#anyways in theory I wanna give him expressive ears but like. that’s a problem for future me

[trollbreak]

Him :3

[au-wannabe-the-very-best]

I wanna chew on your Misplaced Super Train AU like it's got the texture of perfectly toasted potato bread. I wanna squeeze it like it's a triple-overstuffed squishmallow and wrap it around me like a silken weighted blanket.

This has got to be my single most favorite AU of yours so far, and I feel it with such intensity that all the All Caps and exclamation points in the world could not help me express it.

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Like, does the group do anything about Volo, or does he manage to avoid them/avoid giving them Rancid Vibes? I feel like they would have a pretty good mix of people/pokemon able to pick up on individual little things that come together to make a Concerning Picture.

And how are the people (Emmet et. al.) back home doing? How do they feel? Because a whole group of people disappearing launches people straight into conspiracy theories rather than just ("just") the concern a single dissappearance would generate.

Would the group show up in history books? Would Ingo & Co know they were gonna disappear (a lá Stable Time Loop) or is it more like they don't show up in history until it happens (if at all)? (Time is weird.)

I think because of the fact that they just accidentally came through a space-time rift, Volo's operating under the assumption that they weren't sent to stop his plans or anything, so he just avoids them. As for the group, I think it would be super funny if they have like. An instinct for people who wield legendaries. Because they're so used to passengers trying to sneak them into the battle subway. They're BANNED for a reason.

So, like, they KNOW Volo's got legendary voodoo all over him but they don't particularly care? Not their passenger, not their problem.

As for the family back home, Emmet and the others aren't really handling this very well. Interpol gets involved immediately, but their lack of results is very discouraging. See, before this, there has been things disappearing throughout history that logically shouldn't just disappear! Things like a whole fridge or a washing machine, for example. But it's always been attributed to a thief who's got a really well-trained psychic type, or something like that. Nobody is going to connect these random disappearances to a whole ass train vanishing off the tracks, despite the fact that they're both connected to the space-time distortions. Up until this point, all previous disappearances were low-level and weren't given much investigation.

So there's really... no precedence on how to handle this. Not even "fallers" are as bizarre as this. Plus, there's no ultra wormhole energy, so that's ruled out fairly quickly. Interpol has got no leads. And the internet is getting wild with the conspiracy theories, much to the dismay of the family and friends of those who went missing.

Emmet breaks his phone against a wall when some tabloid claims it's a publicity stunt.

Anyways, no, I don't think Ingo or the depot agents had any clue they were going to disappear, but I DO think this is going to be a "stable time loop" scenario— while in the past, they're going to have the caution to not reveal much future info, and keep their identities generally a secret. Not to mention, in the future, the "secret third alien clan in Hisui" is considered a conspiracy theory, regardless of the evidence of their existence. It doesn't really reach the ears of the Unovan subway workers, outside of lesser-known memes. There's no photos of them, and the only person in their group who has much a reason to be interacting with anyone native to Hisui would be Ingo. And that's just because Lady Sneasler's taken quite the liking to him. There's the added plus that with Ingo's amnesia, he actually doesn't run much of a risk when it comes to revealing things, so they're not as worried about him interacting with the locals as they are of Big Mouth Cameron who told people they were FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

I also think, when they return, a lot of the proof of their existence is going to be taken with them... Which doesn't leave much for the historians to find.

When they come back, though? Oh, the historical community is going to have a field day with the goodies they brought back.

[berryberryrad]

𝙨𝙛𝙬 𝙖𝙡𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙩⚡️

.

shino aburame, sfw alphabet prompt

if this comes across as ooc, literally hit me pls. I’m usually kiba biased, but something about shino has just been hitting different recently.

warnings: blatant abuse of grammar and punctuation. cursing. i’m no writer, i just tell it like i see it. I wrote this on mobile and am not a tech guru so I wish I could do the fancy little, “keep reading,” bit but I’m

word count, 3983

.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

we’ve all come to the generalized conclusion that the aburame clan aren’t handsy. shino falls in line with this, and pda or even private interactions that involve skin to skin contact aren’t going to be his forte. I can see him holding hands, or the aspect of interlocking pinkies with this boy while you’re both reading or walking throughout the woods just has me weak in my knees. a more common way shino would express himself by ways of affection would be listening; absorbing every word you have to give and then offering up the information he’s collected later to show that he does hang onto your every word. he does so subtly, remembering things that you mentioned favoring seemingly offhandedly but in reality he wants you to feel as seen as you make him feel. someone give him a kind smile right now

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

shino’s so quick to throw around the, “I’m not sure I have any friends,” card when kiba inuzuka literally exists— the audacity of this man. team 8? the bond the three of them have outdoes friendship. the loyalty. the camaraderie. the attitude. i get whiplash from their personalities interacting, and i love every minute of it. the bluntness of shino can come across as rude disposition, however it all comes a place of well intent. he speaks his mind, and he speaks the truth. all of it. having shino aburame as a friend would mean you could easily find calm grounds to stand upon. he’d offer words of harsh wisdom, whether you ask for them or not. he sees the best in people even behind his quiet demeanor, and has loyalty oozing out of him. good boy, 10/10 wanna be his best friend.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

can i be self-indulgent for .6 seconds: imagine how w a r m shino is. it had to be said.

anyways, aburame clan: not particularly touchy. we talked about this. however there would come times where shino would hold your hand. it was a practice you initiated, and he quickly caught onto. when you walk through the forest together, he’ll send his bugs out to take a quick peek around before interlocking your fingers silently. he’ll be nervous the first time, but eventually is confident enough to make the move without any plaguing hesitation.

I could go on and on about hand holding because I’m a simple girl, but we gotta get to the goods.

cuddling? with shino aburame? a prize that I want to win. you. bug boy. sitting side by side, chatting about slice of life oddities— you put your head on his shoulder. okay little baddie, we see you: he very carefully presses his head onto the top of yours. shoulder to shoulder, his cheek resting in your hair. you never stop talking about your day, and he never stops you. it feels so natural and easy. c o z y. I’m soft.

you don’t spoon, you want to see his face when he lights up with facts about entomology. when you reach that state in your relationship, you lay side by side and play with his fingers, or he draws lazy patterns on your wrist.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

he’d love to settle down wtf. he’d want to keep a romantic partner close, but even platonically— shino’s in it for the long haul.

he may be bug boy, but he’s also a clean boy. right? like okay his hair may be a bit unkept, and his room is definitely littered with sketches of insects and books here and there. but they’re organized in a way that makes sense to him. he can immediately find whatever he needs whenever he needs it, and that doesn’t make him unclean. when it comes to his insects, he keeps them tucked away with precision. each is labeled and jarred away probably alphabetically, idk, that just feels right to me.

cooking is something that can be accomplished in theory. a recipe can be read and executed, but that’s as far as it goes with shino. don’t expect much creative flare, the aburames are known bug enthusiasts, not ramen curators. the most spontaneity you can hope for is perhaps a pinch of salt on your eggs in the morning. if it’s not in the recipe, it’s not happening. he’s a boy of many talents, cooking is barely one of them.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

i don’t even wanna entertain shino breaking my heart—

good thing he’s breaking yours

shino wouldn’t let a platonic relationship go far enough into a romantic status unless he was without a doubt that you were someone he could trust and hold close to his person. honestly I’d say you’d have to be the one to break up with him if you managed to get far enough in. but if he had to break up with you? he’d have the briefest moment of hurt before setting it out all on the table. once his mind is made up, it’s over. he’s not one to dance around the point. you probably won’t even have to ask why. he’ll tell you without prompting.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

oh shino has no problem committing his life to you, after you’ve been together for a very long time that is. marriage isn’t the forthcoming thought pressing into his conscious. it’d be something you had to mention in passing to him to let him know you were interested. to shino, he recognizes your relationship as it is: a relationship. your partners for better or worse, he doesn’t think a marriage certificate has any true significance in the way you share feelings for one another.

but you’d like a wedding? okay, no qualms. he’d want to wait a few years, and the atmosphere of the village would to have to fair calm, but he wouldn’t mind a small ceremony. when he tilts your head back and kisses you to seal the deal, kiba faints.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

sorry I was just checking the time, seems to me like it’s, “soft boy hours.”

I want you to know right now that shino aburame hangs onto every word you say with such fervor, it’s just darling okay? emotionally, when you’ve established that you plan on playing an active role in his life, he’s so doting. asks you short and simple questions about your day. offers advice on your woes. let’s you interact with his bugs— because he trusts you. and you better offer him the same love and respect back. I have this whole thing about him receiving cheek kisses. he eats that shit up okay, but silently with a blush crawling up his neck and wrapping around his ears. pinky holding— hullo. that’s the gentlest thing homies can do.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

maybe he hugs you first. that’s wild, but it keeps you on your toes. you held his hand first, yes, but that night when he accompanies you home you stand nearly toe to toe. you haven’t released hands yet, and he’s overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude to someone who has lent an ear to him with no ulterior motives other than quality time. it’s strangely second nature to him as he wraps a fast arm around your waist, crushing your held hands between your bodies. you’re taken aback, obviously, but before you can even share a proper moment in the same space he’s retreating back into his stoic persona and wishing you a good night.

shino hugs with his whole body, and my favorite version of this would be him wrapping his arms around your shoulders as your crushed into his shoulder. love it. he doesn’t hug often, cherish the ones he shares with you.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

shino, ever the one to speak his mind, let’s you know he loves you immediately when it occurs to him. I’m not quite sure when this is, but you’ve been apart of his life for a long time without a doubt. you make him feel safe, seen, and he is sure he can trust you. you probably ask him a question about like the process through which butterflies migrate or whatever, I’m not clever enough to think of insect related questions, but after he gets done explaining and you’ve got this thoughtful expression on your face he just blatantly says it. it’s so matter of fact and without any doubt that you have to blink for a moment before sharing the sentiment. it’s not awkward. there’s not any fanfare or roses involved. it’s the truth, and you’re both quietly over the moon about it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

shino and jealousy don’t necessarily exist in the same realm. he’s not going to entertain someone he can’t trust, that’s just a given. and if he did have any doubt in his mind you were pursuing something romantic from another, he’d simply send one of his bugs to investigate the situation. if it proved to be true, he’d confront you on it. if he’s misunderstood the circumstances then he can admit it, but if he hasn’t then he’ll make it apparent to you very quickly he doesn’t appreciate what you’ve been doing.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

soft, goodnight.

okay so like forehead kisses, right? forehead kisses by shino>>>>

i will die on this hill, don’t test me.

shino kisses softly and with purpose, there is nothing he does without meaning. it’s a press of his lips to your forehead before leaving for a mission, it’s brushing your lips together in the moonlight, it’s pushing the pads of your fingers against his mouth when you’re upset. I’m a hopeless romantic and there’s only so many euphemism for kissing, so take what you’re given. shino isn’t experienced in tonsil surfing, so you’ll have to bear with him. it’s something that relies less on textbook skill and moreover on feeling and primal intuition, something he does have so he’s not completely clueless. like i said, forehead kisses are a go to and idk if I’ve mentioned you giving shino cheek kisses but for the love of god, please opt to. he eats that shit up, you gotta.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

kurenai herself made note of how well shino interacts with kids, and I have never known kurenai to be wrong so it’s been decided. shino? amazing with kids. the scene between him and mirai? shino giving a piggy back ride? goodnight y’all, imma clock out.

and he eventually becomes sensei badass okay, like he can handle himself amongst a child or two. as far as having his own children I think he’d do well with one. shibi and shino share the classic aburame relationship: mutual understanding and appreciation of one another’s existence, and i can see him sharing that with his own child and then some. he spent the better part of his own childhood in solitude. it was in tandem sought out and forced upon him. big boy perks. he’d want his child to not only embrace their aburame side, bugs and all— but also to feel confident and extroverted enough to branch out and make interpersonal relationships

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

imagine being a morning person. I mean shino doesn’t have to, but it couldn’t be me. shino’s up before dawn breaks, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and pressing his glasses into his nose before he even opens his eyes. rise and shine. if you’ve been sleeping beside him, he’ll cast a long look you’re way, admiring your still figure before standing and beginning his day quietly so as not to wake you. he lets you sleep as long as you wish unless you instruct otherwise. sometimes you ask him to wake you when he wakes himself. you always regret it because why the fuck is he awake, the crickets are still outside doing god knows what. he thinks the ambiance of an early morning is peaceful, and it sets his person in ease.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

can we all just take a moment to appreciate the grand outdoors and how precious it would be to have shino watching you fondly ogle at fireflies in the middle of a field. like arms crossed with a gentle smile behind his collar as you open mouth grin and point because he absolutely asks them to do something impressive just to see you in awe.

nights are spent outside staring up at the sky. in a tree? on the ground? in the park? in the middle of the woods? who cares, time with shino is time well spent.

if it’s raining then that’s tough, I guess y’all will just have to have a night in. sometimes you play shogi, and you don’t complain when he lets you win despite you showing no true skill for the game. he doesn’t mind.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

oh shino won’t reveal anything haha. well not on purpose. see I know I’ve gone on and on about shino being so attuned to you and what you have to say, but you have to show him equal attention and devotion to get a good read of him. anything personal that can be taken from him is conveyed so subtly you’ll miss it if you’re not paying attention. he’ll answer any question you ask, however if you get too personal too fast he’ll slyly avoid the question

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

not easily angered, moreover easily annoyed. while shino may not be on shikamaru’s level of strategical advances, he does have a pretty good sense of how things should be completed. it’s usually the way that benefits the most people and accomplishes the goal with as little room for error as possible. when things stray off from the how he envisioned them, I see him getting a little irritated. I think the time he’s spent with kiba has aided in this conclusion, and he isn’t as easily moved to a pissy nature as he once was, but I think the sullen nature still translates across if things fail to go his way because in his mind, it’s the most logical path.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

broken record alert: he’s a good listener. it’s both a strategic move to manipulate situations because he’s become so good at reading people, and his own unique love language. it’s the juxtaposition of words of affirmation; he shows he cares by ways of empathy and action. it’s stoic empathy, but empathy nonetheless. he remembers everything you tell him, and everything you don’t. on missions when you two are parted, his thoughts are sometimes clouded with images of the way your mouth arches when you laugh, or the soft smell of you lingering on his coat after you hugged him goodbye.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

when you let him go on and on about his insects and you seem genuinely interested. so often do people put up with shino’s knack for bugs out of politeness or to just let him fill the silence— but you ask questions. you seem intrigued with any word that falls from his lips and you’re quick to quip back with facts you’ve dug up on your own. you’re curious about what shino is so attuned with, and he is so excited to have someone to educate who wants to learn. you’ll go on small adventures to locate bugs to breed or to simply watch, and it’s at these moments when you’re both silent and poised over a poisonous beetle with a respective jar and net that he remembers fondly when you’re both parted.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

well he’s already sworn to protect the village, so initially it’s on that basis. his duty is to do whatever he can to keep the residents of the hidden leaf secure, but with you he keeps a bit more of a watchful eye available. he isn’t paranoid or overly protective, however on days his mind is uneasy, shino has no qualms sending a beatle to hover your person. it’s just a security measure, nothing to write home about.

you keep shino protected from his inner turmoils. hinata and kiba can only reassure him so much, but shino has developed the habit of writing them off. they’re just his teammates, they have to put up with him. however you have no personal ties to him really. you stick around on your own accord, and this boosts his self esteem immensely. you put his mind at ease and make note to remind him daily that the members of team eight are an excellent unit and that he needs to give kiba and hinata more credit because they both care about him as well. akamaru too, woof woof dummy. accept the love.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

shino’s not a man of many words, and when he does spit fire, it’s calculated and can come across as blunt assertion. you’ll come to put up with it, but he can come to understand he can be a bit overbearing in this aspect. so as I’ve expressed, words of affirmation aren’t his love language (though don’t put it past him to whisper sweetness into your ear when you’re both alone: that would be lovely.)

he expresses himself through gifts, awe. shino won’t present you with precious jewels or money as means of affection. no, the gifts are moreover practical. a book you had been pining after, a scarf to keep you warm in the upcoming months, things of that nature. he also collects rocks, we can collectively agree on that as a community right? he’ll share them with you, encouraging you to begin your own arsenal of rocks that entertain no one but are a sweet gesture— thanks shino.

dates are long walks when he as spare time. he doesn’t mind if they’re silent or if you fill the space with your own daily narrative. you’ll both trade useless dialogue and he likes it. it’s a sense of normalcy for him.

he doesn’t try particularly hard in any sense, but he doesn’t need to. time spent with shino is delightfully casual in both of your lives, please don’t mind it.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

what if shino picks his nails, awe.

he’s a wonderful, brilliant little creature: but he has a habit of writing off people who clearly care about him. you’ve gotta take a little energy into reassuring him from time to time. he won’t outwardly mope in this mentality, but sometimes he seems a little off and it will fall on your shoulders to assist him

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

mans only lets like 3% of his face be shown for the better part of the series and then decided that a visor and top knot were gonna be his debut look in boruto, he is n o t the one to look to for fashion advice, and this is coming from someone who simps so hard for shino aburame like he’s lowkey giving kiba a run for his money at this point but like come on

as far as his s/o goes i know the prompt didn’t ask but he doesn’t mind what his s/o particularly looks like. it’s a personality game baby, let’s go

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

shino’s written as a loner, and he doesn’t particularly mind that status but a friend every now and then is never unwelcome. he deserves to be appreciated, and while he may not outwardly show that he receives the appreciation in good spirits, you can rest assured he does. having a partner would be pleasant, no doubt, and he would love having someone by his side to call a best friend (and eventual partner) however shino’s existence isn’t completely codependent on another half. he can exist on his own with just the company of his bugs with no true remorse. he does feel lonely at times, but he’s got the squad of the hidden leaf backing him up. he’ll make it through

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

blush bug boy shino = a happy bee (‘s me, I’m bee)

the headcannons where stoic blunt hardass shino is an inexperienced nervous boy eat me alive. man’s is a shinobi who has faced peril and nearly suffocates when you hold his hand for the first time? imma head out, i love it

he’s also always early to things? yes please? early is on time, on time is late, and late means call an ambulance, something super not cool has gone down

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

if you don’t like bugs, you have to evacuate the dancefloor. I’m not saying you have to be the president of the, “insects are the superior race,” committee. to enjoy something and appreciate something from a distance both can weigh evenly on a scale in this instance. if you’re a bug enthusiast, kudos. he’ll love spending time showing off his collection to you with a slightest hint of pride coloring his tone. if you’re the type of person to be afraid of insects, he can deal with that as well. most people are, and he recognizes it comes from misunderstanding. if you are willing to give the bugs a chance and overcome your phobia, you’ve won him over.

wouldn’t like an over the top ditzy person. he needs you to have some sense of self preservation and common sense. shino does not put up with tom foolery and he would make that apparent to you very quickly.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

can I head cannon that he just becomes unhinged in his sleep? can we get behind that? like shino may begin the night tucked in with his hands clasped over his abdomen, but that is n o t how he finds himself in the morning. as a shinobi, he’s a light sleeper. fair play. but light sleepers toss and turn too, and I like to imagine him waking up discombobulated. face down, open pressed into his pillow, arms doing what they will, hair in disarray. magnificent. a pen drops and he wakes immediately, and is up before you can truly assess what you’ve just seen of the normally so put together aburame.

he knows he’s an active sleeper, ‘s why he gets up at 4am. that’s his business

[hypnosisbuttd]

Hypnosis is Bullshit

(A gay Hypnosis Story)

“Alright Campers!” Chris shouts to the contestants in the cafeteria “It’s time for your next challenge!”

“What now?” Duncan asks annoyed.

“Aw what? Do you not enjoy my challenge?” Chris says sadly

“No” All of the contestants say simultaneously

“Rude...” Chris says, faking being offended. “Well it doesn’t matter cause you’re doing it anyways! Meet me out by the cabins! No not your housing arrangements, the OTHER cabins.”

Chris then proceeds to disappear.

The Campers leave their cafeteria, but then Duncan and Trent get into a little scuffle outside the doors.

“Don’t fucking push me dude” Trent snapped

“Well if your slow ass wasn’t taking up the entire doorway I wouldn’t have needed to” Duncan responds

“Bastard, you wanna fight me?” Trent threatens

“Try me bitch” Duncan challenges“

Oh my god, break it up you two.” Heather sighs

“You stay out of this you black haired dog eater” Duncan sneers

“AIGHT BITCH YOU WANNA GO?!” Heather says threatening Duncan as Lindsay holds her back.

“Ha, you’re so easy to get a reaction out of” He laughs

“Ugh! I really wish someone would knock you down a peg you brat!” Heather shouts

“Duncan I really think you should back off” Gwen suggests

“Aw come on you know you love it baby”“Ew...” Gwen says backing off.

“Y’all gonna head over to the Cabins, or Am I gonna have to drag your clown asses over there?” Leshawna asks

“Tch, fine” Duncan reluctantly lets up

(Nobody messes with Leshawna)

The campers settles their conflict and head out to the old cabins in the wood. 6 of them have spirals painted on them.

“This challenge is a 1 on 1 hypnosis challenge, each of one of the former screaming gophers will compete with one of the former Killer Bass to hypnotize each other in one hour. Whoever succeeds will be allowed to do whatever they want with the other, whoever does the most embarrassing thing to the other when the timer is up wins, the judge will as always be me.” Chris explains

“As stupid as this challenge is, there is a slight problem Chris” Duncan calls out

“And that is?” Chris asks

“Hypnosis ain’t real you fucking moron.” He shouts

“Yes it is!” Izzy shouts “Ive seen plenty of government facilities use Hypnosis on Politicians to get them favorably on one side of the Spectrum or on enemy soldier to reveal critical information! But I’m completely resistant to it cause I was born colorblind!” Izzy rants

“And we’re supposed to believe the crazy lady why?” Duncan asks

Izzy growls

“Anyways here are your teams”

“Leshawna and Eva, you’ll go to the first cabin”

“Ha good luck, I have an Iron Will” Eva notes

“Team 2 will be Heather and Bridgette”

“Yeah no, I’m not letting this bitch control me. You’re going down Heather” Bridgette threatens

“Team 3 is Lindsay and Izzy”

“This will go down well...” Duncan mutters sarcastically

“Team 4 is Geoff and Gwen”

“Aight little lady! We got this!” Geoff cheers

“I don’t think you understand this challenge” Gwen says

“Team 5 is Owen and DJ”

“Oh fuck no” Trent and Duncan say simultaneously

“And Team 6 will be Duncan and Trent! Ha ha ha” Chris laughs

“Fuck you and your idiot ass McLain” Duncan says flipping the bird at McLain before waking inside the cabin.

“I could have had it worse...” Trent suggests trying to keep it positive.

The two of them wander inside the cabin and did the room lined with various Hypnosis tools.

Duncan just sighs“God this shit it stupid... I mean look at this” He picks up a ray gun “Hypno Gun? My gif what do they think we are? 5? I’m so done with this. Let’s just wait the hour out I don’t even care if we lose”

“Whatever...” Trent sighs.

Duncan sits down on one of the coaches while Trent wanders around the room.

After a bit of searching however, Trent notices a small tape sitting in the corner of the room, he picks it up and the Tape Reads ‘Easy White Noise Hypnosis’. Trent, wanting a bit of laugh but also not caring, removes the label and replaces it with a label he had on one of his other tapes titled ‘Heavy Punk Rock Favorites’.

He then proceeds to sit next to Duncan

“Da fuck do you want?” Duncan snaps

“Well I decided since we’re going to be here a while, I thought you would like to listen to some music. I know you’re a punk rock fan, so I got some of my favorites.” He hands the tape to Duncan

“I mean you’re choice in Music probably sucks but whatever...” Duncan plugs in a pair of headphones into the tape and begins listening.

“Dude this is just white noise, what the fuck is this?” Duncan asks clearly confused

“It’s a start up noise, it’ll probably take a couple minutes to start up” Trent lied

Duncan relents and continues to sit there. After a few minutes, his expression begins to go slack and he sits there looking confused.

“Dude... This shit is making my head feel... funny...” Duncan slurs. He goes to take off the headphones.

“Up bup bup bup” Trent places his hands on his and keeps the headphones “Just keep going”

“But... I...”

“Ssshhh” Trent shush him. Duncan giggles a little before continuing on.

