#Basil would be surprisingly good at it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tinyundercover · 4 months

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pepper & felix

part seventeen

we've got a longgggg chapter but i've been looking forward to writing this one for a while :]

MASTERPOST word count: 6.3k

Felix’s cardigan pocket was surprisingly spacious, even with Felix’s hand cupped underneath Pepper and Basil.

They had been in here for a few minutes, ever since Felix had gotten out of his car. As much as Pepper wanted to sit on Felix’s shoulder, the borrowers couldn’t risk being seen by the other humans on the sidewalk— so Pepper and Basil had reluctantly settled into the depths of Felix’s pocket.

Whispering to each other, it was impossible for the borrowers to contain their excitement.

“Are you sure Felix found the right place?” Basil asked, kneading her palms into her green pant leg.

“I’m sure of it,” Pepper confirmed, heart racing. “He showed me pictures of it online. This is definitely it.”

The rhythmic sway around them subsided as Felix stopped. Both borrowers straightened up, listening intently as Felix opened a door— and overhead, a pleasant bell jingled, distantly familiar. Pepper sucked in a breath.

“This is so weird,” Basil mumbled, eyes bright. Pepper couldn’t agree more.

Unable to smother his curiosity, Pepper stood up, bracing his hands against the soft lip of Felix’s cardigan pocket. His boots wobbled on Felix’s palm, struggling to stand on the uneven surface, but he managed to stretch himself tall enough to peer outside. Next to him, Basil did the same.

Warm lighting greeted them. The room was spacious, albeit slightly smaller than Pepper remembered, filled with little vintage tables and potted plants. A long, white, welcoming counter stretched across the room, displaying an assortment of baked goods which were too far for Pepper to see the details of. Green vines trailed over the pink walls, framing the spacious room with life.

The bakery had changed in the last three years— the tables had been moved around, and many of the decorations were new— but Pepper recognized the warm, inviting space as if he had just lived here yesterday. Something shifted in his chest, warm and emotional.

“Oh, wow,” Basil murmured.

A young girl at the front counter greeted Felix as he walked in, and Felix waved with his free hand before moving towards the array of tables, indicating that he wasn’t intending to order anything immediately. He selected a table in the front corner, near the window, away from the other few patrons.

Felix sat down, facing away from the other humans. Pepper and Basil were pressed against his hand, impatient to be let out, but they both understood that their safety was their top priority.

Quietly Felix retrieved the two of them from his pocket. Pepper’s heart jumped as soon as his boots hit the table, incredibly self-conscious. He and Basil stood up straight, peering around at their little corner of the bakery.

Felix’s shoulders blocked them from view from the other patrons. Excitement growing, Pepper bounced on his heels, gazing up at the bookshelf beside them.

“Is this okay?” Felix asked softly. “This is the right place?”

Basil shared Pepper’s eagerness. She spun on her heels, beaming up at the cluttered walls. “This is it,” she breathed in confirmation, eyes bright. “This is definitely it.”

Felix set his forearms around them, an extra measure to shield them from view, which Pepper appreciated. He was staring at the bookshelf next to them, tucked into the corner. A memory flitted through his mind, of himself and Basil hiding behind the books in wait for a pastry crumb to fall from this exact table.

“There should be an entrance at the base of the bookshelf,” Pepper wondered, glancing at Basil, “right?”

She nodded rapidly, already inching closer to Felix’s forearm. She bounced on her heels. “Yes. Let’s go, let’s go— I need to see our old place.”

Excitement shook through Pepper’s body, a mix of anxiety and adrenaline. After ensuring Felix repeatedly that they would be fine, they raced to the edge of the table, a few inches from the wall.

“Be careful,” Felix whispered, knee bouncing underneath the table. Pepper patted the back of his hand, retrieving his hook.

“We will. We know this place inside and out.”

It only took a few seconds for Pepper and Basil to glide all the way down their respective threads, hitting the tiled floor next to the bookshelf. Between the table and the bookshelf, the borrowers were very hidden, only noticeable to Felix who was sitting right next to them.

Felix’s knee continued to rock nervously. Pepper tried not to laugh. As much as he appreciated the concern, he didn’t want Felix to forget that he was a very capable borrower.

Once their hooks were tucked into their bags, they approached the bookshelf, anticipation growing. The floor grew dustier beneath their feet, and Pepper made a mental reminder to ask Felix to smudge their tiny footsteps away.

“It’s over here, right?” Basil guessed, stepping among the rows of books. Pepper followed her through a narrow gap, wedged between two dusty novels, until they found a thin crack running up to the ceiling of the shelf. Pepper’s heart soared.

Basil giggled, shoving him towards it. “You first.”

Pepper laughed, the tension leaving his shoulders. For a moment he felt as if he was a teenager again, goofing off with Basil, and he paused before the entrance. When his sister gave him an encouraging push, he took a deep breath and wedged his way through.

The path felt like second nature to them. They whispered excitedly as they weaved through the walls, following the familiar path, listening to the cheerful music of the bakery next to them. Pepper felt as if he had never left.

“Remember when I got stuck in the display counter?” Basil brought up suddenly. “When we were kids?”

Pepper snickered at the memory. Trying to steal an entire cinnamon roll, Basil had tripped inside the display counter and accidentally shut the door behind her. Pepper, nine years old, had been appalled. “I should have just left you there.”

“I would have been fine,” Basil snorted. “I could’ve lived off of cupcakes.”

Abruptly, their path stopped at a dead end. The memories continued to resurface as Pepper noticed a thumbtack which had been pushed into the wall, at his eye level. Above it, dozens of thumbtacks spread up into the darkness.

“The rock wall!” Basil exclaimed, grabbing Pepper's arm.

Pepper’s breath left his body, suddenly intimidated by the task ahead of them. He sent Basil a nervous grin, gesturing forward. “Ladies first.”

Incredibly lady-like, Basil punched Pepper in the arm. As he winced, rubbing at the pain, she grabbed onto the first thumbtack and hoisted herself up. “Easy.”

After climbing up another few inches she suddenly paused, blinking at the palm of her hand. “Oh… this is weird.”

Pepper had just grabbed onto the first thumbtack. He glanced up. “What?”

“These aren’t very dusty,” Basil murmured. Curiously, Pepper glanced at the thumb tack in front of him. Dust coated the bottom, but the top was smooth and clean, Basil’s fresh handprint visible.

“Another borrower, maybe?” Pepper offered. “Or mice?”

Basil frowned, grabbing onto the next thumbtack to pull herself up. “There better not be any mice in here.”

Considering the amount of holes and cracks the borrowers had left inside the walls of the bakery, it wasn’t unlikely to think that an animal could have found its way inside. If Pepper was a mouse, the smell of pastries would lure him in, too.

It took a few minutes for the pair of them to reach the top of the thumbtack wall, heavily out of practice. They both tumbled off onto a wooden platform, pausing momentarily to catch their breath.

“How did we do that every day as kids?” Basil wondered, hand over her heaving chest. Pepper laughed, gazing up at the dusty wall for a few moments. Light beamed at them through a crack in the wall, suddenly reminding Pepper where their path led. Once his heart rate had returned to normal, he approached and peered out.

Music and warm lighting greeted them. Pepper and Basil were at the highest corner of the bakery, above the display counter. Ahead of them, a shelf protruded from the walls, stretching across the expanse of the room. The ceiling hovered mere inches above their heads.

“Where’s Felix?” Basil whispered to Pepper as they stepped off onto the counter. He blinked, searching for Felix’s table in the corner. It was empty.

“Huh.” Pepper furrowed his brow, searching the expanse of the bakery. The only humans in sight were an old couple and the girl working at the display counter directly below them. “Maybe he went for a walk.”

“Maybe he hates you,” Basil offered. Pepper rolled his eyes.

It was strangely concerning to not be able to see Felix, but he really doubted that his soulmate would get up and leave without having a valid reason. Ignoring Basil, Pepper began his trek across the shelf.

Rows of small, white boxes covered the shelf, which Pepper knew were filled with spoons, cupcake liners, and other miscellaneous supplies. He took a deep breath, basking in the warm scent of the display counter below them.

“I can’t wait to see our room,” Pepper murmured. “I hope our stuff’s still there.”

Basil was gazing out into the bakery as they walked. She smiled. “Yeah, me too.”

Reaching the end of the shelf, Pepper led Basil into a narrow crack, back inside the walls. His anticipation grew by the minute. “It’s right down here, isn’t it?”

Basil nodded rapidly, taking the lead. She skipped through the walls, both of them chatting excitedly— until finally they found a handmade pink curtain, covering the door to their childhood home.

Pepper stiffened. He sent Basil a glance, and with a nod, she took his hand, drawing in a deep breath. With a sweep of the curtain, they stepped inside.

The emotions immediately hit Pepper like a truck. He sucked in a sharp breath, gazing up at the dusty walls, covered in pink tapestries and smiley-face stickers, all of which he could clearly remember putting up. The palm of a white glove was shoved into a corner, flattened over years of being used as Pepper and Basil’s bed. In the center of the room, a table and chair had been meticulously crafted out of cardboard and toothpicks. A thin, pink tablecloth had been draped over it.

“Oh,” Basil said softly, blinking rapidly. Pepper exhaled.

“Oh,” he said.

The nostalgia only grew as they explored the room, gazing up at years of old drawings and stickers, running their hands over the little trinkets and decorations. Pepper’s curiosity expanded as he discovered a thick brown fur coat, something he instantly recognized as mouse fur, draped over a chair. “Basil, look at this.”

“Hm?” His sister glanced up from where she was leafing through an old journal of hers. She blinked, focusing on the fur coat. “What is that?”

Pepper dug his fingers into the mouse fur, lifting it up. “I think someone has been living here,” he murmured. His mind instantly jumped to excitement that he might be able to meet another borrower— but anxiety squirmed into his thoughts. If this room now served as someone else’s home, did that mean they were trespassing?

“Oh!” Basil straightened up, bounding over to feel the coat as well. “That explains why there’s not a lot of dust. Maybe they’re around!”

Pepper glanced at the door nervously. “I hope they’re not mad at us for being here.”

“It was our home too,” Basil pointed out, lips twitching into a smile.

Just as Pepper opened his mouth to respond, his attention was tugged towards the door. The pink curtain ruffled, and before Pepper could think to hide, a tall figure stepped into the room.

The unfamiliar borrower stood taller than either sibling, features sharp and defined. Her blonde hair had been pulled into a braid, while thin strands framed the fair skin of her sharp face.

Immediately, dark eyes widened and fixed on Pepper and Basil, who were standing like deer in the headlights. “Who are you?”

“Sorry!” Pepper rushed immediately, dropping the fur coat back onto the chair. He stepped back, flushing, glancing at Basil for assistance. “Sorry, we’re just stopping by.”

“We used to live here,” Basil explained abruptly, sending Pepper a glance as if to tell him to relax. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The other borrower’s shoulders dropped, intrigue crossing her face. “Oh, really?” Dark eyes glanced between Pepper and Basil. “I’ve been wondering where the previous residents went!”

As she gestured to the room, a smile split across her face, revealing what Pepper initially thought was a fang. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a snaggletooth.

Both siblings relaxed at her positive response, relieved that they wouldn’t be scolded or attacked for trespassing.

“Oh— well, that’s us,” Pepper agreed. His eyebrows raised at her sudden cheeriness, a strange juxtaposition to her intimidating demeanor. “I’m Pepper. This is Basil.”

The other borrower briskly crossed the room, holding her hand out with a grin. “Iris.”

Basil, the more extroverted sibling, immediately jumped into questions after swiftly shaking Iris’s hand. “Do you live here? How long?”

Iris let out a gravelly laugh. “Here, let’s sit.”

She ushered the two of them towards the bed. Feeling vaguely as if they were kids again, they dropped down onto the soft surface. Pepper stretched his arms, relieved after all of their climbing through the walls.

Iris hooked her bag onto a chair, then sat cross-legged on the floor in front of them, hands planted on her knees. “I just moved in a few weeks ago,” she explained, voice bright. “It’s great. Didn’t even have to find furniture or carve out any exits in the walls— it was all here already.” She grinned, glancing between the two siblings. “I guess I should thank you guys for that, huh?”

Pepper laughed, although his curiosity grew. Iris didn’t seem to be any younger than himself, so he wondered where she might have lived before this. “Right. I hope we aren’t intruding.”

“Oh, not at all!” Iris waved her hands, dispelling the thought. “I’ve barely moved in. It’s more your home than mine.” Suddenly worried, she peered closer. “Wait— are you moving back in?”

“No, no,” Basil clarified, amused. “We just wanted to stop back in and visit our childhood home. We won’t be long.”

Iris clasped her hands together, delighted. “Oh, that’s so sweet. Are you two twins?”

With a laugh, Pepper set on explaining how he and Basil had grown up here. Iris listened intently, and Pepper’s anxieties began to quell. As intimidating as the tall borrower had seemed at first, Iris was turning out to be incredibly hospitable.

Pepper chose to exclude Felix from his explanation. Basil didn’t mention him, either.

Just as Basil began to steer the conversation towards Iris’s interesting fur coat, a fourth voice entered Pepper’s mind, soft and familiar.

“Hey, Pepper— I’ll be a little late picking you up, so no rush, okay? Just let me know when it’s time to go.”

Confusion tugged at Pepper’s chest, but he ignored it, clasping his hands. “Okay, sounds good.”

Basil sent him a quizzical glance, but Iris didn’t seem to notice. Focusing back on the conversation, Pepper straightened up. He and Basil had much more time to explore than he had thought, and his excitement was pouring back.

“Wanna go out borrowing?” He suggested. “I know you just got back, Iris, but maybe we can show you some of our hidden passageways.”

To his relief, both borrowers lit up at the idea. “I’d love that,” Iris chirped, straightening up. “It’s been so long since I’ve gone borrowing with company!”

—

Felix chewed his lip, gaze flickering to the floor to follow Pepper and Basil’s path to the bookshelf. He always felt so uneasy to see the borrowers on the floor, even though he trusted them to keep themselves safe.

Not wanting to draw attention to himself or the borrowers, Felix pulled out his phone, scrolling absentmindedly. When he glanced down at the bookshelf minutes later, the borrowers were nowhere to be seen.

He exhaled, shoulders relaxing. A bit more comfortable now that the borrowers were safely in the walls, Felix gazed around the bakery, curiosity expanding.

He had to admit, it was an adorable place. The idea of Pepper and Basil growing up here, exploring the display cabinets and basking in the pleasant scent of cookies, warmed his heart.

God, how small would they have been as children? Felix’s brow furrowed. He couldn’t imagine how cautious he would have to be picking up a borrower child. The very thought made his stomach flip.

He didn’t realize that he had been staring off into space until a knock on the window startled him. Jerking up, he blinked out through the glass.

To his surprise, Breanna stood outside, a tote bag hanging from her shoulder. A smile pulled at her lips as soon as Felix noticed her, and she gestured silently for him to come outside. Next to her, Alice stood with her hands in her jean pockets.

After a moment of hesitation and another insistent wave from Breanna, Felix pulled himself to his feet. With a quick glance at the floor to determine that the borrowers were nowhere to be found, Felix walked outside, anxiety tugging at his chest.

“Felix, hey!” Breanna immediately approached him, eyes glimmering with amusement. “Are you here by yourself?”

Felix flushed, glancing back at the bakery. “I, uh… well, I’m not—“

Breanna’s eyebrows shot up, curious. “Are you waiting for someone? Are you on a date?”

“Wha— no, why—?” Felix blinked, then shook his head. “I’m just… it doesn’t matter. What are you guys doing?”

Breanna smiled, tilting her head towards Alice. “We’re going shopping at the plaza,” she explained, “for The Little Mermaid. We need stage makeup, and some things for our costumes.”

