#boys and their birds amiright?

[pokimoko]

🥲 They're having a nice chat. And nothing bad ever happened.

[bugpiss]

every tmbg album in a nutshell

idc if i skipped albums it's my post my choice

THE PINK ALBUM 1: paranoia??????? 2: puppet heads 3: writer's block 4: i hate my life 5: oh no home invasion 6: why did my gf leave me :( 7: i'm a dad 8: kids with rabies are weird 9: the beatles suck ass ngl 10: FGEBUHIWJOKPOFJEH(W*)POKD 11: aNgeLS aRe rEaL 12: MY DOG FUCKING DIED 13: okay what the fuck 14: schizophrenia 15: disfigurement is cool 16: i don't wanna fucking die 17: stereotyping is real guys 18: huh 19: idk what this song is about but it's silly

LINCOLN 1: long distance relationship 2: MOOFBEHUJWIRU#*u9IKM 3: don't do drugs 4: male pattern baldness 5: parodies are fun 6: childhood nightmares amiright? 7: is this a metaphor for being a piece of shit 8: don't be sad bro 9: goddamn i sure love war 10: HAHA PUNS 11: abusive relationships frfr 12: fuck santa claus 13: fuck the haters 14: DIVORCE :D 15: whaaaaaat theeeeee fuuuuck 16: handstands are cool ig 17: i am going to kms 18: manipulating people to get what you want is awesome

FLOOD 1: self-advertising 2: nightlights are epic 3: COWBOY DIVORCE 4: history is cool 5: reincarnation 6: DON'T BE RACIST I AM A BUILDING 7: this can be a metaphor for anything 8: it's not the 1960's dude 9: cool rocks 10: stop moving chairs KYLE it's not cool 11: old people 12: this one's for all those lower-class workers 13: birds are so epic 14: more like taking a shit in the park 15: who the fuck is this guy 16: cave people 17: abusive relationships AGAIN 18: self-advertising AGAIN 19: the goddamn berlin wall

APOLLO 18 1: death lol 2: palindromes are so epic 3: enlarged to show texture 4: doppelgangers bro :( 5: biology class 6: is this about drugs 7: everyone skips this song 8: guitars are epic 9: pavlov's dog 10: why do they love singing about hateful relationships 11: why is this intro so fucking long 12: is this about jesus 13: wooooaaaaahh space 14: don't be shy bro 15: DEATH!!!!! 16: magicians 17: my adhd brain 18: oh finally an instrumental

JOHN HENRY 1: dreaming about death XD LOL 2: snails are amazing 3: getting stoned is cool 4: COWBOY DIVORCE AGAIN?? 5: LEAN 6: this song was made for neurodivergents (in a good way) 7: french is cool 8: alice cooper is so fucking cool 9: does anyone even like this song 10: why does this song even exist bro 11: jail and greek philosophers 12: religious cults 13: this is apollo 18 all over again 14: it's giving tomorrow never knows by the beatles 15: SPOILER ALERT: james ensor 16: "it's too hot" "it's too cold" OH MY GOD AN EXPLOSION 17: stalker 😒 18: roblox jailbreak 19: what 20: woah this is darker than i thought it would be

FACTORY SHOWROOM 1: whore slut bitch cunt 🥰🥰🥰 2: drugs? AGAIN???? 3: transgender 4: i see dead people 5: song of the summer 6: the original song was better 7: dysfunctional family 8: new wave battle 9: hypnotist of ladies's evil cousin 10: presidents are cool 11: ya like jazz 😏 12: I HEAR YOU 13: this is like take me to church by hozier but cooler

LONG TALL WEEKEND 1: oh my god we get another instrumental 2: mink car foreshadowing 3: lesley gore is an icon 4: rats are awesome 5: oh no we lost our token 6: mink car foreshadowing again 7: women are epic 8: this is such a vibe 9: evil 10: violence and killing and murder and crimes :3 11: nuh uh 12: oh shit we got lost oh fuck 13: shhhh don't cry 14: backwards shit 15: thomas edison is a bitch