After a couple more minutes, Duncan is gone full slack. His eyes are crossed and drool is slowly dripping down the side of his mouth. Trent waves his hand in front of Duncan, he doesn’t even react. He just sits there.

Holy shit did it actually work? Trent thinks. He decides to test his theory.

“Duncan can you hear me?” Trent asks

“Yeah...” Duncan mumbles

“Are you willing to obey my commands?” He asks

“Sure” Duncan slurs

“Stand in front of me...” He orders

Duncan stands up and walks in front of Trent.

No way... Trent thinks This can’t be real. I guess the only way to know is if I make him do something so embarrassing that if he’s pranking me he’ll have to let up...

“Alright Duncan listen to me. When I snap my fingers, you will become a Sexy Gay stripper who’s here to strip for me. You love showing your bare ass for people and you’re super horny. Ok?”

Duncan just drools

Theres no way... Trent thinks

Trent snaps his fingers and Duncan wakes up and stares directly at Trent. He then placed Hands on either side of Trent

Yup he’s definitely going to kill me

“Why Hello there Sexy” Duncan purrs

OH MY GOD Trents Mind Screams

Duncan stands up and admired Trent “Damn when they sent me for this job, I didn’t expect my client to be so sexy.” He says seductively

“Thank you...” Trent says trying to hold in his laughter

“Anyways let’s get on with the show shall we?” Duncan says pulling off his shirt slowly.

Trent just stares in awe as Duncan slowly pulls off his clothes. First he tosses off his shirt and lets Trent feel his pecs. Then he pulls off his pants and gives Trent a lap dance. Finally when Trent thought it was going to end, Duncan leaned in by his ear“

Since you’re such a special client case, I’ll give you a bonus show.” He whispers seductively.

Duncan stands up and pulls off his underwear, bearing his ass for Trent to see. He throws the underwear off to the side and exposes himself directly in front of Trent.

“Like what you see?” Duncan says winking

Trent could feel himself getting hard.

Wait what?

Trent looked down to see himself indeed having a hard on at the site of Duncan

What the? I’m straight! What the heck is going on?

Duncan leans in quietly and sets himself on Trents lap“What do you say me and you find the bedroom, and take care of that little problem of yours” Duncan says pulling at the edge of Trents pants

“Alright that’s enough! Sleep!” Trent calls out

Duncan immediately falls limp, his body crashing into Trents chest. Trent realized how Tiny Duncan was especially without the clothes and laughed to himself a little.

Hmm what should I do with you now? Trent thinks.

He looks down at Duncan’s muscular form. And immediately comes up with a devilish plan.

“Alright Duncan… You can still hear me correct?” He asks

“Ye…” Duncan slurs.

“Alright, when I wake you up, you will think you are a professional wrestler. And I am your opponent. You will try and punch and dent but will not have enough strength to do so. Meanwhile when I even slightly tap you, you will feel excruciating pain. And the only way You can make it stop is by me surrendering. Understood?” Trent explains.

Duncan moans.

“Ok… Then go…” Trent snaps his fingers.

Duncan sits up instantly and stares directly at Trent. He smiles and growls.

“Look at you. Little Princess. You think you can beat me?” Duncan sneers.

Trent stands up. “Psh, you’re all talk…” He laughs.

“Oh yeah. Then let’s see how you like this?” Duncan aims a punch directly for Trents face, but when he touches his face, it’s no more than a slight touch. Duncan backs up.

“You’re sturdy…” He mutters.

“Wanna try that again?” He asks

“Grr TAKE THIS!!!” Duncan runs up to him and grabs him around the arms. He attempts to lift Trent up, but fails miserably.

Trent just laughs and flicks Duncan’s nose. Duncan backs up and covers his nose in pain.

“Dude what the fuck?! How did you do that?” He says rubbing his nose.

“Just luck I guess.” Trent slaps Duncan’s back and he collapses to the ground writing in pain.

“OK DUDE I SURRENDER!! PLEASE JUST STOP!!!” Duncan screams.

Trent pulls Duncan’s legs over his shoulders and Duncan writhes in pain.

“Say it!” Trent snaps

“Say what?” Duncan whimpers.

“Say you’re a princess…” He tugs on his leg.

Duncan winces hard. “GAAAH! Fine! I’m a Princess! I’m a pretty little bitch princess.”

“Why couldn’t Mario find you?”

“I was in another castle! Obviously!”

“And what we’re you doing there?”

“Probably getting fucked by You.” He laughs.

Trent stands there silent for a moment as he drops Duncan lies on the ground writhing.

“I surrender.” He mumbles.

Duncan’s pain vanishes and he quietly gets up and turns to Trent.

“You ok dude?” He asks

“Why did you say I was getting fucked by you? Why the fuck would you say that?” He growls.

“Dude, I just think your hot. I’m not tryna make you mad. If anything, I think you’d make a great top!” Duncan laughs.

Trent just sighs. “Sleep…”

Duncan falls forward and collapses into Trents arms. Trent quietly sits him on the floor and sits next to him thinking.

Did he really mean that? Trent thinks

He looks over at Duncan, who’s drooling on the floor and looking spaces out. Trent quietly contemplates for a moment before realizing his final trick. The thing he would do for Chris’s competition.

“Alright Duncan, can you hear me?” Trent asks.

“Mm…” Duncan quietly mumbles.

“Great then here’s what we’re gonna do.”

(Time skip to the end of the competition ton)

“Aaaaaand Times Up!” Chris blows his air horn. “Let’s see what we got now!”

“Duncan was right! You’re bullshitting McLain!” Gwen snaps.

“None of that stuff worked! All of the tools were fake!” Leshawna explains.

“Yeah! And I should know! I know what Hypnosis stuff looks like!” Izzy shouts.

“Really? It was supposedly real when I bought it online.” Chris says nervously.

“Yeah well I can guarantee that not a single one of us completed the challenge.” Bridgette snaps

“Actually I did!” Trent raised his hand.

Everyone turns to look at him in surprise.

“You can’t be serious…” Heather says tiredly.

“I am! And I have proof!” Trent quietly walks down the steps, a small figure crouches down behind him.

“Is that…” Gwen attempts to peak around.

Trent calls the small figure. “Come on, don’t be shy…”

The figure crawls quietly to Trents feet and reveals itself to be Duncan, but he’s different. His usual green Mohawk, now he had his air in a sort of wild style, kind of slicked back, but with a bit of a tip. But that was the least of the Changes. He was completely naked except for a pair of black ears and a large black tail stuck into his ass. And he had a collar with a bone collared name tag on it saying “Damian” attached to a leash that Trent was holding.

“No way…” Izzy says shocked.

“His name is Damian now. He’s a cutie aint he?” He says scratching Damian behind the ears. Damian pants in happiness.

“This isn’t real…” Heather says laughing.

“It is. I Hypnoed him to be a good boy. I taught him a couple tricks while I had the time.” Trent explains.

He points to in front of him and Damian walks up and “stands” on all fours in front of Trent.

“Sit…”

Damian sits like a dog looking at Trent expectantly.

“Roll over.”

Damian lies down then rolls onto his back, then rolls back onto his stomach and sits up.

“Speak!”

Damian barks.

“Wag your tail!”

Damian sticks his butt up in the air, and begins wagging his fake tail. Damian looks at Trent happily.

“Good boy!”

Trent pulls a cookie out of his pocket and dangles it in front of Damian. Damian grabs it and begins munching on the cookie. Once he’s finished, Trent pulls out a large beef bone and hands it to Damian. Damian takes it in his mouth and quietly circles around Trent before lying at his feet and viciously chewing on the bone.

“This is insane!” Owen looks in shock.

“HES SO CUTE!!!” Lindsay squeals.

“Oh how the tables have turned…” Heather smirks.

Chris looks at Trent in shock. He regains his composure and smiles at Trent. “Well then! Congratulations, Trent! You have won immunity!” Chris announces.

“And Damian, he’s my dog, after all.” Trent reaches down and scratches Damian behind the ears again. Damian whines in happiness.

“Ugh… Fine! Damian gets Immunity too… You have to change him back by the end of the week though!” Chris adds.

“Yeah yeah…” Trent waves it off.

(One week later, after Eva is eliminated)

Trent walks up to Damian, who had been quietly sleeping under Trents bunk. He ques for Damian to come out and Damian shuffles out and quietly waits for Trents command.

“Alright welp its time for you to go back to normal…”

Damian frowns and cries at Trent.

“I know I know… But Chris said it’s the requirement…” Trent says petting Damian.

Reluctantly, Damian sits back in normal position.

“Goodbye for now Damian…”

Damian barks one more time and nuzzles into Trents hand.

“And sleep…”

Duncan’s eyes roll over and he returns to sleep mode.

“Alright Duncan, I want you to take all the memories of you as Damian and tuck them safely away. It’ll be there, but you can’t open it unless I ask you to. Ok?” Trent explains.

Duncan mumbles what sounded like a yes.

“And other than that, when I snap my fingers, you will wake up as your Normal self, with all the memories of what you did. Ok?” Trent asks

Duncan nods.

“Ok, and go.” Trent snaps his fingers.

Duncan’s eyes snap back to reality and he looks at Trent in disgust.

“The fuck is up with-“ He stops as his memories come in “OH FUCK YOU!!!” Duncan gets up and lightly shoved Trent. Trent laughs.

“Yup! I got you!” Trent says.

“Oh god! How the fuck did That work?” Duncan asks

“Honestly? I just kinda got lucky! But I wasn’t wasting a golden opportune moment like this!” Trent laughs.

“Tch, whatever.” Duncan crosses his arms. But shockingly his expression softens.

“Hey… about that Damian thing…” He mumbles.

“What about it?” I ask strangely.

“Do you think you could do it again sometime…” He asks quietly.

Trent looks at him surprised “You’re not serious?!” Trent says shocked.

“Yes I am. I kinda like being Damian. I know I act like a bad boy all the time but, to be Damian would be like having just… a lay off of that I guess…” Duncan mumbles.

Trent seems to think for a moment, before nodding and reaching his hand out towards Duncan. “Deal!”

Duncan grasps his hand and shakes it. “Thanks.”

Duncan begins quietly walking out when Trent stops him.

“Aren’t you gonna put on clothes?” Trent laughs.

Duncan looks back at him and smirks.

“Dogs don’t wear clothes”

(END)

[slashingdisneypasta]

Horror Villain x Reader || Drabbles

Plot: Having the kid of a Slasher. These have vastly different blurbs though so they have lil’ titles! 

Includes: Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers 

Warnings: Freddy’s one includes the kidnapping of a child by their father (A child killer, to boot). Other then that, what can I say? This is Slasher fanfiction, Freddy is himself. Michael’s is pretty humorous though... :D

Notes: 

I really wanna build on these some more! I plans to write a oneshot where Michael and reader eventually get ‘back together’ sort of? And a prequal to Freddy’s where Maggie visits her half brother and Luke questions her and reader about their father. 

Note: Freddy is going to call you mummy if you are woman, man, or gender neutral. And I’m going to spell it the American way because it just seems more fetishized that way and more like the wrapped up Egyptian dead people the English way. I am not sure how you would accidentally have his child if you have a penis, but who knows in this universe. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! 

~~~

Freddy Krueger: Luke // ‘Protecting your child from his father’

“Hey! How are you?” I call, breathless to the receptionist -Judy, - sitting in school office. She looks up and a haze of confusions crosses her pretty green eyes, and I try not to worry. There could be any reasin this woman is confused to see me that is unrelated to my son’s whereabouts. Deciding not to wait for her to tell me how she is because the anxiety in me clenches around my heart like a boa constrictor, I paste on a bigger smile ask. “Where’s Luke? He didn’t come out when the bell went.”

Maybe he’s in the sick bay, or… I don’t know. What other acceptable reason could there be that my son is not here with me?

Don’t think like that.

My smile must look stiff and sharp at this point, because Judy starts very slowly. Cautious. “… Hi-His Dad picked him up, Miss L/N.”

Dad? My nose scrunches up in utter confusion. I’m absolutely certain that I had Bradley taken off the register as Luke’s secondary emergency contact- I stood right here with this woman for half an hour figuring out how to do that. And besides, why would my ex-husband pick up my son from school and not tell me? Luke doesn’t have a-

His… his Dad? Freddy couldn’t have. I’ve been giving Luke Hypnocil pills since he could take them, crushing them every night and stirring the dust into his dinner. I haven’t heard any signs of Freddy for 8 years and a couple months. Let’s set aside that crazy, ridiculous theory for now. Because its impossible! Even if he did want to do something with Luke, he would try to get to him through his dreams, yes? It would be too risky to come on out here and take him from school. That’s crazy.

“What?” Where is my goddamn son? Who took him?

“U-um, uh. A uh, ‘Fredrick Krueger’ took him about an hour ago. His name was in the system, and they looked a bit alike in the eyes, s-so I-we just assumed it was okay.”

For a moment I think I’m going to die on the spot. Then I spit out. “Is this a joke?!”

Its too horrible, too unthinkable to be true. I’ll say it again; I haven’t heard from Freddy in nearly a fucking decade, and that’s the way I was hoping it would stay. What is this.

“N-No, Miss L/N.”

“Did he say where they were going? Did Luke say anything?” My baby. Starting to breathe heavily now from the effort of staying calm and thinking too fast for a clue as to where my son is and what the hell is going on. Did this chick even look at Freddy’s face?! This school is just handing babies over to suspicious men who look like they should be in the burn ward of the intensive care unit?!

“Miss L/N- “This woman is scared, I know, and anxious as she looks with wide eyes all around me instead of at my eyes but she’s really grating on my nerves. A maniac has my son and she is going to give me all the information she has.

“Do you remember your dreams last night? Or the last couple nights?” That’s how assume Freddy got in the system, manipulated Judith here to do it for him. Maybe he left a clue.

“My- my dreams? Um-mm, well I… “My hand slams down on the bench between us so hard the pen attached to a string attached to the early leavers clipboard jumps up a little. My hand shakes, and as she quickly recalls her dream I read through the most recent entries on the board for the early leavers. Right at the bottom, in tiny handwriting that does not belong to Luke is the name Luke Krueger under student and ‘Doctors appointment’ under ‘Reason for leaving’, and a smiley face. I take a deep breath and turn back to Judy with eyes of molten lava. She fumbles with her glasses, on a string around her neck. “I-I remember a junk yard in a couple… “That’s it.

Already flying to the door, I call back. “Have some child’s school exit forms ready for me tomorrow Judy; Goodbye.” And promptly, I fling the door open and run for hell and leather for my car.

~~~

“LUKE!” I scream into the old junk yard, hands shaking but courage as strong as an ox. Nothing, not even death itself will stop me from saving my kid. Looking around every corner and trying to listen to any sound over the loud beating of my heart in my ears, I speed walk around, heading towards the burnt down old shed, yelling for Luke every 2 seconds because I’m deluded into thinking any second he might hear e, and come running out safe to me. When the horrible thing, the shed, comes into view, I feel sick. Its still burnt up, and rust litters the ground around its four walls but its standing.

They’ll be in there.

Forcing myself ahead, because I never wanted to see this, the place Freddy was killed -Because it’s something so terrible. Not because I give a fuck about what happened to Freddy, - I open the door and immediately there they are. It takes me a second to catch my bearing’s, because this place has such an awful feeling and I’ve never been in a situation like this and I don’t know what to do, and because theirs a child killer with his filthy hand on my 7 year old son’s shoulder.

“Luke?” My eyes soften as soon as they find his. Glancing from him to Freddy’s other hand to see if he has a weapon, especially that glove to find nothing, and back to him, I gesture for my him to come here. “Come over here, baby. Its okay.”

He doesn’t say anything, just frowns and whimpers, looking wearily up at the man who’s holding onto him and for an awful second I think Freddy’s going to pull a fast one on us and pull out a razor or something… but then one finger at a time he lets go of Luke and Luke rushes to me so fast that the force pushes me back a little when he reaches me, wrapping his little arms around my waist and digging his face, shaking so I’m well aware that he’s crying now, into my stomach. I drop to my knees and look him over thoroughly, searching for any indications that this ‘doctors’ appointment’ that he was taken for occurred, but theirs nothing.

A sick taste wells up in my throat as I realise this, and as Luke burrows into me again for more hugs and I wrap my arms around him I look back to the problem. “What-What’s this doctor’s appointment I read about? Just a cover?”

“Not in the slightest! But I thought we should probably wait for you before starting… Mommy. I got us a good deal- family pack!” With that, Freddy takes out a scalpel and grins madly. I tighten my grip on Luke. “Who should go first, eh?”

“Stay the fuck back.”

“Oh, I think not!” I gently tug Luke back as Freddy advances, wondering if it would be smart to make any sudden moves right now.

“I called the police!” God, I wish I had now. But I was too focused on getting here before something awful happened that I…

Forgot.

Oh my god.

He stops coming towards us, but then an evil, knowing smile creeps across his mouth. He tilts his head, calling my bluff. “No, you didn’t.”

“Uh, yeah I did!” So, I’m buying for time. Main objective: Save Luke. Leverage: Me. Freddy’s a being made completely up on vengefulness and anger at this point, and I escaped him. He hates that.

Stroking the back of Lukes head with my thumb in thought, I know what I have to do and make like him giving him a little, worried head kiss- but really whisper to him that our car’s in the carpark and my phone is in the passenger seat. He clutches me tighter. Oh, baby… I wish I could come with you.

“You called nobody. Don’t try to bullshit Daddy. Now, I think our little bundle of joy should go first, more fun for me! Little blast from the past, ey?” He takes another step towards us, causing me to jolt back violently from fear, because I’m so close to saving Luke and if Freddy makes any sudden movements, we both might be done for, and tats just unacceptable. That scalpel is unnecessarily big. Where the hell did he get a scalpel that big?! What is it for? Crocodile surgery?!

Luckily, we’re closer to the door then Freddy is -oopsie made on his part,- so when I let go of Luke he goes straight out the door and before Freddy can reach the door and slip out after him, and push myself hard against the door, slamming it closed. For a second everything is still, which is a scary thing when it comes to this killer, and I just sit there on the ground and watch his scary face just be still.

His eyes, though, expressive as they are, reveal how utterly furious he is.

Then slowly he looks down his chest at me, aiming that mad anger at me as his shaking hand grips the weapon so tightly that his knuckles go absolutely white. “You bitch.”

Michael Myers (RZ): Rachael // ‘Visitation’

“Morning Rache!” I exclaim, setting down cheerily on my 12-year-old’s bed as golden early morning light slips through her purple curtains and leaves stripes on my thighs. “It’s Sunday!”

“Why does it always have to be so early with him? Its not church.” She informs me, sleep thick in her voice as she pulls the doona up over her head and rolls over so her back is to me.

“He thinks very highly of himself.” That or this is when visiting hours are.

“I see that.”

“So… “Like I always do on Sunday, I put pluck the blanket away from her face to see her eyes are open and she’s already fully awake. She always is on Sunday morning, it’s because of what she knows is coming. I tuck some of her hair behind her early, and speak gently now, like always. “You wanna go see your Dad?” It always, always, always needs to be her choice. She always says yes, though.

For a moment this time, she pauses. Then deeply rolls her eyes and flicks the blanket back up over her face. “Yeah, okay.”

“Alright. We’ll head off in half an hour, then. Oh- maybe you can tell him about the awkward you got!” I exclaim, brightening immediately because my baby is so smart! Captain of her class, and she just got an award for doing well in maths! Her teacher even told me at parent-teacher interviews that she’s getting the work so much easier than any of the other students. This has been the same since she started Elementary school. Dunno where she got those brains from, but I like to believe if it’s me and not Michael. And I am so proud of her.

“Yeah, I will. Can you get out now so I can get changed, parent?”

“Whatever!” I exclaim cheerfully, like the immature one between us two that I am as I leave the room and shit the door behind me, heading to make her toast. She is more like Michael, in that regard. So focused and serious- I, on the other hand, have Goldfish brain.

Which makes a lot of sense when I ask myself ‘What made you think fucking the Shape of Haddonfield was okay?’ because then I remember ‘Big man, strong hands, big dick’ and I remember.

I’m a moron. Was, a horny moron. But no more! I am a mother now, and mothers don’t get horny! No, no. Ahahaha.

… But that doesn’t mean I regret having Rachael. No fucking way. She’s the mother-fucking light of my life, and I’ll have sex with Michael a thousand more times if that’s what it would take to keep her.

Wait, that doesn’t sound right.