Alice nodded, quiet. Felix hadn’t talked to her much since their fight at Ricky’s cast party, excluding their interactions during rehearsal.

He didn’t have much to say to her. She had apologized, but until Pepper and Basil were comfortable with the idea of Felix being close friends with Alice again, he was content to avoid her.

“Hey— do you want to come with us?” Breanna suddenly suggested, glancing between her two friends.

“I…” Felix glanced briefly back to the bakery, then at Breanna. After a moment he decided, “Sure. I need to buy stage makeup, anyway.”

He knew that the plaza was only a short walk down the street, and he had more than enough time regardless. Pepper had warned Felix that their excursion might take a couple hours, considering the size of the borrowers in comparison to the bakery. Besides, Pepper could communicate with Felix at any time if they needed to leave urgently.

Breanna lit up at his response, brown eyes warm. Alice glanced away.

Felix hadn’t told Breanna or Owen about what had happened with Alice and the borrowers. They knew that Alice had briefly met them, and that was that. Driving a knife into his friend group just seemed like too much, especially right after Alice had reluctantly apologized over the phone.

The three of them set off towards the plaza, Alice and Felix on either side of Breanna. Breanna, of course, wasn’t stupid; she was aware that Felix and Alice had gotten into an enormous fight barely a week ago, and something told Felix that he had intentionally been invited on this shopping trip in order for Breanna to attempt to repair their friendship.

Just as he expected, Breanna directed the conversation towards her two friends as soon as possible.

“You know, you guys are so cute in the musical,” Breanna chirped as they entered a small clothing shop, playing pleasant music overhead. “You have really good chemistry onstage.”

Felix and Alice both laughed at that, light and uncertain. Felix avoided her gaze by sifting through an array of button-ups. “Thanks… I feel like I’m so awkward onstage.”

“Oh, not at all.” Breanna found a pair of black heels and examined them. “I mean, I’m sure it’s easier to act all lovey dovey when it’s with your friend.” She sent a pointed look at Alice before setting the heels back.

Alice met Felix’s eyes briefly. They both hummed in response.

Minutes later, when Breanna broke away from them to ask an employee about the heels, Alice inched closer to Felix, uneasy.

“It’s been a weird week, huh?” She briefly met his gaze, voice quiet. “I, uh… I heard about Bree and Owen and that tiny girl.”

Felix nodded, hands playing with the sleeve of a gray button-up. After a moment of contemplation, he responded. “Yeah, they met.”

Alice sighed heavily. “Bree and Owen seem to really like that girl. I… I’m surprised they don’t hate me for what happened.”

“I didn’t tell them about… that,” Felix admitted quietly.

Alice’s hands paused over a button-up. “Oh,” she murmured. “Good.”

After a second of silence, she added, “Do they hate me?”

Worry tugged at Felix’s chest, and he glanced towards her, observing her tense form. He didn’t want to lie to her, but the truth didn’t seem very appealing, either. “They, uh— ah, hey, Bree.”

“They don’t have any of those heels in my size,” Breanna explained as she approached, a frown tugging at her lips. “I really liked them, too.”

After peering at Felix for a moment, Alice stepped closer to the shoe rock. “Oh— what brand are they? I can buy them online.”

“Wh— you don’t have to.”

“Shush, it’ll be part of your birthday gift,” Alice said dismissively, examining the heels.

Felix blinked, glancing towards Breanna. Her birthday was in a week, and he had nearly forgotten. It was her twenty-first, too— quite a big deal.

“Speaking of— do you have any plans for your birthday?”

Breanna shrugged at his question, seeming a little sheepish. “Ah, nothing yet. I’m not really a birthday person.”

“But you’re gonna be twenty-one,” Alice pointed out, somewhat distracted by her phone. “Soulmate era.”

Breanna let out an anxious laugh at that, covering her face. “Ugh, yeah— I’m so nervous. How do you deal with talking to someone in your brain all the time? What is it like?”

Felix and Alice shared a glance, amused.

“It’s weird— but you get used to it,” Felix offered. Alice nodded in agreement.

Suddenly reminded of his own soulmate, Felix took a minute to turn away, clasping his hands over his chest. “Hey, Pepper— I’ll be a little late picking you up, so no rush, okay? Just let me know when it’s time to go.”

After a moment, Pepper gave a quick response, and Felix dropped his hands from his chest. When he turned back to the girls, Alice was insisting that Breanna have people over for her birthday. She seemed unsure.

“Maybe just you guys and Owen,” Breanna hummed.

“Perfect— we can stay up until midnight with you, too,” Alice said brightly. “It’ll be fun.”

Breanna laughed warmly, glancing at Felix. “Alright. And tell those little guys that they can come, too.”

She was already walking away towards the makeup section before Felix even processed what she said. Briefly meeting Alice’s gaze, who looked just as baffled as he felt, Felix spoke up. “Wait, what?”

Breanna peered over her shoulder, holding her thumb and forefinger a few inches apart, approximating the size of a borrower. “You know, those guys. I mean, if it’s just the four of us, it’ll be fine, right? We all know about them.”

Felix blinked, heart jumping. “Uh— yeah, I— I guess.” Breanna nodded.

An uncomfortable expression had crossed Alice’s face. She opened her mouth as if she was about to respond, but changed her mind, silently following Breanna towards the makeup section.

Felix released a breath. He could only imagine how Pepper and Basil would respond to this.

—

“You know, I’ve been hunting rats since I was a little kid,” Iris explained cheerfully. “It’s like second nature to me now.”

Pepper shared a glance with Basil, who currently seemed enthralled by Iris’s stories. The three of them stood behind an open jar of chocolate chips on the stainless steel counter of the kitchen. Iris had assured them that the young girl working at the front counter was the only employee currently working, which meant that the borrowers basically had free reign over the empty kitchen.

“Isn’t hunting rats dangerous?” Basil asked incredulously, tossing her hook up and catching it on the rim of the jar. Iris grinned beside her.

“Yep.”

“Do they ever, you know— attack you?”

Iris shrugged, stepping back to observe Basil climbing up the length of her thread. Pepper raised his eyebrows at Iris’s nonchalant response.

“Oh, loads of times. I’ve got more than enough scars to prove it,” she remarked brightly, tugging up her pant leg to show Pepper an array of old injuries. His brow furrowed, stepping back.

In his twenty-two years of living, he had only wrangled with rodents a handful of times. Rats in particular were the nastiest, and he couldn’t imagine purposely hunting one down to kill. Iris continued to impress him with every word.

“That is so cool,” Basil gushed. When Pepper glanced back up at her, she was leaning over the rim of the jar, chin resting dreamily on her arms.

Pepper snorted. “Dude, the human bean could come in at any minute.”

Basil rolled her eyes, straightening up. “Yeah, yeah, I’m getting to it.”

“Where are you two from, by the way?” Iris asked, observing Basil digging through the chocolate chips. “I haven’t run into you before and I’ve been exploring this area for weeks now.”

Pepper hesitated. “Ah… we live a bit further than the plaza.”

Basil hummed in agreement, amused, as she slid down the length of her thread. Three chocolate chips were tucked underneath her elbow. “Yeah, a lot further.”

Pepper took a chocolate chip from Basil, ignoring her smirk. He busied himself by wrapping it in a small sheet of plastic wrap, retrieved from his bag.

“Must have been a long walk, then,” Iris remarked, hands on her hips. “Do you live outside?”

Basil must have noticed Pepper’s apprehension, so she quickly responded for him, giving Iris a quick rundown of their home in a “random human’s” apartment. Iris seemed content with their answer, helping Pepper to wrap the rest of the chocolate chips into plastic wrap.

“To be honest, I’m not used to living inside,” Iris admitted with a shrug, “especially not by myself. I grew up on a farm, with a community of borrowers.”

Basil let out a breath, fascinated. “A farm? Why’d you leave?”

Iris’s cheerful attitude dwindled. Her dark gaze remained low. “Ah… there was a storm. The farm caught fire, and the community was exposed.”

Pepper blinked, hands hesitating. “I’m so sorry.”

He had never been as enraptured by the outdoor lifestyle as much as Basil. The weather is what really concerned him— what exactly was a borrower supposed to do during a thunderstorm, or a snowstorm?

Iris’s story only confirmed his worries. He had never realized that a storm could be bad enough to start a fire.

The blonde borrower sent a small smile over at Pepper. “It’s alright.”

With a newfound appreciation for Iris’s strong-willed attitude, Pepper straightened up, holding his hand out to her. She blinked up at him, expression soft, and took his hand in her calloused own.

“Hey, Pepper, I hope I’m not interrupting anything— can I talk to you?”

Pepper squinted as he helped Iris to her feet, struggling to separate Felix’s voice in his mind from Basil’s voice across from him. She was speaking to Iris quietly, offering a comforting hand on the shoulder of her fur coat.

With a pointed look at Basil, Pepper turned away momentarily, clasping his hands against his chest.

“What’s up?”

“Oh— hey! Is it going okay?”

Felix’s voice seemed nervous. Pepper sent a glance at the girls briefly before responding, heart warm.

“Yeah, it’s actually great. We met another borrower.”

“Oh! Good! Ah, well— I hope this isn’t gonna… well, shit.”

“…What?”

“Uh— I ran into Alice and Breanna, and we went out for a little bit, but now they want to come visit the bakery with me. I don’t really know how to tell them that I need to go alone.”

Pepper frowned. “What?”

“I… Is it okay if I tell them that you’re here? Just so they know what’s going on?”

Worry yanked at Pepper’s heart, cold and heavy. Breanna didn’t really concern him— based on what Basil had told him, Breanna seemed to be relatively harmless.

Alice, however, was not.

Pepper hesitated, hands hovering over his chest. Alice had briefly apologized over the phone a week ago, but that meant virtually nothing to him. The idea of Alice knowing his location made his stomach churn.

However, Felix didn’t exactly have another option than to explain the situation to the human girls. Why else would he possibly need to enter this bakery strictly alone?

Pepper chewed his lip, hesitating. “I, uh… let me talk to Basil. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

Dropping his hands away from his chest, Pepper exhaled. Iris had noticed him with his hands clasped over his chest, and her eyebrows were raised, expectantly observing his tense form.

After scooping up a chocolate chip wrapped in plastic wrap, he gestured towards the wall behind them. “Let’s get back inside. I have something I need to talk to you guys about.”

—

Felix felt incredibly uncomfortable to be loitering in the gravelly lot behind the bakery, but he knew that this was the most logical way to pick up the borrowers.

He was worried that if he entered the bakery for a second time only to sit in the corner, he might draw suspicion to himself. Pepper had suggested telepathically that Felix could meet them outside, behind the bakery, with the assurance that the borrowers could find a path there.

Felix shifted on his feet, listening to Breanna and Alice’s quiet conversation. Fortunately, there weren’t any other humans around— only a few garbage cans and parked cars surrounded them. He hoped that Pepper and Basil wouldn’t be too uncomfortable with the girls around.

Alice seemed just as uneasy with this as Felix felt. She chewed her lip, arms crossed, glancing continuously at the gravel below her feet.

Once Pepper had given Felix the go-ahead, Felix had halfheartedly explained the situation to Breanna and Alice, to the best of his ability. Breanna had been intrigued.

“I’ve been thinking about them all week,” she had admitted. “Can we go with you to see them? I just want to say hi.”

Now, wracked with anxiety, Felix waited behind the bakery with Breanna and Alice.

His heart lurched when Pepper’s voice filtered through his mind, stating that the borrowers were on their way. He hoped that they weren’t nervous about meeting so many humans at once.

On instinct Felix stepped back when a small figure appeared at the base of the bakery, weaving his way through a bundle of weeds. With a crane of the neck, Pepper waved.

Suddenly fascinated, Felix’s gaze danced over the wall of the bakery, but there was no entrance in sight. It felt strange, to think about how obscured his perspective was by his own humanity. Humans were so oblivious to borrowers that he wouldn’t have guessed there was an entrance only a few feet away from him.

Pepper hovered near the weeds, peering up at Felix. His wary glance at the girls did not go unnoticed, and Felix knelt down, ignoring Breanna’s curious gasp.

“Hey,” he said gently, hoping Pepper could sense the apologetic look on his face. Pepper smiled, a little sheepish. His gray gaze continually danced around, instinctually wary.

Basil emerged from the wall as well, pressing close to Pepper. It was a relief for Felix to see them both completely unharmed— as much as he trusted them to keep themselves safe, he knew just how dangerous it could be for them to explore a bakery during the daytime.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he stiffened as a third borrower stepped into view.

She was slightly taller than either Pepper or Basil, her small figure buried under a thick fur coat (which only led to even more questions from Felix). Dark, inquisitive eyes peered up at him, and he suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. The last thing he had expected was to meet another borrower.

A presence appeared at Felix’s side, and he glanced over, observing Breanna as she carefully knelt down. Her gaze was wide and fascinated, and although she was clearly struggling not to coo at their size, she remained polite. “Hello,” she greeted softly. “I’m Breanna. I just wanted to meet you.”

Pepper raised his eyebrows, gaze flashing briefly to Alice, somewhere behind Felix. His voice only wobbled slightly when he responded, “I’m Pepper. This is Basil.” Basil gave a little wave as well, silent.

The new borrower, shockingly enough, stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “I’m Iris,” she remarked, posture stiff and wary. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Pepper and Basil both sent Iris a bewildered look, and Felix resisted the urge to laugh. He watched wonderingly as Breanna tentatively reached forward, lightly tapping her fingertip into Iris’s tiny palm. The blonde borrower remained stiff and rigid until Breanna withdrew her hand.

The other two borrowers continued to stare at Iris, floored, and Felix smiled to himself. Breanna appeared to be just as startled as he felt, staring curiously down at her finger.

Felix quickly introduced himself to Iris, who waved up at him, seeming to have had her fill of shaking human hands. When the three borrowers’ gazes shifted behind Felix, expectant, he glanced over his shoulder.

Alice was standing several feet away, arms crossed uncomfortably. When she met Felix’s gaze she turned away, pale. Silence stretched between the six of them.

—

Pepper’s astonishment for the situation only grew in the following minutes.

Iris had been surprisingly understanding of the situation when the borrower siblings had explained it to her. In fact, after learning that Felix was Pepper’s soulmate, she had been intrigued enough that she wanted to go meet him herself.

Pepper had been expecting her to linger near the exit and observe Felix from the shadows, so when she had confidently greeted both him and Breanna with only an ounce of hesitation, Pepper had been startled. Iris became more unpredictable by the minute.

“She’s the strangest borrower I’ve ever met,” Pepper murmured to Basil, watching as Iris stiffly shook Breanna’s fingertip.

“She’s awesome,” Basil responded brightly. “I want to be her best friend.”

Pepper laughed. When he finally noticed that Breanna and Iris were both watching Alice, no doubt expecting her to introduce herself as well, he hesitated. He had nearly forgotten that Alice was even here, and when he caught sight of her towering form further away, his stomach churned.

“Is she shy or something?” Iris muttered, and Pepper took that at his cue to draw the attention away from Alice.

“We should probably get out of here, huh?” He suggested nervously, rocking on his heels. The sun felt pleasant on his skin, but he didn’t want to be outside any longer than he had to be— especially now that his thoughts were filled with vicious rats and thunderstorms and being shoved into glass jars.

Felix nodded, seeming relieved. He seemed just as uncomfortable with this situation as Pepper felt. “Yeah, ah– it was nice to meet you, Iris,” he spoke quietly, addressing the blonde borrower beside them. His fingers twitched over where they rested in his lap, unsure. “Maybe we’ll see you around sometime.”

“Thanks.” Iris grinned, faltering only slightly when Felix shifted, a microscopic movement only distinguishable to the borrowers. After a quick farewell to Breanna, Iris addressed Pepper and Basil.

