri (x), although the position of it has never been revealed. I really do love the relationship between Yuki and Banri though. Even though Yuki’s always getting into trouble and Banri finds it low key, high key annoying, they still care about each other

Banri’s extremely wholesome though?? He states that he likes the current Re:vale more (Momo and Yuki) which is probably indirectly saying he prefers them over the previous Re:vale (himself and Yuki), and is perfectly content with remaining as their fan, rather than interacting with one another like how it was in the past! Banri’s probably also prefers the current Re:vale because he realised he was interested more in the managerial aspect of being an idol, rather than being an idol itself.

Not really too much a spoiler since it’s on the wiki as well but Banri’s the manager of MEZZO”!

I can literally hear this gif?? I can just hear these two beautiful men talking about their stay to Okinawa and how Tamaki’s soon going to devour that fruit sundae

To conclude this appreciation post, have a solemn Banri!

To be honest though, I couldn’t fit everything that was wonderful about Banri and plus I was starting to lag from the amount of content here. The characters are honestly just so good, but if people actually liked this, I could totally create a ‘Ogami Banri Appreciation Post pt.2′.

#idolish7 #oogami banri #character appreciation posts #anime #manga #re:member #re:vale #yuki #momo

[rcsefleur-blog]

hi all !! this is an introduction to my freshest muse and newest baby yeo eunchan otherwise and more commonly known as ‘chan’, he’s a sweetheart but of course because its me and i can’t resist giving my muses slight torture, he’s a tormented sweetheart. if you look at his pinterest here you’ll get an idea of his style better since that’s pretty essential to him as a muse in this case hshd. below the cut you can find out a bit more about him and if you hit the like, i’ll be sure to throw him at you for plots !! lets get into it: 

BACKSTORY: 

chan’s childhood wasn’t particularly dark or strained. he is by far the least tragic out of all my muses. but for me, that’s still pretty tragic by mosts standards. growing up he always had a very supportive father in regard to his homosexuality and androgynous qualities. he grew up in a happy home and despite not being rich he was very fortunate to have rich opportunities come his way. to be fair he’s pretty easily pleased but most of his experiences thus far have been plentiful

perhaps that is why his luck has to run out somewhere down the line, in the worst way it possibly could. his mother passed when he was young due to cancer. it was a grave and difficult time for his father as well as the rest of the family. his father crumbled eventually, in the hospital with health issues now that are so severe he’s due to pass any day and is basically in a vegetative state already. chan was left to raise his five year old sister nari and take on the responsibility. 

for this reason, he could be considered a struggling single father as he’s pushing his own dreams and goals aside to accomodate for nari and make sure she has the best upbringing which is comfortable for her, where she can see chan as a father figure as well as an older brother now, who can be relied upon and responsible. balancing the line and the roles between brother and father isn’t always easy though when the lines are constantly blurred. he has sacrificed most of himself and his youth to keep nari happy and healthy and mostly untouched by the death of their parents. 

this hasn’t been easy though, it’s left chan isolated and with no one to speak to but the five year old girl a lot of his feelings get locked in a box and left unexplored, he cannot have a moment of hesitation or weakness because then that will affect nari. his mourning process and grieving has been put on a backline, and he only really allows himself to break down in quiet moments without nari. such as when walking through the forest to be with nature, visiting their graves or on the edge of his bed having a good cry when nari is fast asleep due to the feeling of living in the empty space where his parents used to fill it all up. 

PERSONALITY: 

chan is a makeup artist, he does it professionally for models and artists all throughout the industry but he also does it for fun, becoming pretty popular as a person who gives tutorials on youtube and instagram as an ‘influencer’ but he really hates that label and prefers to simply think of himself as an artist. he also does the bit of fashion blogging and photography on the side. 

he considers himself an adventurer and for that reason he also travels a lot, usually while he is there he’ll study as he does photography for a course as well as a part time student and his main interest is in ancient architecture and art. most of the time he’ll roadtrip in his styled up vintage pick up but occasionally its flights to more beachy area’s, his two favorite places are greece and italy and he spends most of his time in those places if he can.

chan has a very vintage sense of style and he enjoys doing most things the traditional and old school way. although he does add a modern mindset to a lot of it. aesthetically style wise envision chan as fingers full of plenty of rings, ankle bracelets and arm cuffs with loose puffy sleeved shirts and ripped up mom jeans or high waisted ones. he cycles mostly everywhere on his vintage style bike. 

very much a gentle soul, little bit of a nerd and activist in the sense he wants to save the earth. he can be really intense about learning about nature and how to preserve it. he has always felt the most in touch with the natural world compared to the hum and chaos of the modern world and city life. he’s no saint of course and he’s still a sucker for coffee but other than that he likes to think he does his best. 

