#Mac and assorted faces

[brigitoshaughnessy]

MacGyver 1985 || Assorted Episodes

Mac and Assorted Faces: [ 1 ], [ 2 ]

[zurazurax2]

Part 2 of a Mac college AU one-shot I wrote. Had to pull out my previous semester’s statistic notes for this one, though fair warning I might use some terms wrong, let me know if I did! (I’m not a math or science major/minor). I tried writing ‘idiots in love’ but I’m worried I just wrote people with insecurities 😭

Inspired by @veryfruitywriting they planted this seed in my brain, I hope you enjoy the second part, I’m so glad you liked the first part! 🙏

Word Count: 1.8k

__________________________________

It was the next day and you were able to schedule the library’s study room #5 from noon to 2PM. You reviewed almost all your statistics notes the night before and again in the morning, trying to ensure there was no chance of a slip up. You felt yourself getting nervous as you made your way to the room, you stopped by your campus’ coffee shop to get a small assortment of treats, so if you do something wrong at least Mac can say you brought food.

You walked into the study only to find Mac already there, typing something on their laptop, per usual. You knew they were punctual and even though it wasn’t even noon yet, you felt like you were late. You greeted them and place your bag down.

“Hey Mac! You’re early, I brought some sweets and thought I would have some time to properly set them up before you got here, oh well, you can take any from the bag, I brought napkins too”. 

You suddenly entering seemed to have caught them off guard as they slightly jumped and look up at you. You mentally kick yourself for startling them. “Oh, hey there! Sorry I was so focused I didn’t see you. Yes, I decided to come early to get a jump start on the project”. Mac looks at the pastries bag you hand to them. “Woah, thank you, that’s so thoughtful”, they say as they take a napkin and a cookie.

Hearing them say they arrived early to start made you let out an “oh”. Of course, you should’ve expected it, now you have to catch up and make sure they don’t think you plan on letting them do all the work.  “But we haven’t agreed on what we want the project to be on… unless you already have something picked, then I’m fine with going along with your idea and can start doing my part too”.

Mac thought it would look considerate if they started working on the project since earlier you mentioned your other midterms. They tried to gauge what your expression meant, were you simply confused? Or worse, annoyed they started without considering your input? Shoot, Mac thought to themselves, did I act prematurely? “I don’t mean for there to be any confusion. Our project is about choosing a news source and finding 10 examples across their entire archive of incorrect use of statistics. When I said I started working on it I meant I came up with a list of terms that should be applied to the incorrect examples we find. I have a few ideas for which media outlet should be the focus of our project but have yet to choose one, I wanted to go over that now that you’re here”.

Internally, you did a sigh of relief they haven’t made THAT much progress. “Alright, let me see the list you came up with”.

…

You two decided to focus on the Press Agency Times (PAT) for your midterm and were independently going through all the pieces they have ever published, looking for mistakes. You were constantly referencing your textbook, flipping through its pages to remember the difference between response, non-response, selection, voluntary response, and convenience sample bias trying to see if you could find that anywhere. Your eyes occasionally made their way towards Mac, looking at how they rested their face on their hand in concentration, only moving to take a bite of the sweets you brought. The sight made you smile (which you tried to stifle and hide), you could’ve spent the rest of your scheduled time looking at them, but you had to go back to work before they noticed. Mac was also taking occasional glances at you too, looking at how your fingers carefully fliped through the pages of the textbook, silently mouthing experts from it to yourself, then you’d type something on your laptop and repeat the cycle. The sight made their heart beat faster, you looking good while being meticulous and focused, they could not help but stare. This repeated as if on cue, the moment one of you went back to focusing on the project, the other would start looking.

After 40 minutes, you two felt you had enough samples to choose the best 10 incorrect examples from and started going over them together. Mac was right, they did not have much doubt int he first place but it was nice to have confirmation: you were a great project partner, you found so many good examples and explained the errors and how it could have been prevented so clearly; they started to zone out, solely focusing on your mesmerizing face and voice. 

You were going over your sixth example, “… I found PAT violated the key data ethics standards in their 1987 experiment, the researchers did not-“

“—provide enough anonymity and confidentiality for those involved, right?” Mac finished your sentence as they also had the 1987 experiment on their list of examples. Yes we’re definitely working synchronously, Mac boasted to themselves. 

You gave them a confused look, “…no, the researches did not receive the informed consent of every participant before the experiment. I think you might be thinking of the 1989 experiment which was my next example.”

Mac blankly took a look at their notes for a moment, you were right. “C-correct, I must have gotten ahead of myself, sorry”, they responded, quickly trying to recover from their mistake.

“It’s okay, it was— uh, never mind, I mean-“ you were about to say cute but you stopped yourself and tried to keep going, “the rules were set in place by the RSR and yet PAT didn’t follow them, a really big mistake on their part”.

Now it was Mac’s turn to look puzzled, “are you referring to the IRB? The Institutional Review Board?”.

“Oh y-yeah, I guess we both missed the mark and this example huh?” You cringed internally at yourself.

…

After 30 minutes, you two had your chosen 10 examples and started making a slideshow for the presentation portion of your midterm. Mac was speaking to you about visual and pictures you would need to include in your presentation, but in the middle of them talking they took off their glasses to clean them on their shirt. That act alone made your heart do a backflip, you noticed how Mac had dark circles under their eyes, it suits them, you thought to yourself, it fits with their endearing nerdy vibe.

Suddenly Mac’s question cut through your thoughts, “—do you already have any pictures you think we could include in the presentation?”.

Trying to focus back into the conversation you swiftly answered, “I have pictures of the university… if we want… to include… that…”. You just processed what exactly Mac was asking. 

no way. no WAY your answer to Mac’s question about including visual EVIDENCE in your STATISTICS presentation was to include a random ass picture of your university for no reason. You felt yourself die inside as Mac let out a soft laugh in confusion.

“What? I’m not sure our professor would allow a picture of our university to be used as ‘evidence’, maybe we’d get points for school pride but I’m not sure of the relevance of your suggestion”, Mac expressed in between confused laughter. 

“I must have misheard you”, you tried to save yourself, “but I do have graphs I pulled from each example”. You started shifting through your notes to save yourself from looking like a complete fool.

When you two had 20 minutes of scheduled time left, y’all decided to start practicing presenting what you had so far. Mac started setting up the room’s projector, turning it on and connecting it to their device. After putting your presentation on full screen you two stood next to each other at one corner of the screen, facing outward to the empty room and pretending you guys were in the stats II classroom. The introduction and first example went well and you were finishing up with the second example, not noticing Mac enthusiastically watching as you explained what was wrong to the invisible audience. So focused on you they were caught off guard once it was their turn to present the third example. Without thinking they outstretched their arm up and sideways, motioning for the ‘audience’ to look at the graphs and in doing so they accidentally smacked you in the face with their hand.

They immediately moved their arm away and looked at you to apologize, “I am SO sorry, that was not my intention, I didn’t see where my arm was going!”. Mac could not believe they were so careless. They knew they get hot easily and could feel their face was turning bright red. Internally, they were frantically trying to recompose themselves, holding their face in an effort to cool down. 

You won’t deny it kind of hurt being suddenly hit in the face but you had never seen Mac lose their composure like this. The way they looked right now, red and panicked, it was so cute it was all your mind was focusing on. You decided to take the blame to try and make Mac feel better. “It’s fine, okay? I was standing too close anyway, and we should probably be on both sides of the board anyhow”. You moved to the other corner of the screen. “Now we won’t bump into each other, problem solved!”. 

Mac tried taking your word for it, but in the back of their mind they worried their chances of being with you were dropping. They apologized two more times before continuing the presentation. After a few minutes they actually did completely calm down and the redness of their face left. At 2PM, you and Mac had written 8 out of the 10 examples of your presentation. You both decided each would finish one of the last 2 examples independently, next time you see each other in class you would review and make it into a final draft to hand in.

…

After that day, you two started sitting next to one another, under the guise that you were just waiting for the day to present your project together. But, your talks would quickly veer off topic as you two would find yourselves lost in conversation even an hour into the lecture. Still, the day to present came and went (you two got an A don’t worry), but as you both started packing up to leave class that day you realized you no longer had an excuse to keep being around Mac. You wanted, no needed a reason to keep talking to them. 

“Hey Mac…” you started and they turned to face you, “I, uh, have a confession to make…”

Those words immediately caught their attention, Mac was unsure what you were about to say but they secretly hoped it’d be an actual confession and that their feelings were mutual.

“I never actually took Statistics I and find myself lost in class most of the time, would you mind tutoring me?”, you asked sheepishly.

__________________________________

Errmm, college tutor AU Mac anyone? Nah, I’m playing, I don’t think I can write that as I barely passed my own statistics course😔

I didn’t write them getting together because I like the yearning, sorry about that if you were hoping for it 🫣

[berriblossom]

Workin Late? Part. 1

"According to your current company status quo for your current workload, it seems we have a solution to your problem!"

"A raise?"

"A new assistant!"

It seems that due to your "work ethic" of being stretched thin at your 9-5, your manager decides you need a new assistant. But oh no! Their hot!

Basically, Coworker Mac x (overworking)GN. Reader 1.4k words

DAY 0

A cheery hum could be heard down the hall near your office. To some, it was just Skylar being in a good mood; perhaps she had an extra “pep” in her step. That would be the case with how her rhythmic knocks on your office door shake you out of your work-stress-related daze. Zoning out after being assigned another massive project for the company due on your desk, random sticky notes, red ink splayed all over your calendar on the wall next to a whiteboard that had God knows what on it. She entered your office after hearing what sounded like a groan from the dead coming back to life.

“Oh! There you are! I thought you would’ve been on break by now!”

“Very funny, Skylar, you know I can’t take a break, even if I wanted to, my body doesn’t seem to allow it.” A yawn rips from your mouth as you sip the already cold coffee from your coffee cup, one you’ve had since early that morning.

Skylar grimaces at the fact, one you look like warm death…just slightly cuter? Two, is that the formation of your office was organized madness, piles of documents on your desk with random colorful tabs on the different stacks, some had random mouse stickers to show you’ve completed that task, others had random assortments of letters, numbers, and symbols. She adjusted her glasses and stepped cautiously closer to your slumped figure, her furrowed brow increased after hearing you crack your back and neck when stretching your body.

That really made her decision clearer.

“Anyways, if you’ve come here, Sky, to tell me the newest thing that happened in the breakroom with Harper and Dirk or whatever new gossip has been floating around, you may want to put a pin in it for now. I have like 10 more analysis reports to look through and then even more tickets to fix around with IT.”

Skylar deadpanned at you. You seriously needed a break; however, being the amazing manager she was, and a kind friend to you, she had just the solution. “Guess which amazing, cute, smart, and sexy manager got you something to help you with this quarter's project?” She smiled brightly at you, her eyes dead set on you, blinking as if she wanted you to answer.

You roll your eyes playfully, but humor her. Skyla,r as much as she hated bringing you bad news, whether it was your favorite coffee shop being closed or another intern being replaced due to “company constraints,” she really tried her hardest to make up for it. “Let me guess…you?” She beams brightly and flicks her hair off her shoulder.

“So, according to your current company position, status quota, and recent supervision observations, I have a simple solution for your overbearing workload problem!”

“A raise? New promotion? Even a better parking spot?”

You blankly stare at her. She frowns, almost comically, and coughs in her hand as your eyes narrow. Your gaze didn’t improve when she waved it off awkwardly. “No, but that can... be noted for future terms…”

“You said that last quarter!” You cut into her thought process, but Skylar quickly places that to the side and announces her new “fix” for your workload problem.

“The company and I have decided! You are getting a brand-new assistant to help you with your workload! That way you can delegate your task more effectively and- maybe even take appropriate breaks…instead of...”

She blankly gestures to whatever your situation was, basically zoning out or “sleeping” while working. “This…so! What do you say [Name]?”

Your left eye twitches, you glare at her as if she grew a second head and it was threatening to rob you blind!

“What?” Skylar, almost seemingly expecting your response, adjusted her glasses on her face and clasped her hands together.

“Now, [Name], you are a dedicated hard worker. But even you need breaks. Look, I know you hate asking for help, I mean look at you...” She quickly looks around the current state of your office. Almost like a disappointing mom, which made you glance away from her out of embarrassment. But she persists, “I don’t want you burning out and causing a strain on your health. I am doing this out of my own personal care for you, not to shame you or make you seem lazy.”

