#& I am just. I’m already a hermit I might as well be doing something in my spare time

[ringneckedpheasant]

i’ve been reading a book that’s an edited down version of decades worth of journals that some lady inherited from her gay uncle when he died in the late 80s (early 90s?) & in the foreword she talked about how he kept ridiculously meticulous records of like 60 years of his life that she had to sift through and I am just. having fun thinking about inflicting that on one of my sister’s kids when I eventually kick the bucket

[spitdrunken]

i am absolutely insane about your headcanons with the vee's, my mind is so full now... this is exactly what i was hoping to find when searching through the hazbin x reader tag after watching the episodes 👁️🙏🏻 please i'm so!! the being a writer for the vee's imagine is such a good idea, val and his.. comment especially got to me..

also, for your consideration:

Val — or all of the Vee's, really —, but, in the beginning, he's really not convinced about the quality of your dialogues, despite all the lines he's read (or, well, has had Vox read to him), so naturally you have to read your previous stories out loud to him, cheeks flushing and squirming when it gets to particularly graphic scenes and his gaze on you is so very heavy, smoke caressing your jaw while you stumble over your words.. It's worse if you've written about them and a character who resembles you, and Val's smile widens when you skip from story to story, mentioning the character — definitely not you — sucking Vox off, bending over willingly for Val and begging for Velvette to touch her, or even take all three of them at once, greedy...

Also the. love potions Velvette makes have me feeling things.. Her or Vox but they might end up putting a drop or four into your glass — purely accidentally, of course! —, and...

this is terrible.. my mind is too full now... i might have to post writing for hazbin now and it is your fault alone.. (affectionate; truly, I've enjoyed your thoughts so very much!! thank you for sharing!)

I'm glad you enjoyed it so much :D!! I had an absolute blast writing it myself, and I've been thinking about it lots!! Your ask made it even Worse (/pos) and I simply had to write more!! Please please please let me know if you write something for Hazbin, I can tell from your ask already that it'll be wonderful! And if you ever wanna chat about these guys, feel free to message me again, haha.

Notes: power imbalance, sexual harassment, heavily dubious/noncon due to love potion usage.

The fact Vox even bothers at all to take the time to sit Valentino down and read to him is already a show of your quality— He really wouldn’t go through wrangling him like that for just anyone, especially not with Val getting a bit pissy when being reminded your works were being compared to his. He needs to be told that, obviously, Val, some mere written words are never going to compare, especially not in earnings, to his creations. This placates Valentino. But all Vox gets for his efforts are a lazy flick of one of Valentino’s four wrists, his eyes not even looking at him. “Look, I still think it fucking sucks. But if you wanna hire them so badly, whatever. I’ve got better shit to do than listen to daddy’s horny story-time.” Suffice it to say, he becomes a lot more… Amiable (poor you) once you’re actually working there, and he has a face to attach to the stories. He can tell upon first glance that you’re one of those pathetic little hermits, too scared to leave your own shitty apartment, barely scraping by— He’s recruited plenty of those types as whores, after all. So easily pushed around that it shouldn’t give him nearly as much satisfaction as it does.

When Valentino practically demands you join him in his room and read your previous work to him, you sputter out protests, heart skipping a beat. Every employee in the company has something bad to say about this man, and so he’s about the last person you want to be caught alone in a room with. Especially not his bedroom.

“Ah, sir, I’m not really sure—“ But he’s already wrapping one of his arms around your shoulders, pulling you flush against his side as he drags you through the halls. The first thing that strikes you is how different the texture of coat is than you were expecting. It doesn’t even feel like anything at all. “Oh, sweetheart, call me Valentino. No need to be so unfamiliar with each other.” He practically purrs, a single finger tracing up the contours of your chest. “I feel like we’re going to get quite familiar.” If all the alarms weren’t ringing in your head before, they most definitely are now. But there’s nothing you can do. His grip on you is tight and, underneath his red coat, you can feel the hard metal of a pistol pressing against you.

He takes you to his room, walls covered with posters featuring himself, and you hardly have the time to look around before he sits you down on one of his red couches, still caught underneath one of his arms. It’s hard to think, much less speak, as Valentino starts to prod you to pull out your phone and start reading. “No need to be shy. You’re such an artista, aren’t you? Don’t keep me waiting.” It’s easy, at first. When the scene hasn’t grown explicit yet, and you can pretend you’re only reading the text out loud to yourself like you always do, making sure the sentences sound right. But Valentino makes it hard for you to distract yourself entirely. He rubs circles on the skin of your thigh, and the smoke from his pipe has long since been the only thing you can smell. The red smoke makes your head a little hazier, tongue a little looser— Though that all just might be because you’re not getting enough oxygen. Your every muscle is tense and, you think, this is what being a prey animal must feel like. The first time you stutter out the word ‘cock’, Valentino barks out a laugh, loud and sudden, entirely contrasting with the sultry demeanour he’s been putting on the whole time. You jump, gaze flickering from the screen to his face, before continuing. It gets worse when you realise exactly what story you’re reading out loud to him, one of the ones you’d never even posted anywhere, so utterly self-indulgent and poorly thought out that you regret it with every ounce of your being. (Unbeknownst to you, Vox has already read every draft you’ve ever typed up, but that’s neither here nor there.)

“Sorry, can I maybe, um, read a different one?” You practically squeak out. “I realised I have some better drafts, and…” “No,” Valentino shuts you down, tone temporarily harsh. “Don’t get too fucking cocky now, you’re already taking up enough time as it is. Shit’s about to get interesting, finally.” He’s saying all of this as if he wasn’t the one to drag you there in the first place.

So you trudge onward, reading as fast as you possible can, just trying to tough it out. As you read about a scared, unaccomplished demonic main character catching the eye of a trio of some of the most famous demons in town—through entirely unrealistic circumstances—you can see his grin grow wider from the corner of your eye. His nails dig into the flesh of your thigh, the smoke surrounding your face turning to caress your cheeks.

“So, let me gets this straight… You wrote about a trio of powerful demons with matching names, taking turns fucking an absolute nobody silly. One of them’s a pimp, the other a fashion designer, and the other a business man.” Valentino doesn’t give you the chance to respond. “Greedy little slut. You even chose this one specifically to read out to me, huh? Seems I got you all wrong,” he hisses out. “This must be a dream come true for you, isn’t it?”

Let’s just say that you got enough ‘material’ to write another four or so stories, just from that line alone.

----- A drop of love potion, and models always behave the absolute best, or so Velvette thinks! (As long as you don’t put in too much. It’s very hard to take good pictures when the girls keep trying to kiss you.) No bitching, no whining, only an easy to pose, cute demon to work with. And if she dresses you up in clothes that reveal more than they obscure, purely for her own enjoyment and usage, who’s going to blame her?

Certainly not you. You won’t remember a single damn thing. Not even the parts where you babble on about how pretty and gorgeous and cool she is, and how you’ve admired her for so long— All things she’s heard a million times before. Normally, she wouldn’t care less about it, but such words coming from someone with only a drop of her potion in her system means they’re all the absolute truth. She thinks it’s almost cute when it’s coming from you, really. ------------ Vox, on the other hand, would be more likely to use his hypnosis on you than a love potion. Just to have a few minutes in the middle of a meeting where you’re practically putty in his hands, all of your usual anxiety and shame having slid right off of your shoulders. He doesn’t feel any guilt about it whatsoever. Having read all of your works, he finds it safe to say that this is the exact kind of scenario you would enjoy…

And even if you didn’t, he still would. He gets a bit of a thrill out of the loopy, relaxed smile on your face as you nuzzles your cheeks against his arm, professing all of the thoughts you had about him before working at VoxTech, and the ones you still have today. It’s during one of these exact moments, that he’d likely find out that Valentino had fucked you already, something he hadn’t found necessary to mention. They’ll have a bit of a discussion about that later!

[aquaquadrant]

I’m in LOVE with your Hels to pay au!! Thank you so much for writing it!!

Has anyone ever asked Tango about his cuffs? Has anyone offered/tried to help him get them off? I imagine it would either be a funny montage of increasingly wild attempts OR just absolutely heartbreaking.

(sooo funny story, i saved the first ask in january bc i wanted to write smth for it… but then the second one came in before i got around to it… then the third… so uh. yeah. here ya go.)

~*~

“i like your cuffs, by the way.”

tango freezes, and even though xisuma has only just met the guy, he can immediately tell something’s off.

hermitcraft’s newest member is far from ordinary; a blaze hybrid with sharp teeth and blackened claws, red eyes that dart around nervously and squint at the sun, like it’s too bright. he didn’t even seem to know what a golden carrot was, when xisuma gave one to him.

the shackles around his wrists are just the frosting on the cake. xisuma had assumed it was part of his, er… unconventional style. but tango’s reaction- and the small links of broken chain still dangling from the cuffs- make xisuma wonder.

“what… uh, what do you mean?” tango asks, his tone forcibly light. oh, he’s anxious- ears flat, shoulders hunched likes he’s expecting an attack.

xisuma shrugs. “your cuffs, they’re just really metal,” he says casually. “it’s a cool look, is all.”

“oh.” tango blinks. the relief is evident in his expression, but he only relaxes slightly. “oh, right! thanks.”

while xisuma hasn’t been the admin of hermitcraft for very long, he’s been around long enough to tell when a player is running from something. but that’s none of his business. that’s why they come here, isn’t it?

“anyway,” xisuma says, “that’s about the end of the tour.” he lifts a hand to put on tango’s shoulder, then thinks better of it, folding his arms instead. “you just lemme know if you need anythin’, alright? anythin’ at all.”

“right, yeah.” tango smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “thanks, i’ll- i’ll keep that in mind, yeah.”

~*~

“jeeze, you ever take those cuffs off?”

tango freezes, and even though impulse is still relatively new here on hermitcraft, he can immediately tell he’s crossed a line.

it’s only been a couple weeks since a random portal abruptly appeared in front of impulse, taking him to a world called hermitcraft. according to his fellow hermits, that amounted to an invitation from the universe- which is how they all join.

he’s spent most of his time working on a quadruple witch hut farm with some of the other redstoners, and tango’s been a bit of a puzzle. he’ll be standoffish or even outright defensive at times, but then seem inexplicably drawn towards impulse, asking strange and not-so-subtle probing questions. of course, whenever impulse tries to address this, tango brushes him off.

“oh, these old things?” tango says after a moment, his brief panic quickly swept under the rug as he flaunts his cuffs. “why, do you- am i not pulling them off? too much?”

“no, no, they’re cool!” impulse assures him. “it’s just, don’t they get in the way when you’re doing delicate redstone work? seems like a bother, that’s all.”

tango huffs a laugh, but he’s also eyeing the nearest exit. “nah, man, th- it’s part of my look! my uh, my brand, as some might say. can’t go without ‘em, you know how it is…”

that’s not the reason. impulse can tell. but whatever the real reason is, it’s not his place to push tango to talk about it. they’re still getting to know each other, so if it’s anything more than a simple fashion choice, impulse is sure he’ll find out sooner or later.

“ooh, okay, gotcha.” impulse nods sagely. “branding, very important. well, if you ever change your mind, i’d be happy to take them off your hands- uh, literally and figuratively, i guess,” he chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “cuffs are pretty ‘in’ for demons, you know.”

tango laughs too, though he’s already turning away, back to his work. “right, yeah, i- i’ll keep that in mind.”

