#also because N based on dogs and dogs are pretty much a pack animals he is very SOCIAL

[sethdomain]

hc timee

I like to think the DD has their own special traits like super senses or every each DD has different animals they are based on.

also their body structure may sometime varies, maybe DD has longer limbs, longer claws or bigger wings idk

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 25: The Traveling People

It's time for another chapter in my reread, and that means spoilers. Spoilers here, spoilers there, spoilers everywhere. Hell, let's have a spoiler for my post: we're going to be talking about slurs at some point this chapter! If you don't know why that is, go read the books. If you do know why that is but you haven't read the whole series, go read the books. Or just stick around if you like spoilers. Anyway.

This chapter starts with the leaves on the vine icon because this chapter introduces us to the way of the leaf. As such, the Tuatha'an will remain associated with it going forward; just about any chapter where they're a big deal will have them!

Perrin was sure she was hunting for the rest of the pack, though she denied it angrily when he suggested as much, denied being afraid of the wolves that paced them, denied worrying about the rest of the pack or what it was up to. She denied, and went right on looking, tight-eyed and wetting her lips uneasily.

Note to self: Remember that as far as Egwene is concerned, these last three days have been spent in constant terror of the wolfpack deciding she's the next meal.

She took a deep breath, and Perrin was wondering if she would succeed in bullying Elyas the way she did him, when he realized she was standing there with her mouth open, not saying a word. Elyas was looking at her, just looking, with those yellow wolf’s eyes. Egwene stepped back from the raw-boned man, and licked her lips, and stepped back again. Before Elyas turned away, she had backed all the way to Bela and scrambled up onto the mare’s back. 

Yeah, she is genuinely not having a good time. And frankly, Elyas doesn't want her to, so that's kinda shitty of him. This is really the first part of the adventure where Egwene's living in the kind of discomfort that the boys were with Moiraine after she destroyed the ferry.

In every dream he remembered there was a point where he straightened from Master Luhhan’s forge to wipe the sweat from his face, or turned from dancing with the village girls on the Green, or lifted his head from a book in front of the fireplace, and whether he was outside or under a roof, there was a wolf close to hand.

Frankly, I cannot imagine a scenario where I was suddenly capable of communing with animals, learning from a dude who had all their badass reflexes, and getting protected from the forces of darkness in my dreams and not immediately jump at the chance for more. Am I crazy or is Perrin?

Still patting the dogs, Elyas studied the stand of trees. “There’ll be Tuatha’an here. The Traveling People.” They stared at him blankly, and he added, “Tinkers.”

Hoo boy. So uh... Hmm. Jordan's Tuatha'an are based on a lot of real people, and that's good. Further, they're stereotyped in ways that the real people are but demonstrate that these aren't accurate or cool. That's also pretty nice. People use slurs against them, and that's not nice but it is accurate. Too accurate, since the term used is not some fantasy term Jordan made up but one that real haters use against real Irish Travellers, the Mincéirs. It's admittedly a far cry from say, having everyone describe the Sharans with the n-word or something, but it's still just... not awesome. It's been like ten thousand years, why are we using the same old slurs? I'm gonna call the Tuatha'an just that, and occasionally the Traveling People if I feel the need to mix it up. Won't change the quotations though; that shit's not cool.

Oh also, while Perrin's just the ignorant country boy who drops non-PC terms, Egwene is the gal who relishes the stereotypes. I can finally stop smacking him with a rolled-up newspaper and move on to her. Bad Egwene!

The Traveling People were going about work that was disappointingly everyday, cooking, sewing, tending children, mending harness, but their clothes were even more colorful than the wagons—and seemingly chosen at random; sometimes coat and breeches, or dress and shawl, went together in a way that hurt his eyes. They looked like butterflies in a field of wildflowers.

You know what's funny? For all of the genre's obsession for having everyone run around wearing brown leather outfits or gray fur coats, actual medieval Europeans were gaudy as all hell. We just don't see it in movies because the average viewer would find such portrayals of "the dark ages" unrealistic. The Tuatha'an having a real world aesthetic that we should be seeing more often is very nice.

“Then we seek still,” the gray-haired man intoned. “As it was, so shall it be, if we but remember, seek, and find.”

Sadly, the Tuatha'an will only do one of those three. They don't remember what the song was and they've idealized it to the point that they'll never actually find it, even when the Dragon Reborn is singing it to bring green back to the land.

“They don’t even know what the song is; they claim they’ll know it when they find it. They don’t know how it’s supposed to bring paradise, either, but they’ve been looking near to three thousand years, ever since the Breaking. I expect they’ll be looking until the Wheel stops turning.”

There's a really interesting... misconception? heresy? IDK... that a lot of the common folk of the setting have that everything good about the AoL is genuinely lost forever, even though they live in a cyclical universe. At some point, whatever inspired the song would be found again and the question is whether or not their people will still exist in a recognizable form by then (since the various Roma, Mincéirs, etc. don't seem to be on an epic quest for a song here five ages later, the answer is sadly "No"). Saying people will be looking forever for history is needlessly hateful.

Or do some people genuinely think that the Dragon and/or the Dark One broke cyclical time and that linearity will reign supreme? Is that where the belief comes from?

After a minute Perrin knew who the fellow reminded him of. Wil al’Seen, who had all the girls staring and whispering behind his back whenever he came up from Deven Ride to Emond’s Field. Wil courted every girl in sight, and managed to convince every one of them that he was just being polite to all the others.

Sadly Perrin, you're not Miss Marple, so your conclusion that this complete stranger is actually just of the same archetype as somebody from your beloved little village life is nowhere near accurate. You're just jealous no one ever looks at you this way. Also, your arc would be a lot more interesting if you did have Miss Marple's superpower.

Dammit Perrin I'm supposed to be giving Egwene shit this time.

Aram’s smile slipped, but when he looked at Perrin it came back again, even more sure than before. “They will not harm you. They make a show to frighten away danger, and warn us, but they are trained according to the Way of the Leaf.”

But Elyas just said the dogs would have tried to bite the gang under some circumstances Aram, and I'm sorry but he's the dog whisperer. I doubt very much y'all can actually train dogs not to attack at all. It's the same kind of delusion that makes certain kinds of vegans think they can convert carnivores.

Least it matches with Aram's inevitable descent into madness and fanaticism.

“It means that no man should harm another for any reason whatsoever.” The Seeker’s eyes flickered to Elyas. “There is no excuse for violence. None. Not ever.” “What if somebody attacks you?” Perrin insisted. “What if somebody hits you, or tries to rob you, or kill you?”

It's nice that Perrin starts out dismissive of the Way of the Leaf since he'll be the one most tempted to convert to it. It's another thing that kinda feels left by the wayside: while he throws the axe away after mutilating someone, he ends up selling his enemies into slavery (which is definitely a kind of violence) and then 1v1ing his nemesis and killing Lanfear. It feels like he should have picked up another approach after all his prevaricating.

“You try telling that to some farm wife who’s just found out her son or daughter has run off with you Tinkers,” Elyas said wryly. 

I might trust his dog-related opinions, but not the rest. People run off with the Tuatha'an because they offer some kind of hope and purpose in a world that is rapidly approaching a critical point of decay. The Way of the Leaf may be a weird philosophy in a world being invaded by the forces of darkness, but like the Whitecloak philosophies or the promise of becoming an Aes Sedai or a Warder, it's something. Gives those people who feel like they have spiritual needs something to focus on, which they're sorely lacking in a world with no organized faith. (I'll rant about that later though.)

Perrin sat back down slowly, still feeling awkward. “What happens to somebody who can’t follow the Way?” he asked. “A Tinker, I mean.” Raen and Ila exchanged a worried look, and Raen said, “They leave us. The Lost go to live in the villages.”

Having worked with Jehovah's Witnesses and heard one of them talk lovingly about his adult son except with the occasional mention of the fact that he was apostate and thus they were never going to be associates again, I have absolutely nothing but contempt for this kind of behavior. It's realistic, but... argh. It's fucked up and evil. Literally the worst part of the Tuatha'an.

Perrin’s eyes shot open. “The Waste? The Aiel Waste? They were crossing the Aiel Waste?” “Some people can enter the Waste without being bothered,” Elyas said. “Gleemen. Peddlers, if they’re honest. The Tuatha’an cross the Waste all the time. Merchants from Cairhien used to, before the Tree, and the Aiel War.”

This is actually also a weird detail, really. Peddlers and Cairhienen merchants had reason to (silk), and gleemen might at least be able to profit off of entertaining Sharans or coming back with exotic tales or performances. But the Tuatha'an don't have much to get out of boiling in the desert for weeks or months on end to visit the trader towns and the Sharans certainly don't want their kids being recruited. I guess the Sharans hadn't been particularly developed at this point in the story and Jordan didn't notice the oddity he'd created when he got to them.

Elyas sat up, his pipe almost falling from between his teeth. “A hundred miles into the Waste? Impossible! Djevik K’Shar, that’s what Trollocs call the Waste. The Dying Ground. They wouldn’t go a hundred miles into the Waste if all the Myrddraal in the Blight were driving them.”

They would if a Forsaken was driving them, and that's what he was doing. I always forget that Ishamael was active two years before the main story; it feels like it should be much more recent. That said, I suppose even he needed time to narrow down the candidates.

He sighed heavily. “She called us the Lost. I never knew before how much they loathe us.” 

I don't think they have much feeling for you one way or another, to be honest. They just have some historical facts, and... since she was a Maiden of the Spear, she wouldn't even have the full story. More early installment weirdness? Or do the Clan Chiefs and Wise Ones let the rest of the Aiel know a little of what's up to justify why they never interact? (Also not super cool of them for enforcing apostasy after this many generations, just saying.)

He was trying to imagine what Aiel girls were like—going into the Blight, where only Warders went that he had ever heard

Yeah that story hasn't been accurate in the last thousand years or more.

Awkwardly he patted her hair. Rand would know what to do, he thought. Rand had an easy way with girls. Not like him, who never knew what to do or say.

Bro, she spent the last three days assuming she was wolf food and the night before that thinking she was going to die in a city of the damned after spending that day being chased by the armies of darkness. You should at least be able to work out that her crying has something to do with that and that her motivation to dance with a pretty boy is mostly an attempt to have something normal happen. Since she's crying specifically with worry about Rand and Mat (no that's cool Egwene, don't name your former mentor specifically), it would still be an inaccurate assumption, but like... Something.

He took a deep breath and looked around uncertainly. “They are alive,” he said finally. “Good.” She scrubbed at her cheeks with quick fingers. “That is what I wanted to hear. Good night, Perrin. Sleep well.” Standing on tiptoe, she brushed a kiss across his cheek and hurried past him before he could speak.

This though... I can't help but feel that she's stopped crying almost on cue and that makes the whole thing feel weird and borderline manipulative on her part. I don't think that's the mood Jordan was going for really because her motivations have been pretty understandable so far. I'm gonna guess that she stopped actually crying before she asked Perrin to say they were alive and his voice is deep enough to seem comforting even though his behavior doesn't seem to reflect that at all? Egwene is definitely reeling, so my plan to give her more shit this chapter didn't really pan out. Oh well, there's always next time - but of course, before we get to that, we'll be seeing Rand and company again in Whitebridge. See you then!

[literallykenmaandshoyo]

Kagami Hayato Dating Headcanons

Kagami Hayato x gender neutral reader Requested by: ME BITCH Proofread: N/A Genre: Fluff Music: A Dark Academia Playlist to Read to Warnings: Mentions of overworking Author's Note: Kagami my beloved <3 I have been wanting to write more vtuber stuff for AGES but my requests are all backed up with irl streamer content. I'm doing this for the 24 people who liked my Holostars content /j. Seriously though, you guys don't understand how much vtubers take up my daily life. I recently bought a 3 pack of perfume for 3 different Nijisanji livers (Mayuzumi, Kanae, and Kuzuha) and I love them. Anyways, Kenma is a vutber whore, just thought you'd like to know. (Also fun little writing thing I do, I like to imagine the Nijisanji universe ((the digital world they live in)) to be very much like a slice of life anime. Very fun very chill 10/10 would live there. Everyone is goofy and a nerd <3) -Mod Kenma

I don't know how to express how much I love this man-

He's such a nerd and honestly when you're with him, you're gonna have to deal with the rambles

It's not like they are annoying or anything, it's just that he can talk, a lot

He'll be talking so animatedly and then he'll turn to you to take a breather

Just because he talks a lot doesn't mean he won't ever listen to you

He loves seeing you talk passionately about the things you enjoy and will try his damndest to learn whatever he can so he can conversate with you

Kagami absolutely loves it when you show up at his work and bring him coffee or a homemade bento, it really brightens his day

When he has the time, he tries to do the same for you and when he can't, he will make you breakfast on days he's off

He can make the perfect coffee and tea, hands down

As soon as he knows how you like it, he can perfectly replicate it

His genmates love you and rope you in when they playfully tease him

They try to use you to one-up him but it never works out

Kagami literally gets so smiley and ignores practically everything to pay attention to you

(All of ROF-MAO are dog boys I don't make the rules)

A lot of people think of Shachou as this intimidating individual based on how he presents himself and his position as CEO but they relax almost immediately when they see him with you

They're like "Omg Kagami-san is so scary-" and then the two of you walk in discussing the newest Pokemon game or the newest Yu-Gi-Oh pack he bought

He loves it when you support him when he does something big or out of his comfort zone

He loves seeing your face in the crowd when he's performing, it makes his heart happy

He's very passionate about what he does so seeing you there to support him brings him to tears, it makes him so delighted

He does the same thing for you, of course

He's always by your side and cheering you on

Let me ramble about how the ROF-MAO boys would act for a moment-

Kaida, being the only SOMEWHAT normal one out of the group, thinks you two are cute and gets a bit jealous

He wants something like the two of you

Fuwa uses every opportunity to bully you both

Kenmochi airs out your dirty laundry pretty much

He's the one who says "you would not BELIEVE what (Y/N) and Sachou did"

It's never something too embarrassing but it can be pretty flustering

He'd call the two of you out when you're wearing matching outfits or something similar

ROF-MAO went from 4 idiots to 4 idiots and their parent friend

You're the one that makes sure nobody dies, for better or for worse

Same goes for when he's hanging out with Yashiro, Chaika, and Ryushen

You and Dola are watching from a distance to make sure they don't do anything stupid

Sometimes you join in with their shenanigans

Overall, Kagami looks scary and intimidating but in reality, is a sweetheart and goof

[acepalindrome]

I’ve spent much of 2021 thus far playing Stardew Valley in the hopes of distracting myself from the horrors of reality, and I keep meaning to make a list of mods I recommend! Because I am running a truly embarrassing number of mods and there are some really great ones that really improve the gameplay or add fun content or just make everything look really pretty! So without further ado, here are some of my favorite mods:

- Lookup Anything: This is probably my favorite mod. It basically eliminates the need to have to keep consulting the Stardew Valley wiki while you play. The title says it all: this mod lets you look up anything. Need to know what’s a good present for Shane? You can pull up a list of all his loved and liked gifts, with items you have on hand highlighted for ease, plus his birthday, how many hearts he has with you and how many points you need to get to the next heart. Need to know if you should hoard that pine sap or sell it? You can pull up all the uses for it, items that can be crafted with it, anyone who might like it, community center bundles it’s used for, and how much you make by selling. How many days until your melons are ready to harvest? What items can drop from that stone in the mines? What are all the items you can make with the furnace? It’s such a fantastically handy mod and I refuse to play without it!

- NPC Map Locations: One of the most frustrating things in the game is trying to remember everyone’s schedule and then not being able to find someone to give them a birthday present or turn in a quest item. This mod shows exactly where everyone is on your map and solves that problem for good!

- Automate: This mod automatically pulls items from nearby chests into machines, so you don’t have to keep running back and forth to your furnace to pick up the finished metal bars and toss more ore in there...it just spits the finished item back into the nearby chest, pulls in whatever available items you’ve got in the chest and starts running again without you having to do a thing! Just be careful of where you place your chests and machines or you might end up processing items you didn’t want to. Luckily, you can set individual chests to not have items pulled from them.

- Fishing Made Easy Suite: I suck at fishing. I almost never bother with fishing if I don’t have a mod to make it bearable. I like this one because it has different levels of easy-ness, so you can make fishing just 25% easier, or 50%, or 75%, or 99%! And there are some other fun perks too. You want to catch all fish regardless of weather or season? Want to catch legendary fish multiple times? Want to catch prismatic shards? Go nuts.

- Stardew Valley Expanded: This mod is absurdly huge and adds SO MUCH CONTENT. New areas! New characters! New events! I was a little hesitant to start it just because I knew there was so much to the mod and was a little concerned of how well it would mesh with the rest of the game, but the characters and story and style fit in perfectly with the vanilla content. I could almost forget Andy and Sophia weren’t there all along! The purpose of the mod was to make the game feel fresh and new for people who had already played the game and that’s exactly what it does. I love it.

- Artisan Valley/Project Populate JsonAssets/Starbrew Valley: I’m lumping these together but this is a collection of mods that add a TON of new items, crops, trees, flowers, machines and recipes to the game. You don’t have to download them all! You can pick and choose the ones you want, or download the PPJA content pack to get the bulk of these mods all in one go! I personally really love Artisan Valley because it lets me make floral candles and soaps. And an espresso machine so I can make fancy coffee. And Starbrew Valley so there’s actually a fun variety of alcohol in the game.

I’m putting the rest under a cut because this is getting too long.

- Chests Anywhere: Lets you access all of your chests from the menu! You can add some limitations, like only being able to access chests in the same location you’re in, but I’m dumb and constantly forget that I was supposed to bring a present for a villager with me today, or that I wanted to upgrade one of my tools but left all my metal bars at home. So instead of having to run all the way back to my farm, I can just open my menu and switch through the chests until I find the item I need! Labeling the chests also makes this a lot easier for organization.

- Seasonal Villager Outfits: Finally, the villagers have more than one set of clothes! This mod gives them different outfits in different seasons, different weather and special outfits for holidays! It’s cute and really improves the immersion to see the villagers wearing tshirts in the summer and bundling up in the winter, and dressing up for special events! Some characters will change their hairstyle too, which I love.