… Ah, oh well. Toast!

~~~

When we get to Michael’s cell, Rachael goes straight over to the door and uses her foot to move the little stepping stool they keep right there, specially for her -well, I bought it and made them keep it there, but that’s just semantics,- and hops on so she can peer through the window to her father. I stay back a few feet with Dr Loomis, my jacket hung over my crossed arms. Because I don’t have anything in common with Sam Loomis at all, as we have previously discovered on these visits, I turn bluntly to him and ask, shamelessly. “So, how’s he going Doc?” Even though Michael’s condition hasn’t changed since he was six, that is what I ask.

Loomis offers me a crooked, humourless grin and explains that nothing has changed, but he did make Rachael a new mask. “Oh, that’s nice.” I say, although really, don’t think that’s nice. Does Michael think I have endless wall space for these things? I don’t want my home to look like his sanatorium cell. I have taste!

Hey, don’t judge me. The only way I can get through these visits is by being sarcastic and making jokes to myself.

And to Loomis, but he doesn’t really like me.

Probably because I make sarcastic jokes about his most dangerous patient.

Eh, oh well.

I turn back to Rachael to see her holding up her award to the window so Michael can read it, and after I lean to the left a bit to see inside the cell I see that he is doing so. He’s just sitting in his dressing gown on a desk chair at the other side of his cell- no wonder Rachael has to talk loudly!

He communicates through head shakes and nods, and sometimes even writes on a white board he always has set on his big -big mannnnnn. Oh jeez, the thirst is still strong, despite him now being an irritating part of my life… I have to get up at the ungodly hour of nine on a Sunday for this. Just to get a new stupid mask and stand back here with Doctor humourless, - lap, which I do concede, is pretty sweet. He doesn’t communicate that way to anyone else, as Loomis told me, except for with her.

Visitation usually lasts an hour and half, if Michael’s feeling ‘chatty’, And he definitely is today, so our visit bleeds into breakfast time so we join him -without a door between us and him,- for breakfast in the cafeteria. Rachael and I sit on one side and Michael and Loomis sit on the other. Mostly Rachael and I chat during this time, but Rachael looks to her father every now and then for his reaction.

“Hey mum, do you want the last pancake?” Rachael asks, eyeing the last fluffy breakfast food just as hungrily as Michael just after Dr Loomis gets up to go check quickly on another patient, leaving us as a ‘family’ for a little bit.

I pat my tummy. “Naw, I’m stuffed! Why don’t you and your dad share it.”

A little smile breaks across her little face, making me grin too. She’s so cute! She’ll always be cute, I don’t know if she’s 37, a pasty scientist and mildly mangled from experiments gone wrong, she’ll still be adorable. I’m sure Michael agrees. “Okay!”

As she goes off to get the pancake, I leap to take the chance alone to have a chat with Michael myself.

Or attack him.

Placing my elbow securely on the table between us, pointing at him, I squint. “Stop making her masks, Michael! Anything else, really!- We’ve had this talk before, multiple times. You know I have no wall space!”

He shoulders jump, like he silently chuckled at me, and my squint-greasy, just enhances.

“You know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

After a moment, he veeeeery purposefully shrugs those huge shoulders of his. He does know, he does. I knew it!

“Ooooooooh… “I nearly shake with annoyance, returning to my seat properly and glaring I hope subtly from my side of the table as Rachael returns and carefully tears the pancake in half for them. As she does, I watch and just sit and take great pleasure in the fact that they wont even trust plastic knives around Michael. Ha!

He see’s the too-happy glint in my eye and drinks all my juice.

Damn him.

[richieisabastardman]

Hold Me Now - Part 4 - Richie Tozier x Reader

Summary:  You had forgotten about everything that happened in Derry until Mike called you up. Now, sitting in the restaurant surrounded by your friends, you remembered everything. More importantly, you remember Richie. (Fluff/Angst)

Warnings: Nothing really. 

Word count: 3181

Notes: Thank you again for all of the lovely messages and comments! I love hearing what you guys think of the fic so far <3

Here are the links to previous parts: part one, part two, part three >>> part five

“Where the huh-huh-hell is he?” Bill remarked, running a hand through his hair. He paced around the bar room, a slight glisten materialising upon his brow.

You stood within the same room beside Eddie, with Beverly and Ben sitting down on lounges not far from the two of you.

“Maybe he lost track of time. Maybe he got distracted…” Eddie trailed off, looking towards you. His face did not reveal his insinuation to any of the other members of the gang, but you knew what he was implying. You looked at him with a stern expression, a silent cue for him to shut the fuck up before I kick your ass Kaspbrack. He took the hint, quickly shifting his gaze from you to the clock which sat upon the wall just in front of the two of you. It was now ten past ten, almost fifteen minutes since you had made your way down to the others and at least twenty since Bill had called you down. What the hell was he-

“Sorry, sorry. I’m here” Richie announced, making his way down the stairs. He was still zipping up the fly of his jeans. His dishevelled appearance, including messy hair and a shirt that was half tucked in, made it seem as though he was just caught in the act. Well, that was almost true you supposed.

“Yeah well its not like we’re in a ru-ru-rush or any-thu-thu-thing” Bill remarked.

“Alright well I was taking a crap okay? You happy now? Let me just adjust my bowel movements to killer clown fighting times. Does nine A.M work for you, Bill?”

Beverly and Ben groaned at Richie’s crudeness. Eddie gave you a quick smirk and you nudged him with your shoulder, an action that you had used as a child to shut the boy up.

“Alright Rich, just sit down” Ben said and for once, Richie obeyed his order, sitting beside Beverly in a free chair. You and Eddie remained standing.  

“Nuh-Now that everyone’s here” Bill said, taking a moment to give a stern look to Richie. Richie looked around before lifting his palms in a surrender and muttering come on man to himself. You felt bad for the man, considering it was partly your fault. “Mike wants us to muh-meet him. Suh-Says he has something he wants to show uh-us”.

“So I guess Beverly you could come with me…” Ben started, however the doubt seeping through his words made it sound more like a question. Beverly nodded her head and Ben suddenly perked up, smiling and almost forgetting he was in the middle of a statement. “Uh, Eddie can go with Bill and Y/N with Rich?”.

Richie opened his mouth but before he could say anything Eddie spoke. “Sounds good. We better get a move on; Mike has probably been waiting for ages” He said and looked towards Richie, almost mimicking Bill.

“Oh my god, just crucify me already for the sin of taking my morning dump. You know if I had remembered how anal you guys are about everything, I never would have come back here!” Richie yelled out towards the gang, who were already almost out of the front door of the motel.  You stared at the man who was still sitting down within the bar chair, raising an eyebrow at his outburst. He finally looked towards you, before standing up and gesturing you to go before him; towards the front door. “We better go” he said, and you nodded your head, making your way towards the exit.

~

Richie had driven the two of you in silence for what felt like hours, but had probably only been about ten minutes. The only sound between the two of you was the radio, which had begun to play an old country song before Richie let out a sound of disgust and turned the radio off - the silence between the two of you even more deafening now. You had considered, multiple times, beginning a conversation about what had happened this morning. However, every time you had meant to start talking, a thick lump formed in your throat and you choked on your words, never releasing a sound.

“I’m sorry about this morning” Richie said suddenly, his eyes still on the road. “I was all… worked up and then I saw Eddie standing there and I freaked out. I didn’t mean to just leave you there-“

“It’s fine” you said and allowed the silence to once again fill the vehicle in which you sat. Richie allowed it for a moment also before shaking his head.

“It’s not fine though. I mean, you’re upset. And like, rightfully so. I just-“ he began before you interrupted him.

“It’s just this hot and cold shit, Richie. This is just like what it was between us as kids. One minute, your asking me to come live with you and the next you’re running away. One minute you’re all over me, the next you wont even let me touch you. This is just like-“ you started and stopped yourself.

Richie’s gaze finally moved from the road to your face, a stern expression (which Richie rarely wore) sat upon his own. “Like what?” he asked quietly. A harsh quiet. “Like what?”.

“Like the night before I left for New York. I mean… I wanted you to tell me not to go”

“Did I not!? Did I not repeatedly tell you to not go!?” he almost yelled, his grip tightening significantly on the car’s steering wheel.

“I don’t mean like that I mean… you know… ‘More Than Words’” you said.

“Do not quote shitty nineties songs at me right now” he said, his grip on the steering wheel was still tight, however his voice was calmer now and his gaze remained on the road. “Do you know how much I regret not telling you how I felt that night? It was all I could think about. Twenty years of fucking replaying that shit in my head”.

“Richie” you said softly, barely realising his name had left your mouth. His confession revealed to you a rare vulnerability that you knew he tried not to show often. The amount of times he had deflected serious talks with jokes and jabs was countless. However, every time he told you how he really felt, your heart melted.

You placed your hand on his thigh, the rough material of his jeans beneath your fingers. His body tensed to your touch and you cursed yourself for the way you had spoken to him before. He was scared. You were both scared. You had barely thought of the man until a day ago when all your feelings for him had struck you in the chest- almost quite literally - as the resurfacing of your memories had caused such a feeling inside you. It had caused a sick feeling within you, yes, which had resulted in you throwing up on a main road out of a taxi. However, it had also caused a squeezing in your chest, a longing that had not quite dispersed out of your body until your eyes had fixed onto Richie in that Chinese restaurant yesterday.

“Why are we fighting like we’re teenagers again” you asked softly, not necessarily to Richie. He answered you anyway.

“Its this fucking town, Y/N. You step into it and suddenly you’re sixteen again and getting random boners all the time or whatever” Richie stated.

You turned your head slowly towards him and opened your mouth to respond before shutting it again. “I think that’s a you problem, Richie. I don’t blame Derry for that” you finally replied.

Richie hummed for a moment, in thought perhaps, and you smiled - staring out of the windows at the passing trees which had become more numerous. Wherever Mike was taking you was away from the main town strip. Despite this, you felt a bubble of excitement within you at whatever was waiting there. You weren’t particularly sure why.

“I think its Pennywise’s fault” you said suddenly, and Richie looked from the road to you, his eyebrow slightly raised.

“You think Pennywise is causing my random boners?” Richie asked and you rolled your eyes, shaking your head at his response.

“No the feeling of like… becoming a teenager again. We left here and essentially forgot about this place right? So maybe… I don’t know… now these memories are coming back and making us remember who we were then” you tried to explain, your hands moving around violently to emphasise your poorly worded points. Richie watched you, his eyes off the road, and he smiled. You turned to meet his gaze once you had noticed it and smiled sheepishly, shifting your gaze away in embarrassment.

“What?” you asked, shifting slightly in your seat.

“Nothing” he said quickly, his eyes moving to the road but a smile still upon his lips. “I mean, yeah uh, yeah you’re probably right. That fucking clown is probably the cause of most of the shit that goes down in this town”.

You nod your head, agreeing with Richie’s reply to your theory. Richie’s GPS indicated that you had arrived at the location Mike told you to meet. You watched Richie’s face as it changed, his jaw tightening as he pulled the car over to the side of the road, parking it. The sound of the engine turning off reached your ears only seconds later, however both you and Richie remained in the car. Richie continued to stare out of the front window, eyebrows furrowed in a harsh stare.

“We should probably get going… Mike will be waiting for us-“ you started but were interrupted by Richie’s exasperated voice.

“What if I don’t want to remember?” he said, his eyes shut tight as he shook his head. You sat within the silence following his statement, waiting for him to continue. “I mean Mike said he’s taking us out here, to the fucking middle of the woods, to help us remember stuff, right? What if I don’t wanna remember. What if I’ve already remembered enough stuff to realise I don’t wanna remember any more”.

Richie finally opened his eyes, turning his head and allowing you to gaze at him. His eyes were pleading a silent plea that you had seen before, but you couldn’t remember where or when.

His eyes said that he wanted you to tell him it was alright for the both of you to leave. He wanted you to tell him that he wasn’t a coward, he was a genius and this wasn’t his responsibility at all. He wanted you to say “You know what Rich? You’re right! Start this car right now and take me back to your house. Fuck Derry! Oh, by the way, I broke up with my Fiancé last night, so we can go and get eloped right now in Vegas if you’d like? But before we do that, why don’t we stop off at a hotel, preferably one outside of Derry, and finally screw each other!”. He wanted you to realise that both of you surviving past the next week wasn’t just an option, it was something he needed. He needed it because he hadn’t begun fearing death again (not since he was eighteen) until he had met your gaze in that restaurant yesterday. He wanted you both out of here. Out of Derry. Out of reach of It.

He also wanted you to do none of those things, because you knew it wasn’t what he really wanted. He knew it wasn’t what you wanted either. You couldn’t abandon your friends; he knew you would never do that. He didn’t want to do it either.  The thought of anything happening to Eddie…or Bill or Mike or Bev or Ben scared him to death. And he knew that you knew that.

As you stared back at Richie, and into those eyes screaming his silent pleas, you remembered where you had seen those eyes before.

~

“New York is shit anyway; I don’t know why you even wanna go there” Richie said. Despite being the young age of eighteen, his tone resembled that of an old businessman who had travelled often for work. The kind of man who preferred a vacation in Florida. The kind of man whose talents were sales, golf and tax evasion.

The two of you were laying in your childhood bed. You had your head resting gently upon his chest, as he held you tightly around the shoulder with one of his arms. His other hand lay behind his head as he stared up at your white ceiling. Your bedroom door was shut, which your parents had only started allowing since you had turned eighteen. Your father still didn’t agree with it. Despite this, there was always the chance one of your parents could burst into the room unannounced, so both you kept vigilant. The cuddling was innocent, of course, but they would not see it that way.

“What? Do you prefer LA or something?” You asked, almost rhetorically.

“Yeah I think I might” he said looking down towards you, laying upon his chest. You looked up at him, his hand behind his head and yours on his chest and around his waist, and you smiled.

“Since when have you been a West Coast guy?” you asked.

“Since forever! There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, doll” he said, his voice mirroring that of Elvis Presley as he spoke the pet name. You groaned and rolled your eyes but smiled at the boy. You had always loved his stupid voices.  His smile turned downwards ever so slightly and you frowned. “That’s why you shouldn’t leave”.

“Don’t ruin the mood again Richie” you replied, sighing.

“You’ll leave and become this big successful director and you’ll forget about me. But I won’t forget about you. And one day you’ll see me on the street in New York as you’re walking into your building and I’ll call your name and you’ll say ‘sorry I’m in a rush, no autographs’! Or worse, you’ll chuck some change at me!” he ranted and you shushed him, worried your parents would burst through your bedroom door and kick Richie out for trying to seduce you or something.

“I’m not going to forget you, okay Trashmouth? How could I forget someone as annoying as you?” you teased and he frowned, grabbing your cheek between his finger and thumb and squeezing it lightly with the hand that was once behind his head.

“I’m gonna miss your squishy cheeks” he said softly. You almost melted at the out of character sweetness of his actions. “All four of them” he finished.

And there it was.

You swatted his hand away as he laughed at his own joke. He continued to reach for your cheeks, and you continued to fight his hands away, trying to grab at his wrists. Frustrated by his persistence, you lifted yourself up to sit above him, straddling his lap between your thighs and pinning his wrists with your hands beside his head. You stared down at him, smiling triumphantly at your victory. Your smile began to drop as you noticed the serious expression he wore upon his face. His breathing was heavy and his cheeks were dusted with a faint pink you had rarely seen before. You both stared at each other, the only movement between the two of you being the rapid blinking of both of your eyelids. Finally, you released your grip on Richie’s wrists, beginning to sit up before he followed you, placing his hands behind your head and pulling you back down into his lips. He kissed you deeply, tilting his head and moaning at the feeling of your lips upon his. Finally. You kissed him back just as deeply, your hands going straight to his hair and losing yourself within it, tugging and pulling.

You both pulled back when you no longer had enough air and once again stared at each other. His eyes, they called out to you with a plea. You know what he wanted to say.

‘Stay. Don’t leave. I want you to stay with me here, please.’

And you would. If he said it, you would do it. You just needed him to say it.

“Y/N I…” he started.

Suddenly, your bedroom door flew open.

 ~

“Tell me what you wanted to tell me before I left for New York” you said and Richie began blinking nervously, shaking his head slightly.

“What? Why?” he asked.

“Because I need to hear you say it” you replied and he sighed, running his hand down his face.

“Uh, okay well… what I was planning to say was that I love you. I don’t know if an eighteen-year-old can really know what love is but to be fair I’m much older now and still don’t know. But I know that when I’m around you, I feel like I could do anything. Like, I feel as though I could do a stadium comedy tour with my own material if I knew you were waiting for me backstage. And I want to go do stupid shit with you like… go shopping at Ikea for a bookshelf or something. Stuff that middle-aged people do. I want to go to Amsterdam with you and get high and walk around the streets holding onto each other and thinking we’ve had a stroke because everyone around us is speaking weird English which is actually just Dutch” he continued to speak, a smile across his face until he looked at you, a stern expression growing upon his face slowly. “And I want to kill this stupid clown and I want us to do it together so that when all this shit is over, we can move on with our lives. Together”.

You stared at the man in disbelief. That wave of memories that had hit you so strongly at the restaurant yesterday, the wave that had literally swept you off your feet, was all Richie. It was as though being within his proximity flipped a switch within your brain, causing all these memories and emotions to flow freely. You had been consumed by the thought of his love when you were a child, you had been consumed by it yesterday and today, once again, it had almost swallowed you up whole. You continued to stare at him, mouth slightly agape.

“Please say something” Richie said, tapping his knee with his hand nervously.

You reached over to Richie and his nervousness seemed to fade. He moved his head towards you also, meeting you halfway in a soft kiss. Your hand rested upon his jaw and his upon yours. He cradled your head as you kissed, the softness of his lips leaving tingles throughout your body. You moved away from his lips ever so slightly, your noses still touching and your thumb still rubbing the stubble on his cheek lovingly.

“Once we’re done with Mike’s thing here, I’m calling my Fiancé, okay?” you said and Richie smiled widely, rubbing his nose gently on yours.

“Okay” he replied.

Tag list: @felicityofbakerstreet @emiliesnowflake @itsfuckinemily @adritozier @the-almond-dinger @brenna-xoxox @fionnthebandersnacc @simplymaddii18 @pinkdiamonddoingthings @frog-face-wolfhard @hair-dye-or-nawh @jutte-m @whosaskinguniverse @imagine-whatever @smokyscreen @sloppybitchardtozier @marlopoe @meaganjm @thexmancometh @letmereid @twitchmoosen @jojo-buttercup @gamingaquarius @sweetotismilburn (I hope this worked for everyone!)

[komahinasecretexchange]

Title: Traditions

Author: @dailyservingofhope

For: @hiddenkamukuraproject

Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (A few vague sexual references, Nagito joking about death, alcohol mention)

Prompt: Going out on Halloween and having fun

Author’s notes: AU where the tragedy didn’t happen. 100% pure organic fluff.

“You’ve never been trick-or-treating?!” Nagito smiled and raised his hands in a placating gesture, “Sorry, I had no one to take me when I was a kid. But it’s fine! It ended up being good luck!” “‘Good’?” Hajime asked pointedly as he rested his coffee mug on their kitchen counter. Nagito had a way of twisting things to fit his strange worldview. “I gave out candy instead. Since I could afford full bars of chocolate for all the other kids, I became sort of popular for a little while… at least until they got to know me better.” “That’s not the point,” Hajime said, “I just get upset when I think about your childhood. It’s not fair that you missed out on so much.” He felt robe-cloaked arms wrap around his waist and a soft peck on his forehead. “Don’t worry. I’m fine, promise,” Nagito reassured him. Hajime grumbled in response, wondering if it was okay to be annoyed at his partner’s cute attempt at deflecting. Sometimes Hajime felt that he was more bothered by Nagito’s troubles than Nagito himself. 'Fine’ to him often meant 'Not in the hospital’. How much disappointment and grief did he suffer in his youth before the bar lowered that much? This wasn’t about some silly holiday tradition, this was about making him feel included, and giving him access to experiences that most people took for granted. “You shouldn’t feel sorry for me, you know,” Nagito gently chided him. “I don’t,” Hajime said, worried that Nagito noticed his increasingly pitying expression during their conversation. “Good. Because I secretly switched your coffee with decaf.” “What?! Nagito!” “I’m just kidding. You always look at me like I’m a kicked puppy when I tell you about my past. I prefer it when you’re annoyed with me. Your voice gets this adorable lilt to it.” “No, it doesn’t! I… think?” Nagito chuckled. “Look, it’s not pity,” Hajime sighed, “I’m just worried you feel like an outsider because you had such a different childhood experience than many of us. It’s important to me that you feel welcome and have lots of happy memories. And if I have to take you trick-or-treating this weekend to make that happen, then I’ll do it.” Nagito’s face lit up, “You want to go trick-or-treating with me?” Aware that he just invited Nagito on a date involving an activity generally enjoyed by children still in the single digits of age, Hajime backpedaled, “Wait! I-It’s okay if you don’t want to! I know we’re too old for it, and we told Ibuki we’d be at her Halloween party, so we’ll get to dress up, anyway. There’s no pressure-” “I would love to! We can pick out costumes this afternoon!” Fear of embarrassment ranked high on Hajime’s list of top motivators, but it was nothing compared to Nagito’s sweet face. He couldn’t back out now. “O-okay! Sounds great!” ___ Hajime pulled a scarf around his mouth to warm the crisp, fall air flowing into his lungs. Yellowed leaves danced on the sidewalk with every breeze as he and Nagito strolled through the city. Their destination was a costume shop located in a quaint, less-trafficked district, popular among the dating crowd for its restaurants and shopping. They found it nestled between a cafe and a boutique clothing store. Walls painted black and covered in wheatpasted underground band adverts gave an eccentric touch that made it stand out from the conservatism of the surrounding businesses. Through the windows, there was a display of the typical bats and pumpkins, along with more unnerving props like costumed mannequins covered in fake blood and gaping wounds. Cosplayers and street fashionistas were the store’s year-round clientele, but nearing the holiday, they widened their selection to include Halloween costumes. Hajime pulled open the door for Nagito, “Have any ideas about what you want to be?” “Dead?” Nagito offered. “I really wish you wouldn’t joke about that.” “Aren’t ghosts popular this time of the year?” With a deadpan expression, Hajime poked Nagito in the belly. He then turned his attention to the racks and shelves, not wanting to take the bait. As they perused the aisles together, Nagito suddenly snatched a large package off a rack and hid it behind his back, “I’m going to try something on. No peeking!” Hajime continued to browse while his partner thrashed around in the fitting room. A rather seductive vampire costume caught his attention, and he briefly lost himself in a daydream involving Nagito and lots of sexy nibbling all over his body until he heard someone walk up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. The glance turned into a double take. To say that Nagito was dressed up as a dog was about as true as saying The Big Bang Theory was a comedy. There was an element of objective truth to it, but it failed spectacularly to articulate that everything else about it was an abomination. The costume was like a long fuzzy tube, white on the belly and black and tan along the back, indicating it was probably intended to be a corgi. The head perched on top of Nagito’s head, its mouth gaping around his face as if it were a python swallowing its prey whole. His feet, which were only just visible from the bottom of the tube, were adorned with paw slippers. The hand-paws were so padded and fluffy that they appeared useless for any practical purpose other than being cute. “How do I look? Wanna be my owner for Halloween? I’ll let you walk me on a leash and give me commands! I know how to beg and lay down!” Nagito said as he shook his rear to make the stubby tail wag. Hajime blushed, looking around to see if anyone overheard, “Shhh! There will be kids around, so nothing… kinky!” “I would never do something I thought was weird around impressionable youth!” “That’s the problem, what you think is weird is a whole world away from what everyone else thinks is weird…” Hajime looked him up and down, “So why this, of all things?” “Most of these costumes aren’t really appropriate around children. What did you think I’d be? A sexy demon? A sexy cat boy? A sexy werewolf? A sexy…” “I get the point… they are a bit provocative, aren’t they?” “Don’t use big words like 'provocative’. I’m just a silly little dog!” he whined, covering his face with his paws in mock shame. “God, Nagito, can you be normal for like one second?” Hajime said, turning away to hide his laughter. Nagito closed the distance, picking up his hand and kissing it. He looked down into his eyes with a charming smile and whispered, “But this is what you like about me, right? There’s no way someone would ever go out with me for any rational reason. Doesn’t that make you abnormal too?” Hajime