#and looking a little cross eyed and it shows off her heterochromia.

[trollbreak]

Constantly fighting the urge to spam every chat with cute images of my dogs

[paintedwithapalette]

Monsters Incorporated could be a ticking bomb waiting to happen at times. With its reliance on laughter to fuel their city, it wasn’t entirely uncommon that they’d receive laughter so powerful and potent that it would cause a shortage. This was one of those times. At least, for the upper floors of the massive complex where some sort of outage had taken place, and considering the CEO of the company had Boo with him, he didn’t want to turn her visit into a mess of running from floor to floor like the last time she was there. As much as he and his best friend loved her, they didn’t want Boo slowing them down either. They thought it might be best if she stayed in the lower levels where the power was, thankfully, still intact. 

The good news for Mike Wazowksi and James P. Sulliven was that a certain fuzzy exterminator who carried an oversized key was in the neighborhood. Though, this time he didn’t have the one-eyed duck and green dog with heterochromia iridum accompanything him. Instead, it was an unfamiliar girl wearing a stylish pink dress with her periwinkle fur, large paws, four eyes, and horns. It was a far cry from the much more outlandish looks of Donald and Goofy they remembered. 

After a quick introduction to Kairi and thanking the two for stopping by to do them a favor, Mike and Sulley scurried off to reach one of the main generators on one of the upper floors, leaving Sora and Kairi to care for Boo themselves, They entered Sulley’s office where the two had left Boo to play with her dolls while they stepped outside to have a chat with Sora and Kairi. 

“Boo?” Sora asked no one in particular. The room seemed fairly standard for an office: a desk located in the back with a computer and shelves of books surely collecting dust. “Anyone home?” 

As Sora and Kairi stepped further inside and searched the room for any signs of the young girl, Sora accidentally stepped on a doll and carefully picked it up. 

“This must be hers,” Sora concluded. 

“Do you think she’s okay?” Kairi asked, concern painted on her face. 

Sora didn’t say anything. Monsters Inc. was a big place and there was no telling where she could have gone. Boo was a sweetheart but she could be a troublemaker as well if left unsupervised. Sora crossed his arms and closed his eyes, contemplating what their next move should be. 

“Boo!” 

“AGH!” Sora yelled, wincing. 

When the dust settled, he saw the culprit reveal herself from behind Sulley’s desk, covering her mouth with both hands as she giggled at the reaction she was delighted to have witnessed from Sora. 

“Whoa, Boo! Where’d you come from?” Sora asked. 

Kairi laughed. “Looks like someone got a little spooked.” 

Sora cleared his throat and rubbed right under his nose. “Yeah, scared that you’d get hurt,” he excused poorly.  

Kairi gave a knowing smirk. “Yeah, sure.” 

When Boo looked at Kairi, she tilted her head at the unfamiliarity of her. Kairi recognized the little girl’s uncertainty and hunched over with a friendly wave. “Hi, there! You must be Boo. My name is Kairi. I’m Sora’s girlfriend.” 

Despite the validity of her bold statement, Sora couldn’t help but blush with a goofy smile lingering on his face that was only concealed thanks to his fur. Boo wasn’t sure what exactly a “girlfriend” was but she assumed it was something similar to Mommy and Daddy. With a giggle, she ran towards Kairi, talking to her as if she could understand whatever gibberish she spewed as she took her hand. 

“You are just the cutest little thing,” Kairi cooed as she picked up Boo. “And probably a lot braver than Mr. Scaredy Cat over here.”  

“Whaaaat?” Sora said. “I am not. I mean, okay...” he crossed his arms. “Some of the monsters around this place kinda give me the heebie-jeebies, but... I wouldn’t say I’m a scaredy cat.” 

Kairi sent him a teasing smirk. 

“What?!” he said defensively. 

Kairi laughed, settling into a sigh. “Oh, Sora. Remember when you and Riku would come over and we’d steal scary movies from my parent’s room to watch at midnight? You pretty much hid under the blankets the whole time and couldn’t sleep with the light off for a week.” 

“I was seven!” 

Kairi shook her head, the smile on her face never leaving. “You haven’t changed a bit. Even your monster form looks non-threatening.” 

“Huh? No way! I can totally be scary when I wanna be. Right, Boo?”

The only thing that came to mind for Boo was the unforgettable Funny Face Special that cracked her up the last time he visited. “Scary” was the last thing her developing brain categorized Sora as by any means. She giggled just thinking about it. 

“Aww, no. Not you too, Boo!” Sora dropped his head in shame. 

“Then it’s settled,” Kairi concluded as she and Boo laughed. 

“Hmmm.” Sora folded his arms and looked to the ceiling, thinking to himself until an idea came to him. Maybe if he scared Boo, it would show just how intimidating he could be. With a sinister-looking grin, Sora raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, a low growl murmuring under his breath. 

However, what Sora perceived to be a sinister smile came off more as a silly, non-threatening look Boo assumed was meant to be as funny as it looked and once again rewarded Sora with affectionate laughter. 

While Sora loved making her happy, he wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong either. He spent the next ten minutes doing whatever he could to make Boo at least a little fearful; he made every face he could possibly muster, but they all resulted in either blank, confused stares or laughing frenzies from the girls. 

A lightbulb popped over his head as an idea came to mind. “Stay right here,” Sora requested as he hurriedly turned off the lights, blanketing the three of them in complete darkness. 

“Boooooooo,” Sora sang in a deep, haunting voice. “I seeeeeee youuuuuuu.” 

Sora couldn’t see it, but Boo’s lips quivered. Thankfully, she had Kairi to hold onto tight, making the dark not as scary as it normally would’ve been. Sora carefully and quietly crept around the office. 

“Boooooooooo,” Sora echoed. 

“Kitty?” Boo said in hopes of her favorite monster friend coming to her rescue at any moment. 