MINK CAR 1: i love your hair 2: i don't need haters 3: overstimulation 4: goofy ahh 5: this is so corny-2000's-boy-band-love-song-core 6: i am a vampire be afraid 7: aw man you're just a sombrero 8: groovy 9: i am miserable 10: alcoholism 11: it's like that one meme 12: lmao you're so fucking old (psst you're gonna die soon) 13: omg i got run over by a fucking bedazzled car 14: evil skrunkly 15: stop fucking lying 16: who even- 17: james bond inspector gadget idk

THE SPINE 1: homestar runner 2: why is kermit here 3: working in an office is cool 4: holy shit this is so good 5: tomfoolery 6: beach boys reference 7: i hate bastards 8: later on.... 9: abusive relationships back at it again 10: caffeine got me like 11: CUNTY 12: french AGAIN?? 13: HOORAY 14: broke in two like a glowstick 15: writer's block makes a comeback 16: sobbing rn

THE ELSE 1: sarcasm at it's finest 2: YOU DON'T NEED THAT BASTARD IN YOUR LIFE GIRL 3: turn that frown upside down 4: someone call an exorcist 5: coraline moment 6: AHOY THERE MATEYS 7: bruh it's so dark. i guess i'm WITH THE DARK HAHAHA 8: omg clone high reference?? 9: woah that's fucked up 10: damn it my hope just withered 11: bro i need my dictionary 12: amnesia moment 13: it is not the late fourth millennium BC

JOIN US 1: fuck everyone and everything 2: hey girl are you a girl because you look like a girl 3: you're crazy😂😂😂 4: cryptids are epic 5: shut the fuck up you bitch 6: rapunzel 7: woohoo 8: i am a gifted burnout kid 9: can you die rn lmao 10: okay so what 11: ily judy 12: in my hopeless romantic era 13: this is such a vibe 14: don't text and drive 15: dogs 16: what year is it 17: what 18: "i don't like this song" AND IT DOESN'T LIKE YOU EITHER

NANOBOTS 1: go to the fucking hospital 2: what the fuck does this even mean 3: huh 4: this is so fire 5: scooby-doo ahh song 6: my mom died 7: fuck elon musk 8: i must eep 9: FIRE SONG ABOUT REBELLION 10: i am going to go cry 11: fuck the past this is the present 12: shhh these are 9 secret steps 13: bees love your mind 14: hmmmmm 15: nouns are epic 16: ROBIN GOLDWASSER 17: insects and hospitals 18: predicament 19: ooh funky 20: weirdcore bitches be like 21: WHO'S DAVE 22: tiktok alt kids be like 23: and why he eepy 24: such a vibe 25: you can't kill me haha

GLEAN 1: a beautiful mix of death and love 2: i love being alive dude 3: new superhero idea MARVEL GET ON IT 4: this is goofy ahh 5: bro i'm just tryna get you to like me 6: wow what an amazing connection to the real world 7: fight me 8: it's giving musical 9: boyfriends suck 10: incoherent 11: i'm sorry women 12: stop being a pussy 13: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 14: TRES BON 15: MORE INSTRUMENTALS???

PHONE POWER 1: you're crazy bro 2: ily but not like that 3: kidnappings are fire 4: imagination! 5: stop being mean to detroit 6: goofy ahh 7: bloody noses bro 8: i thought this was gonna be like that matt & kim song 9: 4th of july 🦅🇺🇲 10: cryptids again 11: dial-a-song song 12: shut up bitch imma haunt you 13: what this title makes no sense 14: i'm sorry woman 15: woah shapeshifting 16: better than the original frfr on god no cap big facts 17: okay... 18: self-advertisement

I LIKE FUN 1: is this gonna be over bro 2: astral projection 3: AAAA AAAAAA 4: back in my day 5: salty ass bitch 6: this slaps so hard 7: I LIKE FUN BRO 8: banger 9: microphone 10: take a walk on the sunny side 11: turn on the lights 12: aaa nessie 13: what 14: nick offerman 15: WE DIE ALONE WE DIE AFRAID WE LIVE IN TERROR WE'RE NAKED AND ALONE AND THE GRAVE IS THE LONELIEST PLACE