- Canon-Friendly Dialogue Expansion: Gives all characters more stuff to say so they won’t just repeat the same lines over and over! Also gives them varied dialogue for festivals starting in year 2, so they don’t say the same thing every year at the Egg Festival or Spirit’s Eve.

- Immersive Elliott: Add more dialogue! Lots more dialogue! I downloaded the Elliott version of this mod because that’s who I plan to marry but I recommend looking up dialogue mods for whoever your favorite characters are (I think there’s one for almost all the marriageable candidates.) You’ll probably be chatting a lot with whoever you’re trying to woo and it’s nice to get lots of new lines!

- Stardew Foliage Redone: There are tons of mods that change the colors and style of trees and buildings and stuff but this one is my favorite. It’s very soft and earthy and pretty without being overkill.

- The Love of Cooking: Actually makes cooking fun in Stardew Valley! It adds a cooking skill, an upgradable cooking tool that lets you cook with more ingredients (at the start you can only make one ingredient dishes), a cooking community center bundle, star levels to cooked items, an animation when you cook...cooking was very bland in the base game, and this mod really spruces the whole system up.

- Medieval Buildings/Medieval craftables: Again, there are so many mods that change up the look of your farm buildings and stuff but these are really pretty and cool and absolutely my style. There’s a mod to make all the town buildings have this style too, but I kind of like keeping the town normal and just living on my mysterious and beautiful farm apart from the rest of the world. My sprinklers are magic moss covered rocks now!

- Elle’s Dog/Cat/Horse/Barn/Coop/etc animals: Super cute animal skins. They look so huggable and soft. Also one of the dog options looks like my real life dog and that’s very important to me.

- Adopt ‘n’ Skin: Pairs well with the mods above, this mod lets you have multiple dogs/cats/horses and lets you use as many different skins as you like. I’ve got four cows and they’ve all got different patterns and colors. I love it. Also Marnie starts taking in stray animals and you can adopt them from her, which is a really cute way of letting you have more pets.

- Seasonal Garden Farmhouse: Its a pinch overkill especially in the early game, but I really like this farmhouse layout. It gives you a small kitchen from the start, a bathroom you can use to restore stamina, big open windows that change with the seasons and time of day...it’s a luxury house and it’s very nice to live in!

- Industrial Kitchen and Interior/Industrial Furniture/Rustic Country Town Interiors: These mods give the interiors and furniture a more rustic style, and the last one changes the town interiors to match. There are many furniture/interior mods, so if this style doesn’t do it for you, check out some of the others! There are lots of very pretty mods!

And I’m going to stop there but that’s only the tip of the iceberg and I highly recommend looking around NexusMods or ModDrop and seeing what kind of stuff is available!

[raindrvq]

ok so, more of the like 2017 au or whatever u wanna call it

this was not meant to be this long and i spent way too much time on this but yknow what that's okay <3

Ralph

skin: the classic cool guy skin with the headphones and hoodie, probably a creeper face on the back

fav mob: slime

fav item/block: jukebox (fav music disc is chirp) and prismarine bricks

fav biome: snowy taiga

play style: starts the game and builds a basic house, gets food, then just starts mining. likes exploring and uses every map he finds. tries to get maxed out diamond armour + tools so he can do boss fights. always has at least 3 dogs. fairly well at combat. hides all his valuables in a secret room that is behind a painting, hes a genius i know. has tried to make an aether portal many times but sadly has not succeeded </3

Jack

skin: another one of the classic cool guy skins, mayb one of those ones with a bandanna and a sword on the back or smth

fav mob: blaze

fav item/block: diamond block bc hes like that yknow

fav biome: jungle

play style: loves pvp. also parkour, one of those ppl who play parkour maps all the time (what a weirdo lmao, not just saying this bc im ass at parkour aha). most of his bases are super tall cobblestone towers. makes super small animal farms bc he hates farming so he just breeds animals instead and they're always overflowing with animals. and they are so incredibly loud. tries to speedrun doing everything while everyones still building their houses. 'jack calm down this is a server you dont have to grind and beat the ender dragon by day 5' 'idc im getting full diamond armour rn' 'we just spawned in???'

Simon

skin: one of those soft pastel skins with a flower crown or smth. probably has overalls or a sweater and heavy blush.

fav mob: ocelot n snow golem (he likes to shear them so they have silly little faces)

fav item/block: magenta wool and lily pads

fav biome: mushroom island and flower forest

play style: collects every flower he sees, favorites are peonies and blue orchids. prefers farming. likes to use cute texture packs. randomly plants flowers around your house and likes to leave random little gifts. likes to build pretty houses (they r usually inspired by LDShadowlady bc hes a Shadow Cadet real) and his pets have their own room in his house. also tries to make a bunch of potions but never rly has any use for them. makes cookies, cake, n pumpkin pie bc hes fancy like that.

Piggy

skin: yknow like those skins that were like some sort of mob in a suit. what if his is a pig in a suit, which is why everyone calls him Piggy. idk

fav mob: chicken

fav item/block: bricks

fav biome: birch forest

play style: somehow actually understands redstone and uses it to make secret bases. likes to make puzzle maps and force his friends to play them. good with command blocks. refuses to go to the nether unless he rly has to bc he has a habit of falling in lava lol. makes lots of automatic farms and xp farms and what not. tends to set up a base and then not travel very far bc he can and will get lost if he goes too far away (especially because he hides his bases). if he needs something he'll just pay Ralph in diamonds to get it for him.

Roger

skin: either one of those basic skins with the long bangs covering one eye or some creepy skin that he will use to jumpscare you

fav mob: parrots bc he can hide them in ppls bases to scare them into thinking theres monsters near

fav item/block: tnt

fav biome: the nether (not necessarily a biome but)

play style: starts off playing the game fairly normal then quits and resorts to just stealing from everyones chests. if u go afk near him u will come back trapped in an obsidian box or wearing a pumpkin with curse of binding. purposefully builds shitty huts right in front of your nice build. constantly tries to summon herobrine and scares the shit outta Piggy and Simon. he will also change to a herobrine skin and creep around their bases.

[the-fandomwriter]

thinking about a full and properly modded server with all the members of the dream smp, with like mo creatures, mr crayfish, bibliocraft, biomes o’ plenty, decocraft, CIT resource packs, THE DOG ONE THAT STACYPLAYS USED IN DOGCRAFT and the ones that add all different types of foods like pies and sandwiches and soups and all that fun stuff!!

and it’s a mostly “normal” server, in which there are no tyrranical governments or roleplay nearly as angsty as the dream smp. i’m basically thinking origins smp but softer, with more roleplay, and billions of mods that used to be popular back in the shadowcraft and dogcraft days. it would be more of a “found family of people that all left their previous homes for various reasons that they slowly get into detail with as they become closer to the others and they all develop a big family dynamic, but there’s occasional conflict since they can never get along for long periods of time.” 

i’m sorry just iMagine all the possibilities???

 tubbo would own ALL the animals like he’d just run a huge fucking zoo and live with all the animals hes tamed and he’d have like 80 dogs and all the bees on the server. not to mention his house would be absolutely DECKED with cute decor stuff. he’d have a huge portal hub for all the different dimensions that would be added to the game. he’d probably dabble in some witchcraft mods too with ranboo!!

wilbur would take mass advantage of bibliocraft and fulfil his dark academiac dreams by living in a nice tudor home in a plains biome with a gigantic library and a pond out back with fairy lights and some wheat fields. but underground he would have a gigantic lair where he grows sketchy plants he gets from tubbo that’re from other dimensions, and he makes  potions and also collects various crystals and rare ores to sell illegally to other people. 

niki and hannah would build a cottagecore village together with lots of eucalyptus and wisteria logs!! they’d do a lot of exploring to find all the cool biomes so they could collect all the flowers, crops, and trees possible. they would probably have a green house shop at spawn, as well as a cafe/bakery. despite their soft aesthetic, they would actually be two of the richest people on the server, and no one would fuck with them since they had some of the best modded armor and weapons from all of their travelling. 

puffy would really like oceancraft, and also spend a lot of time travelling. she often bunked with niki and hannah, and occasionally with bad and skeppy in their own area. she just hung around spawn mostly and had a simple ocean monument inspired house on the shore, so she could access the sea easily for her distant travels. she would also love getting into the weirder parts of the mods, like the shape shifter mods and would have a massive collection of all the inverntory pets. 

dream, george, and sapnap would band together and make a huge underground lair inside of a mountain that they put no effort into making pretty, but somehow doesn’t look like shit? sapnap would have a room dedicated to all the armor sets he set out to forge, and would have great pride in them. george would like indulging in the food aspects, like harvestcraft and mo’ foods. dream would try dabbling in the prank/security mods and have minor success, aside from the few holes he blew into the mountain and sets of armor he accidentally blew up which sapnap would never let him live down. he’d also probably do a lot of collecting and make various mob farms to get lots of cool loot to sell in spawn. 

tommy would also collect lots of cool stuff, except he wouldn’t actually go out and find the materials for armor, fight mobs, or explore caves, no he would steal it. he commissioned sam to build a gigantic, overly complex and fancy house insisting it has as much detail as possible (im talking chisel mod, carpenters blocks, decocraft, mr crayfish ALL OF IT) but he never actually stays in it bc he prefers the stupid dirt mound he lived in on the first night (mainly bc he doesn’t feel like moving all of his stuff from said dirt mound into his giant mega-mansion and sam refused to do it, no matter how much money tommy offered him). he’d also wreak havoc, yk, stealing and hiding pets, burning houses, destroying crops, setting elaborate traps that don’t work but are just annoying to clean up. despite being chaos incarnate, he’d probably have a big farm and make cool foods and have a bed and breakfast at spawn. 

fundy, sam, ranboo and tubbo would all really like diving into the red stone packs (obvi) like industrialcraft and all those prank/trap mods. they would start up a business to make elaborate redstone machines for people, and would have some of the coolest houses on the smp. they’d live in a huge treehouse colony in a jungle, and they’d have elevators and secret doors and a hidden vault underground. it would look amazing, and they would spend hours working on it, and it ends up being the prettiest build on the server.

ranboo, much like tubbo, wouldn’t live just in the jungle colony. he would also have his own base a couple hundred blocks from tubbo. it wouldn’t be super big or fancy, but he would decorate his house really nicely, and probably base some of the interiors off of other video games or something. he would collect lots of cats and dogs as to all keep him company in his house. he’d have some OP armor and tools, but be really humble about it? he’d like collecting the mob backpacks and have them all on display in his house in the woods. 

bad and skeppy would live in a mesa where they would have a massive modern base where they test airplanes and helicopters n cars n shit. bad would def try to collect a bunch of animals, especially dogs (they would all be named after members of the smp based off of the vibes they give him). skeppy would be one of the richest  bc he keeps all of his rare/expensive items in a hidden vault literally hundreds of thousands of blocks from his base. skeppy would definetly take advantage of the extra blocks and supplies for trolling. 

ant would obviously collect cats, like the ones that you can pick up and they like wrap around your neck? and they have those adorable cat beds and smack you when they’re hungry? yeah he’d have a whole fucking army of them and whenever they’re hungry he’d just unleash them on anyone nearby just to piss them off. he wouldn’t have actually wanted the cats at first, since he thought it was just ironic and lame, but after he tamed his first one he just liked the company. he would build a whole separate house for his cats so that they could stay away from the workspace in his house where he would look into dinosaurs with jurassicraft. 

connor would be a wandering vagabond who collects those cool mob backpacks and keeps all of his stuff inside of them and never settles down because he doesn’t have the money to commission someone to build a house and he’s just too fuckign lazy to build one himself lmaoo he’d end up rooming with tubbo for a while, just because he has multiple homes and has plenty of room spare.

schlatt would elect himself as leader (but not in a dream smp kinda way) he’d tax everyone and use the money to commission like forty vacation homes that he never lives in because he’s never active. he also likes to just fuck around and annoy people by breaking all the windows in their houses and stealing their doors, but no one can do anything about it bc he’s technically they’re leader and he probably somehow got access to creative mode. he definitely abuses his power, but not to a concerning extent. he’d just boost the price to buy land in the shopping district by ten diamonds every month and piss everyone off. 

(i might make a part two to this with the other members if y’all wanted to see more :))

[backtothestart02]

The Football Star and the New Girl - 1/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: I suck at titles lately...oh well. Enjoy this first chap! The story itself is based loosely on a dream I had. :)

...

Synopsis:  HS!AU - They were like ships passing in the night. Would they ever meet on the same page?

...

Chapter 1 -

Francine West walked down the hall and peeked into the open doorway of her daughter’s bedroom. She found her sitting on her bed, her things packed in multiple suitcases at her feet, but she herself – Iris West, 14 ¾ years old – did not look very excited to be leaving her home without her family. She was looking at a photo album. Tears were staining her cheeks.

Francine rested her head against the door frame as she watched her, her heart aching to heal the wounds she knew would only grow more with time.

“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know.”

Iris’ head whipped toward the sound, and she hastily shut the photo album and tossed it onto her bed, wiping her cheeks quickly after.

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t interrupting, was I?”

She walked into the room, and Iris scooted over a little so she could sit next to her on the bed.

“No, not at all. I’m glad you’re here.”

They shared a sweet look, then Iris leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. Francine held out her hand, and Iris intertwined her fingers in her mother’s grip.

“I still want to go,” she assured her.

“Yeah?”

She nodded against her shoulder.

“I need stability, mom. I can’t be moving around going from school to school every six months. I’m proud of dad, of course, and I love being with you all. I’ll miss you a lot, but…I want friends and the same school and a life.”

“A boyfriend?” Francine nudged her gently.

Iris rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Maybe…eventually. I’m only 14, Mom.”

Francine nudged her again.

“14 ¾.”

Iris laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. A boyfriend would be nice, once I get to know the guy for more than a couple months. But first, friends.”

“Friends are important too.”

Iris nestled into her mother’s embrace and sat in silence for a while.

“What about Wally? Is he going to be going to new schools every-”

“I’ve decided to attempt homeschooling.”

Iris lifted her head.

“You have?”

She nodded.

“He’s only 10, so the curriculum is simpler, and he’s pretty introverted, even around us, so Ruffly can suffice for his friend. At least for now.”

Francine pursed her lips. She did want real, live human friends for her son, as well as for her daughter. But for now their golden retriever seemed to be what got the most laughs out of young Wally West. She would hope that lasted at least through another school year.

“I’d take him with me if I could,” Iris said.

“You’d take both my children from me?” Francine asked, only half joking. “What am I supposed to do all day long without your brother to drive me crazy?”

Iris looked into her mother’s eyes and saw that they were watering.

“Oh, Mom, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay, honey.”

She sighed and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s temple.

“I know it hasn’t been easy for you, losing your friends so often because we have to move. It’s the life of a military family, I’m afraid. I signed up for it when I agreed to marry the man, but you, my baby, were just born into it.”

She pulled back to look into her eyes.

“I want you to know though that if at any time the school isn’t working out for you, we’ll come get you in a heartbeat.”

Iris winced. She knew it wasn’t that simple. They were moving overseas to a new post. Iris would be staying here in the U.S. Even if the school was a bit of a move for her too. It wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to.

Still, she obliged her.

“Yeah, okay, mom.”

She smiled, but Francine knew better.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and interrupting their little moment came Joe West with little Wally West on his back. Joe was dressed in all camouflage wear, and Wally was giggling from bouncing up and down on his “horsie”. Ruffly was close at Joe’s heels.

“What is this here?” Joe asked, witnessing the tear streaks on his two ladies’ faces.

“Dad!” Iris sprung up.

She ran to him, and he slowly released Wally off his back, who promptly complained when his shoeless feet hit the floor.

Joe hugged his daughter tight, lifting her off her feet briefly and kissing the side of her face.

“Oh, baby girl, are you sure you want to go?”

Iris laughed when she was back on her feet again. She wiped away fresh tears.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m just gonna miss you guys, but I need this. For me. Okay?”

He sighed and nodded, then looked across the room at his wife.

“She’s so grown-up.”

“I know.” Francine sniffled.

“Why is everyone crying in here?” Wally asked. “Aren’t we gonna see her for Christmas?”

Everyone laughed.

“Aren’t you gonna miss me at all, you little punk?” Iris asked, ruffling his curly hair.

“Eh, maybe a little.” He shrugged, uncaringly.

Iris rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s time to get going then, yeah?” She looked at her parents who nodded.

“Yeah,” Joe said. “That seven-hour drive is no joke.”

“Seven hours! That’s a lifetime!” Wally whined.

Ruffly barked.

“Just wait till your plane ride,” Iris egged him on. “That might be even longer.”

Wally groaned. “I hate traveling!”

“Better make sure you have something to keep you occupied with then, Walls,” Joe said, and with that Wally zipped out of Iris’ room to make sure his many bags included plenty of toys to play with on his very long journey.

“I’ll go help him,” Francine said. “We’ll meet you at the door with his things.”

“Sounds good.”

Joe smiled, but it was pained. Once Francine had left, all the toughness had melted away again, as it often did with his baby girl.

“Boy, am I gonna miss you,” he said.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Dad.” Another tear streamed down her cheek, and he was quick to wipe it away. “You look so handsome in your uniform, Dad.”

He chuckled.

“Alright, enough sadness for now. We can do this again in seven hours.”

She laughed. “Okay.”

“You wanna help me get all a million and one suitcases out to the car?”

She took a step back and looked around her room.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“You can apologize by helping me.”

“Deal.”

She smiled, and slowly they made their way to the front door and then the driveway with all seven of her suitcases. It took a few trips, but then she knew she would need every bit of her belongings for the long school years that lay ahead.

Her family would visit as often as they could, of course, but it would be difficult with them living overseas. She probably wouldn’t see them again until her dad was forced to move again like they were doing now.

But she’d thought long and hard   this. She longed for friendships that lasted, for a life beyond what was available to a military family. She needed to connect and to be free for a while, even at the sacrifice of not seeing her family every day, especially her mom and baby brother. This new school – Huntington Farm and Boarding School – would be just the ticket.

Out in the middle of nowhere somewhere down south, the school was on a huge stretch of lush land that also served as a farm – no animals, just crops, which was a shame, Iris thought. She’d miss having even just her dog around too.

But the place was renowned for its academics and social scene there in the middle of the wilderness. A boarding school for those who needed it, traveling families mostly; and if the colorful flyer they’d sent in the mail was any indication, Iris would absolutely love it.