~*~

“can you actually not take these cuffs off?”

tango freezes, and even without the spike of panic through their soulbond, jimmy can immediately tell he’s said something wrong.

it’s been about a month since the double lifers voted to end the death game. one month since jimmy and tango made their relationship official. and as amazing and wonderful as it’s been living on the ranch, jimmy’s starting to get the sense there are a few things he doesn’t know about tango.

he hadn’t meant anything by the question- just genuine curiosity. they were kissing, tango’s hands cupping jimmy’s face, and when he’d reached up to cover tango’s hands with his own he’d felt the cool metal of the cuffs, and the question just blurted out from his mind. gosh, he really does ruin everything.

tango recovers quickly. “whaaat, you don’t like ‘em?” he grins, casually stretching his arms above his head so the cuffs jangle around his wrists.

jimmy hesitates. the panic he felt through their bond has faded, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still there “well, sure, it’s just- y’know, i realized i’ve never seen you take ‘em off.”

tango blinks. “you- what, don’t you think if i wanted to take them off, i would’ve?” he laughs, putting his hands on his hips. “i mean, it’s not- we have metal-cutting technology, you know.”

oh, duh. jimmy feels silly. tango is far from helpless- if those cuffs hadn’t been a conscious decision, he surely would’ve figured out how to take them off by now. or, jeeze, he could’ve asked anyone on his server full of technical geniuses to help out.

“right, right, of course,” he says sheepishly. “sorry, i wasn’t- i do like how they look, i- i was just wonderin’. but uh, you know, if you ever did wanna take ‘em off… i mean, i’d still like you plenty without them,” he jokes.

“you’re good, you’re good,” tango hums, draping his arms around jimmy’s shoulders. “i’ll keep that in mind.”

~*~

tango sits alone in his room, claws curled around the cuff of his other hand.

it’s just simple iron. it wouldn’t be hard. all he has to do is reach for his inner fire, concentrate, and let the metal soften in his grasp. even if he heats it too much- so that molten iron drips over his skin like water- he’s a bit more fire resistant than the average player, he’d be fine. it’d only take a couple seconds for each one, and then he’d be free of them. forever.

it’s been nearly ten years, for hel’s sake. he’s lost count of how many times he’s been in this exact situation before, wanting and willing so much but being unable to bring the flames to his fingertips. if he even thinks about it, it’s suddenly like he’s back in the farm, icy wither rose numbing his veins, a haunting voice ringing in his ears.

‘just the cuffs on his wrists there, and he stays put like the good creature he is.’

tango wants to be good. he’s been trying so hard to be good. but what if he can’t trust himself? what if the only thing stopping him from reverting back to his old ways is the illusion of control maintained by these shackles?

who is he without them? would he be someone that his friends still cared about? would jimmy?

he’s too afraid to find out.

tango lets go of the cuff, the familiar weight of metal dropping back onto his wrist. he can try again another time. so long as he has his fire, he still has the option. he’ll do it someday.

so for now, the thought retreats to its little shadowed corner in the back of his mind, safe for another day.

~*~

[demie90s]

After You

College!Shuri x Black Female Reader

Part 1

Warnings: Light Cursing

Authors Note: I haven’t written in a year.

  ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

See here’s the thing.

There are multiple types of roommates.

For Example:

•The Ghost - You saw them on move-in day and his room is furnished, but they are literally never home.

• The Hermit - Unlike the ghost, you always know where to find the hermit in their room. It’s like they never leave home, even for class.

•The Neat Freak - Roommate thinks your room is a pigsty because you have one sock on the ground and an empty water bottle that isn’t placed in the recycling.

• The Slob - Literally never cleans up after their self and completely ignores the chore list that was agreed to by each roommate.

•The One With a Significant Other - Always together and if not they are most likely on the phone. They go to class together, eat together, study together, and sleep together

•The One With a Significant Other from High School - Same just Fucking weird.

•The Passive Aggressive - Any time there’s an issue that could easily be resolved with a simple face-to-face conversation, they choose to leave you a sticky note and reminder instead. They avoid face-to-face confrontation, but always seems to have something to complain about.

•The Partier - They constantly blast music, invite friends over and make silence a sacred thing you never see anymore.

•The Overly Attached - What you didn’t anticipate is that one of them would follow you everywhere and expect to be best friends forever.

•The Perfect Match - This roommate is quite hard to find; but once you find one, you’ll love them. They’re everything you’re looking for in a roommate. Honest, respectful and just a well-rounded person. If you meet the perfect roommate, try and stick with him for as long as possible, as they are a rare breed!

You get the point. But here we are. Hiding from mine in the fucking bathroom. 

You might be asking…

‘Why are we hiding in the bathroom?’

‘Is our roommate a damn Lion or Dinosaur?’

‘Are they threatening us?’

‘Or are the just overall bat shit crazy?’

No.

None of that.

Quite the opposite.

Now we have a right to say when our roommate is not a good roommate. But right now it’s the complete opposite. Because the roommate in question is The gotdamn Princess of Wakanda. 

How do I even?

Where do I even?

What do I even?

You know what fuck it.

Okay good talk ‘me’ I’m glad we both are on the same page.

Finally I look at my phone for the time and luckily I have only been in here for 5 minutes. I slowly reach for the knob and gain back courage. I mean she is still human. Just a very important, hot, smart,incredible human.

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Backtrack

Casually laying in bed Y/n had no idea what was in store.

New E-mail From: Howard University

Click

Hello, Y/fn Y/ln

It's important that I reach you as soon as possible with details about your roommate request with the Howard University Housing Facility.

We have looked into numerous roommate applications and have found many matches for you.

However, we have learn that there’s an international student (Imani Harper) who has also gained a full academic scholarship as well. Being the the Hall you are staying in is only for Scholars and you are the only on not paired with a roommate yet we will be pairing you two up. Can’t wait to see you both.

Sincerely,

Harry Marido

Director of Admissions

Howard University

1730 Lanie Monroe Parkway

Washington , WA 52107 (Obviously fake)

Alrighty then so much for decorating her dorm to her liking.

We Back

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

‘Hey’ she says reaching her hand out for me to shake. ‘Wassup’ you say back saying calm and smiling a bit.

‘I am going to guess you know my name is not Imani Harper. Though many people have already figured that out. I still don’t know why I lied.’ She says shaking her head and chucking a bit.

‘Yeah.’ I say smiling back trying to hold my composure.

‘Well this is better at least I don’t have to go through the introductions.’ She says going back to unpack.

Now I know I handled it like a G but bitch my heart is doing all types of disrespectful flips.

‘Have you taken the tour yet? You know..the campus tour. I didn’t have time’ She asked.

Sitting on her bed looking at me with her elbows in her knees (y’all know THE LOOK). I looked for a while in awe just thinking about her her accent sounded making her smirk and laugh a bit shaking her head.

Her eye contact is just godly.

‘Uh yeah…you want me to give you one? I only remember some of it.’ I finally replied questionably because I didn’t know much as well being that I just arrived today.

‘Yes’ she said standing up put her hands behind her back tilting her head a bit. ‘Ight…yeah…let’s go’ I say heading towards to door only for her to reach around slightly touching my lower back and opening it.

‘After You’ She said still smirking.

Oh boy.

[umilily]

Since I can't draw for shit, I sadly can't make one of those yearly lookbacks, but there's something else I'd like to put out there as a sort of year-in-review (and to celebrate a little):

Once more – true to my brand – I managed to time things so spectacularly that I’m proud (?) to say that today is actually my one-year anniversary of posting fic. To be fair, I doubt that this will become an international holiday like any other minor ones going on atm, but nevertheless I just wanted to take a moment to write down some thoughts on that (because ah, yes, of course, more rambling from me), even if it’s just for myself to look back on both an occasionally very unusual, weird year.

No pressure to read or digest any of this, I think the only thing I really want to say to anyone who’s bothered reading this far (both this post and the things posted over the last year) is a huge thanks. If you had told me last December that a decision made while under the heavy influence of Ibuprofen and caffeine to combat one of the nastiest colds I ever had, would snowball into a year filled with kind words from strangers and new friends, I would have probably written you off as a fever dream. Oddly enough, it wasn’t, so somehow now I’m here writing this post that already feels too pompous, but that I can’t help wanting to type out regardless.

My own corner of the vast internet unexpectedly became a lot more populated than I’ve ever known it to be. Which feels hilariously ironic when I think about that at the same time, living abroad essentially nuked my social life with friends and family many hours away. But even if I still am very much reclusive – a rare encounter I suppose – and have only talked to very few people who hang around here, I’m still so very grateful for all the kind words from everyone found for me and my writing. Thank you all for keeping me company through me essentially just going “fuck it we ball” continuously.

The last year had some stretches that have been exhausting and rough and I think sticking with something self-indulgent and light-hearted kept me from going nuts at times. I’m not the type to make new years resolutions and when last year I told people that mine was “Doing things poorly”, it likely was the most confusing one they heard so far. For me personally, it was the best one out there, so I will be renewing that and (as proudly as possible) continue to do things poorly in 2024 as well. If people stick around for a laugh or two, I will take it as the highest praise and compliment.

On a more personal front, there is a good chance that I will start working full-time within the next year, so I also just wanted to take this chance for a little heads-up. If I end up disappearing for longer than what you’re used to from me being chronically online, it’s probably because I managed to fool people into hiring me and sadly not because I finally made the smart decision to become a hermit in the woods or retire to the seaside. (Or well, I might end up reacting the exact opposite. Because when have I ever made responsible, adult decisions regarding how to spend my free time? Who needs sleep when you can contemplate the enigmatic, inner machinations of your blorbo’s mind on the topic of coffee or Ikea furniture?) I will do my very best to be as consistent as possible, because even if I do get busy, writing has been something that brought me much more joy than I could have anticipated, and I would like to keep that going.

With that, I think I’m finally done and all that’s left for me to do is saying thanks again and wishing you all a relaxing holiday season and a good start into the new year! <3

[differentclasss]

a little self defeating confessional free form essay i give to you guys as a treat….

i don’t think i’ll write a lot of stuff like this but it’s nice to get stuff out there. if i do continue to write this stuff i’ll probably make a side blog for me to whine and complain on. i promise i’ll get back to my usual fan fiction but hell! i can pretend i’m Sylvia Plath for a day.

It feels like winter has already approached quickly and violently again. Every year when winter comes I get nervous that I’ll get all mopey and depressed again, after all, I’m not immune to seasonal changes. When I woke up on Halloween from a nap it was suddenly winter. Snow was sprinkled on top of the grass and for a moment I worried I had slept through Halloween and woke up mid-November. I didn't have the time to worry about it too much, I had a family Halloween get-together to go to and arrived at a fashionable hour late.

I try to replicate my fondest memories of this time of year but they never seem right. It only makes me realize that once something has happened, it’s gone and the memories are what you make of it. I tried very hard to act like spending Halloween with my family was something nostalgic but I couldn’t help but compare it to how things used to be. Everyone who I grew up with is settling down. They have spouses and kids and we talk about work and family drama. It’s so odd seeing a new generation of children take on the role you used to have. I spent my entire childhood wanting to be an adult and now that I have it, all I want to do is sit back with the kids.