BOOK 1: just to refresh your memory (our last album was from 2018) 2: aaaah di ahh di ah di ah di yay 3: everyone hates me bro 4: CAN'T CUT IT AS AN ARTIST 5: snow 6: it's not just for winnipeg 7: aw man what happened to my dream 8: stupid clown 9: poison is epic 10: where the fuck is thursday 11: you wanna believe me but you can't 12: i'm super cool 13: hmmm 14: i ain't a clown 15: 0 is less than 1

[jalepenohoney]

books that raised me

books i passed on:

the mysterious benedict society 

thoroughbred: a horse called wonder (from the riding academy)

labyrinth (borge’s) (from angel)

bathroom reader 

all the light we cannot see

the writings of edgar allen poe (from angel) 

uglies 

paper towns 

looking for alaska 

all the bright places 

rissa bartholomew's declaration of independence (honestly great)

geronimo stilton (i had soooo many, damn near all of them)

the 39 clues (travel inspo)

canterwood crest

cinderall cleaners - change of a dress

pillage (dragons?)

we the animals (i would've kept this one but i got it from the library; so fricken good)

east of eden (steinbeck man)

lolita (ugh)

to kill a mockingbird

books to keep with me:

dear dumb diary (absolutely formative)

sisters grimm

when you reach me (re-read at least 10x)

the awakening (more like my awakening amiright)

cinder (obsessed) 

the name of this book is secret 

island of the blue dolphins 

persepolis 

may bird (i was may bird / may bird was me)

ender's game 

one flew over the cuckoo's nest 

the sun also rises (just drinking wine and eating lunch and not having sex)

the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime 

listen 

the book thief 

night 

bathroom reader (the better version than the one on the previous list) 

the grapes of wrath (okay steinbeck i see you) 

manhattan beach (from noah)

red wheelbarrow (from ucsc) 

The natural history of the of santa cruz campus (never actually read but was definitely supposed to) 

under the sea wind (another book i was supposed to read a definitely didn't but it was written by rachel carson so that's pretty cool) 

milk and honey 

the catcher in the rye (love telling boys they're so holden caulfield)

the princess academy (top 3 book for life)

the last kid left (it was alright tbh i didn't love it) 

the woman in cabin 10 (love a mystery)

[just-a-random-egg]

"I live to let you shine..."

[nintendocrowbro]

Oh to remember you for the hundredth time and get sad again :/

[darkacademiaaestheticlol]

Dating Beverly Marsh Of the Losers Club Headcanon.:)(Female Version)

Warning:None but so much Fluff,some cursing and lots of love.Female reader.

Y/S/N=Your ship name

Dating Beverly would include:

So like you have been her best friend since for like ever.

You knew her aunt and so therefore you knew Beverly.

You lived right next door to her aunt for like ever until you told your parents you wanted to move to Derry.

They didn't want to so.you ran away

You knew where she lived by following her.LOL stalker vibes amiright.

Her dad literally loved you but her scares you so....

AnyWaYs...You and her shared a room and well a bed since you were best friends.

You always hogged the covers while she hogged the pillows.

One day she took you to meet her friends..We will get more into that in a minute.

It took 2 whole weeks for her to ask you out but...SHE DID IT!

After that almost everything changed.

Hand holds at night(yes you still hog the blankets and her the pillows ut its ok)

You both like jumping around her room at 3 in the morning with the music flaring,scarfs around your necks singing into hairbrushes.

She is so protective of you...

One day you were taking a shower one day and you saw a spider and you screamed...Like...So loud...

She came in the bathroom like a firefighter ready to kill it and protect you only to find out something.

“Hey Y/N...That’s not a spider...”You look at her crazy.

“Uhhh yes...yes it is.Bevy.”You roll your eyes as she glares at you.