“Everybody ready?” Joe asked, when everyone had piled into the car sometime later.

“Ready!” the family cheered.

Joe chuckled and started the car.

“Huntington Farm and Boarding School, here we come. Watch out for your most dazzling student yet.”

He met Iris’ eyes in the rearview mirror, and they sparkled.

“You know it!” Iris said.

Joe grinned and backed out of the driveway.

They were all on their way to bigger adventures now.

…

One year later…

Iris sat on top of the fence on the edge of the football field, waiting for who she hoped she hadn’t misinterpreted wrong. After nearly a year of first claiming he didn’t like her and then months of mixed signals, Iris was convinced he actually did like her, as much as she liked him.

Sitting on the fence post waiting for the guy to come kiss her seemed like an odd tradition, but it was built into the social aspect of the school, and she figured it was the only guaranteed way she’d know if he was really crushing or not.

She’d dressed as cute as she could for a game, and soon she’d know if it would pay off or not.

Biting her bottom lip, she gasped quietly when she saw him coming around the corner heading right towards where she had herself perched.

Barry Allen was the star football player – star of every sport he could get himself into really – and they’d been making genuine eyes at each other for weeks. Now, as he approached her, it felt as if their whole future was hanging in the balance.

He stopped about 20 feet away. Bracing himself maybe for the decision he’d have to make? Presumably have gained the courage, he continued his walk, headed straight for her and stopped directly in front of her.

Iris waited, her heart hammering a mile a minute in her chest. He was tall enough to reach her – so tall, but she bent her head anyway, and sure enough their lips met in a soft, tender kiss.

She opened her eyes as he took a step back, but the smile on his face was undeniable. So was hers.

Just as he was about to say something truly romantic – she’d decided – one of his teammates burst behind them.

“Did you just kiss Iris West?”

Barry spun around, panic on his features.

“I-”

Another teammate appeared.

“Wait, what?”

“Barry just kissed Iris!”

“But I thought he hated her. He swore he did.”

Iris tensed on the top of the fence, waiting for Barry to smooth the whole thing over. It couldn’t be that big of a deal that he’d pretended to hate her all while flirting with her on the downlow for nearly a year…could it? It was annoying to her for sure, but his teammates couldn’t be that annoyed, could they?

Barry never smoothed it over.

His teammates left, looking disgusted, and Barry looked back at Iris for one more moment, not knowing what to do. Then he left, calling after them.

“Wait, guys, it’s not what it looks like!”

And Iris sat alone on top of the fence, the magical memory of her first kiss completely shattered.

How would they come back from this?

[camarilla-intuition]

Locked Tomb Daemon AU concept notes.

I’m leaving old concepts in these notes but crossed out, since I considered a couple options for each character. Contains only spoilers for Gideon the ninth, not Harrow. that will be a seperate post some other time!

Gideon: Lion? Strawberry tiger? Eagle? Bearded vulture for its bone Eatin. Big, gold and red, wants sun and space and freedom, Feral ish. He/him. Settles sometime in the normal puberty range, never thinks about it to much, because what is there to think about. but his settling does relate to their internal decision that they gotta get out of the Ninth for the second. Just as vocal with other people as Gideon is, which is odd to other houses where sometimes daemons just don’t address other humans.

Harrow: Cotton mouth? Weasel? Horned sea snake, something that doesn’t know what the sun can do for it, salt water, venomous, slow on land, faster in the water which they don’t know, also wears bone paint. Weird intense eyes. She/her. Spends most of her time coiled around Harrows neck. I might draw a little comic about her settling later? idk but its serious spoilers. She for sure settled early

Ianthe: oriental mini kingfisher? Small, Colorful, easily hidden? Blue headed hummingbird? Grey or Pied Butcherbird, Duller colors, surprising violence, corvid, song bird, makes symbolic sense out of her stabbing Nabs through. She/her

Coronabeth: bird of paradise or golden pheasant, he/him, constantly strutting into room ahead of her, grooming hair and other twos feathers in private. 

Naberius: Peahen Demoiselle crane? She’s Spurred and capable of fighting. Viewed as a matching set to the girls, iridescent feathers on neck. Less attention grabbing. Than Coronabeth but still pretty n vain.

Palamedes: wears a moth pin deceptively, long tailed weasel, stoat? Something with clever hands. She/her

Camilla: fisher cat, otter? Monitor lizard or Frill necked lizard? Also wears a moth pin. He/him

Abigail: ram, he/him,  

Magnus: mastiff or leonberger dog

Jeannemary: unsettled, Likes being a mimic of others based on the admiration she feels in certain scenes. he/him

Isaac: unsettled for most of book, likes being a hooved animal like Abigails, lots of pack species associated with fourth house. He/him. Settles into something maybe after the murder? uncertain. maybe beagle?

Judith: pony or working horse?

Marta: German Shepard? Gold retriever? Lots of practical working animals in second house

Dulcinea: Orchid mantis

Protesilaus: small Copper butterfly

These are stereotypical for seventh house. Easily mimic-able by Cytherea(will detail in harrow spoiler separate post)

Silas: a leech or tick spider monkey, douc, mangabey, White washed or albino. Freely handles colum’s daemon during soul siphoning. Not vise versa till right at the end maybe?

Colum: lab rat, spaniel type smaller dog?

Ortus: a shy Bull

Aiglamene: one eyed Horned Owl

Crux: a Shaggy Wolf or Coyote

World difference notes:

I’m not following the daemon gender=the gender of your romantic inclinations thing, just going with the feel of the daemons character.

Teacher and other first house constructs just don’t have daemons

People don’t bother identifying their animal species much, there are still the obvious, dogs are dogs and they have meanings like loyalty and companionship, but to most houses the difference between a wolf, a hyena, or a husky seem mostly behavioral that’s relegated to the individuals personality.... the exception is the 6th house who maintain a general knowledge of animal species and symbology of pre resurrection humanity to some extent.

Pal and Cam’s moth pins are not meant to last to long as far as tricks go, but do double as a kind of poker face, giving them a chance to read into the others daemons before people can see theirs. Also pretty common on 6th, where it’s not inappropriate or anything, but also discouraged to blatantly flaunt your daemon.

Sometimes its rumored that if you please God, he’ll tell you all about what your daemon Means. (this is where most of the 6th accounts come from).

There are stereotypes of daemons for each house, second is the most diverse but you’d see a lot of working animals, big ones are less a problem to daily life here than in some of the houses colonies. Third is known for ostentatious, haughty forms to match haughty peoples. Fourth, a lot of pack/schooling/family group animals. Fifth a lot of domesticated types. 6th seems to stay small with less fur or feather, more scales or other. Seventh is bugs, pretty ones esp. Eighth idk but i keep picturing paler colors. Ninth known for big sturdy things or guard dog types from its Cavs, and creepy crawlies from its Necros.

Rumors are that each house has some way to control the types they’ll settle into but its largely false. Eighth and Sixth probably get the most of it.

Dust is not a term used here probably died with Earth or fell out of fashion. Thanergy and Thalergy still the working terms, Sin is less of a prevalent theme, I’m thinking maybe they see Settling as a small death process?

[internalsealpanic]

I Will be Your Tim Drake for Tonight (4) (Jason Todd/ Reader)

Summary:  Preferring to do anything but your physics project, you decide to accepts Tim’s proposal. It’s simple. He does your project, you try to figure out whether Jason Sionis is criminal. Easy, right?

masterlist

A/n: This takes place in a world where Jason is adopted by Black Mask. Inspired by Building Interest by Zoeleo.The events and characterization in this story are very heavily based on Zoeleo's Long Term Investment series. It is fantastic and I really highly recommend all of her fics.

a/n: For clarification, Reader does have psychic powers but it only lets her sense people's emotions physically. No mind-reading. Her power is more like an overactive sense of empathy which may force her to dissociate into someone else.

There will be violence and mentions of alcoholism (used as coping mechanism for physical pain) and chronic pain.  

As for the additional warning, an animal is harmed but it is barely described. I could not bring myself to actual describe it but the aftermath is described.

I also just converted this from an OC so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes.

Without further a do:

The car ride was awkward, to say the least, and disastrous to some unholy degree. Dick had insisted on calling you while you were driving, not really taking into account that you might need navigation on the way to the hospital(a place you avoid like the plague on a normal day). Moral support he said. You understand though. It wasn't obvious but all of them got a bit clingy when one of them was kidnapped. Dick was just the most obvious. Bruce scolded you. Alfred insisted you should rest but, in your opinion, 2 days was enough resting. Cass and Dick were practically koala bears when you got home. They probably held you for hours and even when your skin pricked, you let them.  Tim offered to put a tracker in your favorite earnings which you declined because you didn't want to find out whether Bruce had already put trackers in there. Damian actually offered to go with you. It was sweet but you declined. You were tempted but you knew if you let Damian come with, Dick would insist on going then Cass then Tim then maybe Batcow or something. You had no intention of suffocating Jason.

His bodyguard, Reggie, looked like he had every intention to suffocate you.

“Uh hi- I'm Tim. I-” I'm Jason's abduction buddy. But how does one say that without getting socked in the face by a man who can bench press 10 of you?

"I'm Jason's friend(?)." you squeak with the utmost sincerity you can muster. Reggie's brow ticks up in response. Fuck.

Reggie leans down, getting in your face. You could feel your skin begin to prick. If you were Dick, you'd be able to pirouette over this easy (or make it 10 times worse).

"Reggie just let him in you fucking tightwad" Jason shouts from the other side of the door.

You slip in as smoothly as you could trying to hide your giddiness.  "Hey pretty boy, you look like hell." You say with a light jovial tone almost saying it like a laugh as you nudge past the crowd of dogs. How the hell did they get dogs in here?

"Aw, you say that to all the injured rich assholes you meet!"

"I know Dick Grayson! I have standards." You protest handing him a bouquet of get well flowers.

Jason stares at the flowers with a pinched brow, mouth twisted into something unreadable. "I'm surprised you wanted to talk to me again. " He says, voice wavering. "Most people don't react well to getting kidnapped."

You’ve been through worse but you still have nightmares about it. "I've- " You shrug " Not your fault." You sit down to pet the dog nudging your leg. The dog by your leg looks exactly like Lizzie. Your heart sinks. It's not like he wanted to be kidnapped. Not like he wanted you to even be there in the alley. None of it was his fault as far as you knew.  Your mouth pulls to one side not. It's pursed, deep in thought. You look up at eyes bright and focused, unlike the last time you met. You look at him dead serious as if you were gonna tell him something really important. Maybe you should say something meaningful like condolences for Lizzie or Is Box ok?

"Ok, fine, I wanted to see your dogs."

"Fuck!" He belts out laughing. "My ribs still hurt damn it. Don't make me laugh!"  

"As a fellow rich asshole, I am offended that you did not expect that of me. " you really try not to smile but something about how his rugged face tugs into a smile makes your chest warm up. And that laugh! Now in the quiet of a hospital room with only the whirring of machines as accompaniment, you could now appreciate the dulcet tones of his voice. It was rough from fatigue but it still sounded velve-

Shit. You sound like Dick.

"I got you a get-well present  by the way. "

You sputter tossing him the bag realizing too late that that was probably a bad idea to throw things at a sick person.

"You really didn't have to…." He said sheepishly.

He opens the bag. It's a copy of Tales of Earthsea.

"I heard through the grapevine that you liked books,"

"You did, huh?" He asks clearly skeptical but amused by the lie. No, you found out through research. You really should have checked what kind of books he was into but he doesn't seem annoyed by the choice.

"Stalker," he snorts his face pulling into a cocky grin.  

You like this side of him as well. He was cute either way.  You had to stop giving Dick shit about pretty faces.

"Thanks…"

"(Y/n). It's (y/n)."

“Here I thought your name really was Tom.”

“Nope.”

“You gonna tell me why you were dressed up as Tim?”

Pulling out a pack of cards, “Depends how good are you at poker?”

He tilts his head making those blue eyes shine and gives you a heart-stopping grin.

You really hope Bruce was wrong about him.

If that was the case, so much for giving Bruce shit about his type.

[heli0s-writes]

III. On the road, and off the road

Summary: The three of you travel to Cincy where they find out a lot more about your family. Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes A/N: Uh hu h uh uh u huhuhh whaaaaat is happening??? Seriously though, there will be a short angsty segment soon, and then we can get back to the tomfoolery. XX

Foot in Mouth Syndrome Masterpost

A heavy weight on your stomach wakes you up the next morning. Buckeye has climbed onto the couch and over your body, placing his chin right on your sternum. His tail whacks against your propped-up foot as you begin to stir, and he plants a wet good morning kiss with his nose right over your mouth.

“Ah!” You cry, wiping it off with the back of your hand, “Geez!” He does it again and you can’t help but laugh, even though it’s cold and slimy. He looks pleased as punch as he flops his head back on your chest and stares lovingly into your eyes. Yes, you think, only an animal can love you in the morning. Eye crusts, dragon breath, and all. Stupid big-ass dog makes you soft and gooey.

“C’mon. Off.” You pretend to be annoyed and he slides onto the floor with a whine and follows you into the restroom as you brush your teeth.

Taking in the damage to your apartment— which is none at all, you figure it ended well last night. There’s a memory of you throwing vodka at Tinder-Date-Dickhead and then taking an Uber home. Good call on not driving, you pat yourself on the back and take Bucky outside.

Three alerts are on top of the speech bubble when you get a chance to look at your phone afterwards. Natasha. Steve.

Nat: Sunnywaters?

You heave a sigh and reply: Dude stop threatening me.

Then, you open the other message.

Steve: You up? Buck and I are packing— swimsuits? Yes or no? Also Cincinnati has its own Coney Island… ha ha ha very funny. I bet it stinks compared to the [1/2]

Steve: “real” Coney. Do your parents know we’re coming? I’d hate to intrude. [2/2]

You punch the green call button and rush back inside, scaring Buckeye a little with your sudden frantic movements.

“Good morning!” Steve’s voice sounds like a firecracker. And then he’s popping off in your ear, “Did you get my messages? Bucky and I are happy to stay in a hotel or something – called aerobean? Renting a house? I’m not really sure how that works.”

“It’s called airbnb, you fossil.” You respond off-handedly before catching yourself. “Stop, stop, why are you going to Cincinnati? And what about my parents?”

“You invited us. Are we leaving … today?”

Your face drains completely of color when it hits you— a nebulous and dizzying baseball bat swing to the temple. Last night crashes back into your mind: Steve, looking down, patting sympathetically. Two arms— turning you protectively until the room is sideways. You remember the way the blanket was tucked under your chin and around your shoulders.

“…Did you— did you t-tuck me in?” You ask hesitantly. Steve makes a negative grunt on the other line.

“Buck did that. He said he thought you’d get cold.”

“Oh…. Kay….” You whisper. “Uh. How set are you on Cinci?” You cross your fingers and hope he’ll back out purely based on how pathetic you sound. “It’s a ten-hour drive, dude. You guys okay with that?”

“Sure!” Steve chirps back. “We’ll take turns driving. Although Buck’s kind of a wheel-hog. Gets nervous when he’s not in charge.”

In the distance, you hear Bucky protest and it makes your mouth go dry.

“Uh. Okay. I usually leave early so… meet me here at six tomorrow.”

You hang up and bang the back of your head against the wall. The baseball bat of memory swings again.

You think you might faint because you start to recall last night: the metal hand lifting your head and placing the pillow under your hair. You even remember telling Bucky you loved him? It’s bewildering because you certainly do not love him. What was that thing that T-Pain said again? Your heart squeezes in your chest as you search around frantically for some scapegoat. Ah—yeah, T-Pain famously warbled: Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-a-cohol.

Your body flies over the outfield and into the bleachers before crashing. It’s the most agonizing homerun.

Steve, you think, is probably the one skipping past bases and winking. Somehow, this is all his damn fault.

—

Buckeye scoots around the back of your car, shifting so his weight lands primarily on the cushiony bed. His head is laid gently on Bucky’s thigh, who lost to rock paper scissors and must get squished in the backseat. Lucky for him, you pack lightly, and your legs are much shorter than Steve’s. Unlucky for you, that means he’s right behind you, radiating the heat of a thousand terrifying and silent suns.

It’s been thirty minutes since you started driving. Every time you look into the rear view, Bucky’s blue eyes look back. At this point, you have no idea if any cars are behind you because you will not let yourself look again.

“This is nice.” Steve says breezily, commenting on the silence. You had barely spoken to them when they arrived, instead busied yourself with playing Tetris with your luggage and theirs as well as the fabric box of Bucky’s--- BUCKEYE’s things. God damn it.

“Love it when it’s quiet. Nothing but the road and--” Steve continues.

“Oh, shut up!” You and Bucky reply in unison. You glare up into the mirror. Bucky glares right back. The embarrassment of last night snuffs itself out. Love? In this motherfucker’s dreams.

To your side, Steve stares out the window to hide his smirk.

—

The music of your so-called Driving Playlist bumps through the car speakers. You’ve been subjecting them to your chaotic tastes for the last hour. Every new song is jarring and different than the one before it. There’s Christmas carols. Frenetic Japanese electropop. Incredibly explicit gansta rap. Something else sounds like a broken harmonica for eight whole goddamn minutes. Inexplicable genres and band names. In the middle of a warbly bass line and shrieking synths, you explain that this track is from a “witch house" group you particularly enjoyed as a young girl.

The terms “witch house” and “young girl” so close together makes the both of them shudder. Steve is petrified at the end of each song because the next one always seems to be worse. Bucky squeezes his face between two fully stuffed bags and groans as loudly as he can.

--

You stop to get gas and Steve walks Buckeye around the perimeter of the station. Bucky comes out from the sliding doors holding three Gatorades and cold brew coffee.

“Drink up.” He commands, flinging a pink bottle at you. “My turn to drive.”

You shake the nozzle when it clicks off and roll your eyes. “No way.”

“You can’t even see over the steering wheel.” You flip him off and silently mock him, rolling your eyes and scrunching up your nose. Then, you replace the nozzle and head inside to use the restroom, flipping him off another time for good measure.

“Don’t! Even!” You threaten behind your shoulder. But of course, by the time you’re halfway to the door, he’s already slid in the driver’s seat.

