#and that i now have too many food things and they're gonna go bad before i get around to using them all

[windwardstar]

anyway food has been procured and the fridge is now full

[inkskinned]

accidents happen. accidents particularly happen around children.

we make scissors designed for children because we know they can hurt themselves on it. we cut their food up smaller so they are less likely to choke. we "babyproof" our houses, make sure our medications are all closed and locked, close all the outlets.

we are told to just carry a gun.

at some point a kid is going to get hurt. everyone with or around kids knows this. often adults (who shouldn't work with kids) are a little-too-okay-with-this. they sneer that in their time, kids just got hurt. which is great for them, but i don't feel it's particularly necessary to willfully allow children to break bones just to "build character". the kids do just fine when i do my job right. i make sure, to the best of my ability, that they don't break the bone. it turns out you can still learn life lessons without trauma. yes, at some point they'll get hurt. that's the nature of it. but i like to try to keep it to a minimum of bloodshed.

about five years ago, in the middle of my summer training, the cop that came in to prepare us for mass shootings actually happened to be the same cop that used to be my DARE officer. what a small world! his hair had gone grey.

before working with children, i had no idea how many things a child can hurt themselves on. i had never thought about the possibility that a child could climb a bookshelf, only for that bookshelf to topple over. everything has to be screwed down. nothing can have particularly sharp corners - what if a child falls backwards onto it? - or be particularly breakable. no plastic bags or choking hazards. watch out for allergens, do your best to clean your super-gross classroom with all-natural (and expensive) fragrance-free products. there's a million other considerations, most of which are difficult on a public school budget. i hate the calculation - either the kids get a new playground 5 years from now OR they get new books now and just risk the tetanus.

the gun is not included in the paycheck.

we do our best, you know? but like, there's the rest of the actual job to do. we're neither trained, paid, or aided in our one-person quest to somehow get jason to stop giving himself splinters. and besides, we have the 98 other things to consider for our 30 other students. one of which is, you know, teaching them.

the children aren't prisoners. we need to walk this incredibly fine line of "chaotic exploration" and "reckless endangerment." to be frank - they're gonna do stupid shit and get hurt while they do the stupid shit. it's my job to at least try to predict the stupid shit, and minimize the risk. and before you judge the kids - i'm going to remind you that adults die every year from shaking vending machines. people just do stupid shit.

did you know that the leading cause of childhood deaths in america is to guns? we're the only country in the world with that statistic. it used to be motor vehicles, which is why there are so many laws about seatbelts, air bags, babyseats, and other protections against accidents. 1 in 5 childhood deaths will be a result of guns. of these deaths, 65% are the result of an intentional attack.

my brother often takes me to archery. i fucking suck at archery, because i have no aim, bad eyesight, and no grip strength. it's fun, though! as a teacher, archery at my school is super banned, because kids could get hurt. no throwing rocks or sticks. no impromptu self-made bows or arrows, oh my god, why do we keep having to have this conversation.

i remember this one conversation with a parent. he was chatting with me during pick-up and mentioned that kinder eggs being banned is so stupid, because, like, if a kid is gonna choke - they kind of "deserved it" for being so stupid. without thinking, my response was, "we don't typically practice darwinism at school, but you can encourage that at home if you wish!" which did result in me getting written up - for "talking back", i guess.

but his idea isn't unusual, is the thing. there's this sense that there's somehow almost an "expendable" child trauma rate. that it weeds out the weak or whatever, which is categorically cruel & dehumanizing. children should be able to mess up and have fun and - again - do stupid shit. they might get hurt, yes. but the job of the adult is to just go help the kid.

i had to quit teaching. i was really, really good at my job - 15 years of practice. but i would wake up at night, coating in sweat. trying to figure out how to bullet-proof my public school classroom with a public school budget.

bad things happen. in every other category: we try to prevent them.

[libraryofgage]

Please write for 42. Maybe it could be something dealing with Steve overhearing something he shouldn't have,maybe something the kids say, or Eddie says to someone. Whatever it is it makes him feel like shit. He talks to Eddie, or Robin (or both!) about how much he's changed over the past few years and how he didn't end up being the person everyone thought he'd be, but after what hes overheard he's crying because even though he did all he could he feels lonelier than ever.

Anon, I love you

Prompt 42 for this prompt list!

“Who’s laughing now?”

“…Clearly not you. You’re crying, dear God.” 

I didn't use these quotes exactly, but I came close. It still fits them, though lmao

---

"I should be right back," Steve says, throwing open the van door before hopping out. The moment it closes, Eddie blasts the heavy metal he usually can't because of Steve's sensitive ears. Steve snorts with amusement and heads towards the diner, the smell of fried food and grilling beef overwhelming him the moment he opens the door.

Steve heads up to the counter, flashing a charming smile at Paula, a woman who's been working at the diner longer than Steve has been alive. "We got your usual almost ready, sugar," she tells him, returning the smile as she grabs a receipt from the turning rack and leads him over to the register.

It's a Friday night, which means the diner is bursting with teenagers hanging out in groups or trying to have a romantic date. Steve doesn't usually see anyone he feels like greeting when he picks up food, but a quick sweep this time reveals a table where Jonathan, Argyle, Nancy, Mike, and Will are sitting. Their table is close to the bar, but none of them seem to have noticed Steve because of their conversation, which is just fine with him.

If he gets dragged into a conversation, he might take too long and make Eddie worry. And if Eddie worries, he'll come bursting into the diner, and there are too many people in here that still blame him for...well, everything, for that to be safe.

"Your total is gonna be $12.93," Paula says, watching as Steve distractedly pulls a twenty from his wallet.

"Keep the change. I'll be waiting over there," he says, nodding to a bar stool somewhat close to where his friends are sitting. He then slides into said stool, leaning on the counter and trying to ignore how sticky it is.

He's close enough now to hear the tail-end of Argyle saying, "--eems like such a nice dude, though."

Mike snorts at him. "You didn't know Steve when he was dating Nancy," he points out.

Oh. They're...talking about him. Steve gets the feeling he should walk away, but he also feels stuck in the stool.

"He wasn't that bad," Nancy says. Silence follows her words, and Steve can imagine the looks she's getting. "Okay, yeah, he was an asshole."

"He smashed my camera," Jonathan says, and Steve wonders if he's imagining a trace of bitterness in his voice.

Here's the thing: Steve apologized for smashing the camera (though, he feels it was still justified) and got Jonathan a new one. A fancy, new one. But it doesn't sound like Jonathan is going to include that detail, too.

"He's a lot better now, though," Will says, and Steve wants to get him a new set of dice for trying to stick up for him.

He then wants to cry and maybe break something when he hears Jonathan and Mike snort and bark out a short laugh.

Steve feels himself grow tense as Nancy and Jonathan regale Argyle with how shitty he was in high school. He keeps waiting for one of the kids to refute or bring up how he's changed, but Mike only adds to it all while Will stays quiet, probably unwilling to get himself laughed at again (not that Steve blames him, honestly).

None of them actually point out how Steve's changed. They laugh at how much of a douchebag he was in high school, and Jonathan tells Argyle to "watch out for King Steve coming through" now that nothing is trying to kill them again.

And Steve feels sick to his stomach. Has...has he not actually changed? Is he really the same King Steve he was in high school? Is he still that asshole who didn't give a shit about others because he was just trying to survive himself, no matter who it hurt? Is this how everyone sees him?

"All right, sugar. Here's your cheeseburgers," Paula says, placing a bag in front of him and jerking him out of his thoughts. "One without tomato but with extra ketchup, and the other with grilled onions."

Steve blinks and smiles at Paula again. "Thanks. Same time next week?"

He waits to see Paula's amused smile and playfully dismissive wave before grabbing the bag and practically running out of the restaurant. He doesn't know if it's good or bad that nobody at the table seems to have noticed his presence or departure.

Steve jerks the door to the van open, not waiting for Eddie to turn the music down before hopping in and slamming it shut. He silently pulls on his seatbelt, holds the food in his lap, and stares at the glove compartment.

"Uh, you okay, Stevie?" Eddie asks, his hand lingering on the volume dial.

"I don't wanna talk about it here," Steve says. Because he's going to talk about it with Eddie, the only other person he trusts to be honest with him is Robin. But this is date night for him and Eddie, and even when he's drowning in self-doubt, Steve doesn't want anyone else to interrupt their date night.

Thankfully, Eddie just nods. "Okay, sweetheart," he says, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

Steve doesn't say a word the whole drive, too consumed by forcing himself to focus on Eddie's hand on his thigh. There's a warmth that he feels through the fabric, grounding him and keeping his brain from spiraling too far.

When they finally park (a secluded area close enough to the local make-out spot to still see the romantic stars in the sky without getting caught by anyone else) Eddie turns to Steve and softly asks, "Wanna move to the back, sweetheart?"

Steve grips the bag in his lap tighter, takes a deep breath, and looks at Eddie. He feels a little bad for ignoring the question, but he can't help his worries and fears bubbling out now that they've stopped driving. "I've changed, right? Since high school?"

Eddie blinks, caught off guard by the sudden question. But then he nods. "Yeah, Stevie, you've definitely changed."

"Jonathan and Nancy were in the diner with Argyle, Mike, and Will," Steve says, trying and failing to seem more nonchalant by unbuckling himself and moving to the couch that barely fits in the back of the van. Eddie follows, sitting closer than necessary to eat the burger Steve hands to him. "They were...talking about me. High school me. King Steve. And Jonathan told Argyle to be wary of me. Do they really think I'm the same person?"

"Stevie-"

Steve doesn't let Eddie get far. He's too wrapped up in what happened, too consumed by self-doubt and guilt and the wish that he'd said something to them. His chest feels tight, he feels like the world is going to cave in on him, and the only thing keeping him steady is the way Eddie puts down his burger and pulls Steve into his lap. "And the worst part is that they were laughing. Will tried saying that I was better now, and they fucking laughed. Like it was ridiculous. Like I could never change.

"And I just....I wish I'd said something. I could have ruined their night so fucking easily, Eds. I could have turned around and asked if they always talked shit behind the backs of people who saved them. I could have asked if Jonathan didn't like the replacement camera I got him, or if he still used it to sneak photos of Nancy."

"Is that why you broke his camera? Fuck, I don't blame you."

Steve manages a slight smile for Eddie. "Thanks. I...I don't know. For all I've changed, it would have been so easy to just turn around and be who they thought I still was. And then I would've torn them down to the size of ants. And...and...I wish I had but I don't but I do, so I could've ended it with who's laughing now?"