Sora stealthily crept closer to where he pinpointed where Kairi stood and snuck behind her. He lifted his finger, ready to tap Boo on the shoulder in hopes of giving her a good fright, but instead, Boo heard him at the last second and grabbed his finger just before he could touch her.  

“Boo!” she said. 

“WHOA!” Sora cried,  rushing back to turn the lights back on. Kairi howled with laughter at how poorly Sora’s plan backfired. He groaned. Maybe that was what he deserved, trying to scare a little girl just to prove a point. Still, as he watched Boo laugh heartily with Kairi knowing that he was the cause, it did make him feel warm and fuzzy inside. . 

“I guess you’re just too cute to be scary, Sora,” Kairi teased. “Just stick to what you do best, okay?” 

Sora smiled. Kairi was right. If anything, he was more glad to have been able to bring Boo such joy rather than be the reason she would have a nightmare that night. “Looks like you win, Boo,” Sora said. “You’re tough! Guess nothing ever gets you down, huh?” 

Boo only responded with more giggles before she spoke a set of words he wasn’t expected. “Funny Face! Funny Face!” 

“Huh?” Sora questioned aloud. To his surprise, she really did remember that from the last time he visited. 

“Funny Face?” Kairi asked. “Oh, you mean like when you first met Donald and Goofy, right?” 

Sora rubbed the back of his furry head with a bashful smile. “Ah, I guess you would remember that, huh?” 

“Yup!” Kairi affirmed with a laugh. “And honestly, I’d like to see it, too.” 

“Well, I guess I can’t disappoint,” Sora said. He set his feet, tied his hands behind his back, dipped his head down with an imaginary drum roll playing in his mind before he shot back up with his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head, showing off his pearly whites. 

Just like last time, Boo laughed like a little madwoman. Kairi found the sight amusing as well, it was her first time seeing this face from a third-party’s perspective rather than when she was inside his heart when he first did it. 

Sora chuckled. “Hey, Kairi, give it a try!” 

“Oh, m-me?” Kairi asked. 

“Sure! Let’s see how silly you can be.” 

“Well, I guess I can give it a try,” Kairi said. She turned Boo in her arms to give her a better look at her before she dipped her head down, imaginary drum roll and all, before she lifted her head with her crossed-eyes pupils and her tongue sticking out. “Neeeeeeeeee!” 

Boo was hit with gut-wrenching laughter she couldn’t contain, tears leaking from the little girl’s eyes as the deadly combo of both Sora and Kairi sending her the silliest faces they could manifest was too much for her to handle. Before long, Sora and Kairi noticed the lights in the room beginning to flicker at a rapid rate. They ceased their onslaught of silly faces, but Boo didn’t stop laughing at the fresh memories. 

Pop! 

In an instant, the lights cut off and shards of glass from the broken lightbulb crashed onto the floor, thankfully out of reach to not hurt Boo but close enough to make Kairi let out a slight shriek. 

“What happened?” she asked. 

Sora nearly forgot that laughter was what fueled the city of Monstropolis. Having Boo laugh so much must have caused some sort of overload. He chuckled nervously. “I think we might have gone a bit too far.” 

Before Kairi could ask a question, they heard Mike Wazowksi’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. “See, Sull? What’d I tell ya? That generator was a piece of cake. Still, where’s the electrician when you need ‘em?” 

“You probably could’ve used the exercise yourself, Butterball,” Sulley replied as the two entered the office only to find that it was pitch black. 

“Uh, guys? You in here?” Mike asked. 

“Yeah, Mike,” Sora said, leading Kairi outside into the light of the hallway. 

“You guys playing hide and seek?” Sulley asked. 

Sora rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh... think you guys might need a new lightbulb.” 

“What the heck is that s’posed to mean?” Mike asked. “What in the world were you two doin’ to make Sull’s whole office pitch black?” 

“Making Boo laugh,” Sora admitted bashfully. 

“Yeah, like this!” Kairi said, offering a demonstration as she made a similar face from before. 

Sora, Mike, and Sulley reached out their hands dramatically. “Kairi, no!” all three said a variation of. 

But it was too late. Boo went into another burst of laughter and before they knew it, the hallway lights flickered and after another resounding pop, they stood in the midst of darkness. 

“Oops,” Kairi squeaked. “Sorry... I didn’t think her laughs were that powerful.” 

“But if the entire hallway blacked out, then does that mean...?” Sora prodded. 

Sulley sighed. “You guys think you might wanna take a trip down to the generator in the basement?” 

Mike nearly had a heart attack. “OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—”

Fin. 

------------------------

Definitely one of my sillier and lighter pieces for this week! Lol the adorable full piece will be posted by @amyhayanora​, so check her out! 

[onestowatch]

Artists on Their Favorite and Least Favorite Animal Crossing Villagers

In the world of hard-hitting journalism, few topics are as divisive and polarizing as Animal Crossing, namely the subject of best and worst villagers. From tier lists to spending an obscene amount of Nook Miles tickets in the search of the “perfect” villager, the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has brought with it a seedy blackmarket. Want a smug office working cat with heterochromia? Well, I hope you are prepared to shell out upwards of 20 million bells. 

From Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk critiquing players’ virtual homes to Elijah Wood sliding in your DMs to sell turnips, seemingly no one is safe from this newfound reality. So, as we navigate our way through a world in which Bobby isn’t pleased with my island home having a room dedicated solely to turnip storage, we posed one impossible question to a few of our favorite artist friends. “Who is your favorite and least favorite Animal Crossing villager?”

BENEE

"I don’t like Moose because he only ever wants to talk to me about working out, and I don’t like how he calls me shorty! Katt is probably my favourite because she seems interested in having a chat when I approach her."

Griffin McElroy

“Roald is my favorite Animal Crossing villager by an enormous margin, and was the first creature I tracked down once I got my hands on New Horizons. He’s a penguin who falls into the ‘jock’ category, despite the fact that he’s usually chilling in his igloo-house with a sandwich or a cold one in hand. He cares very much about my sick gains, and I appreciate it to no end.