—

The only way you would stop bitching is if Bucky let you pick the music. So, the cord remains faithfully attached to your phone. And that dreaded playlist.

---

An hour later, your leg bounces from the back, knocking your knee into Steve’s seat. You’ve had to piss like a racehorse for the last twenty minutes and you feel like a fucking water balloon, about to pop. Steve turns around, elbow on the center console and quirks an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Yessssss..” you could probably weep right now. No. No thinking of tears because tears are water. No fucking water.

“You’re shaking my seat pretty rough.” Steve accuses.

“You have to go again, don’t you? Jesus, what are you, four?” You’d think about how much you hate him but your bladder requires way more attention right now. This is the best posture you’ve ever had in your entire life. Your back is straight and you’re arching forward slightly—anything to relieve the pressure.

“I’m—- Ugh!” You shriek as the car runs over something and the entire thing rocks up, kicking a sharp jab into your lower abdomen. A wave of chills runs over your arms. “Oh no…” You whisper. Buckeye perks up and begins to sniff around, investigating your concern.

“Maybe I peed a little.” You admit sheepishly, squeezing your thighs together as well as your eyes.

“The next stop isn’t for another half hour…” Steve laments.

“Dirty Keanu Reeves over here gave me Gatorade!” You shake the bottle between them, 32 empty strawberry-flavored sugar-free ounces in all it’s glory. Even the wrapping has been peeled off. Steve sends the both of you a reproachful glare.

“I didn’t think she’d guzzle the whole damn thing!” He chooses to ignore your new nickname for him. He doesn’t even know who Keanu Reeves is. It’s a shame, really.

“Oh please stop arguing please pull over I swear I’ll piss in the forest I don’t care please.” Your words are running together like a waterfall. No. Not a waterfall. Oh god, you think, do not imagine any waterfalls. Bucky flips the blinker on and checks his blind spot before navigating to the right carefully. He puts on the hazards and stops your car—half on the emergency lane and half in the grass. Outside the window is about 200 feet of wildflowers before it turns dark with thick trees.

He turns and takes Steve’s place in-between the cloth seats. “There you are, princess. Pop a squat. Or stand. Just fucking hurry.”

“If I had a dick, Barnes, it would be way bigger than yours.” You push Bucky out of the way and wiggle until you can reach the glove compartment, elbowing Steve’s face in the process. There, your fingers yank a few tissues smushed into the corner of the dusty slot and you bolt. Oh sweet six-pound-and-four-ounces Jesus Christ you’ve never been so happy to piss in the woods.

Steve pats Bucky’s thigh as they watch you shred through the white and orange stalks, ripping a path through the peaceful country green. “Nah, Buck.” He smiles, “You’re pretty big.” Bucky slams the back of his head into the seat and lets out a long-suffering groan.

When you come back you fly into the car and moan happily. Bucky turns around to give you a snarky comment, but you hiss at him like an angry wildcat. “Saw a dead possum in the woods, man.” You say, “Looks just like you.”

—

Both you and Steve are asleep, along with the dog. It’s been a little over an hour now. The Captain reclines in the passenger seat, sunglasses on. You’re pitched over Buckeye, head resting on your splayed arm. The three orders of family-sized burger meals knocked you out first, then Steve. There’s hardly any room in the car for the enormous amount of trash that entailed, but you made do with the space next to your leg and stuffed the bag between you and the door.

Bucky slurps his coffee and drives in silence, frowning when the idea that he misses your bullshit finds him.

—

“God, can we listen to anything else?” Bucky grumbles when some mindless tune comes back on. You smile because Rebecca Black’s “Friday” is your goddamn jam. It’s the single best song to piss off any living person or animal and you embrace it whole-heartedly.

You let Steve browse the rest of your selection, waiting patiently for the inevitable—

“What is this?” He yelps. “Gay for Jesus?” His fingers continue to scroll, “What kind of playlist names are these? Sad n Sexy Santa? Who’s got the Biggest Dick in Baseball?” You’re cackling madly. It doesn’t stop there. “Fingerblast Fest of 2017?”

“What does that even mean?” Bucky mutters.

“Made it for a lesbian couple. Anniversary present.”

Bucky’s face scrunches up with confusion and you enlighten him by leaning forward and thrusting two fingers back and forth so vigorously his seat shakes like an industrial-sized dryer set on high.

“Oh fuckin’ A!” He cries, jerking his head away from your hand. Steve turns red as a beet. “Okay, new rule...” he sighs, turning your phone over on his lap, “Do not ask about playlist names.”

--

Traffic has clogged up the highway. It’s deadlocked and immobile, stuck in the middle of a big city—all smog and industry. There’s not even good scenery to look at. You are buried in-between the pages of a book, taking advantage of the stillness by reading as much as you can. After this, you’ll have to brush up on your Latin, too. Then Greek. It’s annoying, but at least you don’t have to do another summer immersion program somewhere in bumfuck Florida this year.

A folky tune comes on and it’s a welcome reprieve. Bucky and Steve look up when you start humming along, voice coming out to follow the melody.

“Didn’t know you could sing.” Steve comments.

“Habeo multum talenta.” You reply—brain tuned to Latin. It makes them both wonder what else you can do.

--

Two hours left to go before the three of you reach your destination. You’ve switched out with Steve, who begrudgingly sits in the back, legs pushed up nearly to his chest while you stretch up front, cracking your back every which way. Bucky has refused to move from the driver’s side.

The music halts for a couple of hours while conversations meander. All sorts of subjects are breached now that there is nothing else to do but talk. The last two months of knowing them, although made you more comfortable, didn’t quite allow you to learn as much as this single car ride has. Most of what you could understand from them was made through your own observations, but now they are more or less open books.

Sometimes, the words hang heavy in the air— old, bulbous and dusty ornaments they polish for you. Steve talks about the war. Bucky does too. You have lots of questions on your end and they illuminate all of them with personal spotlights.

Sometimes, it returns to the playfulness you are used to.

Steve vomited on the cyclone. Bucky lost three dollars trying to win a bear for a girl. You tell him you blew through thirty-five dollars on a crane machine once (for yourself) and the two of you share a moment of solidarity together. Although, it’s hard for you to imagine him as some flirtatious young man and Steve can see it on your face.

“New gal every two weeks.” He informs.

“Were there even that many women in Brooklyn?” You gasp, scandalized.

“They came from all over to get a look at Buck.”

Bucky only rolls his eyes, but you see a smile tug on the other side of his face.

“What was wrong with them?” You whisper on-brand with your usual self, but the memory of his laughter by your front door glows rosy in your mind. Yeah, you can see how girls would get themselves in a tizzy for him. Winter Soldier with his mask on hardly turned heads as much as Captain Adonis America, but if you take a second to look at him, it’s easy to see how built he is. Like a Greek statue. Even his aura is enthralling—a bit secretive, a little dark. He could definitely use that to his advantage.

The smile grows into an almost feral grin—there's that aura, you think. “You haven’t seen nothin’ yet.” He nearly growls.

You sit back and pretend to busy yourself with petting Buckeye because the pink crawling up your neck is about to choke you blue.

--

Bucky pulls off the familiar highway, drives a distance down the curved road next to the river and you lean back, breathing in that familiar fishy and slightly sickly sewage air.

“Aw yeah. Welcome to Cincy.” You laugh. Steve ducks his head to watch the scene, squinting at billboards and watching houses whiz by.

“What’s Skyline Chili?” He asks as the car zooms by an advertisement. A questionable pile of shredded cheese overtakes the (apparently) chili and hot dog on the otherwise blue sign.

“Depending on your taste, either the best or worst thing you’ll ever eat.” The smile on your face widens when he furrows his brow. “Oh, my sweet summer child... you’re in for a treat.”

 Your neighborhood comes into view and you wistfully stare at the immaculate paved roads, manicured wide green lawns, blonde-haired moms pushing baby strollers, and dogs trailing behind them on loose leashes. Buckeye pads around as much as he can in the back, stepping over your lap repeatedly as he begins to recognize where he’s at.

“Pretty nice neighborhood.” Steve comments, making a slow turn. The GPS pulls him into a driveway leading up to your parent’s ranch-style home. They both whistle at the garden in bloom and the cobblestone path. You point him to pull around to the garage where your father’s Benz is parked. The old willow tree hangs over it, weeping petals and leaves on the windshield.

“Holy shit.” Bucky mutters at how the rosebushes and magnolia pots wrap even around the side and the back. The deck is littered with more flowers and potted plants. A stained glass table. Even the outdoor chairs have beautiful plush cushions. There seems to be a room underneath the slope of the yard—perhaps a basement transformed into a living space. Everything matches perfectly. “You do have money.”

You sigh.

“It’s not my money. It’s my parents’.” The scathing and bitter tone makes him frown, but you hop out anyway, slinging two bags over your shoulder and nudging Buckeye into the yard. Your dog happily pounces all over the greenery, chasing butterflies and barking.

“You sure they’re ok with this?” Steve asks carefully.

You nod, “There are lots of perks to being the prodigal son. Daughter, in my case.”

“Thought you had a dick.” Bucky sneers.

“Get with the times, old man. Gender is an illusion.”

—

The house is empty. You lead them through the front door and into the hall where it branches into three areas. There’s a railing and staircase that leads down, but for now they take in the sights on this floor. The first step points straight to the dining room where the table is already lined with china and perfectly arranged. Silk napkins. Crystal glasses. Delicately carved mahogany display cabinet.

On the right is the living space and kitchen where the color scheme turns to a pale aqua, cream, and gold accents. Two scooped leather seats face the flat screen, flanked by built-in shelves filled with books. There is also a small couch and a seafoam armchair and matching ottoman. The coffee table is a gorgeous marble, flecked with gold.

They turn and look down the other way, noticing a large mirror entombed by a heavy decorated frame in between two doors. The walkway continues right and disappears even further down.

You stare at them. They stare back.

“Please don’t.” You beg, dropping your bags with a heavy sigh; this is why you didn’t want them coming. You hate it when people comment on your parents’ house. And they haven’t even seen the pool or tennis court. Or the downstairs living area with the grand piano your fingers nearly bled all over from countless hours of practice. Or the family oil painting you sat for when you were a kid. Fuck.

“I fucking hate it.” Bucky says nonchalantly. “Gaudy shit. Too big. This place haunted?”

You could leap into his arms if they weren’t carrying his bag and your dog’s stuff. Instead, you settle for a genuine smile, all warmth and radiance because you feel it in your heart—the appreciation for his understanding wrapped in snark. “Now we’re talking. C’mon. Let’s go downstairs. You guys can stay in my childhood bedroom.”

They finally drop their bags on the bay window seat in your old room after you unlock it. It’s always been like this— and you never let your parents come in. You open the middle of the window and let the room air out a little and the afternoon light pours in. Your old pictures are still on the shelves. Trophies. Music books. Your suede riding helmet, too. They wander around, peering at the images.

“Where are your parents?” Steve asks.

You shrug and plop down on the king-size bed out of habit, lying back with your legs dangling off the edge. Buckeye hops on with you and pads around a bit before he settles into a bagel-like swirl of a shape. “Ibiza. Dubai. Paris. Virgin Islands. Take your pick. My dad has property in all of them.” You message him anyway. You’re not surprised they’re gone for the summer. You don’t really come back for them; you mostly come back to get away from Manhattan.

“Wow.” Steve mutters.

“He even owns part of a mountain in Colorado. It’s vile. Historically, we’re from Ohio… ugh. I don’t want to talk about it.” You feel like a child again, and being in this space doesn’t help.

Steve examines the paintings in the room and flips through scattered books on the work desk. Bucky trails around your bookshelves, looking at the frames, picking some up here and there to examine what’s inside. “Who’s this?”

Peeking up you blow a pppffbbfbfbt breath of air out between your lips. It’s you, duh. Except your hair is perfectly curled and piled atop your head— a bird’s nest cushion for a sparkly tiara. Your eyes are piled heavily with so much eyeshadow and lash extensions it looks like an ombré spider web, and you’re wearing a low-cut dress swirling with rhinestones. Across your torso is a sash. Yep. Homecoming Queen. You’re pressed up against your date, all smiles, sharp cheeks, shoulders so thin he can see your skeleton jutting out. Over ten years ago, you were a much different person.

“Laugh it up, Barnes.” You mutter. “Thas ya girl, sweet sixteen, massively underweight, and aspiring to be the shiniest trophy wife of them all.”

“Why would I laugh?” He asks, suddenly solemn. Bucky turns to look at you, sprawled out on the bed, sardonic smile plastered to your face. “You don’t look very happy.” He still has the picture in his hand. Steve has paused, too, closing a heavy leather-bound first edition. Being caught in the middle of two concerned stares makes you heavy with anxiety and dread. Instead of spending another second under their gaze, you shoot up and motion for Buckeye to follow.

“Don’t be fucking weird, man.” Then, you’re already up the stairs.

Steve and Bucky glance at each other and Bucky places the picture back on the shelf.

—

In the downstairs living space next to their room, you pour three glasses of thirty-year-old single malt whiskey from the cabinet and plop down on the piano bench. The boys sit on the couch and regard you curiously as you open the cover and stare at the ivory keys. Your foot stomps on each of the paddles underneath vengefully. Then you tip your head back, whiskey along with it, and slam the cover shut with a trembling crash. “Fuck you, Mozart.” You whisper, as if the piano can hear.

--

You peek downstairs after your bath and call, “Hey! My parents use a water softener so if you feel slimy… it’s normal.” The whiskey has made you flush with excitement and volatile energy.

Steve’s head pops out from the bathroom doorway, neck and chest red from the heat. “Oh, thank God.” He says, “Buck’s been scrubbing for hours.”

“Who the fuck would do this!” Bucky’s voice echoes from the same tiled space. You can practically see it shooting out from the room behind Steve’s shoulder to crash into the adjacent wall like a comic panel.

The towel on top of your head slips and you attempt to grab it quickly, using your other hand to hold onto the knot around your chest. “You guys fucking in there?!”

Steve only grins and sends you a wink, mischievous expression catching you off guard. The towel tumbles down the stairs and your hair slaps itself over your face. The two of you watch the fluffy sheet spread over the bottom of the steps before staring at each other. “You gonna get that?” He asks.

“No.” You reply, abruptly mortified, “It’s yours now.”

Apparently, Steve Rogers has chosen this very moment to make it known that partners is not only platonic in meaning. You don’t know why you’re so embarrassed, because you’ve been harassing them for months about who’s a bottom (you bet all four limbs it’s Bucky), but suddenly the moment is confronting you and all you can do is think about how you’re naked and third-wheeling … in your own damn home. And that maybe you shouldn’t have had all that whiskey.

Captain America rubs the tip of his nose absentmindedly, “You alright?” There is genuine concern in his eyes as he steps out of the doorway and reveals his –NAKED! NAKED!

“No!” You scream, turning your head and hiding behind your outstretched hand. “No! Don’t! You fucking stay there you—Fucking A, Steve!”

He’s not really naked; he’s wrapped hip-down in a towel, but you don’t even want to see the outline of him. As far as you know, he’s a smooth-crotched Ken Doll. Maybe Bucky has like, three dicks. There is so much panic inside of you right now.

The water stops from the shower and rustling is heard as Bucky dries off. You attempt to slowly back up away from the steps and move back into the confines of your own room until your dog springs past you like a loose cannonball and sails downstairs. He banks left into the bathroom and licks a stripe over Steve’s shin before finding his true target: Bucky.

There is tumbling, banging, wincing from you and Steve as Buckeye clobbers his human doppelganger once more. Then, there is yelling and cussing—Steve, moving inside to help, but then more crashing follows before Buckeye tears from the bathroom and up the stairs with two towels clenched tightly in his mouth.

“No…” You whisper, when he drops them at your feet. His tongue flops against his chin and he looks up expectantly, as if you might reward him for his endeavor. Steve’s head peeks out again, and the wry smile he sends your way says: you’re fucked.

Next Chapter

[askmyboys]

Tyrone

Here’s a furry character I made, im honestly getting invested into those types of babs but i... kinda suck at descriptions lmao, I’ll get better wiht it sooner or later though hopefully

I’ll post Noxis later, gotta just read over his desc again tho bc i cant remember the specific trigger warnings i need to put on his desc so yeye

| Name: Tyrone

| Nicknames: Tyre/Ty

| Gender: He/Him

| Age: N/A

| Height: 7’3”

| Species/Race: Anthropomorphic Dog (Cane Corso is the breed he’s based on)

| Hair style: His hair is essentially just part of his fur- but the fur is slicked back on top of his head to match the rest of his fur really (I mean… Cane Corso fur IS pretty slicked back and not super fuzzy ya know?)

| Eye Color: Caramel Brown

| Fur Color/Body Type: Black and overall he’s pretty average looking, looks a b i t muscular tbh

| Appearance: Let’s start off with the actual appearance instead of the clothing, he got his ears cropped from a young age (where he comes from, it's a mixed thing really, in his pack specifically cropped ears were a rite of passage while to other packs cropped ears were ghastly and considered cruelty but eh to each their own) so now his ears are pointed, he also has a silver earring on the top of his right ear! His teeth are razor sharp and his paw pads are relatively natural coloring a charcoal color, on the middle paw pad of his right paw there is some kind of birthmark there it seems, it’s shaped like a simple circle BUT the birthmark’s meaning is the crucial bit here, it is essentially a high stature sorta thing, only his father has that birthmark of the entire pack, even all the sons and daughters from various litters never held that birthmark, not until Tyrone came along.

His outfit he usually wears is a black leather jacket that has spikes on the shoulder pads with a white t-shirt underneath, he’s got a black collar with a LOT of spikes surrounding it on, more so than the usual spiked collars and they are actually VERY sharp (it’s essentially to protect his neck during fights, I’ll explain that in a bit though) but also it just looks cool, it’s got a bone hanging down the front with his name written in cursive on it, he usually wears charcoal black jeans that are ripped with chains hanging down them (even though his tail is stubby he still cut a hole for it bc that’d still be uncomfy tbh), he doesn’t wear any boots though, boots tend to give him aches while walking.

He’s also got a lot of scars, his most prominent scarring is one on the nose, three over his right eye but he can still see out of it surprisingly, a few long ones near his neck and some old puncture wounds from what looks like dog teeth, and finally claw marks up and down his arms, belly, back, and legs.