“Come back anytime,” she offered cheerfully, sweeping the both of them into a steely hug. “It was great to spend some time with you.”

Basil nodded, agreeing so enthusiastically that Pepper almost laughed. After a warm farewell, Iris stepped back towards the bundle of weeds. With a fanged smile and a wave, Iris weaved her way into the plant, vanishing in a matter of seconds.

“I’m in love with her,” Basil said dreamily. Pepper snorted in amusement, turning back towards Felix. He certainly didn’t share the same crush that Basil did, but he wouldn’t be disappointed if he were to run into Iris again.

“Alright, we’re ready,” he confirmed.

Breanna watched with rapt attention as Felix lowered his hand to the ground, allowing the pair of borrowers to delicately step on. She looked as if she wanted to reach out as well, but held back, clearly remembering how terrified Basil had been even to be in the presence of humans. Pepper appreciated her restraint immensely.

Next to him, Basil watched Alice with narrowed eyes. Even once Felix had stood up, the borrowers cupped carefully in his palms, Alice refused to address either of them.

“Do you think she… feels bad?” Basil muttered in his ear. Her white knuckles dug onto her knee, dark gaze refusing to leave Alice, now that they were closer to her.

Pepper watched in fascination as Alice avoided their gazes, listening quietly to Felix and Breanna’s soft conversation. “Seems like it,” he admitted, aghast.

Right on cue, Alice spoke up, shifting on her feet. “Well, we should probably go.” Breanna sent her a curious glance, then turned back to Felix, opening her mouth to speak.

“Wait.” With a sudden burst of confidence, Basil straightened up, gaze locked on Alice.

Pepper stiffened under Alice’s blue gaze, snapping his head towards his sister. Basil was pale, seeming shocked by her own words, but she didn’t waver.

With a steely frown, Basil pointed at the dark-haired girl. “Don’t– don’t leave yet. I think it’s time for us to have a talk.”

-----------

Iris belongs to @paperlicense687 !!! thank you sm for designing such a cool character!! she was so fun to write and a really hope i did her justice :)

i am sad to say this but we are nearing the end of pepper & felix </3 only a few more chapters left aaaaah

likes comments and reblogs are always always appreciated !!

TAGLIST: @smallsday @compact-katrina @satethesatelite @taters169 @entomolog-t @gtzel @gt-newbie @da3dm @clumsiergiantess @vee-normous @fee-hunter @torakan @mabelisthebatman @andithewhumper @mothsintherain @violetlight @heroofthe13thday @phoenix-on-the-run @houseboatmac @dav8530

#pepper & felix #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing

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garbinge · 1 year

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You, Me, and Italy

Michael Berzatto x F!Reader From these August Prompts: Italy Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: All my fics are 18+, angsty, mentions of suicide, death, grief, loss, broken heart, drug use, addiction, being high, someone close to ODing, uncomfortable, sad, mentions of sexual situations, it's based on canon mentions of suicide and death and grieving, but a little more in depth. So just be weary of any triggers one might have in reference to these things.

A/N: This is not apart of my Richie Jerimovich multichap. This is heavy. I try and steer clear of fics like this because of my own triggers and trauma around drug abuse and addiction but this just was an idea sitting in my head probably because of all that trauma. The Bear Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @quixscentsposts @dadbodfanatic-x @adorable-punk-superheroes @lodeddiperrodrick @isalver @captainweasleybarnes @musicwithteeth @fancyvoidtragedy @shinebright2000 @knight4xmas

The kitchen was always your favorite place to be when you couldn’t sleep. Something about the ability to hear every single noise in a space where usually you’d be lucky to hear the person next to you speak at a normal tone.

You had come in through the back, placed your stuff down in the locker that had your name written on a green piece of tape, your insanely patterned bandana was snug around your head just above your forehead, something you always wore when cooking. Now, the sounds of the water running as you washed her hands filled your ears and was followed by the clunks of pulling the knives out, the blade tinging as you set it free from its case. Now slicing, the quick quippy sounds of the thin slices of all the items you needed to prep. Basil, onions, garlic, fig, and parmesan cheese. All the ingredients you picked up from the grocery story that was still open this late. The chopping and the sizzling filled your ears in a similar way that music would fill someone else’s. It kept you grounded, kept you calm, kept you in the moment.

“Late night snack?” A voice interrupted that tranquility but surprisingly, there was no reaction from your side. You kept steady as your hand tossed the garlic and basil in the olive oil, other hand equipped with a spoon ready to add in the parmesan ricotta mixture.

“You’re lucky I don’t scare easily.” Your voice was steady as you focused on the pan in front of you.

Mikey looked down and laughed before he made his way from the office over to his best chef and best friend. He leaned against the prep area, hands crossed as you had your back to him.

“You should toast the breadcrumbs.” Mikey said as he took in what you were doing.

Immediately, your head turned to look over your shoulder and shot the man a look. “I’m a one-woman show here, Mikey. I’m getting to it.”

“You know, I can help you out.” He had crossed his leg over the other now as he waited for a response. “Only if you want to.” His arms were now uncrossed as he raised them in a surrender.

Your head tilted, the only invitation he needed to start helping out.

“I’m making arancini, fig and garlic arancini.” You specified.

“Rice balls. You’re making rice balls.” Mikey teased. “What inspired the fig?” He asked as he toasted the bread crumbs at the stove next to you.

“Remember when we went to that bar the other night?” You looked up at him, despite being a few feet down from you, he still towered over you in height. “While you and Richie were off doing God knows what, I ordered shit from the bar. They had this fig, arugula, and goat cheese pizza.”

“Jesus Christ, what fuckin’ bar were we at?” Mikey laughed at the fanciness of how it all sounded.

“That place, Porta. I’d say it was more hipster than fancy.”

“God, I don’t even remember.” Mikey laughed before placing his attention back on you and continuing the conversation. “So the pizza was good?”

“It was, and I just kept thinking what would go well with fig and landed at a rice ball.”

“Arancini.” Mikey corrected you with the biggest grin growing on his face.

A laugh left your mouth as you took the sauce off the heat, wanting it to cool down slightly before pouring it into the egg mixture that was already placed in the fridge.

The silence fell over the both of you and you both continued to move around the kitchen. Mikey stood with the bowl of rice in his hands, resting it on the prep counter as you stood over and poured in the egg mixture. Mikey was whisking it around rapidly, that way the eggs didn’t scramble. The smell coming from the bowl was filled with savory scents of garlic and sweet touches of fig reduction.

“You good, buddy?” Mikey was looking at you as he stirred everything around. It wasn’t so much in reference to your current state, which was focused as you concentrated on pouring the egg mixture in, but more in reference to why you were here late.

Buddy. Such a Mikey term. The two of you knew each other for years, meeting when you were smoking in the back of the restaurant you used to work out. To put it in simple terms, he poached you. He had just grabbed a bite at said restaurant, with his brother Carmy, a detail you found out later since Mikey came alone to the alley in the back where you had been taking a break. He asked if you had made the slow braised beef and proceeded to tell you about his restaurant. You never walked back into that restaurant again and started at The Beef the next day.

As time passed, things got close with Mikey. The two of you just fed off each other, you vibed effortlessly and one day that led to more. You spent a majority of the night locked in the office making a bed out of the table, the floor, the bookshelf, anything that had an inch of a flat surface, Mikey took you. That however, never amounted to more. It was always just sex. There was no label on what the two of you had, no real dates, no holding hands, just stolen moments around the restaurant, late nights in the kitchen, nights out at bars, and overnights spent at each others places. But that never made anything awkward because despite their being no label, everyone knew there was something between you two. It was impossible to miss. The way you two got along, the way you spent every waking moment together, whether you were at the restaurant or not. But what the real dead giveaway was, you two moved in the kitchen like you had perfected a choreographed dance, every, single, time. There was never any missteps, any arguing, no bumping into each other, you just glided by each other, calling out kitchen terms and directions. It was a sight to be seen, everyone thought so. Including the family. Sugar and Carmy were impressed when you came by for the first time maybe a month into starting at The Beef. Richie had already seen how the two of you worked together but both Berzatto siblings were shocked by it.

“Hey, you good?” Mikey repeated himself and bent down a little to look into your eyes.

“Yea, sorry.” You shook your head from your thoughts.

“I don’t buy it.” Mikey pressed you again for more information. “What’s with late night rice balls?”

“You ever feel stuck?” There was no point in trying to hide what you were feeling from Mikey.

“Uh, just every day of my life.” You let out a breath through your nose in a sort of chuckle. “I just, wish I could get out of here.” The frustration was littered in your voice.

“Where would you go?” He set the bowl down now that everything was stirred, and he turned to face you.

“Anywhere.” You turned too so you were facing him.

“So let’s go.” His voice raised, like what he said and meant didn’t need planning, didn’t need money, he spoke it outloud like it was the easiest thing to achieve.

“Yea, where?” You were about to start naming off places around here in Chicago as a joke but he was quick to answer you.

“Italy.”

You frowned but a smile was growing on your face. “Italy?” You questioned.

“Yea, let’s go to Italy, we’ll eat all the rice balls in the fuckin’ country, we’ll learn how to make ‘em like a true Italian. We’ll eat our way around Rome, Sicily, Naples, it’ll be great, just me and you and Italy.” He was so energetic in how he spoke, his hands were in the air, his voice was echoing off the kitchen walls.

“You, me, and Italy?” You questioned him as your head nodded in agreement.

“You, me, and Italy.” Mikey nodded with the biggest smile on his face.

____

Time might’ve passed and a lot of things might’ve changed, but sometimes stayed exactly the same. You were pushing through the back door of The Beef, bag and kitchen tools in hand as the clock ticked past 1AM.

“Mikey?” You called out, expecting to see him appear in the kitchen. You called out again and heard nothing. It was odd, but also maybe not. He had been distant lately, you picked up on that when most nights he didn’t come back to your place. You knew things had been tough for him, he was having money issues and as a result moved back in with his mother, he was stressed. Every time you did get the chance to see him, he wasn’t fully there, sometimes you’d taste alcohol on his breath, others you could tell his mind was caught in a thought or 20.

Moving to the lockers, you saw the door open just slightly and the lamp on illuminating a ton of paperwork. You saw his hand resting on the table and slowly peaked in.

Now, you had your suspicions, they were probably more than suspicions, you knew. You knew Mikey was hooked on something. But you didn’t want to accept it. But there it was, slapping you right in the face. It had been functional, he had been functional, which is what made it easy for you to question, for you to say nothing. After tonight, you’d regret it, you’d regret staying silent, not giving in to your suspicions, voicing them out loud.

You took in the sight of him, he was so out of it, you could see his glazed over eyes even from the distance you were at. The giveaway as if everything else wasn’t so obvious was the pills scattered all over the paperwork in front of him.

“Mikey.” The urgency hit you just as much as the the scene of him. You were next to him in seconds, shaking him awake.

The smile that filled his face as he stared at you, the smile that warmed your heart, the smile that melted you, the smile of your best fucking friend was breaking you.

“What–what’re you doin’ here?”

“How much did you take, Mikey?” You moved forward to the table to search for a bottle, a pill count, see how many were on the table, but Mikey’s hands began to grab your arms.

“No, no, no, no, no. Stop, you’re ruining the fun.” Mikey complained, his voice was slurred.

You pulled back immediately, uncomfortable and unsure what to do. Your heart was beating fast and before your tears could even start falling, Mikey started yelling. “You’re ruining the fun!!” It was a repetition of what he had said before and all it did was secure your feet frozen to the ground. “That’s all anyone ever does anymore. Ruin the fucking fun.” He spun in the swivel chair like a child and when it stopped spinning he looked at the bookshelf and began speaking again, but this time more at a whisper.

“Even my own fuckin girl. I can’t have anything.”

You snuck out the door, searching for your phone in your pocket. The irony that in your hastiness, you spent more time looking for it than if you searched for it with purpose and patience.

As you picked your phone up to your ear, your hand was shaking. “C’mon, pick up, pick up.” You mumbled, taking your other hand to pick at your lip.

“It’s 1 in the fuckin’ morning, I’m neck deep in shit diapers, if this is you and Mikey asking me to go out, I’m blocking your number for eternity.” Richie seemed stressed in a completely different way.

“Richie, it’s Mikey, he uh, I don’t know, there’s pills, he’s awake–sort of?, he’s angry, I don’t know how much he took but he, he uh, I just need help, I need you down here, can you get down here, please?” The shakiness in your voice was the dam holding back your tears.

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Keep him up.”

With that Richie hung up and you were moving back into the office, you squatted down and turned the chair so he was facing you. “Mikey, babe?” You tried to keep your voice soft. His red, glossy eyes met yours as he plopped his head down to look at you.

“My girl.” A little bit of hope filled his face, he reached his hand up to cup your face. The impulse to pull away was strong but you stayed there, you stayed there with him and let him speak to you.

“You’re so pretty, you know that? So pretty. And you’re so talented, you can throw down, you know that? Best fuckin slow braised beef I’ve ever fuckin’ had.”

The amount of compliments he was giving you, it should’ve had you elated, floating, with butterflies but instead it was making you sick–uneasy. And you just had to sit there and let him say it, over and over again. You were counting in your head, hoping that once you got to the 10th 60th second count, that Richie would be here.

“Hey hey hey, you listening to me?” Mikey moved slightly to look at you, even in his fogged state he could tell your mind was elsewhere.

“Mhm.” You nodded, tears welling up in your eyes as you stared into his eyes.

“You, me, and Italy, baby. You, me, and Italy.” The second time he said it, it was in a whisper like he was desperate for it to be true. Like if he said it low enough the world would grant him the wish. That’s when you really saw him, saw what was happening in his brain. Alongside that hopeful look was one of peace and happiness. The absolute gut wrenching emotion you felt in your heart when you realized it. How being high set Mikey free, set him free from his demons, in some weird twisted way this was the closest you’ve seen Mikey to his usual self.

Before your heart could break anymore, you heard Richie’s voice behind you and he was slipping into your spot and picking Mikey up.

______

“You know I remember this one time, we went over to Mikey’s place, the one on Courtyard, me, Carm, and Richie, and it was Sunday, Braciole night. We walk in, Mikey’s got the game playing so loud in the background, we start prepping, cooking. I remember he told me not to put raisins in the braciole even though that’s how mom did it. And he just, he had this smile on for those first 30 minutes, like he had something planned, like he was in on the joke. But the thing is none of us knew what the joke was. And then, the door opened, we were all confused at who it was and then, this woman appeared. Mikey introduced her to us, he was so happy, and we were like shocked, cause Mikey, our big brother, the player, brought this girl over to our fucked up family Sunday night dinner. She didn’t care that the TV was loud, that we were even louder, that Mikey and Richie would tell the most insane stories, over and over again, and in fact, she moved around the kitchen like, well, like she’d known us all our whole lives. I don’t know if I ever saw Mikey so happy.” Sugar was sitting in bed, her phone on speaker while you sat silent on the other line.

“You at the restaurant?” Sugar cleared her throat.

“Standing right outside it.” You spoke up, trying to hide your tears from the story Sugar just told.

“I’ll be there soon.” There was rustling on the other side of the phone, like she had started to get up and get ready.

“Sugar?” You questioned, worried she was about to hang up.

“Hm?” She hummed.

“Thank you.” It was two words but sometimes you needed to hear it. How much Mikey loved you, he didn’t tell you often, but you felt it, you saw it. But now, that he was gone, that all that was left of Mikey for you was the things he left at your place, the memories you shared, you took the antidotes Sugar occasionally told you and kept them someplace special.

“I’ll see you in the chaos.” Sugar replied back to you in which you did the same.

For a few seconds after the phone call, you stood there, staring at the gutted restaurant, staring at the mayhem happening behind the glass, which was normal for the restaurant, whether it was in business or not. But right now, standing outside, in the peace of the quiet reminded you of those late nights in the kitchen, and you were destined to hold onto that peace for just a few more minutes.