My least favorite villager is Zucker, who is an octopus that most other players seem to love, but boy, he's challenging. His head resembles takoyaki, which is to say, a fried dough ball filled with minced octopus, impaled on a stick and drizzled with brown sauce. What dark magics breathed life into Zucker? Should I want to eat him? Because I kind of do, and I don't need that energy on my island, thanks.”

Dayglow

“Favorite has to be Sparro by far, like woah! He’s so freaking chill. Least favorite was easily Zipper— good riddance. He had such creepy unwelcome vibes.”

mxmtoon

"My favorite Animal Crossing Villager is Stitches because I think he looks like the funniest and he really likes bugs. He lives on a dirt floor, he's an airplane king, and, despite all odds, has flourished and thrived in his life. I don't even know if I have a least favorite but if I had to pick it would be Pate, she's a duck and just really rude. Her eyebrows also look like W's.”

Cavetown

“Villagers can be a very controversial topic in the Animal crossing community. There seems to be two types of people when it comes to villager preferences - the ones who just love them all equally, and the ones who unapologetically have an overwhelming hatred for specific animals in the game. I’m of course totally against bullying in most cases, but animal crossing villagers are the one exception. 

I won’t name names about the ones I hate in the game as not to hit any nerves for anyone reading, but for example there’s this one resident I have - let’s just say her name rhymes with Banberra - who has being going around pissing off all my best friends in town. She leaves my sweet Sydney and Marina walking around furious for no good reason. I’ve been trying to bully her out of my town but she’s been there since the beginning and seems adamant on staying. She’s my least favourite right now because of how she’s been treating my other villagers.

As for favourites, I could go on forever!! In my current town, Poncho was one of my first two villagers and I decided we’re best buds. He’s a jock villager so is always talking about pumping iron, and I love him so much that I built a whole outdoor gym for him in my town. I tend to unconditionally love the Octopus and Frog villagers. He doesn’t really count as a villager, but my favourite character in the whole game is Leif. I would literally put my life on the line if it meant his flowers would bloom perfectly.”

chloe moriondo

“Pietro is my favorite ACNH villager even though I don’t have him on my island (yet)!!!!!  I think he gets a lot of hatred thrown his way for being a clown, which I personally relate to, and he is colorful and cute and fun and sheepy and I would lay down my life for him. He is by far my favorite villager since I got him in my town in New Leaf.

My least favorite villager is Moose, even though I weirdly still respect him for being so ugly and notorious amongst the ACNH community. In fact, I would almost call myself a fan of him just because of how gross and hilarious I think his little manly mouse face is. I would not want him in my town ever, but I am an advocate of Ugly ACNH Villagers’ Rights so I wouldn’t hit him with a net or be mean to him if he were to visit. (Would NOT ask him to move in though.)”

Jorge (Peach Tree Rascals)

“My personal favorite character is (not surprisingly) K.K Slider. Any dog with that much swag and music playing ability deserves all the love and respect in the world. As for my least favorite it’d probably have to be Pietro. Something about a creepy clown like that just doesn’t sit right with me, It’s just so creepy looking. An honorable mention would be Papi the horse, simply because his name is Papi. Like c’mon that’s hilarious! Plus his dreams of being a comic book writer remind me of when I wanted to be a comic artist when I was much younger.”

Almondmilkhunni

“I like Goldie the most because she’s just super cute. And I dislike Moose, because I hate his eyebrows. He’s a little rat weirdo.”

khai dreams

“I love Roald. He is a weird little beady-eyed dude, but I adore him. He was one of the villagers in my town back when I played Animal Crossing on the GameCube. Penguins were my favorite animal at the time, so I was so happy when he moved in. He is just a dumb little baby and I love him for it. Bonus fav character is Coco. She is just so weird and creepy and cute. She is my wife. She will be my wife. 

My least favorite villager is Colton. F Colton!! He showed up in my camp and wouldn't leave until I let him live in my village. I report him every day to Isabelle, but it seems to make no difference. In his biography it says his skill is ‘Writing about pickles;’ what the hell? stfu Colton. Write about pickles in someone else's town!!!”

[crazyfreckledginger]

Warlords x Reader - "Criminal Masterminds" [Part 11]

In a world where the most powerful are the greediest, everyone has to fend for themselves. The rich stay hidden, normal citizens live their lives, unbeknownst to all the lies and secrets the most dangerous firms keep locked away. When a mercenary is sent to retrieve valuable information that is also searched for by the Oda forces and Takeda-Uesugi, paths cross, dilemmas arise, love, morals and important decisions become a threat.

A/N: Publishing a bunch of parts because I've left you guys pending for too long!

Warning: Tensionnn

"How is the job going?" he smirked.

"Stop evading the question." (Y/N) glared coldly at him.

"Just seeing how you're doing, I have to investigate the mole after all." he purred, "and I thought, what better way of doing that than by going directly to the most suspicious person in the form."

Her heart was beating fast now,  but her poker game face was strong,  thanks to the extra training she put herself through with Mitsuhide.

If she was going to fiddle with power play, she'll have to treat it like these so-called 'big shot' douchebags were: like a game.

An amused smirk appeared on her face, "have fun getting sacked, it will be much more pleasant without your existence polluting the air."

His expression darkened, his mocking manner dissipated in an instant.

"You know I'll skin whoever is feeding information to an external source, and don't doubt for a second I won't bring you down as well."

The woman wasn't going to let him control her behaviour like he used to, she's going to be fighting back. It helped a lot with her confidence that the Oda Forces secret headquarters was right there.

Sighing, she expressed "Rey already said I'm the best agent, he'd never believe the stupid lies you tell him, he knows you want to be on top because it does wonders to your ego."

Jayden stared silently at her.