Oh btw, even tho he wears a shirt without it you can see he has white patch of fur running down his chest and stomach! Just another lil detail.

| Personality: Tough, stubborn, sometimes a little too cocky for his own good, narcissistic even sometimes? He can be VERY protective and loyal however to the right people/animals, he’s always on high alert of his surroundings and the people around him despite not seeming like he is sometimes, he can be very calm and stable and he USUALLY thinks before he acts but that’s not ALWAYS the case, he can be quiet and reserved sometimes as well but it’s rare, he’s usually pretty much an extrovert although not many people nor other animals approach him, he looks and sounds intimidating as hell and while it CAN be a good thing it can also be a bad thing, deep down he’s a good guy, he’s soft, sweet, kind, and caring! He doesn’t like that most treat him as a terrifying threat or beast, he ain’t about hurting someone just for fun!

The only time he EVER attacks is in self defense OR in defense of the people he cares about, and even then that has to be when he’s ABSOLUTELY pushed to his limit, he’s more so a big referee toward things like fights n shit like that, he’ll body block the two offenders or put himself in front of those he’s trying to protect and usually all he needs to do is speak or growl and that usually sends offenders running off, and even then if they persist he’ll then try giving corrections (corrections are a HUGE thing among his pack) while he won’t actually bite them, he’s going to make a lot of horrifying sounds and act like he’s going to, and usually because to most dogs, not just his pack (yeah corrections are common amongst most dogs too i know) he’ll even go as far as to put someone/another dog especially on their side.

Sure, humans… Are very different and more complex but even then, most of them after being checked by a huge seven foot three dog like him, most will think twice before continuing to try and escalate things. Unfortunately because of his size (he’s the second biggest in his pack, the first being his father likewise) most other dogs, especially ones of his own breed try to challenge him a LOT, and he doesn’t like fighting, usually he ignores these but if they keep on bothering him, he’ll try and give them a warning, aka something like a correction essentially, he’ll tell them very clearly to back off but if they lunge for him or try to go for him at all, then he will NOT hold back, he’s not going to let himself be pushed around or killed just because some dog is butthurt about him being bigger than they are.

| Side Facts: Likewise, his scars have come from SEVERAL fights, some even from his own pack which… His father didn’t take a liking to at all and especially not his mother… His father was the alpha and despite being a male in this situation he actually stepped in quite a lot, however his father was a bit more…

Let’s just say a little more forgiving, his mother was an absolute SPITFIRE, she ruled with an iron fist and she didn’t tolerate ANY bullshit, she’d never hurt any of her pack members nor babies especially but there was no tolerance for certain things and in her pack you HAD to obey the rules whether you liked them or not.

She was MUCH more harsh than his father was with corrections, heh- Tyrone remembers as a pup oh he can’t even COUNT how many times he heard his mom growling, snarling and of course can't count how many times he’s seen her bare her teeth even, she was a no nonsense kind of woman, even toward the puppies she ruled with an iron fist, they were taught along with Tyrone from a very young age how important the rules were and how important energy and certain cues from other dogs were.

Tyrone is very embarrassed however bc the stories his mom always tells were how as a young pup, he was the aggressive little spitfire who didn’t care how big his opponent was, he’d challenge them, try to dominate, and conquer essentially- Nothing was thought through then, in his adolescent years he was always SO damn serious! No play, no nothing! He even growled at the pups trying to play with him! Some little tiny marks that are barely able to be seen came from his mom and dad but, in dog society it’s kinda natural, I mean to be fair, dogs when correcting aren’t like humans, they only have their mouths so when a dog’s correction your BOUND to see a mark here and there.

He does thank his mama for setting him straight though that’s for sure… He sounded like such a handful and even though he has the second highest stature to his father, even he was not safe from the corrections lmao, his mother is actually first in command, father is in second co-command essentially and finally Tyrone is in third- all three of them are p much high ranking, of course since his parents are still living THEY are the alphas but he IS a Beta, the other brothers and sisters being mostly betas and omegas (there are a couple of his brothers n sisters who are also alphas but they are in fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh place- if i ever name his pack I’ll make sure to clarify who is which ranking)

Overall, Tyrone really loves his family, he’d do anything to protect them even if he wanders a lot and doesn’t stay with them the entire time, he does try and visit as often as he can, he knows eventually he’ll track wherever their roaming as well, usually packs stick together but… Given Tyrone’s status and the fact he’s got the birthmark and is high stature his parents are more so lenient with him, they do still worry bout him ofc but still, he was never the type to just sit still, while his other brothers n sisters don’t really care bout leaving the pack he’s ALWAYS been a wandering spirit, so… They’ll let him be free, they’ll still love him nonetheless in the end.

[fanficshiddles]

Alluring whispers, Chapter 8

‘Is that a new bracelet?’ Wanda asked the following day at lunch.

Hope’s eyes widened slightly. ‘Oh, yeah, it is.’ She nodded.

‘It’s beautiful, really suits you.’

‘Thank you.’ Hope smiled.

She was glad that she never asked where she got it from. She wasn’t really sure how they would react if she told them it was a gift from Loki. She hadn’t been entirely sure about whether to wear it or not anyway.

But who could resist pretty jewellery?

That evening, Hope had just finished healing an agent after a mission and she was tidying up her healing room when Loki suddenly appeared next to her. Startling her.

‘Geez, do you have to keep doing that?’ She put her hand over her heart momentarily.

Loki grinned and put his hands behind his back as he stepped closer to her, looking at what she was doing. ‘It wouldn’t be fun if I just walked in the front door.’

Hope tried to put some distance between them, his scent already was making her mind start to go fuzzy. ‘Yeah, well you wouldn’t get very far if you did come in the front door.’ She grumbled and spun around on her chair to try and focus on some of the potions on the shelf.

Loki smirked and leaned in closer, she shivered as she felt his warm breath against her ear.

‘No one would be able to stop me from getting to you, my lovely little omega.’ He purred.

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she turned around and was momentarily stunned at how close he was, looming over her. She did her best to glare up at him, then she ducked out to the side and moved across the room, putting away more things.

Loki reached out and captured her wrist, holding it still he noticed the bracelet.

‘Ah, glad to see you received my gift.’ He sounded so pleased with himself that she was wearing it.

‘I did… thanks.’ She said, tugging her wrist out of his grasp she continued with what she was doing. ‘What do you want?’ She asked, trying to sound cold.

‘What do I want?’ He chuckled. ‘What I want, is to have you naked and writhing in pleasure beneath me. My cock buried deep inside of you, knotted tightly while you come repeatedly on me.’ He growled deep.

Hope dropped the bundle of bandages she was putting away, her hands shaky from his words. She scrambled to pick them up again, refusing to look at him, her face flushed red as she tried not to think about that.

‘Or perhaps a different position. Maybe you on all fours, having just presented for me. My hand around your neck as I fuck you hard from behind, marking your neck with my teeth.’

‘Stop!’ Hope squeaked, her voice much higher than she had wanted it to be.

She looked around at him and narrowed her eyes. He was sitting on her chair, his booted feet up on her desk.

‘I don’t think you truly want me to stop.’ He purred and pulled his feet down. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. ‘I can smell your arousal, little omega.’

Loki laughed wickedly when she grumbled in annoyance and stormed out of the room.

-

One lunchtime Hope went for a stroll around the local park. Taking in the beautiful sunshine and everyone out enjoying themselves, it relaxed her and made her smile.

She sat down on her favourite bench where she could clearly see the ducks swimming around in the pond.

Reaching into her bag, she groaned when she realised she’d forgotten to pack the sandwich she made.

‘Damn it!’ She sighed and sat back.

But then a familiar figure strode into view, smiling widely.

‘Hello, dear. May I join you?’ Loki purred, motioning the bench next to her.

She narrowed her eyes at the God. He was wearing an all-black suit, leather gloves too instead of his usual armour wear. It wasn’t exactly hot, but there was a small amount of heat in the sun and she wondered how he wasn’t boiling in his choice of dark clothing. He also had a small food bag with him that she recognised was from one of the local bakeries.

‘If I say no, you will still sit down anyway.’ She shrugged and folded her arms over her chest, trying not to look at him as she averted her eyes back to the duck pond.

Loki chuckled and took a seat next to her, he removed his gloves and put them neatly to the side. ‘Correct, pet. But it’s just because I want to be around you. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?’ He said so innocently, but Hope knew he was far from innocent.

She ignored him, but wasn’t able to for long. As he held out a toastie under her nose, the smell of the cheese and ham made her mouth water. That was her favourite.

Looking at the toastie, then she looked at Loki. He motioned with his eyebrows for her to take it. So she did. She was hungry, and could never resist food. Even if it was from the devil himself.

‘Thanks.’ She muttered quietly.

Loki took out his own toastie and he also pulled out two bottles of juice. ‘Apple or orange?’ He asked.

‘Orange please.’ Hope smiled when he handed her the orange juice.

Hope wasn’t really sure what his game was today. Why he was being so… nice. Then again, he was always nice around her. He’d never given a reason for her to not like him. It was, odd. And confusing.

‘I must say, whilst this planet has a lot of downsides, these toasties are possibly one of the better inventions.’ Loki said with a mouthful.

Hope snorted. ‘Is that the only good thing you have to say about Earth?’

‘Well, I guess the animals are rather intriguing. The ones that humans haven’t destroyed anyway.’ He proceeded to tear a bit of toast off and tossed it to a duck that had decided to come close to investigate for any food going.

Hope paused and took a second to look at Loki in wonder. He was so damn confusing and difficult to understand sometimes. Well, to understand what his endgame was.

‘Why did you decide to come to Earth?’ Loki asked.

‘It wasn’t exactly my choice.’ Hope said with a sigh. ‘I was exiled from Zerile. They found out I was half-human. My mother was imprisoned for life for being with a human.’ She swallowed hard, not really sure why she was opening up to Loki. ‘My father was hunted down, found on another planet while he was in hiding. He was slaughtered on the spot.’

Loki’s eyebrows furrowed in sadness for the omega. ‘I am sorry to hear that. Life can be cruel sometimes to those who don’t deserve it.’ He said softly.

Hope looked at him, seeing a kindness and sort of understanding in his eyes.

‘What about you? I mean, Thor has told me that you’re adopted.’ She wasn’t expecting him to open up to her, but she was pleasantly surprised when he did.

‘Yes. Odin took me in hopes of making peace between the frost giants and the Asgardians. Well, his plan failed rapidly. It took me a while to come around to the idea of who I am… I guess it still is taking me time to come to grips with it.’ Loki admitted. ‘I do truly believe that Frigga loved me as her own. But Odin, I don’t know. And I don’t really care.’ He shrugged and continued eating.

Hope saw a vulnerability in Loki for the first time, making her wonder if he truly was the monster that everyone said he was. Or was there something deeper to it, to his reasons for what he did. She thought so, anyway. Or she at least hoped so.

‘Take a walk with me.’ Hope said suddenly when they were finished eating.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her offer, but accepted. He put his gloves back on and motioned for her to lead the way.

Hope wasn’t sure why she was feeling so comfortable in his presence. Or why she wasn’t running back to base. But she tried to forget about everything else and just be in the moment with the Alpha. Being in public, she had a feeling he wouldn’t try anything anyway.

They took a leisurely walk around the park. Hope pointed out all the good things they saw. Such as a young child playing and laughing with her dog. Hope noticed that did get her a tiny smile on Loki’s lips. She also pointed out a few squirrels playing together in the trees above them.

‘There is so much beauty here, you just have to look sometimes.’ Hope smiled up at Loki.

He smiled back at her, admiring her optimism. ‘I get the feeling you’re trying to make sure that I don’t cause havoc on this planet again?’ He chuckled.

Hope shrugged. ‘Maybe you got me. But you can’t really blame me for being concerned.’

‘True.’ Loki nodded. ‘Well, you don’t have to worry about precious Earth. It’s safe from me.’

Hope wanted to believe him. But at the back of her mind she wasn’t forgetting the fact that he is the God of mischief and lies.

‘As are you.’

‘Hm?’ Hope stopped, a bit confused.

‘You are safe, not from me but with me.’ He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling at her. ‘You’re my omega, it’s my job to keep you safe.’ He trailed his finger down her cheek, making her shiver.

She closed her eyes for a moment. ‘I’m not your omega, Loki.’ Though her tone wasn’t entirely convincing, she even heard it herself.

Loki chuckled and took a step back. ‘Stop lying to yourself, pet. We both know you are.’ He winked at her, then turned on his heels and strolled away.

‘Urgh! He’s so damn infuriating!’ She hissed and stormed off in the other direction.

-

She didn’t see Loki again that day. Or the following day, actually. She hoped that perhaps he was giving up his chase of her.

But she wasn’t in for much luck. A couple of days later, one morning she was heading down the corridor towards her healing room when she passed by a new agent. He was quite young and had only been working there for around a month, but he had quite the crush on Hope.

‘Oh, hi, Hope. How are you?’ He asked shyly, stopping to talk to her.

‘I’m fine, thanks. You?’ Hope asked.

‘I’m good. I uhh, I was wondering if you… perhaps… well, if you’d like to maybe, get some lunch sometime?’ He stuttered out, looking like he was going to pass out at any moment.

Hope smiled softly. ‘That’s really nice of you. But I’ She trailed off when she saw a look of horror on the man’s face, looking over Hope’s shoulder.

She didn’t need to turn around because she could sense it was Loki. And that was confirmed when she felt Loki’s hand land possessively on the back of her neck, making her close her eyes for a moment under his touch.

The agent took his gun out, but his hand was shaking so badly that even Hope knew if he tried to shoot Loki it would no doubt hit her or someone else instead.

‘Back off, boy. She belongs to me.’ Loki snarled.

When the agent kept fiddling with his gun and went to try and call for backup with his walkie talkie, Loki lunged for him and threw him into the wall. The agent dropped the gun and yelped in pain and fear. Loki wrapped his hand around his neck and squeezed hard.

‘You do not go near her again. Do I make myself clear?’ His nose scrunched up, jaw clenched and he looked terrifying to the young man, who nodded quickly.

‘Loki, don’t hurt him!’ Hope pleaded with the Alpha.

Though her inner omega was trembling and positively drooling at the powerful Alpha being so protective and possessive over her. Even though she wasn’t one for violence, she couldn’t help her inner omega’s instincts.

Loki narrowed his eyes at the man. ‘You’re lucky my omega is so forgiving and kind. Or you would be beaten to a pulp right now.’ He growled and reluctantly let the agent go.

As soon as the agent was free, he scrambled away. Almost falling over as he ran down the corridor, glancing over his shoulder at Loki once more before disappearing around the corner.

Loki turned to Hope, who had her face in her hands while shaking her head. He chuckled and stepped in close to her, tilting her chin up with his finger.

‘It is my duty as your Alpha to protect you, to keep any competition away. Not that I’d call that competition. Puny mortal.’ He said as he rubbed his thumb up across her lower lip when she looked up at him from under her long lashes.

‘You… you’re not my Alpha, Loki.’ 

Loki’s smirk grew large. ‘You know this isn’t true. Soon, I will scent you. We both know this.’ He chuckled and just as The Avengers came rushing around the corner, Loki took a step back from Hope and vanished.

‘SHIT!’ Tony yelled as he skidded to a halt by Hope.

‘Are you ok?’ Natasha asked Hope when she reached her.

‘I’m fine… Is the agent ok?’ Hope asked.

‘He’s just shook up, is all.’ Said Steve.

‘What was Loki doing here?’ Tony asked, looking at Hope.

‘I don’t know. He just appeared, again. Got all defensive and protective over me.’ She said quietly and wrapped her arms around herself.

Tony looked at Steve and ran his hand down his face with a sigh.

‘This can’t keep happening. We need to know why he keeps dropping in like this, but isn’t actually doing anything but scaring half the agents to death.’ Tony then turned to Hope again. ‘Has he ever said anything at all to give you any clue as to what his plan is?’

‘Nothing at all.’ Hope shook her head. ‘He just keeps saying that I am his.’

The team all sighed and looked between one another. No one was really sure what to do. Neither was Hope, she was the main victim in all of this.

Though some of the team was starting to wonder if she was the only one who didn’t actually mind Loki’s surprise appearances. And, worryingly, Hope was starting to wonder that too…

[rebeccathewinterqueen]

Awakening: Megumi-chan

Title: Awakening (The Samaya Court Book 1)

Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon

Characters: Yuugi Mutou, Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, Miho Nosaka, Anzu Mazaki, Sugoroku Mutou, Kimiko Mutou (Yuugi’s mother), Eevee

A/N: No, the manga mentioned here isn’t Pokemon Adventures. I have a plan for that later in the series, but not for a while. Also, trying to lengthen the chapters a bit so every episode doesn’t end up three parts, though this was a lot longer than I originally intended. Do you guys prefer longer chapters?

Read Chapter 3: Furious Battle pt 3 here

A few days after discovering Eevee in his room, and Yuugi still hadn’t told his grandfather. He just didn’t know how to tell the older man. How does one go about telling someone a creature from a game is actually real? Yuugi wondered, poking listlessly at his breakfast.

“Well, isn’t this interesting,” Sugoroku murmured, laying the morning’s newspaper on the table. “Yuugi, have you seen this article? That game you like is being featured.” He abandoned breakfast and scooted around the table to see what his grandfather was talking about.

INDUSTRIAL ILLUSIONS GAME BROUGHT TO LIFE?

Yuugi frowned, skimming quickly over the paragraphs. According to the article, real life Pokemon had been spotted around all of Kanto over the last few days. The journalist questioned if it was merely an elaborate prank, or if Industrial Illusions, the company that created the Pokemon card game, had created mechanical versions of the monsters as a promotion for their upcoming expansion pack.

This was the best opportunity he was going to get, he decided. He took a breath. “Jii-chan?”

“Yes, Yuugi?”

“Do you think this article is real?”

“I should hope not,” Kimiko said briskly, bustling in with her own breakfast. Yuugi flinched; he had thought she would be gone for the day already. In addition to keeping the books for the shop, his mother also did payroll for a few other small businesses in the area, and today was a day she normally did her rounds. “I’ve seen those cards. Normal animals are messy enough, let alone having ones running around spitting fire.” She grimaced.