Steve's chest feels a little looser, and that's a fucking relief, but then he feels Eddie's hand cradling his cheek. "Well, it's definitely not you, sweetheart. Your crying."

Oh. Eddie is right. He is crying. Steve hastily wipes at the tears before just giving up and leaning into Eddie's touch. "Sorry," he mumbles.

"Don't apologize. I almost wish you had done it. And that I'd been there to see it."

"No, you don’t."

Eddie grins, pulling Steve closer so they're chest-to-chest, heart-to-heart. "Yeah, I do. I love when you get bitchy, sweetheart. Especially when it means we can be bitchy together."

Steve blinks, and he can't help laughing. The words were simple, but they still managed to erase all the doubt and some of the hurt. He still probably needs a few days before he can actually look at Jonathan or Nancy or Mike again, but he doesn't feel so immediately devastated.

"Somehow, that was the perfect thing to say," he tells Eddie, closing the distance between them to kiss his lips, getting a hint of ketchup on his tongue.

"Perfect enough to earn me some fun?" Eddie asks, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

Steve sighs dramatically, pretends to think about it as he actually laments that their burgers will get cold, and then pushes Eddie down on the couch.

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

Accidental Confessions

REQUEST: I FINALLY THOUGHT OF MY REQUEST May I request Azul, Jade and Riddle getting high because of mushrooms for some unknown reason and confessing to a gn reader bc their ability to stay composed just went completely out the window? It's more of a fluff/crack idea I came up with, sorry if it's not too clear @thehollowwriter

SUMMARY: When the usually cool and composed guys accidentally confess due to... Some interesting foods. WORD COUNT: 1.3k

WARNINGS: Mushrooms (need I say anything else), maybe OOC, Jade and Floyd and Azul shenanigans, they may act like they're under the influence of drugs (no actual drugs in the story though!!), these poor guys (please give them hugs), Ace is chaos A/N: Me, trying to make sure I get everything right: *types in Google* "what happens when you get high" on my school computer Don't do drugs guys :D (I would've said kids but I'm like 96% sure that most of the people reading my fics are in fact older than me) I love how I finished this a while ago and then was like "I'm gonna add a bit more to the end" and it was only like a paragraph- Azul is my favorite, you can see from how much I write for him </3 Also I love fluff and crack, I enjoy writing it the most! Feel free to send more requests like these <3

© kazumiwrites - All rights reserved; please do not steal, edit, copy, repost (etc) my work without my express permission.

Azul Ashengrotto

You know, Azul should have known better.

Jade always went out and got some mushrooms on his hikes, and he seemed pretty confident that he knew the different types of mushrooms.

But one single mistake - a mushroom similar enough to a perfectly fine edible one - and now he felt woozy.

Great.

It wasn't an unpleasant experience - he felt happy in that dreamy way, where you weren't able to comprehend much. But he knew this was bad.

What if he got addicted? That would ruin all his plans for his future. He needed to have a clear head.

He really should've been resting, but unfortunately, Floyd had ran off (most likely so he didn't have to be near the mushrooms). Due to that, Mostro Lounge needed an extra pair of hands.

So when he saw you, he immediately was on guard as much as he could be. Who knows what he could let slip when you were so close, and his thinking wasn't at its best…

He tried to avoid you, but unfortunately (again? Why were so many bad things happening to him today?) you sat at the table closest to him.

He had to go up to you and take your order. Your sweet smile almost made him melt, a soft flush on his cheeks as he just nodded quietly, jotting your order down.

You thought it was odd - Azul was usually the type to chat people up, try to get as much of a profit in as possible - but today was different. It made you a bit worried, honestly.

As you asked if he was all right, Azul's eyes widened.

His mind went blank, and the only words that left his lips were, "Sorry, you were just really cute, and I-" He froze as he realized the words he said, trying to backtrack, but he couldn't think right. "I mean, I just thought your smile was- you- I-" He shook his head slightly. "Forget it," he said, hands shaking slightly out of embarrassment as he turned and walked away.

As Jade had been watching and listening to the interaction, he quickly made your order before handing it to Azul (who had been hoping for some rest behind the counter before seeing you). Jade was saying something about how Azul really needed to be quicker with processing orders - Azul was pretty sure that Jade knew about his feelings toward the Prefect of Ramshackle Dorm.

Azul sighed softly before trudging back to you, the food and drink you ordered held in a tray. "There you go."

As you inquired about what his previous words had been about, he saw the teasing glint in your eyes.

Did you know?

"It was nothing- I just like you a-" A slip of the tongue. Damn it. He hadn't meant to say that. He quickly backed away before almost sprinting to the VIP Room, his cheeks flushed a bright red. He almost ran into the doorframe though (which Jade may or may not have taken a picture of).

Bonus:

"I told you that Azul likes you a lot." Jade smiled, a small glint of his teeth showing. "Did you plan this?" "Jade might've given Azul an unusual mushroom~" That sing-songy voice had to be Floyd's. "I knew it." You rolled your eyes a little. "That was cute, though. Although your method might have been a little mean. Poor Azul." "You can go talk to him after you enjoy your meal." Jade smiled at you. "And Floyd, you haven't had anything to eat. Perhaps you would like one of the mushroom soups I've made?" "No- I've had enough of your mushrooms." A soft whine came out of the other tweel's lips. "But maybe Koebi-chan wants some?" "Thanks for the offer, but I probably should go to Azul as soon as possible." You laughed softly. "There's no telling what's happening to him right now, after all."

Jade Leech

Jade had a heavy mishap on his hands. He had gone a bit overboard with picking his mushrooms, and then Floyd had gone and messed with his careful labeling.

And then he didn't check the contents and labels thoroughly before he put them into a little snack for himself.

So now here he was, stumbling to Ramshackle Dorm for no reason in particular.

It was a wonder how he hadn't stumbled off the path, what with the hallucinations he was seeing.

He stumbled inside (luckily the door wasn't locked), quickly moving to your room.

At first you thought he was Floyd due to how off he was acting. But nope, that was definitely Jade.

"Jade?" Your eyes were wide as you stared at the male. "What are you doing here?"

"I love youuuuu." Well, that was a surprise.

Now you were really wondering if this wasn't Floyd. It sounded like something he would say.

As the tall male draped himself over you, you awkwardly tried to get both of you comfortable on the small chair. It was no use, however, as you toppled off of your chair and onto the ground.

You let out a soft huff, staring up at Jade who had fallen on top of you. How fun…

He seemed to have fallen asleep, relaxed on top of you. Well, at least he didn't seem to have gotten hurt.

You awkwardly patted his hair as you gave up trying to move. The floor was uncomfortable… But you could bear it, you didn't want to stop looking at Jade's sleeping face.

Riddle Rosehearts

Ace, the prankster he was, had put in an insane amount of sugar in some cookies he was making. He had then given the cookies to Riddle.

The unsuspecting Riddle had accepted the cookies, feeling a bit confused. Why was Ace making cookies…? No matter.

He was starting to eat some of the cookies when you had been brought to the Heartslabyul dorm (totally not by force).

You were also confused, and for good reason. Ace was saying something about pranking his housewarden, but to be honest? What reason did he have for calling you here?

You were pretty sure it was just so Ace didn't get punished. He didn't want to keep getting in trouble, after all. Though, the rational thought would be to not prank Riddle at all… But oh well.

"Hey, Riddle," you said, feeling a bit uncertain. You smiled a little at the male.

"Oh- hi, kantokusei." The red-haired male blinked at you, looking confused.

"Yeah, so- Ace dragged me here? I don't really know why, but-"

He paused for a heartbeat before replying. "I don't know why he brought you here either." He sighed softly, shaking his head.

"Well…" You shrugged awkwardly. "Are those cookies any good?" You gestured vaguely towards the plate in front of him.

"They're too sweet." Riddle frowned a little. "Ace has no delicacy in doing these things, he thinks more is always better."

You let out a soft laugh. "Sounds like him." Just as you reached for a cookie, his hand brushed past yours.

He froze, cheeks flushing adorably. All the sugar in his system was making his heart race and not be focused on what he was thinking.

Before he could even question it, he grabbed your hands. "…I like you a lot." he got out before freezing yet again, hands still holding yours. Why had he said that?

Little did either of you know, Ace was wheezing behind the closed door. He had put in a small little potion, nothing major, that caused a person to say what they felt to the person they liked. He had gotten it from Azul, and it clearly had worked.

The deal had been worth it to get blackmail on his housewarden. Now, if only he could somehow use this to get rid of Riddle as housewarden and all of his strict rules… That would be great. Maybe he could even actually win?

As always, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! ♡ Send your thoughts grr

This post has details for requesting, and I also currently have a writing event going on here. Please check it out!

[imdead770]

Dallas with a s/o who lived in NYC too and has a similar accent as him pls🙏🙏 (Also I love love love you’re writing keep doing what you’re doing!!!)

Dallas Winston x Reader - NYC

Authors Note - I have like 3 asks before this but I love this and it means it get to write a NY accent and that's so fun

Sorry for never writing yall

No excuse I'm just lazy 💞

¤ Just a warning this is super stereotypical

¤ I'm sorry I'm from the south I don't know yall so I'm going off stereotypes 😭😭

¤ First of all people can barely understand either of you

¤ I mean everyone else has a southern accent, they're used to that

¤ So an accent that sounds like you're drunk 24/7 isn't exactly easy to understand

¤ If you're both from New York, you already have a lot in common

¤ The fights, the accent, the road rage, the food, all that

¤ Now I'm from the south, I haven't met a lot of New Yorkers

¤ But the ones I have met always have such a resting bitch face

¤ So like whenever someone introduced you to Dal (or the other way around) you both had that same, natural glare

¤ And somehow you both got the 'holy shit, you're a New Yorker too??' message

¤ I don't know how but New Yorkers just know if you're a New Yorker

¤ It's like a 6th sense

¤ So naturally you're both mean to each other

¤ The others are like 'oh shirt they hate each other'

¤ You don't

¤ Like eventually you leave and Dals all

"She ain't bad."

¤ And everyone's all

"You just insulted each other like.. 25 times?"