"Unlike some," her eyes eyed him suggestively, "I have a job I can succeed, so bye."

The man watched as she skipped to her car, effortlessly pulling out of the parking lot and driving away, ignoring his very being.

When he faced the building again, his gazed locked with someone at the very top at the building, the shadow didn't show the face but he could tell whoever was watching him was doing so with narrowed slits.

Was it the Devil King himself?

The curtain blocked the mysterious figure as soon as he questioned it mentally.

Strange.

"Him, abbot?" a short man voiced.

"Yes, he's perfect. Keep an eye on him, we'll make our move."

****

"Oh my gosh, Kenshin, what are you doing here?" her stomach churned, that definitely scared her.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing." whilst the thought was very, his facial expression and heterochromia eyes stated differently.

"Are you sure you're okay?" her eyebrows furrowed.

"You are too sweet to worry about my wellbeing." he strode a few steps closer to her, cupping her chin in between his fingertips. Her cheeks flushed instantly.

"W-What are you doing?" she tried to shy away from him.

"Admiring you." he smiled innocently.

The woman couldn't comprehend why he was being so straightforward and... flirtatious?

It wasn't quite like Shingen but he definitely wasn't being shy about it either. It was a little unnerving.

"Why are you acting like this? We need to be careful, we might be watched." her palms pressed against Kenshin to maintain a certain distance.

"Do not worry, Sasuke and Yukimura have scouted the area before we came here." the man tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.

"Yeah and we didn't assume you would be making a move as a result." the pair turned to the familiar person the voice belonged to.

"I didn't expect you would actually put that plan to execution." Shingen's eyes widened in surprise after his vassal's interruption.

"Plan? What plan?" (Y/N) glanced between the four of them. Sasuke had yet to speak up.

The Takeda leader's mouth opened.

"Shingen, don't spread lies on me." The blond demanded.

"I don't think Lord Shingen had any intention of lying to her about this." the ninja pressed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose.

"If you tell her the truth, I will forbid Yukimura from buying you any sweet desserts." he warned the other warlord. The red head's eyes widened slightly.

"I'll buy you all the sweet desserts you want now spill!" The girl interjected.

"He sees that that Devil has taken a keen interest in you and, knowing we have a truce, he thinks the only way to make sure he can torture him is by making sure you  have an interest in him and not Nobuanaga." the man stated matter of factly.

"That's not-keep your mouth shut!! You're ruining the plan!"

"Nobuanaga isn't interested in me?! Who would give you that idea?" she frowned.

There was a moment of silence as the men stared blankly at her.

"We're only business partners."

They gave her are-you-serious looks. Kenshin chuckled.

"My methods are working."

"No-"

"You think you could win her over with the Tiger's sad ways? How much nonsense." a loud, deep voice roared in laughter.

"You all need to LEAVE, oh my days." the (H/C)'s haired lady pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Our Lord is right," an attractive lisp filled the room as, faster than lightning, a hand grasped (Y/N)'s arm and pulled her against his chest. She was met by an intensly blue eye.

"Hello lass." Masamune grinned.

"Unhand me." she ordered, yanking her limb back.

"I'm surprised you would sink so low as to play the wounded Tiger's dirty tricks. Very sad." Nobuanaga smirked.

"I wouldn't want to slice your head off in front of the lovely princess." Shingen's suddenly cold-as-stone demeanour could have been enough to cut through the now very think air. It sent a chill down her spine.

"That escalated quickly." Sasuke murmured under his breath.

"What are you doing here, Devil?" Kenshin questioned bitterly.

"I came to check on (Y/N) following the incident with Jayden later today. Masamune wanted to tag along." the raven haired man nodded to her.

"I'm okay, thank you." she offered him a smile, one which he returned before his face fell and he turned to the enemy Dragon.

"And what about you, hmm?" his red irises narrowed suspiciously.

"I wanted to return the information I collected from their firm to her so could have an idea of what is happening." The ninja replied.

"We only wanted to make sure... the information arrived safely." Kenshin added. The One-eyed Dragon raised a questioning eyebrow.

"As much as I'm, enjoying, this, we must get going." Nobuanaga patted (Y/N) on the head, much like what she was doing to her own kitten when she lost interest in their bickering. He chuckled when he caught sight of her glare at the gesture before heading towards the door.

"I suggest you all leave her alone for the night, I'm sure she wants the rest of her night to be without interruption as she relaxes." the Devil King sent her a wink. Masamune followed him out, saluting her in goodbye.

"Thank you Sasuke." she thanked him as he placed a few stapled papers on her counter top.

"It's my pleasure." he replied stoically.

"Good night my beautiful princess, I hope you have plenty of beautiful dreams of the both of us as husband and wife." Shigen delicately held her hand, placing a sweet kiss on the back of it.

"O-okay, bye." she pulled it back in surprise, cheeks burning shyly. He smirked at her reaction.

"I'm not doing that." Kenshin shook his head but patted her head affectionately before following his fellow warlord out.

"Goodnight!" she called out as the black fluffball rubbed against her hand.

"Good night." The vassal and ninja responded before closing her back door behind them.

The kitten clawed at her blouse. She scooped it up in her arms and made her way to the couch.

"Oof." the woman breathed out, letting herself fall on it, "what a day." a small mewl and tiniest weight on her stomach was the last thing she felt before drifting off into a deep slumber.

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[kitanoko]

I wrote this for @selephi​‘s birthday! ENJOY AND HOPE U LIKE THIS FRIEND!

In which Yaoyorozu walk Todoroki home

"You know you should be really grateful that ME...THE GREAT MINETA has come to mentor you. It's my pleasure by the way to teach you how to solve the most enigmatic mysteries of all time with my intelligence and perfect skills built upon years of experience."

Todoroki stuffed a piece of fried chicken drenched with mayo into his mouth and gurgled it down with the lager he had just ordered. Well, correction, he was given the beverage for free. "On the house" a giggling waitress had said, staring at him for a few seconds too long.