shivered at his touch. Even dressed in the most absurd getup he’d ever seen, Nagito was still hot, and when he cranked up the charm, he had a terrifying ability to render Hajime as helpless as a fawn. He pushed Nagito away, hoping he didn’t notice, “I-I guess I just don’t know how you do it. You can be so confident sometimes. I’d be afraid of wearing that in public.” “There’s a difference between confidence and being so resigned to loss that you stop feeling anxiety over the little things,” he said, a bit sadly. “Besides, it’s fun!” He waved his paws comically to accentuate the point. “Now we have to find something fun for you to wear.” “Okay, but let’s go by MY definition of fun.” “Whatever you say, Hajime,” Nagito beamed. His eyes darted around, then settled on a mustache and beard set which he handed to Hajime, “How about this? You can go as a grumpy old man. Bonus! You won’t have to be seen with me.” “Oh, come on.” Hajime said, snatching it from him. He looked it over then held it up to his face in front of a mirror. “Hey, I could go as Izuru Kamukura,” he joked, referencing their old high school’s founder. Nagito folded his arms and side-eyed him, “Don’t get all full of yourself now, Hajime.” He then backed away as Hajime approached him with a toy sword taken from a rack. “Wait! What do you plan on doing with that?!” ___ “Happy Halloween!” Hajime, who had been sleeping quite peacefully until then, would have fallen out of bed in fright if a heavy weight had not subsequently landed on him. He opened his eyes to find Nagito sprawled out over his lap. “Sorry, I missed you. I couldn’t wait any longer,” Nagito said. Hajime slammed Nagito on the back of the head with his pillow, “Being cute won’t save you this time.” “Noooo, don’t kill me! I’ve never been kissed!” “Yes, you have.” “Could you remind me?” Nagito said, puckering his lips. Hajime played along and kissed him, “There, now I can kill you.” Moments later, Nagito flew through the air from a good whack from the pillow. Their day went on with the two enjoying horror movies playing in the background as they enjoyed a peaceful afternoon together. After the sun set, they prepared themselves for the night ahead. Hajime had settled on being a black cat, largely because it worked as a couple’s costume, but also just looking at Nagito’s cumbersome outfit made a simple and light costume seem more appealing. The set consisted only of ears and a tail, with a fluffy black sweater and black jeans from his closet to complement it. There was also ancient makeup in the back of a drawer from his scene kid phase which was totally just an ironic experiment and definitely not anything he ever took seriously. He leaned over their bathroom sink to get a better look in the mirror as he used an old eye pencil to draw whiskers, a nose, and thick eyeliner with wings that swept out half an inch. “Who said scene was dead?” Nagito said, as he smirked at him in the mirror. “Hey, I can’t help it that I can do a perfect cat-eye.” “Can you do my makeup sometime?” “Oh please, Nagito, you don’t need it. People would kill for your lashes.” “You know, you’re starting to sound a little… catty.” Hajime groaned at the pun. He reached an arm behind him to blindly swat at his partner, only succeeding in stirring the air around as Nagito dodged the attack, “Is being sarcastic the only thing you’re good for? Why aren’t you dressed yet?” “I will, it’s just hard to move very well in it and I wanted to bother you more effectively.” Nagito draped his arms over Hajime’s shoulders and leaned in. “Actually, I’d like to thank you. I know you get scared of embarrassing situations, so for you to take someone like me out doing something meant for kids, knowing people will look at us funny… It’s sweet of you.” “Why do you think I’m putting on makeup? If all goes well, I won’t even recognize myself.” He chuckled, “But in all seriousness, you know I’d do anything for you.” Nagito buried his face into Hajime’s neck and said nothing. ___ “Everyone looks so happy!” Nagito said, gazing at the lively scene. Costumed kids flocked together at doors or ran around screaming and laughing in excitement. With jack-o’-lanterns on every porch and fake spider webbing drooping from trees, the neighborhood oozed Halloween spirit. Hajime caught himself staring at his adorable partner, “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Are you ready for some trick-or-treating?” “Tell me what to do! I’ve never done this before!” “Come on, you know what to do. Here, try this house.” “What if they yell at me because I’m too old?” “In that case, we threaten to egg their house, then run away.” He responded, hoping Nagito wouldn’t take it as a serious suggestion. Nagito’s eyes swirled. “I wonder if we’ll get chased. That would be exciting,” he said breathily. “You seem a little too excited by that…” Nagito wasn’t listening, he was already halfway up the driveway of a house. Hajime remained by the street to watch while Nagito knocked on the door. An old woman appeared. She looked him up and down as his outstretched arms presented her with a wicker basket ready for filling. “Trick-or-treat!” She gave a tactful, patient smile, “You’re so cute, but aren’t you too old for this?” “My boyfriend is forcing me to do this,” Nagito said, “He’ll be angry if I don’t come back with anything.” “Oh my… well, here…” She dropped a few pieces of candy into his basket, “You look like a sweet boy, you should get away from that awful man. Good luck, dear.” “Yes ma'am! Thank you!” Nagito chirped as he skipped back to the street, somehow managing not to trip over his slippers. “I couldn’t hear you guys, but it seemed to go well?” Hajime asked. “She wasn’t going to give me a treat, so I tricked her.” “Nagito, she was like… 80.” “It’s the Halloween code. I don’t make the rules.” “What did you say to her?” “Nothing to worry about. Let’s go on to the next house!” ___ “Really? You’re trick-or-treating at this age?” “I’m dying of lymphoma, it’s my final wish to trick-or-treat one last time.” “Oh my goodness, of course! Have as much candy as you want!” “Thanks!” Nagito said graciously as he took a few pieces. Hajime looked at him askance when he returned. “Wow, you’re getting a lot of candy. I… honestly wasn’t expecting this…” he said, gesturing at Nagito’s nearly overflowing basket. It seemed like every house in the neighborhood was eager to give him everything they had. “Yeah! Everyone has been so nice!” “I’m glad you’re having a good time, but what are we going to do with all this candy? You don’t even like sweets.” “I had no intention of keeping the candy, Hajime, this was all just for fun.” Nagito’s smile transformed into a grin. “But now that you’ve brought it up, there’s something I’ve wanted to do all night.” Hajime watched as Nagito trotted towards a group of teenagers. Sneaking up behind them, he reached into his basket and tossed a chocolate bar over their heads. They jerked back in surprise, and as they turned to see where it had come from, they were immediately pelted with handful after handful of candy. The next minute was pure pandemonium. Children ran from across the street to join in the fun, grabbing as much candy as they could while it rained down on them. And somehow in that moment, with the kids cheering and Nagito laughing joyfully among that beautiful chaos, Hajime swore his boyfriend never looked so handsome. Yeah, even despite the costume. ___ Ibuki’s Halloween party was well underway by the time Hajime and Nagito arrived. Blaring music greeted them at the door before she did. “You made it! Look at Nagito, so cuuuute! And Hajime, Ibuki loves your makeup! Meowwwww!” Being a world-famous musician, she could afford the finer things. Her house, which better resembled goth night at a club than a habitable dwelling, boasted enough space to host a party with room to spare for dancing. Witch-house played from an expensive sound system that cost more than Hajime and Nagito’s annual rent. It went without saying, Ibuki threw the best parties. Hajime hardly had a minute to take in the surroundings before Nekomaru had him and Nagito locked in a crushing hug. “Hahaha! We’re all here now!” Nekomaru beamed. “You made it, I am so happy!” Sonia said. “Yay.” Chiaki added in her trademark 'not sure if sincere or not’ tone of voice. “Look at you losers wearing a couple’s costume.” Saionji sneered as she eyed them up and down. Mahiru cleared her throat, “We are too, Hiyoko,” remarking on their Sailor Moon outfits. Saionji pouted, “But it’s cute when we do it!” “It’s too bad Teruteru died in that freak accident involving the helicopter tour over that active volcano, he would have liked to be here right now.” Souda said, idly scratching his head. Tsumiki dropped a piece of food on the floor and bent over to pick it up, showing her rear to everyone, “I’m sorry I’m so clumsy! I’m ruining everyone’s good time! Don’t worry about me!” “It’s okay, no one is worrying about you. No one is thinking about you at all!” Saionji cheered. “Waaaaaaaaah!!” Byakuya shook his head in disdain at Hajime and Nagito. “You’re late for the party, you missed out on donuts. Where are your priorities?” Akane’s mouth was too stuffed to respond, so she waved the last donut at them in greeting instead. Gundham held out his arms, letting his hamsters crawl up into his hands. “My Four Dark Devas are enraged at your tardiness for the most evil night of the year. Now the ritual can begin in earnest. Count yourself lucky that they have chosen not to kill you where you stand.” Peko had the eyes of a predator fixed on Nagito’s fluffy animal costume, while Fuyuhiko grinned and raised a shot glass containing an orange liquid, “Hey guys, come drink up! I brought juice!” Ibuki squealed, “Baby gangster is so adorable, only drinking mixer!” “I don’t need to drink alcohol to be cool!!” Amid all the shouting and arguing, Nagito turned to Hajime, “You know, this might be the best Halloween I’ve ever had.” “Same here. And I think you actually taught me a thing or two about the spirit of giving. Wrong holiday though.” “Yeah, too bad it doesn’t count.” Nagito grinned. “I’ll just have to fill up a stocking for you when Christmas comes around.” “I’d love that, Hajime! I’ve never had a stocking for Christmas before!”

[miraculouscontent]

Thoughts on Reflekdoll?

This episode is… strange.

Like, first things first: I know I don’t usually comment on the animation quality, but the animation in this episode is… different? I don’t want to say it’s bad, but it’s really noticeable. I think it feels as if the animators are trying to keep the characters constantly in motion, but some of the turns/twists are just a few frames off from where they should be. It’s a bit distracting compared to all the other episodes.

Honestly, it almost feels like some sort of edited back-door pilot to a spin-off series where they decided to switch miraculouses permanently, hence the animation being so different.

Anyway though, onto the real content of the episode.

…Actually, before I get into that, I just wanna say–

[LUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

LUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

That is all.

[Scraptain Obvious]

I don’t really like the lead-in here. I understand that Ladybug and Chat Noir are going to switch miraculouses, so they’re trying to set up a “they talk about each other’s traits/qualifications for the miraculouses” thing, but it feels really forced. Most swap episodes in shows are very predictable/obvious in how they go about things, and this is no different. While I like the twist that Marinette finds the cat to be “easy”, meaning it’s actually only half the struggle one would expect, the road to getting there is too blatant, mostly because of the word choice.

Reflekta even worsens this by talking about people being in her shoes. Not only do Reflekta’s power have nothing to do with the swap itself (I know that the reason they get swapped is because of Reflekta, but that’s not what I mean), but it’s a ridiculous attempt at tying together the akuma to the conversation that Ladybug and Chat Noir were having. It’s simply not needed.

Like, I get it, episode. You’re doing a thing and you’re not even remotely subtle about it. Can we please move on?

Then there’s exactly how this plot happens, and I simply do not believe that Marinette would take off her earrings that easily. Not only did the outfits she and Adrien wore have pockets (because I understand Adrien taking the ring off since I presume he was supposed to match Marinette exactly), but when even Plagg is telling Adrien that taking the ring off is a dumb idea, it starts to feel like the episode is waving a flag in front of my face while screaming, “THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES TO THIS.”

I also don’t buy Plagg and Tikki hearing none of the fight going on until the car they’re in gets flung into the air. Like, they didn’t even phase out of the trunk to see how things were going? I’d expect at least Tikki to keep an eye out just in case, especially if they were both so worried about the miraculouses being removed.

There are other things too, like Mayura’s comment about how the swapped heroes are struggling (which is not only cliche for standard swap plots but makes no sense considering that Marinette wasn’t struggling very much at all), but they’re relatively brief at least, I guess.

Speaking of Mayura–

[Ruffled Feathers]

Mayura’s introduction to the episode is good… enough. The concept of her sentimonster is relayed to where I didn’t have too many questions about it (as opposed to having many during “Miraculer”). I’m glad that Marinette had to explain it to Adrien just because it confirms that Marinette has a lot more information than Adrien does.

I also like the SWISH of Mayura’s fancy peacock dress during her transformation, but that’s not relevant to the episode, so it will get no SWISH points from me.

I mean, granted, this makes “Miraculer” even weirder considering that this doesn’t show the transition between Nathalie feeling sick over the peacock miraculous and then just being able to move around without concern (is this gonna be established in a later episode somehow?), but that’s technically not this episode’s fault so whatever, I’ll chalk that up to a “Miraculer” complaint.

I think the other weird thing about it is that Nathalie is standing behind Hawk Moth when he goes to send his akuma. I don’t know if he just sensed that it was Juleka again and wanted to take advantage of that so he told Nathalie to follow him, but it’s just odd since I’m used to Nathalie doing business-y things.

Also, thanks to Nathalie’s skinnier body due to transforming (Watching her de-transform is so strange because it clearly doesn’t line up), it now looks like her head’s too large for her body, though that might just be me.

Duusu was a little more “hyper” than I expected, but I was technically correct with my “MC Duusu” I suppose, what with the “feels any emotion strongly” thing. Wasn’t really a prediction and just more of what I imagined but I’ll gladly take full credit–

I also suppose that the peacock is more obviously made not to be abused by someone evil if the sentimonster created just follows the orders of the person it touches. Makes it more convenient for someone who’s akumatized but is ultimately why Mayura can’t have a lot of solo appearances.

[Kwamfree]

So, the kwami swap and how it’s worked upon…

First, I gotta say that… like–

It’s baffling that we have to be reminded yet again that Chat almost caused Ladybug to mess up because, just in production order, we know that “Oblivio” will continue this trend. If this comes before “Oblivio” then it shows that Chat hasn’t learned anything from this. If it comes after “Oblivio” (hypothetically; I know what Thomas said about watching in production order), then the lead-in is completely pointless because we could’ve had this be a flashback episode rather than “Stormy Weather 2″ (and no, not an excessive one like “Stormy Weather 2″; I’m talkin’ brief flashbacks as in “here is actual legitimate evidence from previous episodes that show our claims).

Chat saying that Ladybug is a killjoy is rather uncalled for considering that they’re known in the fandom for their playful banter. Ladybug isn’t above puns either; she just takes her job more seriously than Chat does. I mean, the lack of balance (with the scales clearly tipped in Ladybug’s direction) does make for a more satisfying moment later when Ladybug can deal with Chat’s job just fine while he struggles with hers, but I think an extra minute or so would’ve gone a long way to creating a scenario in which the heroes would start discussing their roles in things.

It just feels odd after we’ve already seen “future” episodes like “Gamer 2.0″ where Chat carries along a very similar attitude of not understanding where Ladybug’s problems lie. It’s a good character flaw in theory but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Also, unrelated, but the whole intro could’ve been avoided entirely if “Reverser” had been the kwami swap episode (in which “Reverser” would literally switch their powers; something that Hawk Moth would put into Reverser’s powers to plan accordingly). That episode even mentioned Queen Wasp, which leads all the way back to “Syren” (since the “giving other people miraculouses” and “Chat gets let in on the Master Fu situation” plots are kind of tied together) in which Chat expressed distaste for how Ladybug was keeping him out of things.

We also get another instance of “don’t call me Bugaboo” here, which isn’t something related to Ladybug’s sense of humor at all, so I don’t know why Chat played it off as such.

It’s probably the scene where I’d say that Chat lays it on extra-thick with his ego and “you don’t have a sense of humor” (which I’d like to think is a callback to Adrien in “Frightningale” when he tells Marinette that Ladybug wouldn’t be as funny as her, but I’m not willing to stretch that far). It’s pretty typical Chat fare, but because it’s squeezed into such a short scene, it establishes things too quickly, hence things feeling “forced.”

Onto a positive note real quick though, I do like how it’s immediately noticeable how well the swapped heroes will fare upon transforming. Marinette adjusts her movements accordingly, making slashing/punching motions to show that she’s getting into the “destruction” mindset, whereas Adrien doesn’t change his style at all and does kicking motions despite the ladybug miraculous being a passive one. Makes sense too; Marinette is the versatile type whereas Adrien seems more like a one-trick kinda guy (which Marinette even points out upon calling him “simple;” it’s not really a bad thing, but just stating that Adrien isn’t as flexible as she is).

Now, despite how much I rag on Chat, I will admit that he’s really excessive in this episode, to the point where he doesn’t feel like himself. I already said that he lays on the ego, but even with the ladybug miraculous, he brags about his “mastery” of it after managing to get a mirror (i.e: what he wanted) using Lucky Charm. He also complains about how Marinette chose to make fun of him instead of helping him when helping him is exactly what she’s doing.

And like, I don’t have a high opinion of Adrien, but even I don’t think he’d doubt Ladybug when she tells him that Lucky Charm won’t give him what he wants. He’s talked about how Ladybug is so amazing and everything, but if that’s the case, it’s so strange when he completely ignores her advice and acts as if he’s better.

I mean, at the very least, I suppose it was nice when he finally admitted that he needed her help, acknowledged that using the ladybug miraculous wasn’t easy, and told her that he understood why she doesn’t have time to make jokes. I’m not even against the idea of them having their own roles, because sometimes a person just isn’t cut out for a certain miraculous.

And, in a vacuum, I don’t have a problem with the statement that “the heroes have their roles” because, I mean… as I’ve just stated, certain people fit certain miraculouses, but the issue is that it’s left too simple and doesn’t make sense within the context of the opening.

Giving Adrien the ladybug miraculous helps him feel the pressure that Marinette goes through, but that’s not helpful because it only shows him the mentality that has to go into a miraculous that he does not use. Ladybug was calling him out in the opening because his goofing off almost caused her lucky charm to fail, and what does he do?

He deflects and goes into a completely unrelated ramble about why he’s the humor of the team. Giving him the ladybug won’t fix that.

The episode tells him why Ladybug doesn’t have time for jokes since she’s thinking, but it doesn’t tell him why he shouldn’t be goofing off. Ladybug (as the cat) finds a balance between having fun (which does lead to her teasing him a lot and she’s sure to slip in advice occasionally to go with it) taking things seriously, but Adrien isn’t going to catch onto that.

Now, if the episode had somehow done some crazy fantasy magic and put Adrien in a situation where he had to deal with both being the ladybug and dealing with himself as his partner, then maybe that could’ve been different (also, Mister Bug and Chat Noir would be a horrifying combination, just sayin’).

Also, Chat needs to see that his actions have consequences. Ladybug’s always there to bail him out, and his screw-ups are either fixed by her or are things he doesn’t remember (*side-eyes “Oblivio”*).

If Ladybug is there, Chat won’t have a need to learn anything. Miraculous Ladybug fixes whatever in the end, so he has little worry about his actions. He’d need something bad–truly bad–to happen to shake him enough to get himself in gear.

Seeing the heroes swap was interesting. Seeing their civilian forms interacting with the opposite kwami was interesting. Seeing the difference in their de-transformed miraculouses was interesting.

But it just… doesn’t serve the story in a sense of character progression.

[Alya Out of Style]

Oh, Alya. I’ve talked about you so many times and now it’s time to do it again.

So, okay, it was bad enough in “The Puppeteer 2″ when Alya both forced Marientte to talk to Adrien and caused the villain of the day to happen, but now we have both of those things on top of Alya being even more insistent on the matter. This is also yet another time when Alya brings up Adrien and races off despite Marinette’s protests.

Alya tries to play it off as some sort of perfect opportunity when it isn’t, and I am so tired of Alya acting that way when there are clearly more important things to deal with.

In “The Puppeteer 2,” it was “I know Marinette is babysitting but Adrienette is more important!”

And here, it’s, “I know Marinette needs all her focus but Adrienette can happen, I’m sure it’ll be fiiiine!”

Also, Alya plays it off like Gabriel will never know about Adrien helping them, but Gorilla would know (since Gorilla has to pick him up), and let’s not forget “Origins” where Adrien begged Gorilla and Nathalie not to tell his father and Nathalie blabbed to Gabriel anyway. There’s no guarantee that Gorilla wouldn’t find a way to tell Gabriel, so Alya is ignoring both Adrien’s record with Gabriel and Marinette’s anxiety to make this work. This isn’t just about Marinette (even though it mostly is); it’s about Adrien too (just like “The Puppeteer 2″).

If this was just Marinette hanging out with her friends, that’d be one thing, but this is a situation that needs Marinette’s focus and Alya prioritizes getting “her ship” together instead. I literally cannot fathom how Alya sees Marinette trying to get all this together and go, “You know what would make this better? Let’s toss Adrien into the mix!”

Marinette even warns Alya that this isn’t going to work and Alya doesn’t listen. She has no concept of what the right time to do something is.

Also, not to be that guy, but Alya wants someone for the technical aspect of things and Adrien is just a model. It doesn’t make sense that Adrien would know what looks good because he’s not the one behind the camera. Nino at least was the one filming in “Horrificator” so maybe he’d have an idea of what a good shot would be, but he literally appears and then promptly disappears from the episode.

Also also, Marinette is trying to focus on the modeling stuff (you know, the stuff that’s IMPORTANT for her FUTURE WEBSITE) which Alya is ignoring entirely to make it about Marinette asking Adrien to the movies.

Like, “Animan” was a perfectly acceptable situation for Alya to help in; that was something where Marinette was just casually at the zoo and didn’t have to worry about messing anything up with.

Actually, furthering a point on “Animan” as well, it’s laughable at how wrong Alya was when she claimed that she “doesn’t go making decisions for other people” when that’s a vast majority of what she does to Marinette.

And obviously, Alya doesn’t know that Juleka wanted to be a model, but she stepped in when Marinette was trying to calm Juleka down. Anyone could see that Juleka was distressed and bordering on hyperventilation, but Alya fixated on Adrienette happening instead, even to the point of just snatching the hat off of Juleka’s head. It’d be one thing if Alya and Juleka weren’t close (like, if the girl squad still existed but it was more of Marinette having female friends and Alya having female friends and it’s a “friend of a friend” situation) but Juleka is in the girl squad.

Alya also continues to make everything worse by stressing the time that Adrien has to leave, so she’s making Marinette’s little event all about getting Marinette together with Adrien. Even if it had worked, that doesn’t make it okay for Alya to highjack all the operations.

And, I mean, this wouldn’t even be a problem if Alya just felt bad about it or even took responsibility, but she doesn’t feel a thing after Juleka is akumatized. When Marinette is the one to apologize, Alya doesn’t step in to be like, “I’m sorry too,” or, “it’s my fault for trying to make everything go how I wanted it to.”

Alya basically goes into the foreground only to force the entire situation and then drops into the background once she’s served her purpose. At that point, she’s less of a character and more of a plot device, which is never a good thing.

…That said, Alya isn’t the only poorly-handled one here.

[Reflekdull]

Juleka, not you too!

…Okay, I mean, being fair, it was nice to see that Juleka does have a goal in life with wanting to be a model despite her obvious anxiety on the matter. It was both surprising but also made sense for her character (and simultaneously makes “Reflekta” more tragic because of her photo curse).

I also think it’s great how perceptive Marinette was on it since–y’know–it’s Marinette, it’s natural that she’d be perceptive to anxiety.

…Unfortunately though, that brings things to the fact of Juleka being mad at Marinette.

Because why, what, and how.

Like, I am so sick of characters/episodes turning against Marinette for things she either didn’t mean to do or literally did not do.

Marinette was helping Juleka. She was asking Juleka what she wanted to do and only started suggesting that she should handle things when Juleka was not giving her an answer.

Marinette checked on Juleka multiple times yet, when Juleka finally gets akumatized, it’s Marinette that Juleka goes after, and then they have Marinette claim that Juleka said that she didn’t want to model just to make Marinette look to be in the wrong.

Reflekta argues, “You didn’t let me explain!” but no, that was Alya who cut in. Alya was the one who started going on and on about Marinette and Adrien being the models. Marinette was taking responsibility and checking on Juleka (again, twice) to see if she was okay.

I’m not even mad that Marinette apologized, because it is in-character for her to do so. No, I’m mad at the episode for failing in everything else completely. Everything about the lead-up, the process, and the aftermath of the akuma is wrong.

And it’s not just Marinette either. Rose is also very attentive towards Juleka, but Juleka insists that she’s fine to both Marinette and Rose, only to then target them directly once she’s akumatized.

This is exactly like the original “Reflekta,” where Reflekta shot Rose without any focus or thought on the matter. I hate to complain about it here because it’s not a fault exclusive to this episode but, like–

I get that being akumatized means taking away a lot of the original traits of the person being akumatized, but they should still have something. Akuma like Rogercop still had attachments even when said attachment had nothing to do with their akumatization, so I don’t understand the logic that someone who’s akumatized just becomes a completely different person. It’s boring and makes the akumatized person less like “a person we feel for and are attached to” and more like “a generic villain-of-the-day.” Reflekta is flashy and confident, unlike Juleka, which is totally fine, but if she has no hints of who Juleka was, I find it too hard to get invested when she’s rampaging around Paris.