You finally look back at her and see her face. Skylar always worried about you, even when you didn’t need her to. Always talking about you taking a vacation, or taking prolonged breaks, she even personally asked Kopi to replace your regular order with decaf after you nearly strung yourself out before a tedious deadline. Plus, it’s not like she wants to give you these deadlines anyway! She’s just following orders. You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, knowing she won’t back down even if you blatantly said, “I’m fine, Sky, seriously.”.

“Fine…humor me…who is this assistant I’m being assigned? Hopefully, it's not another intern you picked up off the street, poor thing barely lasted a week after hearing what happens in the break room.” You could tell she was visibly straining from laughing at that, because the poor woman, after hearing Dirk and Harper screaming all afternoon, made her reconsider working in your department. “Their name is Mac, they are highly efficient, and I think you two are a perfect match, if I do say so myself.” Skylar smiles at herself, one thing that didn’t make you feel easier about her springing this on you, but if she seriously is this worried to assign you a whole person to help you regulate your work, sure? Why not?

“Okay, so are they an intern, regular worker? One of your new-hires, you think, can keep up?” You leaned up and crossed your arms in your desk chair. Skylar moved herself while talking to you, opening the blinds of your office window to let more light in as she spoke.

“Mac worked with me on another project, you know, when I had to redesign the company website. Having to walk around gathering pictures of everyone and asking everyone for the “Meet the staff” post?” You nod.

“Yeah, you popping up randomly to take candid photos for the website was a fun game, everyone was on edge, hoping you wouldn’t take shit photos.” She giggles and comes to stand at your side. She places her hands on your shoulders and applies slight pressure. Enough to bring warmth through your body, with a gentle squeeze, her eyes beam with warmth and genuine care.

“Well, Mac was the one who helped me with everything! They’re super understanding and nice! You two would work perfectly together! Plus…they’re a cutie.” A cheeky grin blossoms on her face as you look at her with a slight warmth in your face. “Since when was that a qualifying attribute?” Skylar shrugs and removes her hands from your shoulders, leaving them less tense. “Oh, you know… it helps when you're next to a cutie doing some hard work. Feels more rewarding, am I right?” she smiles, seeing you huff and shake your head.

“Be a skeptic all you want! But you two are perfect for this quarter’s project! It’s only a few weeks of work together, and who knows! You could have a brand-new friend after this…or something much more [Name]!”

“You sound like Penelope.” Your words cut down on her happily drawn up delusion, but Skylar was already used to your nature bouncing it off, like water off a duck's back. She clears her throat and smiles. “Anyways, I already gave Mac your details, email, work phone, name, etc. You’ll meet them tomorrow at 10 AM on the dot! I know you’re never late, but I’d personally hate for that once in a million chance to happen, got it?” You tilt your head as she awkwardly maneuvers back to your main office door, carefully making sure not to damage your carefully orchestrated chaos.

“Alright fine, I’ll play nice, but if they bite first then I will too.” You grin and watch her stroll out of your office.

“Wouldn’t expect less of you! You know I’m rooting for you!” and with that, Skylar was out of your office. After almost 5 years of being friends, it was nice that she cared so much. You glance at the clock on your office wall, it was getting close to clock-out time, you stretch again, cracking your joints once more before standing and packing up your work for today, and tidying up your space for your new “assistant” or project partner. However, Skylar’s words made you smile a little to yourself, an innocent, giddy smile. If her words spring true, then hopefully the next few weeks will flow perfectly fine.

[serena-babes]

Hazbin hotel random headcanons

super unedited ⋆⭒˚.⋆

honestly wrote these off of the top of my head it's the most random assortment of people.

Lucifer, Charlie, Alastor, Vaggie, Angel, Husk, Sir pentcious, Adam

⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢⋆ ๋𓂃✦༢

Lucifer:

 He most definitely Drinks milk at dinner every night and I'm not talking a little glass I'm TALKING A GLASS a chalice even, filled TO THE BRIM, every night without fail.

(sorry to my milk drinkers) 

Either texts every two seconds or doesn't text at all there is zero in-between 

I dont know what it is but I feel like he doesn't season his food

An animal cracker is the most seasoned thing he has had in years I just know it 

Knows how to tap dance scarily good 

Screams like a girl

Puts hair in rollers nightly and has the most CRAZY ASS skin routine ever

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Charlie: 

Hasent spelled restaurant correctly in years but was a straight A student 

Chronic energy drink drinker 

Has one of those custom blankets but it's just her and vaggie on it 

All of her socks are mitch matched 

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Alastor:

Knows Morse code and can't swim

Plays slipping sound effects whenever someone trips around the hotel and then giggles to himself like a little schoolgirl

Has a diary

The type to say “Seems like we've gotten ourselves into a pickle” 

Cannot balance on one foot 

Probably heard dubstep one time and had a seizure 

Seasons his food CORRECTLY 

Either a “I shower once a week that's good enough” or a bubble bath with oils and rose petals everyday type of guy 

“Erm actually!”

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Angel:

Can't do math

Says womp womp in the most serious convos 

Bangs head on doors all the time due to height 

Phone addiction BAD 

Will only drink drinks if they are fruity He is the type to have to flavor their water 

Has the most IMMACULATE music taste

Chronic gossiper 

Uses :3 religiously 

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Husk:

Also says womp womp at the ABSOLUTE WORST TIMES

Got beat by Angel so hard during uno one time and still holds a grudge

Black coffee every morning 

Cannot cook I already know it 

STRONG cologne scent 

Thinks texting is the stupidest thing ever 

After a long hard day, he goes home to go watch old Western movies

Wears wife beater tank tops religiously 

Idk hes pretty chill not much to say about him 

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Vaggie: 

Goes to bed at 8:30pm SHARP

Needs glasses

Is REALLY good at cooking 

Secretly enjoys fighting with people online (stan wars on twitter) 

Washes face with some random soap and somehow its always perfect 

Drinks Gatorade chronically 

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Adam:

HEAVY BREATHER even when hes not doing anything IT IS CONSTANT 

Would call people slurs nonchalantly 

Really bad at reading 

ALSO cannot swim

ALSO has a diary and writes in it nightly

Elon musk supporter

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

Sir Pentcious:

(is that how you spell his name..?”

Eats cup mac and cheese every day

Scared of balloons

Loves those baby sensory videos with the peas and fruits 

Basically an engineer 

SO GOOD at just dance 

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹

[kiankiwi]

Happy PapaBro Day!

Summary: TK has to work fathers day and races home before Jonah's bedtime to spend what little time of the day is left with his baby.

***

TK knew as soon as his alarm went off, today would be a bad day. He was looking forward to today. His first Fathers Day. It was supposed to be a very special day. And he was expected to show up to a shift. How incredibly unfair is that.

And yes, technically Jonah was his brother. But now, because of Enzo going to prison, now it was up to TK to raise Jonah. And he became his PapaBro.

The entire day TK was grumpy, sad looking and skulking no matter what they were doing. Nancy had to keep telling him to drop the 'kicked puppy,' look. And he tried, he really did. But Owen wasn't even at the 126 anymore. Today was supposed to be special; but now it was just another 12 hour shift. Thankfully he knew he'd be promised he could run to his car at 6pm as long as they weren't out on a call.

Carlos knew TK was very upset not being able to spend the whole day with their Jonah Bear. His Jojo. His rugrat. So, throughout the day, he made sure to send his husband pictures of what they got up to throughout the day to show TK Jonah wasn't as sad as he thought he'd be about missing his day with his papabro. And to make him smile of course. That was Carlos's job. And he took pride in it. Not to mention he was very good at cheering TK up and making him smile.

That night, TK finally got home and rested his weary body against the shut front door. He closed his eyes and grounded himself as he stood there, focusing on the sounds of his adopted brother playing on the living room floor and his husband cooking something.

Carlos took the chance and greeted him with a kiss. "Hi husband. You okay?" Carlos asked with his signature furrowed brow. "Mmm, where is he?"

"Right in there, waiting for you. He insisted we make your favorite for dinner." Carlos said softly as he gestured to what he was cooking.

"Brisket and kugel?" TK asked, hopefully. "Of course baby. And Mac and cheese for little man. No go cuddle our son. Mijo!" He called to the busy toddler. "PapaBro is home!"

Jonah came running, ramming into TK's legs with open arms. "TK! HAPPY PAPABRO DAY!"

TK felt like he could breathe for the first time all day as he lifted his brother onto his hip. "Ooooooh, thank you sweet boy!" He said enthusiastically as he hugged his brother, cupping the back of his head and kissing his cheek. "I missed you today. Did you have fun with Carlos?" He asked, eyebrows raised, waiting for the little boys excited explanation of everything they did that day.

“YEAH! We got you flowers! See?!" He asked, his body turned as he pointed to a colorful assortment of flowers on the center of their set dinner table. "I do see! They're beautiful. Thank you!"

"And, and, and we colored and we watched Franklin. Then we played. Carlos was the police car and I was you!” He said, meaning he played with his firetruck. “And I made you a card! Do you want to see?!” Jonah asked, eyes bright and hopeful.

“How about we wait till after dinner buddy, I had a long day and I really need some snuggles. How about that?” Jonah nodded, a big grin set on his face as he hugged onto TK’s neck fiercely. 

“Alright bud, let’s get cozy.” TK said as he set his brother on the couch and covered them both with their favorite cozy blanket. But Jonah didn’t stay put, he immediately snuggled into his PapaBro’s side, smiling up at his TK. “Hi.” 

“Hi bud. I love you. I’m so glad you’re here…”

“Me too papabro. Love you forever.” He said quietly as he snuggled in, immediately relaxing into his brothers side. 

***

Happy fathers day to TK Strand and Carlos Reyes! This fic is dripping with fluff and I hope you love it!

@pimento-playing-hopscotch

[romana-after-dark]

Rooms on Fire: Crystalline

Dark!Santiago Garcia x Fem!Reader Dark!Francisco Morales x Fem!Reader Dark!William Miller x Fem!Reader Dark!Benjamin Miller x Fem!Reader

Also: FishBen, and an assortment of other M/M relationships (no Millercest). Everyone is Bisexual

Series Masterlist: Main Masterlist : MainTaglist

Spotify playlist

Summery: Madonna is blissfully unaware of the world around her.

Warnings and Content:

DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT

DUB CON MOSTLY but there WILL BE NON CON. Major character deaths, forced breeding, physical abuse, brainwashing, manipulation, violence, gore, alcoholism/addiction, BIG OLE BLASPHEMY WARNING like this cult appropriates a lot of religious themes and they call reader their Madonna, Santi is called the Pope, like all that stuff. However, this is a cult so I mean. It happens. None of it are my thoughts on religion or meant to make fun of religion or demonize religious people. Disgusting views on virginity. Attempted rape outside the boys. T*m warning. Age gap. Creepy terrible men. Non-reader rape, dub con, violence. Covert incest, massive mommy issues, sexual abuse all around, past grooming by parental figure. no CSA but the victim isn't much older. some Bates Motel type shit. I cannot properly warn you for everything, without just telling the story but consider this a major warning that there are dark dark themes. No one involved here is morally clean, and who you perceive as the good guy cannot be relied on. Don't come to my story and say im romanticizing these things until at least the story ends.

WARNINGS HAVE BEEN UPDATED!!!

Extra warnings for chapter: Pregnancy, uuuhhhhhhhh mostly fluff and angst but not bad angst. kinda break up? pushing an shoving and shit. implied violence.

2.8k words

"Do you always trust your first initial feeling? Special knowledge holds true, bears believing I turned around and the water was closing all around like a glove Like the love that had finally, finally found me Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you"~Crystalline, Fleetwood Mac

“Ow.”

Frankie whimpers as Will tends to his wounds, shirtless in Will’s med room. William found him in here, trying to disinfect his arm from the bites.

“It’s alright, I’m almost done.” He wrapped Francisco up in gauze, gentle hands on the shaking man. 

“Please don’t tell Ben…”

Will sighs, finishing up his job. “He doesn’t talk to me anyway. But Frank, listen.” He looked at Francisco earnestly. “Santi’s catching on. You’ve gotta be more careful.”

Francisco shook his head. “There’s no being careful. There’s no nothing. I’m not… we’re not…” He sighs. “I can’t keep doing this. It’s gonna get Ben killed.”

Although looking sympathetic, there was a soft smile on Will’s face. “That’s why I’ve always liked you, Frank. Someone’s gotta look out for him.”

“You still do, he just doesn’t know it.”

“C’mere.” Will beckoned, bringing Frankie close with his large hand entangling in his brown locks. Will hugged him, then pulled away just enough for a kiss. “You’re a good man, Francisco.”

