#I shared with Wels for a while

[tunastime]

CLASSIFIED

HASA Interspace Investigation Coalition Investigator Reassessment Team

For: the Mission Critical Event Occurring on Stardate 2104.119

Stardate: 2104.123, Location: HCS Influence

Responses recorded using the Automated Question and Answer System (AQNA) aboard the HCS Influence.

Recorded responses enclosed.

Begin transcribed data.

Interview for: IIC Employee #7717

Stated Name: Hels

SESSION BEGIN

AQNA [Generated Text Question]: Please explain the events of [stardate 2104.119]. Subject (Hels) [Recorded Verbal Response]: Well that’s an easy question. We got ambushed, that's what f—ing happened. It was supposed to be a standard datum extraction from a site that was supposed to be abandoned, because nobody decided it would be a good idea to check again. So we got ambushed mid-mission. That's what happened. AQNA: Can you elaborate on the event that triggered the call-back sequence? Hels: What, you want me to draw you a diagram? [No AQNA Text Question Generated] Hels: So no diagram? [No AQNA Text Question Generated] Hels: The drop-squad successfully made ground contact after about half an hour of survey on our end. We assumed based off of initial information and our scans, that the site was uninhabited. I mean—it’s a decommissioned testing facility for something way more boring than what we’re usually sent for. Why the f— would there be… things living there. Things. They weren’t human. They weren’t me either. We triggered the call-back sequence because I watched everything go white so fast I thought I was seeing the inside of my skull. Ex is the only reason I got out alive. I’m sure he’s… thrilled. AQNA: Were you unable to retrieve the body and equipment of [#7716]? Hels: I didn’t see him. On account of the pulse grenade. Did you watch the footage, or should I be playing narrator? [No AQNA Text Question Generated] Hels: I don’t know where he is. I don’t know what they did to him. We lost all his vitals when the pulse fried our equipment at the site.  Interviewer: Can you elaborate on the status of [#7716]? Hels: What do you mean elaborate? What—he’s probably dead. Is that what you want to hear? He’s f—ing dead. He’s dead, you piece of shit machine. Go ask somebody else what they think. [No AQNA Text Question Generated] Interviewer: Can you speak to [#6763]’s competence as potential squadron leader? [No verbal recorded response available]

SESSION END

Interview for: IIC Employee #6763

Stated Name: Exania

SESSION BEGIN

AQNA [Generated Text Question]:  Please explain the events of [stardate 2104.119]. Subject (Exania) [Recorded Verbal Response]: We failed to complete our extraction procedure. I was able to reach the data site within an hour of touchdown, alongside the rest of the team. We successfully retrieved the abandoned facility data within our allotted time frame, but on the way back to extraction, we were ambushed and caught in the line of fire of the inhabitants that had taken over the facility. I was able to successfully extract the bridge crew and one other member of the drop-squad. AQNA: Can you elaborate on the events that triggered the call-back sequence? Exania: We were attacked? Someone started shooting. Someone threw a magnetizer and a pulse grenade. The two other drop-squad members took a majority of the flash, but it was bright. Everywhere was... painfully bright. I don't have much more to say on that. I just acted in the best interest of the team as second in command. AQNA: Were you unable to retrieve the body and equipment of [#7716]? Exania: He’s dead. What did you want us to do? Retrieve a handful of charred up equipment? I don’t think so. AQNA: Can you elaborate on the status of [#7716]? Exania: He’s dead. That’s it. AQNA: Can you speak to [#7717]’s competence as potential squadron leader? Exania: #7717? I can't.  AQNA: Can you elaborate? Exania: I can't. AQNA: Can't? Or won't? Exania: Does it matter? [No AQNA Text Question Generated] AQNA: Please elaborate on your specific involvement with the events of [stardate 2104.119]. Exania: I successfully extracted information from the facility on [REDACTED]. I successfully extracted my drop member #7717, Hels. We were unsuccessful at a full extraction of the entire crew. Look, did I not just say all of this? What's not clicking for you? I know you're just recording this answer looking for keywords. I'm not daft. I think we’re done. AQNA: You're excused. Exania: Thank you.

SESSION END

Interview for: IIC Employee #7716

Given Name: Wels

SESSION BEGIN

AQNA [Generated Text Question]: Please explain the events of [stardate 2104.119]. [No verbal recorded response available] [No AQNA Text Question Generated]

END SESSION

[hybbart]

Day 2513: Tango has finally healed up enough to move. Bullseye wouldn't let Wels near them so the two go together to retrieve the animals. While on the ground, though, Tango notices many of the zombies share an uncommon trait...

I'm still sick so this coulda been better but I wanted to get it done while I had the inspiration.

[two-white-butterflies]

call it what you want | m33

Description: After Max wins his first championship - he decides that it's the perfect time to propose to you.

Pairing: max verstappen/daniel ricciardo's sister-reader

20 MINUTES BEFORE D-DAY

Max Verstappen could feel the sweat trickling down his neck. A few hours ago, he was talking to your brother - nervous about what the officials would say about the race. He knew that if they decided to take away his points, then the WDC would be nothing but a wet dream. He wanted to win - he wanted to make you proud.

"Max Verstappen, you are champion of the world!" the interviewer yelled and he could feel his heart pump furiously. Everything began to happen in slow motion. He wanted to vomit from the sheer happiness that he was feeling. "Do I?" he pointed at the door, Charles nodded with a bitter smile. "Congrats, mate." he tapped his rival's shoulders. "Dank u wel," (thank you) he responded.

With a silent breath, he takes a step out of the room. Everyone's eyes were on him, anticipating every move. And for a small second - he smiles. He sees you.

He pulls you closer to his body, smiling as confusing spread throughout your features. "Aren't you supposed to be preparing?" you asked teasingly, seeing the podium behind you.

"I don't think you'll believe me - but I've never practiced winning the drivers championship before." he confessed, feeling Daniel put the ring in his back pocket. You press a soft kiss on his lips. "Not even in front of the mirror?" you teased, remembering the times he'd spend hours in front of your vanity - practicing his speech and all.

"I was uhh, practicing for something different." he lied, entwining your hands together. He reaches for his back pocket with his free hand. "What are you doing?" you giggle, seeing the technicians behind you panic as Max was already supposed to be up there. "I always promised to share everything with you - my bad moments, my good moments - and in my wins, I want you beside me. I want this to be your moment too." he began speaking.

"What are you doing?" you chuckle nervously, eyes widening as he began to get down on one knee. "(Your Name) Ricciardo," he began and all the cameras turn to your direction. "Maximus?" you grin.

"Will you marry me?" he inquired, and the grid erupts into a chorus of cheers. "Is that a question? Yes." you look down, helping him get up as he placed the ring on your finger. "I was so nervous," he wrapped you in a warm embrace. "I love you," you mumble - burying your face on his shoulder.

MAX VERSTAPPEN MOMENTS AFTER WIN. (by racecar1)

Interviewer: Did it feel like a double win for you? A WDC and an engagement all in the same night, must be too hard to process.

Max Verstappen: I've been preparing for this moment since the first time I saw her. The WDC was a cherry on top.

Interviewer: Did you intend to propose to her after winning? or was there something else planned.

Max Verstappen: I didn't think I'd win. I wanted to propose in my boat, but this was the perfect moment. [pulled by staff] Goodbye, have a great day.

Interviewer: Thank you, Max!

Max hands you a cold glass of soda.

"You'll drive us home?" he asked, seeing that you were the only one adamant to not drink alcohol. "Yes, I don't want to get lost in the middle of nowhere again." you joke, reminding him of the time when Daniel had to drive everyone home.

"It was the map's fault!" Daniel defends himself while taking a sip of his beer. "Yeah, sure." you mumble with a playful smile. "Have fun, this party is for you." you tap him, seeing that he had no intention to leave your side. "You too," he corrected pulling you to the dance floor.

[soiwj]

Tasty Treat

Arlecchino x fem!baker!reader

Link to part 2

Very ooc arlecchino

(i dont know her character wel but she's hot, so i thought I'd give it a shot)

Planning on doing research on her though!!

Fuckk i love women omg

Second mini-fic ever how exciting!!

Please request stuff here!! It's hard to come up with prompts ;-;

I wrote this at 3 am so excuse the lack of structure

You start your usual routine of setting everything up for the day, although today is a bit special. Your bakery doesn't have many customers, considering the place it's in is quite remote. A peaceful forrest that's still in fontaine borders yet far away from any other buildings or people.

You chose this place because you appreciate the beauty and peace that nature brings you. The birds whisteling in the morning, the foxes chittering, the sound of tree leaves rustling. Yet that peace comes with quite a heft price. Loneliness. Besides the old lady that lives in a small village near the forrest, you don't get much human interaction. Even though your bakery is quite big and fits lots of people, you don't really have a lot of customers to share it with.

A week ago, you received a business offer from the house of the hearth. Since the bakery near the orphanage closed down, they don't have any establishments providing them things like breakfast treats and pastries. That's why they're employing you. The contract has you preparing and delivering the food to the hearth.

Even though this seemed like quite a lot of work, you accepted. I mean, how could you not? You get to make pasteries for adorable kids, making them smile, AND you get paid? This is a dream come true. After years of sulking alone in the damp forest serving a customer here and there, you get the privilege of a constant source of profit.

After hours of baking, your tired eyes look at the required amount of food stated in the order, and you realize that this is only enough for the kids. How strange that the boss herself did not order anything. Does she eat breakfast somewhere else? Nevertheless, you decide to make something anyway.

After packing up the orders, you start walking towards the orphanage, barely holding on to the several boxes stacked on top of eachother.

As you arrive, you set the boxes down and ring the orphanage's doorbell. An earie ring echoes from inside.

A tall woman opens the door. Her snow white hair with the occasional black streak looks down at you from the doorframe. Her brows furrow slightly at the sight of you, and the boxes.

"Are you alone?" She asks, you're confused, to say the least. "...yes?" You mutter. "How come you've managed to carry all those boxes on your lonesome?" Her sultry voice sounds out as she crosses her arms in amusement, holding back a grin. Before you can answer, you hear who you assume are the kids, walking slowly towards the persumed dining room.

"I'll help you with these," Arlecchino says curtly as she picks up a few boxes to bring to the kitchen. You pick up the last remaining boxes as you tail behind her.

As you and Arlecchino start unpacking and putting the treats on plates, you can't help but think of how different you expected Arlecchino to be. Clearly, her reputation precedes her. All the while your mind is drifting off to several different subjects, you don't notice the red-crossed eyes staring your way.