“IT’S A HAIR!”(Authors Note:This is based off a true story.Except my bsf lexi thought it was a spider.I was so mad I left my coffee and it got all cold.)”Ohhhhh ok well thanks for clearing that up”you say smiling.

She literally dresses you up so much.

She always rubs it in the other Losers faces that she gots a girlfriend.”Yea and she is SUPER pretty...ANd popular.”

They just laugh it off while they die inside.

THE LOSERS REACTIONS!

SO at first when Beverly told them she was dating somebody they just wanted to meet him.

So Bev brought you over,while they were standing at the edge of the Quarry deciding who should go 1st

Beverly gave you a knowing look which you gave right back.

And you were both running hand in hand jumping off of a cliff.

The boys mouths were open wide,in aww.

You were best friends with each of the boys.(stay tuned I went a little off topic haha.)

You bird-watched with Stanley and in exchange he stargazed with you.

You helped Eddie stay healthy and he helped you with your diets 

Ben was like your therapist you told him EVERYTHING!

Bill yes you had Bill read to you...It was just so relaxing he also drew pictures of you and Beverly together.

You made inappropriate jokes with Richie of the other members.And learned a few tricks with him at the arcade.

 Plus you had Mike bring you meat so you could make meals for the Losers.

They even made a secret club for you and beverly they called it the Y/S/N Association.

Everybody in the club went But you because you thought it was kinda dumb.

They gave you and her both HP chokers for Valentines day they looked like this

They gave you Slytherin because you are so mean and Ravenclaw because your smart.

They are all so happy Beverley found someone she loves and that you did too.be

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

Five times Mcgonogall had to deal with the Marauders being dumbasses about feelings and the one time one of them had it all figured out (alternatively titled: Slytherins may be morally challenged but at least they’re not as thick as warthogs)

1) James [Two Birds - Regina Spektor]

Mcgonogall gets woken up at four in the morning by a panicking James Potter in fourth year. She opens the door only a crack and he shoves his way in before she can even invite him in (which she still hadn’t fully decided she was going to do at all). He plops himself down in her chair, slams his hands down on her desk, and says, “So I kissed Sirius.”

Mcgonogall raises an eyebrow. James flushes bright red and starts sputtering out an explanation, “No, Minnie, you don’t understand, he’s my best friend, I love him, he’s brilliant, I think I wanna snog him for the rest of my life but he’s a fucking boy, Minnie -” Mcgonogall holds up her hand. James shuts his mouth.

“Mr. Potter,” she starts. “I have watched you and Mr. Black dance around each other for years. There is no doubt in my mind that the two of you were meant to find each other, in whatever way. The fact that you are both boys is irrelevant.” James takes a moment to absorb this, then squeaks, “Then why do I still like girls?”

Mcgonogall sighs. “You can like both, Jamie. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.” James blushes. “Oh,” he says, and then, “Lily Evans is really pretty.”

Mcgonogall sighs again. “I’m aware you think so, Mr. Potter. I’m also aware she’s dating Severus Snape.” James’ pink cheeks pale again, and he looks down. “Oh,” he says again, and then, “Should I kiss Sirius again, Miss?” Mcgonogall shrugs.

“You should do whatever makes you happy,” she answers, holding open the door. “Now off to bed with you, Mr. Potter. There’s only so many hours til the morning.” James considers this for a moment, then nods slowly, walking over and standing in the doorway.

“Mr. Potter?” She asks at his hesitation, and he suddenly turns and wraps his arms around her waist, burying his face in her robes. “Thanks, Minnie,” he mumbles, and she brushes a shocked hand once through his curls before he pulls back with a blush and runs off down the hall.

As soon as Mcgonogall’s closed the door, Severus pokes his head out from her study.

“Gryffindors, amiright?” He says, cracking a smile, and she raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

“I am a Gryffindor, Mr. Snape.” Severus just raises an eyebrow right back.