I hardly feel like an adult. I’m childish at heart, not in the way I wear pigtails and overalls and demand to be taken care of, just in the way I don’t feel ready and revert to old ways. I swear I spend most of my waking moments being worried about my issues and instead of doing anything about them, I just opt to watch a movie and write my little stories. It’s regressive. I might as well wear pigtails and overalls, I’m halfway there. If another bad thing happens I might just lay down in my mother's bed and watch daytime television with her like I did when I was sick as a kid. Even if I did though, I think I would get nauseous seeing the same actors on the same TV shows but with old faces instead of their previously young ones. Being a witness to their aging would make me anxious, especially if I were to look over at my mother and see that she aged right alongside them.

What I’m getting at keeps getting muddled with too many words. I guess in short, I am saying that life loses its mystic after a while and nostalgia makes you dumb. That's just pessimistic though. What I wish I could say is that, yes life is ever-changing and once something is done, it's done and you can't replicate it but that doesn't mean good things won't happen. Then when I write that, I just sound like one of those chicken noodle soup for the soul stories. In all honesty, I'm having a hard time coping with change. I can't decide on whether to be optimistic or pessimistic about these changes. I can hope for good things all I want, but that doesn't mean they'll happen.

Anyway, I should probably just go to bed and promise to make November a productive time. I don't want to keep up this self-defeating bullshit I pull every time something causes me to revert as a hermit. Winter is on its way and there's nothing I can do to stop it, just like how I can't stop every other changing variable in my life.

[sugarcherriess]

Hello guys, this is Adonis.

(TLDR at the end!)

How have you been? Hopefully you’ve been eating well, hydrating, and getting time to rest in between everything. I finally finished my semester and teaching hours for this semester so I guess I’m kind of free now? However, I realise that I’ve been too…I don’t know how to phrase this. But I feel like I’ve been working myself too much more than my body can handle both offline and online.

I’ve spent the past four months restless and sick, along with the already present mental exhaustion. And I desperately need a break. Additionally, fic writing has also been losing it’s charm for me. Instead of feeling excited about writing and posting here, I’ve been majorly feeling like I’ve been doing it out of “obligation”. Still, this is not a new revelation, you might have noticed I’ve been detached/sound distant from my responses since the start of the year.

That being said, I want to let you know I’m going on an indefinite writing hiatus (“indefinite” because i may get random bursts of creativity and write small blurbs). I will probably keep posting, reblogging, and interacting here. But the idea of writing a fic for any reason whatsoever makes me want to cry because I feel so exhausted both physically and mentally right now. This summer I just wanna shut off my braincells and go back to my roots of just reading mindlessly whether it be smut, fluff, or gut wrenching angst. Back to my bimbo Adonis roots, in short. I want to feel like I can be on this site without owing it something because it has started to feel like a chore even though I was absent for a while.

So, again. I’ll be here. I just won’t write fics for however long I see fit. I wanted to make this announcement because some of you might be guessing where I am and whether or not I’ll get back to the requests I had accumulated. Well, at least they can act as my cushion when I wanna start writing fics again so that’s good. Anyway, thank you all for the wonderful time you have spent with me and the amazing experience this has been. Unfortunately, turning my blog into an inventory of reblogs and asks for myself was the only solution I could think of that didn’t involve me deactivating my blog since i didn’t wanna make it over complicated like it was before.

I know this is a long ass essay but I had to make it clear where I stood when it came to this blog. I have precious memories attached to this blog, my mutuals and my anons (and also some two faced bitches I had the misfortune of coming across but yk we shmoov 💅🤲🏼) And for their sake I’m willing to stay in any way I can. But I’m just too babygirl to spend more than 1/5th of a braincell on this app xoxo

Thank you for your time and love my loves 💞💞💞

TLDR: Fic writing sounds like ass to me rn so this blog is probably gonna be my inventory for reblogging filth and begging jumil in the tags for a long time whilst answering anything you guys want to send in. In my horny hermit crab hours this summer yay!!!

[red-carter]

could I hear a little about the coffee shop au perchance? I think I see mentions of it occasionally and I’m intrigued

If you summarised it better elsewhere or have any posts explaining it I don’t mind if you like those instead!! :)

Oh absolutely!!! I love my Coffee Shop AU!! Like, so much!!!

It's mostly centered around the members of the CTHL discord (Chasing The Horizon Line), with mentions and appearances of the Hermits and others! There's so many ideas that have been put out there and will be written out eventually.

I also don't have much written just yet, but there's a bunch of relationship funs that I just. I'd go feral over! XD

Alright, for a proper summary tho:

With Melon and Nine being co-owners of a café called Coffee On The Horizon, as well as a lovely rag tag team of interesting people as their workers. Opening up shop on more of the outskirts of the big city shopping district, bordering the housing district, and in the month of September. Catching the eyes of many that the workers know and love. With many interesting adventures and conversations, there's bound to be good times and bonding time.

I'm realizing I'm horrible with summaries... Whoops. XD Anyway! For the bits that are written thus far we've got our resident Cubfan135 fan meeting Cub. Not sure where the second portion is going, I just randomly started writing. It does involve open mic night, so I might be trying to do something with Bdubs and Z.I.T.S.... not sure exactly tho! 😁 Then the last part that I've been working on writing is us dealing with a gender fluid bitch. Then there's this cool and fun idea that involves MCC, which I so wanna write about already!

I am having to take a break tho because even though I wanna write it, I'm unable to actually write. I'm able to write some of my other things finally tho!! But yeah, the Coffee Shop AU is by far one of my favorites. Me and another person having a relationship similar to that of Impy and Skizz (I'm Skizz and she's Impy). We have a few members who have sibling relationships, like one of my lovely best friends and one other who is her little sister (She's said that she's just the server's little sister, and she's amazing). Then another member who we're saying is my adopted brother (I was the one adopted, I think... I can't remember XD).

There are many more fun things that I'd love to gush about, but I've already made this pretty long. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask away, or if you wanna know about any of the other things, I'd LOVE to share about those too!!

[j-1z]

xdinary heroes as lovers: o.de

disclaimer: all of my readings are for entertainment purposes only and should be taken with a grain of salt, as these idols are strangers.

this reading was done on july 8th, 2022. i used the 'mystereum tarot' deck. i also pulled up his birth chart for a bit more guidance.

juno - choker me me me / that's all we know / you might think you do / but i bet you don't

ptolemaea - ethel cain i am the face of love’s rage

stop - day6 if there was a way to make it better, we would already found it

how he is as a partner, what he can give queen of swords, empress, high priestess, 7 of wands

O.de is someone who appears very cold and aloof on the surface, but is actually very warm and nurturing. It’s not in a mushy gushy way, it feels more like a gentle father figure, I’m getting “gentle but just,” it’s simultaneously feeling held and scolded at times, but not in a bad way. His partner probably feels like he can see right through them, very intuitive. He isn’t clingy in the slightest and is pretty self-reliant. Quite somber and serious deep down, he’s willing to really put the work into a relationship. Attracts a lot of suitors, something about him is very mysterious to others, a lot of hidden depth that shines when he’s with a partner. A super quirky and fun lover, best way I can put it. Very good at helping his partner piece their brain together and views things objectively, a good partner to have serious conversations with, he’s not the type to blow up over things. Also the type to bring up issues as they come up, very direct and forward in a gentle way. Needs to be careful with overwhelming his partner with little irritants: some things just aren’t worth bringing up, but he will bring up everything. He stands by his partner through thick and thin, the type to go for the underdog and boost them up. Fiercely independent and needs a partner who will accept that about him; if someone isn’t receptive to this, it can feel like he doesn’t care about them, but he just shows his love in less physical ways, while also doing what feels best for himself. Very careful about who he loves and doesn’t give his heart too easily, but is fully infatuated and in awe of the person he does give his heart to. 

his ideal type, what he wants from them hermit, world, 5 of cups, 10 of wands, 6 of swords, page of cups

Just like most of the other members, O.de’s ideal is someone who is very similar to himself: independent, analytical, a creative, artsy type. His type is someone very down to earth and not too concerned with material things, very unapologetically themselves and doesn’t need to impress anyone. This person is very playful and open and maybe a bit on the bashful side. Introverted, into older partners (actually, or seemingly older), his type tends to be stressed quite often. Goes towards depressed types as well, jaded. Fundamentally, they are still who they are, but they’re someone who has been through a lot and now they are painfully realistic and at peace with that idea. Unlike Gunil, O.de isn’t someone who will try to heal this person, but more so appreciate that they’ve been through hell and can tell the story, “beautifully depressed” is what I keep hearing. His ideal is someone who he mutually relieves burdens with. Virgo and Sagittarius vibes.

his attitude around love currently star

He’s feeling rather optimistic about love currently, inspired. He probably has a muse. Whether this muse knows it or not is another story though :-)

wild card 2 of wands

Based on the above card as well, O.de is planning to put himself out there and start making moves. He’s feeling really good about it.

[unexpectedly-haunted]

Assorted Fic Recs!

If you like these fics and want more recs, here are three more lists!

Hermitcraft

When This World Is No More (The Moon is All We’ll See) by Silverskye13: The end of the world from Cleo’s perspective. Hermitcraft ensemble are all included, and it’s a wonderful Moon Big fic. Hurt/comfort, hopeful ending. Words: 5201 Chapters: 1/1

Somewhere In Space by 2point5: Ren and Doc are travelling through outerspace, and Ren finds recorded messages from the other hermits around the ship. Strong sci-fi elements, sort of post-apocalyptic. Vague, cliff hanger-esque ending, the vibes are incredible. Words: 4356 Chapters: 1/1

monsters splitting hairs by Silverskye13: Fantasy AU, centered on Ren, Doc and Gem as monsters living a mountain town, keeping their less-than-human nature secret. All hermits mentioned, some more important than others. Love the worldbuilding and characterisation so much! Words: 63781 Chapters: 16/?

and they were roommates by Beans_McGee: Uni student Ren ends up roommates with supervillain Doc, a crackfic treated seriously and then some. Surprise angst as well as humour, but overall hurt/comfort with happy ending. Words: 42769 Chapters: 32/32

a pesky bird in the hand by Odaigahara: Borrower!Grian bothering human!Mumbo, with a very fun and in-character dynamic. Words: 2116 Chapters: 1/1

The Woods by InsaneWeasel: YES I have recommended this before YES I am doing it again. Mumbo-centric Horror AU, with strong thriller/mystery elements and many other hermits. I’m still thinking about it months after first reading. Words: 55360 Chapters: 8/?