“It might not be so bad,” Sugoroku said thoughtfully. He scratched his chin. “Some of them are pretty cute.”

“In the manga they’re friendly,” Yuugi offered quietly. They had started releasing volumes every month since last September. After Eevee’s appearance he had looked through his cards and the few chapters that had been released for just a little information on his new friend. There wasn’t much.

The card had only recently been released as part of the Jungle expansion and mentioned eevee having an irregular genetic code that could be influenced by radiation from elemental stones. The listed attacks were Tail Wag and Quick Attack. The former kept the opponent from attacking eevee on their next turn and the latter was a simple attack that might do more damage if the player managed to flip heads. And the manga had only mentioned an eevee once in passing.

The manga was cute and fun, but if Yuugi was honest, if it hadn’t been related to his favorite card game he probably wouldn’t have bothered with it. It was pretty basic.

“Cats and dogs are friendly,” Kimiko pointed out, “but they still make a mess. Yuugi, you should finish getting ready for school, dear. You’ll need to leave soon.”

“Right.” He shoved another few bites in his mouth and stood. “Thanks for breakfast!” He took his dishes to the sink and headed back upstairs to grab his school bag, managing to sneak his portion fish in a napkin up with him.

“I hope he’s not going to start asking for a pet,” his mother grumbled as he rounded the corner to the stairs.

“Maybe you should let him have one,” his grandfather suggested mildly. “Something small, like a cat, maybe.”

“One more thing for me to clean up.”

Yuugi shook his head and went upstairs. He didn’t blame his mother for not wanting to clean up after an animal when she already did so much around the house, plus her bookkeeping. He had been trying to do better with keeping his room clean for the last few days so his mother wouldn’t have to search around for laundry—the less searching she had to do, the better Eevee could hide.

The Pokemon was sleeping in his windowsill when he opened the door. She cracked her eyes open and made a quiet noise before closing them again. She didn’t even uncurl or move around. He set the fish on the desk and petted her gently before heading out. He wasn’t worried; she had managed to hide this long without his interference, so he knew her hearing must be as sharp as any cat or dog’s.

He should take her out, he decided as he headed down the stairs. He managed to sneak her outside in the evenings to do her business, but she really needed to run around and play. He hadn’t before because he hadn’t found a secluded enough spot, but if the newspaper article was right, he might not even need to because other Pokemon were popping up all over the place.

“I’m headed out,” he called, barely listening to his mother and grandfather wish him a good day. The park would probably be fine, he decided. He would just stay away from the road. Maybe after school. His mother would be gone until sometime this evening, so he would have a couple hours to let her run around. They might even see another Pokemon, he thought with a grin.

“Well, don’t you look happy today,” Anzu teased, walking up next to him. “Good news at home?”

Yuugi shook his head. “Not particularly. But I saw a really cool news article.”

“What, the thing about the Pokemon sightings?” Yuugi nodded. “Yeah, that was kinda cool to see,” Anzu admitted. “Surprised it was the headliner, though. Did you see the article about the prison break?”

“There was a prison break?” Yuugi asked.

Anzu nodded. “Some guy called Jiro the Jorogumo. Apparently he’s really good at disguises and he got put away for robbery.”

“Guess I should make sure Jii-chan knows.” Domino was a small city and not without it’s crime, but they lived in a relatively quiet area. They still locked their doors, but it might be a good idea to lock up the more valuable merchandise until they caught the guy again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“No, I swear I saw a caterpie hanging around Kaa-san’s Oran bushes!”

Another girl snorted. “Probably just a caterpillar, that’s what it’s based on, right?”

“Caterpillars don’t get that big,” her friend insisted. She held her hands about a foot apart. “Like that!”

“It’s just a hoax,” her friend insisted. She held the other girl’s hand. “I know you really like Pokemon and butterfree’s like, your favorite, but—”

The girl pulled away, scowling. “But nothing! I didn’t imagine it, it wasn’t a trick, it was real!” Her face grew stormier with every word. “You think I’m lying?”

Yuugi dropped into his seat and set his bag on his desk’s hook. The news article was the most popular topic of conversation that morning. He didn’t know either girl very well, but they had always been friends. He had never heard them argue before.

Jounouchi took the seat in front of him, Honda and Miho not too far behind. “What are those two fighting about?”

“Um, remember the card game? Pokemon?” Yuugi kept his voice down, trying not to draw the attention of the arguing girls. Jounouchi nodded. “Did you see the newspaper this morning?”

“No.” Jou frowned at him. “Why, what’s that got to do with it?”

“Oh, I saw it,” Honda said, nodding. “Seems like some kind of elaborate prank to me.”

“There have been sightings of real life Pokemon all around Kanto,” Yuugi elaborated. “People seeing them all over the place.”

“That would be super cool,” Jou said with a grin. “Can you imagine having a charmander?”

“Some people just have way too much time on their hands,” Honda muttered. “Seriously, who has the time to do a prank like this? It completely took over the front page.”

“Well, what if it was real?” Yuugi asked nervously. His palms started to sweat a little, and he discreetly wiped them off. “What if we could have a Pokemon?”

“What, like, pick them up off the street?” Anzu wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I could handle a feral cat, let alone a monster from a card game.”

“The manga makes them look pretty sweet,” Miho said, biting her lip. “I don’t think they’d be very feral. It would be really cool to have a vulpix, too.” She clapped her hands together and smiled. “They’re so adorable!”

“I…didn’t know you read the manga, Miho-chan,” Honda said weakly, looking torn. Yuugi knew Honda—as the president of the beautification club he worked hard to be seen as sensible and make the school as presentable as possible, and these Pokemon sightings weren’t sensible at all. But Miho was clearly interested and thought they would be cool, and he had such a huge crush on her he tended to agree with everything she said.

Miho nodded, oblivious to the internal conflict Yuugi could see brewing in Honda’s eyes. “Oh yes. It’s really cute. I like the game, too. There’s not as many cute Pokemon cards as I would like, but the upcoming expansion is supposed to change that.”

“I have a deck, too,” Anzu confessed, “though I haven’t played very much.”

“Yep, me three,” Jou said, nodding along. “And I’ve seen Yuugi’s deck, so I know he’s into it too.”

Yuugi nodded enthusiastically. “I started playing not long after it came out.” He smiled at Honda. “If you want, I could bring you some of my extra cards. You can build a deck and we can all play together.”

Miho bounced slightly on her toes. “That sounds like so much fun! Hey, maybe we could meet up after school? We’ll get Honda-kun started, and then we could all play each other.”

“That sounds fun,” Anzu agreed happily. “Should we go to Yuugi’s after school?”

Yuugi froze, his smile becoming fixed. If they came over to his house, they would see Eevee, and he still hadn’t told them about her. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”

Jou frowned. “Why not?”

“Um…” The bell rang, saving him from having to answer, and his friends were forced to go to their seats. He sighed quietly as the homeroom teacher walked in and they rose in greeting.

Maybe he should just tell them? But what if they didn’t believe him? It would be great to show them, but would it be a good idea to crowd everyone into his room for it? What if Eevee didn’t like crowds?

A trip to the park was sounding better and better. Maybe they could hang out there? That way he could introduce them without Eevee feeling like she was trapped, and then they could play cards together after. He perked up. It would be great, he was sure. They would all love Eevee—she was small and cute and most assuredly not a robot or a puppet. He would tell them at lunch he wanted to go to park.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

By the end of the day Yuugi thought he was going to throw up. What if his friends were mad at him for waiting to tell them? He knew he hadn’t known Jou, Honda, or Miho for very long, but he had known Anzu since elementary school and he really should have told her sooner. She was always honest and straightforward with him—it was one of the things he liked best about her.

Well, he thought, he would just have to make it up to her. He marched home—alone for the first time in the last few days. Anzu had always been on-and-off about whether she could walk home with him or not, or if he could walk with her, but Jou had been stuck to his side like glue ever since they had become friends. It felt odd that he wasn’t there now.

“Jii-chan, I’m home,” Yuugi called, walking in the front door of the game shop.

“Welcome home,” Sugoroku responded cheerfully. He set down the magazine he had been reading, the pages revealing a colorful two-page spread about the upcoming Pokemon expansion. “How was school?”

“Pretty boring,” Yuugi confessed. He cracked a smile. “Mostly everyone talked about the news.”

“The Pokemon article? I imagine everyone would have been excited about that one.”

“Yeah, mostly that and the breakout.”

“Oh, yes, I saw that article too.” Sugoroku frowned thoughtfully. “I guess I should keep some of the pricier merchandise in the stock room overnight. I can’t imagine what that man would try to steal here—I remember his case, and he always targeted places like jewelry stores—but I suppose if he was desperate enough…”

“I guess so.” Yuugi stepped over to the side door that led to the house and kicked off his shoes. “I’m just going to grab my cards, then I’m hanging out at the park with my friends. We’re going to see if we can get Honda started on a deck.”

“Go on, then,” the older man said, waving him on with a smile. “And make sure you’re home by dinner.”

“Okay!”

Eevee was waiting for him when he opened his bedroom door, lying on his bed on her back, paws in the air as she wriggled. She rolled over onto her stomach, ears pricked. “Vee?”

Yuugi quickly emptied his bag. “We’re going to the park today,” he said, keeping his voice low. He scratched her ears. “I want to introduce you to my friends.”

“Eevee!” She jumped to her feet, tail wagging and eyes shining. She hopped onto the floor and raced over to him, jumping at his chest. He caught her reflexively, giggling helplessly when she licked his cheek.

“Alright, alright!” He felt even guiltier now. He should have found a way to take her out sooner. “Let me get my cards and then we’ll go. Are you okay being in my bag?” She looked at it critically, then barked her agreement. “Let’s go, then.”

His extra cards didn’t take up too much space, thankfully. He picked them up from his desk. They mostly stayed in a small flat box, the inside separated into three slots for Pokemon, trainer cards, and energy cards. He set it on the bottom of the bag and let Eevee jump in after. He zipped the bag most of the way, leaving the top slightly open so she could breathe and wouldn’t feel too claustrophobic.

“Just keep your head down, okay?” he whispered, carefully putting the backpack on. He felt Eevee scrunch down against his back, then went back downstairs, much slower than he normally was.

“Jii-chan, I’m going now,” he called through the doorway. He hastily slid his shoes back on, trying to get out the door before his grandfather could see him.

“You must have more cards than I thought,” Sugoroku commented, looking up from his magazine. “Have fun with your friends, Yuugi.”

Yuugi froze for a moment, shoulders tensed. He forcibly relaxed them. “I will!”

He sighed in relief as the door closed behind him. That was way too close for comfort. He was just glad his grandfather thought he was carrying a lot of cards and didn’t notice the shape of the bump was too round to be his card box.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Yuugi had hoped to be the first one to arrive at the park. He had wanted to pick a more secluded spot so he could introduce Eevee, maybe let her out beforehand so she could look around too. Unfortunately, by the time he got there Honda and Jou were already sitting at the pavilion, a covered area with several picnic benches. Jou had a Ziploc of cards sitting on the table, but neither of them were looking at them and their faces were uncharacteristically grim.

Jou smiled and waved when he saw him, though, erasing the dark look entirely. It was almost enough to make Yuugi think he had made a mistake, but Honda wasn’t nearly as good at hiding his face.

“Hey Jounouchi-kun, Honda-kun,” Yuugi greeted. He carefully shrugged out of his backpack and set it on the table. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, man.” Jounouchi leaned back with an easy smile, hands locked behind his head. Honda stayed quiet, face still serious. “Everything’s good. What all do you have in the bag? You can’t tell me it’s all cards.”

“It’s not all cards,” Yuugi admitted. He winked. “But I’m not telling until the girls get here.”

“They shouldn’t be too long, should they?” Jou leaned forward, reaching for the bag. “Nothing wrong with a little peek, right?”

Yuugi pulled the bag to his chest, hugging it tightly. Eevee shifted slightly, but Jou and Honda didn’t seem to notice. “No peeking!”

Jou sat up with a pout, arms crossed. “Fine, no peeking.” He gave Yuugi his best rendition of puppy dog eyes. “At least a hint?”

“Okay.” Yuugi thought for a minute. What kind of hint could Yuugi give that wouldn’t give the whole thing away? If he referenced the news article they would get it immediately. “It…it has to do with the game,” he finally said, feeling his way slowly through the words. “And Miho will really like it.”

“Y-you brought Miho a present?” Honda gave him a despairing look.

Yuugi winced. “Um, not a present for her. It’s mine. I just think it’s something she’ll happen to like.”

This didn’t seem to help. Honda stood, hands planted on the table. “Why not bring her a present? Miho’s beauty and kindness put even the most perfect rose to shame, she deserves—!”

“Easy, Honda,” Jou sighed. He grabbed his friend’s arm and tugged him back down. “Relax, will you?”

Maybe he should have picked a better hint, Yuugi thought. Invoking Miho was a sure-shot way of getting Honda all worked up.

“Hey guys!” Yuugi looked over to see Anzu waving at them, Miho walking next to her with a huge pink binder. The girls joined them, Anzu sitting next to Yuugi and Miho placing her binder carefully on the table before sitting next to her. “Sorry we took so long. Miho hid her cards too well.”

“My cards are very important,” the other girl huffed, nose in the air. “I don’t want anyone to steal them. Especially with that escaped thief running around.”

Anzu pulled a small deck builder box from her school bag and set it on the table next to the binder. “Miho, I don’t think that guy’s interested in stealing game cards.”

“Well, he could be! Didn’t you hear about that collector in Unova? Someone killed him, and the only thing missing was his Mew card!”

“I remember hearing about that,” Yuugi said, frowning thoughtfully. “It was a really rare promotional card from when the game first released. Only four were ever released, put into random card packs. They’re worth at least 300,000 yen.”

“And our cards won’t compare to that,” Anzu finished. She patted Miho’s hand. “You’re a really good player, but your cards aren’t that rare. Which you should be glad about.”

Miho deflated and sighed. “I guess so.”

“Cheer up, Miho!” Honda grabbed her hand with both of his. “Yuugi brought something with him that he said you’ll like!”

“A present? For me?” Miho blinked and turned to Yuugi with a bright smile. “You didn’t have to bring me anything, Yuugi!”

Yuugi almost smacked himself in the forehead. He leaned onto the table, face cradled in one hand, but the landing was still pretty hard. “It isn’t a present,” he muttered. “I just wanted to introduce you guys, jeez…”

Jou blinked. “What, like, a pet or something? You carried a pet all the way in your school bag?”

“Yuugi,” Anzu groaned. “What if it made a mess?”

“She didn’t make a mess,” Yuugi protested, waving his hands. He took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll just…” He unzipped his bag. “Eevee, you can come out now.”

“Veeeee~.” He ignored his friends looks—from the confused looks Honda and Jou sported to Miho’s excitement and Anzu’s unease—they weren’t what mattered right then. Eevee stood with a luxurious stretch, her back arched much like a cat’s, but since she was in the backpack all his friends could see was a set of ears and a fluffy tail. Then she jumped out, using Yuugi’s arm as a brief launching pad to get to the picnic table.

“This is Eevee,” Yuugi said, petting her head gently. “Eevee, these are my friends. Anzu, Miho-chan, Jounouchi-kun, and Honda-kun.” He pointed to each of them in turn, letting Eevee focus on them briefly before moving on. The manga showed Pokemon as very willing to battle and occasionally more than a little protective, and he didn’t want her to mistake his friends’ joking and playing as “attacking” him.

“She’s so adorable!” Miho exclaimed, hands clasped over her heart. She scooped Eevee up, cuddling her close.

“That’s an Eevee,” Jou said slowly, face blank.

Anzu reached over to carefully run her hand down the length of Eevee’s back, burying her fingers in the luxurious fur. “It’s real! Yuugi, how…?”

“She,” he corrected her gently. “And I’m not sure.” He wrapped his hand around the Puzzle. “Well, I think I have a theory, but you might think it’s silly…”

“We won’t laugh,” Anzu promised. She glared at the boys. “Right?”

Honda and Jou shrank back. “Right.”

“Well,” Yuugi said, “remember how I completed the Millennium Puzzle a few days ago?” His friends nodded. “It…well, it started glowing, and then Eevee was there the next day. I woke up, and she was asleep on the bed.”

“So you think solving the Puzzle made it—sorry, her,” Jou corrected hurriedly, raising his hands. Eevee had twisted to glare at him, and Yuugi struggled to keep a straight face when Jou backed off, acting the same way he did when Anzu was upset. “Sorry. You think solving it made her appear?”

Yuugi nodded jerkily. Eevee wriggled in Miho’s arms until the girl let her go, then stood in front of Yuugi, snuggling against his face happily. He hugged her back.

“That kind of makes sense,” Anzu said thoughtfully. She tapped her cheek with one finger. “Yeah, I can see how you might come to that conclusion. You solve the Millennium Puzzle, and then Eevee appears, so the Puzzle must be why.”

“But you don’t think it’s true,” Yuugi said softly. He looked down at Eevee and petted her.

“Sorry, no,” Anzu said, shaking her head. “I mean, the Puzzle is really small, it’s not like she could fit in there. And the other Pokemon wouldn’t, either, assuming they’re not a hoax.”

“Jii-chan said it was a magical artifact,” Yuugi pointed out. “I don’t think they would have been physically trapped in the Puzzle. Maybe…maybe it just unlocked something?”

“…I think maybe Yuugi’s right,” Miho said, smiling. “What other explanation is there?”

“Well…” Honda said slowly. Yuugi wondered how hard it was for him to disagree with anything Miho said. “There’s a rumor Kaiba Corp partnered with Industrial Illusions for a video game. You’ve heard it, right? Maybe they’re robots! Or maybe they were grown in a lab somewhere. Plus the release of the new card expansion is right around the corner. They could have released their creations as a promotion.” Honda looked at Jounouchi, who was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. “Right, Jou?”

“I don’t think even Kaiba Corp has the technology to make an entirely new biological creature,” Jou said. He cracked one eye open to look at the girls. “And did she feel like a robot to you?” Miho shook her head rapidly, and after a moment, Anzu followed suit. “Then I think Yuugi’s idea has the most merit.” Yuugi looked up, staring at Jou with wide eyes.

“Magic?” Honda asked dryly. Jou nodded. “…magic?”