Eventually, you joined the chaos. Greeting everyone as you made your way through the renovation. Finding yourself getting swept up into something in the immediate first seconds you entered the front door. After an hour or so, when you wrapped up your job in the front, you made your way to the kitchen.

“What’re you doing?” You placed your stuff down in the office as you walked past Richie, Fak, and Marcus who were gathered around someone’s phone watching a video, arguing back and forth. Natalie stood up from the chair in the office and placed a hand on your shoulder in a half greeting and walked over to the arguing men. Your eyes lingered on the office table and chair a little longer than normal, letting the memories flood into your brain for a short few seconds before you turned to put your attention back on everyone.

“Scraping and painting and fighting over moving the lockers.” Marcus spoke up.

You turned around and stepped out of the office, staring at them trying to attempt to move the lockers. Carmy had appeared now, yelling at them to keep it down and when the mention of Mikey’s locker still being locked was announced, that’s when everyone silences.

“Just fuckin’ open it.” Carmy spoke up.

A hat. June 5th, 2010. Taste of Chicago. The booth.

You smiled at that. You weren’t there for the booth, but you heard all about it. From the family, but from Mikey, it was one of the many stories he’d tell you over and over and honestly, you’d do anything to hear him tell it 200 more times.

Carmy handed the hat to Richie, and as he turned around his eyes fell on your.

“Yo, uh, I got something for you.” He said and walked right past you into the office, searching for something. As everyone went back to working, you turned and took a few steps towards Carmy as he moved the papers around looking for something.

“So, uh, we’re sending Ebra and Tina to culinary school, for them to stay sharp, learn some new shit, and uh, I–we, Syd and I figured you didn’t want or honestly really need that, so uh–here!” He proclaimed the last word louder than the rest as he found the envelope with your name written on it and handed it to you.

You looked down at it for a second and then back at Carmy, you two didn’t talk much in general, but you definitely didn’t talk much about him.

“You and Syd…” You started to say as you mindlessly tapped the envelope against your skin. “You uh,” You wanted to say that the two of them reminded you a lot of you and Mikey, the effortlessness in the kitchen, the way their ideas just bounced off each others and how they brought this new sense of life to each other. But it was that last thought that weighed heavy on you. There was a point that Mikey brought a new sense of life to you and you did the same to him but unfortunately that emotion, that feeling, had changed at some point, at no ones fault but it didn’t stop you from not cherishing it more. “Just, don’t take it for granted.”

“Yea, yea.” Carmy nodded, getting where you were coming from but also not really wanting to get into it and you were okay with that because you didn’t want to get into it either.

Carmy’s eyes moved down to the envelope and back to you. Taking the hint you nodded. “Right.” You said quickly and began to rip the envelope open. As your hand reached in and pulled out the papers in the envelope, you saw the word United and then followed by a seat and time and that’s when you saw the airports.

ORD – NAP

Naples International Airport.

“Carmy.” You looked up, eyes shocked.

“It’s what Mikey would’ve wanted.” Carmy nodded and walked by you, taking his hand to rest on your shoulder and then tap it as he exited the office.

You stared down at the tickets, trying to take in everything.

“You, me, and Italy, Mikey.”

#The Bear #The Bear FX #The Bear fanfic #Mikey Berzatto #Michael Berzatto #Michael Berzatto x Reader #Mikey Berzatto x Reader #my writing #garbinge

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crowbasils · 1 year

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BASIL (OMORI) — A complete (for now) analysis

spoilers under the cut !! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

BASIL is actually more nuanced than the game makes him out to be, and has hid his emotions far before KEL has, and is as tragic, if not more tragic, as AUBREY is.

HIS CHILDHOOD （＾_＾）

Let’s start off before he met the friend group. As POLLY says in-game, his parents left him when he was a toddler, with his grandmother being the only one there for him. She also does note that she’s only ever seen them once.

…This is obviously something that affected BASIL’s life a lot. Being left with only one person—an old one at that. She cares, yes, but the thing is, we don’t know how she was like. All we get is old art, old concepts, but even then, it’s how SUNNY sees her. Maybe she was pretty strict, maybe she was someone that was lax but when upset, her punishments would be severe, traumatizing, even. Even then, despite the fact that he’s left with someone that cares for him, it’s still pretty bad. Why? Because he would realize that she isn’t his parent. That his grandmother isn’t his parent. And that realization hurts. He’s left to wonder why his parents left him. Why his parents abandoned, and neglected him. Why he seemed unwanted compared to others. Was it because they found him to be weak? Was it because they hated him? Was it because they had no time for him? We never know, and he really never did, either. It does not help that canon implies that there was no communication from him to his parents either.

This can actually cause children to feel like an alien. To feel like they are abnormal in comparison to others. To feel like they aren’t human. To feel that they can’t “connect” with society. They don’t know how to interact “properly” with people, because they can’t relate to other’s experiences. Because they have not experienced interacting much with people. Because they don’t know how to relate, they don’t interact much easily. Because they don’t know how to relate, their speech and manner of expression may not be up to standard. They don't know what a “parent’s love” is, a “mother’s love”, or what “love” is in general, because they weren’t exposed to that. This is, most probably, the case with BASIL. Even though he has a grandmother, it’s not really enough. It’s not enough, because it’s not his parents, it’s not the ones who gave birth to him. It’s not the ones who others would say “would love you unconditionally”. It’s not the ones who others would say “would love you the most”.

Considering that it’s his grandmother, BASIL might’ve actually had to tend to himself and mature faster than anyone did. His grandmother is old, and old people do have quite a lot of complications to deal with. Even if they’re healthy, they’re a bit fragile. He might’ve had to run errands for her, do house chores for her, and stuff like that. A grandmother isn’t the most reliable parental figure, because they could fall ill at any moment, they could die at any moment. He probably knows this, actually. If you take the hunter thing as canon, this does kind of add to the… y’know since he does have to see carcasses. We also don’t know if she’s actually nice. We don’t know if she was a good grandmother, we don’t know if she was a bad one either.

… Anyways. All that combined probably makes you think that BASIL would turn out to be a really sad and depressed kid. As in, something like post-incident SUNNY. But… surprisingly, he’s not. He’s happy, smiling, and if you look at the pre-incident art, more than SUNNY (although, SUNNY states that he doesn’t really like to smile in the traditional sense. BASIL sees right through him though, and knows if he’s smiling or not.). He’s smiling more than SUNNY, which admittedly, makes no sense if you take it as something that indicates “Oh!!! BASIL is happier than SUNNY and SUNNY pre-incident is traumatized!!!!” when you consider both of their childhoods. Which brings us to the next point…

THE INSIDE (PRE-INCIDENT) ( T_T)＼(^-^ )

While not specifically expressed in canon (SUNNY and OMORI aren’t reliable narrators and their views won’t always be accurate), it is pretty implied that he hides feelings. Probably the most obvious indicators of that would be the fact that he vents to SUNNY, and the existence of STRANGER (who is implied to be the parts of BASIL that Sunny finds “unpleasant” while also being a positive figure and guide to him. Not to say that he dislikes BASIL, but he pretty much has this black and white view when it comes to the world because yeah, he’s young and has experienced a lot less pre-incident) and some parts of BLACKSPACE.

He probably has hid more feelings than the game lets on. Maybe he thinks of himself as “inhuman” and feels “strange” compared to everyone because he can’t relate that well to their experiences with their parents and peers, and uses smiling and laughing as a way to cope and/or cover that. Maybe he thinks of himself as “less”, that sometimes, he feels empty, sad, and even angry, and that’s why he acts the way he does. He involves himself in the activities of the friend group, because he’s so scared of being left alone again. To avoid being forgotten and abandoned, he helps everyone and tries to be the reliable friend everyone needs. Maybe because he’s never been able to make a lot of human interaction, he is the way he is. Maybe, he even exaggerated some of his emotions, for a lack of a better word. He wants to get “in” to the moment, truly feel it for what it is, which leads to his emotions being a mix of genuine and a mix of a slight exaggeration. He feels joy and does feel genuinely happy, but he exaggerates it at times. To him, it will all be but a fleeting moment, and when time comes, the friend group will collapse. He values his relationships with the friend group more than anyone, because to him, they are his true family. He takes photos of them, because he’s afraid to lose them.

They say, “opposites attract”, correct? Then perhaps the reason why BASIL hangs out more with SUNNY, is because he is the very opposite to him, by technicality. SUNNY isn’t physically expressive with his emotions. SUNNY doesn’t smile, neither does he laugh a lot, but unlike him, But at the same time, SUNNY isn’t empty. SUNNY is so full of life. He is full of dreams, imagination, often good and fantastical. SUNNY has been around people who love and trust him his entire childhood, while BASIL hasn’t. SUNNY has been loved and cherished by everyone his entire childhood, but BASIL hasn’t. BASIL wasn’t as loved and cherished by everyone as SUNNY was. SUNNY had many people care for him before the friend group, while BASIL didn’t. SUNNY experienced parental love, but BASIL didn’t, and will never experience it. In his eyes, SUNNY is perfect, because he experienced what he cannot. Because he is loved by everyone. Because he is cherished, and treasured. He is what BASIL cannot be, and will not ever be. He is the “good person” he wishes to be, yet cannot be.

With that being said, BASIL probably does have trust and abandonment issues that he hid as well. His photo album can be a sign of that. Abandonment issues, caused by his parents leaving and the fact that his grandmother can fall ill / die at any moment, and trust issues caused by the abandonment issues. The photo album is also described as a collection of “things he is afraid to lose”.

He is also implied to be depressed and/or suicidal in a certain incident which will be addressed in the next section

“THE INCIDENT” ∑(ﾟДﾟ)

The incident is a major part of the OMORI story. It is the very thing that serves as the catalyst for all the events ingame. As for this section of the analysis, it will attempt to give a reason—but not excuse—as to why BASIL did what, and what it may imply when it comes to his character. As well as clearing common misconceptions on why a character did certain things and why the misconception is incorrect.

The question “Why did BASIL hang MARI?” is a question asked by a lot of people. The answer to that is… quite simple, and that is because he didn’t want SUNNY to get in trouble, and hated by everyone. “But he could’ve called the ambulance!!! Or even his parents!!!” That is true, but consider, he was in a stressful situation, and he didn’t even know what to do, as witnessing a death of a friend caused by another friend is a hard thing to take. This and the fact that the police and medical services in OMORI FARAWAY seem quite incompetent and/or lacking, considering how AUBREY was able to get away scot-free while having a bat with nails on it. Also, him hanging MARI does also implies that he knows how to tie a noose. While that can be excused as something that comes from gardening, the thing is that. he knows that it’s for suicide, which also in turn, implies that he knows how to commit it. Which is concerning, especially when you take into consideration that he’s a 12 year old, and that it’s pretty rare for a 12 year old to know that back in the time OMORI is implied to have taken place in. The internet also didn’t exist back then, which makes it pretty impossible for Basil to know what suicide is and how to do it unless he planned to do it himself.

A common yet popular misconception in the fandom is that he is the one who scribbled up the photo album, and to that I say, “No, he wasn’t.” It was SUNNY. SUNNY was the one who scribbled up the photos, and BASIL just took the blame so that he wouldn’t get in trouble and be hated by everyone. BASIL actually says that it was SUNNY in an earlier version of the dialogue before the BASIL fight. (SUNNY even takes a step back when the rest of the gang (minus BASIL) hugs AUBREY! Which is an indicator of at least something.

Another common yet popular misconception is that this is the only reason why BASIL is depressed/sad and that after the game, he’ll go back to being happy again, and to that I say, nope. Absolutely not. It’s not the only reason why BASIL is like that. Even if he healed from the trauma the incident has caused, a lot of his issues are still left unaddressed. The feelings from his grandmother dying, the worsened abandonment and trust issues, the strong yet not acknowledged and repressed feelings from AUBREY bullying him, the feelings from SUNNY leaving him, the feelings from… pretty much everyone leaving him are still there. Him also being suicidal and scared yet again to reunite, because he feels like it will dissolve even faster than before. He’s also still scared that they hate him, and even if they say they don’t, he feels like they’re lying and inside, they hate him and want him to die.

…Also, the incident is not completely BASIL’s fault. He wasn’t the reason why SUNNY shut himself in his room and became a shut-in / hikikomori. And while yes, his SOMETHING is in the shape of hanged MARI, SUNNY became a shut-in / hikikomori due to the guilt of killing Mari, and not because of BASIL hanging her. It’s not BASIL’s fault that SUNNY became a shut-in and that the group fell apart, because the group would’ve fallen apart anyway. It’s just that it’s no longer only SUNNY’s fault that the group did. And even if the hanging didn’t happen, the majority of the group wouldn’t be mature enough to understand the situation fully. We, as the players/readers understand it, because we have almost all of the pieces of the puzzle, but they won’t.

POST-INCIDENT, FARAWAY SECTION (¬_¬)

Before I’d like to start off this segment, what the fandom fails to acknowledge most of the time is that BASIL is 16. He’s not a crybaby. He’s not scared of everything. He’s not a scaredy-cat. Most of those assumptions come from the fandom’s inability to recognize that BASIL has suffered as much as SUNNY and AUBREY have. He is as pained and hurt as them. He was hurt and in pain because of them, too.

The first time we see BASIL, we see him asking for his photo album, but getting bullied and getting told “no” instead. This makes a pretty bad first impression to younger fans and illiterate fans, and because of that, he is often watered down into this “uwu coward soft boy who cries a lot”, which he isn’t. He may seem like it, but he isn’t. The second time we see BASIL, he is at the old hangout spot, and calling for help. This… actually does imply a lot of things, one of them being suicide. He might’ve came there to die in a place where he missed, to look at the place one last time before he would commit suicide, but he was stopped by the hooligans. which most likely bullied him (even though they say they didn’t). And the last time, the sleepover, he either kills himself, or stabs SUNNY in the eye due to hallucinations and stress.

The BASIL we see here, in Faraway, is a more broken version of BASIL. He still acts and hides feelings—or at least tries. It’s not as effective as before. One thing I’d like to point out is the fact that we never really actually see BASIL do anything connected to his past interests. While yes, his photo album being missing may be a part of it, he doesn’t really take photos anymore. We don’t see him taking care of his flowers, either. Maybe he could’ve lost interest in it, as a result of the incident. One POLLY line actually does say that he stopped taking care of his flowers completely at some point before the game.

BASIL probably doesn’t eat much. We don’t see BASIL eat the food in the time SUNNY and KEL were in his house. POLLY does state that he’s been going to the bathroom a lot, too.

That aside, let’s get deeper into it. BASIL, in faraway, is most likely at the lowest point of his life. He had to see his friends leave him one by one (even KEL! even HERO!), and have one bullying him. He no longer has an outlet for his extremely bottled up emotions. He doesn’t have anyone, and his grandmother fell ill as well. POLLY is also paid to be there for him too, which means she doesn’t really count as someone he has. She isn’t close to him, either. She isn’t as close to him as the fandom makes her out to be. She cares, yes. But she isn’t close to BASIL at all. She does say it as well

The reason behind why BASIL stabbed SUNNY’s eye was because he was hallucinating, and not because he actually wanted to stab SUNNY. He stabbed SUNNY’s eye because he thought his eye was a part of SOMETHING (that… he is implied to hallucinate heavier for whatever reason), and not SUNNY. Although, it’s not completely all because of that, it’s a key part of it. His repressed anger and hatred, him being genuinely upset, as well as his desire to protect SUNNY from SOMETHING—a thing that he genuinely and wholeheartedly believes is real and something that exists in reality—is also a part of it too. This part does not mean that BASIL put his selfish desires first, this does not mean that BASIL puts his desire to keep his best friend above SUNNY’s safety. This doesn’t mean that he’s only concerned with what SUNNY can do for him and not concerned with what is best for him. BASIL was going through a breakdown, so a lot of the things he says are in this confused state where he doesn’t know what he’s feeling, what is really happening, and isn’t thinking clearly. BASIL is not doing all this with a clear head and mind. Both the safety of SUNNY and not wanting SUNNY to leave are both on the forefront of his mind, it’s just that, because of the overwhelming stress and the fact that his thoughts aren’t that clear, his method and way of protecting SUNNY is a bit “confusing”. He cares, he cares for SUNNY’s safety, but in this context, the “normal” way of caring doesn’t apply, because the situation isn’t really normal to begin with. The part where he states that he’ll end both of their pains (by murder-suicide) is most likely out of stress, because his situation is extremely stressful, and it’s sad that nobody recognizes it.