¤ And he just nods and lights a cigarette like he didn't just meet his second favorite person in this town

¤ Naturally you both see each other at some pizza place

¤ Probably one that's closest to greasy NY pizza

¤ This is meant as a compliment, yall have such good pizza omfg

¤ You both realize just how much you have in common

¤ How thick the air is, the random guy getting his ass beat as you're just minding your business, the fact nobody here can understand certain words you say

¤ You two understand each other

¤ If Dallas would ever open up to someone about his trauma (he wouldn't), it'd be you

¤ He knows you've seen at least a sliver of the same shit he did

¤ Anyways, both of yall love to hype of New York together

¤ Like really play into the stereotypes

"Oh ya', a rat nearly ate m' face off once"

"WHAT??"

"Happen'd to me, too"

¤ You both think it's hilarious

¤ Plus yall love to make your accents thicker to confuse people more

¤ Slur the vowels together, mumble more then you need to, then watch people try to figure out what the fuck you just said

¤ Dal gets all mad if someone asks him to lighten up the accent

¤ I think you both like hanging out together because it reminds the other of home

¤ Like Dal almost forgot what a New Yorker who wasn't him sounded like

¤ Plus if Dal ever met your parents, even though he's rude and kind of dangerous, they might tolerate him more

¤ Yall intumidate so many people omg

¤ Like half of that town are sweet southern people

¤ So seeing two New Yorkers you get the classic

"Ew, they're yankees"

¤ Yes we really do say that 👍

¤ But people get all scared cuz they're like 'omg they're gonna shoot me'

¤ Again, you both think it's the funniest shit

¤ Like being yelled at by a New Yorker is scary enough

¤ But TWO

¤ It's like you two are so intimidating together it's perfect

¤ Of course Dal asks you on a date to some pizza place and you two walk around the block sharing a cigarette

¤ Another thing

¤ You're actually used to the cold and he's so, so grateful for that

¤ Everyone else in Oklahoma gets all shivery the moment it's less then 60

¤ Like you don't complain about it and he loves that so much

¤ Back to the topic

¤ Date goes great

¤ Once you two become a thing you fight a good amount

¤ I mean you're from the North, it's natural (I think?? This might be stereotypical so sorry)

¤ Even people from the South fight with Dal so this isn't any different

¤ But since you're both used to fights the insults are crazy

¤ Like the gangs jaws have dropped hundreds of times with what the two of yall come up with

¤ Like it's the most foul, disturbingly impressive, heart breaking insults

¤ Then the other returns it with a snicker and another just as horrendously good insult

¤ Match made in heaven

[x-doing-ur-mum-x]

Hi!!! I love your blog would you be willing to write 141 + los vaqueros and konig where they’re s/o (preferably afab, but whatever your constable writing) who’s always super tense like their muscles can never seem to relax causing chronic pain? (It’s a super niche request but I’m currently in a ton of pain because of this exact thing and was curious how the guys would react) if you can’t that’s fine have a wonderful day ☺️

THIS WAS IN MY DRAFTS AND ITS GONE NOW SO I'M REWRITING IT ☹️

Warnings!!: None just fluff 💗 if you do feel pain please go to the doctor's for medical treatment don't search it on google like Soap does 😭🫶

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Price: He notices like a bloodhound hunting for food!! Although it's obvious you're in pain. He first lets you do less physical things and only do reporting even offering you massages he does give you ibuprofen for it to help

Ghost: He doesn't say anything for a bit but he knows. But just because he's quiet doesn't mean he doesn't notice. He gives hints that he cares by going easier on you during training and giving you some advice to your sore joints. We all know he's an old man he's not in his prime he's quiet old so when he stands up he cracks nearly everywhere sometimes soap thinks he's gonna become a bag of bones.

Soap: He notices immediately before you even hint out you're in pain. He'll give you some medication and search up some ways to help it but when he does Dr Google says that you only have three days to live and he freaked out and takes you to the doctor's instead 😭

Gaz: He notices quickly because he used to have the exact same pains due to his childhood and teen years playing sports (BIG HC THAT HE DID!!) He'd give you some muscle relaxing cream and remind you every 4-6 hours if it gets worse he offers to massage your muscles

Alejandro: He's a colonel every time after a meeting when he stands up so many cracks down his back it's almost like he's breaking bones. He'd offer a massage and the medication he uses to tolerate the pain a bit

Rudy: He's loaded on massage creams he's around the same age as Alejandro he's not as young anymore. He's always giving the creams out to the team when he notices they're tense or in pain so he especially gives out to you like candy on Halloween!!

Valeria: She's known Alejandro for awhile I would think she's around the same age as Alejandro and Rudy too. She's a goddess at giving massages of course she has to keep her act or being cold and rude. But she does offer a massage but makes sure you won't tell anyone or she'll kill you of course she's just saying that. She won't though.

König: He's 6'10 and would've grown up with growth pain and back problems. When he notices he suggests yoga to help since it did help him quite a bit but when it doesn't help he offers a massage and to crack a few places for you.

Keegan: I think he'd be around late twenties early thirties but then again he does work in military so it's obvious he would have some pain and scars especially muscle pains. He does go to the doctor's quite frequently for it so when he notices you're suffering like him he ends up dragging you to the doctor's.

Makarov: He's definitely a bit old and probably acts like he doesn't notice or care for a bit until he realises it's quite bad and other medication and creams for he's trying to show he cares while also trying to keep he's tough persona together.

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗��💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

[thesmpisonfire]

okay im here with actual headcanons this time, no misclicks fortunately

soulfire

bad is the pillow of the group because even while freezing cold he's still somehow the warmest, so he is buffered by the whole team. he's always got an arm around someone (usually pac), wings covering as many people as he can and tail wrapped around anyone farther away. pac, tubbo and tina are usually the ones situated close to him

tina and bad are usually the ones make food or drinks that aren't alchoholic. tina obviously brews a bunch of tea during the day and theres not a lot of food but they make do with the crops and resources they have. now that the greens have merged, forever helps out now too as well as fit!

since they couldn't go home before the bounty hunting nerfs, everybody still managed to flock to each other. or at least anyone who wasnt being tracked. and when it was finally time for every to rest, they all curled up in a hole and made it as warm as possible for the new wolves joining them

they have a specific corner for sleeping in and, once everyone is awake or those who aren't can be moved, tina always makes sure that the bedding is fixed. now she has bagi to help her :]

pachalo

because i can never stop thinking about it: bad's collar was handmade by pac but was originally a bit of a joke gift considering the joke about bad being soulfire's guard dog. unbeknownst to the rest of the team, bad wears it constantly underneath his bandanna, expertly hidden. pac's the only one who knows and teases bad lightly for it

before purgatory there were very few people who got to see bad's hair, much less be able to touch it. but now the list of people allowed to touch it has pac added to it

bad likes to rest his head on pac's chest to hear his heartbeat, to make sure he's alive and to pick up on nightmares. he's very careful of where he puts his horns

fitpachalo

fit sometimes, mostly when they've exhausted their energy, bridal carries bad or pac back to base to get proper rest. this happens less with bad cus he's cautious of his energy. the first time it happened though it spooked him completely awake because he was so flustered, pac laughed at him (albiet very sleepily)

considering bad and pac are the more teasing by nature, they make it just a tiiiny bit of a game to see who can fluster fit more. pac is usually the winner 9 times out of 10

when bad gets growly, fit is the only other team member aside from maybe tubbo who's allowed to come near pac. the downside of this is that bad proceeds to get growly over fit as well. -screamingallium

YEAAAA

Under read more bc it got long :]

About the soulfire one where they can't go back home and have to huddle together somewhere, there's actually a secret nook in Soulfires old farm!! Bad made some ghost dirt blocks and hid a small room with emergency chests and a fireplace in case of need. They all huddle there when they can't be safe at home <3

ALSO YEAAAA SLEEP CORNER. At first the new members from green find it weird that they're that rich but all sleep together on a bunch of mattresses and pillows, but soon they notice its because they feel safer and comfier and warmer (even if it's just an illusion) when they sleep on a pile <3

Now to pachalo.

Omg the fucking leash thingnsnfnekgsocksfm yesyes. They know this thing will only last 2 weeks and they're gonna get freaky with it‼️‼️ pac doesn't mind bad being the mad dog but he loves to tease and wait for when bad gets too blood thirsty and he goes "don't make me leash you, bad"

It usually makes bad worse :]

Hgghhhhhh okay so in brazil we have a word called cafuné, cafuné is when you caress/play/scritches someone's hair with lots of care. Pac making cafuné on Bad and listening to him purr <3

Also aaaa bad making sure pac is alive and he will stay alive the entire night... The fear something will take Pac away from him on his sleep bc nothing is sacred in Purgatory

FITPACHALO FITPACHALO

Bad being a flustered mess when Fit just YOINKS him is such an imagery. He immediately tries to squirm away like a cat but eventually gives up

Pac is the KING of making Fit flustered, but Bad and Fit tag team to make Pac a flustered mess

Those are HIS humans (or partially humans) NOW!!! GET AWAY!!!

[vilevenom]

New chapter for "Together Burning Bright"! This one is a ~flashback~ chapter. Specifically, Hickory's birthday party, when he and JD got together the first time. This particular scene has been rotating around my brain since I wrote "Let's Be Us Again", but it didn't really fit in the main story, so now you get a +4K word fic of just that, all on its own, lol This chapter is just a touch spicy. It's gonna bump the AO3 rating to 'M', so just an fyi. Nothing is explicitly described, but it's hella obvious as to what they're doing. Enjoy!

A trolls twenty-first birthday was a special one. At least, for the yodelers it was. It was considered a coming of age celebration, and it was when trolls were encouraged to take on more responsibility within the community. It was also when the biggest birthday parties were thrown.

As the community hall was the largest indoor space in the village, it was most commonly used to host such large events, to avoid the cold of the mountain. Flowers adorned nearly every feasible surface, and tables ladened with food were pushed up against the walls. Streamers and twinkle lights hug from the ceiling, while nearly every troll in town was crammed onto the main floor, singing, dancing and carrying on in celebration.

Nearly, being the key word. One troll with teal hair and a distinct pair of green goggles stood to the side with a lazy smile, drink in hand as he watched the party carry on. John Dory had, unfortunately, missed the beginning of the party. He'd been guilted into going, even somewhat late, by the trolls who were hosting his stay in the village. They'd told him it was bad luck for the birthday troll in question for someone to willingly not attend, so he made a little fuss about it but followed along shortly behind them to the party. He'd honestly just wanted to go to bed and sleep, but a party was a party, he supposed. And as a pop troll, he'd been told many times over the years that he should love parties, much to his chagrin.