Third Life/Last Life

those who held up the sky before atlas by hallmarked_error: The final battle of Last Life, told from the four finalist’s perspectives. Just. So good. Words: 4984 Chapters: 1/1

This Is The Way The World Ends by hallmarked_error: A character study on Etho, Cleo, Scar, Scott, and Martyn in Third Life, and ends in death as Third Life fics are want to do. (Martyn’s chapter has changed me as a person) Words: 16116 Chapters: 5/5

there’s a fire in my brain by echo_of_words: Scott’s time as boogeyman, and the struggle of resisting the curse. Really good interpretation of canon! Words: 3878 Chapters: 1/1

falling doesn’t feel so bad (when i know you’ve fallen this way too) by mangop1e: Third Life AU where there are three parts to Ren’s trials, now including a magic soul-binding ritual! Fun times are had. Words: 5148 Chapters: 1/1

the fae queen, the collared dog by weareallstardustfallen: Last Life series where Lizzie is a fae queen, and Ren signs his soul over to her. Really interesting exploration of that concept, and what it means to human or not in a death game. Words: 2,849 Works: 2

Double, Double Boogey Trouble by ShadesSwift99: Last Life AU with Boogeyman Mumbo, but something’s not right. Overall a very distressing time, but he ends up mostly okay! Words: 2,213 Chapters: 1/1

Wooden Mausoleum by skelew: Third Life AU where Martyn betrays the Red Army, but not for the reasons you might think. Major angst, beautifully painful. Words: 3807 Chapters: 1/1

yes, the only way out is down by skelew: So, Ren gets his head cut off. Martyn’s POV. Graphic violence warning, and I mean graphic, overall a fantastic fic! Words: 1248 Chapters:1/1

Crossovers

From the Archives by sixteenthdays: An ongoing TMA crossover series, already with several statements from different hermits and non-hermits. References Third Life/Last Life as well, and just really cool! No knowledge of TMA is needed. Words: 22,741   Works: 10

late at night, when the stars don’t quite right by lunarblazes: Empires SMP and Hermitcraft crossover, Pearl-centric with focus on Gem and Grian. Pearl is a Ruler without a patron, but then an odd parrot lands in her backyard and things get,, interesting. Fantasty elements, and angst with a happy ending. Words: 46270 Chapters: 6/6

Underdog by anonymous: Empires SMP and Third Life crossover, mutiple POVs. Fwhip is having a great time as an admin and as a character, but then Ren, one of Lizzie’s guards, starts an Empire when he definitely should Not be able to do that. Mystery elements, and super interesting lore around what it means to be on a roleplaying SMP! Words: 16178 Chapters: 8/?

this fic by me, because hey why not: Martyn ends up on HCS9 after Last Life without any idea what’s going on, and soon runs into Ren. Hurt/comfort with happy ending. Words: 3364 Chapters: 1/1

Hope you enjoy these fics, and feel free to recommend more/your own :D

[shadeswift99]

Ranking Hermits based on how much I want to fight them

Because it's 1:08am and I've consumed enough sugar to fear neither man nor god

(this is all in good fun and all in the context of Minecraft of course, I do not want to go to anybody's real life house and punch them that's illegal)

Zedaph: Yes I could probably easily beat him but emotionally? Think of the cost. Devastating. 4/10

Tango: Outcome unclear. I think I could take him in an organized duel but otherwise he seems like he would use his environment to his advantage too well and also fight dirty. 6/10 I'm probably going to end up in lava but at least I can say I tried

Impulse: He doesn't want to fight me but if I choose to start something he could probably mess me up. The pain of getting my ass handed to me would only be surpassed by the pain of knowing it's entirely my fault. 2/10 I don't want to hear the Disappointed Voice he would use to tell me off

Grian: No. NO. Not in any setting under any circumstances. The last time I underestimated a short kid with nothing to lose in a fight I wholeheartedly regretted it, -100/10 short people are to be feared and respected

Iskall: Hm. He is obviously going to beat me up, no question, but I might be able to earn his respect by putting up a good enough fight beforehand. He'll certainly end up laughing at me but 6/10 I'll give it my best shot

Mumbo: I am going to snap this British suit dork in half like a goddamn twig, I am so ready, let me at him I'm going to crack him like a glowstick. 100/10

Cleo: Regardless of whether she could beat me, I have no motivation to fight her. She is already dead so there's not much point. I'll give her 5/10 though because I feel like she might bring a cutlass and being killed by a zombie with a pirate sword would absolutely slap

Joe: I could probably kill Joe but by god he is going to make me feel so bad about my decision to do so. Before he takes his last breath I will probably be having at least seventeen philosophical and moral crises at once. 2/10 I could fight him if I had to but I'd probably end up with him as my therapist afterwards

Jevin: The gloop and the splorch and the squelch would be phenomenal, 11/10 all my stress would be relieved by punching Jev

Wels: Very hard shell. -2/10

Xisuma: I have no real motivation to fight Xisuma, except that it would probably be very fun. Also if I could land a real hit on the guy who wears body armour 24/7 that would be an achievement I could be proud of. 6/10

Bdubs: Call an ambulance now. "But not for me?" you ask? No, it is for me. This man is filled with barely suppressed rage and hidden knives, he would shred me like a cat playing will a roll of toilet paper. -11/10, at least it would be funny though.

Doc: I would not want to fight Doc at all, except that I know the act of not fighting him would cause him to be smug about it, which would light in me a burning need to knock his lights right the fuck out. 11/10 I'm probably going to get clotheslined by a metal arm but I'm going down swinging

Cub: His initial non-fightability makes me nervous. Why is he like that. Why doesn't he want me to fight him. What is he trying to hide. 5/10 I'm not sure if I'm supposed to fight him or not but whichever one I choose it feels wrong

Scar: Hmm... I do not want to fight Scar but I do want to beat up a member of government. 8/10 but only if he's wearing the Mayor outfit and I get to break the monocle

Stress: I would like to fight Stress just to see what she does. There's a 4/5 chance she'll run away but a 1/5 chance she'll do something absolutely unhinged and ruthless (probably involving dogs or potions), and I want to roll the dice and see what I get. 4/10 because I don't think I could actually hurt her if it came to that

False: She is going to take me to pieces in less than five seconds and I will thank her. 10/10 I would be grateful for the privilege

Ren: If I try to fight him he will probably change into his wrestling suit and I do not want to be anywhere near that, 2/10

Etho: Makes me very nervous, too unpredictable. However if I do make the mistake of fighting him he will probably kill me in a fun and creative way. 3/10

Keralis: They always say to go for the eyes, and there's just so much eyes to go for! Endless opportunities, 10/10

[songmingisthighs]

[9.55] mafia!wooyoung × reader

⇀ good thing you're smart, if not Wooyoung wouldn't have a whole attitude change

⇁ tw : violence, torture, kindapping, mafia life

⇁ part 1 / 2 / 3

⇁ disclaimer : the author does not support any and all criminal/illegal acts. the narrative written in this story is purely fiction out of the author's imagination. the things written here does not portray real mafia life nor is the author aware of how the mafia life is like. the author is a hermit loser.

You don't remember how long it has been since they captured you. Being stuck in a basement would do that apparently.

Whoever was behind your capture had been torturing you beyond your own imagination. They had starved you, hit you, kicked you, attempted to drown you, tied you in an uncomfortable position every night, and sent in someone to make sure you don't get an ounce of sleep.

All that just to get information on Wooyoung.

Currently, you're being tied to a chair, being once again interrogated for informations you had no clue about, "things would be much easier if you'd just give us what we want," the buff man in front of you said, he held a knife to your cheek but at this point you couldn't even flinch, "where is Jung Wooyoung's headquarters?"

Your cold outfit was clinging onto you like second skin, it's uncomfortable and it's dirty, the cold had definitely impacted your health.

Recently all you've been able to feel is just the headache and the burn from inside your body. Not even the abuse given to you was able to inflict you pain.

Everything's just numb.

You look up at the man, almost with a challenging look as you press your face daringly to the blade, "I. Don't. Know." you spat each word like venom.

The man laughed, pretty amused at how daring you are being, "you're his wife, there is no way you wouldn't have known," you rolled your eyes at him, bitter that he used the word 'wife' because you know fully well that Wooyoung would never treat you as such, "then I must've not been his wife now, am I?" You retorted back at him, slightly shocking him because this is the first time within the (apparently) 7 days you've been captured that you had said something else other than 'I don't know' or 'fuck you'.

Everyone was startled at the revelation, they probably hadn't concidered that you might not be Wooyoung's wife. No one really know about Wooyoung's personal life, it seems.

Seeing their hesitance, you take this as your chance of escaping.

The buff man grab your hair harshly, his eyes narrowing at you in suspicion, "don't lie to me, whore, if you're not his wife, then why'd you have a wedding ring on?" "Stole it from my mistress before I ran away, needed the money," you lied easily, surprising yourself.

"And why are you wearing it?" He asked again, "to make it less inconspicuous, people need to believe that this belongs to me or else they'll alert the cops that I'm a thief,"

He seemed to be having an inner turmoil on whether or not he should believe you.

With how you've been acting and the lack of evidence that you are Wooyoung's wife, you could really have been the wrong target.

"That means Handong lied to us," he said as he push your head away, talking to one of the men next to him, "bring him in and get this bitch out," he said simply before turning back to leave.

But before he walked out of the room, he looked back once more at you with a bitter smirk, "make sure to... deal... with her first, insurance for your silence,"

When the doors closed, 5 men approach your figure, still tied on the chair.

One of them crouch down in front of you, he brush your hair out of your face with a sad smile, "I'm sorry that we have to do this, pretty girl," confused at what he said, you just stared at him. But then he suddenly slap you so hard that you fell down along with the chair you're tied to.

And thus began one of the longest night of your life.

Meanwhile Wooyoung was getting antsy. His men couldn't find you anywhere and there isn't a second when he didn't regret turning his abundance of cctv off

He spent his days either in meetings or trying to track your whereabouts. San had to step in and actually force him to eat, going as far as cuffing him to his chair and spoon-fed him, even throwing a cheesy "would (Y/N) be happy to see you in this state?" At him to which he replied, "considering how I treat her, I wouldn't be surprised if she is,"

So far, neither yours nor his parents were aware of your disappearance. His dad only asked about you once to ensure he still has leverage, which of course Wooyoung lied, he's already stressed over your disappearance the last thing he need is for his dad to bit his head off.

Each night he spent sleeping in his bedroom, moping to the fact that he genuinely misses and worried about you. He regret taking you for granted, taking your presence for granted. Now, he could only imagine your sleeping form next to him using the memories of when he actually slept in bed with you. He used to be able to feel your warmth next to him, now it's just cold and he dislike it.

Tonight was no different. Before he got into bed, he went to the walk-in closet and look at all the dresses he had brought you to events that you went to (re : events he was forced brought you because his parents would be there). He remembered every how you looked in every single one of them.

It's pathetic of him, to be pining over the woman he claimed to have no care about.

Just as he turned the walk-in closet's lights off, there were commotions from downstairs, then a huge bang like his front doors had been barged open.

Diving into his instincts, Wooyoung grabbed the nearest gun he had hid all around the room and ran out, thinking that it was a raid by his rivals.

But when he looked down from the second floor to the living room, his heart wrenched and he froze.

San had you in his arms, you looked sickly pale with bruises all over your exposed arms and legs, clothes had chunks of them torn, and you weren't moving. One would assume that you're dead.

Wooyoung dropped his gun and ran to his friend who had just put you on the couch.

The sight of you looking so broken panicked him. He wanted to hold you and be glad that you're home, but he doesn't wanna hurt you. He wanted to tell you how sorry he is and that he'll make up to you but he's not sure whether or not you're still alive.

He snapped his head towards his staff, "call the doctor! Call Kang Yeosang in!" He barked to which his staffs immediately obeyed, scrambling to do as he ordered.

"God, baby, who did this to you?" He muttered to himself, reaching forward to brush your hair out of your face.

You stirred a bit when you heard his voice ans managed to open your eyes despite the splitting headache and the soreness all over your body.

When your eyes met his, you smiled, "hey, what are you doing in my dreams?" You croaked out, throat obviously sore and beyond parched from having been denied fluids for so long. It was your turn to brush his bangs from his eyes, something you've always wanted to do but know never could considering his dislike that turned out to be hatred towards you.