He kissed back, but refused to compliment. “No… I’m not, I can’t stand up to Santi, I can’t have Ben the way I want I can’t protect Madonna-”

A deep kiss interrupted Frankie, Will’s broad, firm body pressing him up against the counter. “You’re protecting them both, you’re doing the right thing.” Will cupped Frankies face, towering over him. Francisco couldn’t help falling into him, submitting to his strength, his power, his dominance. Will brought his hand down, cupping Frankie’s length through his sweats and stroking him to full hardness. “You’re taking care of them, and I’m going to take care of you.”

Francisco whimpered, relaxing against the counter as he closed his eyes, sinking into Will’s presence.

“T-Thank you…”

*

“You’re improving a lot.” Santiago compliments you. He sat in his usual spot, watching you paint your latest project. You’d seen it a few nights ago, Francisco in a flower crown, smiling with his eyes closed with Pope behind him, kissing his neck. Pope was very pleased with this most recent project, coming to watch you every day. He must really be proud of you. 

Sipping his wine, he smiled at you from over his glass. This was your special time together, and you always looked forward to it. You were starting to show just a little, and you frequently caught him staring at your stomach.

“Thank you, Pope.” You giggle, adding color to the flowers in Francisco’s hair. Blue, yellow, red, white. 

Pope didn’t touch you sexually, he hadn’t since you learned you were pregnant. There was no need, he said, but he still kissed you, still held you, his hands caressing your stomach. You’d made him proud, and that’s what mattered. That’s all you’d wanted to do since you were a child.

*

“Are you going to talk to me?” Will asked his brother, but Ben didn’t turn around. He was doing target practice with his arrows. There was a limited amount of guns and Ben liked to know he could make long distance shots to protect the house if needed.

“Ben, come on. I thought we moved past this when I saved your fucking life.”

He turned around, lowering his bow. “You were protecting Madonna, not me.”

Will rolled his eyes. “She’s not here, we don’t gotta pretend.”

“I’m not? What are you talking about?”

Benny looked genuinely… confused. “You don’t remember what happened at the announcement?”

Ben scoffed, when back to shooting. “Of course I fucking do. See, this is the problem with you! You always doubt me!”

“Ben, someone tried to shoot you, one of your psycho little girlfriends because you can’t keep it in your pants even thought you’ve got 2 dicks and a pussy you’re fucking married too, but that’s not enough-”

Ben swung around again, this time pointing his arrow at Will. “Don’t fucking act like I’m stupid!”

Did Ben actually not know what happened? The lie was his idea… “Okay… okay I’m sorry.”

“Melody tried to kill Madonna because she was jealous! That’s it! Nothing else happened!”

“I didn’t say anything did…”

In a fit, Ben growled and for a moment Will wondered if he was about to get shot again, but instead Ben broke his bow and arrow over his knee. Screaming, he threw it on the ground and stomped until they were just sticks. Ben stormed off.

*

You lay on top of Francisco in your meadow, kissing on him gently, soft and sweet. His poor lip was healing finallly. Francisco stopped you when you go to unbutton his green shirt. You look down at him curiously. 

“Oh, do you not want me? I guess I’m pregnant already, I can-” You move to get off him, embarrassed. Maybe he didn’t like your body as you gained weight? Maybe he just didn’t see a reason to fuck you. Maybe he didn’t like you again…

“Stay, please.” Francisco kissed you deeply, his cock twitching in his pants. “I just… I want my shirt on, please… ”

“Oh, of course…” You pat his tummy, wondering if maybe he shared some of your insecurities. He was certainly the fluffiest of the four, but you absolutely adored the way he looked, his body was perfect to you. “I think you’re… so, so handsome, you know that, right?” you weren’t good at flirting, even this made your face grow warm, but you wanted him to know how much you loved him. 

Frankie blushes. “Thank you, but I’d rather keep the shirt on… if that’s okay…”

You kiss his sweet, pouty lower lip with a little peck, considerate of his bite. “Anything for you, my perfect husband.”

You made love in the meadow, trees and flowers and birds and bee’s, all of nature surrounding you, all of heaven and earth shining their approval.

*

Ben stumbled into Frankie’s room, loudly, making the older man just in his bed. He was asleep on his stomach, and the noise scared the absolute shit out of him

“Frankie!” He raised his hands, shouting.

“JESUS Benjamin, what the hell!” He gets out of bed, wide awake now. He was wearing a shirt, no buttons. “Are you-” Francisco turned on his light and cupped Ben’s face. “You’re drunk again? What the fuck Benjamin!”

Not in the mood for a lecture, Ben stumbled forward and gripped Francisco’s hair, yanking him forward into a bruising kiss. For a moment, Francisco melted into him. He didn’t care that his lip throbbed, or that his shoulder and arm still hurt to move. He didn’t care about what he was supposed to be doing. He just wanted Ben, his handsome, sweet, fun, goddamnhestall husband, Ben. He kissed him back.

But then he felt his cock, free of any constraint hardening, and he remembered. He’d not supposed to be fucking Ben like this anymore. 

Frankie gently nudged him back, but Ben didn’t stop, moving to kiss his neck, holding him close. 

“Benjamin, we can’t-”

“We can.” Ben sucked a hickey into his skin, spitting into his hand to stroke Francisco. “You and me, Frankie. We belong together.” Although slurring just a bit, Ben’s voice was deep, gravely with need, dark and hungry and oh-so spine tingling.

“But…” frankie protested between kisses, making no real attempted to move away as he licked into Ben’s mouth, tasting the whiskey on his tongue. “Santi… Madonna…”

Ben spat his words. “Fuck ‘em. They don’t matter, only you matte Frankie. Only you.” 

He wanted to believe that, he did… he couldn’t. “Is that why you still fuck both of them?”

“I have to, you know that-” Ben sucked on his tongue, fighting the urge to nibble at his lip, make his own mark.

“Do you ‘have to’ fuck every woman in Delta?”

Ben shoved him so hard he stumbled back, it took a second for him to realize what happened. 

Francisco blinked, then with a puff of his chest he shoved Ben back, making him fall into a side table. When Ben looked up, his blue eyes were large and wet. Frankie wanted to run to him, apologize, help him up… but he needed this to end. Ben wasn’t going to run away with him, and messing around with Benjamin, even if he was the one he wanted, was going to get Ben killed. Francisco couldn’t stand to let that happen.

“This needs to stop, Ben. I’m not doing this anymore.”

From on the floor, the 6’3 strongman man looked small, weak, vulnerable. Francisco’s heart shattered as he screamed. “GET OUT!” He took hold of his shirt in both fists and shoved him the rest of the way out the door.

Frankie locked out the other half of his heart.

*

You sigh constantly, sinking further into the water. Will just got done washing your hair, and now he was giving you a soothing milk bath, even putting flower petals in it. Knelt beside you, he had a super soft washcloth and was simply using it to run warm water over your body. He put lavender in the water, commenting that he thought had more left. Not wanting to lie you tell him the truth, that you and Rey found it you used it on Pope. You apologize for going through his things for spilling it. Will said it was totally okay.

The pregnancy had gone pretty smooth, so far no problems but you were having your usual sleep issues. You and Will developed a routine to help you sleep. Ever since he was shot, you’ve been sleeping in his bed. Now, he liked to give you a lavender bath before bedtime. He’d relax you, sometimes finger fuck you if you needed your mind cleared, then once you began nodding off he drained the water, patted you dry and then carried you to his room in a big towel. There, he dressed you in comfortable pj’s and tucked you in with him. It was nice, you felt safe, and best of all, no incubus.

“Such a pretty woman…” Will mutters, putting down the cloth to massage oils into your skin. It felt nice being pampered. 

You giggle. “Thank you.”

“Everything going good with the others?” Will always checked in on you, which you appreciated. He helped you navigate things in the house and with Pope especially. 

“Going great, thank you. Francisco seemed down there for a little but I think he’s cheered up.”

Will hummed in agreement. “I noticed that too, but you’re right, I think he’s happy now. Frankie had low moods sometimes, but he just needs a little patience and kindness when he does. And you give him that so well, thank you.” He kissed your forehead. “Such a good little wife.”

“And you’re such a good husband.” You tickle his arm, making him smile.

“Anything for my princess.”

*

Pope was gentle today.

Francisco was on his stomach, face pressed into the pillow trying to avoid tempting Pope with his mouth. 

“So fucking pretty…” He slowly thrust inside him, softening cockcovering itself in cum. He looked how Frankie looked with his cum leaking out. “Beautiful…”

Santi laid down beside Francisco, and Frankie was ashamed to say he took comfort in the touch. He wanted to hate Santi, but he couldn’t… he couldn’t hate a man he’d known his whole life, who he’d shared that life with day in, day out. They were never apart.

 “I’m so happy with you, Frank…” He kisses Frankie’s head, and Frankie can’t help but smile. He liked Santi’s kisses when he was being nice.

“I love you.”

It wasn’t a lie.

*

You squeal, dashing around the table to avoid Ben who chased after you with a cup of water in his hand. To be fair, you started the water fight, and now both of you were drenched in water, especially after he took out the kitchen spray in the sink and showered you. Ben laughed, giving chase but he slipped on a puddle, falling on his ass.

“Ben!” You gasp, laughing still as he disappears behind the table, and you run around to check on him. Big mistake.

“BOO!”

“AH!!”

Ben threw his cup of water at you, drenching you all over again. You dump your water on his head and then make a mad dash to get more. You weren’t above getting him while he’s down.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ben scrambles up, scooping you up as you scream and laugh, carrying you to the sink.

“BEEEEN!” You playfully smack at his chest, putting up a pretend fight. “What are you doing!!”

“Winning!” Benny placed you in the empty sink and turning on the faucet over your lap. 

He doesn’t see it coming when you grab the sprayer.

*

Will heard the shouting from Frankie’s room. Jesus, they were not subtle. It wasn’t until he heard the crash he knew they weren’t fucking. Getting up to investigate, he was just in time to see Ben getting his ass thrown out of Frankie’s room. Standing in the hall, he watched Ben, clearly drunk, curl up in a ball on the floor and cry.

Ben didn’t want much to do with Will, not as a brother. Although they worked well together in matters revolving around their family, their community, their woman, Ben didn’t want the closeness and friendship they used to share. Will had hoped after he was shot, Ben would throw his jealousy aside, that he would see that Will loved him and for a moment, he did. When Will was shot, Ben stayed at his side, crying even though the shooter was still at large. He risked his life for him, even with Frankie screaming and pulling at him. Ben helped patch him up, not trusting Iris.

Now Ben was back to Ben, a sad, alcoholic slut.

Will knelt by his sobbing brother’s side, pulling him into his strong arms. Will loved Frankie, but right now Frankie wasn’t his husband. He was the man that broke his baby brother's heart.

“It’s gonna be okay, Benny. It’s gonna be okay.”

*

You sat on the counter, watching with joy as Reyansh poked at Iris, wrapping his arms around her and swaying. He’d been trying to cheer her up after she’d hovered over him and his black eye. Reyansh said it was standard sparring training for the guards and someone got a good shot in, and Jonah confirmed this, but Iris still fussed over him.

“C’mooooon, smile. Baby.”

“No, I’m grumpy.” But a smile was slipping. 

Jonah appears in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “Sing to her, that’s a guarantee.”

“Oooohohoho no you don’t!” Iris poked at his chest. “That’s cheating!” Iris was a sucker for Rey’s singing.

It was too late. “Love’n you, is it the riiiigh thing to dooooo”

“Reeeeeey”

He turned her around to face him, and she was already smiling. “How can I, ever change things that I feeeeeeeel!”

She giggled as Rey spun her around. “You know this is my favorite! It’s not fair.”

“If I could, baby I’d give you my world!”

Jonah approached you. Things had still been awkward, but the way Jonah protected you at the shooting made you know for sure that he still cared about you. He held out a hand.

Rey took Iris’s hands, doing the twist with her. You liked how Iris’s curls moved around. She was always pretty, but god, when she smiled. You saw why Rey loved her.

“HOW CAN I WHEN YOU WON”T TAKE IT FROM MEEEE!”

You take Jonah’s hand and as soon as you hop down, he swings you around, paying attention to making sure you didn’t hit anything.

Jonah and Rey both sing, very loudly. “YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAAAAYYYYYY!”

Iris echo’d them “GO YOUR OWN WAAAAaaaaaayyy”

Jonah picked you up and spun you around, rey twirled Iris. “YOU CAN CALL IT ANOOOOOOTHER LONELY DAAYAYAYAYY”

“ANOTHER LONELY DAYYAYAYAYAY”

Reyansh took your hand, linking your arms and Jonah scooped up Iris and spun her.

“YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAYYYY”

You sang with Iris “GO YOUR OWN WAAYYY”

Rey sang the rest of the song, you all took turns dancing. You didn’t dare try to dance with Iris, but to your surprise, she took you in her arms, pulling you close and dancing with you too. She smelled like wildflowers.

*

Earlier that day…

Rey was whistling down the hall as usual. Today was a good day. It was bright and sunny out, and Iris had a surprisingly low work load. She even agreed to spend the night in his room, which, outside of the potential benefits, meant he got to hold her all night. What more could he ask for in life?

Oh! And he saw Frankie outside gardening, and maybe they shared a blunt. What about it! Yeah, he was in a great mood.

“Saha? A word?” Will’s voice called behind him. Rey rolled his eyes before turning around. Great, this guy. 

Rey out on a fake smile and turned around. “What can I do for you.”

Will was standing with his hands tucked into his pockets, a small smile on his face, but it wasn’t comforting, not like Jonah’s smile.

“Was talking to The Madonna last night, she said you helped her break into my room to get my oils?”

AAHHHHHHHHHH thank you so much for sticking with me!!! I'm so happy to have you!!!!

If you enjoy this, you may enjoy Awakening over at my main @romanarose! I have a commission to do, (IronPope!!) but then im gonna REALLY try and crack down on the last chapter. lots of bisexuality, ironpope,fishben, and the sweetest orgy you've ever read

If you're in the "I wanna fuck Jonah" club, I wrote a commission that is NON CANON with pre ROF Jonah, non-madonna reader and Marcus (david harbour), where you're fucking both of them <3 the actions arent cnon but the insights into the characters are!

Madonna and Iris. Alicia is shipping it! What do you think?

Please consider joining me in in donating to humanitarian aid in Rafah through Doctors Without Borders

LOVE YOU ALL!

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If I forgot someone or you'd like to be added/removed LMK!

[quitealotofsodapop]

Assorted LMK headcanons cus im busy with new years stuff rn;

Macaque will deliberately use australian slang he's learned from Jade-Face and the Gold & Silver twins to torment Wukong. Especially if done in a fake aussie accent, he loves the pained look on Wukong's face as he tries to decipher what the heck Mac just said.

Red Son was a LOUD baby. Like, crying all the time colicky baby. PIF and DBK had many a sleepless, self-hating nights thinking they were doing something wrong. Later it was discovered that hosting the Samadhi Fire was like an intense chronic pain for baby Red. One of the reasons he lashed out at others as a toddler was because he was in physical pain from the power affixed to his tiny-underdeveloped soul. Once the Samadhi Fire was removed, Red Son canonically knocked straight to sleep - chronic pain do be making you sleepy.

+Sadly this also means that Ao Lie was riddled with chronic burning joint pain in his later life from absorbing a fourth of the Fire. He was very good at hiding it. Mei starts to develop odd burning aches in her mid-twenties and isn't sure why.

Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King did in fact have a huge break-up/separation prior to his imprisonment. It was a arguement over Red Son being trained in the Southern Ocean by Guanyin. DBK wanted to tear the place apart to get his son back and begin the glorious expansion of their domain. PIF knew that this wouldn't go down well with Heaven and the Bodhisattvas, and argued that they could just ask for Red Son and... settle down together, no royal fixings required (hmm, parallels to another pairing anyone >:3?). Be a happy old couple outside the Flaming Mountain. But DBK didn't want that (at least right then), he wanted the world to recognise that his family had been done great injustices by Heavens and others for too long. He wanted his Queen to recieve even a tenth of her birthright as a Celestial Princess, and wanted his child to be recognised as an heir of the Jade Throne. As her husband charged off to make his intentions known to the world; PIF called up a certain monkey to do something she would regret for many centuries to come...

PIF is a lot more perceptive of the cruelty that the Heavens can bestow than she lets on.

If Spider Queen had kept her husband captured on New Years for even a minute longer, than PIF would have called up old contacts to bring the wrath of the Buddha onto her. She didn't appear in-story because she was busy organising a raid party.

+Also the reason why nobody in the Celestial Realm said anything/pretended not to notice when the MKrew showed up. Many of the guards were on standby if the Spider Queen decided to do her own Havoc in Heaven once she had SWK captured. A lot of the royal family was hiding in their own palaces waiting for an all-clear.

[opheliajupiter99]

MLP Broodmother Virus: Coming Up Golden

Applebloom: *Sniffles as she lays on her bed. Her big sister had confined her to her room, out of a desire to keep her safe. She believed her, even as far gone as she'd gotten, Applejack always had, at least what she believed, to be her family's best interests at heart. She laid there for goodness knows how long, when suddenly, a thunderous crash could be heard outside, the tearing of wood and metal filling the air. Not long after, she heard the locks beyond her door clicking, and the door opened, revealing Granny Smith. Applebloom quickly rushed to her and hugged her tightly* Granny! Granny Smith: *Hugged her back briefly, before pulling away* No time to talk, sweetie-pie, we gotta get goin'. Ya loon of a sister's busy with ya brother, so we gotta skedaddle. Applebloom: *Frowned, but nodded, following after Granny as they quickly headed down the steps, the sounds of wood and metal crashing rattling through the house once again as they gathered up their things and rushed outside. Applebloom at first kept her eyes down to the ground, but as she did so, she saw an enormous shadow shrouding both of them, and looked up instinctively, her eyes widening at what she saw* King Manchineel: *What was once Big Mac had become a towering monster, the crashing sound heard coming from his enormous form bursting forth from the barn he'd been housed in, the roof torn asunder. His already impressive strength had been increased tenfold amongst his insectoid changes, his mandible-like jaws clacking together, splatters of blood visible across his face, then let out a high-pitched shriek* Granny Smith: *Winced at the shriek, shaking her head and keeping her gaze forward* Don't look, darlin'! Just keep movin'! Applebloom: *Did as she was told, tears falling down her cheeks as her and Granny made it to one of the carts, Granny quickly fixing a cow into place at the front, where Big Mac would usually pull the cart, the pair hopping into the back with their belongings and heading off as quick as they could manage down a forest trail* Goldie Delicious: *Meanwhile, the elderly cousin of the Apple Family, was tucked away in her battered little hut, barely visible amongst the small hills of assorted junk and debris. Of course, anyone that knew her well knew the hut had been in this state long before the Copycat's arrived. She'd been relatively untouched by the invasion, her horde of cats proving a surprising deterrent to any that grew close. Besides, the Copycat's didn't want worn out mares like her, for food or host, so they hardly showed up regardless. But her peaceful existence was rocked a bit by the sound of a cart approaching, the mare pushing aside some pots and pans as she headed to the front door and swung it open, some of her cats clammering outside as she did so* Granny Smith: *Her and Applebloom arrived at the worn hut after what felt like an eternity of travel, hopping out from the back with a huff* Come on out now Applebloom, we're safe now. Applebloom: *Eyes were reddened, and her cheeks soaked, from crying nearly the entire ride, rubbing a hoof over her features as she rose her head to look at Granny. On the inside, Granny herself wasn't much better, but she had to be strong for the filly's sake. She hopped from the back of the cart, clip-clopping up beside Granny as she looked up at her* Granny? Granny Smith: Ya, sweetie? Applebloom: Is Big Mac...still there? Or is he...really, -really- gone? Granny Smith: *Sighs* I don't righty know, darlin'. But whether he is or not, he ain't safe to be around no more, ya understand? Applebloom: *Hangs her head, rubbing at her eyes once more* I...I guess so. *She looked to Goldie, who was still stood in the doorway, an empathetic look upon her features as she stayed quiet, to let the two talk* How long we gonna be stayin' with Goldie? Granny Smith: As long as we gotta, dear, as long as we gotta.

[ladylooch]

Timo and Liv going on a daddy daughter date and some girl keeps flirting with Timo and Liv is not having it. She keeps telling daddy how mama is at home and she can’t wait to see her. Then she tells the girl flirting with her daddy that she has a mama and she doesn’t need a new one.

Liv’s tiny legs swing back and forth from the big chair where she is sitting across the table from her dad. She has on sparkly, pink sneakers and a purple dress along with her faux diamond crown. She wanted a princess date with daddy and that’s what she is getting for her belated 5th birthday. 

“Can I have mac and cheese?” She asks from where she is coloring on her kid’s menu.

“Anything you want, baby.” Timo muses. His face is propped in his hand, staring across the table at his little-big girl. He can’t believe how old she looks all dressed up. Emma put a little pink lipstick on her because it’s a special occasion. Timo is dressed in a game day suit, silk tie tight at his Adam’s apple, and Dior sneakers on his feet. 

Liv looks up from her red steaks of crayon, beaming at her dad.

“I like today.” She proclaims.

“Me too.” Timo murmurs. “I missed you on your birthday.”

“We talked.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t the same though. Soon I’ll be there for every birthday.” Timo concludes. He knows his final season is closing in on him. 

“Next year, can we go on a trip?”

“Maybe. We’ll ask mommy when it gets closer.”

“Okay.” Liv nods, resuming her coloring. 

“Here are the drinks.” The waitress sets the glasses down, giving Timo his beer and Liv her Sprite with a lid and straw. She grabs it immediately, sucking up two big gulps, immediately hiccuping. 

“Are you okay?” Timo asks. She nods eagerly. 

“Aw, you’re such a sweet daddy.” The woman murmurs, not taking her eyes from Timo. He chuckles.

“She makes it easy.”

“Is she your only one?”

“Ah, no we have four total. But she is the only girl. We are celebrating her birthday.”

“Happy birthday, hun.” Liv frowns, looking between the woman and her dad. 

“It’s adorable that you got all dressed up for her big day too.”

“She loves dress up.” Timo says.

“It’s a great look for you.”

“Thank you. She picked my outfit out.” He motions to Liv.

“You have wonderful taste, hun.”

“My mama picked it.” Liv informs her. They spent 45 minutes in her parent’s closet this morning finding the perfect assortment together. Emma had told her they should go with blues to match the wintery season and daddy’s eyes.

“Are we wanting to put food in right away?”

“Yes.” Liv blurts. “I want mac and cheese.”

“Okay!” The waitress begins scribbling on her pad. “Some mac and cheese for the birthday girl.”  

“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries.” Timo smile politely, handing over both menus. The woman blushes a bit, sending a spark of irritation down Liv’s spine. Her little eyes narrow at the back of the woman as she walks away.

“Mama is at home.” She tells her father, blue eyes slightly worried. 

“She is.” Timo confirms. Liv frowns, looking back at the waitress across the restaurant. She stands with another person, looking over at their table with interested eyes. Liv scrunches her nose. “I can’t wait to see her.”

“Me too. She’ll be there when we get back. No rush.” Timo insists. “Do you think you can finish the maze on one try?” He points to the left side of her sheet. Liv pauses, studying it. It looks hard. She is uncertain as she returns her dad’s identical blue gaze. “Remember last time? We talked about tracing with our finger first from the bottom.” Together, they work through the maze. By the time they find the full path, their food is here.

“Okay! How is everything looking?” The waitress returns.

“Good. Baby, do you need anything else?” Timo asks Liv.

“No. And I have a mama. I don’t need a new one.” She snaps. Timo’s eyes widen and he purses his lips against a laugh. Emma’s mini has her fiery passion.

“Ooookay. Then I guess we don’t need anything else. Thank you.” Timo pauses for the waitress to leave before he returns his gaze to his daughter.

“I don’t like her.” 

“Livy, that’s not nice.”

“She looks at you funny. Mama wouldn’t like it.”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Timo chuckles. “You her little sidekick? Keeping daddy safe?”

“Yeah.” She murmurs, reaching for her spoon.

“Careful, that is going to be hot.” Timo warns her, watching the steam raise up from the cheesy goodness. “You better give daddy a bite of that to check it.” Liv pushes the bowl to her dad who takes a huge bite.

“Way too hot. I should eat the whole thing.”

“No!” Liv giggles, reaching for the bowl, going on her knees to get better access. Timo scoops up a spoonful blowing on it, then putting it into his daughter’s mouth. “Mmm!” She squeals. 

Liv eats half her bowl of Mac and cheese at Timo’s request before her birthday brownie and ice cream is set in front of her. She even gets a candle too. She is so excited to tell her mom about their day. She can’t help but shovel her food down the hatch in eagerness. She babbles her dad’s ear off in the Porsche on the way home. Timo smiles the entire time, enjoying the time with his daughter that he doesn’t get near enough of. Liv barrels through the door of the mudroom when they are home.

“Hi!” Emma exclaims, seeing Liv bounce into the living room. “How was your date?”