He also does use toxic positivity, saying “Everything will be okay…” even if it won’t. It’s just… less recognized.

POST-INCIDENT RELATIONSHIPS & WHAT LIES BEYOND (・・?)

BASIL, post-incident, probably also does have a lot of hidden feelings as well. This time, feelings like anger and even hatred towards his friends, an intense and deeper emptiness, and a lot more worsened negative feelings are added to it.

BASIL still thinks of himself as “weird” compared to everyone else in the friend group, especially after the incident. He feels inhuman, even worse now because if people knew what he did, he knows that they would think of him as a monster and someone unforgivable. He knows now that what he did could be considered inhuman, and feels regret for it. His problems have been intensified, his mental health took a nosedive, and so much more.

With that being said, deep down, maybe he did resent SUNNY. For leaving him when they promised that they would be there for each other. For leaving for 4 years and making him bear the brunt of the judgment. For leaving him when he needed help the most. For leaving him and letting him take fault for something he did (blacking out the photos). But he can’t help but still love him through all of that, whether you take it platonically or romantically. They are tied by a string of fate, they will find each other no matter what, and will try to forgive themselves and each other. The path to recovery is laid with hardships, and complicated feelings. BASIL and SUNNY are each other’s weakness, but each other’s reasons for going on. SUNNY’s desire to save HEADSPACE BASIL that carried on to the FARAWAY BASIL, and BASIL’s desire to see SUNNY again, if only for a while. It is not only KEL who helped SUNNY stay alive, but BASIL as well. Even if BASIL thinks that he’s too far gone to be found, if he’s someone who cannot be helped anymore, SUNNY still tries to help him. SUNNY wants to help him. It is not BASIL that forces him to, but SUNNY’s own desire. BASIL doesn’t force him to, he asks him to, but not force him. SUNNY is doing it on his own accord, because he wants to help BASIL. BASIL understands SUNNY, and SUNNY understands BASIL, both on a much deeper level than anyone else. They have hurt each other, yes, but everyone in the group has hurt each other at some point. They are each other’s triggers, but they are also each other’s sources of comfort. They are why they were able to face and accept the truth of the accident and incident. It is because of each other that SUNNY was able to accept that MARI died, and that SUNNY was the one who was at fault when it comes to MARI’s death and the accident. Even if SUNNY lost his eye because of BASIL, it is also because of BASIL that he was able to remember and face the truth of the accident and incident.

Now, to AUBREY, deep down, he probably resents her too, possibly much more than SUNNY. One thing that I’d like to mention is that bullying is, in fact, a form of abuse. I’m not calling AUBREY an abuser, but she did do fucked up things. She was a horrible person, but she wasn’t evil. He’s not calm because he understands, he’s calm because he thinks the one at fault. He thinks he deserves it. He understands, yes, but that’s not why he’s calm. He’s calm because he genuinely thinks there’s something wrong with him, and that he’s the one who needs to adjust. People who get bullied tend to think that there’s something wrong with them, that they have to be the one to adjust, especially if said person was close to you before it. Some don’t realize it’s bullying either until they reflect and think more about it, especially if they were once a friend, or a family member. Technically, what she did Is abuse, since bullying is considered abuse. It doesn’t matter if it was verbal abuse at first, it still counts as it. Verbal bullying is STILL bullying, and it is also still abuse. It’s a pretty gray area when it comes to AUBREY, because I don’t want to be too harsh and call her an abuser, but yeah. In terms of forgiveness, words and feelings don’t matter without actions, much like how actions don’t matter much without the words, which is why AUBREY does need to be treated a bit harsher by the fandom, since the bullying isn’t something you should brush off when it comes to analyzing BASIL’s character. Forgiveness from BASIL will take a long time, it’s going to be a rocky road for them to be even comfortable with each other, for BASIL to not flinch every time AUBREY tries to get close. To not feel uncomfortable whenever she even gets close. Which is not a thing that is acknowledged when it comes to BASIL.

Onto KEL. I think it’s pretty clear that KEL and BASIL haven’t interacted much before the 3 days left. KEL even acts surprised about BASIL being there, with this line.

While there isn’t much to say about them, BASIL might’ve resented him too, just not as much as SUNNY and especially AUBREY. KEL left him too, even if KEL mentioned that they wouldn’t really respond, it doesn’t stop BASIL from feeling that way. Maybe he would’ve resented the fact that he seemed to prioritize SUNNY over him, maybe he would’ve felt like he was less important to the eyes of KEL. And while yes, this may not make sense to us players/viewers because we know why KEL is knocking, BASIL doesn’t know. The mind is both rational and irrational, after all. Even if another person feels something, it does not stop someone from feeling, well, another thing. BASIL most likely doesn’t know if he should resent him or not, he knows that it might be because SUNNY’s house is marked “for sale”, but he wishes the same effort was spent for him, as well. He might’ve felt like KEL prioritized him the least, he might of thought that KEL sees him as “less”. Keep in mind, his feelings and thoughts are not necessarily true, so these aren’t facts. KEL does care, but it doesn’t stop BASIL from feeling like that. (Just thought I had to make that clear because some people might take this wrongly)

BASIL and HERO… There isn’t much to say about this segment. While it’s understandable that HERO left because of college, sometimes he does resent him for leaving like everyone else. He resents all of them for leaving, some even more because of certain factors or actions. But…

BASIL still loves all his friends. He does. He cherishes them all, but he can’t help but feel that way towards all of them. He can’t help it. He feels disgusted for feeling that way towards all of them, he feels disgusted for feeling negatively, but he can’t help but still feel it. No matter how much he tries to tell himself he doesn’t deserve to feel like that towards his friends, to think negatively of them, he will always feel these things deep down.

POST-TRUTH REVEAL FEELINGS AND POST-GAME SPECULATIONS (´ｰ｀)

Post game, a lot of BASIL’s problems go unsolved. He isn’t exactly portrayed to have reconciled with the rest. While yes, you can take the “Let’s make new memories together, okay?” line as BASIL wanting to make new memories with his friends, it’s DREAM BASIL that says that, and he, despite looking like FARAWAY BASIL, isn’t BASIL himself, so that isn’t reliable. His grandmother, his only source of comfort for those 4 years also dies, leaving him with someone who he isn’t sure he can trust due to her being there because of a job, and obligation. All that combined does just feel like instead of getting better, his problems will just fester into something worse. He’s basically alone as well. Even more so due to the reactions to the truth. SUNNY left yet again, he took the brunt of the reactions, he isn’t close to the friend group, he is still suicidal. POLLY isn’t someone who is a mother figure to BASIL. She isn’t even close to him. He doesn’t even feel comfortable with her.

… That’s not saying that the friend group won’t try to get closer to him again, because yeah, they do have a chance to try to get closer to him, it’s just that BASIL’s issues and problems go unresolved because he probably won’t open up to them for a while, or even open up to them at all. His problems still aren’t solved, either. Yeah, sure, he might admit some things, but they won’t be the closest anymore. It’ll probably take a very long time for BASIL to even warm up to them again. Might even take 2 years. Maybe he even tries to be more like himself pre-incident because he perceives it as a way for him to be redeemed in their eyes, but because of that, he hurts himself even more. He wants to be himself around everyone, but maybe he feels that “himself” isn’t who they want.

This part is mostly just speculation, although it is something that should be acknowledged more. His problems are still there, and even if you give him therapy, his problems will still be there, therapy is not something that solves your problems, it helps you until you can deal with it. It is not something that will magically make you emotionally intelligent, but more of something that helps you identify emotions better.

CONCLUSION ☆彡

Overall, I think BASIL is the character least talked about in this much depth, and often mischaracterized along with HERO and MARI. Many people fail to recognize that he’s also as tragic as SUNNY AND AUBREY are. Many people fail to recognize that his issues go far beyond the incident as well. Not a lot of people recognize that SUNNY’s issues and trauma isn’t worse than BASIL

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fuckingrecipes · 6 months

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hello! recently ive had an obsession with drinks, and almost each night ive been making one, ranging from chai latte to orange julius, to milkshakes. but ive been running out - do you happen to have any recipes? nonalcoholic would be preferable, and names are just fine too unless it’s not a wide spread concoction. thank you!!!

How about instead of a recipe, I give you some less-used ingredients and you can DIY some combinations?

Red Bell Pepper Juice! You can sometimes buy it at specialty stores, or you can blend/crush/mash some red bell peppers and strain the juice out yourself. I really like it combined with simple syrup and lime juice for a rich mocktail.

You can also use other vegetable juices in fun little drinks. Carrot juice can be surprisingly sweet. Sugar Beets are named that for a reason. There's a lot of folks down here in the south who just drink sweetcorn juice.

You can get a deeper, smokier flavor by braising your veggies until they char a little, before juicing them.

Seedlip Spice 94, for an herbal, conifer-like flavor. I love this paired with lavender syrup, in any clear soda. It tastes like summer!

Coconut Cream (not coconut water! It's different!) Can be used as a base instead of ice cream, with frozen mango for an ultra-creamy, richly flavored frozen drink. The ratios here will be different, so use your own judgement.

Consider going to a foreign food market, and buying like... random canned fruit you've never heard of. Using lychee syrup is delicious. You can also look around for fruits and drinks you've never tried. There's a whole world out there of packaged drink powders!

Gochujang sweetened with honey and lime, cut with ginger beer is... an experience. Get the ratios right, and it's addictive.

Think about muddling herbs/fruits into your clear soda, which aren't just 'mint and cucumber' - Basil and lime. Dill and apple. Blackberry and Anise.

Had muddled basil and simple syrup in some iced coffee recently. It was intriguing. Good? Not sure, but it compelled me.

Be adventurous and you'll never run out of new flavor combinations to try~

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onthewaytosomewhere · 1 month

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so i've not done one of these yet this month so i'll start us off at the halfway point of the month with a wed wip

Thanks so much to everyone who's still tagged even tho i've not been posting as much i luv'd seeing what you did 💚💚💚

speaking of posting tho i did post 2 fics on monday - an alex/shaan fic - in the kitchen, at kensington, with those threadbare pajama pants & my firstprince Olympics engagement fic bringing home silver - if ur interested 💚

so for this weeks words we're gonna pull from the fic that i call pip had alex first - bcuz that's pretty much exactly what it is - so have a lil pip/alex moment below the cut - it's not smut but smut adjacent and some tags

OPEN TAG FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO THIS AS WELL (or that i may have forgot or run out of tags for - it's like 1:30 so very much likely i forget someone on here lolz)

“What can I make you? I’m pretty good at this. My sister and Nora, let me make them drinks when we all hang out.” Philip wants to say they can skip the drinks and take the cupcakes to the bed but instead says, “I’ll have whatever you’re making. I’ve never met an alcohol I didn’t like.” They sit on the couch and sip the whiskey sours Alex mixed for them. Alex tells Philip how he was assigned this conference because the Administration felt they needed a presence, and everyone else was busy. He commiserates as he is also not the one supposed to be here. It was supposed to be Henry, but he was needed at an event with Bea. Alex is a surprisingly great company, and the more they drink, the less Philip actually cares about getting his hand on his cock, even if it also makes him want more. They break out the cupcakes, and watching a tipsy Alex devour and try to fit the whole thing in his mouth gives Philip thoughts about what else he could fit into his mouth. There is frosting on his cheek, seeping out from the corner of his mouth, and Philip reaches over to wipe it off. His thumb sits next to his mouth, and Alex turns his head and sucks it into his mouth. Philip’s breath stutters on the inhale, and he holds it for a moment before pushing it out. “Alex?” “Yeah,” comes out on the breath Alex also seemed to be holding. Philip takes their drinks and sets them on the table in front of them; when he turns to Alex, his eyes are somehow both blown wide in confusion and lust-filled.

tag ur it! @adreamareads @anincompletelist @blueeyedgrlwrites @catdadacd @caterpills

@cha-melodius @cricketnationrise @dragonflylady77 @duchessdepolignaca03 @emmalostinwonderland

@england-would-fall @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @firstsprinces @getmehighonmagic

@henryspearl @heysweetheart-writes @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @inell @inexplicablymine

@jmagnabo92 @kiwiana-writes @littlemisskittentoes @lizzie-bennetdarcy @mikibwrites

@myheartalivewrites @ninzied @orchidscript @piratefalls @porcelainmortal

@priincebutt @softboynick @sophie1973 @sparklepocalypse @stellarmeadow

@suseagull04 @tailsbeth-writes @taste-thewaste @thedramasummer @cactusdragon517

@theprinceandagcd @thesleepyskipper @thighzp @thinkof-england @tinyarmedtrex

@typicalopposite @stratocumulusperlucidus @basil-bird @eusuntgratie

@bigassbowlingballhead @captainjunglegym

#wip wednesday #red white and royal blue #rwrb wip #alex claremont diaz #philip fox mountchristen windsor #it's a firstprince fic but also alex/pip #but not at the same time #so no incest this time lolz #both boys get alex years apart #it's kinda henry's fault #but ... yeah lolz #i dunno why this stuff keeps happening in my fic either #pip just likes to hang out in my head and get a fic sometimes lolz #so ... that's where we're at #me unhinged at almost 2 am and yeah ...

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blackbat05 · 4 months

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Title: Christmas Came Early

Sincaraz, Fedal

A/N: Credits to @schumiatspa I hope you don’t mind but I saw your post about Fedal’s LV shoot and I was simply inspired to write a quick one😬 Other tags that I saw: @jannlitos @insilanar @cissi-sh01 (shoot I forgot other accounts) - I hope y’all don’t mind me tagging please tell me if u do mind I’ll take it down.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

Roger chuckles as he watches the scene of Rafa moving behind the counter of their rented ski lodge with Carlos pleading as he trailed behind like a lost puppy.

“I’m going to make a fool of myself.” Shoulders slumped, Carlos surprisingly inches towards the door to take a peek outside the snow covered porch. “What am I supposed to say?”

“Uh… how about just asking him for a ski lesson?” Roger suggests. It takes him great effort to not burst into laughter at the sight of the young man about to enter the phase of a mental breakdown.

“Carlitos,” Rafa pipes up as he exits the counter with two glasses of wine, one in each hand. “Remember what we discussed about?”

Roger lifts a brow. What did they discuss about?

Carlos gives a sigh.

“If I want it, I have to work for it. Take risks.” Carlos recited as if it came straight out from a book.

“That’s right.” Rafa affirms. He places both glasses on the coffee table and makes a shooing gesture. “Now go. I have to watch this Home Alone movie that Roger wants to show me. He says it’s a must watch for Christmas.”

“It is. It’s a classic.” Roger sees a tuft of ginger hair whizzing past their lodge. “Rafa’s right. You should seize the moment.”

***

“You can do this. You can do this.” Carlos mumbles under his breath. Decked in ski gear, Carlos was determined to catch the attention of the ski instructor that was at the beginner’s slope yesterday.

Building up his confidence, Carlos takes a step into the snow and-

“Watch out!”

A hand reaches out to grab Carlos by the wrist, pulling him inwards and away from the hurtling skier who zoomed past the pair, leaving them covered in specks of snow.