After the children finish eating, you stay a while, wanting to hear their opinion on the treats. As you basically survey them, you take the time to get to know some of them. Playing games with them and answering their unending questions.

As you realise you've overstayed your welcome, you say goodbye to the kids and quickly leave the orphanage. On your way back, you reach your hand into your purse, trying to take out your cherry flavored gum. You eventually find it but with it a little pink box brushes your hand. The cookie, you forgot to give it to Arlecchino.

Sat in her office, Arlecchino can't stop thinking about the kind-hearted baker she employed. Just looking at her interacting with the kids made something burn up inside of her. A little warmth that warms her cold, unfeeling heart. She looks out the window, hoping to have some reprieve from this strange feeling. Yet it seems the archons are against her wishes as she sees a certain baker running towards the orphanage. Almost tripping on her way. Even though it is foolish to entertain feelings for such a seemingly simple creature, Arlecchino can't help but grin at another interaction with her. Usually, she doesn't like to play with her food. But this time, she might make you an exception.

You stumble into the building as one of the kids, whom you now know is called Tealus, opens the door for you. With the pink box in hand, you stride through the halls looking for Arlecchino's office. As you ask one of the children, they point to the dark, long hallway without windows. How fitting. Your heels clicking softly as you walk over to her black office double doors. This place seems more like a villain's lair than an orphanage to you now, but you digress.

You knock 5 times in a specific pattern you were used to as a child when you hear a stern "Come in." You pull the golden doorhandle as the office window light starts flooding the hallway. You quickly close the door behind you as you step closer to her desk.

She does not look up from the paperwork on her desk as she multitasks without problem. "Why are you still here, baker." Just because she approves of your bond with the kids does not mean she will treat you differently from other people. "I saw there was nothing for you on the order list, so I made you something." You say proudly. You start rambling as you explain how you forgot to give it to her during breakfast.

She interrupts you as she reaches out her hand. "Can I see it?" You're flustered as you quickly hand her the box. She places it down gently on her desk as she lifts the packaging. Facing Arlecchino is a cookie with a white base, decorated with a black and red spider on top. "How adorable," Arlecchino mutters softly. Your soft 'huh' drives her back to reality as she responds. "I'm not very fond of sweet treats. I prefer savory things." She almost chuckles at the sight of your worried eyes locking with hers. "I can make you something else if you'd like? Hmm, although I can't think of many savory pasteries..." As you start naming some options, you reach for the cookie, trying to throw it away, but Arlecchino's quick reflexes hold your wrist before you can get close. "I thought you didn't like it?" Your confusion radiating off of you. "I never said such a thing. I merely said I prefer savory treats." She softly lets your wrist go as she stores the cookie on a desk extension behind her.

From then on, this has become routine, although some things have changed throughout the weeks. Instead of delivering the food alone, Arlecchino stops by early in the morning to help you carry them. Sometimes, it results in small talk when you haven't finished packing the orders yet.

Usually, she doesn't speak much and lets you do all the talking. You fear she's getting annoyed from your constant ramblings, but unbeknownst to you, she loves it when you talk about your interests and things you love.

This was a bit short, but if you wanna see a specific trope with this situation, you can req anything you wantt!!

Might do a part 2 of this idk yet

[majickth]

Hermit's Hollow Masterpost

What is Hermit's Hollow?

Hermit's Hollow is a mysterious small town AU centered around the titular town of Hermit's Hollow. It's is heavily inspired by works such as Twin Peaks, Welcome to Nightvale, TAZ: Amnesty, Gravity Falls, and other similar media. The story, while not always in chronological order, is told through transcripts, recovered photographs, journal entries, and -- occasionally -- strange puzzles strewn about. Basically, there's weird things in the trees, the town may be almost be literally alive, and the weirdest thing at the local tourist trap is its owner.

What's the story?

Grian is a former journalist with a tarnished reputation. With nothing else left to lose, he accepts an invitation from his sister to start anew in the sleepy mountainside town of Hermit's Hollow. What appears to be a peaceful escape quickly reveals itself to be far more, however, as soon Grian is embroiled in the mystery of a missing scientist, a charming tourist trap owner, and a town that's far more than it seems. Now, armed with only a Polaroid camera and his intuition, he's determined to uncover the town's secrets -- for better or for worse.

Find the AU here: #hermits hollow au.

Official Playlist

Got some art/writing/anything you wanna share? @ me and be sure to tag it! I love seeing all the cool stuff people make :D

Art:

Grian + Pearl (Official Character Sheets)

Scar + Cub (Official Character Sheets)

Grian and Pearl Reunion (Comic)

Dead is Better - Ex and Cleo (Comic)

First Time at the the Diner

Strange Things Happen For No Reason

Take a Picture

Scar (Doodles)

Etho (Doodles)

Gem (Doodles)

Scarland [by @fadedandromeda]

Doc [by @rainoftime3]

Cleo [by @rainoftime3]

Welcome to Hermit's Hollow [by @suffer-my-beloved-mutuals]

Etho at the Pass N Gas (Comic) [by @domithekingoffools]

Fics:

Not Very Ideal, Is It? (Tumblr) [by @roxie-roo]

Day 2 (Tumblr) [by @roxie-roo]

Inbetween - Etho (Tumblr) [by @eagle-warri]

A Hollow Mystery (AO3) [by @myths-gay-and-random-bullshit]

Cosplay:

Grian [by @myst3ry-pl4nt]

Info:

General Character Overview

The Hollow is Weird

The Lunar Express

The Diner, The Facility, and The Past

Doc

Joe Hills

Impulse

Bdubs

Keralis

xB

Xisuma/Ex

Mumbo

Etho

Tango

Zedaph

False

Wels

Hermit's Hollow Recap (KHHR)

NOTE: this masterpost is incomplete. If I am missing anything, lmk and I will add it as soon as I am able.

[rpreaperperson]

MOM

Reader is a combat medic, a BIG sweeth tooth and a mother to 141 boys (dont forget can cook too) a waifu material

In case with Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

MasterList

Warning!!: jelly and OOC Ghost, and jelly Soap

You grunt from your chair stretching your arm up, exhausted with the examination paper that one of the nurses gave you

“guess I need a little snack time..” after tidying up the paper you walk into the door and think of what will you make for your snack time

As you open the door there in the doorway stands a tall man with his skull balaclava on his head, you jump a little placing your hand on your chest

“Oh my God..!!” you gasp

‘Seriously this man going to be death of me’ you thought while calming down your heartbeat

“Doc” he casually greets looking down at you

“Simon! what’s wrong? you need something?” you notice his eyes narrowing

“.....I heard Johnny got some sweets”

“Uhh..yeah..well like the usual Johnny, right? I mean is not unsual for him to got a sweets from me” you tried to explain the strict Lieutenant, remembering the first time you gave him sweets after Gaz, Soap, and Price

You could say that he is...

“you know the drill Doc”

“must you always do that Simon?” you could almost feel him smirk under that balaclava planning something devious

“..hmp of course he’s the one who brags about it” Ghost crossing his arm on his chest

...Quite delight especially when that time you cook for them

 “Fine...” you sigh shaking your head, both of you heading to the kitchen

.

“Chocolate cake? or cheese cake?”

“Chocolate one”

“Okay..guess I have make it for – “

“NO I WANT IT ALL TO MYSELF” his gruff voice boomed as he glared at you

“okay..okay hun! Geez..what happen that make you like this Simon?” you ask while preparing the utensils and the ingredients

“Jhonny fault for swaying the sweets you gave ‘im in front of my face...tauntingly” he leans on the counter watching you preparing the cake, you glance at him and sigh tiredly

“of course..Jhonny you’re the source of it all”

“dont forget you’re the one who spoil ‘im”grunt Ghost

“well..being the oldest one and having 5 ‘lil brothers will doing it to you” Ghost just huffs, he already knows about your family condition a part of him feels envy...but then he is in love with your motherly side enough for him wanting to married you

“Im waiting Doc...” you just hummed at him fully concentrating on the task, Ghost just stared at you fondly

He knows that you didn’t want any help when you making something for the rest of the team, and says that they only making it worse so he makes the tea instead

.

.

“mhh..good as always Doc”

“ehehe thanks Simon~”

Then in the hallway Soap who had just done from his training smelled a delicious scent, rushing into the kitchen his body hunching nose sniffed around the room like a dog searching for the source of the scent

“DOC! Y-you make something?” he cried out at you who now cleaning up the utensils, if he has a dog's tail you bet it’ll wag excitedly right now

“Uhh..yeah..” you pointed at Ghost who was busy munching the medium size chocolate cake with his balaclava pulled up to the bridge of his nose, both Ghost and Soap stared at each other

The lieutenant squinting his eyes at Soap, while the Scottish man stared at the half-eaten cake

“Ohhh~ LT, you’re – “ Soap swaying way to the cake tried to persuade Ghost to share, and...

HAUMPH

“Mmmhh...ish gooddd..”

Your eyes widen in disbelief so does Soap with jaw open wide his bulk arm reaches the cake.. trying to reach the cake, crushing his hope and dream into dust

“sorry Soap not gonna happen...” wiping the chocolate from his mouth, taking his cup of tea

“Appreciate the cake Doc, its delicious as always” he approaching you

“always?!” Soap shriek snap his head at you

“u-uh yeah y-you’re wel – “suddenly he kisses your cheek while staring at Soap tauntingly then pulled down his balaclava and walking away from the scene, with a blushing face you touch the cheeks he kisses

‘Oh dear...he’s REALLY gonna be death of me..’

Soap stand there fuming not just eating the whole cake in front him, he just kiss YOUR cheeks?!

‘oh..its on now...LT’  you sigh glance at Soap

‘maybe I’ll gave him mine instead’

[kathaynesart]

What do you take from the Rise movie’s “This isn’t about me,” message? *It’d be interesting to see this become a Tumblr thread cause I’d love to see what others think too.

That's... an important line to decipher. Deep enough to mean so many things but vague enough to be easily taken out of context. I have a lot to say about it, but I'll keep it under the cut to save others the trouble.

TLDR: Future Leo's a dum dum hypocrite

I think... when Leo used the line in the future timeline. He was trying to remind Casey of the harsh reality that they existed in. That this was a world where they sometimes had to set aside their personal wants for the greater good. It's for that reason that Leo was able to ask Mikey to do the unthinkable and sacrifice himself in turn.

What I find fascinating about the movie, is that it both supports and counters this message. It tries to find that healthy middle ground, between present Leo's narcissistic attitude in the beginning and the downright sacrifice he's willing to make by the end. Because him sacrificing himself was NOT the happy ending. And while we get that "ending" for only a moment. We can see that method doesn't feel right either.