I dunno. It’s just weird knowing that Reflekta is the worst example of this while her brother is one of the best.

And on Reflekta herself as the villain-of-the-day here, I’m not sure how I feel about her coming back as a repeat akuma. I mean, Stormy Weather and Gamer 2.0 made sense given their build-up, but Reflekta feels like too much of a stretch here. I don’t even have a problem with repeat akuma in concept, but the situation that Juleka goes through doesn’t correlate to Reflekta’s idea of “I want to be seen by everyone.” Like, yes, Juleka wants to be a model, but the lead-in to the akumatization is the main problem; Hawk Moth’s lines fixate on Juleka wanting to be seen when the problem was that she didn’t have the confidence to model Marinette’s outfits.

Also, if Juleka wants to model, making everyone look like her is literally the opposite of what she should want to do. Luka’s whole line about her being pretty and Juleka’s want to model clothing only hold up if she’s actually modeling clothing as herself.

I know it wouldn’t be a kwami swap episode if I did this, but if Reflekta’s goal is to make people understand how she feels, then her powers should center around giving people crippling anxiety, like what she had when she was trying to model for Marinette. I already suggested the same for my version of Reverser, and I still add that it’d be hilarious for her powers to not affect Marinette/Ladybug because she’s already an anxious mess normally so she’s used to it (plus, then Reflekta would’ve seen that Marinette is just like her and, if the episode still went with Reflekta being mad at her, that would’ve made her realize that she was wrong, even if Juleka herself would have to be corrected later). This also would’ve had the same effect that the original episode has on Chat where he realizes how Ladybug feels on a daily basis.

Heck, this episode even fails to point out that this is on Juleka as well. I’m not criticizing Juleka for having anxiety to the point of not speaking, but getting mad at Marinette was completely out of nowhere. 

Right before Juleka is akumatized, Juleka blames herself for the situation, which isn’t entirely wrong. I’m glad that she made an attempt to put herself out there, but throwing blame onto Marinette was uncalled for. I would’ve happily excused Reflekta being mad at Marinette and Rose if Reflekta was just deflecting (heh) the self-loathing onto others to compensate, but she also would have had to:

a - be mad at Adrien too because Adrien is ALSO “stealing” her spot as a model (and, suddenly, I’m reminded of “Gamer”) and also get angry at Alya for the hat snatching

b - not be huffy at Marinette after being de-akumatized; if she is, it’s only deflection and she immediately feels bad once Marinette apologizes and then Juleka assures Marinette that’s it’s not her fault

This is the problem when there are four writers writing one episode. Regardless of how much it “helps continuity,” too many ideas are being thrown in and it turns the episode into a mess that feels like it was written by writers who all wrote different scenes but then didn’t consult each other enough on what happened in those scenes, so one writer will go in with a vague idea of, “oh, Marinette took Juleka’s spot in modeling so this must be Marinette’s fault; I’ll have Juleka be mad at her for that and then have Marinette apologize!”

Just… ugh. Some of the interactions are wonderful and the swapped heroes are interesting, but I don’t know if it’s worth it for the rest of the plot.

[obsidiancreates]

“SUP FUCKERS!”

Everyone in the room jumps at the sudden shout, except for Bing. “WHY DO YOU HAVE MY PHONE?!” he shouts back instinctively.

The girl who had suddenly materialized in the room grinned. “BECAUSE FUCK YOU!” She laughed. “Is that right? I think it is. Yeah, we’ll say it is.”

Dark, aura still cracking and glitching from the sudden interruption of the relative peace, rubbed his ears. “Who the hell are you?”

“Bored,” said the girl, moving to an open chair. “And making that your problem!”

“That’s not even close to a good enough answer.”

“Yeah, well, you’re used to being confused anyway.”

“I think youse’s thinking of Wilford, actually,” said Yancy, not noticing the way Dark had stiffened at the girl’s comment.

Wilford looked up from peering directly into the barrel of his gun. “Hmm? What did I miss?”

“Nothing, dear, I promise,” the girl assured, sounding genuinely caring.

Wilford shrugged and went back to “cleaning” the gun.

“The Host is... astonished. The sheer nerve-”

“Oh, relax. This is pure nonsense meant to alleviate some of my boredom, it doesn’t even exist within any continues timeline.” The girl held a bag out to him. “Beef jerky? It’s good, super intense smoke flavor though. It’ll make you choke and cough a bit while eating it, but it’s super worth it.”

“The Host scrunches his nose and declines the offer.”

The girl shrugs. “Suit yourself. Anyone else?”

Wilford, now sitting next to her, grabbed a handful. 

“... No-one else? C’mon, y’all! It’s good! I didn’t poison it, I swear.”

Illinois stepped back. “Now I’m certain that you did.”

“... Yeah, that’s fair.” She shrugged. “I can’t fault you.”

“Really, who are ye?” Magnum demanded, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest. It was the only way he could really fit.

“Hosty here likes to call me The Writer. I’ve also gone by Jadea, Obsidian, Sid, whatever you want to call me.” She shrugged again. “This timeline is super impermanent, so it doesn’t matter.”

Dark watched her, a wariness to his gaze. “And what does that mean, exactly?”

“It means this whole incident will be erased, basically.” She ate a few pieces of jerky, turning a bit red. Her eyes watered. “Hp;y shit, it’s so good but so strong,” she wheezed. “Gah. Oh, fuck, this isn’t even my reality, why is it just as potent?” She gulped down a previously non-existent glass of milk. “I guess I’m pullin’ the same shit Actor does, I don’t know. I’m not as bad as him though, I won’t murder any of you.”

“Um, what?”

“Don’t worry about it, Illy sweetie.”

“That doesn’t help-”

“Shhhhhhh, I said it for Dark’s benefit.” She looked over at the demon. “Hmm. Maybe detriment, actually.”

Dark’s aura was shattering and re-forming over and over, angry and frightened and confused and upset. The other egos all moved as far away from him as possible.

“Get. Out,” he growled, the words echoed in screams by his red and blue copies.

“But then I have to go to sleep! And I don’t want to do that! You understand that feeling, don’t you?”

This time he moved, his aura still bursting apart around him. “GET OUT!”

Sid put her hands up. “Man, I love the courage I can have here,” she said, grinning. “Look, you won’t even have lived through this once I’m done, so why do you give a shit? I could spill your whole backstory to these guys and it wouldn’t matter at all.”

She frowned and rubbed her cheek. “Gah, this lotion was a mistake. Not a nighttime lotion in the slightest. Is SPF supposed to be left on overnight? This is a pickle...”

Dark’s expression slipped from angry to incredulous. “You’re mad.”

“A little, about this lotion. And my laptop, the damn corners keep coming loose even with absurd amounts of duct-tape...”

Wilford slung his arm around her. “I like her!”

“Thanks, hon.” She looked at Dark. “This isn’t how I normally act, by the way. For some reason when I hop into a universe with y’all, I become kind of a dick. No idea why. It just happens. My assumption, see, is that-”

“I don’t care,” Dark cut her off. “Just leave.”

“Aww, but I Don’t Wanna Be Free just came on shuffle!”

She jumped up and began singing, pulling Dark along with her as she “danced”.

Yancy resisted tapping his toes and joining in. Given the look of complete disbelieving rage on Dark’s face, that would be an incredibly bad idea.

“-’Cause I don’t wanna be free!” Sid grinned at Dark. “Wow, no wonder Actor likes messing with you! This is fun!” She frowned. “Hmm. I really need to figure out why I get to dickish when I show up here...”

“The Host supplies the theory that Obsidian simply is an asshole.”

“Nope. Only here.”

“The Host is unsure how that’s meant to be better.”

“Me too.” Sid yawned. “Welp, I’m about to pass out back in my real life. This was fun! I hope you all never remember it, except perhaps in vague and near incomprehensible dream snippets!” She bowed, and then vanished.

(Yeah I don’t know I’m not even tagging this shit I’m just tired and bored and kinda hate myself a little but that might just be the sleep deprivation anyway bye)

[hatsampixie]

Dexter’s Lab Were-Dexter story.. ‘Hair Scare’!

One night, Dexter was sitting on the couch, peacefully watching one of his favorite shows, Action Hank to be exact, when this all started.

As the show's credits rolled, Dexter reached over to grab the TV remote and shut it off, fumbling for it for a while.

The TV was finally shut off, but as he was going to put the remote away, he just so happened to see something out of the corner of his eye.

The boy pulled his arm closer to him, pulling back his sleeve, he saw that a small amount of hair had grown on his arm.

That was weird.

But, now that he thought about it.. he was beginning to feel a bit strange.

He got off from the couch and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door.

Dexter looked into the mirror, with the help of a stool to give him a boost, and saw that his ginger hair had grown a bit longer.

His eyes widened with horror.

"Oh no.. This isn't good, this isn't good!" he exclaimed.

At that moment, knocking was heard.

"What isn't good?" A voice asked, he recognized it immediately.

it was Dexter's sister, Dee Dee.

"Nothing!" The boy responded with a grumpy tone.

"Just leave me alone!"

"Aw c'mon, I'm sure it isn't so bad!"

I guess he had no choice, he had to leave the bathroom at some point.

But once the bathroom door opened, and Dee Dee saw her brother, she flinched.

"..That's quite a new hairstyle you got there."

Dexter, meanwhile, had a panicked look in his eye, and his hair had become more ruffled.

"Dee Dee.. I think there's something seriously wrong here."

"Well, Dexter.. I've got a theory, but.. it's one that's supernatural." Dee Dee said,

The ginger haired boy scoffed and rolled his eyes, supernatural? he thought that there was no such thing.

"Ha! Supernatural? That is ridiculous!"

Dee Dee sighed, "Just for the sake of argument, show me your teeth."

Without a word, Dexter opened his mouth wide, to reveal that his canines had grown longer and sharper than before, the sight of this made his sister flinch once again.

"C-Close your mouth, close your mouth!"

-

"Okay, fine.. Dee Dee, what's your explanation?" Dexter muttered, him and Dee Dee were now on the couch in the living room.

"Dexter, I don't want you to panic, but I think there's a chance that your a Tween Wolf!"

The look on the boy's face clearly said that he still didn't believe her.

"Still, there has to be another logical explanation.. Look, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but why do you think I'm a lycanthrope?" He asked,

"Well, there's a chance that your a skinwalker, seeing the chances of you getting bit by a dog is.. pretty high." Dee Dee snickered a bit.

Dexter's eyes narrowed, muttering something under his breath.

Since when did Dee Dee become the smart one?

"I'm pretty sure that those are also made up, but it is a full moon tonight." Dexter muttered.

"Yeah.. What else explains your hair getting longer?"

Dexter gestured to the hair that had grown on his left arm, almost as if to say 'Don't forget about THIS.'

"That's weird..  Which reminds me, we're also getting pretty close to a blood moon this week."

Suddenly, an expression of panic seeped into Dexter's gaze.

"Wait, w-what's going to happen to me if it's a blood moon, Dee Dee? What's going to happen?" He raised his voice a little, fear garnishing his tone.

"You don't even wanna know." Dee Dee said, she thought back to one movie she saw, remembering a part where one of the characters transformed into a monstrous form, head of a wolf, rippling muscles, sharp claws and teeth.

All of that during a blood moon in the story.

"But aside from that, we don't have to wait for a full moon, there's one in the sky right now!"

Dee Dee got up from the couch and walked over to a window, pulling back the curtains, letting the moonlight seep into the room, casting blue rays into the darkness.

"Dee Dee, what are you trying to prove here?"

"Hey, Dexter, do you notice any reacti-" Dee Dee froze the moment she turned and saw her brother, a slight gasp escaping her lips.

The ginger haired boy raised an eyebrow, oblivious to what had happened to him.

Dee Dee took a deep breath, "..Dexter ..I don't wanna alarm you, but you're full-on werewolf now."

Dee Dee quickly ran into her room and brought back a makeup mirror, handing it to her brother.

Dexter took one look at his own reflection, and let out a high pitched scream.

His long ginger hair had now grown around his cheeks, his ears had turned elf-like and pointed, and the fingers of his gloves had torn, exposing long sharp claws.

His sleeves had torn as well, and hair had grown along his arms.

Not to mention he had also grown a long furry tail, and his eyes were now glowing a light yellow color.

"Hate to say I told you so, but.."

"Shut up." Dexter muttered, crossing his arms.

-

"Can you howl or something?" Dee Dee asked her brother a few moments later.

Dexter growled softly, baring his fangs. "Dee Dee, this is no time to ask silly questions, we need to focus on the situation at hand right no-oooOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" Dexter's eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth after a loud howl escaped him.

His sister giggled softly, then glanced at the moonlit window and back at his brother again.

She got an idea.

"Well, if the full moon transformed you.. maybe.."

She walked over to the window and closed the curtains.

"Am I normal again?" her brother's voice called out.

She saw that he was back to his human form, though with longer hair and fangs.. and a patch of hair on his arm.

"Not really, now I'm gonna pull back the curtains."

She did so, Dexter transformed into his wolf boy form again.

"Wait, what?" he stuttered, startled at how fast he turned.

Dee Dee closed the curtains, her brother turned back into human form again.

Then she opened and closed them again.

"Hey!" Dexter shouted.

She continued opening and closing the curtains about 3 times, much to her brother getting very annoyed.

"Dee Dee, stop!"

Dee Dee giggled, and opened and closed the curtains once again.

Dexter stood up on the couch, fists clenched, and teeth bared.

"Stop it with those stupid curtains!" he yelled, pupils narrowing to slits in his rage.

Finally, she stopped and sat down next to her brother on the couch.

"I gotta get some fun out of this." The young blonde shrugged.

"I know that there's some way to fix this, all I have to do is run a couple of tests and-"

"Since when did you become a werewolf scientist? ..literally." Dee Dee snickered.

"Well, you said the Blood Moon won't be for another few days, so I've.. We've got time to figure this out."

"I'm thinking.. Oh! Maybe Biscuit can help us!" Dee Dee grinned.

Dexter raised an eyebrow, "Um.. Why Biscuit?"

"Well, he's a dog, and you're a dog now too, soo.. Maybe he'll have some advice."

Once again, he was less than amused.

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard, and I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf! which are scientifically both related by blood."

Dee Dee smirked; not exactly a good sign.

"Well, Dexter, if you're not a dog.. then you'll have no problem rejecting this steak."

She held up a plastic bag, containing leftovers of a steak they had for dinner last night.

Dexter's eyes grew wide as drool began dripping down his chin at the sight of it.

"Where did you get that delicious looking st- I mean, where did you get that?" It was clear that he was trying to fight back those wolfy urges.

"Any dog would love to have this juicy steak, don't ya think?"

Dexter shook his head, and growled. "I'm NOT a dog! And I don't care about that stupid steak, just.. give it to me!"

Dee Dee slowly backed away from him, slowly waving the bag back and forth, as if she was aiming to hypnotize him. "Oh you want this? Come and get it then!"

Dexter's newfound wolf instincts took over for a moment, his eyes glowing yellow, pupils narrowing to slits, as he leapt off the couch on all fours snarling.

His eyes reverted back to normal though, pupils widening as he quickly regained his composure.

"Wait a minute, why are we even talking about that food anyway?"

Dee Dee shrugged, before turning and walking out of the room. "I dunno, I just thought it would be fun. Anyway, I'm gonna go get Biscuit."

Dexter muttered and cursed unrepeatable words under his breath, getting back on the couch again, arms crossed.

He was not having a good night.

-

"Oh, Dee Dee, if only you were a cat.." he growled, "Because since I'm a dog as you say, you would be afraid of me." The 8 year old pondered on this thought a little more. "Actually, come to think of it.. She would probably be pretty relaxed around me."

"Wait, why am I talking to myself?"

Then, Dee Dee came back in the room, the dog Biscuit following her, her and the dog then sat down on the couch.

"Well, here he is!" she beamed.

Biscuit, however, didn't seem very happy, he turned and saw Dexter next to him, and knew he gave off unfamiliar and unfriendly vibes.

Something in his dog mind knew that there was something dreadfully wrong, and he began to shiver in his fear.

"Dee Dee, he seems really uncomfortable."

She rolled her eyes at Dexter's comment. "What are you talking about?"

"Can't you see? He's scared of me!" Biscuit fearfully looked up at Dee Dee and nodded.

After a while, Biscuit leapt in Dee Dee's arms fearfully whimpering, glancing at Dexter a few times.

Dexter gave a sigh, "I don't know what this is proving."

Dee Dee without a word let Biscuit go, who scrambled for a moment before dashing out of the room.

-

"Any other suggestions?" the boy asked with a sarcastic tone.

By now he had gotten off the couch and was now wandering upstairs to his room.

Much to his chagrin, Dee Dee was following after.

"I dunno, I think when it's a blood moon, I'll just tie you up or something." she said.

"Hello, have you learned nothing about super strength? I'd break out of there easily!"

Dee Dee paused for a moment to think up another plan, by now Dexter and Dee Dee were in an elevator going down into the lab.

"Well, how's that different than any other night? You're either asleep or working in your lab."

"Dee Dee, you and I both know I can't stay in there all weekend, our parents would get suspicious."

"Good point.. Good point.."

Dexter was now at a work table, mixing several chemicals and mixtures together, attempting to figure out a cure to his.. hairy situation.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you; one of my friends' birthday is this week, and it would be prett-y embarrassing if you were still a wolf boy by then."

"I KNOW, That's why I have to make a cure!" Dexter raised his voice, annoyed.

Dexter noticed on the workbench that there was an experiment report on the table.

Taking a closer look, he saw that one of the lines read: '3:20 P.M Saturday, Hair growth formula + Moon rock material experiment.' He paused upon finishing reading it.

As soon as the memory of the incident came flooding back to him, he gave an annoyed yell and facepalmed, how could he forget?!

He was busy trying to finish two experiments at once, one looking at the molecular structure of a sample of moon rock, (which was very difficult to obtain) and working on a new hair growth formula, of which he had mix in a bit of animal DNA to get the formula to work a little quicker.

However, Dee Dee was once again fooling around with his inventions, as you would expect, and then she popped up right next to him, yelling "HI!!" at the top of her lungs.

Her sudden appearance caused Dexter to accidently knock over the sample of moon rock material, right into the vial of the hair growth formula, and in doing so, splashed it all over him.

However, the built up stress of the day being had caused him to forget all about the event a few days later, and it was only a matter of time until the failed formula took effect on him.

immediately, he started figuring out yet another formula, this time, it would be one to cure him.

And as long as Dee Dee didn't interfere, he would be just fine.

"Oh, I have an idea!"

Dexter silently turned to his sister, knowing she was the one responsible.

"I'll wave a cross in your face!" she said.

"That's for vampires, Dee Dee." He said through gritted teeth, trying to hold back his rage, knowing he's prone to scratching her if he loses it.

She continued giving him of ideas of how to cure him including stabbing him with a stake, and putting him in direct sunlight.

Dexter struggled to ignore her, and get the formula done all throughout.

As the formula was almost complete, Dexter answered to at least one of her ideas.

"Dee Dee, according to the author Stephen King, the way to stop a werewolf is with a silver bullet, but I think that might do some permanent damage."

"But, that whole machine is made out of silver!" Dee Dee said, pointing to said structure.

And that huge machine was just the thing to help cure him.

And after inputting the formula into the machine, he stepped inside it's chamber and the countdown commenced.

"Formula inserted, curing sequence begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." a mechanical voice said.

A bright light shone in the chamber, and once it began to fade away, the doors to the chamber opened, and a young ginger haired boy walked out, smiling with pride.

His hair had grown shorter, and the hair on his arm was gone.

"Dexter, it worked, you're not a werewolf anymore!"

-

But then another bright flash of light appeared in the room, and a figure began to materialize.

The figure had short black hair, and wore a bow tie, and he also wore glasses.

Dexter recognized him immediately, it was his rival, Mandark.

"Yes! my teleporter remote works!" he said. But when he turned, he saw Dexter looking up at him, glaring, and aiming a laser gun at him.

Mandark's eyes narrowed, "Relax Dorkster, I'm off duty tonight, I'm just testing my new invention, and apparently it works just fine."

There was a big awkward silence, Dexter slowly lowered the laser gun.

"So.. uh.. Has anything happened?"

"Dexter turned into a werewolf, but I think he's got it all under control now." Dee Dee spoke up.

"Yes.. I've created a machine and a cure to completely erase the symptoms from my DNA.. after someone screwed up." Dexter glared at Dee Dee, who nonchalantly started whistling.

"That's interesting, but if you've had any such luck as I have in the past.. Sometimes you can treat the symptoms, but you can't cure the virus." Mandark said.

"W-What do you mean?" Dexter asked.

"But in my opinion, it's not really something to be afraid of, you can actually kind of embrace it."

"Embrace it?" Both Dexter and Dee Dee asked at the same time.

"Yes, yes you can.." An eerie tone entered Mandark's voice.

And before their eyes, he transformed.

Mandark's hair grew longer and grew around his cheeks, his ears grew longer and pointy.

He grew long sharp teeth and claws, and a long furry wolf tail.

His shirt, shorts, and shoes were slightly torn apart due to his height increasing, and his eyes began glowing yellow as his pupils narrowed to slits.

An evil fanged grin crossed his face, seeing their shock and horror.

Then Were-Dark threw his head back and unleashed a loud blood-curdling howl.

Dee Dee was shivering in fear, Dexter simply facepalmed; they now had another problem on their hands.

"Oh no.." he groaned.

The End.

[stars-and-rose]

emily’s notes on dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS

so it took me an hour and a half to fulling watch the video because I ended up taking seven and a half pages of notes??? i might make a separate post analyzing the characters/the plot in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, but we’ll see. with that out of the way, please note that these notes are in chronological order. spoilers under the keep reading

 seven warnings. seven freaking warnings. shit has hit the fan

why is Thomas ME in the mornings

wait no THOMAS BABY AHHHHHH

Virgil and Patton’s expressions when they first come in, oh god, Virgil looks absolutely done and Patton’s playing the ‘nothing is ever wrong’ game again 

ROMAN. THERE IS SOMETHING OFF WITH MY SON AND I’M NOT EVEN TWO MINUTES IN

Patton singing to himself is pretty cute not gonna lie

“secrets secrets are no fun, share with me or else we’re done.”-Roman is me yet again

also “i have yet to receive my invite to the pity party” Ro i can’t-

okay so it seems Virgil Patton and Thomas all know something and they don’t want Roman to know

not gonna lie, watching these three play cover-up is pretty damn funny and Ro is on to them

I AM ONLY 2 MINUTES AND 28 SECONDS INTO THIS AND I WANNA C R Y

Roman calling in Logan for back up? WHOOOOOOO we stan

AHHHH SOMETHING IS VERY W RON G

Logan gets one FALSEHOOD a day?

honestly can't tell if they’re trying to protect Roman or they don’t trust him rn and ahhh that hurts

I’M VERY CONFUSED

i feel like i’m witnessing the logince vs moxiety war

so everyone but Roman knows and everyone but Logan is desperate to keep it that way

???????

 NO ONE IS OKAY

they’re all coming for Ro’s role as the Extra side, huh? we’re hitting some extremes

“you all are acting fishy.” “so what, i’m acting fishy, sush- sue me.” “don’t pretend that wasn’t on purpose.” Roman and Virgil at their finest

why isn’t Roman allowed to know about Thomas’s intrusive thoughts???

“i’m going to prohibit your breathing if you keep this up.” Virgil NO

Virgil Patton what are you doing 

Roman is not going to fall for that distraction

wait no he did

i think everyone is a wee bit high

“have you ever imagined killing your brother”-HOLY SHIT SHIT IS HITTING THE FAN

OH MY GOD THE HANDS BEHIND RO AT 5:58 I JUST SCREAMED

THERE IS A CREEPY RAT MAN BEHIND THE TV

Patton covering his mouth and whispering out evil, and Virgil dropping into his tempest tongue when they see creepy rat man AAHHHHHHHHH

OH MY GOD HE HIT ROMAN HE HIT ROMAN WITH A MORNINGSTAR OH MY IS HE DEAD

“it’s the Duke.” thank you, Logan, BUT WHAT THE EVERLIVING FUCK DOES THAT MEAN

The Duke is so freaking scary i can not-

state farm ad: everything in life is alright with state farm!

me, in hysterics only eight minutes in: nOtHiNg Is AlRiGhT

the Duke’s costume though... the clear elements from Roman but the inverted colors and the Duke feels gaudier

the Duke’s song is so creepy i can’t oh my god he'd been on screen for five minutes and he’s terrifying. The imagery, how dark everything is, how easily he moves around the other sides i’m chilled to the bone

did Roman call the duke bro??? um what???

also isn’t roman unconscious

I WANT MY ROMAN BACKKKKKKK

oh god what happened between Deceit and the Duke

the Duke is fucking terrifying. have i said that yet

i don’t wanna see the dark sides anymore! i’m good

that song is going to haunt me FOREVER

so the Duke is dark fantasies and corrupted creativity definitely Ro’s dark side

i no like

maybe the Duke was able to pop in because Roman’s been hurting recently????

HE JUST PULLED OFF HIS EARS OH GOD

Logan is the only one keeping himself together, i hope he can rationalize the Duke but i fear not

“you’re not creativity!”

“yeah! that’s the brave, handsome (Patton your gay is showing) unbeatable Roman!

*camera cuts to Ro still unconscious muttering about mashed potatoes*

Virgil looked so cute when he blew his bangs out of the way!

back to the angst

‘you’re scary’

*camera cuts to hurt/unimpressed Virgil*

ALSO THE DUKE IS NOT SCARY HE’S TERRIFYING 

everyone is pointing fingers ahahhahah

how quickly Patton believed Logan was actually Deceit OOF when the only evidence for this was based on the fact Logan didn’t agree with Patton/Virgil’s method of dealing with the Duke

Lo: *trying to logic through the situation*

Vee and Pat: please shut your mouth

Logan:*talks about how nothing is black and white*

Thomas: *points out the difference between Roman in white and the Duke in black*

which is an amazing visual for character!Thomas’s black and white thinking

and it’s also an amazing detail to contrast Roman and the Duke. i thought the contrast between Patton and Deceit's suits was cool in SvS, but this is another level

Roman is still unconscious on the floor. the Duke is standing over him. alright, trash rat bastard.

wow i can’t believe my favorite side has a twin brother that’s an actual rodent

holy shit Thomas is such an amazing actor i genuinely cannot handle it, applause applause applause