“Are you alright?”

Carlos’ brain momentarily freezes. He recognizes that voice from a mile away.

Jannik glances at him, looking absolutely gorgeous in that red ski gear. “Are you injured anywhere?”

“Uh… no. I’m okay. Thanks.” Carlos barely manages to string his words together. Remember what Rafa said.

“You look good!”

Jannik cocks his head slightly at the sudden confession, curls bouncing against his forehead. Meanwhile, Carlos wished that the snow would swallow him whole and preserve him until the next century.

“I mean you look great on the slope! No- what I meant was would you like to ski sometime?”

Great. Real smooth Carlos.

Jannik smiles at the man in front of him trying to gather his bearings for this exact moment. He’s happy- ecstatic even. But he forces himself to remain calm so that poor Carlos wouldn’t be even more stressed than he already is.

“I would love to. In fact I’m actually free now and I have my break until two. Would you like to get lunch? The tomato soup is excellent with basil bread.”

It’s adorable honestly, when Carlos realizes he had gained more than he had bargained for.

“Shall we?” Jannik suggests.

“Lead the way.”

***

“You think Carlos is okay?” Roger asks as he takes a sip of the wine while Home Alone plays in the background.

“He’ll be fine.”

“You sound very sure.” Roger grabs the last biscuit, taking the empty plate to the sink.

“He’s our son. Of course he’ll be fine.” Rafa doesn’t bat an eyelid as he watches the intruders being outsmarted once again. “By the way, this movie is good. Do you have any other movies to recommend? Roger? Rogi?” Rafa repeats. He frowns when there is no response.

Rafa pauses the movie to find Roger staring into the ski slopes. “What are you doing?”

“Watching our son.”

“Our son?” Rafa squeezes beside Roger to see Carlos skillfully making his way down the slope with a familiar ginger at his side.

“Before you say anything. You were right.” Roger raises his hand in defeat, preparing to retreat back to the sofa.

“Wait. What? I couldn’t hear you properly.” Rafa teases, hot on his heels.

“I said YOU WERE RIGHT.”

#sincaraz #fedal #there i did it with my remaining cells

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brettsearpiercing · 6 months

Text

The Nearness of You

Connor DBH x reader fluff

another oldie, this time from 2022,, it was part of a longer piece that i scratched, but i ended up liking this little part of a chapter

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: 　　 :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

As you grew near to Connor’s apartment, you were greeted by the murmur of music through walls. It would appear one of your friend’s neighbors was discovering the pleasures of listening to old music, so as you knocked on the door number written on the little paper you were holding in your left hand (in your right one was a bag, hiding a housewarming gift), you hummed along with the melody of an old disney song.

After a second of waiting and some rustling behind the door, you could hear the lock click, and an adorably disheveled Connor appeared in front of you. His hair was a bit messier than usual, he had (not surprisingly) put on a white shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves (much to your delight), and slacks. He looked very good, to say the least.

“You look nice” was the first thing he said, voice barely a whisper, you almost didn’t hear him with the music next door. He then looked into your eyes, like he had just realized he wasn’t doing just that. “Hello! You didn’t need to bring a gift!” he said, but you could tell he couldn’t wait to open it, excitement apparent in his voice.

“Oh, please, it’s your first apartment! Besides, I know you’re gonna need one of these in here” you simply said.

“Alright, if you say so... I believe you.” he said with a smile. “Come in!”

The inside of the apartment was nice, a modest living room and open concept kitchen, ‘this was clearly built in the 2010s’. In the living room there was a small TV and a loveseat couch, a white coffee table and some big, nice windows served as doors to a balcony. The kitchen was fully equipped with a stove, a dishwasher and a fridge. You’d look up why an android’s house needs those appliances when you got home. Anyhow, it was, dare you say, nicer than your own apartment, but much less personal.

Like reading your mind, he said; “There are still some boxes to unpack, that’s why the decoration is so... nonexistent.”

“Oh, tell me about it. When I first moved in I had beach chairs instead of a couch. Honestly I spent more time on the floor than I’d like to admit.” He let out a small chuckle, you were still holding the bag. You were still holding the-! “Oh- here! Happy house! I mean, happy moving in? Happy life.” you said, a little flustered you had been holding the bag for so long. Connor stretched out his hand, hooking his fingers under the handles of the brown paper bag. As he looks inside, he can’t help but smile.

A little potted mint plant is sitting inside the bag. “I remember you liked it when you tasted the one in my garden, so I brought you a little sprout of mine,” you hesitated in your explanation, you weren’t sure why you were so bashful about remembering something he liked. It was a sweet, friendly gesture! He had nothing to read into, even if you wanted him to.

“It’s lovely, thank you.” It was the first time you had heard him use the word ‘lovely’ to describe something, and it made you feel proud he used it describing something you gave him.“I think it was the first thing I ever actually tasted, so this is really...” he looks at you and you spot what you hope is fondness peaking in his mechanic eyes. “Nice. Thank you.” he then carefully takes the plant and places it next to the couch, facing the window.

“It’s nothing. All apartments need some green in them. Maybe I’ll get you some basil next.”

“Oh, thank you, but one gift is enough. I’ve only moved in!” he chuckles, “though your offer is quite kind.” he looks at you for a moment, pensive, then speaks again. “I guess that’s just a ‘you’ thing, isn’t it?”

“Oh.” the gasp is barely a whisper, and it leaves your mouth quickly, but that doesn’t mean it goes unnoticed.

“I’m sorry, did I overstep?” Connor worries. Actually, Connor worries a lot, specially when it’s about interactions with you. He can’t put his finger on why it pains him so much to see you frown at something he says. He is worried now, yet you’re not frowning. Quite the opposite, actually. Your eyebrows are shot up, like if they could pop out of your face and go up to the ceiling, they would. Your heartbeat is also going faster, and blood is rushing to your cheeks. When you don’t answer, he says your name in a tone that screams ‘nervous as all fuck’.

“Yes?”

“I...” his voice caught in his throat (in the most figurative way possible). Why wasn’t he saying anything!? The music coming from his neighbor’s house wasn’t allowing him to think correctly, his thoughts and the words from the song intertwining and confusing him.

“I like this song,” you quipped, trying to help dissipate the frown crawling subconsciously onto his face. “Ella Fitzgerald is really talented... Don’t you have this record?”

“Yes, actually.” happy at a question he can answer easily, he smiles softly, the frown still adorning his features, though less intensely now, “It’s in one of the boxes for now, though.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s still super nice that you have it. You lucked out, really.” he notices you swaying in time with the music.

He starts swaying with the music as well, a smooth trumpet solo paving the way for his steps, getting closer to you. He’s nervous, yet you’re not able to tell. He hopes you’re not able to. He’d be mortified.

"Care to dance?"

“Of course,” you smile at him, “I love a good dance partner” you wink, only half-joking. Your heart rate goes up again and that goddamned blush animation makes its way up his neck.

You hold out your hand to him, and he takes it. Your skin is soft and pliable under his hard plasteel cover. As you raise your hand to eye level to move into a more adequate dancing position, you notice something about Connor’s hand he’s oblivious about: it’s turning white.

“Whoa.” He’s too busy at first, looking at your astonished expression with amusement. Then he wonders about what you’re looking at, and follows your stare to find that (oh no!) he’s trying to interface with you, even though he knows you’re not capable of reciprocating. How... humiliating. Just in time, the music stops as the song comes to an end.

Silence.

Looks like the neighbors decided to finally go to sleep.

There’s a moment in which you look into each other’s eyes, and you can see a hint of terror in your friend’s eyes. You hope he sees tranquility in yours, yet he only finds pity.

‘Oh, poor little thing, it’s trying so hard.’ Yet the rational part of him stops him from spiraling down. No, you wouldn’t call him an ‘it’ before the revolution, he doesn’t think you’d do it now. Yet the pity is still apparent to him.

Only him, though.

“I am so sorry-” he looks away suddenly, and tries to get his fucking hand away from you(‘ohmygodthisisawful') yet you interlace your fingers and he stops trying to pull away when he feels resistance. It’s his turn to watch, shocked, as your human knuckles press between his man-made ones.

“Are you... trying to interface with me?”--a painfully obvious question he forces himself to answer.

“Yes. I’m sorry if this is inconvenient.”

“No, it’s... it’s fine. I just thought this was like, I don’t know, super personal for you guys.”

“It is. Again, sorry if it’s-”

“No. Don’t be dumb, you don’t have to apologize for... whatever this means.”

‘It means I like you a lot. Please realize that already.’

“Alright, then. I don’t quite know what it means either. I’m just as confused as you are.” he lies.

You stay silent.

“Connie?” he can feel his software searching for what he’s trying to connect to, and the feeling intensifies when he hears the nickname you’ve given him, “ I think... Just, going by what I’ve heard...” he must be dreaming again, “I think this means you like me.” That, or he’s hallucinating.

“It’s-” his audio generator lags, “It’s more than that.” he’s lucky he isn’t able to vomit, because he’s sure he’d be spilling his guts right about now with how nervous he is.

“Oh?” his skin keeps retracting and now his whole forearm is white. He’s partially sure it’s because of the way you’re looking at him. “So, what you’re trying to say with this” you gesture to his forearm with your other hand “is... you really like me?”

“More or less, yes-”

“Y’know humans have our way of saying that too?” He can’t form one coherent though with what little time there is between you saying this and you touching his face softly. As you lean forward you search for hesitation on his features, but since you don’t find anything except yearning, you don’t need any more encouragement to close the distance between you.

#connor dbh #dbh rk800 #connor x reader #dbh fanfic

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rebornologist · 5 months

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I’m nominating Basil for the nation’s boyfriend this year because...

He's perfect and unproblematic and wonderful. He is who I mean when I say "not all men". The bar is no longer subterranean with him. The old Japanese dialect is not an ick for you. Please just give my thoughts the time of day.

He absolutely adores watching historical dramas with you, and will spend free days cuddling under soft blankets on the couch with entertainment from the cheesiest soap-opera trope-ridden shows. The only annoying thing about watching these shows with him is that he’s a straightforward and solution-driven man. He always goes off mumbling about how things would not have spiraled out of control in the show if people communicated and weren’t like, evil and weird about it. That gives you fodder to rant to him about how the shows are stupid and that you have no idea why the two of y’all are so hooked on them. The two of you do have a ton of inside jokes as a result.

“So.. [y/n], what sayest thou is.. the Japanese they speak in this show is not the modern dialect?” You nearly spit out your tea as you fought back the bout of laughter at his realization, and soon you were guffawing at the top of your lungs, feet kicking into the air as you doubled over into his lap in happy hysterics.

Speaking of being in his lap, I think he smells like barley tea and rice flour and warm, freshly washed and sun-dried cotton. There are some evenings where he's finishing paperwork and he would allow you to take a nap in his lap as he shuffles through the files and forms. He smells so good y’all please throw your arms around him, pull him close, and get the biggest hit of pure warmth and comfort. I would sleep like a baby in his presence fr.

He would be the perfect boyfie because he’s a professional errand runner. Studying into the AM or working overtime? Schedule permitting, he’s on his way with a soft warm hug, a blanket, a sweet treat, and your favourite snacks.

He makes a mean matcha or hojicha latte, and makes them pretty regularly for you as your daily dose of caffeine (unless you don’t do caffeine, in that case.. he would simply learn how to perfect your morning drink of choice).

Basil loves quality time, but y’all absolutely cannot have it all because he’s so busy and overworked. He handles it like a champ, surprisingly, and complains very little (if at all) about work, but you do notice that he falls asleep nearly instantly when he comes back to you after being away.

There is nothing in the world more comforting than laying his head in your lap or on your chest and wrapping his arms around you, snuggling close and feeling your fingers threading through his flaxen locks, smoothing them out, fiddling with split ends, and massaging his scalp. You’re always the first one to nag him (playfully) about his bangs getting long again and asking him what he intends to do with his hair now that it’s gotten to that length.

He’s the one I’d totally pin as more traditionally romantic, like, writing love letters and leaving them by your pillow, with your morning tea/coffee, slipping it into your work bag before he leaves for another excruciating span of time, and of course, sending them your way while he’s away.

If you want an offline bf, he is the one, babes. He cannot wrap his head around social media, and upon thinking about it, begins to ponder the negative psychological effects of observing the self and being constantly pressured to present the self and one’s brand online. He's not against other people being online and having social media, but he's the kind of guy that texts like a boomer and doesn't know what a meme is. He will absolutely like and comment on your instagram posts (or allow you to like and comment on your own posts from his device) if asked.

He didn’t know what memes were until Iemitsu started sending them in their correspondence (and Iemitsu sends the most outdated memes from like 2000 that nobody thought they would ever see again in their lifetime). Now the closest thing to a meme you’re getting from Basil is a photo of some samurai painting from the history museum and a follow-up text message, “me when I’m away from my wife/husband/spouse because I am fighting for honor and glory in the war” like HELP???!! WHO IS THIS?!?!

However, he loves photography. There’s something very valuable to him about immortalizing a moment through photos, but he isn’t a “the camera eats before we eat” kind of guy, he’s the guy that likes to take pictures of waterfalls and cool native plants and rare birds to commemorate his adventures. It's the best way to keep a piece of a space while leaving no trace.

He keeps a journal and shares some of the entries with you during your quality time together. He likes to save fallen leaves or flowers from different regions that he comes across, being mindful to press them dry and make sure that he isn’t moving plant pathogens around in his nostalgia notebook.

Basil is really good with his hands and is fairly skilled at dexterity-based crafts such as weaving, calligraphy, and he absolutely excels at origami. He would never tell you this, (because he has his fair share of secrecy due to the nature of his work, and the weight of his human heart, of course) but he folds up some of his failed poems to you in the complex origami that he gives you. He knows that you would never unfold his work, so in a way, he gets to deliver the half-baked expressions of his feelings about you without the vulnerability and potential embarrassment of how impossible it is to put into words (as eloquently as he would like, anyway).

ok thank u for reading my 900 word Basilicum/You pitch. Basil for The Nation's Bf 2024 ♡ ♡ Basil for National BF Day 2024 that is my message good night xx

lil nsfw hc utc.

Service top Basilicum I’m sorry y’all he’s such a giver and so so so so sweet and patient and attentive about it please help us lord I absolutely love the concept of him hovering over his love as he rocks his hips slowly into them, reveling in every soft mewl and gasp and whimper that escapes them as they squirm and wrap their legs around his waist.

His heart might actually burst when you catch the stray strands of his long bangs slipping into his face and tuck them behind his ear, holding his face lovingly as you gaze up at him. Man, you love it so much when he comes home.

#basil #basil khr #khr basil #khr headcanons #khr imagines #khr x reader #basil x reader #khr x you #hitman reborn #katekyo hitman reborn x reader #khr #katekyo hitman reborn

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redeyerhaenyra · 8 months

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Pretty boy

Summary: Blue doesn't take kindly to Basil talking down to himself- birthday present for @ominoose!

Warnings: Just pure filth, overstim, edging, mxm, anal, oral (m receiving), 1 (one) small slap, is not being allowed to cum until you say you're pretty a thing? It is now- no beta we die like blondie, let me know if I've missed anything!

Notes: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSHIIIII HOPE YOU ENJOY- this fic is inspired by myself and mushi's au of Basil joining Blue's club, but can totally be enjoyed not knowing all the lore to that!

Wc: 633

A hazy cloud, made with winding tendrils of pure, distilled pleasure had been cruelly unleashed onto Basil. He could barely see, for the tears that filled his eyes, spilling down his cheeks. He had goosebumps, shivers rolling up his back in increasing speed, as yet another orgasm approached him.

Words failed him now, language falling flat on his tongue. All specks of thoughts concerning anything other than the way Blue was consistently ramming his cock into him, whilst simultaneously gripping Basil's poor, reddened cock.