You suddenly frown at him, making his gaze on you softer, "I'm sorry," you muttered, not able to speak louder. At that, he tilted his head, "for what?" "Not being able to stay gone, I had to had the will to live, I should've let them kill me," you said before you slip into unconsciousness, rendering Wooyoung speechless at your words.

Before he was able to retaliate, San had swoop you back into his arms to take you to an empty room so Yeosang could come in and treat you.

"No," Wooyoung called, stopping San in his tracks, "bring her to my- our room, she should feel comfortable," to which San just nodded and obey, knowing how important it is to have you next to him as much as him next to you.

Yeosang came in not long after and spent 3 hours cleaning and stitching your wounds, checking for possible internal injuries, all the while making sure he's handling you with the utmost care as Wooyoung had been glaring daggers at him. Whether it serve to be a warning to not harm you or a sign of jealousy as Yeosang had a perfectly valid reason to cut your shirt and shorts off for handling.

"I can't make a clear diagnosis without checking for internal injuries, we have to take her to the hospital," Yeosang said. But Wooyoung just snap at him, "then freaking bring the machines here! She's not leaving this mansion and she's not leaving my side!"

Both men just stared at each other for a few minutes, Yeosang holding onto his ground on wanting simplicity, and Wooyoung being afraid of losing you from his sight again.

Knowing how stubborn his friend can be, Yeosang was first to crack, sighing and nodding at Wooyoung, "I'll see what I can do," he said simply before going out to talk to San about possibly transporting some of his machines.

The rest of the night, Wooyoung took care of you. He had put you in one of his large, white button up because it's the easiest to put on you. He stayed by your side in a chair, afraid that he might hurt you (than he already necessary does with his words) if he were to slip in bed with you.

As he watch you, his hands moved to held yours in his. His thumbs were rubbing the back of your hand when it suddenly caught on something.

Looking down, he noticed that it's your wedding ring, matching his own which he's wearing.

It brought a smile to his face seeing you're still holding onto it so dearly. You could've left it for him to find and throw away the day you left, but you had decided to take it with you.

Could it be that despite everything he's done to you, you don't want to completely erase him from your mind?

And that's what made Wooyoung broke down and cried.

He didn't deserve you, not one bit. But despite that, he knows that he's the only one capable enough of taking care of you, to provide for whatever it is that you need.

So at that moment, with you back in hia arms, he decided to step up and assume his responsibilities and treat you as how you deserve to be treated.

[whumpzone]

Linden & Colton - 19

(masterpost)

CW: references to noncon, Col fearing he'll be sexually abused, flashbacks, brief victim blaming, pet whump, dehumanisation

-

Linden’s phone buzzed again, and he knew exactly who it’d be before he even looked.

Sure enough, messages from his brother were crowding his phone screen. Vikram texted in small, frantic messages, that Linden found oddly funny.

lol fine knowing you you’ll never suggest a day

are you free tomorrow? I’ll come over for lunch or something

you know you miss me!!

Linden rolled his eyes, but truth be told, he did miss him. A new message appeared before he had the chance to start typing.

fine FINE I just want to see jaffa. you can die idc

That made him huff out a laugh, but he’d never give Vik the satisfaction of knowing that. Instead, he typed back:

Tomorrow is fine, don’t worry about bringing food. What are you doing now? Can you ring me? I have something to tell you before you visit.

Vik replied almost immediately.

yeah gimme 2 secs, who have you killed lol!

He checked around for Colton, but he was nowhere to be seen. Probably still working his way through the little chores and tasks Linden had given him, which meant he was either changing the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom (great for dexterity) or watering the balcony plants (providing plenty of fresh air and sunlight). Either way, he still positioned himself in the corner of the lounge, the furthest from his Pet’s ears.

He answered on the second ring. “Vik?”

“Hey, big man. You alright?”

“Yeah… yeah… I, um, I need to tell you something before you come over.”

“You sound tense, mate. What is it? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine it’s just- I have a Pet. Uh. Yeah.”

Vik didn’t miss a beat. “Are you serious? You, a Pet owner? Please.”

“I know, but there was this, this ad, in the paper, the council were talking about this random stray and they said if no one claimed him they were gonna put him down. They would have murdered him, Vik! And I don’t know. I just thought, fuck, no one else is gonna do anything are they. So I rang them up and they gave him to me for free.”

“Wow,” Vik said, a placeholder while he digested all of that. “So, how is he?”

“He’s alright, yeah. Only recently learned that he could speak. He’s still really really jumpy.”

“He’s scared of you, then,” Vik translated.

“Yeah. I don’t know how much of him you’ll see tomorrow. I’ll tell him it’s alright if he just stays in his room.”

“I can’t picture you as a Pet owner, even though you’re not a proper one.”

“Not a proper one as in I’m a good person with a soul?” Linden quipped. Vik snorted.

“Basically. Ew, it’s weird! He does whatever you say! But you’re just- you’re Linden. You’re my stupid baby brother. He should be telling you what to do.”

Linden smiled. Vik always put him at ease. Difficult topics seemed to flow off him like water off a duck. “Yeah, yeah it is kind of weird, I’m still getting used to it. But you see why I wanted to let you know beforehand.”

“Oh, yeah, totally,” he laughed. “Or else I might have thought he was burgling your house and I’d have asked to join in.”

“Oh, shut up. See you for lunch.”

“See you, Pet man!”

Linden felt the weight lift from his shoulders, but not entirely. Now he had to tell Col.

. . .

He had finished over ten minutes ago. Shiny drops of water still lingered on some of the wider leaves, not quite ready to drop into the moist soil below. But the balcony was too warm and sunny to resist, so Col was still kneeling there when he heard Master’s voice behind him.

He flinched hard at the sound, getting up quickly and ungraciously, tripping over his own feet as if he hadn’t just been caught lazing around.

Through the doorway, a perfect rectangle of light caught Master’s face, cutting down through one eye and turning his left cheek a tawny brown. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and leant forward slightly.

“Don’t worry about getting up, you’re fine, love. No, I don’t know if you heard, but I was just speaking to my brother Vikram over the phone. He’s going to visit tomorrow.”

Master was having a guest. Col nodded, but his mind went white. He suddenly felt like he wasn’t in control anymore. He was underwater, and Master’s voice barely faded through from above the surface.

“You can stay in your room, okay? You don’t have to come down and see him, if you don’t want to. There’s no pressure. I just wanted to let you know beforehand.”

The words flowed past his head, and whatever barriers had been pulled down over his mind kept them from making a dent. “Thank you, sir,” his body replied.

“Okay?” Master half-smiled. “Okay. Good stuff, Col. It’s a nice day- stay out on the balcony more, I know you like it there. I’ll see you later, okay?”

He nodded, but it must have been delayed, because he blinked and Master had left the room, as if he had never been there. Had Col dreamt it?

Turning around, the flowers were wet, so he had completed that task. He knew he had been ordered to stay, so he did, trying to keep the creeping dread from flooding him entirely.

But-

The next day-

It all came crashing down. His eyes snapped open and he was in his room, waiting, and then there was the click of the front door and Master was speaking, speaking with another voice- there was a man in the house-

Master only ever had guests when his Pet had been bad, and he was going to be taught a lesson, and that’s why he was told to wait in his room, that’s why he was prepped, maybe it was a small mercy. But he had been in such a state of denial, barely able to process the news, that he hadn’t done anything to make it hurt less.

All he knew was that he was on the floor in the corner, the furthest one from the bed, and his arms were wrapped around him as if that’d do anything to stop the onslaught. He knew they would just force his limbs apart and restrain them like that until they were done, and it didn’t matter whether he cried and begged. Sometimes they even enjoyed it more when he did. Once he had been lifted up by his throat and told to beg for his life, and it made everyone laugh, because look at it, it wants this, it’s begging for it.

The door handle turned and Col could see Master’s face. His eyes scanned the room briefly before they landed on Col, tucked away in the corner of the room. “Col? What is it?”

. . .

Hey, Col. Vik is here, just so you know, but again, no pressure to come downstairs. He knew what he would say, the tone he’d say it in, so he could hopefully make Col feel secure. But it all fell apart when he laid eyes on the Pet, curled up and trembling on the far side of the room.

“Col?” he said. “What is it?”

“You promised,” Col sobbed, utterly betrayed. Linden’s heart broke. “You promised you wouldn’t- wouldn’t- wouldn’t do that…”

“I won’t,” he said, understanding immediately and wanting more than anything to go over to Col and pull him into a hug. But he couldn’t. He knew that.

“You said you wouldn’t let anyone else,” he whispered, looking up at him with bloodshot eyes.

Then- the moment of vulnerability passed. Not that Col looked any less vulnerable. He was still hunched, small and weak, programmed to do whatever it took to make Linden happy. But he caught his tongue, and the mask slipped back on.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You can do- do what you want to me. Of course. I’m not, I don’t mean to question you, Master, I’m sorry, I know my place, I’m good, I promise I’m good.”

“You are, you’re really good.” He put a hand over his heart and kept it there. “I’m not going to come in, Vik isn’t going to come in. Neither of us are going to hurt you. I promised, and I’m sticking to it.”

Col was still sobbing, but it was more uneven breaths than actual tears. He couldn’t have spoken even if he wanted to with the way his lungs were pulling the rug from underneath him.

“For now, I think you might feel safer if I just left you alone, so I’ll go back downstairs, okay? And I won’t disturb you again. You just make sure you feel better, that’s all that matters. Don’t worry, Col. You’re safe.”

-

Vikram didn’t say anything as Linden returned, but he did raise his eyebrows. Linden just nodded, keeping quiet until he was sat back down and, hopefully, out of earshot.

“Poor thing,” said Linden. “He thinks, well- he just sees everything as a threat. I don’t know if he’s ever had a positive experience with another person before. At least not in his memory. Did you…”

He trailed off and Vik simply nodded. All humour was gone from his face; he knew when to leave it out, and when it would help. “Yeah, I heard a bit of it. Heard him crying.”

“I don’t want you to take it personally-“ Linden started, but Vik had already swatted at him.

“Oh, stop it. As if I would. But I am- I am happy I’m here, even though I’m sorry it’s scared him. You need someone too, Linden. Like, shit, this is a full time job.”

“You sound weird, being nice to me” he smiled weakly. Vik grinned back at him, in complete earnest.

“Well then, we can talk about something else, if you want. Something I can confidently mock you for. Where’s Jaffa, too?” he twisted around in his chair, searching for her. His floofed-up hair, hairsprayed to excess, bobbed around on the top of his head as he went. “Where’s my little main attraction?”

Soon Vik had Jaffa on his lap where he was brushing her absent-mindedly, listening to Linden talk about the latest book he had read.

“You are a fuckin’ hermit, dude.”

“And?” Linden pulled his best bored-looking face.

“Well… actually, yeah, stay indoors. Forcing you to come drinking with me would be at the rest of the pub’s expense.”

“You’re a bastard,” Linden laughed. “It’s you they should be worrying about, with that boulder of hair on your head. Look at the state of it, it crunches when you touch it.”

“The ladies love it.”

“Yeah, ‘cause they know if they get locked out they can use it to smash a window.”

. . .