“Wow, I hate him.” YEAH ME TOO THOMAS

the entire side conversation between Logan and Patton regarding the cradle in the treetop is gold 

have i mentioned that the duke is disturbing yet? there is an EYEBALL on his shoulder

“...........maybe?” oh Patton bb you are trying but you’re not there yet

wow what happened between the Duke and Virgil, because the Duke really don’t like him

ROMAN YOU CAN G E T U P NOW

okay Virgil, that’s fine, break my heart

we’re still stuck on this “is Thomas a good person thing?”

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LOGAN YOU GO SMART BABE

the flashback is just as creepy every time it plays gOD

well Vee got in an uncensored curse

Patton is shook

Virgil legit looks at him like,”you’re really hung up on THAT right now?”

“I’m about to smash the hulk!” what is happening.

“One of you is enough!” yes and I’d prefer Deceit right now!!

Deceit is a shit but he’s a shit with a cause

the Duke is just a rat

Patton is really playing the ignore all our problems card,huh

that didn’t work his arc why is he trying it again???

“this isn’t about me wanting to be listened too” SHOT THROUGH THE HEART, AND YOU’RE TOO BLAME @ logan

Logan almost calling Virgil paranoid HURT

that brings me back to the whole “paranoviligant” scene from the Hogwarts video. both Ro and Lo have prevented themselves from calling Virgil paranoid, even though I feel like meaner things have been said. the word paranoid is significant then. 

also logan quickly fixing his mistake there damn i love him

Thomas pleading with Virgil and Patton hurt me so much AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“well that can’t be where the bar is” WHAT A PARALLEL

Logan’s speech on religious really hit me. 

i’m Catholic, but I’m also Pansexual.

watching an openly gay man talk about Religion freely made me feel really happy and accepted and i might have cried

also it was such a good way from Logan to make his point

the Duke really threw Patton and Virgil through a loop, huh

LOGAN IS THE BREADWINNER LISTEN TO HIM G O 

okay, theory time: the Duke gets more powerful the weaker Roman gets and vice versa. so to keep the Duke away, Ro needs to get himself in a better place to figuratively defeat the Duke. but how can he get to that better place when it seems everyone is against him?

“i said figuratively. and that is why i say it. THAT *clap* IS *clap* WHY *clap* I *clap* SAY *clap* IT *clap* Lo really went off there, you go you funky little nerd

also Logan claps to emphasize his points a lot and it’s cute

“despite his best efforts, Virgil's could never stop being the bad guy~!” OUCH

you can see the vivid hurt on Virgil’s face when Logan says that it’s his faiult, it looks like he was slapped

and Logan quickly adding “oh and uh Patton.” 

“rEcOrD sCrAtCh?” shut up stinky trash man

and Virgil’s shock that he isn’t the only problem, that isn’t not completely his fault?

and logan’s shock in realizing he isn’t the problem??

not like i needed a heart or anything

wow the Duke finally realized that Logan is going to smite him only took 25 minutes

he really just went off on Logan and Lo’s not even fazed

did the Duke just-

yeah he vored the deodorant

i can’t take this anymore

THE DUKE’S NAME

first of all, he just gave it anyway like it was nothing. the others gave thier names at key moments for them, and the Duke is like, yeah I’m Remus

also I SAW the little look he gave Virgil he’s not fooling me

wait is that why he gave his name so early? to spite Virgil? because Virgil hid his name for so long and such?

that’s it I’m voring the stinky trash bastard 

second, the significance of the name itself. i’m assuming Remus is named after the Remus in Roman mythology. You know, the twins Romulus (hint hint RO nudge nudge) and Remus, the founders of Rome, but in the end Romulus killed Remus and became the city’s namesake

based on the connection of the names, and hoping that Roman is the Romulus of this story, Ro will be able to ‘defeat’ Remus one day

DID LOGAN JUST BARE HIS TEETH AT REMUS

he did OH MY GOD

Roman, still unconscious on the floor, telling Remus to shut up and defending Lo? we stan (one) creativity twin 

well Remus just shuriikened Logan in the forehead

Logan simply falling for a brief moment then fixing the wound? he’s really a badass huh

Logan just summed up this entire shebang by saying,”if things one and two stop fearing the psycho asshole he’ll have no power.” alright Lo you go

LOGAN ALL THE WINS

Remus is really fucking dramatic huh, really seeing how he can be Roman’s twisted twin

really, Ro is chaotic good and Remus is straight up chaotic evil

“is he gone” you can’t be falling for that they’re ten minutes left on the episode

they fell for it

Virgil’s brutal honesty in listening off Thomas’s problems oof

“what if you sniffed your dogs butt?” Remus is getting a bit milder the more Logan talks him down, Lo is truly a king

“just shut up” WHOOOOO THOMAS

Patton and Virgil listening to Lo? GIVE ME AN AMEN

now we just need Ro to jump on the listening-to-Lo-express

 AND LOGAN SAYING “IT’S OKAY” AND COMFORTING THE OTHER THREE  AND BEING GENTLE WHOOOOOOO NO MORE OF THAT EMOTIONLESS BULLSHIT LOGAN WE KNOW YOU CARE ABOUT THEM

Logan’s speech on therapy? FANTASTIC, GIVE HIM AN AWARD

Patton admitting and realizing his over controlling methods and flaws??? we stan character development

VIRGIL JUST CALLED REMUS A COMMON COLD I CAN’T

but really, Virgil telling Remus off and calling him a pest not worth his time?? a king

“it was just like old times!” the look Patton and Logan share, they definitely are aware of Virgil’s past with the dark sides/ possibly being one and they are done with Vee being harassed

STINKY TRASH BASTARD IS GONE

ROMAN IS NOT DEAD

but his line, “I can see now why everyone was reluctant to tell me what was going on.” confused me

why didn’t the other warn Roman that Remus could be coming? it’s not like Roman didn’t know Remus existed (they are literally twins) and the other knew Remus existed so I'm not sure what all the secrecy was about. if the sides warned Ro, he could have been prepared, and you know, not unconscious for most of the video.

EVERYONE IS SO CONCERNED FOR RO AHHHHH

literally i might have screamed

i definitely did

when Roman used the same insult/nickname as Remus to Logan, how distraught he looked oh god

maybe that’s why Roman’s so much of a perfectionist,,, he’s so desperate to not be like Remus, Roman forces himself to be the exact opposite and it’s causing him pain

the little smiles everyone gives Lo at the end??? AHHHHHHHH

Thomas thanking logan and calling him Cool, and Logan just sinking out in response?????

SOFT SOFT SOFT

the entire like thirty seconds Roman and Remus share the screen, RO looks so uncomfortable 

there has to be something else that happened between them,not just they being exact opposites... not sure on what

it also seems like Logan is getting better but Roman is falling down the rabbit hole and getting even worse

the funhouse mirror metaphor HURT

Roman is really coming for Patton’s nothing-is-ever-wrong game huh?

also just noting the parallels between Roman and Remus, the hand gestures, even how they both sink out with the same BYEEEEEEEE!

Virgil babey don’t blame yourself-

holy shit Virgil just dropped the mic

really that scene broke my heart

it wasn’t the reveal itself, but damn the delivery

Virgil looks on the verge of tears,puts himself out there and telling Thomas that he was a dark side and being met by silence???

my HEART

Thomas is such an incredible actor i cannot-

side note, how did Thomas not know? i believe the other sides know (someone please ask me about this so i can rant) and Vee was never exactly sutble about it and Deceit and Remus both taunted him about the past??

is character!Thomas just that dense??

so it seems like Logan is doing better, Patton is decent for the moment, but Virgil and Roman are both struggling right now

it feels like Roman’s arc is very drawn out, so i feel like things are getting worse before they get better

as for Virgil, i REALLY want the next video to be about how the past doesn’t define you and end with the other comforting Vee.

dear G O D why is Remus eating deodorant??

also, i really want to know what is actually the deodorant

or is Thomas actually eating deodorant

SOMEONE PLEASE CALL POISON CONTROL-

[panda-noosh]

Hi, sorry, wasnt sure if you took romantic pidge? sorry if you dont, but i thought i would request in the case that you did. angsty pidge where the reader comes back from a mission and sees pidge hanging out really close with hunk and is slightly upset? sorry if you dont

words: 1.6k

notes: i love writing for pidge wow 

+++

Pidgecould sense something was wrong as soon as you walked in the door.

   Thatwas the kind of connection the two of you had – unbreakable in somesense. You weren’t a very expressive person; anybody else would havesimply let you walk past them, not even knowing that something wasvery clearly bothering you.

   ButPidge wasn’t just anybody else, meaningshe picked up on your foul mood from the moment you came back fromyour mission.

   Ofcourse it worried her. Anything that was bothering you was botheringher, because you were like her other half. She watched as you walkedpast her, a tiny smile on your face and a pace to your walk that toldPidge you did not want to be in the same room as her for long.

  Shefrowned, turning to Hunk. “Did that seem weird to you?”

 Hunk didn’t look up from the book in his hands, merely shrugged inresponse. Pidge should have expected nothing different; he mostlikely just assumed you were a little bit shaken up from the missionyou had just come home from.

   Nonetheless,Pidge was also a working woman. She had a ship to keep in tact,papers to fill in, missions of her own to organise. Maybe giving youa bit of space would help.

   Sothat’s exactly what she did. Pidge spent the majority of her day atHunk’s side, scuffling through the array of papers that had been leftbehind for her to examine overnight – Shiro had given up on them,passed them off to the next person in line, who just so happened tobe Pidge.

   Shedidn’t mind. It gave her time to think, gave her something to do soshe wasn’t sitting around worrying about you all day. Though theworry was still prominent in her mind, it was easier to ignore whenher hands were busy.

    Hunkscribbled a tiny note on the corner of a page, sighing. “Remind meto never let Shiro do the paperwork ever again. Half of this stuffisn’t even right!”

   “He’s not a paperwork kind of man,”Pidge said. “He likes to be more hands-on with the missions thanthe theory side of things.”

  Hunk huffed. “So he passes iton to us?”

   “It’sbetter that we do it and get it right than him doing it and gettingit wrong.”

  “Forever the damn optimist, you are.”

  Pidge grinned, nudging Hunk with her elbow. “You’re sulking.”

   Hunkshrugged, not quite dismissing the accusation. Pidge chuckled, duckedher head back down to look at the papers. At this point, they wereslowly becoming more and more of a jumble in her mind. She had beensat in front of them for hours and was now losing focus on all of it.She needed a break.

   Withher loss of focus came the reminder that she had yet another problemto see to – you.

   Sheset her pen down and stretched her arms above her head, trying toseem as calm as possible with Hunk glaring into the side of her head.In reality, the reminder that you were probably sulking away on theship somewhere left Pidge with a sour taste in her mouth, and it tookeverything in her not to just jump up and leave Hunk there on his ownwith no explanation.

   Hunkglanced at her. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

  Shesmiled sheepishly.

  Hunkgroaned. “Pidge! This is gonna take ages!”

  “You can takea break as well!” Pidge exclaimed. “Look, I’ll be back in twoseconds. I just wanna go make sure Y/N’s eaten and stuff.”

   Hunkraised a brow, tapping the pen idly against his bottom lip. “You doknow that Y/N is a fully functioning adult?”

   Pidgeshrugged. “I worry sometimes. Now, go get some food or something.We’ll get back to this in a bit.”

   Hunk argued no further,though it wasn’t like Pidge gave him much of a choice. She was on herfeet and darting towards the door long before he could protest.

    Shemade her way straight to your shared bedroom, knowing that was whereyou often huddled yourself whenever something was stressing you out.Sure enough, when she opened the door, you were curled up on the bedwith a pair of headphones plugged into your ears, ignoring the worldas best as you could.

   Justlike you always did.

   Pidge’sheart was heavy with guilt as she closed the door and slowly made herway towards the bed. The quilt was still made, you simply curled upon top of it with your head nuzzled into the pillow; she wanted toreach out and brush the strands of hair from your forehead, butrefrained from doing so in fear of startling you into an even biggermood.

   Sheneedn’t worry about such a thing, though, as you slowly lifted yourhead and met her eyes. You knew she was standing there, just hadn’ttaken your headphones out to greet her. That fact alone left Pidgewith an anxious feeling fluttering in her stomach – had shedone something to annoy you?

   Pidgesmiled as best she could, her hands ringing in front of her.

   Youdidn’t smile back, instead dropped your head back into the pillow andwent back to ignoring everyone.

   Pidgelowered herself onto the bed next to you, placing a hand on your leg.You didn’t shy away from her touch – in fact, Pidge was fairlycertain you had even shuffled a little closer to her, as if Pidge’shand was some kind of magnet dragging you forward.

   “Areyou gonna talk to me and tell me what’s wrong?” Pidge asked.

   Youdidn’t say anything.

   Pidgesighed, reached over and tugged a headphone from your ear. Yougrunted at the sudden intrusion, but made no other protestations,neither did you put the headphone back in.

   “You’remad at me,” Pidge said. It wasn’t a question. “Are you gonna tellme what I’ve done so I can fix it?”

   “Doyou not have paperwork to work on downstairs?” you asked. Pidgenearly winced with how cold your tone was.

   “Hunk’sworking on it,” Pidge replied.

  Apparentlythat was the wrong response.

   Youscowled and rolled over, tugging the pillow over your head. Pidgefrowned at the action; what was wrong withyou? Why were you acting like a child right now?

   Pidgesqueezed your leg gently, causing you to squeal in shock. “What iswrong, Y/N? You can’texpect me to fix things if you won’t even tell me what I did in thefirst place.”

   “Look, you don’t need to worry about me,okay? Just go back downstairs with Hunk and get your own work done.”

  Pidge paused. The way you had said Hunk’s name – there wassomething in that single word that had caused your skin to bristle.She could tell. Just looking at you now, the way your face hadchanged as if Hunk’s name was sour against your tongue, told hereverything.

   Pidgeslowly started to smile.

    Pidgeherself often got jealous whenever you spent too much time with theother Paladins – it was a natural reaction. Well, she hoped it was,because it was one she felt on an almost daily basis. You always toldher not to worry, and so Pidge just took your word for it. Shetrusted you with her life, meaning she definitely trusted you to stayloyal to her. It was more-so the idea of you hanging out with peoplewhen Pidge already had so little time to spend with you, with herworkload as heavy as it was.

   Butnever before did Pidge ever think that you would feel the same way.It was cute in some ways, despite the sulking.

    Shesqueezed your leg again. This time, you groaned, rolled over andswatted her hand away, sending her a glare.

  “Stopthat.”

   “You’re jealous.”

   Youfroze. “What led you to that conclusion?”

  Pidge grinned,unable to help herself. Your cheeks were clearly heating up, yourfingers now working at the phone in your hand in any attempt to keepthem busy.

   “Doyou honestly think something is going on between Hunk and I?”

 Your eyes widened. “Of course I-”

   “He’sjust my friend, Y/N.” Pidge’s voice was a whisper now, a purralmost. She noticed the slight twitch in your chest, the way yourbreath hitched when she slowly started leaning in, placing one handon either side of you to keep herself from falling on you completely.

   Youwriggled beneath her. “Pidge…”

   Shepressed her lips to your own, but only for a second. It couldn’t evenbe considered a peck, and it left you craving more. Pidge couldn’thold back her laugh when she pulled away, only for you to arch yourback from the mattress in your attempts to receive more.

   “Youhave no reason to be jealous,” said Pidge. “Nobody could be quitelike you, anyway. I’d be left unsatisfied for the rest of my life.”

  You scowled. “Not helpful.”

  Shechuckled and kissed you fully now, savouring the taste of you on herlips. You sighed against her mouth, wrapped your arms around her neckand tugged her down so the only thing keeping her from falling on topof you was her elbows, which dug into the soft mattress.

   Itwas safe to say that Pidge did not go back to join Hunk in sortingthrough the paperwork, instead allowing herself to get lost with you.

[romanssippycup]

Undeniably Important Chapter 12: At the Wrong Time

AUTHOR’S NOTE Part 1: (Hey everybody!! Finally got this part out. It was very difficult to write just because this is where Everything goes down for real. It gets super crazy in this chapter. There is way too much to explain in this story all at once, so everyone might be left confused for a little while. I didn’t get to the parts I badly wanted to write for this chapter, which I’m really sad about, hopefully they will make an appearance in the next chapter though. So look forward to that. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. As always, if you have any questions or I just didnt explain something well enough, please leave your questions in the comments below. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this crazy ride!! Thank you for reading! :D)

(WARNING: Angst and Puking)

Chapter 1 – Chapter 2 – Chapter 3 – Chapter 4 – Chapter 5 – Chapter 6 – Chapter 7 – Chapter 8 – Chapter 9 – Chapter 10 - Chapter 11

5:08 p.m.

THUD! Anxiety’s chair fell over backwards, startling the people around the seemingly empty table. Thomas watched the whole predicament from the corner of his eyes, badly wanting to go over and make sure his sides were okay, but knew he would just make matters worse for his anxious side. He did not understand why Anxiety fell when the waitress bumped into him, or what was even going on at the sides’ table. But if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was he felt sick to his stomach. His insides twisted as if it were trying to fight off a nasty bug, but no parasite or vicious virus had called his body it’s home. So…why then did he feel like he was going to throw up all of a sudden?

5:08 p.m.

THUD! Anxiety’s chair fell over backwards, startling the people around the seemingly empty table.

“It was me Logan. I stole your notepad.” Virgil stood there watching the complexions of his fellow sides change with the confessions he had made. Roman and Logan’s eyebrows both raised in surprise while the moral aspect’s whole face drained of what color was left.

   Through the awkward silence, Patton coughed in his tears. “K-kiddo…you didn’t…you didn’t have too-”

   “Yes. Patton. I did. Now before ANY of you decide to talk or accuse me, let me accuse myself!” His voice slightly raised as he dried his eyes of what could have been tears had he let his emotions spill over. “Logan, Patton took it upon himself to lie to you for me and I didn’t say anything. I hoped it would blow over, but now that I know that something is happening to the copy I-”

   “Copy?” Logan’s head slightly cocked, now more confused than ever.

Anxiety rubbed his nose in irritation at being interrupted by the logical side. “Look. I can duplicate things ok? I stole your notepad because you had told me during the Outfit war that I…that I represented more than just my job. I didn’t believe your words, so I stole the notepad that held all your notes and theories, to see if you were actually telling the truth. I copied it, gave the fake one back to you and kept the real to myself.” Logan glanced down at the real notebook on the table then back up at the anxious aspect, keeping silent so he could continue to speak.

“And…you were telling the truth. I didn’t trust you, because I’ve been told by all of you at one point that I only was Anxiety. And nothing more. Why the sudden change Logan?! Why?” Logan’s neutral expression transformed itself into frown, but the darker aspect gave him no time to speak. “You know what!? Don’t. Don’t answer that. I don’t need to know and I don’t wanna know. Just take the real notebook and toss the copy in the garbage. I’m sorry I lied, just…keep talking about me behind my back like I’m the villain still. It’s better than being accepted as a friend.”

Patton choked back a sob. “Anxiety…”

“No dad. Just make up with Logan and slap some sense into the prince of ignorance over there. I’ve got better things to do than stay here. Night.” He sank out, before Logan or Patton could have convinced him to do otherwise.

5:10 pm

Anxiety rematerialized in his room, collapsing on his bed sheets overwhelmed by the amount of self-hate and anger he had placed upon himself. He was not sure if it was true, but it was felt by the owner of the feelings regardless what the others thought. The sigh that protruded from his mouth was strained and raw reflecting the emotions that hung over him like a black cloud returning to haunt him once more.

He lay there unable to move painstricken by sorrow and weighed down by his own hopelessness. No matter how he tried to suppress it however, there lay a tiny spark of trust that time will pass and this whole situation would be dealt with soon.

He gave a tiny grieved smile as the thought passed through his mind. The ticking of the clock was the one thing he could always count on to solve his problems. He did hear Logan say once that time was the best healer and in many ways it cleanses problems, pushes away past mistakes, and puts distance between those who are unhappy with their earlier versions of themselves. Because of these facts all Anxiety deduced he had to do was let time pass then perhaps his mistake would be fixed.

He grinned wider as he let his grasp on time slip, the ticking of the clock soon quickening before his own eyes and ears. His body remained as his consciousness phazed through time itself, refusing to pay attention to the ever slight shifting of his room as time flew by. For the most part it remained the same, save for the imaginary spider he thought he saw running across the room or the sped up knocks of most likely Patton or any of the other sides trying to check on him.

He took a second out of his processes to thank the lucky stars that he locked his room door, but it was in that second that he heard a tiny knock. One that hadn’t rang in his ears for a long time. Not as steady as Logan’s. Not as boisterous as Roman’s. One that resembled Patton’s sweet knock, but higher pitched and placed closer to the floor. For a moment, Virgil believed he was hearing things. From past experience, he knew time-travelling had it’s side-effects on him and illusions were quite common things to experience, but after hearing it for a second time, there was no mistaking it.

He relapsed slightly, rewinding his position to a minute before he first heard the knock, and then stabilized his mind back into the mindscape. His consciousness suddenly existing in the future time he had picked and in the same position that he had laid down in. Eyeing the clock on the wall, the hands told it’s reader everything he needed to know.

7:08 pm

It was a little later than he had wanted, but he knew for a matter of fact that Thomas would be home from the Sushi place, or at least getting home if nothing else. Anxiety arose from his bed and rubbed his eyes, already feeling the spark of hope begin to nag at the back of his mind again as he slumped towards the door. He brushed it aside knowing full well that it was the last thing he had wanted to think about. At least he knew the knock would distract him.

7:09 pm

The small knock sounded, cutting through the silence and in turn his thoughts. He turned the knob and peeked out slightly, his breath caught in his throat as he saw who was standing outside his door.

“Hey Virge. Dad’s freaking out for some reason. Mind if we hide in here with you?”

5:09 pm

It took the logical aspect one whole minute to let the situation sink in. He was unable to move as he processed all the events that had led up to this point. He now realized his words to the moral aspect were much more insensitive than he had intended. Especially if he was just trying to protect Anxiety, from whatever harsh words Logan was going to give him. But, that was just it. Logan felt no anger at the anxious aspect for stealing his notebook. Maybe embarrassed since his small crush on Patton had been exploited, but even that bit of information in itself meant Patton hadn’t exactly seen his drawings anyway. But Anxiety had only wanted to confirm the words he had said during the Outfit War, but was too embarrassed to ask him to his face, which was understandable, considering how he and Roman had treated him in the past.

Logan felt his body relax slightly, as the miscommunication laid out clearly in front of him. He really did wish Anxiety had stayed so Logan could explain his thoughts on the matter. Instead, Anxiety just had to jump to conclusions once again, thinking everyone hated him for this simple act of mistrust. However, Logan couldn’t have been angry even if he wanted too. By taking his notepad, Anxiety had most likely gone through the other theories in his notepad and now he had another person to converse with about his thoughts. This whole ordeal was most likely just a rocky start to a companionship that should have been established ages ago.

Shaking himself back into the real world, Logan crept a hand cautiously towards his notepad, checking for any slight differences between the copy and the real sitting in front of him. Grasping it quickly, he flipped through it, pulled out a pen, and drew a small heart on a random page. To his relief, the ink came out of the pen and wrote like it should. This meant that only the copy was having issues performing it’s primary function. He shoved the pad inside his pocket before analyzing his surroundings.

Anxiety’s outburst had done more than surprise Logan, Patton, and Roman. Three other groups of people were now currently staring towards the sides’ seemingly empty table, but this was not what Logan was mostly concerned about. Turning towards the table where Thomas’s friends sat, everyone was talking normally, but Thomas himself had vanished. The logical facet gave a thorough scan of the restaurant, but could find no trace of their human anywhere. He blew a sigh of slight relief as Roman and Patton began to understand the gravity of the situation.

Speaking of the moral trait, Patton had broken down into even more tears after seeing Anxiety leave on such a sour note. Roman had been doing his best at comfort, but he didn’t seem too keen on how to properly help him.

“Logan! A little help over here!” Logan instantly turned to Morality and laid a gentle hand on Patton’s shoulder.

“Patton? I am sorry for what I said. I realize now you were only protecting Anxiety from my anger, but I assure you I am not in the slightest bit. It was wrong for my words to attack your ability to perform your occupation as Thomas’s morality, but you were not acting so far out of a range that Thomas wouldn’t decidedly do for his friends. Will you accept my apology?”

The moral aspect turned to Logan and threw his arms around the logical aspect’s neck, much to Roman and his own surprise. “Oh yes Logan! I forgive you. I knew you didn’t know what happened, but we need to go after Anxiety. He can’t just sit in his room thinking this is all his fault for a long period of time. We’ve let him do that enough.”

Logan nodded in acknowledgement, thankful as the moral aspect dried his tears and withdrew his arms. “Yes, I for one agree, however Anxiety’s absence is not our only problem. Thomas is gone and nowhere to be found. We might have to split up and solve both problems at once. Roman!” The fanciful aspect had been surprisingly listening to him, his phone away and eyes attentive.

“I’m awake with my so called head out of the clouds, nerd. You don’t need to shout at me. I’m staying here and looking for Thomas, though. You two can go look for Anxiety.”

Patton frowned. “He needs your apology too, Princey.”