It felt like weeks they'd been like this. Blue didn't like it when Basil spoke badly of himself, this was the consequence. Blue fucking the daylights out of him, forcing him to cum over and over until he realised how beautiful he was. Basil's tummy almost completely covered with the sheen of his own spend- and now the man above him seemed to be discovering his excitement for squeezing Basil's cock so hard he couldn't cum, and when he would finally let go, watching it spurt out almost violently.

Only a few hours ago Basil was getting ready, looking sadly at himself in the mirror, how the situation had changed.

“Hey-” A small but firm slap was delivered to Basil's scarred cheek. He twitched, whimpering, focusing his attention on Blue once again.

The man's smile was almost mean, even when he tried to be nice, Blue came across as conniving.

“Aw, precious bunny, you're not giving up yet, are you?”

Basil whined, and covered his eyes with his hands, embarrassed at how hard beibg teased made him. Blue growled- ripped Basil's hands away- “Don't look away from me bunny, I wanna see your pretty face.”

“M’ n-not-” “Don't fuckin’ give me that sweetheart, yeah you are, my pretty bunny, my good boy, yeah? You're my good boy aren't you?”

Basil cried out, his orgasm throbbed in his cock, but it would not come, it would not finally fall over the edge. Blue tilted his head, conflicted. To edge, or to overstim? That was the question.

Looking down at Basil, flushed and shivering, he decided both.

“You gonna cum baby?” Basil nodded feverishly, muttered begs stuttered out under his breath.

Blue pursed his lips.

“Hmmmmm.. I'm not sure..” “-Ple-ease-!!” Blue's gaze darkened; “You know what you need to say then, don't you bunny?”

Basil cried out in pathetic frustration, frantically looking between Blue, and his own cock. This entire time Blue had been pummelling Basil's sweetspot with his cock, hot and wet and hard inside him- he slowed his thrusts, just a little, changing from quick to slow, but no less deep. Basil choked.

“I-i” “Mm?” Basil sniffled, “I-im..” “Yes?” Blue waited on baited breath for Basil to finally say what he'd spent hours trying to coax from him.

Blue licked his lips, Basil gulped.

“I-im a p-pretty boy-aaAAAAA-!!!” -As soon as Basil had uttered the words Blue had curled over to lick a stripe up the base of Basil's cock, before he knew what was happening he was cumming, all over himself and Blue, and then into Blue's waiting mouth- as the man eagerly sucked the head of Basil's quivering cock, making a show of enjoying the taste.

When it had passed, Basil's 300th orgasm of the night, it felt like, he was left sweaty and tired, gently coming down from the aftershocks as surprisingly tenderly, Blue held his hand.

“Mm, best cum I've ever tasted. From the prettiest dick, attached to the most beautiful boy.” Blue leaned over, and kissed his bunny almost sweetly. Basil whimpered at the taste of his own seed on Blue's tongue.

He pulled back from Basil, and with a parting stroke of his hair, moved to start cleaning up. He was stopped by Basil's tiny voice;

“..D-daddy?” “Yes sugar?”

“...C-can we go again?”

#mushi ♡#smut #blue jones #blue jones sucker punch #basil stitt lighting face #basil stitt #lightning face #blue x basil

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butterfluffy · 2 years

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“braids”

⠀⠀ੈ♡˳· how would these long-haired, blond men react if their s/o braids their hair?

⠀⠀➧ fluff | killer, b. hawkins, cavendish (separate) × gn!s/o!reader | headcanons + scenario

⠀⠀➧ warnings — none! the boys be slightly ooc though, and mistakes may be present.. so do ignore them, thanks!

⠀⠀➧ requests are open! do send some requests for me to write!

⠀⠀꒰ 🍨 ꒱ notes : being able to get your hands on their luscious hair is a privilege frfr. 😫💗

KILLER

Killer would NOT let you braid his hair, since he only trusts himself with his luscious locks, hAha.

But don't worry, eventually, he will let you do so, although he's a littleeeee grumpy the whole time, ehe.

You'll be needing to do a lot of pleading, and your bestest puppy eyes to get Killer to give in to your request though.

Will give you a light scolding if you comb his hair too harshly, or if you get them tangled, so ya better get a good job done, honey. 😐

“kil, can i braid you hair?” you ask all of a sudden, sparkling eyes glued on killer's beautiful hair that is still damp from the shower he took, while he, on the other hand—

“huh? no way...” killer, who is currently unmasked, retorted. piercing eyes squinted at your pleading ones, not showing any sign of giving in to your request.

“aawww, pretty please? i just wanna braid your majestic hair!” you beg, slipping a small compliment in hopes to melt killer's cold front, which surprisingly worked.

“you—ugh, fine. ya better do a great job though, or else ‘m never lettin' ya touch my hair ever again.” giving in, killer finally slumped down the floor, sat in front of you so that you could start braiding his hair..~

You can definitely confirm that his scolding and snarky comments are worth it after seeing the result of your hard work.

Bro looks hella majestic when he has his hair braided, frfr. 😫😫

Kil might ask you to braid his hair again next time if he likes your work. Might reward you a kiss, too. 👀✨💋😍😍😫💋💋😘💗💗🤭😍

BASIL HAWKINS

Wanna braid his hair? Sure, go ahead. He doesn't give a damn whatever the hell you want to do with his hair. He trusts you with it, since you're his lover.

Just don't you fucking dare cut, or fuck his hair up, or else you would wake up next to an enemy, and not a lover. 😀

Not the type to be grumpy ‘nd irritated when he gets hurt during the braiding session, but the type to constantly send you a glare and mutter a small curse, hAhaHahaHA.

Also, I feel like he'd guide, or help you in braiding his own hair. Cuz I think he braids his hair/knows how to braid hair. ☺️☺️

“hawkins..~? may i, uh, you know....” you muttered, shyly approaching your lover who lets a sigh escape his lips, already knowing what's on your mind despite not consulting his cards.

“yes, my love. yes you may braid my hair.” hawkins hums, approving your request that he foreseen by your obvious hint—which is constantly looking at his hair that shone brightly like gold under the sun, that is truly fascinating...

“thank you, hawkins~!” you chimed, happily skipping to your lover who was quick to let his hair down for you, and only you to touch, a faint smile on his face as he continued to read his book while you begun your work.

“mhm, always welcome.. do be gentle, though.” the man reminds, sending you a sly glare when he recalled how you hastily brushed his locks before, which he obviously isn't a fan of..

Compliments your work on his hair, good or not, cuz he loves how you do your best with it.

↑ Hawkins also secretly loves getting his hair braided by you, though it isn't a secret anymore, since it's obvious! 🤭

Will braid your hair, too, (if your hair can be braided). But only if you ask him to. :))

CAVENDISH

Omg! Go ahead! Feel free to braid his hair anytime! He's totally fine with it, in fact, he's the one asking you to braid his hair! 💗💗💗

Just don't fuck it up tho (2), or he will not speak a word to you for an entire week. 😦

Cavendish owns the most luscious, majestic hair ever. Not a single tangle in there, so combing and braiding is gonna be smooth as hell.

He'll whine like an annoying assed child if he gets hurt though. 👽

“y/n~ i see you admiring my beautiful hair, and i bet you wanna braid it, yes?” cavendish notes, immediately noticing the special attention you're giving his locks, catching you in 4k.

“...yes. i do want to braid your hair, so, may i?” you ask for consent, which was quickly given by your lover who snickered, “of course you may! i mean, who wouldn't not want to braid my majestic hair? haha!”

“make me even more beautiful, my dearest. you can do that, right?” he hums, as you nod in response, receiving a kiss on your hand from cavendish who settled down.

“that's great, now, please do your magic. i'll reward you later, fufu~” he cooes, teasing you one last time before he shuts up to let you do your work, secretly admiring you the whole time.

↑ Yep, he admires you as you braid his hair, and of course, he also admires himself in front of the mirror he has before you two. + Yes, he will reward you afterwards with another kiss, and a dinner date. 😍🫶

Like Hawkins, Cavendish also knows how to braid hair, so sometimes, he braids yours, too (if your hair can be braided).

↑ Though before he met you, he doesn't know how to braid hair. Watched you braid hair once, and learned how to, so he could do braids, too. 😊

⠀⠀ʚїɞ · likes, comments, reblogs, and/or feedbacks are highly appreciated!

#ੈ♡˳· butterfluffy #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece fanfiction #one piece scenario #one piece headcanons #killer one piece x reader #basil hawkins x reader #cavendish one piece x reader

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jazy3 · 8 months

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Wonka (2023) Movie Review

I went to see the new Wonka movie over the weekend and I highly recommend it! First off, it’s a musical! The marketing for the movie here hasn’t been making that clear at all which is a shame because it’s delightful! The movie made me cry and laugh out loud right off the bat. It’s the first movie that’s made me feel like that in a while. If you loved the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder you’ll like this one! It’s got the same vibe and spirit to it and the characters feel like ones you’d find in a Roald Dahl novel. It’s a great movie to take your kids too as well!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

In the film, Willy Wonka is an aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier. He arrives in Europe to establish his chocolate shop at the Galeries Gourmet. Armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, he manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time. He arrives in Paris and after using up his meager savings is coerced into staying at Mrs. Scrubitt's Boarding House by a man named Bleacher who turns out to be her henchman.

After falling into misfortune, he hatches an escape plan and with the help of his newfound friends finds a way to finally bring his chocolates to the masses and free himself and his friends from captivity and oppression. The movie is designed to be a prequel to the 1971 Classic but set in Paris and depending on your interpretation either pre-dates Wonka’s arrive in England or is set in an alternative timeline or universe.

This movie pulled on my heart strings and made me genuinely cry within the first few minutes. It also made me laugh hysterically! The comedic timing was great, and Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa was hilarious! I loved the back story they created for the Oompa Loompas about how they came to work for him and why they’re so loyal. It was way funnier and a lot less offensive than I was anticipating. I was worried they’d create a back story for them that would come across as prejudice and offensive, but they didn't. They found a way to make the interactions between Wonka and Hugh Grant’s character funny without being offensive.

What really makes the movie work is Timothée Chalamet’s performance. It turns out he’s a surprisingly good singer and you definitely buy him as Wonka! He brings the same sort of mischievous spirit and kindness to the role that Wilder did but puts his own spin on it. Calah Lane, the actress who plays Noodle, his main collaborator in the film, was excellent! She’s definitely one to watch! The movie featured Colour Blind Casting similar to how characters in the Shonda Rhimes universe are cast. So think Bridgerton meets Whimsical Musical. Speaking of which, Abigail the giraffe totally stole the show! An excellent addition to be sure!

The supporting cast was fantastic! Jim Carter, best known as the Butler from Downton Abbey plays an Accountant; Rowan Atkison, best known as Mr. Bean, plays a corrupt chocaholic priest, and Mathew Baynton from Horrible Histories plays a chocolate shop owner who’s a member of the city’s chocolate cartel. Fellow Horrible Histories alum Simon Farnaby plays Basil, a bamboozled Zoo security guard, Colin O'Brien from Dear Edward plays a young Willy Wonka, and Sally Hawkins plays his mother.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does an excellent job of playing a police officer with a conscience working in a corrupt system overrun by chocoholics! Keegan-Michael Key plays the corrupt and totally inept Chief of Police, and Olivia Coleman rounds out the cast as the despicable Mrs. Scrubitt! Part of the reason the characters feel so authentic to Dahl’s work is because they are based on characters from other stories of his. Paul King, the Director, worked closely with the Dahl Estate, and Dahl’s grandson Luke Kelly served as a Producer. The trio of villains known as the Chocolate Cartel were inspired by Boggis, Bunce, and Bean from the Fantastic Mr. Fox and the character of Mrs. Scrubbit was inspired by Dahl's short story The Landlady.

Some of my favourite lines of the film were:

“Judgement has come in the most unexpected way!”

“It's a ruined castle.”

“That does defy explanation.”

“Shouldn’t we be focusing on all those unsolved murders?”

“He doesn’t even work here!”

I thought the movie did a really good job of depicting Parisian culture and how expensive everything is! In real life Paris is beautiful but there are so many things that the movies get wrong about what Paris, France as a whole, and French culture is actually like. In real life, things in Paris are very expensive, you have to be warry of pick pockets, and you have to be careful as many of the people you’ll see have an angle or are trying to get something from you or make money off you. I loved that they found comedic ways to show that while also highlighting just how beautiful and charming the city can be.

I found the back story as to why Wonka hates Slugworth so much and their rivalry really interesting. I wasn’t expecting it and I was pleasantly surprised. The implication from the film, if you take it to be a prequel, is that while Slugworth’s co-conspirators Fickelgruber and Prodnose were finished for good after being exposed he eventually rebuilt his empire which is why the rivalry between himself and Wonka continued. I did find it strange that when they went looking for Noodle’s mom, they just went down the list of people with that name instead of starting with the librarians and book shop clerks in town when they know she was a bookworm based on what Slugworth told them.

I loved the castle building sequence at the end! Although I was a bit disappointed as I thought we were going to see how Wonka expanded his operation to London at the end. FYI there’s a cute little bonus scene soon after the credits start so stick around for that! I loved the epilogue song and them taking the time to tell us that there was going to be bonus content and a post-credits scene right after the bat so you didn’t have to sit and wait for it. If you like musicals and loved the original movie I really recommend this one!

Until next time!

#wonka 2023 #willy wonka #wonka movie #wonka #wonka spoilers #oompa loompa #willy wonka and the chocolate factory #gene wilder #timothée chalamet #movie review #hugh grant #film review #opinion #thoughts

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woodchipp · 11 months

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A CRITIQUE OF OMORI, PART 6: UNORIGINALITY

NOTE: Reader discretion is advised. By clicking on “Keep reading”, you willingly choose to continue reading the post.

This is more of a "bonus" post. It is not as important as the other five posts before it and is more of a rant than anything.

Even though just calling OMORI "another quirky Earthbound-inspired RPG about depression" would be rather reductive, OMORI is painfully derivative at its core. For a game renowned for pushing the envelope for what indie RPGs can do, it's actually rather unimpressive. In terms of story, the game it bears the most resemblance to is - surprisingly enough - Silent Hill 2, with the similarities being... suspicious.

The male protagonist (James; Sunny) kills his female loved one (Mary; Mari), represses the memory of doing so and convinces himself she's still alive (James comes to Silent Hill in hopes of finding Mary after allegedly receiving a letter from her; Sunny conjures an imaginary fantasyland where Mari is still alive). The only major difference is that James killed Mary consciously while Sunny killed Mari accidentally.

Tying into the previous point, OMORI establishes that Mari died 4 years ago prior to the events of the game because of an external circumstance Sunny had no control over (suicide) to hide the fact that Sunny killed her, exactly the same way SH2 establishes that Mary died 3 years ago prior to the events of the game due to an external circumstance James had no control over (terminal illness) to hide the fact that James killed her.

As the screenshots at the top of the post show, both James and Sunny are established as generally reticent characters who don't outwardly emote much but are described by other characters (Mary in James' case, Sunny's friends in Sunny's case) as kind and sweet.

Silent Hill 2's Mary is James' kind, gentle and seemingly perfect wife who used to play the piano and dearly loved her husband; near the end of the game, it is implied that she verbally abused James during her final days, with said abuse partially being the reason he killed her. Similarly, OMORI's Mari is Sunny's kind, gentle and seemingly perfect older sister who used to play the piano and dearly loved her younger brother; near the end of the game, it is revealed that she harshly berated Sunny, with said upbraiding partially being the reason Sunny shoved her down the stairs.

Furthermore, inspecting the piano in the Lakeview Hotel has James briefly reminisce that he loved to hear Mary play the piano even though she wasn't very good at it; during the final memory of Memory Lane, Basil mentions that Sunny always sits in the room with Mari while she's practicing the piano.