Mcgonogall sighs, lifting her skirts and heading back to her study. “But yes, yes, I suppose you’re right. Now, the next step of becoming an Animagus is…”

2) Peter [Soldier, Poet, King - The Oh Hellos]

Peter’s serving a detention with Mcgonogall when she notices he’s been quiet. Instead of “accidentally” messing up his tasks in the funniest ways he can muster, he’s simply doing his work quietly. He’s not even muttering to himself or singing. So, being the awesome person she is, she asks him what’s wrong.

Peter shrugs, not answering. She waits. A minute passes and he sighs, looking up at her with glassy eyes. “I don’t think my friends care about me.”

Mcgonogall wrinkles her nose. “What on earth gives you that idea?” She asks, and Peter shrugs, ducking his head down again. “Mr. Pettigrew. Why do you think your friends don’t care about you?”

Peter exhales heavily, but looks back up and answers. “Because they’re not here! Because I’m just their scapegoat! Because I’m not smart like Remus or charming like Sirius or brave like James or funny like all of them, I’m just the roommate they think they need to include. I’m - I’m expendable.” He spits the last word, throwing down the book he was about to put away and stomping towards the door.

Calmly, Mcgonogall says, “You’re an idiot, Peter.”

Peter freezes, turning around with a flushed face. “What?” He asks, and Mcgonogall sighs.

“I have seen many a clique in all my years of teaching. I know what real friendship looks like and I know the lack of it just the same. I know how to tell when one person cares about another and when to intervene. I know when true friends have been made. And you, Mr. Pettigrew, are one of the most beloved students I have ever had the fortune to meet. Most notably by those three boys you think are constantly leaving you behind, when really they’re always looking over their shoulders to check if you’re still there.”

Peter flushes red. He ducks his head, but not before she sees his smile. “Thanks, Professor,” he mutters, and she nods once, sharply, and waves her hand in dismissal.

“Report back tomorrow for your next detention. And bring those blithering idiots with you.” Peter beams, skipping out the door with a wave.

As soon as Peter’s left, Mcgonogall spins her chair to the side and looks down at Severus, sitting on the floor beside her desk with his legs splayed out in front of him and his nose buried in a book.

“So?” She asks. “What do you think? Gryffindor stupidity or Marauder stupidity?”

Severus snorts. “Honestly? Both. I mean, at least he has friends.” He turns a page and then freezes, suddenly realizing what he’s just admitted. He looks up at her and blinks owlishly, to which Mcgonogall waves a hand in dismissal.

“Nonsense. You have Miss Evans. And me, of course.”

Severus blushes. “Lily’s been distant, lately - wait, did you just say we’re friends?”

Mcgonogall raises her eyebrow. “Well you did always get on well with Gryffindors.”

Severus blinks. Then his eyes start to glisten and he smiles into his book. “Oh. Thanks.”

Mcgonogall pats his head and kisses it just for a single second as she stands and passes by him into her study. She’ll have to tell Albus about this at teatime.

3) Remus [Into The Open Air - Julie Fowlis]

A knock comes to Mcgonogall’s door over Christmas break in fifth year. It’s so late even she isn’t really awake, but she walks over anyway, grumbling as she steps over Severus’ sleeping form, curled on the floor over some books.

“Yes?”

She opens the door to a rumpled Remus Lupin, on the verge of tears and yet ever so polite as he manages to choke out, “May I speak with you, please?”

The last word is barely out of his mouth before he’s crying. He tries to cover his face as she puts a hand on his back and gently guides him inside, helping him settle into the chair in front of her desk. She Accios him some tissues and a mug of cocoa, and he sniffles out a thank you, desperately trying to get himself under control as he weeps.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” he finally manages. “I know it’s late, I just -” Mcgonogall holds up a hand to stop him.

“Mr. Lupin,” she says. “When a student of mine shows up at my door in tears, the time is not my first concern.” Remus flushes, ducking his head to his lap. He sniffs, then makes to stand.

“Well. Thank you. I’d, um, best be going now -”

“Remus.”