In that way, I don't think "it's not about me" isn't actually the "message" of the movie as some might assume at first glance. Merely a gentle reminder to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Because technically, yes, "it's not about me" does apply to many aspects of life. We can get so caught up in our own worries and concerns and perspectives and it just... muddles reality in a way. We need to see how our actions and words affect others and understand that there's so much more out there than our own little bubbles. But we also should understand our own worth within the big tapestry of life and be willing to fight for the things that matter to us.

That's why I think the actual message of the story isn't "it's not about me." It's about balance. It's about the knowing look Leo and Raph share in the end and the fact that Mikey was able to achieve the true, best ending with his brother's help to save Leo, because they know that the world may mean more in the long run, but they mean the world to each other, and I think it's really important to understand.

But that's just my long-winded opinion on the subject and there’s plenty of other interpretations I think I can totally get behind as well. It will be an element within Replica but let's also remember that Future Leo is kind of hypocrite with this line. He's says "It's not about me" but that's coming from someone who the entire resistance has centered around as its leader. He's probably a little tired of the idolization by now and does not like the idea that he's somehow more important than others. I think that's where that line really stems from for Leo. It's obvious that Casey isn't just talking about his importance as a leader, but Leo with the same line is asking him to set those feelings aside even if he is one of the most important people in Casey's life.

And then Leo turns around and throws one of the most important people in his life through the portal. A damn hypocrite (/positive)

EDIT: I was sort of ending it on a silly note but @dandylovesturtles added such a great point that I haven’t been able to put into words but feel in my heart when it comes to future Leo and definitely something I want to show with the healing process he’s been going through in Replica: and that’s the “not all about you” sometimes just means that bad things happen but you can’t just blame yourself for it, and it’s not some cosmic attack for your mistakes. The world did not come to an end because of Leo’s mistake, even if he might have once felt like that. What’s more it means you can’t put the whole world on your shoulder or always try to fix things on your own like how Leo tried to after Raph’s capture. It’s ok to seek the aid and support and ideas of others your trust. It really lines up so well with a lot of the events in the film.

Thank you @dandylovesturtles and everyone else’s amazing comments! I want to hear all of them and take notes.

[hoonfication]

. . . TWO TIMES A CH✶RM

━━━ 「 truth unfold 」

— ♪ currently playing afterglow

In the soft, fading light of evening, you stood alone on Afterglow Avenue. The street was named for its breathtaking sunsets, and tonight was no exception. The sky painted shades of orange and pink as the sun dipped below the horizon

You stood patiently just outside a quaint café, with "Frozen in Time," a bustling restaurant, on one side and the charming "Daylight" flower shop on the other. As you observed the surroundings, you spotted Xiao outside the flower shop, clutching a fresh bouquet of pristine white tulips. It took him a few moments to notice you, but when he did, he made his way over.

"Name," he murmured, his face flushed, extending the tulips to you. "I wasn't sure if you still liked tulips," he added, a small smile forming on your lips as you accepted the gesture.

"Let’s take a walk?" he asked, and you nodded. The two of you walked in silence for a while until he suddenly broke it, asking, "Do you remember that restaurant over there?" You replied, "Frozen in Time?" He nodded in response.

"We went there for our 2nd year anniversary," he blurted out, and the flood of memories returned. It was the place where you and Xiao used to celebrate your anniversaries, but that tradition abruptly ended after that night, when he started acting cold and distant.

"Oh..." you whispered, your voice tinged with nostalgia. "Well, I only came here because I want to know the truth," you gently reminded him.

He sighed, his eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, his words heavy with emotion. "I really don't know where to start..."

You leaned in, pressing for answers. "The week before you left, what happened?" you asked, seeking clarity on the events that had led to your separation.

"The week before..." he repeated, struggling to recall the details. "Ah, the week of my mom's death," he finally voiced, and you listened intently.

"[Name], I don't know if you're going to believe me," he mumbled, his words laced with uncertainty.

But then, he dropped a bombshell. "My mom isn't dead," he suddenly declared.

"Excuse me?" Your jaw dropped, and you had to stop walking to process this shocking revelation. "Xiao, I know you miss your mom, but—" You began, but he cut you off abruptly.

"No, [Name], she's alive," he blurted out. You stared at him, wide-eyed, wondering if he had lost his sanity.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I promise you I'll tell you nothing but the truth," Xiao assured you as you both continued walking. He took a deep breath and continued his shocking revelation.

"She ran away, the day before she was marked dead," he said with a heavy heart. "She was unhappy in her marriage with my father, and she tried to divorce him, but my father refused to sign the papers. In the end, she ran away with her ex-girlfriend," he explained, and you gasped at the unfolding story.

"But what made my father even more unhappy was when he found out my mom had still been in touch with me and my sister," he paused, looking at you to gauge your reaction before he continued. "My mom promised she was going to get me and my sister, so my father came up with a solution—he brought me and my sister to the States."

The shock and confusion filled the air as you tried to process this complex and unexpected turn of events.

You were still in a state of shock, processing the incredible revelations that Xiao was sharing with you. He maintained an unbothered look on his face as he continued to unravel the family's intricate history.

"I only came back three years later because my father wanted me to inherit his company," he confessed, shedding light on the reason for his return. "Ganyu is more suited for being the CEO, in my opinion. She's currently studying at Celestia University, and she's doing much better than me."

As he spoke, you couldn't help but wonder about the fate of Xiao's mother. He didn't leave you hanging for long. "You might've wondered what happened to my mom. Well, from what I've heard, she's currently in Sweden, and her ex-girlfriend, the person she ran away with, is now my stepmom," he revealed

Your emotions swirled as you tried to digest this information. "But Hu Tao's your stepsister," you gasped, connecting the dots.

Xiao confirmed with a calm demeanor, "Yes, Hu Tao's mom was my mom's ex-girlfriend—the person my mom ran away with, who's now my dad's current wife." The family dynamics were indeed complicated, and you were left with more questions than answers.

"Oh my God..." You struggled to wrap your head around the revelations. "How did that even happen?" you asked, your mind still reeling from the complexity of their family history.

"I don't know," Xiao admitted with a mumble. He turned his gaze to you, a look of regret in his eyes.

"[Name]," he continued, his voice filled with sincerity, “I'm the one who burned us down. But it's not what I meant,” he confessed.

“I'm sorry that I hurt you.” His words carried the weight of remorse, and you could sense the genuine regret in his apology.

Xiao's plea was heartfelt as he gazed at you, his eyes reflecting a deep desire for reconciliation.

“[Name], tell me that you're still mine,” he implored, his voice filled with longing. “Tell me that we'll be just fine, even when I lose my mind.”

“Tell me that it's not my fault, tell me that I'm all you want, even when I break your heart.” His words conveyed his earnest hope for a second chance, and it was evident that he deeply cared about mending what had been broken between you.

— ✶ prev | m.list | next

NOTES | I’m not feeling my very best rn but here’s an update 🫶 there’s so much to take in tbh, like the Taylor Swift references, xiao’s “dead” mom, the plot twist

# IN WHICH — xiao, your boyfriend for three years suddenly breaks up with you through text and then leaves the country leaving you with no explanation at all three years had passed and here you are, you tell yourself you're over him and you're way more happy without him until you've heard that he's back oh that's fine you guys aren't even gonna see each other anyway wrong. seems like he's going to attend the same college as you and well you're just in luck turns out he's also your roommate

# TAGLIST — @thefandomcrow @sakiimeo @swivy123 @zappybatz @motherscrustytoenailclippings @chsyug @erisan01 @lylovw @scarletttcroww @retiredmommylover @sukunasrealgf @onmywaytoteyvat @mjtalksaboutanything @chronicfic @otomegame-oneshots @yukisluv @urdads @yuminako @etaerealboy @xxblackroses623xx @starringyau @dexocore @grvngexiao @tamikahoshiko @xoyumiqls @mechanicalbeat1 @ixromzi @lemo-nadde @moon-z0ne @articmaskeddemon @luvrzan @cayl33n @cupiro @lxkeeeee @rin-nyrasti-writes @nambii @livelaughlovekuni @quackimilktea @maxineshearts

[lynnuvo]

Hi I hope I’m not bothering you but I just finished reading the reenactment fanfics and I was wondering if you’d be open to make one about “Princess and the Frog” or “Mulan” those are the only films that I remember the character having a more “got get it/work for it” attitude and relate a lot to that plus the yans would be interesting to read (to me at least I mean it’s ur writing not mine) anyway thx for the attention hope u have a great day and keep writing awsome fics :>

From 👻 anon

Hello 👻anon! Thank you so much for the touching compliment! I was wondering which fairytale to do next, so I'm glad you suggested either of those. Although it's been a long while since I've watched Princess & The Frog, I'm going to try my hand at that one since I love the story. For those who prefer a male yandere, don't worry! I'm planning on writing another version of this fairytale for you ღ

.·:*¨ ✘- It Takes Two to Tango - ✘ ¨*:·.

Characters: Yan!Charlotte x Female (Y/N) in Tiana's role In which Charlotte intends to take the only desire she can't buy: her best friend

A Tale in the Baking

When you reincarnated into your new world, you were sleeping soundly in bed with a young, blonde girl who wore a frilly dress that scratched your skin. You were pretty confused and somewhat panicked about your predicament: your childlike appearance drastically contrasted from the mature adult life you've been leading. It wasn't until the end of the week that it finally dawned that you were in the middle of the fairytale "The Princess and the Frog."

Your father, James, had passed recently. Your mother, Eudora, shared his dream of owning a restaurant to you several times already as she reminisced her late husband. Of course, you provided as much comfort as you could. Charlotte visited your home every two days, more clingy than you remembered her being in the movie (likely due to the event).

Now, while you weren't aiming to follow exactly in the true protagonist's footsteps, the prospect of owning your own restaurant sparked a fire in your heart. It was ridiculously difficult to try to own even a car in your previous world. However, there was a key difference in that world and the current one: your family was close with the La Bouffs, the wealthy family Charlotte is from.

As you grew older, you became a confident young woman who didn't dare let a soul deceive her in any way. Because your relationship with Charlotte also grew, you vowed to never let anyone deceive her as well. She was veracious and at times ill-mannered, but you knew deep down that she was also naive. You weren't sure of what the true protagonist did outside of what was told in her tale, but it was your story now. So, you defended Charlotte at every corner & convinced her to tell you of any hardships she had--or of anything, really.

Who knew that such actions intended to protect her would ultimately backfire?