He idly sipped at his drink as he watched trolls nearly trip over themselves as they swayed across the dance floor. He did have to hand one thing to the yodelers; they made a mean fermented nectar. The cup in his hand was definitely stronger than the strange yeasty concoction the rock trolls had made him try. From said experience, he knew better than to drink too much, or too quickly. He was not keen on a repeat performance, if he was going to be honest with himself.

Truthfully, he was planning on staying just long enough for a majority of the attendees to get a little silly, before slipping back out to the house he was staying at. He'd figured, since he didn't know who the party was even for, and he'd made an appearance to appease his superstitious hosts, that no one would fault him for wanting to get some rest. He'd only managed to get into town the day before, after all.

What John Dory did not expect was for a tall troll to suddenly appear next to him, lean a hand on the wall, and tilt into John's personal space with a little smirk on his face.

~

Hickory hadn't expected anything for his birthday. His parents were long gone, his brother had disappeared on a job of some sort for who knew how long, and he was old enough now that he wasn't even living with anyone who would potentially take notice. So, he'd been more than a little surprised when his friends had offered to host a party for him at the community hall.

It seemed like everyone in town had turned out, bringing food and drink to share. They'd adorned him in a flower crown and accessories made of dried flowers, while everyone wished him a happy birthday and good luck in the coming years. The reveal of the large five tiered cake his friends had baked for him had nearly brought him to tears. He truly felt like he was the luckiest troll in the world.

"Hey, hey! Who's that?"

"Oh. That's the troll staying with us. He's a traveling pop troll. I guess he's been here before, because…"

Hickory let the voices of his friends fade into the background as they prattled on next to him. Scratch his previous thought, now he felt like the luckiest troll in the world. John Dory, the troll he had been crushing on for the last four years, who he'd thought he'd never see again, was leaning against the wall. At his party! A thrill ran up his spine, making his fur practically stand on end.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Hickory stated, pressing his half finished cup idly into the hand of one of his friends.

"What? Why? Wait…No way, Hickory. That can't possibly be the same troll."

"The one I would not stop talking to you about a couple of years ago? It most definitely is," he said with a nod, fussing with his hair and straightening out his suspenders.

"Ooo, get some, Hickory," one of his friends jeered, earning an eye roll from Hickory.

He waved as his friends started to get rowdy, quickly walking away from them while trying to keep a flush from forming on his cheeks. He hadn't seen John in nearly four years, and they had only spent a couple of months together at the time. Would he even remember? Well, Hickory reasoned, you missed one hundred percent of the shots you didn't take.

He sauntered up to John Dory and placed his hand on the wall next to the pop trolls head before leaning into his space with a smirk. "Guten abend."

John looked up at him, confusion clear on his face. Hickory felt like an idiot. He tipped himself back up to stand upright, letting out a nervous laugh. "Sorry. You don't speak german, do you?"

"Can't say that I do, no," John said, arching an eyebrow at Hickory. "Can I help you?"

Hickory cleared his throat, already feeling like this was going poorly. "I said 'good evening'," he fumbled, suddenly wishing he hadn't handed off his drink so he would at least have something to do with his hands. "I, uhh…you're alone."

John's expression went from confusion to disinterest almost immediately. "Yes. I am. And, if you don't mind, I was actually pretty okay with that situation."

Hickory bristled, wincing at the clear dismissal, but he couldn't just let John slip through his fingers like this. "We met! Before! Sorry, I'm making a mess of this," he quickly babbled, fiddling with one of the floral bracelets he'd been gifted, "I showed you around the last time you visited the village."

John stared at him for a moment, before realization slowly dawned on his face. He stood up straight from the wall, giving Hickory a cursory once over, gaping slightly. "Hickory?!"

Hickory let out a quiet breath, a wobbly little smile on his face as he gave a short nod. "That's right."

"You got tall!"

That startled a snort of laughter out of Hickory. "Ja, and older," he added, waving vaguely at the party. John looked dumbfounded for a moment, glancing around before his gaze snapped back to the yodeler.

"This is your party? Oh, man. Happy birthday!" John said, giving Hickory a friendly punch to the shoulder.

"Thank you," Hickory chuckled, rubbing at the spot that John had hit. "I don't imagine my birthday is what brought you back to town?"

John laughed, shaking his head a little as he leaned back against the wall. "Nah. Not that the party isn't great! But, I just got board with the classical trolls. I kinda vaguely remembered where this place was, and I wanted to come back for another visit. Got a little lost in the mountains for a couple of days, though. I have to admit, I'm a bit exhausted and I only came to the party because I got guilt tripped." John paused as he noticed the somewhat crestfallen expression that flitted over Hickory's face, before a smile was forced back onto it.

"Well, don't let me keep you! You should not feel obligated to stay if you would rather be in bed," Hickory offered, taking a short step back from John.

"Wait, hey, no," John stood back up, reaching out to catch Hickory's wrist. He offered a soft smile to the other, nodding towards the door. "I know this is your party, but why don't we step outside. I'm tired, but I'd love to catch up with you?"

Hickory returned the smile with a genuine one of his own, giving a short nod. He pulled his wrist free of John's hold, only to take his hand properly with a quiet, "I would love that." He turned and began to lead John through the crowd, while doing his best to ignore the cat calls that followed the two of them out.

"Sorry," Hickory muttered once they were outside, his breath puffing up in a tiny cloud in front of him. "My friends can be a bit…lewd."

"Hey, no worries," John said, walking along next to Hickory as they trundled through the snow towards a couple of benches just outside the community hall, "Pop trolls have a reputation, I've been told."

"It is a ridiculous reputation to have, since you are one of the only pop trolls that has even been through town in the last two decades," Hickory scoffed, only to flush in embarrassment at the look John shot him. "I just…it's not right. To make those sort of presumptions. Do you not agree?"

"Oh, I fully agree. It's just kinda nice to have someone else share the sentiment," John admitted, a grin forming on his face. "So," he flopped down to sit on the bench once they reached it, setting his cup on the ground, "What've you been up to since I was last here?"

Hickory eagerly took the seat next to John, and the two began to talk. Once Hickory had caught John up on the relatively uneventful list of things that had occurred in the village, John began to regale Hickory with tales of his travels, which the yodeler took in eagerly. He gasped and cheered in all of the appropriate places, peppering in the odd question to get John to elaborate on details, while John sprung from his seat to enact some of the more daring acts from his time on the Neverglade Trail. After a particularly energetic performance, John fell back onto the bench next to Hickory, quiet pants leaving a trail of wispy condensation in the air behind him.

"Your life sounds fantastic," Hickory hummed, watching John catch his breath with a dopey little smile on his face.

"It's pretty great," John grinned up at Hickory from where he was half laying on the bench.

"I wish I could have adventures like that," Hickory admitted quietly, picking at one of the blooms on his bracelet.

"What's stopping you?" John pushed himself to sit up, leaning into Hickory, "It's your life. And you're old enough now. Heck, you've been old enough for a while. I was eighteen when I went out on my own."

Hickory shrugged, a sardonic little smile on his face. "My brother, mostly. Even though he's not even here right now. But, truthfully? I am not brave enough, I don't think."

"Sure you are! You just gotta put your mind to it," John said encouragingly, nudging Hickory's shoulder with his own.

"No," Hickory shook his head, "I'm a coward."

"Hey, come on. Start small, then. Baby steps. Pick something little that you're scared to do, and just do it!" John grabbed Hickory's knee and gave it a little shake. "I believe in you."

Hickory looked down at the hand on his knee for a moment, before turning his gaze up to John Dory's face. He was smiling brightly at Hickory, open and reassuring in a way very few trolls had ever been to the yodeler. He swallowed thickly, placing his hand over John's, and hoping the pop troll would blame the cold for the flush that adorned his cheeks. "Just…go for it?" he reaffirmed, licking his lips nervously as John nodded encouragingly, "Okay."

To John's credit, he only startled slightly as Hickory leaned into his space and pressed their lips together. It was chaste, and short, but that didn't stop his face from heating up.

"I'm not too young, now," Hickory murmured against John's mouth, his eyes kept shut to save himself from any unsavory expression the pop troll may be making.

"You…what?" John sounded dazed.

"I'm not too young. You told me last time that I was too young, but I'm not anymore." He lifted both hands to cup John's cheeks and press a more determined kiss to the pop trolls lips. He very nearly pulled away, until John began to reciprocate the kiss.

They broke apart from each other after a moment, their breath mingling and turning into delicate fog between them.

"This isn't because-" John began, only to be muffled by Hickory peppering a couple quick, short kisses to his lips.

"No! No, of course not. I told you, I think that is ridiculous. No. It's because I have not been able to get you out of my mind since we last met. And I feel like this, you appearing on my birthday, is nothing short of a sign from the universe for me to at least try," Hickory admitted, letting his fingers lightly trail from John's cheeks, over his shoulders and down to his hands. He finally sat back and opened his eyes to find a flustered looking John Dory sat before him. "You did encourage me to be brave, after all."

John chuckled, a lopsided grin on his face. "I suppose I did, didn't I?"

"You did," Hickory nodded, before he stood from the bench, offering a hand to John. "Come with me."

"Where to?" John asked, not hesitating in the slightest in taking Hickory's hand and standing from the bench.

"Home," Hickory stated simply, leading John through the village.

It was a relatively quick walk through town, especially as most trolls were still at Hickory's party. Hickory lead them to a small, modest house towards the edge of the village. It was adorned with the same floral trim pattern along the awnings that all of the other buildings in the village had, with a well cared for little yard, and a short wooden fence surrounding the property.

As Hickory opened the gate and began to pull John up the short path to the door, the pop troll paused, tugging back on Hickory. "Wait."

Hickory stopped, turning around quickly with a look of worry on his face. "What is it?" he asked, tone concerned.

"I think I remember you mentioning…you have a brother? Does he live here?" John asked, looking towards the door apprehensively.

"Oh," Hickory visibly relaxed, a low chuckle leaving him, "Dickory, yes. He does live here, but he is not in town right now. I'm by myself."

John gave a little nod, nerves leaving him as Hickory tugged him the rest of the way up the path and into the house. He only paused once to wipe his feet on a large mat near the front door, encouraging John to do the same, before he continued to lead the pop troll through the house. He only let go once they had entered a sparsely decorated bedroom, and the door was shut behind them.

"Nice digs," John commented idly, looking around the room briefly, before he found himself being pushed back into the door, Hickory's hands slipping under his vest to trail over his chest.