“Good. But the food lady was flirting with daddy.” Liv confesses immediately. Emma raises her eyes to her husband. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, she was a little friendly.” Timo murmurs, leaning down to kiss Emma’s lips. “Liv set the record straight that mama was at home waiting for us.” Emma bites on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

“You keeping daddy safe, Livy girl?”

“Mhm.” She says, nuzzling into her mom’s chest. Emma wraps her arms around her daughter, kissing her head around her crooked crown. Liv sighs contently. Timo brushes his hand over their daughter’s back, then heads to check on Lio doing homework at the table. “Daddy said we could go to Disney next year for my birthday.” Liv whispers a little white lie to her mama. 

“Oh? Okay.” Emma chuckles, knowing immediately that did not happen. “We’ll talk about it next year.” 

[brigitoshaughnessy]

MacGyver 1985 || Assorted Episodes

Mac and Assorted Faces [ 1 ], [ 2 ]

[deityoftherain]

blossoming appreciation - skizzb in my fallen stars au

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64203943

Rating: Mature

Relationship: M/M

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Status: Completed Oneshot

Word Count: 6,089

Summary:

It had been about a month since Skizz and BigB had started seeing each other, and it was fantastic. At least, it was when Skizz would actually communicate with BigB instead of hiding his issues, burying them so deep he's doomed to not heal from his pain. BigB, the generous soul he is, does his best to help his new lover, Skizz would just have to be willing to take it.

Please interact here or on AO3 if you enjoy the fic! Full fic under the cut.

It had only been maybe a month since BigB entered Skizz’s life, and Skizz struggled to comprehend how he managed to function before him. A measly four weeks felt like several lifetimes as they spent every spare moment together, and Skizz couldn’t be more enthused about it.

Besides, it wasn’t like Skizz had anywhere better to spend his time. When he wasn’t warming BigB’s bed, he was living out of his car or selling drugs or doing whatever other odd jobs he could for some extra cash. Not exactly the most fun sorts of things to fill his life with.

He’d stopped gambling, sure, and he had paid off most of his monetary debts, but… money wasn’t the only thing Skizz wagered. He wasn’t so foolish– despite what people thought about him– that he falsely believed his impulsive urges had a bottomless budget! Skizz adapted years ago, throwing money into the pot, yes, but also favors and other assorted IOUs– ‘I owe you’ contracts. 

Skizz was a valuable asset to most, taking note of his big and muscular build. He was a tool to be used in more ways than one, and he allowed it, needing to pay off all debts he accrued. Skizz had functioned in such a way for years, and it worked for him, so the gambling wasn’t that bad, but… but maybe it was, considering his old flame… never mind that. Point was, Skizz still had old IOUs lingering in his wake, waiting to be cashed in at any point, and dropping off the face of the earth for his other gigs would only anger people. Dealing with the sort of people he hung out with when they were angry led to much more violence than Skizz would care to admit.

Not that he would ever inform BigB of such things, of course. He didn’t want to lose him after his generosity so far, nor did he want to find where the outer bounds of that generosity were. Skizz danced his way around BigB’s inquiries of his home and past, and he took what BigB could give him out of necessity. He showered and fed himself most days at BigB’s apartment, but Skizz didn’t take without having something to give back in return. Skizz ensured that he made BigB feel good when they fell into bed together– repaying the debt in one of the many ways he knew how.

It wasn’t like sex was difficult, and Skizz enjoyed it well enough. It was one of the easier trades he had in his arsenal– whether that was for profit or debt purposes– and it wasn’t like he hadn’t given it away to plenty of others he didn’t care about as much as he cared for BigB in the past! Skizz hated to admit it, but sex was all he really could give to BigB. It wasn’t like he could fulfil the money, stability, or security aspects of their quickly growing relationship, as much as he wished he could. BigB was simply better than him, and Skizz had made peace with that, but Skizz still wanted to give BigB all he could. A fun time was a fun time, after all.

A grin grew on Skizz’s face as he whipped up some boxed mac-and-cheese while chicken nuggets cooked in the oven. His side gigs had been doing fairly well recently– though that was helped by the fact he wasn’t paying off monetary debts anymore– and Skizz wanted to give something more back to his lover that wasn’t just rough and fast sex, so he had gone to the store and picked up some groceries for dinner. It wasn’t that fancy of a meal, sure, but Skizz had never claimed to be a fantastic chef.

Skizz had BigB’s schedule pretty much memorized at this point, allowing him to guess when BigB would arrive home fairly accurately. His phone’s speakers announced the winning numbers of the lottery Skizz had bought tickets for, unable to resist the discounted price they were sold at to get rid of stock before the lottery numbers were rolled.

What? It wasn’t like he didn’t have the funds! Sure, he gave up gambling shortly after Impulse broke up with him, but lottery tickets were hardly gambling! Even if they were, gambling itself wasn’t the issue anyway.

…

Right?

Nope, not thinkin’ about this. He needed to pay attention to the numbers!

Skizz idly stirred the macaroni as he followed each number, only to not match halfway through. He sighed heavily once he verified he hadn’t won, disappointed but not unused to it. Skizz scooped up the lottery tickets and threw them away before returning to the meal.

By the time the lock on the door turned, announcing BigB’s arrival, Skizz had plated the chicken nuggets and cheesy macaroni for their consumption. 

Shortly after hanging up his keys and kicking off his shoes, BigB paused by the door. He then turned toward where Skizz was standing, eyes promptly flicking over to the meal on the dining table. A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, bashful and a little flattered. “So this is where you’ve been all day.”

“Well,” Skizz clicked his tongue, gaze darting to the table and then back again. “I can’t bother you at work all the time, and I figured I should treat you.” 

“I appreciate it, thank you.” BigB gave his gratitudes as they stepped closer to each other, exchanging a chaste kiss in greeting once they were in range.

Dinner didn’t bring much to report, BigB simply informing him on the latest café drama that Skizz had missed since he hadn’t visited today. It was silly and awfully cute– at least, Skizz thought so. The simple domesticity of sharing a meal as they discussed the mundane nature of the life they lived together ignited joyfully within Skizz, a sensation he had missed greatly between partners.

Honestly, with how the blissful evening was going, it was no wonder that they ended up heavily making out, Skizz pinning BigB against the wall as hands wandered under his shirt. His tongue explored BigB’s mouth, teeth occasionally nipping his bottom lip. BigB moaned against him, which only spurred Skizz to go faster and rougher as they gradually made their way to BigB’s bedroom. This was the terms of their exchange, and Skizz knew the script well.

Skizz thought he had anyway, but then BigB stopped him from removing his pants, breathing out a “Wait.” 

Of course, he froze, stopping what he was doing. Both Skizz and BigB’s chests heaved as their lungs attempted to regain air. They were breathing loudly, the extent more obvious now that the room fell otherwise silent. Skizz took in the soft sounds that escaped BigB’s lips and the feverish expression held on his face.

BigB tugged Skizz down toward him by his exposed shoulders, leading them through another kiss. This kiss was excruciatingly slow and drawn out, especially compared to their previous speed before. It tossed Skizz’s world upside down, an unusual sensation bursting within his chest. 

“What are you doing?” Skizz finally asked as BigB guided Skizz on his back, eyes wide and unsure. He was thrown out of his element, the usual script useless in such a careful setting.

“Appreciating you properly,” BigB murmured gently against Skizz’s skin, littering kisses and lovemarks along Skizz’s collarbone. He must have sensed Skizz’s unease, for he continued, “I enjoy our usual speed, don’t get me wrong, but I want to take my time to love on you as you deserve.”

Tears started to well in Skizz’s eyes as BigB continued exploring his body, words dying on his tongue. He didn’t know what to say nor did he know how to react. Usually he was on top, and he was the one putting in the work to make BigB feel good… the other way around was practically foreign to him.

“BigB,” Skizz tried, voice cracking and breathy. “You don’t need– I don’t deserve–” “I want to,” BigB insisted, unwavering and determined, “and you do. You deserve this, at the very least. You’re a good person, Skizz. You’re kind and silly and so much more– you’ve just gotten trapped in some bad situations, but that doesn’t make you a bad person.”

Tears flowed freely now as Skizz trembled under BigB’s painstakingly gentle touch. They hadn’t even done much yet, and Skizz still felt so undone by BigB’s hand. He wanted to disagree, put a voice to his mind pointing out every flaw in BigB’s sentiment, but he couldn’t get himself to say any of it. BigB didn’t need to be burdened with his negative thoughts like this. Skizz… Skizz didn’t want to scare BigB away. He knew enough, and, as expressed before, Skizz didn’t want to discover how much was too much. He didn’t want to lose yet another person he cared for so intensely.

Still though, Skizz knew he didn’t deserve this kindness. He didn’t deserve the privilege that came with this kind of care and intentionality after he fucked up his previous relationships so thoroughly. Bliss and confusion whirled within his mind, every nerve of his body on fire. He moaned out BigB’s name, mind hazy and torn and–

Just lose yourself in it, Skizz instructed himself, not wanting to ruin the moment, not wanting to upset the man he’d grown so fond of. Just enjoy it, even if it isn’t deserved. 

BigB was putting in all this effort, and Skizz didn’t want to have it all go to waste. It shouldn’t have been given in the first place, but Skizz was selfish, and he wanted it. He was going to take it, and he would take it again, even if guilt threatened to eat him alive. The guilt was worth it if it meant Skizz could keep BigB close, if he could not lose someone so precious again.

Emotions overwhelmed him, threatening to overflow and he didn’t know how to handle it. Unsure of what to do, Skizz did the only thing he really knew how to do well every time, and that was pulling BigB into a bear hug. He held him close to his chest, burying his face against the flesh of his neck. 

BigB was clearly caught off guard, assuming Skizz’s skills at reading body language were as good as he thought they were, but BigB never pushed away. Instead, he relaxed into the hold, which made Skizz’s heart flutter.

“I love you,” Skizz whispered against BigB’s neck, so soft that he wasn’t even sure if the words were comprehensible. He hadn’t meant to admit what he had felt in his heart just yet, not so soon, not wanting to scare BigB off…

BigB didn’t react, and Skizz allowed that to convince him that BigB hadn’t heard what he had said. Skizz wasn’t sure if that is what he wanted or not, but he didn’t dare repeat himself. He breathed out shakily, breath hot against BigB’s neck. He shivered in Skizz’s hold, propping himself up to gaze into Skizz’s blue irises. “I care about you, Skizz. Let me show you that, okay?”

Skizz knew his cheeks were flushed bright pink as he stared adoringly up at his lover. He gulped back, any words he could have spoken caught in his throat. He nodded in lieu of a response, and BigB let out a contented hum as he leaned back down. Their noses bumped against each other, BigB’s lips so close yet so far. “Good boy.” 

ʚ♡ɞ

BigB adored his family, and they adored him in return. They had always been there for him, supporting him and his dreams for as long as he could remember. When he had gotten his heart set on opening a café, they did all they could to help him. They were simply wonderful like that.

The Statz didn't come from money– the opposite, in fact. BigB’s great grandfather moved to the developing city of Astravega when he was just a teen with his family in search of better pay. They hadn’t had much to their name, but Great Grandpa Ben worked diligently to provide for his family, and his descendents followed in his footsteps. Being a hard worker and provider was the Statz family way, after all.

Their hardships only aided in growing them closer, supporting each other in times of need. It was something BigB took comfort in, grateful for the closeness of his family and knowing that he was never truly alone with them in his corner. He had plenty of fond memories baking with Grandma Roxanne and sitting with his parents as they drank their morning coffee and shadowing Grandpa Benji at work just to be close to him. Their family was whole and beautiful, and BigB couldn’t imagine a life without them.

That being said, they were known to hover. It shouldn’t be a surprise, as being nosy was in his blood. BigB hadn’t named the café Nosy Neighbors for no reason, after all.

“You should have a no drug policy,” Mama chimed in to him randomly, the decorations around her box braids clinking softly together as she moved.

“I already do.” BigB raised his eyebrow at her, confused. She would know that better than anyone, for she had helped with Nosy Neighbor’s policy creation, and they both had lived through Dad and Grandpa’s struggles to get clean from their assorted issues– some of those issues being substance abuse. “Employees know they aren’t allowed to come to work intoxicated.”

“I meant for the customers.” Mama crossed her arms over her chest, standing with her hip jutted out to one side like it often did when she was being sassy or judgemental. “We don’t need that shit in here. You know the addiction gene runs in our family.”

BigB exhaled a low breath, letting his eyes flutter close to compose himself. “I’m aware.”

And that was all he said, going back to his task of cleaning while he waited for another customer to approach the counter. 