Mineta murmured a few profanities under his breath and continued.

"Were you even listening to me?" The teeny dwarf with purple curled hair stated a bit louder than previous. The energetic blues in the back covered his voice just a little. Huh, strange, Todoroki started thinking, Mineta's hair looked so much like jumbo grapes. The ones he missed from home so much since landing here in Japan.

Well he did see some famous Japanese ones at the supermarket near his temporary apartment but they were a bit pricey.

"Sure." He absentmindedly answered while reaching for a napkin. Mineta scowled at him and crossed his legs, lips pursed.

Todoroki had come here for work purposes. Originally from San Francisco, Todoroki came from a line of famous detectives and secret agents. His agency needed his help over in Kyoto and sent him over straight away without even asking him twice. Midoriya and Iida told him he'd definitely have fun over at their satellite office.

When the duo haired man had arrived, hair and clothes dishevelled, he found out the office in Kyoto only had a handful of employees, half of which got on his nerves. Mineta, a detective (if you could even call him that) who started out only recently at their firm already held 5 offences above his head, and here he was, sitting with him, telling Todoroki how much 'honour' he's bestowing upon him.

Ugh. Can this night get any worse.

To his right was a stoic man named Shouji and a boisterous one named Kirishima. They were also employees of the firm and Todoroki held respect for them both, especially the well-known 'Octa-man'.

"Well I'm glad you're here," Kirishima started, body slumping on the cracked leather seats, "Meeting THE 'Todoroki Shouto' is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

The man mentioned clinked Kirishima's glass and muttered a cheers before giving him a slight grin. "I think you give me too much credit, Kirishima."

"Oh no," Shouji commented, his tall figure took up a big part of the couch, leaning forward to project his voice better, "It really is a rarity. I think us 3 are grateful for you being here, if Aizawa didn't end up in the hospital last week, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

Aizawa was one of the firm's most well-respected managing agent, after 20 years of fighting and solving crime, he took the duty of leading a starting team out in Asia, Kyoto being one of APAC's main operating offices. Apparently he was 'getting old' he said, slipped off a four story building while in a chase and lost the criminal. Got gifted with two broken ribs and a broken hip.

Kirishima sent Todoroki a wide smile that cut his face in half, scruffling his hair which was even more red than his own, with one hand and interjected.

"Teach me all your manly ways my bro! I'm ready to fight alongside you whenever that son of a bitch shows up!"

Todoroki nodded in agreement. The sooner he catches the criminal that Aizawa had let slip out of his grasp the sooner he'd be able to fly back home.

Although, hanging out with these guys weren't so bad. Except for Mineta, who was now oogling some girl at the far corner of the bar. It disgusted him how disrespectful he was acting, let alone being an agent who worked under the same roof as him.

Todoroki finished his fifth swig of beer and casually swiped the vodka under Kirishima. He emptied it in one go and with a swipe of his right hand, dried the lingering bit of alcohol on his chapped lips.

"Think I'll go," the fire and ice user spoke, using Shouji's shoulder as a support. He stood up, and grumbled, a faint dizzy spell had him sway a bit. What was in that vodka?

His friends to his left looked worried with Kirishima knitting his brows in concern.

"You want me to come with you man?"

Todoroki shook his head vehemently. Loosening his tie in a quick left and right motion, he flung a hand out as if to tell Kirishima he was fine. Shouji wasn't at all convinced but let him get out anyway.

At this point, Todoroki had noticed that Mineta was gone, off somewhere to 'pick up chicks' as he would call it. His vision was getting a little blurry and his temples were pounding. He better get home and rest before tomorrow's 7am conference call.

"Hey come on pretty lady," Mineta's voice rang like annoying cicadas on a boiling hot day. Todoroki instinctively eyed where the little grape man was standing, conveniently near the exit that he was going to take and noticed the dark-haired girl he was trying to flirt with or whatever. She had a very uncomfortable yet polite smile etched on her face.

"No, please sir, let go of my arm," the lady insisted. Her eyes were bright, cheeks plump and dusted pink, and Todoroki had to say, her volumed hair framed her pretty heart shaped face perfectly.

She stood tall on her black stilettos and nervously grabbed the hem of her short black skirt as her leg slowly moved backwards. Still, Mineta urged on with a face like a wild animal.

Todoroki has had enough.

With a quick three-step stride, Todoroki was standing right beside the lady. He sent Mineta a viscious glare that made the grape boy startle in fear.

"Leave her alone," The duo haired man could hear himself talking a bit louder than usual. What was he doing? He should be going home and having a nice steamy shower. But seeing the girl beside him being harassed by Mineta like that was something he couldn't get out of his system. He tightly gripped Mineta's tiny arm and ripped it off her like he was acting on a vendetta.

It was probably the alcohol.

By now the crowd had dispersed a bit, music still blaring from the speakers high up on the ceiling and a small semi circle had formed to watch what was happening.

Crap. Todoroki thought, he hated getting attention.

"I'm..I'm sorry," Mineta finally managed to answer, his eyes were watering and his legs wobbled under Todoroki's intense stare. It didn't help that his heterochromia made him look that much more angry.

After two more seconds of seeing Todoroki's taciturn expression, Mineta knew he had to escape and scurried back to find Shouji who was shaking his head with Kirishima in disapproval.

The lady finally sighed in relief, noticing the crowd going back to form their own cliques and held a hand to her chest.

"Thank you so much," she began, turning to look into his eyes, "I didn't want to hurt him...if you hadn't come I think I might have had to call security or something."

"It's nothing, just didn't want us to have to deal with a lawsuit tomorrow."

Todoroki's legs motioned over to the door and the lady extended a hand to him before he could leave.

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo. Nice to meet you and thank you, again."

Todoroki grabbed her soft hands and mumbled something before she could ask another question.