Lollygagging

Ever since she was little, Charlotte dreamed of a prince coming to rescue her from trouble. She'd ramble on and on about this dream to you, who listened to her oh so intently. As time passed, this dream took a different turn. She pondered about it often, twisting the idea in her palm left and right while guys fawned over her.

One night, her father came into her room and introduced an opportunity of a lifetime: to marry Prince Naveen of Maldonia. She was ecstatic and agreed right then and there. In that same week, however, she began having second thoughts.

She visited the restaurant you worked at alone soon after. Picking up her sour mood, you took your break early and sat with her at a table, inquiring whatever was the matter. For someone like her to display such an downcast face in public was a rarity. She told you about her worries. Was marrying Naveen the right choice? What if he wasn't as great of a prince as she hoped he would be? What if she wouldn't be happy after all?

After comforting her softly, you chuckled and cheerily reassured her that everything would be well. Marrying him would mean she'd have both her best friend and the prince in her life!

(You were really hoping they'd get married. On top of Charlotte's happiness, the prince would be a great advantage in your career.)

Charlotte left the restaurant with a laugh, but your support left her heart heavier than before.

At the masquerade ball hosted by her father in honor of Naveen's arrival, Charlotte escaped to your side at every chance. As much as you loved her, her constant presence was disrupting the anxiousness you were trying to keep down. The story had already started off on the wrong foot. Where Charlotte was meant to introduce her potential relationship with her father Big Daddy was instead Big Daddy stopping by to eat with one of his clients at your restaurant, sharing the exciting news.

Once Charlotte darted into the kitchen for the eighth time that night with another excuse to talk to you, you gripped her by the shoulders, instructed her to be a good host and tend to her guests, and to not search for you until the night concluded.

Charlotte hated how you pushed away--hated hated HATED it. But still, she'd do it for you. She'd do it because you trusted she'd listen.

In the meantime, you waited in Charlotte's room until a frog jumped onto your balcony. You already knew you were going to be outbid for the mill (just like how it was in the fairytale), so you weren't wasting any time crying over a destined lost investment. When Naveen in his frog form entered the home, you rolled his eyes at his request to help him find a princess and agreed as long as he married Charlotte regardless of whatever was to happen that night. He had no problem with that.

Lucky for you, knowledge from your past life would serve your career well. You told Naveen that because Big Daddy was crowned Mardi Gras king recently, Charlotte would be a princess. All you two needed to do was to wait for the party to end.

Barely Lovely Triangle

As you suspected, Charlotte came running up to you after the ball had concluded. She chided you with tears in her eyes for leaving her alone for so long. You apologized, saying you only wanted the best for her and the Prince and that you being there likely would've prevented any action from her towards him. She begrudgedly agreed before going on to share how wonderful the dance was. She'd never danced like a royal until that day.

You nodded and "uh huh"-ed and dropped compliments as she talked. Once she concluded, you asked her to please listen to what you were about to say. She guessed the matter had to be serious enough for you to possess such a tone, but she hadn't expect an explanation about the frog beside you.

She pointed at him, a corner of her lip lifted in uncertainty. "So he's a prince, the one I was just dancing with was a fake, so I have to kiss that him to bring the prince back?"

You nodded. "Yup. Do you believe me?"

"I....I do. But what's going to happen to the fake one?"

"He'll be exposed in no time. Please, Charlotte? For me?"

Oh, you know she can't resist any request if it's for you.

Naveen, truth be told, transformed right then and there, into a dashing human of royal blood. After talking about you three's lives for a little while, he bid farewell and wished to meet you and Charlotte again soon. Knowing better now, Naveen kept his distance from danger, and low and behold, Lawrence--the man who had disguised as Naveen with the help of an evil talisman--was arrested for fraud.

Surprisingly, that was the start of a friendship trio. You, Charlotte, and Naveen hung out together every now and then in different locations. Of course, you and Charlotte remained closer than ever, but you were relieved to at least have a breath of fresh air. You didn't really have that many friends in city because you were so engrossed in either work or plotting against a destined marriage you didn't want. You were especially glad that Charlotte and even her father weren't keen on getting Charlotte married as soon as possible. Maybe with how things turned out, you no longer needed to worry about the fairytale's plot.

Too bad Naveen eventually falls in love with you anyway.

His proposal came during one of those days where only two of the three in the group were hanging out together. He happened to stop by your restaurant as you finished your shift and offered to walk you home after stopping by another location. You accepted, but you later wished you didn't once the proposal at a beautiful park happened. You rejected him kindly and reminded him that he had a duty to fulfill, and that was marrying your friend. He apologized. You felt bad, but you weren't in love with the guy! Plus, you wanted that restaurant of yours more than anything in that world. No man was going to stop your dream.

You shared what happened the next day to Charlotte at her house. In contrast to the rant you expected from her, she was...eerily calm. She inquired about the person who has your heart, and to that you told her you didn't have anyone. She nodded and recommended you stay away from Naveen for a bit. Men can take rejection quite rough was the summary of her small spiel about men this and men that. And according to her recommendation (even though you were planning to anyway), you didn't pay Naveen's business any mind. He didn't come around as often.

Over the next couple weeks, Charlotte would visit your home more often to hangout. She'd bring up the topic of romance a couple of times, but your answer remained the same: your love was for her and the restaurant you wished to own.

You'd ask about her and the prince every now and then. Her answer was the same: she wasn't as sure about marrying him anymore.

Love is the Secret Ingredient

At last, Naveen's proposal came in the privacy of a beautiful park with a pavilion and crispy lake. He had set up a picnic for Charlotte and him. They chatted as they ate, and once they concluded their afternoon meal, he popped the question.

Although Charlotte had convinced herself for days that she must accept for her dear friend, she just couldn't.

"I'm sorry, but...I don't think I can do this."

To say Naveen was disappointed was an understatement. Not only did the real thief of his heart reject him, but his business partner and friend also did. Charlotte felt guilty, but imaging herself being stolen away from you was a nightmare! And imagining you being stolen from her.....

Without a proposal to the wealthiest family in the city, Naveen was lost. He had arranged the marriage with Big Daddy to combine their influential powers (Big Daddy's wealth & Naveen's royal title despite being casted out by his family). Luckily, you arranged for him to work with you--to start him on the path of someone in your class.

Charlotte, of course, hated it.

She got an earful from Big Daddy for her rejection, but she didn't care. He would soon lose interest in the proposal as well anyway. After all, she was a Daddy's girl, and he wanted her happy.

Charlotte walked you home almost every work day. Her constant attention made you worry for her own health, but she was a ray of sunshine around you. How hurt could she be?

Soon, Naveen stopped showing up to work. The manager told you that Naveen told him he had lost motivation to work and quit. You were stooped, but when you went to visit the hotel he's been staying at since coming to the city, the receptionist shared that he left two night ago.

Charlotte told you that he happened to overhear her talking about a wealthy friend she had in another city. She arranged for him to go meet and live with the friend at his request.

You scowled with a heavy heart. "Wow. He didn't even bother saying anything to me. How shallow."

Charlotte pouted. "Yeah! He dare he! Guess it's just back to us again, huh?"

You smiled. "Yeah. You get me, Charles."

Adoration flowed through her veins. She was worried you might catch some strange aura off of her, but she wasn't lying. The situation was just premeditated. Within a week, Naveen should arrive at the hotel Charlotte had pointed him to just to find out her friend (she gave her a fake name, of course) had already left that hotel present day's tomorrow. There was no way he could afford the trip back to New Orleans. His entire trip to get there was funded by Charlotte herself.

Two months passed before a letter arrived in your mailbox. The mill that you had lost during Charlotte's ball was bought from the previous owner, and the lawyer inquired if you still wanted the property. You didn't waste any time meeting with them. You intended to sign it over to yourself, but the lawyer suggested another property--one that was more spacious and had much more potential. He offered it at the same price, just as long as you took one or the other. You accepted the second option.

Charlotte was elated to see how thrilled you were. Because you used up most of your savings on signing over the new space, she offered to help renovate the place using her money with refusal for objects. She even asked if she could work for you whenever she had time! You couldn't help but be grateful for your dear friend. You were typically too busy for other friendships, but never too busy for Charlotte.

From then on, life was like a fairytale. You worked your butt off at your new restaurant and taught Charlotte the ins and outs of active involvement. She loved it. She loved working with you. She loved watching you negotiate with hagglers and host events to promote the place. Because you were often exhausted by the end of the day, she suggested (quite strongly) that you and your mom move into her home. It was safer that you come home with someone, and her house was so big, you'd have all the privacy you want!

(Don't expect much privacy from her, though).

Suitors weren't a rare occurrence. You became quite a sought after individual as your business grew. But Charlotte knew how you felt and ensured anything causing your stress was taken care of. You tell her everything, after all!

And of course, she tells you (almost) everything. No boy ever became a problem after Naveen. And like always, despite her new insecurities towards being involved in the "working" part of business, no one was to bring her down. For instance, Charlotte overheard an employee of yours discussing her lack of tack to a chef. She mumbled about it to you over dinner, asking if she was a burden to you. The next work day, the employee praised her progress more than twice in one shift.

One night, you both decided to have a sleepover in Charlotte's room. Trying on different dresses and watching movies had tired such pretty girls out. Laying in her bed, you brushed some blonde locks away from her gorgeous face. "You know Charles, these days, I feel like you're my only true friend."

Charlotte giggled and cuddled closer into your arms. "I'll always be silly. Even if the world crashed, we'll have each other to rely on. No one else!"

"You're absolutely right. No one else."

As she drifted off to sleep in your arms, you continued to brush her hair with a smile on your face. Running a restaurant was hard work, but gambling your luck on Charlotte was even harder. It was a relief she didn't reject Naveen due to affections for another guy. As long as you continued to open your arms out to her, you'll be fine, life would be bliss.

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Windwolf x Adopted Reader: Special Guest

Idk... ignoring all the other things I wrote on them, Nightwolf and Fujin would be great fathers. They can adopt me idc

Context: Nightwolf is already your guardian. He introduces you to Fujin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Headcanon Note

Fujin is pansexual. Nightwolf is demi-sexual.

This one is canon: Fujin likes sponge cake. Important fact, I promise.

Also canon but a lot of people imagine otherwise, Nightwolf is taller than Fujin. (6'4 to 5'10) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Normally, anyone would find the sun peeking through their light curtains pretty warming when they are in bed. Especially at this time of brunch.

But not you. You laid incorrectly in bed away from the sunlight with a blanket thrown over your head, mind possessed by the tablet device that was gifted to you by your caretaker.

When you first received it, you were rather surprised to hear it did belong to him as he may or may not have been a hacker when he was younger. He definitely didn't seem like the type.