Jou twitched. “Makes more sense than Kaiba Corp growing her in a lab,” he growled. “They aren’t even involved in medicine, they’re a tech company!”

This devolved into Jou and Honda arguing. Anzu and Miho scooted closer to Yuugi.

“…do you really think the Puzzle is why Eevee is here?” Anzu asked softly. Yuugi nodded, his stomach knotting up. “Well…I guess unlocking something makes more sense than her coming from the Puzzle directly…”

“Maybe we should ask your grandfather,” Miho said softly, scritching Eevee on top of her head. Yuugi froze.

He hadn’t told Jii-chan.

He had been so focused on hiding Eevee he had forgotten Jii-chan. He could have said something before he left! It would have been the perfect time, too, because Kaa-san hadn’t come back yet. And Jii-chan might have been able to help him convince Kaa-san.

“You didn’t tell him?” Anzu hissed, taking in the look on his face with wide eyes. “Yuugi!”

“I forgot,” he wailed. Eevee licked his cheek, but it didn’t do much to distract him. “I was trying to think of a name and I wanted to get her to the park and I forgot!” Honda and Jou stopped arguing to look at him, their faces alarmed.

“Well, damn,” Jou muttered. “What are you going to do? I can’t take her home for you, pal. Sorry.”

“I can’t either,” Anzu murmured. Miho shook her head.

“I’ll tell Jii-chan,” Yuugi assured them. He bit his lip. “Next time Kaa-san’s out…I can hide her in my room until then…”

Understanding dawned on Anzu’s face. “That’s right, I forgot. Your mom doesn’t like pets.”

“My parents work in Celadon,” Honda said, licking his lips. “Maybe…I mean, they won’t be back until the weekend, so she could stay with me a couple days, you know? Until you get the opportunity to tell your grandfather.”

“Really? You would do that for me, Honda-kun?” Yuugi asked, vision blurring slightly. He blinked rapidly.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Honda assured him. “Just let me know when you want to pick her up. And you can come see her any time.”

“Thank you!” He half-launched himself over the table and grabbed Honda around the neck, pulling him into a hug. Honda yelped, then patted him on the back. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou—”

Miho giggled. “Yuugi, smothering Honda-kun isn’t a good way to show gratitude.”

Yuugi flushed and let him go. “Sorry, Honda-kun.”

“It’s fine.” Honda rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we come up with a name for Eevee-chan? That’ll make introducing her to Mutou-san much easier.”

“That’s a great idea,” Jou said enthusiastically. “But, uh…why don’t we find a place to get a drink? It’s a little warm out today.”

Yuugi nodded. It was a little warmer than normal, and he was sure Eevee had it worse because of her fur. “There’s a new restaurant that just opened up,” he suggested. “BurgerWorld. I’ve been meaning to try there.”

“Yeah, they already have a pretty good reputation,” Anzu said thoughtfully. “I heard they have a Pecha smoothie that’s to die for.”

“Sounds like it’s settled, then,” Jou said. They stood to go, and Yuugi let Eevee down to walk next to them.

They were silent as they walked, until Miho broke it was a soft hum. “Hey Yuugi…Eevee’s a pretty rare card, right? What about Takara? With the kanji for ‘treasure’.”

Eevee made a face, and Yuugi giggled helplessly. She looked like she had just swallowed a mouthful of vinegar. “Not that one, I guess…hey, if you want to evolve into Vaporeon, we could name you Yoko! We could write it as ‘ocean child’.” Eevee shook her head. “Alright…”

“Well, it’s spring time,” Jou pointed out. “What about Sakiko? For ‘flower child’.” Eevee tilted her head, as if considering it, but ultimately shook it, tail twitching.

Honda was the next to speak up, after a few more minutes of silent walking. “Akemi can be written as ‘bright and beautiful’. That’s an auspicious name.” She almost seemed happy with that one, but shook her head eventually. “I guess you’re more cute, anyway…” Eevee yipped at him, and he held his hands up. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way!”

“Hey, what about Megumi?” Anzu asked. She smiled at Eevee and Yuugi. “It can be written to mean ‘love and affection’. I think that fits her really well.”

Yuugi looked down at Eevee. “What do you think?”

Eevee seemed to think it over for a minute. Then she wagged her tail once, ears pricked. “Vee!”

“I think she approves.” Yuugi smiled brightly. “Thanks, Anzu.”

“It’s no problem!” She reached down and rubbed the newly-named Megumi’s ears. “I’m just glad Megumi-chan likes her new name.”

“Awesome!” Jou cheered. “Good timing too—we’re here! Let’s celebrate!”

[sophisticated-angel]

A True Love of Mine - Part 3

Character: Sam Winchester

Warning: None

Word Count: 2,439

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Part One - Part Two

Summary: Months pass with no sign of rescue, and Sam continues to be in love with (y/n). They take a trip to Scarborough Fair, a bustling place filled with many an opportunity for adventure.

Story

   Many more times, Sam sneaks out to the pond with the baron’s beautiful daughter. If it’s warm, they swim, and if it’s too cool, they lay on the shore or play games at the edge of the woods. They play hide and seek, and in her white chemise, touched by moonlight, she looks like an angel each time he finds her. The angel rewards his efforts with a kiss. When it rains, they curl up on a blanket in an empty stall and talk. She sings to him if he asks, Scarborough Fair usually, but he’s heard a number of other songs from the fourteenth century. Mostly, he doesn’t understand the words and terms, but he’s enraptured by her voice.

   Sam is always sure to have her back in bed before morning, occasionally staying with her until just before dawn. Once, he slept too long and was almost found by Alice, but (y/n) distracted her handmaid, and Sam made it back out to the stables without incident. Only Thomas is aware of their affair and nightly escapes. If Sam wakes up with a blush, he greets him with “Did ye sleep well, Future Man?” and a knowing grin.

   August comes, and an excited bustle settles on the Brickenden estate as everyone starts to talk of Scarborough Fair. Preparations are made in the week before it begins, and Sam finds himself and Thomas invited along to care for the horses. Supplies are packed, the horses are readied, and on the morning of August fifteenth, the group begins their journey. (y/n) and the baron ride in a closed carriage, and Sam is at the back with the other servants, so he doesn’t see much of his lady love, not even when they stop to sleep or water the horses. Riding at the back of the party with Alexander beneath him gives him a chance to think, and he takes it.

   He's been stuck in 1342 for three months, and there’s been no sign of his brother or Castiel rescuing him. There should have been something by now, even a brief sign to let him know they’re working on it, but three months is a long time. Maybe they haven’t figured out when and where he is, and maybe they never will. Maybe Sam will live out the rest of his days as a fourteenth century stable hand. That possibility isn’t completely depressing, not as much as it would have been three months ago. If he could live out his life with the baron’s daughter, then he could be happy here. Dean would want that for him.

   The journey takes three days. As they get closer to Scarborough, the number of travelers on the road increases, but when they reach the town, the roads are positively packed with people of every class, age, and trade. Children run barefoot through the dirt chasing dogs and playmates, heedless of the horses and wagons. Men with carts announce their wares as they pull them through the streets, and women balance baskets of flowers on their heads. The stench of animals on two legs and four mingles with the aroma of spices, incenses, and cooking food. Everything is cramped and noisy and inarguably alive, and Sam feels more alert and invigorated than he has in a long while. They arrive at an inn on a slightly quieter side of Scarborough, and while the Brickendens and their luggage are escorted up to their rooms, Sam and Thomas take the horses to the stables.

   “Oi, Future Man” —Thomas looks over the saddle of a gray horse— “Let’s get these animals settled in and then go and have ourselves a bit o’ fun, eh? What say ye to a pint o’ ale?”

   Before Sam can answer, Alice calls his name and appears at the front of the stall. “Milady has requested you as her escort, Sir Winchester.”

   Sam glances over at Thomas because he isn’t sure how to reply, but his friend has gone all heart eyes on the blue-eyed, blonde-haired handmaid. Rolling his own eyes, he follows the now blushing Alice out of the stable and around the front door of the inn. (y/n) stands as regal and vibrant as ever in a red linen cotehardie and white kirtle cinched at the waist with a simple chain. Her usual white veil obscures her hair. Even after a three-day journey, she looks fresh and well-rested, nothing like the way Sam feels. He’s painfully aware that he smells like sweat and horse, and the summer sun beats down on him, making him wish he didn’t have to wear this stupid cloak.

   “How was your journey, Sir Winchester?” inquires (y/n).

   “As pleasant as it could have been, milady.”

   “I suppose you are accustomed to such long trips, traveling as you did.”

   “Oh, well, yes.” Sam tries to perk up.

   The woman explores the fair with the energy of a fascinated child, flitting about from shop to shop. Alice and Rebecca are used to keeping up with their mistress, but Sam is not, and he’s also supposed to be watching everyone else so that the three women don’t have to. He knows enough to not trust anyone he doesn’t know and keeps his hand on the dagger in the pouch dangling from his belt. He bought the weapon after he was jumped on a trip into town last month. Luckily, he escaped unharmed and with all his effects, but the experience proved that his pocketknife wasn’t sufficient in a fight.

   “Have you ever been to Scarborough Fair, Sam?” asks (y/n).

   “No, milady.”

   “Never in all your travels?”

   “No, milady.”

   She pauses at a small shop run by a middle-aged woman and three children around the age of ten. Wonderful smells waft out from this place, and Sam’s stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn’t eaten since the sun rose. (y/n) leaves the shop with a cloth napkin fill with roasted almonds that she immediately thrusts into Sam’s hands. She takes a few and eats them, motioning for Sam to do the same.

   “If you’re going to be my escort, you must keep up your strength.”

   Too hungry to turn down the offer, Sam starts snacking on the sweet almonds, and once those are gone, (y/n) presents him with two rastons, buttery bread. As she browses the shops, stalls, tents, and carts, she takes time to admire those things that catch her eye be it a dress, jewelry, or an animal – the yellow canaries are her favorite. By her side, Sam gets his first taste of Scarborough Fair, and his hunger is more than satisfied. He pays no mind to the passing of time. When (y/n) declares that she’s decided to go back to the inn, it’s nearly sunset, but the fair is still in full swing. With the two maids carrying their mistress’s purchases, the group heads for home base.

   Sam expects to fall asleep in an instant, but when he finally lies down in the tents he shares with Thomas, his mind is too active, his body too full of sweet food. Thomas knows exactly what’s keeping his friend up.

   “I reckon ye be head over heels for milady.” He nudges Sam with his elbow.

   “Are you just noticing?”

   “Have ye thought about marryin’ her? You’ve certainly been courtin’ long enough.”

   “Thomas, she’s the daughter of a baron, and I’m a stable hand. Her father wouldn’t let her marry me. I can’t even ride a horse that well.”

   “Nobody never gets anywhere with a mind like that, Sam. Ye be right about the ridin’, though.”

   Sam laughs. “What about you and Alice? I’ve seen how you two have been looking at each other lately.”

   “Aye, she be catchin’ my eye when she walks by. She never used to think much of me. Thought I’d be a better court jester than a stable hand.”

   “Well, I spent all afternoon with her, and I’m pretty sure I heard her say your name once or twice. I’m also pretty sure her tent is three down from ours.”

   “What are ye sayin’, Future Man?”

   “I’m not saying anything except she had her eye on a necklace with blue beads in a shop by the blacksmith’s place.” Sam winks and nods at the entrance of the tent.

   Thomas thinks for a moment, and then he gets up and leaves after tucking a few coins into the pouch on his belt. Rolling his eyes, Sam lays back on his blanket and tries to sleep. Several times, he’s almost out, but then there’s a noise from outside and he’s back to complete consciousness. Somewhere on the streets of Scarborough, a hurdy gurdy cranks out a lively tune.

   “Sir Winchester!” A hand shakes his foot. “Sir Winchester!”

   Sam sits up and is surprised to find (y/n) looking back at him. “Didn’t you go to bed? I thought you’d be exhausted.”

   “I’m not exhausted enough. Would you care to escort me through Scarborough Fair, Sam?”

   Of course he would. It’s been a week since they’ve been alone together, and he misses spending such intimate time with her. Willingly, he heads back to the streets of Scarborough, and this time his lady treats him as her equal, her lover, and he supposed that’s what he’s become. He’s certainly in love with her. After a few minutes of walking, they find the hurdy gurdy man, and (y/n) says a few words to him as she drops a coin in his basket. The tune changes to something slower, more romantic, and she practically floats back to him, carried by the melody. The one thing Sam believes he’ll never be able to do is dance, but (y/n) is content to simply sway with him. She gives him a kiss, too. No matter how many kisses he gets, they always set fire to his soul.

   When the song ends, she leads him away down the street, simply stopping wherever they feel like. At the very center of town, a crowd of people is thronged around two men engaged in a wrestling match. As Sam watches, they grapple with each other, grab at clothes and limbs and throw punches. Finally, one of them, the one broadest in the shoulders and built much like a boulder, sweeps the other up, flips him over, and brings him down on his back hard. A swift kick to the ribs is added for good measure, and the crowd counts down from ten. They go wild when they reach zero, and the loser is hauled out of the circle. The victor yells, fueling the energy of the already overzealous onlookers.

   Here are the rough and tumble, the aggressive. Here is a place of raw power, of physical prowess. In this arena, class does not matter. Knights may wrestle with the poorest of peasants; all that matters is the game. The air reeks of sweat and ale and blood, and injuries are handed out like candy at a parade. It’s a messy scene, but it offers a unique, pure, addictive energy – adrenaline. The baron’s daughter is right in the middle of it, her status irrelevant, her mind focused on the actions in the middle. She hollers when another challenger steps into the ring, counts down with conviction when he too is thrown to the ground.

   Sam gets an idea.

   “Who will be next to face Allister Arundel?!” shouts the ringmaster. “Who will dare to face this terror of the streets, this legend?!”

   From the back of the crowd, a voice shouts, “I will!”

   The people part to let a tall man enter the ring. He’s a stranger with unusually long, nice hair and a beard that hasn’t been touched in three months, but they don’t care. He’ll keep the entertainment going. Allister sees his challenger and smiles a nasty, holey smile.

   Sam has gotten to watch Allister fight twice already, and while everyone else was going crazy, he learned a few things. First, Allister is brutally strong and bigger than the average man, but that’s really all he has going for him. He relies on strength and intimidation. Second, though he hits hard, his swings are wide, and he therefore takes too long to reel his arms back in. Third, his defensive stance is crap, and not once has he protected his abdomen. This is practically amateur level.

   Allister strikes first, but Sam dodges the swing and aims low to deliver a sharp blow to the diaphragm with his right fist. His left plants itself between Allister’s eyes, and he feels cartilage pop beneath his knuckles. He pulls arm back, dodges another attack, strikes again when his opponent’s arm is still wide. He’s deaf to the roar of the ecstatic crowd. It’s only him and this bleeding, unskilled man with a pathetic signature move. Allister has impressive resistance to hits, but with every blow he receives and every one he misses, he gets angrier, and anger blinds him. Sam alternates between head and stomach blows, winding and dizzying him. He brings a leg up to kick him in the ribs. This costs him when his leg is yanked and he drops on his rear, but he kicks sharply upward with his other leg, striking Allister’s chin and buying himself enough time to get back up.

   It’s almost over now. Allister is dizzy and swaying – if he falls, he’ll stay down. Sam jabs his arm forward and leaves it out half a second too long. He lets the other fighter grab it and use it as leverage to hoist him up. Bracing for impact, Sam lets himself be flipped and thrown to the ground. The impact hurts, but it’s effectiveness is affected by dizziness and fatigue, and the pain is comparable to falling out of bed. He has the angle he needs. In the blink of an eye, Sam flips over and sweeps Allister’s legs out from under him. The fighter comes crashing down, and crowd counts down. They reach zero and erupt, pressing in to get close to Sam, to clap him on the back and congratulate him.

   Money is waved in his face, coins dropped at his feet, and though he grabs some of it, the only thing he cares about is the girl in the red dress pushing through the crowd to reach him. Her smile is brilliant, her eyes twinkle with laughter, and her lips hold a kiss for him. Now the crowd whoops and hollers, loving every second of what they’re seeing. Sam, breathless, dusty, and exhausted, throws his arms around the beautiful woman whom he loves and forgets the future and his brother. Nothing else matters anymore.

READ PART FOUR HERE

@pureawesomeness001 @27bmm @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @super-not-naturall @gabriel-themightysugaraddict @mogaruke@mrswhozeewhatsis@hexparker @kdfrqqg @little-castiel13@18crazybutcutealsopsycho @wildfirewinchester

[birdshirt1-blog]

Please Send All Your Fried Brains and Micro-Brisket to Novelist Gary Shteyngart

As research for Lake Success, a novel about a wealthy Manhattan businessman who hops on a Greyhound to escape his troubles, writer Gary Shteyngart went on a bus trip of his own through the American South. This journey turned out to be something of an epicurean odyssey for the author. “In some of the roadside places where ‘the Hound’ would stop, you’d have, like, the best fried chicken on the planet,” Shteyngart says. And to get inside the mind of the hedge-fund types depicted in Lake Success, Shteyngart also embedded himself among a bunch of New York finance guys, who, he says, actually “eat really bad food.” All things considered, Shtyengart thinks that “10 percent of the book is food-based.”

For close followers of Shteyngart’s work, this should come as no surprise: Throughout his career, the author has peppered his novels with food references, while also writing dining guides and occasional odes to important restaurants in his life in between novels. For all these reasons, we thought the acclaimed author would be the perfect fit for The Famous Original Eater Questionnaire.

In the middle of his “87-day tour” promoting Lake Success last fall, Shteyngart took some time to answer questions about the dishes he loves and the ones he’ll never eat again.

What’s the last thing that you ate? Gary Shteyngart: It was on an Amtrak, and I had… oh, I guess a beer doesn’t really count.

Beer totally counts. I had a Brooklyn Defender IPA? It was a Brooklyn Defender something on the train home last night.

When and where was the last time you had a hot dog? Oh, wait a minute, I’m sorry, I had a hot dog with that IPA. I forgot all about that. I’m trying to repress that, I think.

How was the hot dog? It was good. I mean, it’s not the world’s worst hot dog, but it is microwaved, so the bun doesn’t quite work out. But in theory, it should be the easiest food you can have on the Amtrak.