“Aren’t ya gonna say something?” Mama raised an eyebrow with a pout. “Love, you know I just want what’s best for you. Having customers come in smellin’ like weed and such is just gonna scare away the middle class folks. Hate ‘em as much you like, they’re the ones with the most funds.”

“I can’t control what customers do, Ma.” BigB picked idly at his fingernails, not meeting her gaze. He loved her to death, don’t get him wrong, but she had a lot of opinions she needed to voice even if it wasn’t always the best place or time.

Debate creased her features. “I know that, but–”

“Missus Rachel!” one of the employees called for Mama from the back. “I can’t find the coffee beans you were wanting–”

Mama sighed deeply before stepping forward and placing a brief kiss against BigB’s forehead. “I better go help her.”

BigB opened his mouth to respond, but Mama continued on before he had the chance, waving her hand dismissively, “Maybe the scent of pastries and coffee covers the smell enough, anyway. I’m just always worried about this place, but you know how it is.”

And with that, she turned on her heel, leaving BigB with her words. For better or for worse, he did know how it was, which made him somewhat anxious. Was there truth to her words? BigB turned his attention to the tables seating customers, looking to see if any of them were actively smoking or had other signs of substance abuse. As much as he couldn’t control customers' actions, that sort of thing could drive a business into the ground. 

A soft smile graced his lips as his gaze fell upon his… he wanted to say boyfriend, but they hadn’t talked about the terms of their situationship. It just had… flowed into what it was today fairly naturally, and BigB was okay with taking it slow to enjoy these early relationship moments. They didn’t need to define what they had for it to be special.

His face heated up at the many memories of them very much not taking it slow by typical standards. His mind tempted him with fantasies of how they could spend their time later, but he shook his head, needing to focus on his work while he was clocked in.

Across from Skizz sat someone BigB didn’t particularly recognize– maybe one of Skizz’s friends? Tango, perhaps? Or Etho? Those were the names he vaguely recalled Skizz mentioning, though he hadn’t seemed to be on talking terms with them from what he had gathered. It’s good they were talking, then.

BigB was about to leave it at that, perhaps inquiring further for more details like the nosy person he was later after his self-assigned shift was over, but then physical money was passed across the table, followed by something promptly exchanged between them and hidden in the others’ bag.

That something likely being drugs, considering how swiftly it was hidden by the one with shifty eyes. They didn’t stay sitting as soon as the package was secure, rising to their feet and speeding out of the café. How… peculiar.

Honest to whatever gods were out there, BigB had wanted to leave it alone. As he told his mama, he couldn’t control customers, but… but this wasn’t just any customer, and BigB couldn’t resist being a little nosy when it came to him even though he tried to respect that Skizz often didn’t want to talk about it. He double checked that he didn’t have anyone waiting at the register before rounding the counter to approach his lover.

“BigB!” Skizz grinned, rising to his feet to meet BigB. They shared a kiss in greeting, Skizz’s blue eyes lighting up as BigB approached.

BigB almost found himself lost in them, drowning in the sheer excess of admiration Skizz seemed to radiate. It was clear from the first time they fucked that Skizz had a lot of love to give, as all consuming as the blazing sun, and BigB relished basking in his rays.

In lieu of a verbal answer, BigB took Skizz’s hand in his to lead him to the back, something he admittedly did far too frequently. It wasn’t his fault that Skizz spent hours at the tables while BigB worked, looking too damn fine for his own good. BigB was only human, and he couldn’t resist sneaking a little personal time with Skizz in the manager's office with the door shut from time to time.

Knowing this, BigB wasn’t surprised in the slightest when Skizz was all over him the moment the door closed, pushing his back against the wood and large hands resting just above his hips to pull them closer together. 

Skizz’s lips brushed against BigB’s with a flirty smirk, never quite kissing him but close enough that he might as well have. “Miss me?”

BigB resisted the urge to press his lips against Skizz’s, struggling to the point he was sure it was visible on his face. He turned his head so Skizz’s breath was on his cheek instead, averting his gaze. “No– well, yes, but this isn’t why I asked you here.” “Oh.” Skizz loosened his hold on BigB’s hips, stepping back hesitantly. Confusion colored his expression when BigB dared to glance back in his direction. He didn’t say anything else, leaving the ball in BigB’s court.

BigB picked the grime out from under his nails, letting an awkward silence hang in the air as he gathered his thoughts. This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation, and part of BigB wished they were making out instead. Alas, communication was important and a healthy component of any blossoming or established relationship.

“Are you selling drugs?” BigB blurted out, blunt but to the point. There were worse ways to ask, he supposed. There were also better ways to ask, but, well, too late now.

Skizz shifted on his legs uncomfortably, stuttering a bit. “I– you know I have.” “But do you currently?” BigB narrowed his eyes into slits, the questioning pressing more than he truly needed. He didn’t want to discuss the morality of using or distributing substances, because that wasn’t the issue. He understood more than most how complex it could all be. BigB raised his hand to stop Skizz from answering before he even had a chance to speak. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. You just– you can’t bring that sort of business into my café.”

“It’s just a meeting point,” Skizz explained himself. “It isn’t associated with Nosy Neighbors or anything.”

“Doesn’t matter,” BigB stood firm on his previous statement. “I can’t have drugs cycling through here, okay?” Skizz went quiet for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” BigB murmured, and Skizz just hummed a confirmation that he heard. And with that, they stood there, awkward and without a word passed between them. 

The air was tense and uncomfortable, and BigB despised it, so he filled the silence. “I… I’ve seen the hardships my dad and grandpa had to go through to get clean, and I don’t want to see you go through the same thing.”

“I’m not taking them,” Skizz defended himself. “Just selling them. Paying off some IOUs and making some extra cash when I can.”

“If it’s money you need, you can work here,” BigB offered, like he had before. “I don’t understand why you won’t, if you’re struggling getting hired elsewhere–”

“I don’t need your handouts,” Skizz expressed sharply, just like he had last time BigB offered. It was some pride thing about earning what he had, and not having everything just given to him. BigB didn’t understand that mindset. It was okay to take help if it was needed, which it clearly was. “I’m managing just fine.” “But are you?” BigB pressed, voice straining and desperate now. “I’m not stupid, Skizz. I can tell everything isn’t okay, I just don’t know the specifics because you won’t tell me–”  “Because what do you want me to say?” Skizz cried out, actual tears bubbling up at his waterline. “That I’m half broke and pathetic, living in my car since my lease lapsed on my old apartment? That I’m damaged goods? That I just need someone to save me from the situation I got myself in?”  “That’s not what I’m saying!” BigB countered, though his eyes widened when he mentioned living in his car. He hadn’t known that, but that tidbit of information did make some things this past month make a lot more sense. “I know you can handle yourself, but there’s no shame in accepting aid when you are offered it– you could stay with me! I don’t understand why you don’t want to. We basically share a bed already anyway–”

“I can’t afford rent,” Skizz admitted.

“You don’t need to pay rent,” BigB answered immediately. It was obvious Skizz didn’t appreciate that answer, so BigB moved on quickly, “You can get a job here to help pay rent. Please, Skizz, let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help, BigB!” Skizz huffed, brow furrowed with frustration. “I can handle myself; I can pay back my own debts. I don’t want to earn merit with nepotism.”

Perhaps BigB should have focused more on Skizz’s aversion toward accepting aid, but the word debts snagged his attention too forcefully for him to ignore. “Debts? What debts?”  Skizz was taken aback, promptly flustering and tripping over his words once he realized the implications. “It’s not– I’m not– I‘m not gambling, if that’s what you’re asking. They’re old; it’s fine. I am managing just fine, Boppers, don’t worry ‘bout it.”

BigB frowned, distress rampaging in his chest. He hated this, but he cared for Skizz too much to let this slide. “You don’t have to lie to me. It’s okay to not be okay, I just want to help you.” 

Skizz pressed his lips into a flat line, far too many complex emotions whirling in his blue irises. He was trying way too hard to be expressionless, clearly trying to bottle everything up, and it was uncanny. Still, Skizz didn’t say anything and it was driving BigB crazy.

“Skizz, please don’t give me reasons to not trust you,” BigB pleaded, wanting to find some way to connect to the man he found himself falling for all too fast. “I want to trust you, and I want to help you even if you don’t want to accept it, but you can’t keep hiding all these important things from me like this that I got to know to help you help yourself. What else are you not telling me?”

BigB had wished for Skizz to not shut down, but he feared he had wished a little too hard with how haunted Skizz appeared. His gaze was far away and he looked so, so, so devastated. It was heartbreaking and horrible, and BigB just wanted to pull him close and make it all better.

Not that Skizz wanted his help. Skizz would rather push him away than let him in, and it hurt. Perhaps their relationship was too young for that level of communication, but BigB yearned for it anyway. 

BigB stepped away from the door to attempt physical comfort, but Skizz took that as an opportunity to shoulder past him and escape through it. His eyes went wide as he turned to watch Skizz flee. “Wha- wait! Skizz! Come back!”

Skizz ignored BigB’s calls, leaving BigB with no other option than to scurry after him. Unfortunately, Skizz knew the back of the building a little too well, effortlessly finding the back door and exiting through it. BigB failed to catch the door before it closed, and when he shoved it open again, Skizz had vanished, leaving BigB alone. 

BigB cursed under his breath as he pulled out his phone to call Skizz. It went straight to voicemail, which didn’t surprise BigB as much as he hated that. He tried calling a few more times only for the result to be the same.

His heart sank to his stomach, feeling unnaturally hollow. If Skizz wouldn’t answer him, BigB had no clue how to find him. It wasn’t like he knew where he lived, or like Skizz had introduced him formally to any of his friends. He stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall before slumping down until his ass hit the concrete flooring. 

Where was there to go forward from here? What should he do now? How was he going to help now?

BigB gnawed on his lower lip, sharp teeth nibbling over and over again on the raw skin until it cracked. He traced his tongue against his now-bloody lip as he wiped his watery eyes. Today was not how he expected the day to go, but he supposed it was about time his nosiness showed its consequences again. 

People didn’t like how much he cared, and how intrusive he could be… how off-putting. Skizz had seemed to like BigB as he was, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he had finally proven to be too much. Maybe…

BigB leaned his head back, head knocking against the wall as he gazed up at the ceiling. Stars, he needed to get out of his head. He needed a strong drink and a shitty reality TV marathon. 

He needed to self-soothe before he spiraled too deep to get back up, but… but maybe he would have the energy to do that in a few minutes. For now, he simply wanted– nay, needed to wallow for just a little bit longer. He could figure out what happened after that at a future moment.

ʚ♡ɞ

This was the start of the end, wasn’t it?

Their relationship was failing. He had fucked it all up. Barely one month in, and BigB was already expressing sentiments Impulse had before they broke up. Before he lost his best friend. Before he lost everything that actually mattered to him.

Skizz found himself hating everything he was with his whole being. He hated the situation he was in. He hated himself for blowing up a relationship so quickly. He hated that it only took a month with BigB over the years it took with Impulse.

How broken did this prove him to be? How fucked up was he? How many times did he have to hit rock bottom until he shot out the other side of the Earth?

Skizz wiped his tears with his forearm, though his efforts barely made a dent. His vision was still just as blurred as it was before, and his whole body screamed as he ran at full speed, fleeing as far as he could away from everything he knew.

It didn’t surprise him when he stumbled across one of his old hangout joints, the joyful noise coming from inside enticing him more than he wanted to admit.

He shouldn’t go in, should he? Going in would negate all his progress–

Ha. 

Like that progress actually ever did him any good.

What was the point of denying himself guilty pleasures when everything was so fucked up anyway? If life was going to be ass, he might as well have some fun while he was at it.

Skizz silenced the nagging voice of his conscience as he pushed forward, entering the establishment. The familiar scent of cigars and alcohol filled his nostrils while the shuffling of cards, roll of dice, and chattering of patrons filled his ears. It felt like home to him, sensations he had long become familiar with.

His phone screen was filled with notification messages and missed calls, but he ignored them. He wasn’t in the mindset to respond right now, but that was fine. He could get to it later. Having his phone out only dampened the high he wanted to feel.

“Hey, dudes,” Skizz greeted as he approached a table playing poker with a large grin on his face. He hoped the lighting drowned out any remaining signs of crying on his face, and that the others assumed that any flushing was due to alcohol. “Have room at the table?” Those sitting down glanced between each other before the one with ashy brown hair and trimmed facial hair flashed him a smile. He recognized him and the others at the table, all people he’d played with and owed debts to before. To be fair, they owed him before as well, though they typically had the funds to pay off their debts. They weren’t the type to trade IOUs or sexual favors like Skizz was willing to, but Skizz didn’t mind. He preferred earning cold hard cash. 