"I can think of much more interesting things than my bedroom," Hickory chuckled, pressing a kiss to John's cheek.

"Gettin' right to it then, huh?" John joked, lifting his hands to rest gently over Hickory's hips.

"Is that…not okay?" Hickory asked, shifting back slightly but not lifting his hands from John's fur. If this was the only chance he had to soak up the pop trolls presence and touch him, he was going to take advantage of every moment he could.

"Never said it wasn't. You just seem real eager," John teased, easy grin on his face.

"I have waited four years to be able to touch you," Hickory murmured, pressing in close to John while pushing the pop trolls vest from his shoulders, "You will need to forgive my eagerness."

John's grin faltered, his well practiced boy band charm guttering at Hickory's words. "You weren't kidding about that?"

"Kidding about what?" Hickory asked, distracted as he tugged the vest free and tossed it aside.

"Thinking about me. For all that time."

Hickory paused, frowning as he tipped his head back to get a look at the almost hopeful expression on John's face. "Why would I ever joke about something like that? The time we spent together meant a great deal to me. You mean a great deal to me."

"You don't even really know me," John said with a short shake of his head.

"Then let me?"

John stared up at Hickory for a moment, taking in the flower crown that sat askew on his head and the earnest expression he wore on his face as he waited patiently for John's response. He swallowed thickly, before giving a small nod, digging his fingers more firmly into Hickory's hips and pulling him in close. "Okay."

The brilliant grin that John got in return for his consent nearly made him dizzy. He gasped as Hickory ducked his head and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, slowly sinking to his knees as he trailed kisses down John's chest and stomach. He let his head fall back and hit the door with a dull thud, groaning quietly as Hickory all but worshipped him.

As Hickory reached John's hip he paused, tilting his head back to look up at John imploringly. "Is this okay?"

John tipped his head forward, letting out a slow breath as he lifted his hands to tangle his fingers in the yodeler's hair, dislodging the flower crown and causing it to fall to the floor. "More than," he murmured, momentarily distracted as the crown rolled across the room, only to snap his attention back to Hickory with a soft hiss as the yodeler tugged at his shorts and continued his trail of kisses down.

~

"You okay?" John asked, a lopsided grin on his face. The two had eventually migrated to Hickory's bed, where John currently found himself devoid of any of his clothes, laid back in a pile of pillows with a rather flustered looking Hickory between his knees.

"Es tut mir leid," Hickory murmured, licking his lips quickly as he sat back on his heels, "To be truthful, I have never done this before."

"Seriously?" John asked, stretching his arms above his head, grinning a little as he watched Hickory's eyes trail down over his chest. "Strapping young troll like yourself? I find that hard to believe."

"It's true," Hickory said with a self depreciating little laugh, "I think you are the first troll to ever use the word 'strapping' to describe me."

"Aw," John cooed, sitting up and taking Hickory's face in his hands, "Well, I think you're real handsome." He grinned as Hickory flushed, quickly taking the opportunity to kiss the yodeler deeply. When they broke apart, while Hickory was looking a little overwhelmed, John pushed him down into the pillows, swinging his leg over the yodeler to settle in his lap. "Let me take care of you now, okay?" He preened as Hickory's hands settled on his hips, fingers digging in slightly.

"All right."

~

Hickory wondered if this was what it was like to be in paradise. The troll of his dreams was in his lap, a dark flush coloring his cheeks as he panted, looking absolutely lost in the moment as he moved above Hickory. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, reaching up to cup John's jaw. The pop troll looked momentarily startled by the sentiment, only to let out a low moan and sweep down to catch Hickory's lips in a kiss.

"You're not too bad, yourself," John teased as he pulled back, earning a light chuckle from Hickory and a roll of his hips that left John gasping.

~

John huffed as he rolled off of Hickory, flopping back into the mound of pillows next to the yodeler. He looked rather pleased with himself, while Hickory stared up at the ceiling in a daze, both trying to catch their breath.

"That was…"

"Not too bad, huh?" John chuckled, turning his head to smirk at Hickory.

The yodeler blinked, turning his head slowly to frown at John. "Not too bad? John, that was…absolut vollkommen. You were - that was incredible," Hickory stated, pushing himself up onto his elbow to lean over the pop troll. "This was the best birthday I could have ever hoped for."

John's smirk melted into a genuine smile at Hickory's earnestness, reaching up to brush his fingers through wavy orange hair. "I'm glad I could make it memorable."

"The most memorable," Hickory agreed, leaning down to press a kiss to John's lips. He shifted and squirmed amongst the pillows until he managed to maneuver himself over John, pressing in between the pop trolls knees, somehow without breaking their kiss. When he did finally pull back, John let out a low chuckle, arching an eyebrow at Hickory.

"Again?"

Hickory flushed in embarrassment, gasping quietly as John wriggled his hips. "I…only if you'd like to…?"

John snorted, lifting a leg to wrap around Hickory's hips, tugging him close as he stretched his arms above his head and arched his back. "Only if you do all the work this time."

~

When John woke up in the morning it was to an empty bed. He grunted as he felt around the covers, finding the blankets cold. He scowled as he smacked his hands over his face, groaning as he rubbed at his eyes. He should have known better. This was not the first time someone had managed to sweet talk him into bed and then fled in the morning. It was, admittedly, a bit odd that Hickory had taken him back to his house, instead of where John was staying, but perhaps there was some unspoken rule between yodelers that one simply got up and left without a fuss the morning after a fling. He had hoped Hickory would be different, but who was he kidding. He was a washed up ex-boyband member, and because he was a pop troll a lot of other trolls seemed to think he was some sort of traveling strumpet.

He sighed as he spread his arms out over the expanse of the bed, frowning as he began to notice the faint ache in his hips, and the odd way some of his fur was sticking to his skin. As soon as he got back to where he was staying, he was taking a long, hot shower. But first, he needed to get there. He let out another grunt as he rolled out of bed, wincing as he stepped on his discarded goggles. He muttered a quiet curse to himself as he picked them up, cleaning them off with a blanket, and giving them a quick inspection to find them relatively unscathed. He slipped them on his head, before hunting around for his vest and shorts.

John had managed to pull on his shorts and was trying to figure out where Hickory had tossed his vest last night, when the bedroom door began to open. He stopped short as Hickory walked in with a soft little smile on his face, carrying a tray ladened with assorted breakfast foods. Hickory froze when he noticed John standing in the middle of the room, his smile turning into a confused frown.

"Mein liebling…? Did you need to go somewhere this morning?"

John simply stared at Hickory for a long moment, his brain needing the time to register that Hickory had not, in fact, run off on him. That he had, instead, made him breakfast, and brought it to him in bed.

"I…" John began, watching as the confusion on Hickory's face slowly shifted into realization, then resigned understanding. It suddenly felt like a weight was on John's chest as he watched Hickory set the tray aside, a sad little smile on his face as he shuffled across the room to tug John's vest from beneath a few pillows that had been shoved off the bed the night before.

"Here," Hickory offered the vest to John, tucking the thumb of his free hand into the waistband of the sleep pants he was wearing, "I take it you were looking for this?"

John took the vest, but was hesitant to put it on. He held it to his chest instead, tipping his head slightly to try and catch Hickory's gaze, but the yodeler was looking anywhere but directly at him.

"Hickory, I…" John floundered, not knowing what to say to fix the hurt look on Hickory's face. He was supposed to be a lyrical wordsmith, but his mind was drawing an absolutely blank.

"It's okay, schatz," Hickory said, shaking his head and gesturing towards the door. "I understand. And I am so very happy that I could have the time with you that I did. I don't regret it. And I hope you don't, either."

John felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. This sweet troll, who'd confessed to thinking about him for nearly four years and had showered him with nothing but compliments and sweet nothings all night, honestly thought John would regret spending the night with him. He dropped his vest and stepped quickly across the room, cupping Hickory's cheeks so he could force the yodeler to look at him. He wanted to kick himself at finding tears in Hickory's eyes.

"No! No, no, Hickory," John brushed his thumbs against the yodelers cheeks, finding his walls quickly crumbling at the way Hickory's expression turned a little hopeful, "I'm sorry. I thought you had left. I wouldn't've…If I'd known you were making me breakfast, I…" He cursed under his breath, squeezing Hickory's cheeks gently, earning a sound of confusion from the yodeler. John cussed again, a little louder this time, before stating quickly, "Can we try this again?"

Hickory gently extracted his face from John's hold, frowning slightly. "Try what again?"

Instead of answering, John picked up the breakfast try and pushed it into Hickory's hands, before ushering the yodeler back out the door. "Here. Wait, like, a minute. Okay? Just…one minute, and then come in again."

Hickory stumbled slightly as he was pushed out the door, turning with his mouth open to speak, only to find the door shut in his face.

Meanwhile, John hurried to slip his shorts back off and toss his goggles to the side, clamoring onto the bed quickly. He arranged the bedding just so around himself, managing to flop back into the pillows and hoping it came off as somewhat alluring, just as Hickory began to open the door again.

Hickory poked his head in first, still looking confused, only for a smile to bloom on his face as John made an exaggerated yawning sound and stretched across the pillows.

"Oh! Did you make breakfast?" John asked, propping his cheek up on the palm of his hand, a coy little smile on his face as Hickory walked across the room and set the tray on the bedside table.

"Ja. I thought, after last night, you might need the energy," Hickory teased easily back, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out to pick something off the tray, but paused as John's hand landed on his wrist. He turned his head, letting out a startled little moan as John surged up to press a kiss to his lips.

"Join me?" John asked as he broke the kiss, patting at the pillow next to him.

Who was Hickory to deny such a request? He stood from the bed to slip his sleep pants off before crawling under the covers with John, a pleased little smile on his face as the pop troll draped himself over his lap.

"Now… Feed me," John all but demanded, gesturing vaguely at the breakfast tray. Hickory snorted at the demand, but obliged, snagging a berry from the tray and feeding it to John, who made a show of licking his lips and moaning lowly while he ate.

"Oh," Hickory breathed, offering John another berry, only to find his fingers being drawn into the pop trolls mouth with another self satisfied moan. He swallowed thickly as he pulled his fingers free to reach for the tray again, only to be stopped as John sat up and properly sat himself in Hickory's lap. He blinked owlishly up at the pop troll, who simply grinned down at him.

"Again?" John teased, squeezing his knees around Hickory's hips.

"Yes, please."

[morgan-the-lonely-brick]

Hiii~~ coming onto this blog to do Terror propaganda. Follow my terror sideblog @leadandblood , this is just my main. That said:

Welcome to The Terror (2018)!