What sucks is he refuses to teach you anything in that genre, so now whenever you play some game and a bot you call a teammate throws, they get away with it.

You didn't care too much anymore since your gaming drive died down a little. You were mostly on your tablet for a while to scroll through the media and read cheesy things that you know you'd be damned if Nightwolf discovers it.

"Y/n?" You hear him knock at your door gently.

"Yeah?" Your attention was provoked from the screen, and you stopped kicking your feet in the air to see what your savior wants.

Opening the door, he peeks in to observe you for a bit. You can see the man has gone somewhere earlier this morning, hence by his usual red war paint around his eyes. Guess you just didn't hear him go out since technology keeps wasting your senses, with a bit of sleep deprivation, but you weren't doing much to fix that.

"Good morning." Nightwolf says, seeing you shielding yourself from the day with your covers. "Sleep well?"

Glancing up at him, you just shrug.

"You didn't sleep yet, did you?" He sighs.

"Nope."

"Right. Anyways, there's someone I want you to meet." Nightwolf tells you.

Your face already sulked. New people? Disgusting. "Can you tell them I just said hi?"

Nightwolf sighs and opens the door more, leaning against the frame. "No, Y/n. I know you aren't one to be around people, let alone meet, but it's someone special to me."

His explanation somewhat connected with you, but you didn't fold quite yet.

"Please? Just this once. I don't ask you for much, but it would mean a lot if you did."

Gods, it's true. You'd feel like more of a shitty person if you reject his request like you do most of the time.

Sighing, you turned off your tablet and set it aside. Removing the blanket from your messy hair, you sat up. "Fine. Just give me a moment."

The strong warrior smiles at your acceptance and thanks you before closing the door and giving you the time you need to fix yourself up.

When you stepped out your safe space, you refer to as your room, Nightwolf waited for you, offering his hand. Without thinking much, you took it despite feeling too old to hold hands with someone as a parent. But, not admittedly, you just feel safe with Nightwolf.

"Be aware, they are much more outgoing than you, and I did tell them you're rather shy. I still hope you could get along, though. I think you'd like them." Nightwolf shares.

You only were thinking on who it is. Maybe someone from his tribe? A girl, maybe? You didn't care for a mother figure as long as she didn't coddle too much.

Your father figure brings you to the living room, and let's go of your hand. You stand a bit awkward as you examine who the guest is.

It was a man. What catches you off guard is his glowing eyes. It's not the most abnormal thing you've seen. You'd ask Nightwolf to summon his animals so you could play with them. But you weren't really expecting someone that barely has visible pupils.

He also has a tattoo in his shoulder that glows up as well, which was pretty cool to see. But his eyes... you really should stop being into creepypasta.

"Fujin. This is Y/n. I... saved her from the Black Dragon." (mm lore) Nightwolf presents you, placing comforting hands on your shoulders. "And, Y/n, this is Lord Fujin. He's a close friend of mine."

A lord, huh? That explains the eyes.

Fujin walks to you two, with a very friendly smile. "Why, hello, Y/n! Nightwolf has spoken of you a lot! I'm very pleased to finally meet you." He extends a hand.

There wasn't much you had to say, but you hesitantly took his hand, shaking it. "Thanks... Nice to meet you, too... Lord Fujin- oh!"

You get pulled into a sudden embrace, but you didn't respond negatively to it. You glanced back at Grey Cloud, and he was rather unexpected of it, too. However, you knew the god didn't mean harm. He's just happy to meet someone close to his dear Nightwolf.

"You can just call me Fujin, little one. We are both close ones of Nightwolf, are we not?" He pulls away and pats your back, looking down at you with such a comforting aura.

"Right." You look away, getting flustered.

Nightwolf finally steps in and leads Fujin to the kitchen. "Care for any tea?" You could hear him ask as they both go to another room. You take the chance to scramble back to your room and process what just happened.

---Hour Time Skip brought to you by... idk Geras wearing weave or smth---

An hour gone by, and you could hear chatting at the front door. You open your door to take a peek. It appears Fujin was about to leave.

Contrary to what you thought earlier about meeting new people, the white-haired man was quite interesting to you.

Turning around and spotting you, Nightwolf gestures silently for you to come and say bye to the special guest. You listen and approach them, still looking at Fujin.

"It was nice meeting you again, Y/n," Fujin bows to you. "Maybe next time I come by, we can spend time together! I can bring you a gift too- do you like clouds? Or sponge cake?"

Wow, he's very energetic for you. You look at Nightwolf for some type of guidance.

"It's up to you." The shaman says. "You can trust him."

"I'm okay with whatever you give me... or if you want to hang out a little, I guess." You shrug.

"Great!" Fujin then looks at Grey. "I'll see you soon when I break from my duties again."

Thoughts began brewing your mind as you noticed the change of tone in Fujin's voice, and the very sincere look he gives  Nightwolf. Especially the hand placement on the shoulder, your caretaker's hand placing over that one.

Fujin left, and you stood with Nightwolf trying to process things. "'Close friend', huh?" You say with sarcasm, raising your eyebrow at the tall man.

Nightwolf sighs, yet nods. "Indeed. 'Close friend.'" ~~~~~~~~~~~~

[katsurinssims]

Four DSB hairs in Afterglow

DSB FH04, PF-EF, 2914 poly, afterglow textures, in 1 afterglow family, 1 alternative family, and 9 unbinned unnaturals. Download

DSB MH04, PM-EM, 3336 poly, afterglow textures, in 1 afterglow family, 1 alternative family, and 9 unbinned unnaturals. Download

DSB FH06, PF-EF, 2840 poly, afterglow textures, in 1 afterglow family, 1 alternative family, and 9 unbinned unnaturals. Download

DSB FH07, PF-EF, 3950 poly, afterglow textures, in 1 afterglow family, 1 alternative family, and 9 unbinned unnaturals. Download

Thought I may as wel get onto the non-unisex DSB hairs. Turns out that 04 shares textures but the mesh looks different, so it's halfway unisex perhaps? Also 07 has the weirdest mapping I've seen in a while, aha.

credits: Dedital Sheep for the mesh, Antoninko for the afterglow textures! check @the-afterglow-archive for more Afterglow ₊˚⊹♡

Buy me a coffee? I have a Ko-Fi

[snailvee]

Luis survives and escapes Spain with Leon. However, he isn’t exactly prepared to meet Chris Redfield.

As soon as Chris saw Leon, he walked towards him quickly and enveloped him in his arms. He was always worried about him on missions where they didn’t work together, and it was comforting to see him alive in the flesh. Leon hugged back, if not more hesitantly than usual. Maybe Chris was just imagining things.

As he pulled back, he noticed the man standing next to Leon. He had longer dark hair and, in Chris’s opinion, a rather ridiculous leather jacket.

“Ay Leon, you didn’t tell me tú tienes un novio! O un esposo perhaps?” The man said teasingly, knocking his shoulder into Leon’s.

Leon rolled his eyes and huffed, ignoring the comment.

“Luis, this is Chris. Chris, Luis. He’s the reason Ashley and I are alive.” Leon looked from Chris back to Luis, his fondness for him hidden under the guise of appreciation. The softer look didn’t go unnoticed by Chris, who narrowed his eyes slightly as he addressed Luis.

“Good to meet you. Thank you for helping Leon.” His thanks were honest, but there was still some suspicion in his words.

“Oh the pleasure is all mine, señor. Just glad we’re back in one piece.” Luis seemed to sense Chris’s distrust, and he definitely caught the frown that started to form on his face as he wrapped an arm around Leon.

“Yeah, of course.” Chris said hurriedly, drawing closer to Leon and putting a hand on his other shoulder, not-so-subtly trying to pull him away from Luis’s hold.

“Are you injured? Did the medical staff look you over already? Have you already gone in to recount the mission? Is there–”

“Chris. I’m okay. everything’s alright.” Leon placed a hand on Chris’s arm and smiled up at him reassuringly. 

Chris’s face softened and the adoration in his eyes was clear as day to Luis, who adopted a frown similar to the one Chris wore earlier before quickly shaking it off. He couldn’t let either of them know he was bothered by their closeness, how comfortable they were in each other’s presence.

“Well, do you have a place to crash?” Chris asked, doing his best to resist the urge to bring his hand from Leon’s shoulder to his face and brush the hair from his eyes.

“I mean I was just going to go to the apartment, but if you’re staying there too you and Luis can take the bedrooms and I’ll take the couch. No big deal.” Leon shrugged, then tilted his head a bit.

“It is okay if Luis stays there too right? I know it’s usually just a place for us to crash but I’d much rather have him with me there than send him off to a random hotel.” Leon glanced over at Luis, who quickly hid the remaining jealousy present on his face.

“That’s fine, but you’re taking a bed. You just got back, I’m not letting you sleep on the couch.” Chris replied.

“Oh not to worry, no one will have to sleep on the couch! Sancho and I can just share a bed, yes?” Luis said, leaning even further into Leon’s side.

“I – we can figure out the sleeping situation when we get there. Let’s just go.” Leon muttered, ducking his head and slipping out of both Luis and Chris’s grasps. He started walking towards the parking garage, not looking back to see if the other two were following.

The second Leon was out of earshot, both men turned to each other slowly, Chris’s face was pinched in annoyance, while Luis tried to keep up his easy smile as he started to talk.

“He’s something else, isn’t he.” Luis said, eyes trailing back to Leon as he walked away.

“Yeah. I would know, we’ve been working together for years. And stop looking at his ass, you’re not subtle.” Chris was trying not to sound possessive but it wasn’t working out too well.

“Nothing wrong with looking, señor. But maybe I’d take you more seriously if you weren’t looking too.” Luis raised an eyebrow, looking back at Chris.

Chris huffed, not meeting his gaze. 

“Just don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Let’s go.” Chris all but glowered as he finally started following after Leon. 

Luis rolled his eyes and followed as well. He could tell the next few days were going to be interesting, especially if the three of them would be staying together in the same apartment. Even so, he was almost enticed by the lure of this newfound rivalry. Was it rather childish for them to be fighting over Leon, especially so passive aggressively so as not to upset him in the process? Probably. But it was also pretty fun, and Leon was definitely worth fighting for.

Eventually they all made it to the car and made the drive to the apartment in relative silence. Chris hopped out quickly, climbing the stairs and fishing his keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door, holding it open for Leon who smiled and rolled his eyes as he walked past. Chris let go of the door and slipped inside quickly, hearing a grunt as Luis caught the closing door with his hand. It was an extremely petty move, but it made Chris smile to himself as he followed Leon into the apartment.