“A’course, Skizz, we’d love to have you.” One of the other members at the table kicked a seat out for him so it wasn’t flush against the table. “It’s been awhile since you’ve been around. Come, sit down and we’ll deal you in.” “Thanks.” Skizz relaxed at their easy acceptance, claiming the empty spot at the table as the cards were dished out. “I’ve just been busy, but it’s good to be back.”  “It’s good to have you back.” Travis’ teeth gleamed a pearly white, seemingly sharp and dangerous like a shark’s. 

Skizz knew he was into some shady business, but they all were, so Skizz wasn’t one to judge. He found comfort that they were all fucked in some way here. It was less pressure, and he didn’t feel so awful like he did comparing himself to knights in shining armor like BigB.

Don’t think about him! Skizz berated himself, shoving all thoughts about his life outside of the gambling sphere away. He didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to feel free; he wanted to feel good. He needed the high that came with impulsivity and risk, the adrenaline his body produced more addicting than any drug he could think of.

“Hey, can I get a round of shots?” Travis called out to the bartender, waving some bills between two fingers for him to snatch. “On me, of course.” The table cheered and applauded Travis with their gratitude, Skizz obviously joining in. Some alcohol would help him loosen up, enhancing the thrill that he spent years of his life chasing.

The content hum of the alcohol through his veins was warm and pleasant as he chatted with the table like old friends. And, well, in a way, they were. He didn’t have much money to throw into the pot, so he tossed in an IOU he assumed whoever won would cash in with hard labor of some sort. Skizz didn’t mind working odd gigs like that, enjoying the variety, and… and a part of him didn’t want to disappoint BigB by going back into monetary debt. He may be a screw up, but…

But?

Fuck it, he was a screw up and he knew it, but what could he do about it? Nothing changed for the better, not permanently. Anything good was a trap, waiting in the shadows until it could swallow him whole at the right moment to make its impact truly devastating.

The game flowed easily, cards moving without even as much as a glance as the table discussed amongst themselves. At one point, one of the others sitting at the table offered edibles for free, and Skizz, well… Skizz never claimed to make good decisions.

He felt fantastic though! Sure, he may have a shit hand which lost him the game, but that didn’t matter. Skizz was sure the smile on his face was the widest it’d been in a long time.

“Royal flush,” Travis announced, revealing his hand. The table ooo’ed at the reveal as Travis leaned forward, cupping his arms around his winnings and pulling them toward him.

“Good game, homie,” Skizz congratulated him, not all too peeved about losing. Not every game was a winner, after all, and he had a good time so no hard feelings were acquired.

“What can I say? I’m good at what I do.” Travis grinned at him, a wicked gleam in his eyes. He plucked up the IOU Skizz had bet and inspected it. “You know, LeMann, I know exactly what you can do for me.”

“Oh?” Skizz raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t used to people informing him of what they were going to have him do so soon. “What is that?” “Oh, nothing too bad,” Travis assured him, fanning himself idly with the piece of paper. “Very simple, but it’ll help me out a great deal. You see, I have a package that needs transferring, and I think you’re just the man for the job. You know how to drive a cargo truck, right?”

Skizz relaxed his shoulders at Travis’ explanation. Transferring cargo wasn’t that bad of a gig. He’d done it before; it was easy enough. “Yeah, but I’ve only driven the shorter ones.” “Perfect, ‘cause that’s all I need.” Travis leaned back in his chair, self-satisfied. “I’ll text you the time and place, and you better be there. This is particularly sensitive cargo, something I think will help find my missing wife.”

“What? Really?” Skizz blinked at him rapidly, jaw dropping. His wife was missing and he was here? Skizz supposed there wasn’t much he could do, but– “Did you contact the poe poe? How long has she been gone?”

Travis scrowled, signaling to Skizz that he really shouldn’t ask questions. Still, Travis must’ve been in a decent mood from the high of winning, alcohol, and edibles, for he indulged Skizz anyway. “Unfortunately, this is all below board. She was kidnapped by The Hunters– surely you’ve heard of them– and I plan to get her back. Getting the police involved would be bad for business, but I plan to get her back myself. I’m very capable, you see, and people need to learn they can’t take what’s mine and come out of it scot-free.”

Skizz nodded slowly, attempting to wrap his mind around everything. The sort of scene they were in could get rather messy… Skizz knew he had worried about someone going after Impulse or one of his friends as a way to get to him, though those were typically loan sharks. Perhaps Travis owed these people, and they took his wife as collateral? Poor gal, she didn’t deserve to get mixed up in this. Stars above know that Skizz did everything he could not to get others in his mess, and he’s sure Travis was similar.

“I gotcha, brother.” Skizz clamped his hand on Travis’ shoulder reassuringly. “You can count on me.”

Please reblog, like/kudos, and/or comment if you've made it this far! Thank you <33

[oakstar519]

MAC PROPAGANDA

(aka my cat is gonna be in @irlcats-bracket and y'all had better vote for him) (his poll isn't out yet but it will be soon)

this is maccabee, aka mac. he is a weird little man (affectionate).

here are several reasons you should vote for mac:

1) he's a handsome little dude.

look at him! not a single bad angle. he's perfect.

2) he likes sitting in strange places.

this includes: inside of boxes,

"inside" of boxes,

on top of boxes,

inside of boxes that he shouldn't be in,

and assorted other places such as ladders, my college laundry bag, my dad's tool bags,

my mom's important files, the top of my bookshelf, and this specific stair.

3) he likes chewing on the tops of pineapples.

no joke, he is the reason we can't have pineapples in the house. if we buy a pineapple we have to either put it out on the porch until we cut it up, or chop the top off (as seen in the middle image). otherwise he will chew the leaves up and then vomit them up somewhere in the house.

4) he has a very nice smile :)

5) we have both a blanket and a pillow with his face on it.

(the blanket is my mom's; my dad made it for her because it's funny and then i made a bunch of transparent images to add to the corners because what's better than a dozen pictures of the cat? two dozen pictures of the cat. the pillow is mine because i cannot keep mac in a college dorm.)

6) i am not above bribery.

if you send me proof that you voted for him, i will send you a photo that has not appeared on my tumblr before. as of today, 8/24/2023, i have 1,368 photos of him, from december 2012 to the present. you can specify a month and year and i can get you one.

UPDATE for the finals: my mother has agreed to write messages on notecards and take photos of mac with them. if you would prefer a customized note instead an older photo, let me know. (that being said, it might take longer because i have to have my mom take the photos and she does have work and stuff)

[theoddcatlady]

The Actors Who Never Removed Their Masks

I must have been six when I first saw the Mask Troupe.  

Yeah, it had to be six, my mom and I were walking home from kindergarten and she was asking me what I wanted for dinner. I probably said something like mac n cheese or McDonald’s, but that’s not important, because it was then we passed the performers.  

They’d monopolized an entire corner of the nearby park and attracted quite a crowd. My mother was definitely familiar with them, with how she grinned from ear to ear and clapped. “Oh, they’re back! They’re finally back! Tommy, look at the people with the masks!”

And by god, there was an assortment of masks. Animal masks ranging from tiger to mouse, along with some more human appearing ones. Currently a zebra was reading out some sort of dramatic monologue while a white lady mask seemed to dab away at nonexistent tears on her cheeks. It all came to an end when the tiger bowled the zebra over and the two had a mock wrestling match that ended with the zebra pulling the tiger’s arm behind his back and not releasing until the tiger cried out uncle.  

The masks weren’t made of any kind of plastic or leather, they were made from wood. They were incredibly detailed and ornate, the actors just tilting their heads in a slightly different position would entirely change their expression from sad to glad to mad. Yes, the animal ones too.  

It didn’t really have my attention so much as my mom, who was filled with childlike glee. At the end of the show she took me up to one of the male actors. He wore one of the human masks, meant to appear as some kind of king judging by the gold crown on the mask’s forehead.  

I’m sure words were exchanged between my mom and the actor, but I was more distracted by the actors loading up a van with all their props. Not their masks though, no, they kept those on. But what really got my attention was the girl sitting in the passenger seat of the van. She was skinny, her stringy hair hanging crookedly by her shoulders, almost like she cut it herself. Our eyes met and she just seemed… sad. I wanted to go up and say hi to her but right before I was about to my mom gently pushed me forward towards the King.

The King knelt down to my level and took my hand. I couldn’t tell if he was happy to see me or not, but he squeezed my hand tightly before standing and walking back to the van. They all piled in the back and the van drove away with the little girl. I never once exchanged words with her, but the memory of her sitting all alone in the passenger seat was burned into my mind.  

My mother passed away shortly afterwards. She was always troubled, so although my grandmother insisted it was ‘just an accident’, I have a feeling she purposefully jumped in front of the train that took her life. I lived with grandmother after that. She was strict and honestly I was glad when I turned eighteen a few months back and could finally get the hell out of her house.  

I moved back to my hometown. I reconnected with a lot of my childhood friends, managed to find a cheap apartment and a decent job while I scrapped up the cash to maybe one day go to college.

It was starting to rain when I saw the troupe again.

It was the Tiger and the Zebra, setting up a small stage in the park. I hadn’t thought about the Mask Troupe in so long, but seeing them again made those memories flash back to the forefront of my mind. Without even realizing it I was walking to the park, standing in front of the stage. I could almost feel my mom’s hand in mine again, remember the warm autumn sun on my face.

I felt eyes on me and I turned around to see another one of the actors. Another human faced mask, but this one gave off the feel of a porcelain doll, with rosy cheeks and ruby painted lips.

But somehow I just knew that gaze on me.  

“I’m sorry, this is weird, but… have you been with this group since you were a kid?” God, I felt awkward asking, but I had to know.

The girl cocked her head to the side before nodding once.

“I think I saw you then. Sitting in the van. You probably don’t remember me-”

She took my hand and shook her head before gesturing to the spot next to me, tugging at her hair afterwards. It took me a second to realize what she meant. “You remember my mom?” I asked breathlessly.  

The mask might’ve hid her expression but I could feel her smile. 

“She died. About a month or so after that.”

The girl stood still before bowing her head in respect. With that, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a notebook, scrawling out two words before turning it to me.

‘Sorry. Cerys.”

She quickly wadded up the paper and threw it away, it bouncing off the ground. It took me a second to realize what she meant. “Cerys, is that your name?” I asked.

She nodded again and took my hand in hers. We walked together until we ended up at a nearby cafe, where two other masked actors were, the Lion and the Rabbit. It was then I realized each of the masks had a slit where the mouth was, just large enough to allow them to eat.

That was just the beginning of my discoveries about the Mask Troupe. For one thing, they never spoke off stage, occasionally using hand gestures to indicate what they wanted. If that didn’t do it, Cerys would write down one or two words on a piece of paper before throwing it away as fast as she could. Yes, they could speak, but it seemed it was not something they did outside of their shows.  

Cerys ordered me hot cocoa and listened to me talk about how my life had been going since my mom passed. She tugged at her friend’s clothes and drew a line across her forehead. Somehow that was enough for them to understand that I once saw their show and they ended up buying me a dozen pastries to take home.  

When I left, she wrote down her phone number on my hand before hurrying over to the stage that was now set up. I stuck around to catch a glimpse of the show, figuring I’d head home after an act or two.

I stayed for the whole thing. There were skits, plays, jokes… and Cerys sung. And when she sung, I think the world stopped for a second. All I could hear was her. Her beautiful voice, clear as crystal.

I think it’s pretty obvious by now that I immediately got a crush on Cerys. She was just amazing. We hung out whenever I had a free moment and I went to every performance I could. On my nights off, Cerys would invite me to go drink with the troupe. They’d buy all my drinks and I’d learned quickly enough if I wanted one of their attention, I’d just basically call out whatever their mask is, it’d get their attention at least.

I’m not sure how many people are apart of it, but it’s a lot more than I thought. I approximated maybe six, I think there’s easily almost forty people apart of the Mask Troupe. Each person has their own unique mask, and they never take them off. They’re easy to spot around town, I’ll tell you that much.

They also don’t like people recording or photographing their shows. If they catch you, and by god they have a radar for it, all the actors go immediately silent and turn to face the opposite direction. They won’t continue until the camera or phone is put away. I tried once recording Cerys by putting my phone in my bag and turning on record, and somehow they still figured it out. She was pretty ticked at me for a while, and make all the silent treatment jokes you want, I felt pretty bad. I promised never to try that again.  

I made friends with them. They were different, but that was their way of life. After some digging I came to find out they’ve been coming here every few years since the sixties. It’s why people don’t really give a shit when they show up I guess, it’s just… normal.  