Pushing out the door, the slight autumn breeze ruffled his hair and Todoroki found himself stumbling along the sidewalk towards what he hoped was West of the city.

He had a faint recollection of his apartment being somewhere near the intersection with the bright orange Yoshinoya but with his headache he figured he shouldn't even think much anymore.

With an unsteady step, he took a quick rest after crossing the street. He leaned against the concrete wall of what looked like the outer area of a highschool and rolled up his sleeves. Usually he'd be able to regulate his body temperature but everytime after he drank, he just can't seem to do it as well. Right now, he felt sweat beading against his skin, the only thing cooling him down was the gust of strong wind that seemed to blow away even the seeds of wild dandelions.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar figure closing in on him. The slim shadow got nearer and finally he realized it was the girl, Yaoyorozu, that was jaywalking across to where he was. What's she doing here?

"Mister!" He heard her call out, "Are you alright?"

Todoroki nodded before watching her hold a handkerchief to his forehead.

"You don't look so good, sorry I didn't mean to follow you!" Yaoyorozu apologized immediately in case there was some misunderstanding going on. "I..I..."

The man grabbed her hand that was still on his forehead and held it there.

"Your hands are cold." He mumbled casually and she felt a warmth that tickled from her spine to her extremities. Yaoyorozu widened her eyes and quickly took her hand to her side.

Todoroki had no idea why she seemed so nervous but thought the ruddiness of her cheeks must have been due to whatever beverage she just had. A sweet smell wafted over him when she stood closer and he realized she had on a light fruity perfume. Without a second thought, Yaoyorozu held her arm around his shoulder as if to support him.

"I'll take you home," she offered graciously, "I think you had one too many drinks sir."

Sir. She just called him 'sir'. Todoroki thought, she was a humourous one.

"Call me Todoroki." He answered, and without confirming whether he wanted the help or not, the steps he started to take implied he wouldn't mind her accompanying him for the short walk.

Yaoyorozu tucked a loose hair over her ear and smiled, Todoroki noticing the lines on the corner of her eyes that had formed when she did.

"I live a block away from here."

"Is it near Yoshinoya?"

Todoroki cocked a brow.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Oh nothing," she said, "it's just that I used to live near here too when I was still a university student."

They pass Emmachi station quite soon after, them filling all the awkward silences with small talk and both of them come to enjoy each other's company. Yaoyorozu didn't lose her grip on Todoroki the whole way, either politely positioning her hand on his shoulder or gripping his arm.

By the time they get to the entrance of Todoroki's apartment, he had already loosened up the buttons near his neck to let the heat out. Yaoyorozu blushed at him and bowed slightly.

"Have a safe trip up the stairs!" She beamed and Todoroki let out a relaxed chuckle.

"Ya, hope I don't fall and break my nose."

She didn't seem to take that joke lightly.

"Let me help you up then!"

Todoroki wanted to laugh. What is this naivety? Wasn't she scared to get kidnapped or something?

"For all you know, I could be a murderer or a kidnapper." His voice sounded quite serious actually.

"No, Todoroki-san I could tell you're a good person! You...you helped me back there, and I swear that purple guy would have gotten badly hurt if I had to use my judo on him!" Yaoyorozu commented matter-of-factly.

So she knew martial arts huh. Guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover.

The man turned to unlock the gate and once again felt her slender fingers around his wrist.

He sighed. "Okay if you insist. It's 3 floors so its not going to be a breezy trek."

It took them 5 minutes to get up there and with Todoroki's feet feeling like tofu, he was just glad he finally made it home. Just a metre left before he could sprawl over his futon. Yaoyorozu didn't stop chatting away the whole time, he learnt that she was a biochemist doing her Masters and he also learnt that she seemed to really like her friends. She enjoyed arranging flowers and knows a lot about tea.

The last few steps to his door, Todoroki fished out his keys and stabbed it in before giving it a twist. Yaoyorozu waved.

"Thanks by the way," Todoroki said, he placed a hand over his head to massage his temples, "Really, I was never that great with alcohol, lightweight they'd all call me."

The lady giggled slightly, fixing the strap of her purse on her shoulder before taking his hands in her own in a polite handshake.

She was standing so close to him. Her orbs lively and bright.

Yaoyorozu blushed when Todoroki took a step closer and drew her face with a light tap under her chin and gave her a light peck on her cheek.

What the hell. Did he just kiss her?

"Um..Todo..Todo..." She couldn't even pronounce his name at this point. Thoughts were running wildly in her mind. Yaoyorozu was a fan of shoujo manga but this was...this was real life! It didn't help that his handsome face was right in front of her; should she kiss him back too? Oh my, she had just met him for a good half an hour and now her heart's pounding in her ears.

Ugh, what would Seo do if Wakamatsu had kissed her?

Todoroki cleared his throat, successfully breaking the black-haired girl from her thoughts.

He seemed slightly awkward following what just happened, his hand still holding the door open. He had no idea why he had done what he had done, but seeing her cute face redden up gave his heart a tug.

"Goodnight...." He held out his phone. How he managed to still balance his phone and swipe it steadily he didn't know. "Um, whats your number?"

Yaoyorozu gulped. "7788644656" she blurted that out in a hurry. She felt a vibration of her phone in her pocket within seconds and Todoroki stuffed his back to its original spot.

"Alright, give me a text when you're back home. Just called you so you'll have my number too. Bye."

The lady only managed to nod, watching as he gave her a wave of his hand before disppearing behind the wooden door painted white.

Was that going to be their last meeting? She thought as her heart practically leapt out of her ribcage. Yaoyorozu found a slight dance in her steps as she hopped back down the apartment.

She couldn't wait till she got home to send Todoroki a text. And of course, she had to tell her bff Jirou about this.