Here are things that I love about the first season that might convince you to watch it too (without spoilers)

The fandom is absolutely amazing!!!! I have never had such wonderful comments and tags under posts. And they're all really talented and just wonderful

Gay love.

So much gay love oh my god everyone is gay-

Heck, there's even straight love if you're into that

Old men <3

Absolute angels and absolute demons, that are SO fun to watch

The show knows it's characters incredibly well

They are well developed and act believably in all instances i can think of

If what they do doesn't make sense in the moment it's gonna later

"Here's a guy. Now lets find out how many fucked up things can happen to him before he goes insane or khs"

Representation! Gays, amputees and POC

The main main cast is mostly white men but when there's someone else it has significance to the story or bears a deeper meaning

The visuals are stunning

Amazing camera work

The sound design!!!! Oh my god!!! It's so gooood!!!

Insane paralels game. You won't even notice some of them, but they make sense once you do

The love and care that went into this show is incredible

Very rewarding upon rewatch - different views on scenes and characters and such

You will be finding new details for several rewatches (im on my 6th and still finding stuff)

THE ACTING OH MY GOD THE ACTING

Jared Harris - and his insane ability to portray any combination of emotions with one expression

Tobias Menzies and his goddamn microexpressions

Just to name a few, but honestly they're all amazing

They're also very nice to look at

Prepare to get hurt in the most creative ways possible - it KNOWS how to hurt you and it's... Kinda satisfying

Whump galore!! Emotional and physical. Comfort and no comfort. Just take your pick

It's finished, so they can't fuck it up anymore lmao

The sheer horror of being stuck in the arctic with little to no food and everything wanting to kill you /pos

Things that might turn you away

The sheer horror of being stuck in the arctic with little to no food and everything wanting to kill you /neg

Racist characters. it's the 1800s :///

Death. Oh god there's so much death

Oh you have a favourite character? Well, he dies :/

It is a tragedy through and through.

When you think it can't get any worse, yes it can

So many side characters that you'll be learning their names for the next few days to come

They're 95% white men that look the same when you start out

Bad things happen to animals :(

There's quite a lot of gore... Open skulls, deep wounds, amputation, disease, burning to death, mauling, i could go on

At one point alcoholism and suicide

There will be poems

Overall just a really really great show, i am in love with it

[talentisntgenius]

Heard you like PJhazel, so hope you don't mind some incorrect quotes I have made but am too shy to post on my blog, i know alot people don't enjoy incorrect quotes so feel free to ignore this message if you don't but if you...enjoy

Pj: I AM IN A BAD MOOD! NO ONE TALK TO ME!

Hazel: 🥺🥺🥺

Pj: Alright, fine. You can talk to me. BUT NO ONE ELSE! I MEAN IT!

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

Pj: hazel just said "I have an appetite for destruction" and then she reached down and untied my shoe.

____________

Hazel: Your legs look great in those pants.

Pj: You should see me without them.

Hazel:...

Hazel: Why would you take your legs off?!

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

Pj *covered in hickeys and scratches from hazel but refusing to admit who they're from*: I don't kiss and tell.

Josie, from across the room: That's literally the only two things you do!

_________

Sylvie: I dare you to kiss the next person who walks in this room. 

Pj: Fuck you, I’m not kissing anyone- 

*Hazel, walks into the room*

Pj: ...Fine, I'll do it. Rules are rules.

__________

Pj: Hazel; my beautiful girlfriend, taught me to think before I act.

Pj: …So if I beat the shit out of you, rest assured that I thought about it and am confident in my decision.

_______

Pj: Hey, babe, remember how I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up my ADHD meds?

Hazel: Yes?

Pj: Well, it turns out they're all out for the next five days.

Hazel: Fuck.

Pj: It's gonna be a fun week!

Hazel: I'm going to josie and isabel’s house.

Pj: Nuh-uh. Through sickness and health, motherfucker.

_________

Hazel: this is a stupid idea!

Pj: Hey, nothing we’ve done so far has been un-stupid, and we’re still alive, aren’t we?

Hazel: I can’t really argue with that, but I feel like I should.

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

Pj: not that I'm complaining, but when I asked for a spoon, I meant the utensil.

Hazel *hugging her from behind*: Oh.

-----------

Pj: How do I tell hazel that I want her to yell at me like she's Gordon Ramsay and I'm a poor little chef who just ruined a crème brûlée?

________

Josie: Wow you and pj are home early from the movies. What happened?

Hazel: We got kicked out because pj wouldn't stop yelling diving scores as people jumped off the titanic.

Pj: That last guy had a solid 8, I'm telling you!

__________

Pj: We have a problem.

Hazel *is done with her shit*: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them

__________

Hazel: Hey, wanna have sex?

Pj: I have a gun in that nightstand beside the bed. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to take it out and shot me because I’ve obviously gone crazy.

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

Pj: Before "the huntungton incident", I had so many interests. Now all I care about is whether or not Hazel had a good day.

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

Hazel: for the last time pj, they're called "hikes" not "stupid mental health walks"

Pj: I don't see a difference

________

Pj: Hazel is good at kissing. So good I want to punch the ahit out of the person who taught her.

---------

Pj: You know what would be sexy?

Hazel: What?

Pj: Eating food off each other.

Hazel: You didn't do the dishes, did you?.

Pj: ..I did not.

-----------

That's all I've got, hope you enjoy!

Anon I just gotta say, neurodiverse PJ is so real and you were brave enough to say it!!!! You heard it here folks: pjhazel aduhd couple (real) (canon)

Loved the last three in particular and the spoon one it's so them lmaooooo thanks for this! <3

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Keep the News Cycle Focused!

Resist, resist, resist - because, sometimes, it gets someone to report. And then more people see it and resist! And the cycle continues - but only if you keep pushing to make it go.

Don't pull back because Trump. They are not taking meaningful action on this because they expect you to pull back because Trump. We're playing election chicken right now and it is not to the benefit of the voters, or the non-voters being killed on our behalf. Oh, I don't doubt Trump would try to make it worse, and he'll flog it to his gullible base, but he's also an idiot who has a very hard time getting results and he is not the President. You say, "But he could...!" Ah-ah! But he isn't. Biden is succeeding at making it worse right now, and banking on your fear of Trump to insulate him from the consequences.

The only way to hold these people accountable is to threaten their power. If this continues and we all vote for it anyway, I don't wanna know what the political landscape is going to look like forever afterwards. Genocide is being included in the sensible, moderate solutions the sane party offers. Historically, it has been! We have a long and terrible association with genocides! But I don't want it to stay like that!

The best way to move the Overton Window back towards human decency is to stop the genocide NOW, before the damn election. But they're still trying to shut the objections down. They redefined this event twice, trying to make it look like NBD, and then they tried to keep the story as quiet as possible. It still is relatively quiet! But it's there. The people resisting got it covered.

I come from a food-centric culture too. This is an ice cold rejection and I hope like hell the folks on Team Biden who agreed to sit down and eat for the damage control told him that. This is almost as bad as throwing a shoe. This is trouble.

And I'm grateful. I want trouble like this now, because it's a lot better than what could happen later. Even a few weeks later. Gaza is STARVING, y'all, and we could stop it. Think long and hard about why we're not. I'm gonna tell you right now, it's not "because democracy!" (ie "but the guy who can circumvent congress and the law to sell more weapons and build more border walls isn't powerful enough to do this!") or "because antisemitism!" (ie "well, Israel and Judaism are the same thing and Jews have been through a lot, so Israel can have a little genocide") it's "because POWER!"

If politicians don't see a threat to their power, they don't listen. There is an entire crazed, fundamentalist religion DEMANDING that Israel exist so God can come back and destroy it, among many other awful things, it is damn near impossible to reason with them, and Democrats want their votes. Democrats want everyone's votes, but they've decided to move towards the fundies on the right and abandon the critical thinkers on the left. (If you think they haven't, PLEASE turn your brain back on and start looking and listening to them!) It's safe to ignore us because we have no other option. We have to get louder and scarier to see results. Hell, we have to get louder and scarier just to slow down the decay.

Keep it in mind when pushing back against all the awful shit that's going down right now.

And keep resisting!

[captainmera]

ello mera,

I wanted to ask how you post your comics online because i was thinking about making my own web comic series but i dont know where to start hehe

I think the website you used for IBWR was called Hiveworks but im not to sure how it works...

Also if you have any other tips when it comes to making comics like time management, planning, or even how draw those gorgeous backgrounds, it would be much appreciated :D

Thank you for your time ヾ(•ω•`)o ✧.*

Sure thing buckaroo, get in the backseat and let's hit the comic road!

ヾ(•`ω´•)o ✧.*

this is all from my perspective though, some stuff may not work for you, but hey - no knowledge is bad knowledge.

Hiveworks is a... Publisher! of sorts! Kind of. They're not like webtoons or Tapas when it comes to comic hosting, you have to be invited to Hiveworks (like me!) or apply to join them! :) They also have Hivemill which is a place where they sell merch for the comics. Either Hiveworks helped making the merch, or the artists themselves made the stuff and Hiveworks helps distribute it (I THINK, don't quote me on that. I haven't made or sold merch with them before. But it's what I understand. They have explained it to me, I'm just kinda dumb).

However! Comic control, of which Hiveworks uses to make the websites are free for anyone to use! :) So if you want your own website, go ahead and make one!

I'd still recommend you buy the URL you'll use in that case though. I pay a yearly fee on GoDaddy.com for mine. It's affordable and honestly worth it as a precaution, lest a dirtbag buy it just to ruin my day and give me distress for a year(s).

But my recommendation is that you mirror your comic in as many places as possible.

Now, my website has ads on it, so if you switch off ad-block when visiting IBWR, I can get ad rev from it! :D (thanks to Hiveworks, that is, they added the ad stuff on there. Idk how it works but it's nice passive income that I really need. It pays for my food).

That means I will prioritize the website over the secondary mirrored places. So that's the place I always link to first. So if people REALLY want to get the next page sooner, they can always check there first.

However, mirroring is great because it is very difficult to get people to read the story you've put so much love into. I want people to enjoy my story as much as I do. The more places you update it to, the more people will discover you.

I've noticed that people like to follow the artist/author on social media for update announcements and general news of what's going on for the comic - so know where your presence on socmed is at! If it's instagram, well, then prioritize instagram but don't forget bluesky or tumblr too! Just know where you're at.