Above them, Col listened. He couldn’t make out the words, but both men seemed happy and upbeat, excited about the night ahead of them, excited about the pliant little bitch waiting upstairs.

Before that, though-

Colton had been openly defiant. He had begged for it to stop before it had even started. He hadn’t taken an ounce of pain, nothing had earned him the right to plead for mercy. He had not only been insubordinate, but he had done it while Master had a guest. That kind of embarrassment would not go unpunished. Master would not have his authority undermined by some common stray.

Col desperately needed to apologise. He knew he shouldn’t just wait for his punishment like usual this time. This time he needed to right the balance. He would prove that he knew his place, and show Master’s guest that his rule here was absolute. So with shaking hands, he slowly creaked open the door, and went downstairs.

The laughter died as he came into view, and even the feeling of their eyes settling over his body made his skin prickle. For a split second, his feet locked in place, but as usual his fear pushed them onwards. He kept his head down, his arms behind his back, his shoulders hunched. As soon as he reached Master’s feet, he knelt. Forehead to the floor. Hands to his sides, ready to be stomped on or grabbed. He was a slave. He was always open for his Master’s use. He did not answer back and he did not question.

“Col, are you, are you sure you want to be here?” Master asked from above. He was very sure. But yes, of course, it was no use Col thinking these kinds of affirmations in his head. He had to make them clear.

“I’m here to apologise, sir, for daring to answer back and embarrassing you. Your Pet knows that he is owned completely and it was c-completely wrong to question you. I had no right to ask for mercy, I don’t deserve any. I’m a mindless Pet with no free will and I exist to serve you. P-Please, accept th-this apology. It won’t- won’t happen again.”

He stammered, towards the end. He could only hope Master wouldn’t get angry about it.

. . .

Ironically, it was now that Linden was embarrassed. He glanced over at Vik, and as the two brothers made eye contact, it was as if they had exchanged a whole conversation.

You see, see what I mean? See how he is?

Yeah, dude. It’s fucked up.

I’m sorry.

Don’t be. You’re doing your best to help him. I’m not embarrassed if you’re not.

He gently reached down to Col and rested a palm on top of his head. He jerked in surprise, a weak gasp escaping his lips, but he otherwise stayed perfectly still.

“Okay, love. Thank you. I’m not angry, okay? My brother is here and he always puts me in a good mood.”

He shot another glance at Vik, mouthing this is how I make him understand. Vik nodded. He was looking at Col curiously. Linden wondered if this was how he had pictured him.

“You didn’t embarrass me. You’re fine. I’m not going to hurt you. Vik doesn’t want to hurt you either. Why don’t you go and sit on the balcony, and I’ll sit with you later, and pet your head? You’re not in trouble.”

As he retracted his hand Col’s head tilted upwards, chasing the warmth of the touch. He kept his eyes low, but whispered, “Thank you, sir, thank you, thank you for having mercy. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Okay, you’re okay. Let me help you up.”

It was technically an order, and Col obeyed silently, offering no resistance as Linden slipped a hand over his elbow and pulled him to his feet. He smiled at Col, but his face was blank and resigned. Beyond fear. He had done what he could, and his fate was in Linden’s hands once more. It hurt to know that. Linden could decide to leash Col at any moment, torture him with knives and burning oil and belts, and Col wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Linden steered him to the base of the stairs, and then gently encouraged him upwards, until he had drifted out of sight entirely.

The house was silent. He turned back to Vik, but neither had to say anything. Linden already knew that he understood.

-

first half of the taglist!

@newbornwhumperfly @whumpadump1939 @firewheeesky @whump-me-all-night-long @captainseconds @grizzlie70 @unicornscotty @lave-whump @princessofonward @cupcakes-and-pain @bumbumbea @whumpfigure @yet-another-heathen @secretwhumplair @whumps-up @as-a-matter-of-whump @getyourwhumphere @itzagoodthing @whumpymirages @soapparentlyilikewhumpnow @zipadeedooda-drabbles @penny-for-your-whump @briars7 @legallylibra @angel-stars @loyds-of-registry @tears-and-lilies @badluck990 @rosesareviolentlyread

@vickytokio @neuro-whump @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @whumpsy-daisies @control-whump @theydy-cringeworthy @starnight-whump @cursedandtired @jo-doe-seeking-inspo @justabitofwhump @glamrockgregory @rippedjeansandfadeddreams @genesissane @justbreakonme @addyez @httyd-chocolate

[quaranmine]

The Babysitting Game

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, Grian doesn't have a child but he does have an egg and a village. That’s basically the same thing, right?

Grian acquires an egg. His friends help him.

No romantic relationships or content warnings. Mainly fluff! Hermits: Grian, Mumbo, Pearl, and Scar. My first publish fanfic since 2016 and my first hermitcraft fanfic :D ao3 link and some inspirations to be linked in a reblog

Words: 2862

•·················•·················•

"What if I touched it really quick?" Scar asked.

"No, don’t-don’t touch the egg," Grian said seriously. "Look, I even made a sign! It specifically says ‘Do not touch.’" He gestured to the sign in question, but Scar ignored him.

"Can I rub it?" he said. The man leaned over it, studying the object carefully. Grian hadn’t known where to place the egg when he got it, and it was just sitting on an anvil for the time being. He didn’t even have a starter house yet, but clearly he was going to need something soon if he was going to protect the egg from some of the more . . . mischievous residents of their Boatem village.

“No, don’t touch the egg! Scar-” Grian walked closer, hands outstretched, just in time to see Scar reach out with his hand and pat the egg.

Vworp!

The egg disappeared into thin air.

Dragon eggs had a tendency to do that. It was a survival tactic--Grian didn't really know how it worked, but just as endermen could teleport away from danger, so could the egg if it were touched. Now whether or not Scar was dangerous remained up for debate…

Scar giggled. "Oh, where did you go?" he sang, hunting around the area.

Well, he COULD be pretty scary sometimes.

"Scarrrr," Grian whined, helping him look. "I told you not to touch it!"

"It's over here!" Scar shouted, finding the egg at the bottom of a small slope nearby. "Just one more time…." He reached out again.

"No!" Grian said, slapping his hand away. "Look, you've got to pick it up the right way." He demonstrated, carefully lifting the egg and placing it in a pouch slung over his back. He had hurriedly stitched it together not too long ago, worried that transporting the egg normally might break it. “If you do it roughly, you’ll scare it and it’ll teleport away again.”

"I see!" said Scar.

"Now, please, don't touch the egg.”

"Oh," Scar said. He straightened. "You're really serious about this."

Grian glared. "I am."

"I'm sorry, I just thought it was funny!"

Grian sighed. "It's okay, Scar. It's just--this thing is a baby, it needs to be handled gently! You can't just go around scaring it! What if it falls into a hole or something?" he hissed.

"Oh my god," Scar laughed, "you're its mother now!"

"No, no, I'm not!"

"You are!" Scar cried. He suddenly stopped. "Oh no, didn't you kill its mother?"

"Well it doesn't know that!" Grian snapped. "Truthfully I didn't realize there would be an egg! And I couldn't just leave it, you know! Here, look at this." Grian gently withdrew the egg from its pack, and Scar moved closer. He held it up to the sun. "Look at that."

The sun shined dark red through the deep purple shell of the egg, making it glow within. In the middle, the silhouette of a curled up creature was illuminated. Blood vessels radiated outward, and at the bottom there was a blank space that Grian assumed was air. The egg’s shell was too thick for any detail to be made out, but the processes happening within were clear. Grian was enchanted with it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

"Wow," Scar breathed. "There's actually a dragon in there! What're you gonna do with it after it hatches?"

"Well, I haven't exactly thought that far--I just want to worry about keeping it safe first. I mean, what do you even do with this thing?" Grian put the egg back in its satchel, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I suppose you keep it warm and safe but, like, I don't know what else-"

"I could help!" Scar said.

"You were just playing with it!"

"Hey," Scar said defensively, "that was before I knew more about it!"

Grian rolled his eyes.

“What are you guys doing over here?” said Mumbo, wandering over. Grian just knew he’d been up to something, and sure enough, there was a new tree next to his little collection of chests. Grian wasn’t very bothered by it, because he already had a plan to get Mumbo back for it.

“Grian is just showing me his new baby!” Scar teased. “He’s a mom now.”

“I am NOT its mother,” replied Grian tiredly, but he smiled at the sight of the other man.

“A baby?” Mumbo asked, choosing to ignore the rest of Scar’s statement.

“A dragon egg,” Grian answered. “I found it in the End.” He paused for a moment, feeling almost bad. “After I killed the dragon.”

“Grian! You’ve orphaned it!” Mumbo sounded scandalized.

“Why do you all keep bringing that up!?” he defended, glancing between Mumbo and Scar, who both gave him disapproving, albeit playful, looks. “I know you’re Mr. Peace, Love and Plants this time, but we’ve always killed the dragon in every new world!”

“Well, I guess that’s true, but it is a little sad isn’t it? You’re taking care of it but only because you killed its mum.”

“Yeah,” was all Grian said. The dragon always needed to be taken care of in each new world they visited, and while it was always a bit of a shame, he’d never really contemplated it that much. After all, he normally wasn’t the one who fought it--that last time in Evo aside. He didn’t really know what he had gotten into but he felt deeply like he needed to protect this egg. It was like a tug in his chest, drawing him into the egg and telling him not to let go.

“Show him the egg!” Scar said.

“You just want to see it again,” Grian replied, but pulled the egg out of the satchel again anyway for Mumbo to see. The surface of the egg wasn’t smooth, like a chicken’s egg, but bumpy. The purple spots almost seemed to glow, and occasionally little violet particles drifted off of it. Grian felt like he could stare at it in awe all day, and apparently his friends felt the same.

“How’re you going to keep it warm?” asked Mumbo after a moment of admiring it. “That satchel isn’t going to be enough, and to be frank, I don’t see you spending any time sitting on it, even if the mental image is pretty funny.”

Grian rolled his eyes at the comment, but thought about it. How would he incubate it? He may have had wings, but he didn’t know anything about eggs, other than that it was a safe bet to assume it needed to be kept warm. “I'm not sure, actually.”

“Hey, let me design something for you!” Mumbo said excitedly. “I could probably use some redstone and make an incubator of some sort for you.”

Grian smiled. “I’d really appreciate that.”

Asking Mumbo to create a contraption for him--what could go wrong?

•·················•·················•

“I’m not wearing this thing, you know.” Grian said, holding the contraption while Mumbo wheezed with laughter in the background. The design that Mumbo had come up with was essentially a backpack with heating elements strung through it, except for one thing . . .

“You-you wear it in the front,” Mumbo choked out, wiping a tear from his eyes.

“Yes, I see that,” Grian replied, unamused.

“Like a swaddle!”

“Yes, I see that.”

Mumbo laughed harder. Grian had to begrudgingly admit that it was well designed, however. It would fit the egg perfectly, keep it warm, and most important it was mobile to ensure that he could take the egg with him. It was thoughtful, especially since Mumbo knew Grian was quite protective of it.

“I’m not wearing this thing,” Grian repeated. “I’m not going to let you all laugh at me while I walk around the server with an egg swaddled to me!”

“I thought you’d say that,” Mumbo chuckled. “Here, you can switch the straps around and turn it into a backpack.” He unclipped the straps and moved them into the new configuration.

“Thank you, Mumbo,” he said gratefully. “This will certainly do the trick.”