Follow-up question about the hot dog: A character in your new novel mentions that the Old Town Bar serves the best hot dogs in Manhattan. Do you think that’s true? Yeah, I think it is amazing. I order two of them with fries. It’s just pure heaven. I don’t know what it is. They have a great cheeseburger, too, but that is just amazing.

I feel like people don’t know that place for hot dogs. People think of it as a cheeseburger place, because they have a great one. But I actually prefer the cheeseburger at Joe Junior’s. That is a succulent cheeseburger.

What do you want to eat right this second? Well now that I mention that cheeseburger, I very well might order it right now. Are we at lunchtime yet? I hope so.

What’s your favorite but admittedly strange food combination? I do like eating foods that should be eaten later. Like, I feel really — what’s the word? —subversive when I have something that’s meant for lunch at breakfast, and it’s not a brunch situation. Let’s say it’s Tuesday morning, and what if I order a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and not an omelet or anything like that? A ham-and-cheese sandwich slathered with mayo and I have coffee with that at 9:30 a.m. Can you imagine?

What’s one food item that you didn’t try till later in life? Well I grew up, you know, in the Soviet Union and then with a sort of post-Soviet household, and we really didn’t use garlic that much — it was not a big thing. I discovered garlic when I started going to Spanish restaurants. There used to be a bunch of Spanish restaurants [in New York] and I think there are still a few left. Back then, they were pretty avant-garde, or associated with “cool eating” before all the other stuff. Back then, I loved shrimp al ajillo and mariscada in green sauce — stuff like that is so good. So garlic-flavored.

In your book, you cover a lot of high-roller culture in NYC, and I read somewhere that you did some research hanging out with hedge-fund guys. What was that like? A lot of them eat really bad food. The problem is that if you go to your club or the high-end places in New York, they’re all kind of the same. The clubs are awful, but the high-end places are, eh, you know... I like some of them. But the Polo Bar is not that great, honestly, for food. It’s great for people watching, so it becomes this event. But for pure food, I would take them to great Korean and Indian places I love, like Madangsui on the 35th Street, which has the best micro-brisket I’ve ever had. Or what’s that place on Lex that has the best chicken biryani on the planet? Oh, what is it called? Shit. [Checks his computer] Oh, Sahib, I think is the name. Oh my god. So, you do that instead of one of those places, and you’re really eating the best food in New York.

What’s a food that you’ve never eaten that you wish you could try? Well, I was just in Scotland and I had haggis for the second time and I loved that, but I guess I have tried that. You know, the thing is that I’ve eaten almost every animal alive. I was at a ceremony in the Arctic Circle where the local Inuits were eating whale, so I ate the whale — not great. I’m not a big whale guy.

What did it taste like? Like fish, but in rubber form? I dunno… it was not good. But they’re allowed to, I think, eat one whale per year or something. It’s a huge part of their customs and lifestyle, so I was honored to be a part of that. My wife and I got married up there, so it was part of the thing. Oh, caribou is great — raw caribou.

“I’ve eaten the brains of every animal imaginable.”

Raw caribou? Yeah, like caribou sashimi. Delicious. I’m trying to think of what I haven’t eaten. I think I’ve eaten just about everything. I’m a little bit of an insectophobe, so I don’t think I could ever eat a water bug or something like that. I know people live on that stuff, but that’s the one thing. Brains? No problem. I’ve eaten the brains of every animal imaginable.

What is your drink? I’m traditionally a vodka-tonic guy, because I love vodka — obviously, I grew up in Russia. My favorite new drink, which I’ve been really loving is, there’s a place called District Distilling Co., I believe. It’s out of D.C., and I’ve never been a huge rye fan, but this just blew my mind. It is so good. They make the best rye on the planet. They just sent me a six pack of that because I am jonesing for it all the time. I’m on, like, this 87-day tour, and it’s the official drink of the 87-day tour. Because every time I touch down back home, I just uncap a bottle and drink it the way people drink a Pabst — glug, glug, glug.

Related to being on a book tour, I know that you took a bus trip while writing Lake Success. What is your traveling game plan when you’re on the road? Do you go to chain restaurants? Do you hit-up mom-and-pop restaurants? What’s your strategy there? Oh yeah, absolutely. Wherever I go, I just try to hit the best place imaginable. I’m going to St. Louis, so obviously that’s going to be ribs. But my friend also told me about this thing in St. Louis call the St. Paul sandwich — have you heard of this? It’s in Chinese restaurants, and it’s like an egg foo yung patty with dill pickles, onions, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes, served on white bread. So that is my goal for this trip to St. Louis — I gotta get a St. Paul sandwich.

Do you have a universal dinner party soundtrack? Yeah, I put on... I dunno, it’s a mix. Old Dr. John’s stuff like “Mama Roux,” I feel like that really helps with digestion. I like the… what’s the Ethiopian jazz that’s really great and mellow?

Is it the Éthiopiques compilation? Yeah, slide into Éthiopiques. That’s great for digestion.

Do you have a favorite chain restaurant? It’s a bit of a cliche. But I think In-N-Out is insane. I mean, that is a huge part of going to LA for me. They have one right outside LAX — they probably have one inside LAX, but I just haven’t figured it out. You know, again, I’m going really cliche on this, but Animal-style fries and all that. And that actually showed up in Super Sad True Love Story. I believe one of the characters is from California originally and is like, “Oh god, why am I living in New York, where there’s no In-N-Out?” Why can’t they open one here?! I think it’s just obstinance on their part.

If you could bring one now-closed restaurant back to life, which one would it be? For sure El Faro. That’s where I discovered garlic. I grew up in Eastern Queens — Littleneck — and now it’s really cool. They have all these Korean restaurants there, but they didn’t before. And then I went to Stuyvesant High School and started meeting people. I think I was already in college, but I started to develop a more global, kind of New York-y taste. El Faro was not cutting-edge at that point. It wasn’t new, but it felt like an old bohemian New York, and the whole thing smelled of garlic to such an extent that your eyes really watered.

I’ve written about it quite a bit — I did a piece in the Times magazine, I think, about it. And when it closed, that was horrifying. That was the one. Union Square Cafe closing was a big thing too. I wasn’t as much of a [fan], but I do remember when I published my first book that was a big publishing hangout and that’s where they took me, so that was pretty awesome, but it wasn’t like heart-rendering. Anyway, it reopened now on Park Avenue South I think, and it’s not bad either.

But yes, there is this weird feeling you get in New York, where, because the rents are so high, [you wonder] what’s going to survive in Manhattan. I do live in Manhattan. I don’t want to live in Auburndale to get the best food, right? I mean, nothing against Auburndale, it’s just really far from my shrink.

Is there a food trend that you’re sick of? I dunno... I just don’t get into these food trends that much. I can live without kale for a very long time and be totally happy. I’m one of those people that looks for staying power. Some things are just better than others, and almost every culture has a great cuisine, a great dish. Russian food is not my favorite, but just oily sturgeon with a shot of vodka, that is a great meal in and of itself.

What’s your “Proust’s madeleine”? It’s a dish that my mother made a lot when I was a kid. It was kasha, which is buckwheat groats, I think. It’s boiled in water and milk, and my mother would put little slices of sausage in it. When I was growing up, I thought this was the most disgusting dish ever, and I would fight with my mother — I mean, we’d have screaming fits about it. In Russia, it’s considered health food, and I guess it is health food, considering everything else in Russia is just butter. She would make me eat it, and I would hate it. I would love the sausage part, because it was meat, you know? But I would eat around the kasha, and she would literally cram it down my mouth.

And then I had a kid, and he used to love a Russian chain called Teremok that was near us, and it closed down. It wasn’t my favorite place in the universe, but my kid loved it, and I think it felt for him like a connection — obviously he was born in New York — but a connection to Daddy’s culture. He actually ate the kasha, and not just the sausage. He loved the sausage very much, but he ate the kasha. And I would almost get tears in my eyes whenever I would see him eat it. I almost felt bad, like, “I wish I had enjoyed it as a kid.”

What’s a food secret that you think more people should know about? Oh god, I’m going to really gross people out here, but fried brains are amazing. That is actually something my mother made. She said it would make me smarter — that didn’t work out — but that was sort of her pitch for it. You can get them in Italy. They’re called cervelli fritti and they are spectacular — lightly, lightly fried. Ahhh, they just melt in your mouth.

I know people have this thing about brains, but they don’t taste like brains. If you take out the idea of brains, they taste like the essence of the animal, like a Vulcan mind-meld with a cow. And I just had them in London — calves’ brains — that were also very delicious. If you’re a carnivore, it makes sense to eat every part of the animal, because the animal has given itself up for your eating pleasure — go nuts, and eat every piece of it. Eat its brain and feel like you really are communing with the animal.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Source: https://www.eater.com/2019/2/15/18224955/gary-shteyngart-food-interview

[centralparkpawsblog]

PetArmor Plus Flea & Tick Drops for Dogs Review

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It’s that time of year again; the sun is shining, the snow has finally melted for good, the flowers and trees are blooming.

Cookouts rule the long, warm days and campfires rule the cool nights.

Summer is here.

But with summer comes the bloodsucking and disease bearing pests – fleas, ticks, mosquitos, and the IRS.

And right along with them comes my biannual trip to the pet store for buying flea and tick control.

Like other parents of furbabies, we want the best product available to keep our four-legged kids protected from all the nasty biting things.

But let’s be honest – we all cringe when we drop $300 at the vet’s office or your favorite online or brick and mortar store for a little box containing itty bitty tubes of prevention every 6 months.

I was at my go-to pet store to pick up my usual brand (Advantix®) when the new associate helping me suggested the PetArmor Plus ®.

After a quick sales pitch highlighting the product’s active ingredient as the same as my usual major brand and a much lower price tag, I decided to give it a try on just one of the dogs – you know, what could it hurt? – and also so that there was a good comparison of the two products (you can’t teach an old dog new tricks …).

Besides – who doesn’t want to save a couple hundred bucks a year?

So I grabbed a pack (for use on 45-88 pound dogs), invested part of my savings into a Grande Unicorn Frappe, and headed home with my tiny tubes of liquid gold – and my pride.

Do’s and Don’ts

Like most products along these lines you should NOT use PetArmor Plus on cats.

If you have a mixed household, it’s important to keep the freshly treated canines away from the felines for 24-48 hours, allowing the product to fully penetrate and disperse.

PetArmor does offer a feline version of their product, but because of a cat’s system, and their tendency to groom anything they can get their tongues on, this family of products is fatal when absorbed or ingested.

Also, make sure you’re able to apply the product. I know, as silly as that sounds – it’s actually kind of a big thing.

If you’ve got a squirmy little perpetual motion machine that’s running laps around the house in their sleep, make sure you’re able to hold the little escape artist motionless long enough to apply the product.

Otherwise, a pill form might be more appropriate.

Oh, and never use on puppies under 8 weeks and NEVER use on any dog (of any age) that is less than 4 pounds.

Overview

Easy to apply

Snip and squeeze – can flea and tick treatment possibly get any easier than this? The six-pack (6 month of coverage) of tubes easily snap apart.

Then – pointing the top away from your face, just in case – snip the end off. The package insert recommends applying the product all in one spot, between the shoulder blades. There’s no need to comb it through or massage it in.

Easy peasy.

Breaks the flea life cycle

Killing – and repelling – the nasty flea is all well and fine, but what about the eggs? Larva? PetArmor Plus doesn’t offer only one facet of protection.

By targeting and breaking the life cycle of the flea, you’re ensuring the best type of management; prevention and treatment at the same time by 1) driving any live fleas off your dog at the time they hop on, and 2) killing existing fleas, larvae, and eggs.

More than just Lyme disease

Although it’s the most popular concern this time of year, ticks spread more than just the dreaded Lyme disease.

There are six – yes, six – major diseases in addition to Lyme that are spread to canines by ticks that are potentially fatal if left untreated. There are numerous other less-common diseases as well.

If this isn’t motivation enough for you get out and grab some protection, just remember that many tick-borne illnesses are spread to humans, too.

That means when the tick has had his fill of Fluffy and drops off, it’s a gamble if it reattaches to your dog – or YOU.

Convenient dosage schedule

Once a month. That’s it. In less than 60 seconds you can be confident that your precious pooch will remain flea and tick free for 30 days.

No worrying that every time Tank runs through high grass that he’s bringing home Lyme disease to share with your family, or if you have a doggie play date, that they’re bringing home extra little jumping friends to take over your home.

No pre- or post- play treatment required. One tube and they’re done. Repeat in 30 days.

Product Specifications

For use on dogs only

Single-tube application

Waterproof

Controls fleas, ticks, lice, and controls mange infestations

Available in 4 packages, based on canine weight;

Up to 22 lbs

23 – 44 lbs

45 – 88 lbs

89 – 132 lbs

The Good (Pros)

It sounds silly, but I liked the separate calendar card they enclosed in the box. With multiple dog households like mine, you mark the name of the dog and dates of application and stick it on the fridge.

I know – sometimes it’s the little things that make me happy. Simple things for simple folk I suppose – but whatever works to keep the protection current, especially if for whatever reason they are not on the same application day.

Snap, snip, and apply

The packaging took convenience to a whole other level. I usually have to use a crowbar and three sticks of dynamite to break into each individually foil-wrapped tube of my regular brand – but not with PetArmor.

Simply snap one tube away from the others. Snip the top off, and away you go.

Application was a breeze, too.

I followed the recommendation my vet made several years ago for applying liquid treatment; rather than squirting the contents into one puddle, I followed her spine from about her mid back up to the center of her shoulders, leaving a few drops every couple of inches.

This allows for easier application on two levels; because your hands parting their hair is masking the feel of the application, as well as helping to avoid skin irritation from a single-zone, concentrated application of the product.

The Bad (Cons)

Simply put, this product didn’t work on my dog.

At all.

A few days after application, I noticed she started to scratch.

On the weekends we take all the kids out to a nature area with a grassy field to romp without leashes, and then down the trail to a wooded area with a stream to play in the water.

Because of the thick canopy of trees, and the water, this area is usually teaming with mosquitos in the middle of the day – and my poor girl was constantly stopping to bite back.

She found some relief splashing in the water with the others – she always enjoys the water! – but heading back into the woods the biting started again.

When I dried her off before getting back into the truck, I saw it.

There was a tick on my baby girl.

The Ugly (Worse Cons)

I pretty much knew we were in trouble when, about an hour after application, I noticed that my girlie had multiple little bald patches everywhere I put the PetArmor Plus.

I don’t mean greasy spots where the hair matted over that looked like bald spots – I mean the hair was gone. >>POOF<< the hair was GONE!

Since the drops were already applied, I decided to run with it. The weekend romp settled it in my mind that the product was not appropriate for our family.

A quick visit with my vet the following week confirmed the reaction and to discontinue use of the product – and a small lecture about switching products without research up front.

Unfortunately, she confirmed that I shouldn’t apply another product until this one had reduced concentration on my dog. Not even powders or sprays could be used because of the amplification of effects and potential toxicity.

As a result we were in for about a month of baths and flea combing after every outing and trip to the park.

Oh yeah, my dog loved that.

Her poor skin was so irritated that by the end of the month we stopped going out of the house for more than a potty run.

30 days later – and an application of my regular product – we were out of quarantine and on the trails.

Buying Advice

Like with any pet medication – you should only purchase this product from a reputable source, such as your veterinary office, your local pet supply shop, or a trusted online retailer. Like everything from purses to little blue ED pills, there are overseas knock-offs flooding the market.

Ever heard of this brand? Me either

And while getting purse-shamed when your Coach bag is called out as fake can be distressing – when it comes to medications (human or animal) it can be a matter of life or death.

The convenience of dosing by weight makes purchasing the product easier – but make sure you have the correct weight of your dog before purchase. The little ball of fur you thought weighed 21 pounds might actually be 25, or your 90 lb Rottie might actually be only 84.

Never mix-n-match tubes, or buy a double size thinking you’re going to use half a tube and get double for your money. It don’t work that way.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to do a little research. There are many reputable products that are generic formulas and work perfectly fine.

But in this day of Google and Amazon, there’s no excuse for not arming yourself with a little information before making a new purchase, or changing brands.

Closing Thoughts

There were several lessons learned in my experience with PetArmor Plus®;

Understand the ingredients.

Like with human medication, it’s not just about the primary ingredient. We all know someone who can take the name brand of a medication, but not the generic – or vice-versa.

The ‘inert’ compounds can change the way a product works in a body, which can mean life or death for your pet.

These inert ingredients – while harmless on their own – can change the way a medication acts, reacts, or is absorbed.

Do your research

Know if there’s an open or recently settled class action lawsuit against the product – and why.

CAL’s are started everyday for frivolous reasons. Remember the action against Subway because their ‘footlong’ wasn’t actually 12″? Like I said – frivolous.

But sometimes these lawsuits can be warning flags about something going on with a product that might not make it worth the savings. Knowledge is power.

Every dog is different

I know several people who use this product without any problems. Like any other animal (humans included), sensitivities to ingredients and amounts vary.

If your canine is already on PetArmor Plus® and doing well – and it’s keeping all the nasties away – then that’s great! Keep it up.

It’s not always about the money

I’ve said it for years, about many things, “If it was all about the money, we’d all be driving Yugo’s.” It’s not always just about the price tag.

Yes, in these days where the economy and job market doesn’t know what it’s doing from one minute to the next, it’s hard not to keep a grip on the wallet.

There are areas to cut a bit, and there are areas not to. It’s important that YOU do what is right for YOU and your four legged kids.

Bottom line: The PetArmor Plus ® is not the same as K9 Advantix®, and the associate clearly had no real understanding of the product past the superficial sales pitch.

Although PetArmor Plus does boast the same primary ingredient as Frontline™ (Fipronil), it is not the same chemical compound or end product – as we’ve seen, the ancillary ingredients can make a huge difference in the absorption or action of the medication.

That being said, if your dog is on PetArmor Plus ® and doing well – especially if he has been on it for some time – then there is really no reason to make any change based on this review, or the 2012 class action lawsuit.

Remember: Every dog is different.

In my personal experience, K9 Advantix II (check out my review) keeps away the fleas, ticks, biting flies, and mosquitos without any side effects on any of my dogs.

And my dogs agree.

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