BUT!! And I cannot stress (lol) this enough - but don't stress (lol) about it. which is easier said than done.

It can feel super overwhelming to constantly make each update of a page feel like a check list of "okay, posted announcement to insta, tumblr, twitter, I have scheduled a mirrored post to comicfury and tumblr, I have added all the links in the author section, uuuh, I gotta add a cropped panel sneak-peak in each and I gotta--" that shit gets tiring quick. Work smart not hard. I copy paste from a document and I print-screen crop a panel from my comic on my phone kind of flimsily and that works. Nobody cares if it's fancy. It's just extra energy on my part that I can't be arsed to worry about.

Like Webtoons require that you to always have a preview icon for each update. That's as complicated as I'm willing to get tbh. If it requires more than that from me I'm gonna hate it. But that's just me.

you want to be able to do something consistently.

Which brings me to..

MANAGEMENT

bro, it's a job. It takes work. Work is not always fun, but you gotta show up for it. you're the only worker here. If you don't show up, it doesn't get done.

And people are not going to read it until there's at least pages enough for them to catch on to a story. If you're here for recognition right away, stop. You'll hurt yourself. I know we live in a time of quick-positive feedback through likes and shares, etc. But that's just not reality most of the time when starting up.

So, you got to want to tell the story more than whatever you are expecting to get out of this.

Which will also help you with managing your feelings if your reader count grows or declines. Just remind yourself of why you even want to tell your stories. It's easier said than done, but I found it to be a helpful philosophy to try stick by.

Everything I gain from sharing my story is just a plus. Not the reason.

What I did, also, was to just post whenever I finished a page. I had no readers, only commitment to myself and the comic. That's it. You'll find it easier if you don't force yourself at first, at least I did. And then as you gain your own momentum and work-pace, you'll be able to be like "Oh yeah, sunday works for me. I'll aim for that." Aim for it, don't promise. But show up. You're not a machine, shit happens, life comes in. If you have a deadline that makes you feel guilty, you might start avoiding it etc. So maybe just cut yourself some slack and go "whenever I'm done with a page is a good day."

You are your own boss. You make your own rules.

Yes, there is an algorithm to it all - when's the best time to post, getting new readers through memes or what have you. You might discover that the best way for you to get readers is to make funny videoclips on instagram or tiktok - there is no wrong way.

However, it shouldn't feel like too much of a chore. You should enjoy it at least a little bit. Like, maybe you kinda like making goofy vids of your comic, or draw memes, whatever, right? But you should enjoy some of it. If you hate making vids, but you know it is a good pond to fish in.. well, like... I'm sorry but you're gonna get frustrated with it.

I like posting THANK YOU FOR READING doodles of my characters on instagram stories! :D <3 I like that! That's not too much trouble for me.

BE CRINGE, BE FREE.

who gives a shit.

enjoy yourself you goofy ass little comic artist. Blast your story everywhere, be proud, have fun. People enjoy having fun, they usually want to join in with the fun.

If you have fun, others have fun being with you.

DRAWING COMICS

dawg I wish I had any better tips than... Fuck it, poke at it however you want.

I usually have ten pages flimsily sketched out with speech-dialogues so I know what's gonna happen in the next pages, so I can pace the scene somewhat.

I say that, like I'm some kinda professional, but I jump between pages. Whichever page seems a little more fun. Sometimes I stare myself blind on a page and gotta draw on something else.

Some pages are super well sketched, others are just bald stickfigures making faces at other bald stickfigures.

BACKGROUNDS

Get references. Either look at photographs or take the yourself. Start getting into looking at buildings in real life. I, myself, spend quite a lot of time looking at different windows and brick buildings going "Dang, so that's a widow huh? Architects sure just make windows like BAM ENJOY THIS ONE huh?"

Basically, start appreciating the world around you. There's art everywhere. Someone has put thought - however big or small - into that sidewalk.

Is it a shitty sidewalk? Well, that's really grounding isn't it? Someone, at some point, looked at this space, sighed and thought "fuck man I just wanna go home. That's good enough." and that really grounds you visually into that this world is a place where people have been before you.

Sometimes I get lazy and at the same time in a mood to challenge my memory, and I'll start inventing what the heck a building or street looks like. And you can probably easily tell in a page when I, too, am going "fuck man I just wanna get this page done with, that's good enough."

AND THAT'S FINE!!!

Not everything have to be an awestriking master page! Damn, the pressure I'd be under if that's the only thing I had to produce asdfghj! if anything, great pages look better because some pages are shite.

It's okay.

It doesn't have to be perfect every time. Learn what didn't work, what worked. Post it. Move on. You can't sit on this forever or the story will never be told. Just post it, it's fine.

THERE IS NO PERFECT TIME TO POST YOUR STORY.

Post it in chunks or page by page. It doesn't really matter - new readers are going to read it all in one sitting anyway.

-------

I think that's all I can think of for now??

Hope that helped!

Oh also I have this side blog I've been neglecting a bit, but feel free to check that out: @comicartistcentral

[stitchthesewords]

Hey hi hey hey hi I am having an Emotional day so uh. Have an Apocalypse AU idea I had. Full disclosure - I uh. Actually hate stories set within and just beyond apocalypses, which is why my stuff is always set pretty far Past an apocalypse. But. I'm feeling things and I dislike apocalypse stories because of that whole Lone Wolf/Everyone Turns On Each Other mindset so many writers seem to have and this is Not That so - below the cut.

Okay so I'm less interested in how the apocalypse happens here but I'm picturing it being some kind of monster apocalypse. This is definitely gonna be a minecrafty like. low fantasy world like all my ideas so maybe the apocalypse is caused by mobs coming in the night for the first time. The struggle of stuff spawning when it gets dark - and maybe with the added difficulty of the sun not killing things. My own difficulty is figuring out like, doc and Cleo bc i still want them to be a creeper and zombie hybrid but I imagine everyone being human??????? maybe I change that. But I still don't know how to justify like doc existing like Cleo mightve gotten bitten but not become a full zombie for some reason but doc? IDK. then again im now thinking about like maybe mild hybridization okay. So maybe like. avians. Sheep hybrids. Simpler hybrids than what i usually do and everyone else [sans the hybrids] are just Dudes. Okay so

Monsters start appearing one day and it causes, understandably, mass panic in a world where monsters didn't exist beforehand. Before its all said and done, people are fleeing left right and center and no one is really keeping track of anything and a lot of things kind of fall apart. You know, standard monster apocalypse stuff. BUT. here's the thing. I don't think this is a 'government steps in a takes over' and I dont think this is a 'everyone turns on each other and refuses to share supplies' - just the opposite.

And the hermits end up being one such group of people who end up collecting together. They pool their resources and support each other and build a safe place to live - lit up, with walls to keep the new and dangerous mobs out, and houses to keep everyone safe and warm. Support. No man left behind. And it - admittedly - takes them a bit to really get their feet underneath them. Feeding a group their size is difficult and gardening and farming is a brand new idea to a lot of them who had other jobs before the apocalypse [Architects, tailors, scientists, engineers, etc etc]. And they're jobs are important and useful too, but they're got to learn to do stuff like Milk Cows, grow their own food, process that food, process animals - all of it.

And what I'm thinking is like this is both a soft and hard au. Soft in that there's a lot of focus on learning to trust their new family, learning these new skills they need, falling in love amongst themselves, and learning how to accomodate different issues everyone has. And its also a hard AU in that it's learning to fight to defend each other from the mobs and learning to explore safely and learning to protect each other and all that stuff.

But its also like - welcoming strangers who need help who may or may not stay with open arms because they're people and they need help. And yeah, sometimes people have bad intentions and it might bite them in the ass occasionally but this is a group of people who came together to protect each other they aren't just going to leave someone else out to starve or die.

Is this even coherent. Anyway just kind of a lot of thoughts about learning to care for other people and trust and build community both literally and figuratively. Learning to build houses with your hands and repair what you have and learning to farm and process and cook. Rebuilding from the ground up a community in your own image. lkhsfkdlk

@atherix @braxiatel @greatbridge @ellalily @lesbianwilby @em-mermaid @loombarrow @sparksnevadas @aceofthefandoms

[beanghostprincess]

A very Sanuso Christmas #4

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"The science of Christmas cooking"

Sanji never is stressed when it comes to food. Cooking is his territory. The kitchen is his palace and he's the king or whatever. He knows what to do in every moment and he manages to do everything, not by the book, exactly, but by his standards. And it always turns out great. However, he didn't expect Christmas to be so overwhelming when it comes to cooking. Whenever Christmas time was near when he worked at the Baratie it was... Well, the restaurant was more crowded than most days, but still, Sanji had other people to help him.

Now he's alone and his crew eats like a thousand men, Luffy counting as 991 people. So it's pretty much accurate to assume that Sanji is losing his mind right now with how much he has to cook. Especially having in mind that Sabo might appear because the guy can't spend a festivity without his brother, and Bartolomeo and the others might show up too because- Well, they don't have anything better to do with their own crews than to bother theirs. Whatever. Sanji can't handle this.

But Sanji can't handle it. He's all over the walls trying to cook as fast as he can and there are just so many recipes he wants to try for their first Christmas together that he doesn't get out of the kitchen in a long, long while. Usually, he spends his days there too, but they force him to take breaks every once in a while.

He's lost in his cooking when the kitchen door suddenly opens and closes with a subtle sound, not caring much about who's there this time. If it's Luffy he might as well do whatever at this point because Sanji refuses to let his current recipe go to waste by being distracted. But all of a sudden, he notices two hands on his waist. Two hands he knows all too well. And of course, he has to stop what he's doing for him.

Before Sanji can protest or even say anything, Usopp rests his head on the cook's back. "You should take a break. Or at least let me help."

Sanji scoffs, because that's just stupid. He's fine. "I'm fine." He swears he's fine. "Seriously I- I just need to finish the cake and I'll be done, mon amour. Don't worry about me."

He doesn't have to turn around to know Usopp is rolling his eyes. The sniper turns him around so they're looking at each other, Sanji's back pressed against the kitchen and Usopp between his legs. The sniper takes his cheeks with his hands and pulls hard, frowning and a bit angrier than usual. "Idiot. You're gonna be so tired by tonight that you won't be enjoying your own food!"