“Glad to hear it mate,” Mumbo replied. “Now, while you’re here, may I ask why there is an incredibly tall tree on top of my camper?”

“Sorry, got to go!” blurted Grian, snatching the backpack from Mumbo’s arms and flying off in a burst of feathers.

“That’s unfair, I don’t even have an elytra yet to go chase him down with,” muttered the man as he watched Grian disappear.

•·················•·················•

Grian sat in the grass in front of his starter home and rubbed his eyes wearily. He was exhausted. Is this how all parents feel? he wondered. Was he just uniquely unqualified to be one? After all, this was only an egg! It hadn’t even hatched yet and he was already tired of keeping up with it.

Carrying it in the backpack was heavy, and Grian tired out quickly. It was hot on his back, and Grian found himself having to take breaks to avoid overheating. It was also cumbersome, and he found it difficult to build with as it shifted his weight. He almost fell off the roof once while building it! Of course, having wings meant that Grian could catch himself easily, but it had still given him quite the scare. Dragon eggs were pretty sturdy, and would teleport themselves out of danger if possible, but he was still so paranoid about breaking it. And now there was the Boatem Hole to worry about--what if it teleported itself into the void? These things kept Grian awake at night.

But if he left it...well, just like Grian had a tendency to lose items in his chest monsters, he also had a tendency to forget where he placed things. He had been forced to go back and rescue the egg from some place he’d left it more than once, which he wasn’t exactly proud of. What sort of parent forgot their child?

. . . He was definitely not admitting to being its parent.

Oh God, what did I get myself into?

“Hey Grian, what’re you up to?” came a voice, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up and saw Pearl standing over him. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and her hands were in her hoodie pockets. She took a seat on the ground next to him, and followed his gaze overlooking the Boatem village. “What’s on your mind?”

“This--this egg,” said Grian. It sat next to him in its backpack, still radiating heat. “I don’t know what to do with it. I’m just so tired of carrying it around!”

“I have to admit,” Pearl said, “I didn’t expect you to immediately adopt a baby dragon the very next time I saw you.”

“Yeah, well, it was an accident.” Grian groaned. “I don’t know what to do with it now, let alone when it hatches!”

Pearl thought for a moment. “You know, the rest of us are all here for you. The other hermits would be happy to help out, I’m sure.”

The other hermits . . . well of course they would. If it was one thing they were all good at, it was supporting each other. Scar had already taken a particular interest in the egg, although Grian was still a little suspicious of him scaring it again. Mumbo had specially designed an incubator for it. Pearl was visiting him to check up on him and offer help.

All Grian had to do was convince himself to let it go. To let them help.

“I know that but . . .”

“But what? Have you had any reason to believe they wouldn’t?” Pearl asked.

“Well, no.” He thought for a while. He thought of how his friends would lend materials when needed, or how they’d help replace someone’s armor and items if they were lost. He thought about the days where they all teamed up and chose one hermit to help out, and he thought about all the things they did for the good of the entire community without even being asked.

His desire to protect the egg was strong, and putting it into the hands of another person almost felt like simultaneously a betrayal of the egg itself and the biggest leap of faith he could take. But the hermits were good at leaps of faith, because someone was always there to catch you.

“You think it’d be okay?”

“I know it’ll be okay,” Pearl replied. “I haven’t been here very long but from what I’ve seen, I know they’d all help. They wouldn’t hurt it. They might be a little mischievous sometimes,” she said, glancing at Scar’s house, “but they know how important it is and would be happy to help. They helped you before, didn’t they?”

Pearl was right, of course. Nobody on the server had any desire to hurt the egg. He trusted that. If there was anyone that he could trust, it was them.

But how would he get them all to essentially sign up for babysitting?

An idea struck him, and Grian scrambled to his feet. “Pearl, you’re brilliant. Thank you!”

She blinked, a little startled. “Always happy to help.”

•·················•·················•

Grian stood back, admiring his work. A near perfect duplicate of the egg that was currently sitting in the backpack slung around his shoulder, but at a much larger scale. It was built out of obsidian blocks and crying obsidian for the spots, and if Grian was pretty proud of how it looked.

If Grian knew anything, it was that his friends loved minigames. And Grian was not above gently exploiting that fact to get a little help--just like barge game from the last world, where he managed to get his friends to help mine out the stone from next to his mansion. Just slap the title of “game” on something and you could get a hermit to sign up for anything.

“Now . . . I just have to write the signs on the inside.”

The game Grian had come up with was officially called Tegg--he needed to stay on brand with his tag games in every world--but he’d mentally been calling it “The Babysitting Game” for a while now. Because that’s what it really was--each hermit who signed up would also sign up to watch the egg and keep it safe. He set to work outlining the rules.

RULE ONE: Protect the egg and keep it safe.

RULE TWO: Keep the egg incubated or it’ll die.

RULE THREE: Keep a close eye on the egg.

RULE FOUR: Call Grian if it starts to hatch.

Satisfied, he wrote out the rest of the instructions. Because it was a game, he wanted to make it fun for the hermits too, so he’d decided to make it like a scavenger hunt. People were allowed to take the egg, provided they adhered to the rules, and were encouraged to hide it and keep it safe. Otherwise, someone else who wanted to have it could get it. The safer the egg was, the less likely for someone else to find it. The winner was whoever had the egg the longest when it finally hatched. Grian didn’t know how long that would take, but he didn’t want to miss it either, hence rule four.

Yep, totally outsourcing his babysitting onto his friends.

Grian squinted at his wall of signs, before placing one final sign at the bottom: Grian will track the game and has final say on points and rules!

“That should do it,” he mumbled. He still wanted to keep an eye on the egg, to make sure that he knew who had it and how many people’s hands it had gone through. After all, he was the one ultimately responsible for it.

Grian pulled the egg out of the backpack and carefully placed it on the ground. He’d somehow made a habit of just speaking to it every now and then--he had no idea if the little dragon could hear anything in there, but he liked to think that it could. “Hey there,” he whispered, and stroked the top of the egg. “Some new people are going to start taking you pretty soon, but it’s okay. They’re going to give me some help and make sure you’re safe.”

He paused, taking in the little room he’d made and the wall of signs he’d written with meticulous instructions for the egg’s care. It may have been the first thing he’d built for this egg, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be his last. A baby dragon was a commitment and for the first time Grian really let himself think about what that meant, beyond just an egg that he had to carry around. Would he house it? Train it? Let it stay by his side? Would he love it?

I think I already do, he thought.

He thought of the hermits--their mischievousness, their pranks, their hard work, their friendship, and their goodness at heart. They were his family, now. What was one more addition?

“It’s okay,” he whispered to the egg. “I trust them all with my life, but more importantly, I trust them with yours.”

[sdvvillagers]

Families reactions for bachelorettes and bachelors expecting a baby? (｡◕‿‿◕｡) Who would be extatic about becoming grandparent/auntie and so on, and who'd be scared of new role?

First off, I am SO DANG SORRY for how long it took me to answer this.  Seriously, this ask has been in my inbox for months (along with another one that I SWEAR I’ll get to!  I’m sorry!).  Long asks like these make my brain seize up and it takes awhile to kick my brain in the pants and reboot it.  I tried to keep all responses vague in terms of spouse (for male or female partner) as well as vague in terms of pregnancy versus adoption.  Enjoy!

Alex - Evelyn and George never thought they’d see the day that they would become great-grandparents.  It seemed so far-fetched that they’d never really considered it as an option, not even when Alex got married.  It wasn’t until they actually heard Alex announce that he was going to be a father that the reality set in.  Evelyn was so overjoyed she burst into tears, beckoning Alex over to her so she could squeeze him as hard as her frail arms possibly could.  George was happy, of course, but more than anything he was proud.  Not only proud of Alex and what a wonderful father he would be, but admittedly proud of himself for living so full a life that he lived long enough to see himself become a great-grandfather.

Sam - Jodi has been excited about the prospect of having grandchildren ever since Sam was born.  Having a family and children of her own is rewarding, she can’t deny that, but there’s something different about grandkids.  She saw the way her own parents interacted with Sam and later Vincent, and saw a far more carefree relationship.  Grandparents don’t have to be disciplinarians, they don’t have to enforce strict bedtimes or limit sugar intake, they don’t have to clean up after messes or potty train.  Jodi loves being a mother when it comes to interacting with her children, it’s everything else that gets overwhelming.  Jodi definitely shrieks in excitement when Sam announces that he’s going to be a father.  Kent, usually a quiet and stoic man, will struggle to hold back his emotions as he congratulates his son.  It isn’t until later when he has a moment alone that he properly processes the news and finally allows himself to feel properly excited about it.  So much of his own children’s lives was missed by him, he hopes he can be a more present in the life of his grandchild.  And Vincent… well, Vincent is just tickled by the idea that he’ll be an uncle before he even turns 10 and will insist that everyone start calling him “Uncle Vincent” before the baby even arrives.

Seb - Robin has NO CHILL when it comes to Seb announcing that he’s going to be a father.  For years Robin worried about Seb, concerned that he would be a hermit forever and would never live a life outside of the basement.  Seeing Seb flourish the way he has and meet someone new was rewarding enough and even once Seb was in a relationship, Robin wasn’t sure if children were ever on his radar.  He didn’t seem like he wanted kids in his life and Robin still would have been happy for him even if he never pursued having children… at least that’s what she thought until the moment Seb announced he was going to be a father.  Full-on freakout on Robin’s part.  Demetrius is outwardly proud of Sebastian and congratulates him, but a part of Demetrius is worried.  His relationship as a father figure to Sebastian never really worked out and he wonders what his place will be in the life of Sebastian’s child and whether he will be treated as a grandfather or not.  Maru is SO excited to become an auntie, already she starts thinking of all the cool and fun things she wants to do with her niece/nephew.  She’s bound and determined to be the stereotypical “fun aunt”.

Shane - Marnie has spent most of her life worrying about Shane for various reasons; worried about his alcohol dependence, worried about his depression, worried about his loneliness, worried about his future.  When Shane finally does meet someone, Marnie is ecstatic.  Of course someone new will never fix a person in itself, having a partner at least helps to motivate Shane to get his life on the right track.  Marnie is absolutely thrilled when Shane announces he’s going to be a father and this is one area where she’s not worried one bit.  She’s seen how he is with Jas and what a wonderful father figure he’s been to her, Marnie’s just happy that he’ll have the chance to have this experience from the beginning.  As for Jas, she couldn’t be happier.  It’s always been a bit lonely for her, it’s been tough for her to find her place in the family dynamic.  But with Shane getting married and now a new baby arriving, Jas finally feels like she’s settling into a family and becoming part of something she’s always wanted.

Abigail - Caroline and Pierre are so proud of the woman that Abi has grown into.  Yes, they had their disagreements as Abi was growing up and even into her young adulthood, but those were all overcome once Abi started to make a life for herself.  It was worrisome to both Caroline and Pierre when Abi was so carefree and didn’t have a direction she wanted to go in life, it seemed like the last thing in life she wanted was to settle down and live a domestic life.  Apparently all Abi needed was to find the right person to complement her and everything fell into place.  Abi is still the somewhat rebellious girl she had been and there’s still many things Pierre and Caroline will never understand about her, but it at least brings them comfort to see her happy.  When she announces that she’s going to be a mother, Pierre and Caroline are relieved and overjoyed.  It was never anything they thought would happen to them when their only child was so outwardly against domesticity, but they’re so happy that she found a way to live that life and still be happy.