The plot of Silent Hill 2 focuses on James' surreal trek through the town as his subconscious (represented via the Otherworld, Pyramid Head and the monsters) tries to get him to face the fact that he committed a murder. Similarly, the plot of OMORI focuses on Sunny's surreal trek through his imaginary fantasyland as his subconscious (represented via Black Space, Stranger, Something and its variants) tries to get him to face the fact that he committed manslaughter.

The recurring fog in Headspace represents the lack of mental clarity, as the game itself spells out to you. Do I even need to say anything here?

The main antagonistic forces of Silent Hill 2 are the symbolic embodiment of James' guilt that also serves as a constant reminder of his wrongdoing (Pyramid Head) and the personification of James' wish-fulfillment delusions that is meant to distract him from learning the truth (Maria). Similarly, the main antagonistic forces of OMORI are the symbolic embodiment of Sunny's guilt that also serves as a constant reminder of his wrongdoing (Something) and the personification of Sunny's wish-fulfillment delusions that is meant to prevent him from learning the truth (Omori)

Both James and Sunny/Omori are forced to descend into an eldritch location representing their subconscious - the Labyrinth and Black Space respectively - in the second half of their respective games. OMORI even has you enter Black Space by jumping through a hole in the floor!

The revelation that Sunny killed Mari directly precedes OMORI's penultimate boss fight against Basil, just like the revelation that James killed Mary precedes Silent Hill 2's penultimate boss fight against the twin Pyramid Heads. Additionally, the Truth segment's long walk to the tree where the final photo lies is reminiscent of the long hallway James has to go through before confronting the final boss.

Silent Hill 2's "Maria" ending shows James ultimately embracing his delusions by accepting Maria as Mary's replacement to avoid facing up to his guilt; similarly, the ending of OMORI's Hikikomori route shows Sunny embracing his delusions to avoid facing up to his guilt by staying in Headspace forever.

Of course, to insinuate Omocat stole Silent Hill 2's entire plot would be too absurd of an accusation, but the similarities were too glaring for me to ignore. Make of them what you will.

Silent Hill 2 isn't the only game OMORI heavily resembles. Aside from the very obvious "inspiration" the game takes from Yume Nikki, many of the things this game tries to do have been already done in some form (oftentimes better) by other indie RPGs and video games in general that were released before it.

Headspace is Earthbound's Magicant made into a whole game. The major difference is that Magicant is actually relevant to the story in both of the games it's featured in. By the way, don't Daddy Longlegs' appearance and his function in the plot seem strikingly familiar?

Omori stands down and vanishes at the end of the final boss fight after Sunny plays the recital he and Mari were meant to play, just like Giegue stands down and calls off the invasion of Earth after Ninten and his team sing the lullaby his adoptive mother, Maria, used to sing to him during the climax of Earthbound Beginnings.

OFF and Ib have already featured hand-drawn aesthetics all the way back in 2008 and 2012 respectively; in Ib, it also was a crucial part of the story and the gameplay instead of simply being an aesthetic choice.

Something and the variants of it you fight throughout the game seem to be made out of clay, an aesthetic choice the two Hylics games have already featured.

Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass has already featured the exact same "kid uses sugar-coated dream world to cope with hardship in his life" general premise, the hardship in question being terminal cancer in Jimmy's case. It also had Jimmy fight his fears, heights and spiders included. The final boss, the Pulsating Mass itself, tries to break Jimmy by taking the appearance of his family and verbally abusing him, with Jimmy getting the special "Heartbroken" status effect, just like Omori tries to break Sunny by reminding him that his friends loved Mari and he killed her while inflicting the special "Afraid" emotion on him. On top of that, JatPM features Jimmy facing off against the personification of his self-loathing too!

The LISA games have already featured OMORI's initial premise of "brother grieves his sister's suicide and has to deal with his own severe mental issues along the way". The major difference is that Lisa's suicide is a suicide caused by her father's sexual abuse instead of being a contrived cover-up planned and executed by a 12-year-old.

Truth be told, I'd have been genuinely glad to overlook such minutiae if the game's story was actually compelling or gripping. It isn't.

OMORI's story fails to be complex and compelling for a multitude of reasons. The main protagonist is dull, doesn't have much impact on the plot and comes off as more unpleasant than intended, the main characters in general are fleshed out poorly and their personalities are spelled out to the player multiple times rather than shown, the supposedly soul-crushing plot twist makes no sense under scrutiny, and the game is rife with unfortunate implications regarding the topic of mental illness, which it relies on to make the plot interesting. The emotions OMORI tries to evoke don't feel earned either, and come off as more of a "smokescreen" to divert the player's attention from the plot's lack of substance.

After all, in this game, the Feels are always more of a priority than the Reals.

#omori critical #omori #omori game #omori sunny #sunny omori #omori mari #mari omori

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crowbasils · 2 years

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A COMPLETE AND IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF BASIL’S CHARACTER !!

Tbh, Basil is actually way more nuanced than the game makes him out to be, and has hid his emotions far before Kel has, and is as tragic, if not more tragic, as Aubrey is. Why? Well, let’s start off with his childhood.

HIS CHILDHOOD

Before the friend group. As Polly says in-game, his parents left him when he was a toddler, with his grandmother being the only one there for him.

…Which is really obviously not really a “good” thing, to be left with only one person—an old one at that. Even though he’s left with someone that cares for him, it’s still bad. Why? Because he would realize that she isn’t his parent. That his grandmother isn’t his parent. And that realization hurts, because he’s left to wonder why his parents left him. Why his parents abandoned, and neglected him. Was it because they found him to be weak? Was it because they hated him? Was it because they had no time for him? We never know, and he never did, either.

This can actually cause children to feel like an alien. To feel like they aren’t human. To feel that they can’t “connect” with society. Because they don’t know how to interact with other humans, they can’t relate to other’s experiences all that well due to the lack of parents, they don’t know what a “mother’s love” is, or what “love” is in general, because they weren’t exposed to that. This is, most probably, the case with Basil. Even though he has a grandmother, it’s not really enough. It’s not enough, because it’s not his parents, it’s not the ones who gave birth to him. It’s not the ones who others would say “would love you unconditionally”.

Plus, considering that it’s his grandmother, Basil might’ve actually had to tend to himself and mature faster than anyone did. His grandmother is old, and old people have a lot of complications to deal with. He might’ve had to run errands for her, do house chores for her, and stuff like that. A grandmother isn’t the most reliable parental figure, because they could fall ill at any moment, they could die at any moment. He probably knows this, actually.

All that combined probably makes you think that Basil would turn out to be a sad kid. As in, something like post-incident Sunny. But… surprisingly, he’s not. He’s happy, smiling, and more than Sunny. He’s smiling more than Sunny, which admittedly, makes no sense when you consider his childhood. Which bring us to the next point…

HIDDEN FEELINGS (PRE-INCIDENT)

While not specifically expressed in canon (Sunny and Omori aren’t reliable narrators), it is pretty implied that he hides feelings. Probably the most obvious indicators of that would be the fact that he vents to Sunny, and the existence of Stranger (who is implied to be the parts of Basil that Sunny finds “unpleasant”. Not to say that he dislikes Basil, but he pretty much has this black and white view when it comes to the world.

He probably has hid more feelings than the game lets on. He smiles, to hide the fact that he’s very empty on the inside. He laughs and smiles, to hide the fact that he thinks of himself as “inhuman” and feels “strange” compared to everyone. He involves himself in the activities of the friend group, because he’s so scared of being left alone again and being forgotten and abandoned. He takes photos, because he’s so scared to let the moments pass by, since they could leave him at any moment. He acts the way he is, because he’s never been able to make a lot of human interaction. He values his relationships with the friend group more than anyone, because to him, they are his true family.

They say, “opposites attract”, correct? Then perhaps the reason why Basil hangs out more with Sunny, is because he is the very opposite to him. Sunny isn’t emotionally expressive, Sunny doesn’t smile, and laugh a lot, but unlike him, Sunny isn’t empty. Sunny is full of life, but he doesn’t show it. Sunny has been around people who love and trust him his entire childhood, while Basil hasn’t. Sunny has been loved and cherished by everyone his entire childhood, but Basil? He hasn’t. Basil wasn’t loved and cherished by everyone his entire childhood. Sunny had people care for him, while Basil didn’t. Sunny experienced parental love, but Basil didn’t, and will never experience it. In his eyes, Sunny is perfect, because he experienced what he cannot. Because he is loved by everyone. Because he is cherished, and treasured. He is what Basil cannot be.

Basil probably does have trust and abandonment issues that he hid as well. His photo album can be a sign of that. Abandonment issues, caused by his parents leaving and the fact that his grandmother can fall ill / die at any moment, and trust issues caused by the abandonment issues. The photo album is also described as a collection of “things he is afraid to lose”.

He is also implied to be depressed and/or suicidal in a certain incident which will be addressed in the next section

“THE INCIDENT”

The incident is a major part of the OMORI story, as it serves as the catalyst for all the events ingame. As for this section, I will attempt to give a reason as to why Basil did what he did, and what it implies. As well as clearing common misconceptions

The question “Why did Basil hang Mari?” is a question asked by a lot of people. The answer to that is quite simple, and that is because he didn’t want Sunny to get in trouble, and hated by everyone. “But he could’ve called the ambulance!!! Or even his parents!!!” That is true, but consider, he was in a stressful situation, and he didn’t even know what to do, as witnessing a death of a friend caused by another friend it a hard thing to take. Also, him hanging Mari instead implies that he knows how to tie a noose and that he knows how to suicide, which is concerning, especially as considering that he’s 12 year old, and that it’s pretty rare for a 12 year old to know that back in the time OMORI is implied to have taken place in. The internet also didn’t exist back then, which makes it pretty impossible for Basil to know what suicide is and how to do it unless he planned to do it himself.

A common misconception is that he is the one who scribbled up the photo album, and to that I say, no, he wasn’t. It was Sunny. Basil actually says that it was Sunny in an earlier version of the dialogue before the Basil fight. I’m not sure why they removed it, though. (Sunny even takes a step back when the rest of the gang (minus Basil) hugs Aubrey!)

Another common misconception is that this is the only reason why Basil is depressed/sad, and to that I say, absolutely not. It’s not the only reason why Basil is like that. Even if he healed from the trauma this caused, a lot of his issues are still left unaddressed, such as the abandonment and trust issues and him being implied suicidal.

Also, the incident is not completely his fault, and he wasn’t the reason why Sunny became a shut-in / hikikomori. While yes, his SOMETHING is in the shape of hanged Mari, Sunny became a shut-in / hikikomori due to killing Mari, and not because of hanging her.

POST-INCIDENT, INGAME (FARAWAY SECTION)

The first time we see Basil, we see him asking for his photo album, but getting bullied and getting told “no” instead. This makes a pretty bad first impression to younger fans and illiterate fans, and because of that, he is often watered down into this “uwu coward soft boy who cries a lot”, which he isn’t. He may seem like it, but he isn’t. The second time we see Basil, he is at the old hangout spot, and calling for help. This… actually does imply a lot of things, one of them being suicide. He might’ve came there to die in a place where he missed, to look at the place one last time before he would commit suicide, but he was stopped by the hooligans, which most likely bullied him (even though they say they didn’t). And the last time, the sleepover, he either kills himself, or stabs Sunny in the eye due to hallucinations and stress.

The Basil we see here, in Faraway, is a more broken version of Basil. He still acts and hides feelings, it’s just not as effective as before. Another interesting thing I’d like to point out is the fact that we never really see Basil do anything connected to his past interests. While yes, his photo album may be part, he doesn’t really take photos anymore. Nor do we see him take care of his flowers. Maybe he could’ve lost interest in it, as a result of the incident. We don’t see Basil eat (the animation isn’t there during when Sunny and Kel went to Basil’s house), either, so for all we know, he could’ve starved himself, too, just occasionally reminded by Polly.

That aside, let’s get into the thick of it. Basil, in faraway, is most likely at the lowest point of his life. He had to see his friends leave him one by one (even Kel! We never see him focus on Basil, except for the scenes where he fights Aubrey to protect Basil. He didn’t knock on his door, either, like he did with Sunny.), and have one bullying him. He no longer has an outlet for his extremely bottled up emotions. He doesn’t have anyone, and his grandmother fell ill as well. Polly is paid to be there for him too, which means she doesn’t really count as someone he has. She isn’t close to him, either. She isn’t as close to him as the fandom makes her out to be.

It’s understandable why he broke down almost to the end of the game. Imagine someone you loved and cherished coming back, only for it to end in them leaving you again? And with no warning? No preparation? It sucks. And for the reason why they left in the first place being left unaddressed??? No wonder why Basil broke down. No wonder why he was so angry. No wonder why he was so sad. And, also, only reason why Basil stabbed Sunny’s eye was because he was hallucinating, and not because he actually wanted to. He stabbed Sunny’s eye because he thought it was SOMETHING, and not Sunny. Although it’s not completely all because of that, it’s a key part of it. His repressed anger and hatred, as well as his desire to “save” Sunny is also a part of it too, it’s just that due to the hallucinations, he stabbed Sunny’s eye. The part where he states that he’ll end both of their pains (by murder-suicide) is most likely out of stress, because his situation is extremely stressful, and it’s sad that nobody recognizes it.

He also does use toxic positivity, saying “Everything will be okay…” even if it won’t. It’s just… less recognized.

HIDDEN FEELINGS (POST-INCIDENT)

Basil, post-incident, probably also does have a lot of hidden feelings as well. This time, it includes hatred and anger.

He still feels empty, he still feels “inhuman” and “strange”, even more so that the incident happened. The incident, while not causing most of his problems, worsened a lot of it. His abandonment issues worsened, his trust issues worsened, basically everything worsened.

Although, now you add anger and hatred. He’s mad at Sunny for leaving. Hates him, even. Hates him for leaving him when they were supposed to deal with it together (or so he says), for leaving him during the lowest point of his life, for leaving him for so, so long. He’s mad at Sunny because when he went out, it was already near when he would leave. He hates Aubrey. For bullying him, for not hearing him out, for leaving him as well. He hates Kel. For only paying attention to Sunny. For leaving him. For being insensitive at times. But, he can’t help but feel disgusted at himself. Disgusted at himself for hating them. He feels like he doesn’t have the right to.

POST-GAME

Post game, a lot of Basil’s problems go unsolved. He isn’t exactly portrayed to have moved on like the rest. While yes, you can take the “true ending” as him accepting it… it feels rushed. The “Let’s make new memories together, okay?” that Dream Basil says isn’t Basil himself, so that isn’t reliable. It feels like instead of getting better, his problems will just fester into something worse. He’s basically alone as well. Even more so due to the reactions to the truth. Sunny left, he isn’t close to the friend group, his grandmother is dead, his parents are still gone, he isn’t close to Polly + she’s paid to take care for him… He’s all alone again.

That’s not saying that the friend group will try to get closer to him again, because they absolutely can, it’s just that Basil's problems still aren’t solved either way. Yeah, sure, he might admit some things, but they won’t be the closest anymore. It’ll probably take a very long time for Basil to even warm up to them again. Might even take 2 years.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I think Basil is the character talked least into depth about and often mischaracterized along with Hero. Many people fail to recognize that he’s also as tragic as Aubrey is, if not more tragic. Many people fail to recognize that his issues go far beyond the incident as well. Not a lot of people recognize that in terms of mental state, Basil is much worse than Sunny, since even before the incident, he was already pretty unstable

…Aaaand that’s all! Thank you for reading :D

#omori #omori basil #basil omori #omori sunny #sunny omori #omori aubrey #aubrey omori #omori kel #kel omori #omori hero #hero omori #omori mari #mari omori #omori analysis #meta analysis #character analysis #basil analysis

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