It was small but still nice, just a place for Chris and Leon to stay between missions. They were never here for very long at a time and even less often here together, but it was still comforting to come back to. 

“I’m showering first, there’s blood in my hair and I smell like shit.” Leon said as he tugged off his boots and made his way to the bathroom. The door shut behind him and suddenly Chris and Luis were left alone together again.

Chris purposely ignored Luis in favor of snagging a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from one of the kitchen drawers and making his way to the small balcony. He lit one and held it to his lips, taking a drag and breathing out both smoke and a sigh of relief.

“Ah, you smoke too? Does Leon get on your case about it as well?” Luis’s voice came from beside him as he unceremoniously tugged the pack from Chris’s hand, pulling his own lighter out of his pocket.

“You know, the first thing I ever said to him was asking for a smoke. Nothing short of a miracle he didn’t leave me then and there, but I suppose I am just irresistible.” Luis said, grinning before lighting and taking a drag of his own cigarette.

Chris looked over at him, intended to make a witty remark before he saw the lighter Luis was twirling between his fingers. It was a small detail, but still more than enough to catch Chris’s attention – the symbol of Umbrella engraved into the metal.

Chris moved before he could even think, grabbing Luis’s arms to restrain him and pushing him against the balcony’s sliding door, already reaching for his knife with his other hand. Luis wasn’t weak by any means, but Chris had more muscle on him and his stab wound wasn’t fully healed, to say the least.

A cry of pain tore itself out of Luis’s mouth as he was knocked against the door, chest throbbing at the impact and hands twisted behind him in Chris’s grip.

“What the fuck?” He yelled, planting his feet and trying to keep his balance as the pain bolted through him.

“I should be asking you! Why the fuck does your lighter have the symbol of Umbrella?” Chris shouted, not loosening his hold at all as Luis struggled.

Before he could reply, a door slammed open and Leon came running towards the balcony with only a towel wrapped around his waist. There was fury in his eyes as he took in the situation, and fear behind that as he saw the pained look on Luis’s face.

“What the fuck are you doing Chris, get the hell off of him!” Leon yelled, coming closer to try and separate them himself.

“He’s with Umbrella Leon, get back!” Chris yelled back, tightening his grip even more.

“He’s not, just let go and I – we – can explain, you’re hurting him, stop!” Leon said, pushing Chris away and drawing Luis close to himself. Chris didn’t stop him, couldn’t bring himself to lay a hand on Leon despite the anger and fear coursing through him. Leon led Luis to the couch, gently sitting him down and pulling off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt to inspect his wound.

Chris didn’t move, standing shakily on the balcony with his hands balled into fists at his sides. He couldn’t process what he was seeing, Leon knelt in front of Luis, the enemy, tending to him and ignoring Chris, ignoring the danger at hand.

Leon seemed to sense Chris starting to open his mouth, because he turned towards him with a pleading look.

“I promise I’ll tell you everything, no one is in danger. Just – trust me. Please.” Leon said, voice getting softer and trailing off. A thousand thoughts and emotions seemed to pass behind Chris’s eyes but he did as he was told, sliding the balcony door closed behind him and taking a seat on the ground next to Leon, unable to fully shake off the feeling that Luis was going to hurt him.

“Mierda –” Luis cursed under his breath as Leon made sure the wound hadn’t reopened. Once he was satisfied with his inspection, he carefully buttoned up his shirt and turned to face Chris.

“Luis used to work for Umbrella, but he left as soon as he realized what his work was really being used for. They tricked him, made him think he was helping people. He didn’t know, Chris. It’s not his fault. He’s not with them.” Leon said softly, eyes never leaving Chris’s. 

Chris’s shoulders slumped and his eyes lowered, unable to keep Leon’s gaze.

“I’m sorry, I believe you, I was just so scared I moved before I could think and–” His throat constricted, stopping him from saying anything else.

“I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. I should have expected you both to start smoking the second I left, huh?” Leon cracked a wry smile, trying to ease the tension in the room.

Chris let out a strained chuckle and smiled back, nodding at Leon. The adrenaline was fading and he was now acutely aware of Leon’s state of undress, eyes wandering down over his chest before snapping back up to his face.

“I – I’m gonna go shower now.” Chris said, averting his eyes from Leon entirely and standing up quickly, fighting to keep the emotions off his face as he made his way to the bathroom. Leon’s expression morphed into one of surprise at Chris’s abrupt exit, but he tried not to dwell on it as he turned to Luis.

Luis had stayed silent during their exchange, both not wanting to interrupt them and afraid if he tried to speak everything would go wrong again. Leon’s words echoed in his head – “it’s not his fault.”

“Hey, are you alright?” Leon asked softly, hand moving to rest on Luis’s calf as he was still kneeling in front of him. Luis nodded mutely, still not trusting his mouth to not betray him.

“I’ll go grab bandages and we can redress your wound.” Leon said as he stood up, turning around and walking to the kitchen. Luis found himself staring at Leon again as he walked away, this time at the planes of his back and how his shoulders moved under his skin. After a moment, Luis dropped his head back against the couch and let out a long sigh as he listened to Leon footsteps.

He didn’t know if he could handle Leon’s hands on his chest again, let alone Leon kneeling down in front of him for a second time. He knew it wasn’t the time to be focusing on such things, but he couldn’t help himself. Besides, Chris hadn’t done much better. He’d barely tried to hide his gaze at Leon’s chest. Luis chuckled to himself thinking about what Chris might be up to in the shower right now.

“What’s so funny?” Leon said standing in front of him, now dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Luis hadn’t noticed him return, too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

“Oh nothing, Prince Charming. I’m lucky to have you here to patch me up.” he said, winking at Leon. 

Instead of laughing, Leon’s brow furrowed and he let his gaze drift to the side.

“I’m sorry he went after you like that. He was just scared. Umbrella’s caused him a lot of pain, he has his right to be angry. I’m sorry I didn’t clear things up soon enough. I could’ve prevented that.” Leon was angry at himself more than anything, he didn’t blame either of the others.

“Hey, don’t say that. I don’t think anyone was in the wrong here, no? Besides, we worked it out. Everything’s okay, cariño.” The word slipped from Luis’s mouth before he could process what he’d said. 

Leon didn’t mention it, sat down beside Luis on the couch. Luis thought he could see a light blush on his cheeks, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

“Not going to patch me up after all, then?” Luis asked, noting the lack of bandages as Leon sat down.

“Oh, well I figured you should probably shower before we put clean bandages on. I can help you take these ones off though.” Leon said, already leaning forward to start unbuttoning Luis’s shirt again. 

“Ah, so smart Sancho. Guess there’s some brains to go with that brawn after all.” Leon huffed out a laugh at the comment, not looking up from his task. 

“You didn’t think I was smart before? How rude.” Leon replied, but Luis was no longer listening. Chris had stepped out of the bathroom and was watching the two of them on the couch.

Luis hesitated only for a second before deciding what to do. Maybe it was petty, but he felt like he deserved to be a little petty after his earlier scuffle with Chris. So he reached his hand up to cup Leon’s cheek, tilting his face up to meet his gaze.

“Gracias, hermoso. You’re so good to me.” Luis said, soft enough to be tender while still loud enough from Chris to hear. Before he could even look up to gauge his reaction, he heard heavy footsteps stomping away from the living room.

Leon took the chance to break eye contact between them, turning as he heard the sound. Luis could definitely see him blushing this time, and he smiled to himself. 

“Suppose the shower’s free now.” Leon said, getting up from the couch. He flashed a smile at Luis before heading into the kitchen to throw the old bandages away.

Luis smiled back, picking himself up and making his way to the bathroom. He couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the reactions he’d gotten from both Leon and Chris.

Once Luis had closed the door behind him, Leon let out a small sigh of relief. Nothing had gone how he’d planned today, but things were okay now for the most part. All he really wanted to do now was sleep. He started walking to the couch before remembering Chris’s words from earlier. He knew he was serious about not letting him sleep on the couch, so he turned and headed to one of the bedrooms instead.

As he came through the door, he spotted Chris sitting on the bed staring out the window. Leon walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, causing Chris to jump slightly before looking up and seeing that it was him. 

“Sorry to surprise you, but not everyone has shit stealth like you y’know.”  Leon said, the beginnings of a smile on his lips. Chris relaxed as he looked up at him, smiling back and rolling his eyes.

“Hey, why so mean?.” Chris replied with a smile of his own, scooting over to give Leon room to sit down on the bed.

His face fell a little bit as he glanced away from Leon.

“I’m really sorry, I just freaked out when I saw it. Couldn’t think, wasn’t even really aware of what I was doing until I already had my hands on him.” Chris said softly.

“I know, I know. I don’t blame you and I doubt Luis does either. We worked it out, didn’t we?” Leon said, parroting what Luis had told him earlier. 

The image of Luis cupping Leon’s face in his hand flashed in front of Chris’s eyes, but he tried not to show his frustration.

“Yeah, yeah we did.” He said, looking back at Leon.

“I’m glad you’re here. Not just glad you’re back, I mean I am, but glad you’re here. With me. I – I missed you.” Chris admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

“I missed you too.” Leon replied, his hand finding Chris’s and giving it a small squeeze. “Let’s get some rest now, yeah? I’ll take a bed, don’t worry” Leon said before Chris could interject. He squeezed his hand one more time before standing up and walking away into the other bedroom.

Leon was out nearly the second his head hit the pillow, barely pulling the covers over himself before he was unconscious. He drifted off thinking about Luis’s hand on his face and Chris’s hand holding his, and hoped his sleep would be nightmare free.

[precious-little-scoundrel]

Somebody’s Daughter

an Elvis Presley, southern gothic fanfiction dealing with the disappearance of a legend

Note: I wrote this ages ago and intended an entire universe for it but to be honest I’ve run out of motivation. Still, in time for spooky season, here’s my most unreal fic I’ve ever written

Word count: 2k

Some swore he was dead inside that grand ole place. That without gardeners to keep it in check, the kudzu that wove its way up the pale brick like a gnarled shroud was the only consecration provided for the mortal shell of the King of Rock and Roll. Like God alone had cast a leafy covering over his wayward son, a last act of grace like fig leaves were woven for Adam’s shame after The Fall.

Even the musical gates had rusted closed, not unbarred in eons, not even to allow the Grandma’s out of the living sepulcher for their knitting circle and the driveway itself was busted up by age and shifting earth, weeds overtaking asphalt. Gone were the days of verve and bustle, the guard shacks were empty of vigilant relatives and the gates no longer held back a throng of autograph seekers. One look up the decadently long driveway towards the dilapidated mansion was enough to disincline anyone from inviting someone -or something- out of the place.