Emily - When Emily announces that she is going to be a mother, Haley literally SHRIEKS in excitement.  At this point in her life Haley might not be ready for a baby, but that doesn’t mean she’s not completely excited to have one in her life.  What follows is the biggest shopping trip of Haley’s life, she finds herself buying more in preparation for the new baby than even Emily does.  No niece or nephew of Haley’s will go unspoiled.  She can’t wait to be the cool aunt.

Haley - It’s strange for Emily when she hears that Haley will be a mother.  Most of Emily’s life was spent caring for Haley more as her mother than as her sister, it isn’t until recently that they’ve been able to find a happy place in their relationship where Emily can finally feel like a sister.  Now the dynamic is changing once again and Emily feels more like a grandmother than an auntie, the connection to Haley and her child is that strong.  Somehow calling herself an aunt just doesn’t seem powerful enough, it doesn’t seem worthy enough.  Emily knows she will be more than just an aunt to Haley’s child and has ever intention of treating her niece or nephew the way any grandmother would.

Maru - Robin and Demetrius beam with pride when Maru announced that she’s going to be a mother.  While Demetrius always focused more on Maru’s success in her studies and her career, Robin always worried in the back of her mind if this measure of success was the only one Maru would cling to.  Robin hoped that Maru would learn that her success could be measured just as much by her personal relationships and family life and that Maru was smart enough and driven enough to have it all.  Seeing Maru in a happy relationship and hearing the news that she’s starting a family is a relief to Robin to see that she never devalued having a family and it’s a relief to Demetrius to see that his motivated daughter is living a full life.  Sebastian isn’t outwardly excited about the prospect of being an uncle, then again there isn’t much he’s outwardly excited about.  Inwardly, though, he’s strangely looking forward to being an uncle.  Yes, it will be awkward and he’s certainly never been a fan of babies or even small children, but somehow the idea of playing Solarian Chronicles with his niece or nephew many years from now is a vision he can’t stop seeing and enough to get him actually excited.

Penny - Pam knows how long Penny has waited for this moment and it’s for that reason that Pam is actually quite worried for her.  Pam knows how much the idea of being a wife and mother has been glorified in Penny’s mind but Pam understands from experience just how difficult parenting can really be.  It’s hard to truly make someone understand just how hard parenting can be and that it’s not the beautiful, rewarding experience it can sometimes be painted as.  Parenting can be soul-crushing, it can be exhausting, it can be overwhelming, and Pam worries that Penny might not be ready for that aspect of it.  Of course Pam is thrilled at the news that she’ll be a grandmother, but a part of her is also worried about what kind of grandmother she’ll be.  She fully acknowledges that she wasn’t exactly the best mother in the world and that somehow Penny turned out okay in spite of that.  Being told that she’ll be a grandmother gives Pam some relief that maybe she’ll get a second chance… she just hopes she won’t screw it up.

[throbbin-bobbies]

AN: It’s just something rando I did. I might make more chapters lemme know what y’all think 😊

Walking through the final gate at the airport, I can finally see Sasha, one of the farmhands at Horseland waiting for me. I made the decision to move across the country to start anew. At least as anew as I can.

“Hey squirt! Ready to get going and meet everyone at Horseland!?” Sasha greets me with a big hug and a bigger smile. He was one of my parents friends, along with the owners and the other workers at the barn.

“I suppose, haha! Hey, does anyone else know there’s a new girl coming to the barn or-?”

“Well, not exactly. You see, the Handler’s told everyone that there was a ‘special guest’ but left all the other details to their imaginations” Sasha chucked as we got everything and ourselves into the ranch truck.

“I see” I chuckle, “how mischievous! Now I see why mom and dad liked them so much!” We laughed as we headed to the ranch.

By the time we reached the ranch, it was just turning 10:30 in the morning. ‘Today’s gonna drag’ I thought to myself. Flying Michigan to California will have me up 24 hours when I go to bed at 9pm. My flight departed at 6 pm and I got here at 10 am!

“Do you think I have to participate in a bunch of meet and greets today? I kind of want to hermit in my room and consume as little energy as possible.”

“Well, the Handler’s sorta figured as such. So they offered to let you just rest all day if you’d like. What do ya think?”

“Hmmmm” I began to think. If I do the meet and greets now I can stay awake easier AND get the hellos out of the way. Resting in bed all day on my laptop sounds good too, but then I’d probably fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed. “I think I’ll actually just meet everyone today. That way I won’t fall asleep and ruin my sleep schedule on the first day, ya know?”

“I hear ya loud and clear, squirt” Sasha said, pulling in to the driveway to Horseland. It was big, and beautiful! The barns look amazing too. Looking out the window I can see a bunch of horses and people lined up. There was six people and six horses. Not going to lie, it’s a bit nerve-racking to meet all these people at once

Once we were parked, I got out of the passenger seat and walked back to the trailer. ‘Thankfully everyone is on the other side. Else it’d be a bit awkward, hehe’ I thought. Dropping the trailer I could see some of the riders though, so I gave them a smile and a wave. “Howdy, y’all! Let me get Little Miss out and greet ya properly!” As I finish the gate is finally open all the way.

“Little Miss? Oh, how cute! What breed is she?!” The blonde girl smiles.

“You’ll see soon enough” I chuckle. The reaction they’ll have ought to be good. You see, Little Miss is a 19.5 hand horse. A Percheron to be specific. “Come on girl! Let’s go say hi to everyone!”

{19.5 hands is 78 inches to withers, or 6.5 feet}

With a whinny she started moving her big hooves. I exited the trailer first, lead in hand, and watched everyone’s faces as I brought Little Miss out. It was a mix of awe, shock, and excitement.

“I don’t know if you know this already, but that’s no ‘little’ Miss nothing!” One redhead said.

“No kidding! Do you really expect to jump a horse like that?” The other lighter redhead followed.

“No, but what I do expect you to be nice or shut your mouth” I laughed. Typical mean girls. Gross.

“Hey! You can’t say that!” The first one said.

“Well don’t say rude things, and you won’t get rude things said back” I shrugged, matter of factly. “But please everyone, I’m really a nice person. I just sort of give back what ya give me. Otherwise I’m pretty tame!” I laugh with a smile.

“Hey squirt! Here’s your bags, I gotta split and get a project done before days out. See ya on the flip side!” Sasha came up with my suitcase and backpack. I placed my backpack next to my suitcase. ‘I’ll get Missy situated first before I deal with those’ I thought while petting her nose. “Okay Sasha, take care of yourself!” And he was off.

“So! My name is Misty! And this is my Percheron, Little Miss, but I usually just call her Missy.”

And one by one everyone introduced themselves and their horses. All of them seem nice! With the exception of the redhead sisters, of course.

“So what brings you out here to Horseland?” Sarah asks as let Missy out in the paddock to stretch her legs.

“Oh, family. In fact, I don’t know if you two know this,” I say insinuating towards Will and Bailey. “I’ll actually be staying with y’all for a while!”

“Oh really! Wow! Wait, what about school? Which one are you going to?” Molly asked, hopping on the fence.

“I’m doing online! I’m actually almost done with school all together.”

“Wait, really? How old are you? I thought you were the same age as us?” Alma piped in.

“I am! I’m just turning 16 this year. I did all my other schooling online and I just finish my classes early.”

“Must be nice” Chloe remarked.

“Yeah. We get stuck going to our school every year.”

“Every day!”

“Well, not all things are as great as they seem” I replied, watching Missy trot around.

“What do you mean, you get to practically do whatever you want” Chloe remarked again.

“Eh, maybe you’ll understand eventually, but for now let’s just worry about getting familiar with each other. I haven’t met anyone here before! What if one of you is like the boogeyman or something!” I laughed.

“The only boogeymen here are Chloe and Zoey” Bailey joked, causing the two to scoff and walk out of the barn.

“Well, we ought to go wait for our rides, it’s time to leave. It was nice meeting you Misty!” Sarah started the goodbyes. Then Molly, and Alma. Leaving me with Bailey and Will.

“So!” Will clapped his hands together, “Ready to go see your new room!?”

“Yeah! It’ll be nice to have a goooooood sleep” we all laugh, “I can’t say I’ve never been up this long before. But boy it’s been a long 24 hours with the time difference between here and Michigan!”

“Yeah, I bet all those introductions wore you out even more, huh?” Will asked, as I swung my backpack on my back. I went to grab the luggage handle but he quickly brushed my hand away and took it instead. “Let me, you’ve had a long day! You said it yourself!”

“O-oh…um. Thank you! That’s really sweet of you! And yeah, it was a bit tiring. I’ll probably sleep in a little in the morning, unless my body says otherwise of course.”

“An early bird huh?” Bailey chirped in, as we made it to the porch of the Handler’s house.

“Not quite, I’m more of a night owl, unfortunately with an early bird schedule”

“Ah, that must suck”

“Yeaaaah, but it’s okay for the most part.” I say as we walk inside, and there’s two middlish aged adults waiting for us. It’s Mr and Mrs. Handler, of course. I’ve met them once when they came out for a visit to see my parents a few years back. They didn’t take Bailey because of school so that’s why I’ve never seen him in person before.

“Hello sweet pea! We’re so glad to have you here with us.” Mrs. Handler said calmly walking in to give me a hug.

“It’s nice to see you guys again” I said as I pulled from our hug. “Even though I’ll be awkward for a while, I’m grateful you are having me here, really”

Then Mr. Handler came up and gave me a hug too. “Your parents would’ve done the same for us. They’re the best as they come after all” he smiled.

“That’s true, they are” I smiled.

“Now, come on honey, let’s let her get to bed, she’s been up long enough.” Mrs. Handler ushered her husband. “Will, can you show her her room please? And Bailey, come with us we need your help in the kitchen.”

“Follow me” Will smiled and lead the way. Going up the stairs and down the hallway lines with doors. He pointed out that the first on the left was the bathroom. First on the right was a closet. Second on the left was my room, and second on the right was his room. Baileys was down on the other side of the stairwell.

Walking into my new room everything was all cleaned up and smelled nice. It smelled like apple pie and vanilla. “Mmm. It smells nice in here, did y’all bake a pie in here!?” I giggled.

“No, not exactly,” Will chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “My aunt had me burn some apple pie candles and vanilla scented dust..or something like that- the furniture. She said it would help you relax, so I didn’t mind at all.” He finished with a tint of pink on his cheeks.

“Well thank you for doing that, I really appreciate it. Really. I absolutely love vanilla apple pie. It’s the yummiest. In fact I’ll make you one of my special ingredient pies so you can try it yourself! If you like pie that is” I chuckled.

“Oh no! Yeah! I love myself an apple pie! I’d-I’d love to try one of your apple pies.” His pink tinted cheeks spread and darkened to red.

“Okay, it’s a date then” I winked with small laugh. ‘He’s cuter when he’s flustered’ I thought, smiling.

“W-what?”

“You know, like a date to remember. For the pie!”

“Oh—okay, haha”

“Well… it’s off to bed for me, so goodnight and thank you for everything” I smiled, “if anyone asks I’m going to try to sleep until 9 am. Ish.”

“Okay, 9am-ish it is. Goodnight, Misty!” Will said and closed the door behind him.