“Yes I know. I’ll give it to him when I’m ready.” The reluctant face Roman portrayed told both bespectacled aspects that he didn’t plan on apologizing to him anytime soon. Before Logan could do so much as frown or rebuke the prince for this, the same waiter that Anxiety had bumped into began to make her way over to their table after seeing Anxiety’s fallen chair. Logan quickly drew in a breath about to reset it with his gravity powers, when he was restrained by Roman. A quick shake of his head brought Logan back to the reality of the situation. Anxiety had interacted directly with Thomas’s plane of existence unintentionally. Heaven knew if Logan’s forces could do the same.

Time seemed to stop as she sauntered over to the table and slowly set the chair upright, her face suddenly snapping to stare at the facets in front of her as all four chair legs hit the ground. Logan started, beginning to feel a sense of dread overcome him as her eyes swept along the exact position of all three of them. For a moment he feared as if she could see them sitting there directly in front of her. Movement caught his eye beyond her hair however as he spotted the same exact waitress three tables down. His eyes widened further, taking in the positions of the two identical waitresses. The one glaring at them from Anxiety’s seat, and the other who was currently walking back to the kitchen.

Two waitresses. Two Notebooks. Logan felt himself gulp and saw out of the corner of his eye the other sides had already noticed the impossible occurrence standing before them. In no way could two of the same person exist in the same time, but from the research he had gathered it said nothing about the same person existing in different dimensions at the same time.

It hit him like a truck rushing a building at full speed. The copy waiter standing before them did not exist in the dimensions of the real world, but the dimensions of their world. She smiled, seemingly noting the look of total shock on their faces as Patton and Roman glanced at Logan, trying to make sense of the situation.

“You know its not necessarily nice to take food without paying for it.” The waiter gestured to their empty plates. “How about I take you to see my manager so they can sort this predicament out?” In a flash, she reached out grabbing Roman by the wrist. The royal yelped in surprise, but it quickly turned into a scream of anguish as she gripped him. This version of the waiter was clearly stronger and more agile than other ladies her same age.

Logan acted quickly, jumping out of his seat to rush to Roman’s aid, but found himself being death gripped by the waitress as well. At first, it hurt and he could feel a wave of paralysis overtake his body, causing his body to freeze in it’s awkward position. And then a similar scream to Roman’s forced itself out of his mouth as an excruciating pain was felt traveling up his arm. He whipped his head over to Roman and then to his arm finding the same thing happening. His body was becoming transparent, leaving only the outlines of his clothing and body visible. He watched with horror as Roman’s screams continued and his own transparency spread, leaving Roman’s body looking more like a suspended, lined drawing by the second.

Before Patton could do so much as yell or scream or react to the situation at hand, Roman fell. He fell through the floor, as if it didn’t even exist under his feet. Logan stared mortified and soon after felt his body losing it’s solidity, the floor’s stability vanishing suddenly from under his feet. His stomach jumped to his throat as he felt himself follow suit of Roman, sinking down with a speed more forceful than anything Thomas had ever experienced. He plummeted down, only catching another glimpse of the outline of Roman’s body, before all consciousness slipped from him.

Patton froze with mortal terror as he watched all of this happen, unable to explain, breathe or save them from whatever was happening. His mouth opened, but no sound came out, watching the transparent forms of Roman and Logan just plunge through the floor as if it didn’t exist. Through this, no one around seemed to notice. Not Thomas’s friends, Nor people around them. Just them and the copy waitress who had power beyond any of their comprehension. As Logan fell, she retreated her hand and smiled coldly towards Patton, giving him a heartless wave, before turning transparent herself and falling through the floor.

The room grew quiet. Quiet in Patton’s dimension. People chattered all around him, but he couldn’t hear any of it. He hardly even felt the tears as they dripped off his cheeks, finally understanding the meaning of numb. He subconsciously sunk back into the mindscape, landing on his stomach which forced some of his food he ate to resurface into his mouth. He spit, a strained sound protruding from his mouth as all physical and mental pain hit him at the same time. Anxiety. He had to find Anxiety.

Patton staggered to his feet and stumbled to Anxiety’s room door. He pounded, fist after fist, the tears becoming a shower of rain, followed by strangled sound of shear sorrow, as he continued to beat, begging him to open up. After five minutes of constant beating, Patton threw himself on the ground, wailing for someone to help. Thomas. Anxiety. The Others. Anyone. Just someone, so he didn’t feel so alone.

His strangled cries soon began to dwindle into softer whimpers as he curled up on himself, in the middle of the hallway. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he had picked himself up and crawled to the darkest corner of the mindscape, choosing there to sob the rest of his overloading emotions away.

5:10 pm

Thomas puked into the toilet for the fifth time, panting, whining, and wishing his stomach would just stop being upset so he could join his friends again. He felt the pain rise in his throat as he gagged and coughed up the bile once again. He knew there were people in the restroom with him, listening to him make these pathetic sounds and it caused his stomach to wrench even more with embarrassment.

Suddenly though, from within the depths of his soul and within the depths of his mind, he could feel a pain searing grasp stripping away two sides of his very being. He screamed. A blood curling scream, enough to frighten all the other men inside the bathroom with him. It was too much. It hurt too much. Thomas felt his body begin to pass out with pain, only vaguely hearing the stall door being broken into behind him. The two voices behind him gasping with extreme disturbance at what they saw. Thomas only barely heard a voice, before he too lost all consciousness, his head plunging into the murky depths of the toilet.

“…oh my god….”

Taglist:( Let me know if you wanna be tagged): @mewsicalmiss @tinysidestrashcaptain@here-to-vent @anonymous-snake @cup-of-blue@storytellerofuntoldlegends@cookieartcannon @thagrinbery@ts-sideblog@protecterofalltheaus @pasteries-and-portugal@justanotherpurplebutterfly@remmythepegasis@leesacrakon@kitsuneprideleader @dolphin-squirrel@evilmuffin@petunia9402@greymane902 @we-get-it-youre-adorable@withoutfandomsiamnothing @irrelevantbutfabulous@allmycopshowsarecancelled @virgils-jacket @just-fic-me-up@evanisonfire@fandomsandnonsense7 @novagalaxy4real @colie770 @demonickittykat @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @bbcanimefangirl @bubblycricket @v-blue-writer @loganpatton @michealawithana @fandomsandanythingelse @amazable01 @llamaly @i-covet-for-you @roxiefox23

[3laxx]

Wintery Warm Drabbles - 13th “Christmas Cookies“

Ao3 / FF.net

“Marinette, could you get the cookies out of the oven?”, her mother called. Smiling, Marinette put the mixing bowl with the next load of cookie dough down and went over to the oven.

“Sure thing, Maman! I got them!”

They were currently baking cookies for the next day to sell in the bakery and since her father and mother were doing some other tasks as well she was the one mostly responsible for the cookies. She didn’t mind, though, making cookies was muscle memory and she had more than once stood in the bakery, baking by herself.

A wonderful wave of the scent from baked goods washed over her face, with a good portion of warmth, as she opened the oven door. The cookies looked delicious and just right, making her feel proud.

She just loved baking. Ever since she was a little kid her father had taken her to the kitchen with him, practicing to bake little things. She had of course eaten al the dough before they had been able to do anything but as she had become older she had more and more begun loving the creating part of baking. It was a little like designing, just for edible things and with a little more depth in the creating part.

“Got them, Maman! They look good!”

“I know!”, her mother shot back, throwing a quick smirk over her shoulder. Marinette giggled, knowing her mother had full faith in her.

Her father came into the kitchen, smiling as his daughter placed the tray with the baked cookies on the counter to let them cool off. He wrapped his heavy arms around her shoulders, surprised at how strong she was to hold him up.

“They’re good?”

“Yes, Papa.”, Marinette grinned up to her father, hugging his arms, “They’re good.”

He placed a little kiss on her forehead and nodded as she giggled at his mustache.

“Just like my little daughter.”, he smirked, turning to his wife and letting go of Marinette again, “Isn’t that right, Honey?”

The woman smirked as she turned to her family, her hands full of flour and dough.

“Absolutely. Oh, and Marinette? If you plan on putting the dough in that you just mixed we’ll have a few cookies too many. So feel free to grab a few for school tomorrow!”

Her daughter beamed and nodded, skipping over to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks, Maman! I’m sure Alya will be delighted!”

 .

As Marinette finished baking, though, and went up to bed with a few cookies in a bag already, she didn’t think of Alya. Instead, her mind went back to Adrien. He had looked a little absent and distracted for the last few days, as if he was deep in thought.

She wondered what his beautiful green eyes looked at when he stared at a point way above the blackboard. There had to be something keeping his mind occupied, right?

Her stomach churned when it occurred to her that he might be in love. She did the same from time to time, after all.

She stared off in the distance, thinking about him, she was distracted and absent, that were all signs.

Well… She thought, might as well be anything different!

His father, for example. Or his schedule. Maybe he didn’t sleep enough? Or maybe he planned something? Maybe he thought about Christmas presents!

And-… And even if he was in love… She wouldn’t try and ruin this for him.

“Marinette, are you alright?”, a voice suddenly asked. Tikki floated up into her face as she put the bag with still warm cookies on her desk.

“Yeah, I’m okay, it’s just-…”, She sighed and flopped down on her chair, “You know, Tikki, I just want Adrien to be happy. I’m in love with him, yes, but most of all I want him to be happy. And-… He-… he wouldn’t be happy if-… He was pining after someone else and I’d try to intervene, right?”

The small Kwami shook her head and lowered herself down on Marinette’s lap.

“Well, how would you feel if someone tried to intervene because they had a crush on you?”, she asked, carefully not to overwhelm Marinette.

“I-… I’d probably feel-… Not respected and-… Well, I’d doubt their crush on me since they only act selfishly and-… Wouldn’t consider my feelings…?”

Marinette sighed and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

“I’m a horrible person…”, she groaned.

“You’re not, Marinette.”, Tikki quickly played it down, floating up and brushing over Marinette’s hands, “You didn’t do anything of that sorts. You only want the best for Adrien, right? And you’re acting like that. So what you’re doing is just the right thing!”

She sighed, parting one hand from her face to brush over Tikki’s head.

“I just-… I dunno… I just don’t wanna be in his way of-… Well…”, she sighed.

Tikki made an uncertain face and shrugged.

“Marinette, you haven’t done anything wrong, okay? Relax.”

The girl sighed and leant back, then she eyed the cookies again. Maybe he’d like some cookies? Well, if she couldn’t try asking him out anymore since he obviously had another love interest she could at least make sure he was happy. She could at least sneak him cookies, right?

“Tikki? What do you think of a stroll through the night?”

Tikki noticed her glance to the bag of cookies and nodded.

“Yeah, we can do that. Adrien’s skinny enough as he is.”

Marinette grinned at her Kwami before transforming.

 .

She arrived on Adrien’s window just after midnight. He was still up, on his computer. He looked kinda hectic as she watched him like this, hunched over and typing away with fast fingers.

Maybe the cookies were just the right thing now.

Ladybug gently knocking on his window, not to startle him. He listened up at first but didn’t notice, then he turned around at the second time she knocked, his eyes widening at Ladybug hanging in front of his room. His gaze flew to the side before he ran over, opening his window to let her in.

“L-Ladybug!”, he stuttered, his expression surprised as she lowered herself down to the floor to stand beside him. He was so much taller now… Sometimes it really surprised her in her Ladybug persona. Somehow, she sometimes felt like her duty would make her a bit taller.

“Hello, Adrien. I, uhm-… I was passing by after getting a few cookies from a friend and I saw you were still awake. So-… Am I interrupting something?”

He was quick to shake his head and try a smile, making her heart beat quicker.

“No, no, I just sat on something else, not, uhm-… Not school or work or anything.”

“That’s good.”, she smiled and briefly lost herself in his eyes, taking just a second too long to hold out the bag for him, “Hey, so, I brought cookies. Maybe you want some? There’s too many for myself anyway.”

Adrien gave her another one of his dashing smiles, almost a smirk. He looked so handsome when he smiled like that. And sometimes, she felt like he smiled like that only for her.

“I’d love to have some cookies. Thank you, Ladybug.”

“Not a problem. Wanna sit down?”

He nodded and gratefully took the bag from her. Silently, she thanked herself to have taken half of the cookies out beforehand to still have some for Alya and Nino in school.

They settled on the couch and both took a cookie, starting to quietly nibble on that until Adrien spoke up again.

“Uhm, so… What’re you doing out so late? Had Patrol with Chat Noir?”

She shook her head, gesturing to the cookies.

“Oh, no. I just wanted some cookies and took the opportunity to look around a bit to make sure Paris is safe. Y’know, it’s this ‘a superhero’s work is never done’ sort of thing.”

He nodded, humming as he took the last bite on his cookie and already reached out for another. But he only took a second one after an encouraging nod from Ladybug.

“Oh yeah, I know that feeling…”, he murmured. She tilted her head at his tone, too sincere to be empathetic, but didn’t question it any further.

“So, what did you work on? Something fun?”, she carefully asked to distract him from this topic. He smiled and nodded, straightening up a little.

“Oh, yeah! It actually is, yeah. I’ve been starting to work together with Alya, the girl behind the Ladyblog. She’s awesome, you know her. And, uhm, we’ve started a project to do a bit of research on the animal attributes of your themes, yours and Chat Noirs. It’s actually quite interesting what we found out about Chat Noir.”, he seemed excited but also a bit disgruntled, sending a brief glance back to his computer. That wasn’t what caught her attention, though. He had said Alya was amazing.

And while she couldn’t disagree with him since Alya was actually her best friend and she could affirm first hand that Alya was amazing, something on his tone set her off. Did he-… Did he like Alya?

“Oh yes, I know her. She has a really sharp mind for her age.”, she said pointedly, biting in her cookie. He gave her another smile, nodding.

“Yeah, Alya’s pretty fast when it’s about combining things.”

Ladybug grew more skeptical with every moment.

“I heard she’s with the boy who’s sometimes trying to hold her back now?”

Adrien enthusiastically nodded, not questioning her where she took that information, thankfully. Alya had been very discreet about her relationship with Nino, actually, she had only openly told her family and Marinette that she was really dating him. Their classmates and others had seen that something had changed between them but neither Alya nor Nino had really cared about telling it others. Marinette thought it was because it was their thing and they didn’t like to share.

“Yeah, my best friend Nino!”, his voice ripped her out of her thoughts, “They really belong together. Man, Nino would talk my ears off about how cool Alya is. I’m glad they’re finally together.”

“Uh-… Cool!”, she managed, her theory luckily blown away. She was glad, of course, but on the other side it was now still a mystery to her who Adrien liked.

On the other side-… She didn’t have any right to know who Adrien liked. And he could like who he wanted. So, to get away from that topic as well, she raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“Now, what did you find out about Chat Noir?”

He laughed and shrugged.

“He seems to be showing more animalistic tendencies than you. I mean, nothing wrong with that, Alya and I are just trying to get behind why he does that.”

She laughed as she leaned back, looking out of the window as she thought back to him and his antics in the fabric store.

“Heh, yeah… There’s indeed a heavy side on tendencies with him…”

[ycmiis-blog]

now recording {chapter ten}

When upcoming YouTuber Lucy Heartfilia finds herself collaborating with popular channel Fairy Tail, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. ( ff.net // ao3 )

( ONE  TWO  THREE  FOUR  FIVE  SIX  SEVEN  EIGHT  NINE  )

Natsu falls into his and Lucy's room, hanging onto the doorknob for dear life as Lucy giggles behind him. Neither of them are drunk, but Natsu ate far too much at dinner, even for him, and he's paying the price for it now. He doesn't even lean down to pet Happy on his way over to his bed, and so the blue cat heads to Lucy for his attention. Plue is already asleep on the couch.

"This is the real reason fate was kind enough to give us two beds," Lucy says as Natsu lands face-first in his pillow. "It's so you don't end up puking all over me in the middle of the night."

Natsu simply groans in response, shifting so he's lying on his side. Lucy isn't in her bed. Instead, she's rummaging through one of the inner pockets of her smallest suitcase, and in the dim light, Natsu can make out shampoo and conditioner. He resists the urge to groan again when he realises he'll have to take a shower before going to bed. He's already too comfortable to move.

"Don't these places come with free hair stuff?" Natsu asks, voice muffled by his pillow.

Lucy sends him one of those 'you clearly wouldn't understand' looks as she stands, towel and pyjamas draped over one arm. "My hair is long, Natsu. Those tiny little bottles of tiny little shampoo wouldn't even last me one shower. Besides, mine smells nicer."

Natsu nuzzles his pillow. "Whatever, I dunno anything about those name-brand things, anyway. I just use the supermarket one."

Lucy sighs, already halfway to the bathroom. "I'll be out in a bit."

The bathroom door closes and Natsu hears the faint sound of rushing water about half a minute later. He's tempted to fall asleep, but it isn't that late, and so he flicks on his bedside lamp and pulls out his script. He's been reading at least one scene every night before bed as some sort of memorisation tactic, and it seems to be working so far. He starts from where he and Lucy finished and reads his lines at least three times each, imagining how he should say them, muttering them to himself to test different inflections.

When he reaches the last scene of the film, he stops. This isn't the first time he's read through it, but it's the first time his co-lead has been in the other room, and he remembers Freed telling him earlier that Lucy had wanted to change the last scene so it was a hug instead of a kiss. It hadn't bothered him at the time, but now he wonders if there was a particular reason that Lucy was so adamant.

He's up to the very last line when the shower stops, and he places his script beside his pillow, knowing he'll lose it if he doesn't. Happy is curled up by his stomach, eyes closed. He gives the cat a soft scratch behind the ears as he waits for the bathroom door to open. Lucy emerges a minute or so later with wet hair and silk pyjamas, and she's surprised to see him awake.

"I thought you'd be in a food coma by now," she says, dumping her old clothes inside a different suitcase than the one from before.

"Nah, I was reading lines," Natsu says. He watches her for a moment, as if her body language will give him an answer to the question he wants to ask, but when it doesn't, he speaks anyway. "Hey, Lucy, can I ask you something?"

Lucy doesn't look at him as she slides into bed, a book in her hand. "Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you wanna write the kiss scene out of the movie so badly?" he asks, and he swears she freezes for a split second. "Freed told me, and I was just wondering. You don't need to do something you don't wanna do."

Lucy traces the spine of her book (an old classic he's never paid much attention to). "It's nothing to do with you, if that's what you're worried about."

That isn't really an answer, but that calms his worries. Just a little. "It's not that. I was just curious." When Lucy doesn't respond, only frowning at her book, he continues. "Okay, what if I guess what the problem is?"

That gets her attention. She looks up at him with an expression mixed with confusion and exasperation, but that's enough for him. "You're going to what?"

"Is it because you've never been kissed before? Is that it?" he asks, rather than responding to her question. He assumes it was rhetorical, anyway.

Lucy drops her book on the bedspread and glares at him. "I have been kissed, thank you very much. Any other genius guesses?"

Natsu already has his next question in mind, but he pretends to seriously consider it, rubbing his chin with narrowed eyes. Then he says, tone completely serious, "I know exactly what it is. You're a horrible kisser, aren't you?"

He drops the act as Lucy makes an outraged sound, laughing as she chucks a pillow at him. He catches it effortlessly. "That is not the case, you ass! I've been kissed by several people more than once, so your theory is complete and utter trash."

His laughter continues. It's so easy to tease Lucy, and it's quickly becoming one of his favourite pastimes. "Alright, alright, I'll take your word for it. For now. We'll see what the verdict is when we have to do that last scene, huh?" She narrows her eyes at him and Happy mews, as though telling her to calm down. Natsu likes to think that that's what's happening, anyway. "So, what? What's the problem?"

"I thought you were gonna guess?" Lucy grumbles, bringing her knees up to her chin.

"I couldn't think of anything else," Natsu says. "Nothing that would make you react like a crazy lady, anyway. It's not something like being camera-shy, is it? You're a natural, remember? I told you that before."

Lucy sighs and lies back on her remaining pillows. "That's different. I'm just being myself there. I'm not acting, and I definitely don't have to portray a love story. I chose the celestial princess because I love stars and I thought she sounded like a really cool character, but I don't know if I'll be able to do everything right."

Natsu is tempted to tease her again, but then he sees the worry in her eyes, the way she's pulled her bedspread so it covers half her face, as if to hide. This is something she's really struggling with, it seems. He doesn't quite know what to say, but he has to say something, and so he opens his mouth without thinking (as usual, but hopefully something good will come out of it this time).

"Hey," he says, softer than before. "You're Lucy Heartfilia and you're a badass in front of the camera, okay? You're gonna be the star of that film - no pun intended - and you're gonna be amazing, because that's how you are in front of a camera, and that's not gonna change 'cause you have a script. You wrote that script. No one can play the princess nearly as well as you can."

Lucy slowly lowers her covers so he can see her whole face. She's smiling. "Thanks, Natsu. That means a lot."

Before he can say, 'you're welcome' in return, he yawns. "Shit, I'm tired. Bedtime."

He switches his lamp off and Lucy abandons her book before turning hers off as well. They settle into their beds and Natsu closes his eyes, but is very aware of Lucy's presence on the opposite side of the room, barely an arm's length away. The only sound he can hear is the sound of the wind and the sea outside as well as the vibrant hum of the guests in the restaurant.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have my pillow back?"

"Nope."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Ow!"

"Stay still."

"I would if you'd stop stabbing me!"

"It barely touched you, you big baby."

Natsu swears that Lisanna is doing this on purpose at this point. She's in the middle of fitting his costume, which is taking forever because so much goes into it, and the longer it takes, the more opportunities Lisanna has to accidentally poke him with the sewing pins. Or 'accidentally', in his opinion. Lisanna isn't that clumsy. She's enjoying this, he knows she is.

It's only the two of them and Mira in the room. Juvia is helping with the costumes, too, but she's gone to hunt down Elfman and Evergreen, who have mysteriously disappeared before their fitting was due to start. Natsu can't blame them. If he'd known that Lisanna would take the opportunity to make fun of him the entire time, he would have hidden away somewhere, too.

Still, with just Lisanna and Mira in the room, he can ask for advice, preferably without being made fun of. At least for the most part.

"Hey, guys, can I ask you something?"

Lisanna doesn't stop pinning bits and pieces of his costume, but Mira looks over from the sewing machine. "Of course, what is it?"

"What do you do when someone you're working with is nervous about something, but there's no way to change it, so you wanna make them as comfortable as possible with it, but you don't know how?" he asks all in one go, and he takes a deep breath once he's finished.

Lisanna actually looks at him this time. "This is about the kiss scene with Lucy, isn't it?"

Natsu coughs, but he can't deny it. "How'd you know?"

Both Lisanna and Mira give him a look as the latter says, "It was obvious. Besides, I was there when Lucy was talking about it to Levy and Freed, so it wasn't that hard to guess. Did she talk to you about it?"

"We talked about it last night, yeah." Natsu had been the one to bring it up, but he wasn't about to mention that. Perhaps Lucy hadn't wanted to tell him in the first place? That was plausible. "She said there was nothing in particular she was worried about, just the fact that she's not used to acting in front of the camera rather than being herself."

"I have an idea," Mira says. "Remember when we were all at the orphanage and we put on all those plays to raise money?"

"And you and Erza kept arguing over the lead role? Yeah."

Mira decides to ignore him. "Remember how Lisanna and I made those scented flowers for everyone, the one with the calming aromas, and we all used to keep them with us before we went onstage, and the entire backstage was filled with that calming scent, so we were able to stay focused? What if I made one of those for Lucy?"

Natsu grins, and if Lisanna wasn't holding a pin right by his collar, he would run over to Mira and hug her. "That's a great idea! Could you do it by tomorrow night? I think that's when we start shooting."

"Of course, they barely take ten minutes to make."

"Thanks!"

The door bursts open then, and Juvia appears in the doorway, Evergreen and Elfman behind her with red faces. "Juvia has apprehended Evergreen and Elfman!"

"And where were you two?" Lisanna asks, momentarily looking up from Natsu's costume. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Evergreen holds her head up high. "We - we just got sidetracked, that's all."

Lisanna narrows her eyes. "With what?"

Both their faces grow redder and Elfman bellows, "Nothing!"

The following night is when they start filming. Laxus and the rest of the film crew had been out there the previous night, getting in some landscape shots and blocking various scenes, searching the location for the best spots for different scenes. Everything is mostly set up when Natsu and Lucy arrive. Gajeel and Reedus are messing about with one of the tripods, and Lisanna is putting the finishing touches on Cana's costume. They're filming the celestial princess's arrival tonight as well as the fortune teller's scene. Natsu only came for moral support.