[jflashandclash]

Tales From Mount Othrys

Ajax: Magical Daycare III

 It was like drinking Melon-flavored Pop Rocks. In summary, ten out of ten: Pax would drink mysterious liquids from witches again.

         What was better: when Axel went to swat Pax’s head, his hand barely touched Pax’s twisted black locks. As Pax had hoped, something spooky was happening. The world was getting HUGE. So was his clothing. The flannel shirt collapsed from his waist. Although Axel always towered over Pax, his older brother looked like a giant now.

         “Is there tree nut in that?!” Axel had asked before he realized how small his brother had gotten.

         Alabaster withdrew a mini flip notebook from a vest pocket and clicked out a pen. “An allergy? Noted. Tree nuts are the least troublesome ingredient you’ll find in here.”

         By then, Axel panicked for another reason.

         Or, Pax assumed it was because Pax, himself, was now at Axel’s ankle height. His oversized band shirt had settled in a nice, warm blanket around him. He felt very warm in general and enjoyed the sensation of burrowing. When he glanced around, Pax was elated how easily he could focus on subtle movement around the room: the way Alabaster flicked his pen back and forth, the way Lou Ellen held her hands over her mouth to repress a giggle, the slightest twitch of Mercedes’ lips, and the way the vein in Axel’s forehead pulsed as he demanded Alabaster fix his brother.

         Pax reached out to pat Axel’s foot and assure him that he was honored to have been miniaturized in the name of magic. His paw didn’t reach far enough.

         Paw?

         If Pax could have grinned, he would have. His facial muscles didn’t react. What did react were his short, clawed paws. His body felt different. He tried to glance down and bopped his face into the floor. After shaking his snout, he glanced to the side to find a furry, long, almost-serpentine body.

         And, the best thing ever.

         He. Had. A. Tail.

         Pax jumped. The end of his body reflexively straightened and his short, black-tipped tail followed. Pax turned, sprinting after his tail, and curled in on himself to grab it.

         This new body was way more flexible than his boring human one.

         “You turned him into a ferret!” Axel panicked.

         “Actually, I believe that’s a weasel,” Mercedes said, watching Pax roll on the floor and bat at his tail.

         “It is,” Alabaster said. He frowned, crossed his arms, and gave his sister a chastising scowl. “It was supposed to be a polecat.”

         The girl sheepishly shrugged. “At least it’s the right family.”

         “Genus,” Alabaster corrected absently. As though that was the part upsetting Axel, he apologized, “Sorry, she’s still learning her classifications.”

         “I don’t care about—what is in this stuff?!” Axel demanded. He took a threatening step closer to the witches, shoving his vial at them, the one Alabaster had poured from his science beaker.

         “Yours is a new brew of tea,” Alabaster said, staring thoughtfully to where Pax tried biting through Axel’s boot. Alabaster swallowed. “I think.”

         Axel looked about ready to start throwing punches.          

         To prove that would be an unnecessary show of aggression towards the two coolest people Pax now knew (and because the black cat had noticed his movement and was doing an excited cat-butt-shuffle with a hunter’s pair of dilated eyes), Pax darted at the girl’s lab coat. He stood on his hind paws, rising much taller than he’d anticipated. As he had hoped, his claws effortlessly dug into her canvas material. Easier than he ever could as a human, he clamored up the front of her jacket.

         The girl giggled in delight when Pax sat on her shoulder and snuggled into her black locks. That was not the typical reaction he got when he snuggled against people he didn’t know. Pax wondered, passively, what else he could get away with in weasel form. She smelled richly of cooking herbs and sandalwood. Her brother’s scent was even stronger, almost overpowering, as Alabaster reached to rub between Pax’s ears.

         Pax’s heart thudded in his little chest as those beautiful, emerald eyes leveled with the girl’s shoulder. “Huh, her heterochromia remained,” Alabaster said, tilting up Pax’s snout with a bent index finger. Pax was pleased to hear his clothing had confused at least one person today. “There must be some sort of magical interference.”

“Maybe mixed magic in her ancestry or maybe a previous curse?” the girl suggested. The idea seemed to excite her.

“She’s remarkably calm. Has your sister been turned into a weasel before?” Alabaster’s questions were more to himself than Axel.

         Axel’s rage melted at Alabaster’s question about mixed magic. Although Pax was preoccupied staring at Alabaster’s emerald eyes, Pax could guess that his brother had paled.

         Without waiting for a response, Alabaster glanced at Mercedes. “Where do they come from?”

         “Jack,” Mercedes answered. “Their names are Pax One and Pax Two.”

         “That’s awfully convenient for records—wait—Jack doesn’t care about new comers,” Alabaster muttered. His eyes focused on Mercedes like he only now registered her as a living thing. “And who are you?”

         “Someone who is about to be late for morning prayer. Is there a meditation room aboard this ship?” she asked.

         Alabaster’s eyes flicked from her shawl back to her eyes. “There is for people who have names. Unless you’d like to be Pax Three.”

         Pax liked listening to the two of them talk. It was quick and dangerous like dangling a stringed mouse in front of a jaguar.

         “Mercedes,” she answered, struggling to keep her lip from twitching.

         “Like the Count of Monte Cristo,” Alabaster said thoughtfully. “A beautiful name.”

         Mercedes opened her mouth. Pax had to wonder if she thought Alabaster was going to make the “Benz” comment and had a witty retort. Instead, she smiled.

         Pax wanted to be able to make everyone in the room smile like that. He had a feeling Alabaster and Mercedes didn’t often enough, similar to how Axel didn’t smile often enough. Maybe he and the green-eyed, giggly girl needed to start conspiring.

         “There is a chapel on the top floor of the ship, two floors above the deck. You will pass Luke setting up his sword training. He will be in a foul mood this morning,” Alabaster said it like it had nothing to do with him. With Pax’s enhanced eyesight, he noticed the slightest quiver in Alabaster’s hands.