Not that anyone was in it, there was no way there could be anyone in it. Not anymore.

They were probably dead, too, the grandmas. Or dying inside there themselves, slow as the growth of the vines that grew and grew and blocked out all sunlight into the inside of the mansion. But a house of corpses was too horrible a thought and deserved some investigation which no one was willing to do. It was better to assume they were dead, hopefully they all were, the other option was too unsettling.

But no hearse had passed through those corroded gates. And so folks wondered.

Such speculation was all very wel for the fates of the grandmas, even for Elvis Presley and his laundry list of ailments, narcotic abuses and pathological ticks. But there was the young woman to be considered, none of this explained what she was doing all these years holed up on the estate, only photographed from afar by daring souls who climbed the trees near the back fence line.

Those daring souls got the fright of their lives, buckshot to the asses and blurry photos of a dark haired female of indistinguishable features for all their pains. Civilallians pointed out that the photographed figure could be easily mistaken for a pillar or large planter. Maybe a dog up on its hindlegs. A blob really. And no one knew where the shots came from, not at midnight in a seedy part of Memphis; could have been from anywhere. After a few years they just stopped trying, some saying they found the place too spooky to even be hanging around.

It was very…undead, for such a decaying place.

And so the world speculated and shuddered and then hastily shelved the topic, only wondering whatever became of the most famous man in the world when a magazine would print a new article celebrating his heyday with his fresh and lean young self on the glossy cover, or when his ex wife got in the news while still toting around his surname like monogrammed luggage through the gossip slums, or when folks passed the overgrown wall and cankered gates and wondered, wondered and wondered what became of him until they stopped wondering.

When they stopped wondering it was because they collectively assumed -like he always knew they would- that they’d heard from somewhere that he’d died. A mass misremembered memory, that was what his demise was. But then they could mourn him, and that was far more comfortable than knowing they had driven him to it, driven him to madness and into the arms of sorrow and seclusion -to make a home with her and never show his face again.

No, they collectively liked him dead. He was smaller that way and they felt less guilty, they could write tributes and share anecdotes and feel less horrified by the human proclivity towards self destruction if he were nice and dead. Quite dead. Thoroughly dead.

Elvis Presley was dead, they were sure they’d heard it somewhere.

But Joe Esposita ran outta money. And to make more he opened his big mouth to do what he did best -extemporize some facts. And unfortunately for the storytellers and the tribute makers and the record collectors, George Klein was obliging enough to broadcast Joe’s yacking nationwide over radio waves (anything for an old buddy) and all the sudden folks cared about Elvis Presley again. They cared with the same detached fascination they held for Sasquatch and Mothman. They cared whether the crazy fucker of Joe’s retelling was rotting inside his house and if the ghoulish figure in chiffon, pictured always in a white streak of unnaturally swift movement towards the shadowy figures of the guardian lions of Graceland -ever actually existed.

“You’re saying that he made her up? As an excuse to get rid of you all?” George prodded his by no means bashful guest to speak into the mic.

“Yeah that’s right,” Joe spoke with the confidence of a man who never really knew as much as he wanted to and had been making up the shortfall with embellishments ever since, “EP was already lost to the drugs by then. And he did go out one time and sorta rendezvous with a woman…this lady of the night, you might say…and he didn’t care after. But then later, he did care, and he cleared the whole house out saying he was going to bring her in and redeem her.”

“So there was a woman, a prostitute really,” George pressed the obvious as his listeners clutched on to reveal with talons grown of gruesome fascination with the macabre last days of the King.

“Yes, and it was a funny story, one of a thousand. It was no big deal. Supposed to be no big deal.” Joe was a little put upon to have to divulge any one of those thousands of funnies. Not just for the sake of preserving his old boss’s dignity but because Joe really was a self retiring fella that didn’t like to betray a trust, a nice fella that kept things close to his chest and tried to paint them in their most noble light if they happened to get out. So it was that after an entire quarter of second’s pause to consider his words carefully and measure the weight of his imminent disclosure he revealed, “The boss had been pounding the pills on tour, right? And the last few weeks he got this stiffy and it just wouldn’t go down, gave him trouble pissin’ and walkin’ and preformin’ got so awful he started tellin’ us to bring him anybody or a couple anybodys who might help. And we brought him back a lotta women and he blew through ‘em and they all came out smilin’ but he wasn’t. It wasn’t working’ and he told me and Sonny he was worried he was gonna hurt wanna these groupies if he kept at it. Nothin’ was cuttin’ it. And ya might say “hey Elvis you should go see a softer about that” but of course-“

“-His doctor was the one who had prescribed him the medications with those side effects!” George helpfully added a little professionalism to this locker room anecdote.

“Right!” Joe barreled on, “So we cut the tour a little short and we got him back to Graceland and figured that settlin’ down and weening off the pills and with the help of Miss Candy, he’d find some uh, uh, relief. But he didn’t, Candy seemed to have her period about ten times a month and the rest of the time he said she said he was being too rough. Eventually he told me he needed me to make some calls.”

“For a specialist or something?”

“No, a hooker -escort, whatever.” Joe quite forgot he was on air, or maybe he didn’t, “Talkin’ a lot about the book of Hossea and how god had made the prophet marry a prostitute and all that, to represent uh, umm, well I can’t remember, uh, but he was all into the spiritual shit and really thought he was a messiah or something. The upshot of it was that we moved a grandma and a whole ventilator situation into the big house. But I never saw anyone else, though I heard the upstairs shower running one time when EP was downstairs. But no, there’s no ‘white witch of graceland', hell no. She was an acid trip, man, he dreamed her up and said she’d replace Pricilla, then robbed a nursing home, I guess, to prop up his narrative. The man would cheat over anythin’, he’d cheat to win an Easter egg hunt.”

“So it was a revenge fantasy of sorts.” George supplied a life raft to his floundering friend, “A delusional version of his intended life, you’re saying?”

“Yeah! He was all ‘this one’s never gonna be able to leave me’ and all that stupid, possessive shit. He dreamed her up and wanted us to believe him.”

“You could say she was a figment of a particularly heavy dose?” George put on his most solicitous talk show voice.

“Yeah, yeah exactly, nothing more. Folks need to move on.”

Moving on was not exactly intended or facilitated by the soon after release of his tell-all book, the last five chapters of which were dedicated to suggesting that Joe Esposita and Joe Esposita alone knew a great deal about a woman he had previously said didn’t exist. Fans went nuts, theories flew like confetti and folks camped out at the Graceland gates till the hoot owls scared them away come nightfall.

Not to be outdone, Red West wrote a book of his own, and while he didn’t even pretend to have so much as known about Elvis’ rendezvous with an average Memphian streetwalker, he sure spent a lot of ink about it and talked about how he could feel her presence upstairs the last day he was at Graceland.

Which was the day he got sacked and a loaded gun pointed at his face by his erstwhile boss and friend.

At which point Red’s book really lagged on about betrayal and brotherhood and army days. Readers thumbed through the rest of the sore narrative hoping to read more about the feeling of a mysterious woman upstairs and her strange hold on a man who had spent his life drinking in the admiration of a crowd and now spent his life, or death, like a hermit inside an antebellum tomb. Charmingly self absorbed, Red’s book never did focus back on her after that throwaway mention and after the initial frenzy for his hot take, the sales died down and folks were left again with blurry photos that never quite matched up.

But so it was that people took to eyeing the dilapidated home of the King once more and took to wondering anew. Only his horses, turned feral from neglect and still grazing around the house and occasionally spooked into a fiendish gallop (perhaps by some unseen movement inside the verdant facade) kept a new generation of ghost hunters from climbing over the wall and clearing away the verdure from the front door to see if the lady inside was pale from lack of sun or lack of life.

One soul among a nation’s worth was less impressed by the supernatural aspects of what she termed a macabre pity party. Being intimate with the man, marrying him, bearing him a child and then watching his virulent prowess slowly go to seed before her very eyes had that effect on a child bride.

Once, and only once, Priscilla Presley had pried open the Graceland gates before they had fully melded together in their decay, hell bent on discovering if there was any life left in the place. The grandmas had long since stopped their Wednesday exit, no fans gathering or maimed photographers, nothing to suggest that the place she had once called home and planned on spending forever in was still inhabited. Her Lisa, her baby deserved the place, she deserved to have her inheritance and no folklore legend of a gas station hooker wandering the grounds was going to keep her from getting her due. -Lisa’s due, of course.

Pricilla never was quite the same after that trip. In vain did the ambitious young journalist who sought to write a biography on the King’s one true love attempt to extract from her something resembling a credible narrative. When asked for details of her life, for anecdotes of her famous love affair, she kept mumbling as if in a daze

“I’m not sure, I just don’t know, I can’t say for certain, where am I?”

She never answered to “Pricilla” again.

Pricilla had been a creature crafted in his image, eponymous with his desire, a figment of his fevered ambition for a perfect marriage. When the first fabrication had failed, he had found another, more squalid, more mailable, more pitifully needy -but perfect in her lack of self. In her was no woman to take his beloved child away, to test his patience with her wantonness or ruin his reputation with her deceit.

“You’re not Pricilla,” the figure of the man she once knew told her coldly from between the grand columns of the porch, “I made Pricilla, without me you’re just one a’the crowd. I’ve made myself a Pricilla, and this time she’s gonna stay.”

[courtlyharlequin]

request are OPEN!! :OO may i request headcanons of ruugie, kalim, jamil, trey, and jade with a friend who cooks often (perhaps because of their past life, cooking different cuisine or baking different pastries)?

The Sweetness and Spice of Life

A/N: Awww~ this is such a cute prompt!! I hope my delivery is up to par, anon (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧

Ruggie Bucchi :

Now, he's an above average chef. Not ordinary, but also not extraordinary. Let's just say that Ruggie know his way around the kitchen. He's also very creative. Growing up poor taught him how to be resourceful so he tends to use vegetable scraps as a base for broth or he candies his fruit peels

Having a friend who can cook is an absolute delight for Ruggie! Taking a page out of Leona's book, having a friend that cooks also means that he could take a share of your leftovers or be a taste tester! You both could share some culinary tips with each other

If you're the better cook, Ruggie would come to you for some lessons. He wants to eat better food! He's not really picky, but there's always room for improvement

If he's the better cook, then he'd give you a bit of a teasing session for it. Name a price and he'll teach you... he's kidding.

Ruggie is not much of a baker, but if you bake and don't cook then he proposes a deal: you let him have some your your pastries or make him donuts once a week and he'll cook something for you. Sounds fair right?