Once he's sure no one is around to disturb them, Natsu leads Lucy off to the side where some equipment cases are stacked, and he sits on one while she sits on another. She takes a moment to ensure her costume doesn't crinkle.

"What's up?" she asks, and while she smiles at him, he can tell she's nervous by the way her shoulders are up high, her feet constantly moving.

Taking the flower out from his pocket, he places it in the palm of his hand and offers it to her. "Here, this is for you. To help your nerves. Mira made it. She used to make them for all of us when we had to perform to raise money for the orphanage and we'd get nervous."

Lucy takes the flower, treating it with care as she brings it to her face and breathes in the scent. "It wonderful, thank you," she says, and Natsu is happy to see her shoulders relax. When she looks at him again, though, she seems confused. "You guys were in an orphanage?"

It takes Natsu a moment to catch up. Of course Lucy wouldn't know. He's so used to everyone else on the channel knowing about their circumstances, even those who weren't there in the orphanage days, that he forgot that no one had told Lucy. It's not public knowledge, and when they're asked in Q&As how they know each other, they just say that they're all childhood friends. There's no way she would know.

He responds casually, though. "Yeah, a lot of us are. That's how we all met and why we started the channel. Gramps suggested it to us when we were bored one summer, and the rest was history. Now it's a business, but we have fun."

Lucy's smile widens the slightest bit, and she twirls the flower around in her hand. "Well, thanks for telling me. It's nice to be trusted with stuff like that."

Natsu just smiles as Lucy is called over to begin shooting. "Of course! What are friends for?"

[talkgreasytome]

Types of Impairment

Ship(s): Ponyboy x Sodapop Character(s): Deaf!Ponyboy ; Darry ; Sodapop ; Mentions of other characters Words: 5160 Warning(s): Incest // Major Character Death // Angst // Slight mentions of nsfw // Also fluffy //  A/N: I take a sign language class where I go to school and my teacher showed us a video compilation of deaf people hearing for the first time, and it inspired me to write this. Before writing this, I didn’t plan on it being so angsty, but nearing the end I started ugly sobbing as I typed. I just love making my OTP suffer :^) (If you wanna cry like how I did then listen to Hallelujah by Theory of a Deadman when you reach the parts about Vietnam) 

We never had enough money to really do things like eat out or buy new clothes when we needed them. The money always went to paying bills and making sure we were healthy. We didn’t much mind this though, none of us did. We were still happy.

I always thought we all were anyways.

I couldn’t hear from the get-go. At least, that’s what my parents told me. As soon as I was born, I was deaf. The doctors, my brothers, and my parents thought my hearing would get better, but by the time I was supposed to be learning how to talk and know what everyone was saying, they took me back and said I was deaf. My parents, being the amazing and spectacular parents that they were, did all that they could to make sure I was happy, healthy, and educated just like all the rest of the kids my age.

I went through the same things as boys like me did, too.

Puberty.

My lack of hearing definitely couldn’t change that part. I got pimples, I got all moody sometimes, and random erections too. But with puberty came having crushes and probably falling in love, too. In my case, that’s something that just had to happen.

I liked girls, sure. Well… I thought I did. Every time I saw a girl, they just all looked the same except maybe even ‘prettier’. Maybe that was because they were going through puberty, too, I thought, but I just never found a real attraction to them. I saw the boys, though, and man did I really see them. Not all of them, but some. A few. Well… One. I really saw one.

My… brother.

I never let my lack of hearing make me sad or feel like I wasn’t normal. I was actually happy with myself, that is, until I started noticing how Soda’s brown eyes would twinkle when he got a certain type of happy, or how he’d run his fingers through his hair just to have something to do… It was attractive to say the least.

Being deaf gave me a reason to stare at his lips. I’d try to talk like how he did and form sentences like him, but I found it difficult and just stuck to signing. But nobody questioned why I still tried to read his lips.

I was twelve, then, when I developed feelings for him. I always thought that since he was my brother, the feelings would go away because they weren’t natural. I was right about them not being natural, but it was like every day my feelings for him grew.

I started getting sad.

Everyone thought it was because I was deaf, or because I didn’t have much friends because of that. I didn’t care about having anymore friends, I like the ones I have, and being deaf doesn’t make me sad. I just couldn’t stand the thought of being in love with my big brother and him hating me for it because we’re brothers.

It got even worse when Mom and Dad died.

My nightmares were terrorizing, especially since I couldn’t remember them. But I knew every time I woke up, my heart would be beating harder and louder than a firecracker. I was too afraid to tell my brothers just in case they wanted to give me some ‘special treatment’. They hadn’t before, but I was always weary of people who wanted to treat me different because I was deaf. But they found out one night when I supposedly woke up screaming. I had to tell them about my nightmares then, and that lead to Soda moving from his room to sleep in my room with me. I didn’t know what to call the feeling for him at the time, but thinking back on it now, I was in love. When I was thirteen, I fell in love with him.

Although I was in love, that didn’t mean I liked him coming into my room at first. He was a bed and blanket hog and sometimes would wake me up just to talk. My main problem with it, though, was that all I wanted to do was kiss him, have him hold me, or do… other things.

I remember once he woke me up before because I was red in the face and whimpering. When my eyes opened, the image of Soda’s body above mine and touching all over me was still fresh in my mind, and I began to cry. He must have thought I was sick, because he started coddling me and letting my cry against his shirt. I clung tightly to him, the thoughts of ‘you’re sick and disgusting’ and ‘death would be better than this feeling’ floating around in my head. But I didn’t want to let him go; I didn’t want him to leave me.

He started holding me in my sleep after that, which actually was probably one or two weeks after he moved in with me. So it helped keep the nightmares away.

Feelings his arms around me brought me peace and made me feel like I was in a dream. I’d lean back against his chest and we’d breathe in sync, and he’d have his face buried in my hair. It put me at ease and made me feel better. Some nights, his body would just be a little bit lower so his lips just so happened to be touching my neck. It would bring shivers down my spine and make me feel hot in the face, but I liked it. Sometimes, I could feel his lips moving against my neck. Not in a way to kiss it, but like he was saying something. I could never understand what he was saying, and when I tried to ask the next day, he’d always deny that he was talking.

I tried memorizing how his lips moved. He’d say multiple things, but there was a pattern i recognized. His bottom lip would go in for a second before his lips puckered.

When me and my brothers talk, we talk in sign language. It’s the only way I can communicate. But because they can talk, they’ll do that as they sign. I figured it was easier for them to be able to know the words, but I watched Soda’s lips as he signed that he loved me, and I saw his bottom lip go in for a second before his lips puckered, and I could feel my heart tearing at itself.

What did he mean?

There was another night when his lips brushed a soft ‘I love you’ against my skin. I gulped, drew in a breath, and said back “I love you more.” I didn’t know how loud I was, I couldn’t even hear myself, but I knew how to talk. I learned eventually. This sent Soda into a panic. He backed away from me with wide eyes and I sat up so I could look at him worriedly and he started talking- not signing. I gave him a hurt, confused expression, and he when he realized I couldn’t understand, he seemed to start to calm down.

“Did you hear me?” He signed.

I shook my head and signed back, “I can feel your lips. I can read your lips a little. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know why I was apologizing, probably for scaring him so badly. He thought I was magically able to hear him again just because I responded to him. At this point, I was fourteen.

After that, I talked to Darry about wanting to hear. Before Soda moved into my room, I had never really thought of hearing. I was always proud of my deafness and didn’t want to change myself, but after that night, I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear Soda say that he loved me, I wanted to hear him say my name, I wanted to hear him say so many things.

Darry said we didn’t have money for an implant.

To say the least, I was disappointed, but it was foolish and selfish to even bring it up.

I never brought the idea up with Soda, because then he’d probably either tell me what Darry told me, or try to argue with Darry and make it worse. After that, I didn’t bring it up again. I just wanted to forget the idea of hearing.

It became increasingly difficult to stay happy. When Soda moved in with me, it was just the occasional sadness. The occasional ‘he wouldn’t love me if he knew’ or ‘if I don’t tell him it’d be better for both of us’. The realization of never being able to hear Soda’s voice, though, brought me to shambles. I couldn’t sign without having to force myself too.

Darry noticed, and Soda noticed, and the rest of my friends did.

“Pony, are you okay?”

“Pony, what’s going on?”

Blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t matter. I’d tell them that, and they’d insist it did, then I’d tell them it didn’t matter again, and they dropped it.

On my fifteenth birthday, Darry and Soda sat me down at the kitchen table. I feared I was in trouble for something I couldn’t recall, but they had smiles on their faces.

“What’s going on?” I signed.

Darry signed, “Do you still want a hearing implant?”

I looked between Darry and Soda before looking at Darry with a wide smile and continuously signed ‘Yes’. This made them laugh and I got up to hug them. Sure, I was nervous, maybe even scared, but I was going to hear them for the first time, them and my friends and know what they had to say. I was nervous, but I was excited.

I didn’t get the surgery or anything until about a month later, and I had to wait a while for the doctors to really turn it on. I was anxious for them to turn it on, I wanted- needed- it on.

At this point, me and Soda were together. When I told him, I was crying, I was shaking, and I couldn’t breathe. I was scared.

The night I told him, he crawled into bed like always and slung his arm around my waist as usual. That day was particularly hard for me because all I could think of was how bad I was for loving him. I pushed his arm back and shimmied away from him, curling into a ball, but he persisted and pulled me closer again. My heart pained and I pushed him back again, sitting up and turning to him.

“Don’t touch me,” I signed, and he frowned, sitting up as well.

“Did I do something wrong?”

I was starting to cry.

“I can’t tell you...”

“Why?”

“You’ll hate me...”

“I could never hate you!” He exclaimed, his facial features clear in the dark. My breathing was picking up and I could feel my ears going hot. “Please, I want to help…”

“You can’t help,” I signed, trying to keep myself from sobbing, “I’m scared…”

“Why? Why are you scared?” He asked, scooting closer to me, and I winced at the pain in my chest.

“I like someone… But they don’t like me back. If they knew, they’d hate me…”

I could see him go pale.

“Who?”

I raised my hands to show him his name sign, to tell him that it was him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just looked down at the blanket. He then tapped my shoulder to my attention back.

“Me?” He asked, and started to shake as I gave him a solemn ‘yes’. He took a deep breath and pulled me into his arms again, and this time I let him and clung to him, sobbing into his shirt, not caring if I was being loud.

“I’m sorry,” I said vocally. I couldn’t hear myself, but I needed to get words out and we couldn’t sign while we were hugging. “I’m sorry I’m a bad brother…”

He just gently rubbed my back and rocked me until I had calmed down. To know he at least didn’t hate me was a comforting thought, but I was still torturing myself and saying he did.

When I pulled away, I was too afraid to look at him, so I went to turn away. Before I could, he took a firm grip on both of my forearms and pulled back back again, his lips touching mine. My eyes went wide and my heart stopped in my chest. But I kissed him back, even leaning in and grabbing at his shirt. He smiled into the kiss and slowly leaned back onto the bed, pulling me down with him. I adjusted my body and moved around so I was straddling him. I wasn’t looking for sex, and I don’t think he was either; we just needed to be close.

I fell asleep on top of him, and when I woke up, I almost jumped out of my skin until I remembered what happened the night before. I had accidentally woken him up, and when he woke up, he was smiling and seemed sleepy.

“I love you,” he mouthed, and my heart melted.

“I love you too.”

He gave me confidence and made me happy. Of course we were together in secret, we couldn’t tell Darry or anyone, but I was still much happier with him. His warm hugs, his gentle kisses and words of encouragement, it made me want to hear even more.

When we went back to the hospital to have my hearing aid turned on, I was nervous. I didn’t think it was going to work and that I’d be disappointed again.

I sat in a chair quietly and watched as Darry and Soda talked to this nurse who was typing and looking over a computer screen. I knew it was for my hearing aid, and then sudden fear of it hurting came to me. I leaned forward and pulled at Soda’s arm, getting his attention to ask if it’d hurt, then he asked the nurse and said no.

“Just relax, Pony. It’s gonna be a little loud at first, but breathe, okay?” I nodded, but I didn’t let his hand go. He didn’t make me. He just came over pulled up a chair to sit by my side and hold my hand as Darry and the nurse talked. I was a little scared to hold his hand in front of other people, but as they saw it as comfort, I saw it as that and romance. It calmed me down a lot.

Darry signed as the nurse began talking to me. I’d nod and sign ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and such, and suddenly, she was telling me she was turning it on. I just nodded and shut my eyes as she did. At first, all I could hear was a high-pitched sound, but as she turned up the volume, that sound disappeared and it was quiet again, until a soft- though it sounded loud to me- voice asked: “Can you hear me?”

I froze and my jaw dropped. My eyes widened as tears sprang into my eyes. I looked at Darry and the nurse, and they were smiling at me, and when I turned to Soda, he seemed to be crying too.

“Was that you?” I asked quietly, my voice a whisper, and he nodded.

“It was me,” he confirmed, and my heart melted. His voice was so sweet and gentle, and I sniffled and wiped at my eyes. “Oh Pony…” he hummed, pulling me into a hug, and smiled widely, burying my face in his neck. “I love you so much…”

“I love you, too…” I whispered back. As we hugged, I could hear the nurse talking to Darry, and Darry talking back, and it only raised my happiness. Darry’s voice was a little deep, but smooth still. The nurses was higher pitched and sounded cheery.

“Can you hear me too, hun?” The nurse asked after a second and I sniffled and pulled away from Soda, though still clutched his hand. I smiled at her and she nodded.

“I’m gonna be checking that every time you come in. It’s gonna be a little loud because  your brain has to process that you’re hearing things for the first time, but it’ll get easier to handle.”

“I’m okay with that,” I said, really hearing my voice for the first time and feeling proud, “all I want is to hear my brothers and friends.”

She simply nodded and went back to talking with Darry. I could hear him say that he wanted a little more information and such about my implant, and as they talked, I looked back at Soda and saw that he was staring at me. I couldn’t help but blush deeply and look down at my lap. He squeezed my hand and brought it up to touch his cheek, and my heart continued to swell.

“Would you get annoyed if I kept tellin’ you I love you?” I shook my head, another few tears slipping from my eyes.

“I don’t wanna go the rest of my life without hearing it.”

After that, life seemed almost better. I signed when I talked so I wouldn’t forget my words just in case, but after my hearing aid was turned on, I felt… happier. Just a little bit.

I could hear everyone’s voices, and they all matched their looks and personalities, but Soda’s voice made my heart flutter. The morning after coming home, I was clinging to him like always, and I heard him snore. I didn’t know he snored, and I was always just told that Darry did. He was sleeping softly and I didn’t want to wake him up, but slowly I stopped his snoring with a soft kiss. His eyes fluttered open and were only open a second before he was kissing my back, lazily draping his arms around me.

“Good morning,” he hummed, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Say that again.” He chuckled.

“Good morning my love.”

I smiled a little wider and kissed him again, even deeper. He welcomed this and slowly slipped his tongue into my mouth. Feeling his tongue rub up against mine was heaven, but hearing his soft little moans made it better and made goosebumps go down my body. I whimpered, and he chuckled.

“It’s too early, baby...”

He’d always make up excuses like that. I knew I was just fifteen and he was eighteen, but I knew the real reasons he wouldn’t touch me, and it was because I was his brother and I was a virgin. I never pushed him, though. I respected his feelings and I understood. It just made me feel a little unwanted from time to time, especially since we’ve been together for about a year. Hearing his rejection made it hurt a little worse, though.

I dropped it, though, because I didn’t want to make him upset. I just cuddled him until I fell asleep again. His warmth was my only happiness along with his voice.

When I woke up again, it was in the afternoon. Soda wasn’t in bed and it sent me into a mini panic. I quickly scrambled to get up and down the hall to see if he was still even here, and when I heard he and Darry yelling at each other, it made me stop. They never fought.

“Soda?” I called, and suddenly he was flying out of the kitchen and over to me.

“Turn your hearing aid off.”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you in a little bit, just… turn it off!” A little frightened, I quickly did as he told me to and he turned back and ran into the kitchen. I saw that he was crying, his cheeks red and puffy and his voice shaky. I tried peeking into the kitchen, but all I could see was the stove, so I knew they were standing at the table. Slowly I turned up my hearing aid, I could hear Soda yelling angrily: “You can’t take him from me!” I quickly turned my hearing aid off again. I was afraid to hear.

I went back to bed after that and just stayed put. Hearing that, I knew it was about me, and I automatically thought I was doing something wrong.

I was in silence for a long time.

I wasn’t aware when Soda entered my bedroom until the bed shifted behind me. I sat up and turned to him, turning my aid back on and crawling over to him, my arms going around him.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my heart aching in my chest, and I could feel his chest moving up and down quickly. He was sobbing.

“He knows,” he choked out, folding one arm over his stomach and taking one of Pony’s hands tightly in his other hand. “But you know what? I-I’m not lettin’ him split us up. I've worked too damn hard to keep us together!” Soda shouted this loudly just for Darry to hear, and I jumped. It always startled me when anyone got too loud.

“We have to… break up?” I asked. The words came out, but the realization wasn’t hitting me. It was like the words were fake, that it wasn’t actually happening, I was just saying it to say it. He looked up at me and I had to move so I was just sitting next to him, and he carefully took my other hand.

“No, I’m not letting that happen. I’m not leaving you.”

“You heard me!” Darry yelled as he walked down the hall to his room, slamming his door shut as soon as he got in. We both jumped, and I gripped Soda’s hand tighter.

“You heard him? What did you hear?” I asked, resisting the urge to sign. When I was stressed and worried or anything else, it was just easier. Soda shook his head and let go of my hands anyways, grabbing at his jeans and just trying to breathe. He didn’t like being sad.

“He said I had to move out of your room,” he started, his voice shaky, “he just said to stop. That it wasn’t normal, that it shouldn’t happen, that we could be taken away…”

I frowned. Darry was right in all of that, but he wasn’t the type of guy to just lay it on the table. He was straightforward, sure, but he would have made sure Soda was okay, or at least, not on the verge of a panic attack or in one.

I stood up off the bed and pulled Soda into a hug in which he hugged me back tighter than he usually did. I wondered vaguely if this is how I would hold onto him when we were cuddling. When I went to pull back, his hold on me tightened.

“Just let him calm down, Pony…” I shook my head and pushed him away, then stood probably a foot away from him and began to sign furiously.

“I don’t care that we’re brothers! I love you! How did he find out?” Soda wiped at his eyes and a bright blush formed on his face.

“I may have been thinkin’ about you at work and Steve told Darry ‘because he was worried’...” My eyes widened and I blushed just slightly, but shook my head and started signing again.

“So what now? Are we just gonna… let him split us up? Because I need you! You make me happy! Don’t be scared, be mad! You’re an adult, and I’m almost sixteen! The only thing wrong is that we’re brothers, but it doesn’t matter because I love you!” I wanted to emphasize that I loved him so he would see that I need him more than he thinks I do, that I didn’t want him gone, that I needed him there.

I never realized how much I needed him, though, when he was actually gone…

It was February and the war in Vietnam hadn’t ceased yet. Everywhere you looked, people were leaving on busses and not coming home for probably years.

I woke up without Soda again. That didn’t happen often, in fact it was rare. He always waited for me to wake up and we’d have a few minutes before getting up so we had a small time just to ourselves. I feared the worst- that he and Darry were arguing. Darry eventually let up and let us stay together as long as we didn’t get caught and he didn’t know anything about it. Other than that, he still treated us like he loved us and we were just brothers.

I turned my hearing aid on and walked silently down the hall, but instead of hearing them yelling, I heard quiet crying. Frowning, I looked into the living room and saw Soda clinging to Darry, his face buried in Darry’s shirt.

“I can’t leave you guys… I-I can’t leave Pony…”

I looked to the coffee table and saw an opened letter sitting next to Darry’s coffee. Quietly, I wandered in and picked up the paper, not caring that they knew I was there.

It was a draft notice for Soda, and I could physically feel myself going pale and sick.

“Pony?” I heard Soda asked, but I set the paper down and took a breath, then turning toward him with tears filling my eyes.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I signed. I could have spoken, and signing made me feel guilty for some reason, but I couldn’t help it. I signed when I was upset.

“I didn’t-”

“In sign language,” I interrupted quickly, and he sighed and raised his shaky hands.

“I didn’t want you to hear me cry…”

“Were you going to tell me?” I asked, tears stinging my eyes. It always made me feel bad hearing other people or even myself cry. Soda pushed himself away from Darry to stand closer in front of me, and I knew I shouldn’t be so hard on him, but I felt more than upset.

Heartbroken.

“Yes! I can’t just leave you!”

“Seems to be what you’re doing!” I signed angrily, giving him a hurt look before quickly rushing off back to our room, a hand over my mouth so I couldn’t sob too loudly if I did. I slammed my door, and when I was safely inside by myself, I leaned back against it and turned off my hearing. I didn’t mean to be mean, I knew Soda couldn’t help it and he was trying to protect my feelings, but I couldn’t help but think that he was leaving me. Sure, him being gone meant he was leaving Darry, and Steve, and everyone else, but… It hurt my heart like he was leaving me.

Like he wasn’t come back…

Eventually, I had turned my hearing back on. It was only a couple hours later, when I had really calmed down from being so angry and sad. I felt stupid for acting so dramatically and abruptly, and I wanted to apologize, but I just wanted to lay in bed and do nothing- feel nothing. Dramatic, I knew, but it felt like I had already lost him.

At that time, I didn’t feel nearly as bad as when I did lose him.

The night before Soda left was painful.

We laid in bed quietly together. I couldn’t muster up any tears, but I knew if I talked, I’d end up breaking down, so I laid silently and numbly in his arms, my back to his chest and his arms around me. He would occasionally whisper to me that he loved me with all of his heart and that I was the only thing that could make him happy. When he didn’t say anything for awhile, I thought he had fallen asleep. I turned around in his arms, buried my face between his neck and shoulder, and I let myself cry.

“I’m scared tonight is the last night I’ll get to hear your voice… I can’t live without hearing you tell me you love me…”

His hold on my tightened, and I could hear him sniffle some.

“Please don’t cry… You’re not gonna lose me, I promise… I’m not gonna let you stop hearing it… I love you…”

I couldn’t sleep without Soda, but other than that, the first few days were okay. Quieter, but okay.

Just slowly after that did everything really shift and decline.

I would use Soda’s flannels to try and sleep, and it worked for the most part. I slept. But i was restless. I couldn’t focus during school; my mind would wander to him. Darry noticed my grades slowly slipping and how my eyes seemed sunken in, and just how different I was. At the time, I didn’t think I was any different, I thought I was just fine, but in reality I was a wreck.

“Ponyboy, you’re not eatin’ and you’re not sleeping. Do you need to see someone?”

It was visibly obvious Darry didn’t like asking me that when he did. I knew he didn’t like seeing me in such a terrible state- he didn’t want to lose me, too. I didn’t want to go anywhere and I didn’t want to talk to anyone about anything, so I just shook my head.

“I don’t need a therapist or anything, I’m fine, really.” I gave him a smile, and he carefully clapped my back and gave me a gentle smile. He didn’t smile too much and I liked seeing it.

“Help me cook dinner, yeah?”

“Sure.”

We’d write letters to Soda, and there’d be the occasional phone-call. Sometimes, I was able to muster up a smile and lie and say I had a good day. I knew he could tell I was lying, because in every letter I sent him, there were dried tears and me telling him I was fine.

One of the worst feelings in the world is getting your hopes too high up then getting crushed with utter disappointment.

Christmas time was approaching after a long year. Soda had called at one point in November promising me that he would be coming home soon. He promised that once he got home, he’d never let me go. He wouldn’t let anyone take him from me again.

The last thing I heard him tell me was how proud of me he was for still being there when he wasn’t and how much he loved me.

The letters stopped coming.

There were no more phone calls.

That winter was the coldest it ever was and Soda wasn’t there to hold me as I shivered and sneezed. Darry tried comforting me, but I couldn’t help but push him away. I just wanted to be alone. I just wanted Soda to come home.

Silence took over my world again.

Because what was the point in being able to hear if I couldn’t hear Soda’s voice, too?