His face hurts, but he manages to talk. "But that's fine. Dear, I do this for all of yo-"

"You should be able to enjoy Christmas too, you workaholic dumbass." It's such a simple sentence, but it makes Sanji's whole world shift in an instant. Usopp quickly moves away from him to stand next to him and the kitchen, starting to check the ingredients in front of them, lost in his thoughts. "I'm not the best cook, but food is sort of like science, isn't it? It can't be that hard."

Sanji wants to scoff and tell him not to underestimate the effort that is the art of cooking, but also, he's not so far from the truth. Cooking is kind of like science, and Usopp does these things every damn day. Besides, his boyfriend is already putting on an apron and reading the recipe out loud, and Sanji never thought he'd be able to fall even more in love with him. The cook gets lost in Usopp's movements. How he looks so sure and confident for once as if he had done this before.

Usually, Sanji is the only one able to understand the magic that is this passion. The only one able to enter this palace. Usopp has, now, gently made his way inside. Perhaps a little bit of help during Christmas isn't so bad, after all.

"You look good like this." It escapes Sanji's mouth before he can think about it.

Usopp seems confused at first, but laughs loudly and overconfidently for a few seconds. "Of course I do! Everything looks good on me, even aprons!"

And Sanji nods, but that isn't exactly what he meant.

You look good like this. In my kitchen. With me. Forever.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

[1] [2] [3]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ This is basically just me posting different Sanuso headcanons every day during all of December because I thought it would be something sweet to make for them!!! If you have any cute Christmas (or just Winter related too! New Year! Whatever you think could fit) Sanuso headcanons just send them to me and I will make a post like this about them (tagging you ofc, unless you want to be anon!).

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

[ravynfyre]

do not come at me if you read beyond the cut and get traumatized.

my elderly cat died yesterday. i wish i know how, because the not knowing is killing me. she'd suddenly taken a turn for the worse, and i had already decided that we were going in monday to say goodbye. i don't know how she died, though. i had a really bad bout of insomnia the night before, and laid down to take a 3 hour nap in the late morning after chores. when i woke up, she wasn't begging for more breakfast, so i got worried and went looking for her. i couldn't find her. looked all through the house in all of her favorite spots, but she wasn't there. i didn't find her until i checked the crate of one of my dogs. the dog was eating her. dog had already pulled her head off and eaten the front half of her body. i had to get bags to collect what was left of my elderly cat from the dog's crate... and i will never know if the dog just found her body soon after i laid down for my nap (because i know my cat was alive them... i had fed her a little breakfast - less than she would normally want, so i was worried already - and then she'd come to lay down on me once i was settled) or if my dog actually killed her. i know that she was in multiple pieces, though, and i had to clean that up... and i have already had multiple people today telling me that my mental and emotional state, my distress, is unreasonable. one person literally asked me how i could be this upset for a cat when i have spent my life dealing with dead humans in even worse conditions.

here's my awful confession: i don't like people. they lie. they're complicated. they bring drama to my life. they hurt me. they go out of their way to hurt me. they hurt each other for the joy of inflicting pain. they destroy the world for fun and profit. humans are terrible creatures and i cannot stand them. there are individual people that i care for... but humans... fuck humanity.

my animals don't lie to me. they want food, safety, and compassion... and they love whole-heartedly. they don't try and deceive me for personal gain. except maybe for another snack, but i like food, too. my animals don't want to destroy the world. at most, they want the fun of the chaos of wrecking a stuffie.

but now i am conflicted, and that's the worst part, i think. she's a dog. dog's gonna dog. it's not like she was being malicious when she started eating my cat. she's got behavioral and medical issues that make her feel like she's starving, even when she's full. she licks things off the floor, sometimes, so it's pretty believable that she would start eating a corpse. but when she came to me, she wasn't cat safe, and it took many months to train that out of her. except i forgot that you can never 100% extinguish a set behavior... so an elderly cat on her last legs who was slow and weak... yeah, i could see this dog killing her out of misguided instincts, too. i just don't know. and that makes me sound like a shitty, unprepared, ignorant person, i'm sure, that i would risk my elderly cat like that. trust me, you can't say anything i haven't already been thinking about myself. (and other people have said to me already yesterday and today. you'd be late to the party) but the dog had been so trustworthy for so many months that it honestly wasn't something i could consider - except in retrospect. so i'm going back to closing the crate when i am asleep or not home. all of my other cats are young and spry and well able to take care of themselves, unlike my herschell was, but i am not going to risk that ever again.

i fucked up and my cat might have paid the price. or maybe not. either way, i still had to fish her decapitated, partially consumed remains out of my dog's crate... and apparently, being upset about that makes me irrational, offensive, and unreasonable. you know, because i have scraped decapitated, smeared human off of highways before. i should be immune or some shit.

how do i love that dog again?

[kusanalogy]

Mother~!

Characters: Yelan x adopted daughter!reader

A/n: this was requested by @kujousarah007 ^ㅇ^ Uhh i think i got a bit carried away writing this 😭 it kinda became short towards the end bc i wrote it at like 1am yesterday lol. reader is a bit shy btw, but i tried not to make it too much

warnings: reader has depression according to the request, but their may be potential misinformation about depression. I made it not so depressing but more fluffy so i could avoid mistakes. Proofread, but in a rush so there might be some things grammatically incorrect

word count: aprox 1.1k words

•Yelan found you on a mission sleeping on the grass under a tree, with a little basket beside you. There she found freshly picked berries

"This must be her food.." She thought

•You sensed her presence, waking you up from your nap

You woke up facing a person you didnt recognize. The unknown woman turned her eyes to you "Ah- Hello there, kid."

"Mhmmm.. Hi there" you rubbed your eyes to see her clearly "W-what are you gonna do to me?"

"Dont worry, I wont do anything bad. I just happen to see you while- going for a walk!" It was a half-lie. Yes she did just happen to see you, But she wondered if you knew where her target; a group of treasure hoarders were.

"Oh! Sorry for the misunderstanding. A group of strong men had recently stole my backpack and.. I thought you were one of them!"

"Strong men... stealing... Could you describe they're looks?" The unknown woman asked.

"Are you gonna help me find my backpack~?" You stood up, looking at her exictedly.

She reached out a hand to you "Sure. I have other stuff to deal with that group though. Just sit back and watch, alright? Unless you wanna cover your eyes."

Yayyy!!! Thank you uh.. ma'am~!" You happily held her hand, Exicted to watch her deal with them.

"Call me yelan by the way. You?"

"I-I'm y/n, nice to meet you yelan!"

Yelan smiled and continued to ask you more questions about the group, giving her more clues. not long after, You both managed to locate them.

You listened in amazement on how she explains the plan "So complicated... but fun!" Your mind wandered, thinking about different outcomes and turning them into scenarios

After that, you soon became fond of yelan. She treated you the way noone treated you before, Making you feel a.. different feeling.

"Im sorry y/n.. I have to get back now."

"B-but mama... I want you to stay with me!" You stared at her with puppy eyes "Let me come with you!!! Pretty pleaseeee with a cherry on top?"

She was surprised once you said "mama" she sighed, realizing you got that attached to her

"We can meet up here next time, Its getting late." She attemptee to politely answer

You shook your head and grabbed a part of her clothing. "Nuh-uh. Im not gonna sleep alone somewhere far away. If you're not gonna let me come then i'll just have to follow you! If you somehow manage to get away then ill f-find you tomorrow."

She could sense the sadness in your words. Well, Theres nothing she can do.. you seemed to be really clingy. She's dealt with children like you before, Many times. But how come torwards you, it was unalike? who could resist a poor child like you? Why did it feel... familiar? "How am i going to explain this to the agents.." She pondered

Once you both arrived in liyue harbor, She and her men set up a little room for you to settle in. You cleaned yourself up and sat on the comfortable matress.

•Your eyes roamed across the small room, you dont know why but.. it made you feel a bit emotional. Noone has ever done this for you, It made you feel a bit special.

"How is it, little one?"

You jump as you didnt notice your so called "saviour" standing behind the half-opened door.

"O-oh mothe- yelan! Its very pretty. Not like where i usually settle."

She chuckled "Mother, huh? You got comfortable really quick." Well, its not like she got comfortable too. She wont loosen up that quick though. You never know, a child could be involved with something unfortunate.

You went up to her and stared at her face. Yelan knew you wanted something, so she bent down to your level

"Its time to sleep now, y/n. We can chat tomorrow." Yelan said.

"I have one request, w-will you stay with me? just for a bit?"

.

.

Now, this moment prooves her speculations that you're having a rough time with your mental health. Seeing you having trouble falling asleep, moving a lot, all that. The sad part is, You dont notice it. You got used to living this poor life given by fate.

•The day after, she started to take care of you, Although she was always away due to her duties, you didnt mind.

•Sometimes you'd accidently call her "mother" and she'd frequently tease you about it and imitates by calling you "dearest daughter" with a hint of sarcasm

"Yelan, mother, a friend or a mere stranger. I can be any of those. I can play whoever you want me to be."

•Yelan taught you lots of stuff growing up! Most of it was on how to communicate with people, the rest, she wanted you to learn on your own so you could be independant.

•When she was away, She'd always send you letters to remind you that she hasnt forgot.

•But getting older, you soon start realizing things.

•Its the way she kept lying. You knew your mother's job was to lie, no doubt she lied to you multiple times. But as you lay down in the middle of your bed, dozens of thoughts going thru your mind, what made you believe her?

•You get up to look at your calendar.

"Mother said she'd be back yesterday. What happened to that? hrm, another lie yet again." You spoke to yourself.

"Listen to me. yes i lie, you know me. You know what i do. But i promise you one thing.."

The familiar voice made sure to speak clearly, though how it spoke so suddenly startled you.

"Ye-yelan..?"

"Missed me, my favorite y/n?" She slightly teased

You jumped to embrace her, feeling warm again. "Im listening! Tell me the promise."

"...That i'll always come back." She cleared her throat and continued. "That is the one thing that will never be untrue. I have a reason for keeping you as far as possible from my work and not telling you everything, you know? Well, one of those reasons are to keep you safe. Its for that very promise. I understand your feelings and- i apologize if i couldnt fulfill several of your wishes due to work. I'll make it up to you, next time theres another minor problem im tasked to do, i'll bring you along with me just like how i did the first time i met you. Are we clear?"

Your eyes widened, then you smiled. The genuine one you only showed to her.

"There we go, now you're smiling. Keep it up." Yelan said.

"Watch me, i'll use the technique you taught me when that time comes!"

Yelan looked thru your window, and back to you. "Exicted again, hm? Lets get you to bed now, the days will go by faster."