He flipped a page on his little notebook and wrote something. Once done, he tore off the page and handed it to her. “Lou Ellen and I take advantage of the sunlight in the chapel for a small garden. You will find instructions here that say you are to help tend to my sick herbal ingredients five times a day. You will find that not everyone aboard the ship is comfortable with the idea of genuflecting before deities other than the titans. If they do, show them this slip of paper. There are clean towels rolled beside the garden lot that we use for tending. They are not ideal, I know, but can be used if you need.”

         Mercedes stared at Alabaster for a moment. Pax didn’t understand most of what Alabaster said. As far as he could tell, he’d just given her a lot more work.

         Carefully, Mercedes took the paper from Alabaster’s hands, folded it, and slipped it inside her pocket. “Thank you,” she said. Her voice shook a little. She cleared her throat. “I am quite capable of teaching people tolerance if need be. I’ll set Axel’s sister’s clothing in the corner so Pax can get changed whenever she morphs back.”

         Although the motion was fast and subtle, Mercedes winked at Pax. If weasels could grin, Pax would have. At least someone appreciated his game.

         Alabaster blushed at the mention of a “girl” being naked around him. Pax liked his blush. With how pale the boy was, it made his face look like a tomato. He waved Mercedes off.

         Axel sighed, seeming much calmer after observing the conversation.

         She gathered Pax’s things, set them in a corner behind an ingredient shelf, faired Pax One and Pax Two well, and left the room for to wash for morning prayer. Pax would have to ask her what religion she was later. They didn’t have to wash before going to mass—well, unless they got into a fight. Pax’s eldest brother, Kouta, liked to smash people’s faces into the dirt and sit on their backs to get the point across.

         Axel nodded after Mercedes. “That was good of you to do that for her.”

         Lou Ellen giggled. She shoved Alabaster’s shoulder. “Look at you doing something nice for someone. Has your opinion on the All Powerful God changed?”

         Alabaster snorted. “Praying is wasteful when your god is too cowardly to show his face directly. However, I am not one to tell people how to waste their time if false security comforts them.”

         Axel stiffened at those harsh words. Pax wondered if Axel prayed beyond when Chiich or Frasco made them say meal and nighttime prayers or when they went to church. “Would you say that to her face?” Axel snapped. From the sound of Axel’s anger, he did pray.

         “Verbatim, but she’s not the one that mentioned all powerful deities. Lou Ellen did. So I’m saying it to her.” Alabaster didn’t seem to notice Axel’s flexing muscles. He gestured towards the vial in Axel’s hands. “Now, hurry up and test that tea, Pax One—”

    ��    “Axel,” he growled.

         “I don’t know, Al,” Lou Ellen said. Pax clawed at some of her stray hair so he could better see her face. She was blushing at his older brother. Her hand looked enormous when it reached to untangle Pax from her locks. “If his little brother reacted odd due to mixed magic or a curse…”

         “True,” Alabaster said. He shook the thought off. “Lelly, that wouldn’t affect how tea tastes.” He looked annoyed.

         Her laugh was light.

         Alabaster turned back to Axel, tapping his chin with his pen. Those emerald eyes examined Axel with a new interest.

         A sense of foreboding made Pax bristle out his fur. He almost slipped off Lou Ellen’s shoulder and had to dig his claws deeper in the canvas to stay mounted.

         Yea, these were witches, but they would never be able to undo the Mayan sorcery that Axel had worked—they couldn’t undo what Axel did to his face. Frasco taught him how to do it years ago, and Axel had spent years perfecting—

         Neither Pax nor Axel realized what Alabaster was doing until it was too late.

         Alabaster snatched Axel’s illusion off his face like it was a physical mask.

         Axel reared backwards, like he thought Alabaster had wanted to punch him. When the illusion dissolved under the witch’s fingers, Axel took an additional stagger backwards, like he’d been hit.

         “Stop!” Pax tried to shout, but it came out a high-pitched squeal. He reached a paw towards his brother to calm Axel and tell him it was okay. But, his paw only reached out a few inches.

         Axel covered his face with his hands. A low growl emitted from his throat as he backed a step towards the door. Pax knew that look. Axel was scared. Scared and humiliated.

         “Fascinating,” Alabaster said. He flipped the shimmering image of a normal fourteen-year-old boy’s features in his hands. It looked weird and floppy without Axel’s face to rest against. Pax didn’t know it could maintain itself when not obscuring his brother. “You know how to use the Mist. You know how to use the Mist well.”

         “Told you my Mist weakening ward would come in handy,” Lou Ellen said gleefully.

         Alabaster poked at the distinct dents in the mask that represented a pair of brown eyes. They looked like contacts sewn into rubber. “Monsters use the Mist like this all the time, but I would have never thought about using it on a human—”

         “Give. It. Back,” Axel snarled. As best he could while covering his face, he rose to full height and took a step forward.

         Pax needed a distraction and he needed it fast. While his brother was awesome and infallible, Pax wasn’t sure how he’d fair against these two Ravenclaws in a brawl. And he didn’t want to fight with their new friends.

         Like the Greek gods had been listening and generous for once, a distraction was exactly what Pax received.

         He lunged towards his brother. His intention was to prevent a fight. Unfortunately, weasel paws weren’t as good at propelling forward as human paws. He began to fall short by several feet.

         Then, his weasel hind legs slammed into the floor higher than they should have. The fore paws, that he intended to extend between the two parties, reached the full span of both witches. He stood to human height, his butt exposed to the witches and his front to his brother.

         All Pax could think about was how everything felt much colder. Why didn’t humans have fur? Fur seemed like such a great idea. Pax realized, belated, that wasn’t what he should have been focusing on.

  ***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Pax *ehem* has a bit of a nudity problem. Matthias recently told him nudist colonies were a thing, and now he won’t stop submitting it in Jack’s suggestion box for Ways to Make Camp Othrys Better.

 Stay tuned next week for the final segment of this short story!