But they’re not normal. I knew something was always different. After all, people who always hide behind a mask have something more to hide than their faces, I’ll tell you that.

Although most of the town was cool with them, there were a few hecklers, a few whisperers about how damn creepy the Mask Troupe was. 

One night I was heading back from work when I saw a few of the Troupe- Cerys, Tiger, Rabbit, and Doe, a tall woman with a deer mask who always told jokes on stage. I was about to call out to them and say hello when I saw they were in a hurry to get away from someone- someone who was drunk as hell and being the worst kind of drunk as well. If he wasn’t saying some sort of lewd comment to Cerys or Doe, he was calling them freaks or weirdos.  

It came to a head when he grabbed Rabbit by one of her ears, yanking her down. She didn’t make a sound as she attempted to squirm herself free, but Tiger grabbed the prick’s arm and yanked it away. The women all hid behind Tiger, who might’ve been getting old but he was still one big guy.  

“Did you fucking touch me?” The drunk slurred, and it was only then I saw the bottle in his hand. “Fuck you, ya creepy bastard!” 

He brought down the bottle on Tiger’s head, breaking it. Tiger went down hard, I heard his head crack into the cement. I didn’t think it was so bad at first until I saw the pool of blood forming beside Tiger’s head.

Cerys rolled him over and gasped as his mask tilted. I’d never seen those masks even twitch when they’re doing the most active of scenes, he’d really been hit hard if it was coming off. Her head shook no repeatedly until the mask finally slid off, landing on the ground with a soft thunk.  

In the flickering light of the dying street lamp I saw how unnaturally pale Tiger’s face was. How the skin was uncomfortably moist and wrinkled, like how your fingers get when they’ve been in water for long enough. His eyes were glazed over pale.  

Cerys tried to put the mask back on again and again but it wouldn’t stick, it’d just slip off again. Doe threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs, joined shortly by Rabbit, the sound truly of anguish and pain.  

The drunk stumbled away, holding up his hands. “I… I didn’t hit him that hard-”  

was all he got out before Cerys pounced.  

She grabbed him and with strength I didn’t know she had, slammed him into the nearby wall of a closed mom and pop diner. Doe pinned his left arm against the brick and Rabbit joined her, pinning his right. Both women held him still as Cerys picked the mask off the ground.

“Wai-wait! It was an accident! I’m sorry! What are you doing!? Put that mask down!”

Cerys’ mask grinned eerily in the yellowing light as she placed the tiger mask on his face. The drunk screeched in agony as I saw the edges of the mask glow like hot coals and seal to his cheeks and jaw, his knuckles going bone white as his hands clenched.

Then he went still. Doe and Rabbit released him and the man stood under his own power, looking at the other masked members of the troupe. Rabbit clapped his shoulder and Doe shook his hand, welcoming him into their ranks.

Then Cerys turned and saw me. The only other person on this empty street.

I ran. I ran like hell. I locked the door and hid in my room with a baseball bat, expecting people I thought were my friends turn on me for seeing… whatever the hell that was.

I got a dozen texts from Cerys, none I read. I didn’t know what to do. I was half tempted to high tail it back to Grandma’s, tell her the job didn’t work out and that I needed some help.  

They came for me last night. Zebra, Doe, and the new Tiger. They knocked on the door and waited for me to come out. They didn’t barge in. They just knew I had nowhere else to go.

I didn’t resist as they escorted me to one of the motels they tended to take up whenever they stayed in town. No words were spoken, a silence I usually found comforting with the troupe but now felt was choking me. I was afraid. Were they going to kill me? Or would they make me wear a mask too?

Cerys was waiting outside the door of room 111. Her head was bowed and she looked like a mess, her hair tangled and clothes rumpled like she’d slept in them. I imagine if I could see her face I’d see bags under her eyes, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see under her mask.

She opened the door to the room and I was gestured inside. The door closed behind me and I saw I wasn’t alone.

There was a man on the bed, and it took me only a second to remember the man with the King mask. He was much older now, frail, bone thin with only a few strands of gray hair left on his scalp. The only reason I knew he was alive was because his chest was slowly rising and falling.

“Come in, Tommy. Sit next to me, please.”  

Other than the screaming from the night Tiger died, I never heard one of the troupe speak off stage before. Trembling, I walked over to the bed and took a seat.

“Do you remember me?”  

I nodded before realizing he probably couldn’t see me all that well. “Yeah. You were the member of the troupe my mom talked to,” I said.

The King laughed, which came out more like a wheeze. “You don’t remember who she said I was?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No, did she?”  

“Think.”

I did think. And it took a bit of digging, but given how closely I linked that memory with trauma, it took me a minute before I remembered what my mom said when she pushed me towards the King.

“Here, Tommy. This is your father.”

I almost couldn’t breathe. The King’s shaky hand reached over and grabbed mine, squeezing as tightly as he could. “You’ve grown well. By the time we came back to this town, Valerie had already passed on, and you were with her mother. And well, your grandmother never liked me much. Didn’t understand why we did what we did,” He said.  

“What…” I swallowed, my mouth dry, “What do you do? Are you… are you even you?”

“To an extent.” The King stared up at the ceiling. “I changed very much when I became the King, but so did my father. We all do, once we put on our masks and join the show.”

I squeezed his hand back. “Am I supposed to put on a mask now? So I won’t talk about what I saw? What you did to to the drunk that killed Tiger?”

“We needed a replacement, and his body would do. But you’re not going to put on any mask, my son.” His head slowly turned back to me, and I swear I saw the corners of the mask’s lips turn upwards into a grin.  

“You’re going to be a King. You’re my only heir. And it’s now your responsibility to lead the troupe, to wear this mask, until the curtains close.”

I think I can leave whenever I want. Judging by the heart wrenching wails I’m hearing in the motel room next to mine, my dad just passed away.  

I think I can leave whenever I want. But this is not something I should be running away from.

The show must go on, and it’s my duty to make sure it does.

[krjpalmer]

MacAddict February 2002

With Mac OS X upgraded and opinions improving about it, this issue addressed those still facing "separation anxiety" about the previous Macintosh operating system. It also made a big deal of "3D graphics on web sites" via an assortment of plugins and burning your own CDs to give as nicely packaged gifts.

[karltface]

I bartered for a sack of old toys. Let's have a look, shall we?

Now, this is all McDonald's, and mostly the 1990 Changeables collection. After two years of robots that turned into food, they decided to shake things up with dinosaurs this time around. The fact that a fourth series never materialized may or may not be proof that this was a mistake, but they have some charm, as we shall see.

Chicken Nuggets-o-saurus and Happy Meal-o-don are a mixed bag. The names are pretty awful, and the sculpts are definitely silly, but the fantastic pun of literal Dino Nuggets is certainly a plus.

Tri-shake-atops stands taller than most, but also falls on its face in terms of being at all like a Trike. It also literally falls on its face a lot, thanks to poor weight distribution. McDino Cone is adorable, not least because it looks like a costumed mascot at a prehistoric restaurant.

QPC-o-saur (I am not typing the whole name) is delightfully warty, and a lovely shade of blue, but also very assumetrical. Fry-ceratops is possibly the most deserving of its name, possessing several fries on its head. The feet are a little iffy, but oh well.

And finally, Under 3. These never seem to get names, which may be for the best in this wave. It's a delightfully derpy iguana/fry hybrid in durable vinyl, with fairly tight paint apps. This is a permanent kitchen decoration now.

And that's the class of '90. Minus the Big Mac, which wasn't included, and doubles/triples of just about all of these. Into the Trinket Fund they go!

Also included were almost the last two '89 pieces I needed (still after Fry Force, although I have its antecedent), Fry Bot and Turbo Cone. Shame about the paint, I really miss that old bag design.

Fry Force is a walker, the only one without arms. Turbo Cone's face is mildly disquieting, and unlike any other in the line. Like a clown carved from marzipan.

That said, Fry Force has an articulated jaw for some reason, and a tongue besides. What does the robot put in there!? It's people, isn't it?

Also spooky are these '92 Mcnugget Buddies, part of a swarm of human-faced gobs of breaded meat that gleefully sold out their kin for several years, much like Mr Peanut before them. Among the dozens of interchangeable costumes were a few Halloween assortments, and Mummy and Vampire are as classic as it gets: fun faces, a 2-piece costume, and the Golden Arches worked neatly into the sculpt.

They're quite a pair, actually: a lascivious-looking vampire, and a cross-eyed woman with heterochromia. Both have creatures of the night perching upon them, but we know they're friends because neither of them eat chicken.

Well, that was quite a haul. Nice and spooky, cool robots. I don't actually see most of these very often, so a cool half dozen keepers was absolutely worth the trade-ins.

[quotient-12-3]

What Are the Key Features of Apple Watch?

Introduction:

Apple watch :  The Apple Watch 5 has changed the wearable tech industry with its creative elements. Joining wellbeing, wellness. network. And comfort in a smooth plan.

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"Whether you're a tech fan or someone looking to upgrade your lifestyle you'll find

This connects the two parts of the sentence smoothly, making the text flow better.

The Apple Watch 5 brings something to the table. Here is a profound jump into the key elements that make the Apple Watch stick out.

1.   Wellbeing and Health Checking

Apple watch: The Apple Watch 5 is an amazing asset for dealing with your wellbeing and health. It offers various elements that assist you with keeping steady over your wellbeing objectives: Pulse Checking: The Apple Watch persistently screens your pulse over the course of the day and advises you assuming it distinguishes a surprising example. The ECG application can likewise play out an electrocardiogram. Giving experiences into your heart's wellbeing.

Blood Oxygen Sensor: The Apple Watch Series 6 and later models accompany a blood oxygen sensor that actions the oxygen level in your blood. Giving important information to figuring out your generally respiratory and cardiovascular wellbeing.

Rest Following: With worked in rest following. The Apple Watch assists you with laying out a sleep time routine and gives definite bits of knowledge into your rest designs, including how long you spend in various rest stages.

2. Consistent Network

The Apple Watch is intended to keep you associated. In any event. when you're away from your iPhone

Cell Network: With cell models. You can settle on decisions. Send messages. and stream music straightforwardly from your Apple Watch without requiring your iPhone close by.

 

Notices: Keep steady over your warnings with cautions for messages, messages. Schedule occasions, and that's only the tip of the iceberg, all available from your wrist.

Siri Incorporation: Siri is incorporated into the Apple Watch. Permitting you to utilize voice orders to send messages, set updates, get headings, or control your savvy home gadgets. Apple Pay: With Apple Pay on your watch. You can make secure, contactless installments without going after your wallet or telephone.

3. Wellness and Movement Rings

Difficulties and Contests: The empowers a sound way of life through difficulties and rivalries with companions. Persuading you to close your rings and remain dynamic.

4. Plan and Customization

The Apple Watch is as much a style proclamation as it is a piece of innovation:

Adjustable Watch Faces: Browse an assortment of watch faces and tweak them with intricacies that show the data you care about most, like climate, schedule, and wellness measurements.'

Exchangeable Groups: The Apple Watch offers many compatible groups, permitting you to change your watch's hope to match your style, event, or mind-set.

Strength: The Apple Watch is intended to endure everyday mileage. It's water-safe, making it appropriate for swimming and showering, and the most recent models highlight scratch-safe ceramic or sapphire gem shows.

5. High level Elements and Applications

The Mac Watch is something other than a watch; it's a strong small PC on your wrist:

Application Store: Access large number of applications straightforwardly from your going from efficiency instruments to games and wellbeing applications.

Continuously In plain view: The Consistently On Retina show (accessible on specific models) permits you to see your watch face and significant data consistently, without raising your wrist.

Music and Digital broadcasts: Stream or download music and webcasts straightforwardly to your  tune in a hurry with Bluetooth earphones.

Crisis SOS and Fall Recognition:

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"

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"Security is vital; for instance, with features like Emergency SOS, which means you can call for help if you're in trouble, and Fall Detection, which ensures that emergency services are alerted if it detects a hard fall.

6. Incorporation with an Environment

band One of the vital advantages of possessing an Apple Watch is the way flawlessly it incorporates with other  gadgets: Handoff and Coherence: Begin an undertaking on your Macintosh Watch and proceed with it on your iPhone, iPad, or Macintosh without thinking twice.

Mac Fitness: The Macintosh Watch is the highlight of Mac Fitness+, a membership administration that offers directed exercises and contemplations, with measurements from your watch showed on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac television.

Family Arrangement: With Family Arrangement, you can set up and deal with an watch for a relative who doesn't have an iPhone, making it simpler to remain associated with frien