paints and draws very amazingly likewise, he prefers to draw flowers and people the most but he’ll work with whatever he’s got on hand. usually you can only catch him whipping out a sketchbook if he’s feeling stressed or overwhelmed as a form of escapism and quiet time. 

he is a little bit of a quixotic type so sue him, like one of the ‘have you ever fallen in love’ 'five times a day’ types but it’s not obsessive, it’s more of an admiration he considers all people beautiful and worthy of love in their own way and would state most of them are art to him. you could be the worst person and he’d be all ’ you dont have all the facts’ 'which are?’ 'i love them’.

although he doesn’t identify as genderfluid, he has a very genderfluid and androgynous sense of fashion and often wears clothing and makeup typically labelled as being more feminine. he likes a soft and classy look that usually consists of a good lip tint or ultra glossy lip and a natural but glittery smokey eye look. think kinda like the instagram influencer ivanbaaaaah for reference. 

MISC: 

growing up chan struggled with religion a lot, he and his family are very religious but his sexuality caused some issues. his father had always been supportive but his mother was a different story, unfortunately his memories with her aren’t the fondest. though he has a very dark history with religion, he loves to be in churches that are empty or abandoned for moments of reflection. often he wonders if he doesn’t even have god as the one consistent and reliable thing in his life, then what the hell does he have. he feels even now sometimes that he’s letting god and his mother down for the way he is but there is less shame now than what he suffered when younger. 

everything in his life basically revolves around nari, she goes most places with him and any task he’ll find a way to make fun for her, he doesn’t spoil her but he also doesn’t ever leave her to go without even if that is at his expense to do so. they love to bake together and he does that pretty often. 

has a part time job as a barista on night shifts and also in a patisserie. he works from home on his influencer content again to accommodate for nari and he also takes his course in photography and media online to best suit nari so he doesn’t have to leave her with a babysitter too often as he believes that’s no childhood and him just being lazy in his duty towards her as her parental figure at this pivotal time in her life. 

he’s putting off most of his dreams and aspirations right now for until nari is older, he could’ve been much more famous as an influencer but he chose not to be and put those opportunities to broaden his career on hold for a while because having a famous sibling in her life wasn’t the kind of overwhelming attention and pressure nari needed to be surrounded with right now. 

he honestly just wants to make sure nari grows up feeling safe, comfortable and happy as well as confident in herself and chan. she’s his primary responsibility and he considers himself her closest bet to a father now so he wants her to feel she has that bond with him as well as the bond of him being her brother. 

PLOT BUNNIES: 

a babysitter plot would be great, someone who he can rely on and uses often to leave nari with when he has no other choice and particularly on nights when he has to work. ideally it would be someone nari felt very close to and idolized so he knew they had an amazing relationship and she’d be happy and relaxed when he was gone. he’s very over protective of her so he’d also have to feel pretty close to the person. it could go any way really, it could be a pining thing, a best friend thing, whatever honestly. 

this boy definitely needs a confidant so throw that at me any day. 

friends who can help him reconnect with religion and spirituality in different ways so he knows there’s always a way for him to feel tied to god somehow and a god who loves him and best suits his needs somewhere even if it isn’t necessarily in the religion he grew up with. 

work buddies at the cafe he works in or patisserie would be amazing too. 

maybe a tutor/study buddy kinda person he met online through doing his course of media and photography to make sure he was making up for the classes he was missing out on by not being able to attend day lectures in college. 

just people with the similar hobby of photography would also be awesome or models even that he can do a couple of freelance jobs for on the side when they need him. 

muses for him to draw they’d be very special people indeed bc chan will rarely whip his sketchbook out in front of anyone let alone ask to draw them. 

more single parent muses would also be awesome eventually or older siblings who kind of take on that role half the time so have some idea of what its like who he could meet through taking nari to things like nursery, etc. 

neighbor bc who doesn’t love a good single dad and his neighbor plot  who’s all like woah that guy is super young and he has a kid but im also sure there’s no woman on the scene and wow they’re noisy and its kinda infuriating but its also cute as hell cause he’s a hella good dad and in the mornings i can hear them baking and doing food fights or playing together and i often see them messing about coming back from grocery shopping etc and actually its kinda touching?? 

gay pals cause we love gay pals as well as ur everyday pals we love a platonic bond between fellow gays. 

love interests of any kind rlly, pining situations, crushing, flings, ex’s ( they’d have had to have ended on good terms tho bc chan just can’t hate anyone ), first times e.g. sexually, boyfriend, kiss u get the idea 

#daegu:intro #daeguintro