Friendships have their benefits and this is one of them in the case of your friendship with his.

Kalim Al-Asim:

Kalim... is not that great in the kitchen, but he's got the spirit. He'll one hundred percent be your sous chef or sit by the kitchen island and talk to you while you work if you don't like people messing with your rhythm. Cooking is sometimes a therapeutic process for people. He gets that.

If you do let him be the sous chef, you have to be careful around him. Kalim hasn't done much in the kitchen since everything was already done for him back at home so you have to go through the motions a few times. He'll get it eventually though. Plus, cooking is more fun if it's a little messy.

Probably... not the best taste tester. Kalim says everything tastes good. And he truly means it, but that's not true for everyone. So you might have to double check.

Sometimes, Kalim might even ask you to cook in bulk for any banquets he's hosting at the Scarabia dormitory. He'll compensate you accordingly so don't worry about that.

He wants to show off your talent and lift some weight off of Jamil's shoulders. This is killing two birds with one stone!

Jamil Viper:

He likes to cook. You like to cook. It's a way to earn a paramount of respect from him. If you'd like to talk or exchange some culinary tips and tricks- or even recipes– Jamil is down.

And that's how the two of you became friends!

Jamil is usually quiet in the kitchen, but not when he's with you. Because, to be frank, he's never had someone share the same hobby with the same amount of passion as him.

Especially since he focuses more on the savory dishes so if you do sweet stuff, then he'll be more inclined to learn new recipes from you simply because it's something he usually doesn't do!

If you also cook savory dishes, but a different cuisine, then he'll also be interested in learning from you. And he hopes that you're interested in his own cooking as well.

People who walk by the kitchen and hear you both talk about sous vied, par-boiling or some other cooking technique may look at you like you've grown two heads, but conversations with you run deep with thought and routine.

It's nice to have someone how understands him, someone who is as passionate about cooking as he is. Maybe you don't understand him completely (yet) but you understand his cooking and how he values it as a ritual. And he appreciates that about you.

Trey Clover:

The first and only baker among these second years!

Trey's family owns a bakery and he's also an exceptional baker himself. When he finds out that you bake as well, he's very delighted and starts bombarding you with questions e.g. what do you like to bake the most?

He wants to try your pastries so bring them over whenever you can! Please don't be intimidated. Trey promises he's not much of a Gordon Ramsay. He's easy to please.

If you bring a hard-to-make confection like macarons, then he'll be blown away. If you bring some cookies, he'll also be blown away. Each pastry has something difficult about it. Macarons are hard to pipe, but it's also difficult to get the right texture for cookies if you don't know what you're doing. You have to get the right amount of white and brown sugar.

So either way, he'll be impressed with whatever you bring.

Now, if you bring a savory pie, Trey will also be surprised. He was expecting something sweet when you said you baked.

He won't be exchanging too many techniques with you unless you ask for some pointers, but if you do ask, then he'll be more than willing to teach you how to do something.

Baking is more of a hobby for him and it's nothing he's too passionate about. He's friends with you for other reason- not to just eat your pastries... but eating some baked goods that isn't made by him or his family is nice once in a while.

Jade Leech:

Like Ruggie, Jade isn't too much of an excellent chef, but he can get by in the kitchen. He knows what to do and how to not burn down the house. But he also doesn't really view cooking as a ritual or something he could improve upon. Food is nourishment, not necessarily anything related to the soul.

Back home, he would usually eat things raw and cooking just meant adding more flavor to it, but it wasn't a necessity.

But of course, Jade works at the Mostro Lounge so he undertsna dhow imperative cooking is to land folks.

As your friend, he'll indulge in trying whatever you make. Since Jade isn't human, his taste buds are more equipped for... stronger flavors. If it's too salty, he wouldn't mind. If they meat is a still raw, that's fine too. He can stomach it. Food on land is milder than the food in the sea. It's nothing for him. So if you just started out with this new cooking hobby or yours, he's the perfect test subject.

He'll be even more delighted when he learns that you're learning how to prepare a mushroom dish. If you'd like, you can use some of his mushrooms for your cooking. Jade will ll offer you some if you'd like.

"No strings attached," he beams inconspicuously.

Now, if you back that's a different story. Baked goods aren't that common in the Coral Sea since the water makes it soggy. When Jade eats a cupcake or a puffed pastry you offered him for the first time, there's this glint in his eyes, like he's struck gold.

How... utterly delightful.

[silverskye13]

This might be worldbuilding spoilers, or it might be something I just missed, but do Helsknight and Wels have an equivalent to the reflection thing with Tango and Tanguish, or is that just a Tanguish exclusive? Either in terms of Hels being able to go straight to Wels or just another way of them being connected. Started wondering because of your description of Hels polishing all his armor + Tanguish's knife and how it didn't seem to affect Hels at all

I wouldn't call it spoilers! Its been left intentionally ambiguous for awhile, because I still want to use it as a surprise in the plot for a couple of the plot points. It's also been a little bit since it was discussed in the plot itself.

Most of where Tanguish's reflections have been talked about are the first 3? Chapters? Before he really starts to befriend Helsknight. And Helsknight's have only been really explained once, in two? Paragraphs in his POV chapter. So! Squishy teleportation worldbuilding below the cut.

Whether or not a hermit/helsmit pair can meet each other is subjective, and how they can do it kinda varies. The only thing I've decided for sure, as a rule across the table, is that their links are exclusive.

So Tango/Tanguish can see each other, and hear each other, through reflections, and they can travel to each other through reflections [if both of them are available/near a reflective surface]. But they can't see anyone else, and no one else can see or hear them. Tanguish looks like he's talking to himself when he's talking to Tango in a reflection, and vice versa. They can see hazy shapes/silhouettes of what's happening behind the other person [Tango being able to tell when Tanguish is stealing, Tanguish being able to see Welsknight's silhouette standing behind Tango] but they can't hear conversations or see expressions. They can only see impressions of the world near each other.

Helsknight and Welsknight channel their link through shadows. When Helsknight travels to Hermitcraft, the world around him gets darker, like he's falling through cracks in the void. It has a very physical radius that other people can see. While Hels/Wels can hear each other through that dark, no one else can. They also can't do the same two-way radio type talk. If one of them yells a challenge through the space, they can hear it, but Helsknight couldn't stand in a dark room or talk to his shadow and have Wels hear it. Instead, they share emotions. I feel like it has to do with how Hels started as the voice in Wels's head, he's inherently tied to Welsknight's self worth [and lack thereof]. Particularly strong emotions come through. I imagine Helsknight can feel Wels's self righteous vengeance when he commands Tanguish, but has no idea the context. Most of what Wels feels from Helsknight is anger, which he mostly ignores, unless its very strong. If he thinks Helsknight is violently angry, he will often pull him through their link so they can fight instead. He thinks he's doing a kindness to someone [mostly though, he wants to justify doing violence against his other half, who he blames for his own uncontrollable emotions.]

Both Helsknight and Tanguish [and their doubles] can pull people through those links if they so choose. There has to be physical contact [Helsknight carrying Tanguish through worlds to Hermitcraft, Tanguish holding onto Helsknight when he flips his coin]. I also think, if someone were to latch onto them and be dragged through, it would be risky where they would end up. Being able to pull another person through worlds hinges on you holding onto them so they follow your link through worlds. If you were fighting when you fell through, trying to force someone to let go, and they did, they could follow you, or they could fall free somewhere else.

[hmshermitcraft]

wels x grian || theme: pets || extra: autistic wels (bc im projecting)

“Would you like to get a cat?”

“No. They smell.”

“Oh.” Grian was taken aback by Wels’ bluntness. He knew his partner wasn’t being mean on purpose, but Grian was still getting used to the matter of fact way Welsknight preferred to communicate.

Wels turned around to Grian once he finished sewing a banned back together. “We do live in seperate bases, love. You can get yourself a cat.”

“What about a dog?” Grian chirped happily. He knew Wels liked dogs, he loved playing with their friends’ pet dogs.”

“No, no, they shed too much. Grian, please listen, if you want any pets you can get however many you want, I just don’t want to live with any right now.”

“What… but you look after everyone else’s dogs all the time!” Grian was growing exasperated with his partner.

“Grian, listen to me.” Wels snapped, stepping closer to Grian and leaning over him. “I don’t want a pet like a dog or cat because they are very overwhelming for me to have around all of the time. All the time I spend looking after other hermit’s pets is organised, planned and outside of my home. If you want a pet, then get yourself a pet. I can come and help look after it with you but I do not want to live with a pet.”

Grian frowned, “You don’t get it.”

Wels sighed and sat down, letting Grian come and sit in his lap. “What am I not understanding, Grian? You know I am not good at reading between the lines.”

“I want us… to move in together, and I want us to have something to look after together.”

“Why didn’t you just say that, prince?”

“I…” Grian went red with embarrassment, “I don’t know.” He started to cry, but also burst into laughter. “This was so silly, I don’t know why I can’t just say things straight up rather than dancing around the issue.”

Wels sighed light heartedly, “I don’t know either.” He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Grian’s forehead. “So, you want to move in together? And get some kind of a pet?”

“…yes. If you’re ok with that.”

“Hmm… I think we can make it work.”

And so they did. They spent a few months getting their shared home sorted and moved into, including a house warming party with all the hermits, and there they finally landed on the perfect pet for them.

“Morning, Bowser.” Wels grinned down at their baby tortoise who was just waking up and walking over to lay under his heat lamp. “How did you sleep?” the tortoise made a quiet squeak in response, “Sounds nice. I’ll get you some breakfast, Bowser.”

A tortoise was their perfect pet. He was weirdly very nice to hold, which was a shock to Grian, and he was almost as introverted as Wels himself. The three of them would often sit in silence, Bowser on their large desk while Wels sewed and Grian drew up building plans.

Grian had never expected a tortoise to be such a good pet, but he had been willing to compromise for Wels and… maybe he loved Bowser even more than Wels, considering he showed off pictures of him to other hermits like a proud dad.

-🌻

Grain likes to tease Wels by comparing him to the turtle. They both have their protective shells, and they enjoy lounging around in the warm sun. It makes sense that he's perfect for Wels. And if he's perfect for Wels, then he's perfect for Grain too!

It taught them some important lessons for communicating with each other as well, and they still use the things they've learnt now! Wels has gotten better at figuring out when Grian is inadvertently speaking around what he wants, and tells him so. Grian has gotten better at just saying what he wants.

Neither of them have gotten better at not spoiling Bowser, though... The most pampered tortoise there is.