Remus freezes. “As I have never seen you cry before, forgive me if I’m hesitant to let you leave without hearing your reason for doing so.” Remus sniffs again. He stays still for a moment before sighing, wilting back into the chair. He takes a deep breath, then rasps, “I’m in love with Sirius.”

For a moment, there is only silence. Then, Mcgonogall clears her throat. “I see,” she says, slowly. “May I ask when exactly you came to this conclusion?”

Remus’ face nearly crumples again, but he catches it at the last minute, hands fidgeting in his lap as he mumbles, “Um - fuck. Uh, third year? Maybe? Ish?”

Mcgonogall’s eyes widen. Without an excuse to keep talking, Remus collapses back into tears. Mcgonogall watches him for a moment before murmuring, “This is about Sirius and James.”

Remus flinches. Mcgonogall shoves the tissue box towards him again and he sniffles, taking one.

“Yeah,” he finally says. “I was, um. I was trying to deal with it, y’know, on my own, but there’s only so much of watching the love of my fucking life make out with my best friend that I can take and so I - I kind of thought I’d talk to you because I don’t really have any other friends and I’d rather nobody know because I don’t want them to fucking pity me, I hate when people pity me, but I, um - anyway, I came here now because they’re on break and they won’t ask so many questions about why I was here cause they won’t know and I just -”

He rambles on, but Mcgonogall can’t much process what he’s saying, as half of it is in Welsh seemingly without Remus’ knowledge and all she can think about is every single interaction Remus and Sirius have ever had in front of her and how - wow, oh Merlin, she really should’ve seen that, huh?

“That must suck,” she interrupts his rambling with, unable to stop herself before the words escape, and Remus shuts his mouth with a snap and then nods, wincing and blinking back more tears.

“Yeah, it’s… it’s not fun,” he says softly. “Anyway, um, I - I know I can’t do anything about it, okay?” She raises an eyebrow and Remus flushes, ducking his head again. “I know that they love each other and they’re happy and I would be a pretty selfish person if I decided to ruin all of that for no reason other than my stupid fucking feelings. Besides, it’s not like I could make Sirius love me anyways, so it’d all just be a gigantic waste of time.”

Mcgonogall hums. “But?”

Remus’ shoulders slump and he buries his face in his hands. “But,” he mumbles, “sometimes I just hate them for it. Because why should they get to be so fucking happy? Because why do I have to be so fucking miserable? Because I don’t know what I did to deserve all the shit I’ve been through, but clearly I did something. Because… because…” He pauses, a last, single tear falling down his cheek like a shooting star. “Because I’m a half-blood queer werewolf covered in ugly scars who will never be able to find a steady job or afford a comfortable home and I’ve spent a lot of time questioning whether it was even worth it to keep going but I always thought of him, y’know? Because if he was still there I’d be okay. But he’s… he’s not gonna be, because he and James are gonna get married and they’re gonna have like fifty million kids and they’re gonna move away and I’m just gonna be here, a homeless werewolf whoring himself out to get by because I’ll just never fucking have anything better.”

They are quiet for a very long time. Finally, Mcgonogall takes a deep breath and reaches forward to grasp his hand.

“You will always have me,” she says solemnly, looking into his sad, sad eyes. “You will always have a home here, with me. I can’t promise you Sirius or children or even a job, but I can promise that you will always be loved by me.”

Remus cracks a small smile. His eyes are still dead, but she can see the tiniest spark amid the embers. “Thanks, Minnie,” he whispers, and stands. “Goodnight.”

Mcgonogall nods, watching him leave. “Goodnight, Mr. Lupin. Come back any time.”

“Sirius loves him back, you know.”

Mcgonogall turns her head towards her bedroom, where a sleepy, frumpled Severus holds himself up against the door with a hand, his hair sticking up all over the place.

“Oh?” She says, and he shrugs, trudging over to her desk and picking up Remus’ unfinished hot cocoa and chugging it down.

“Yeah,” he rasps, wiping at his mouth. “Not that he knows it yet, but. ‘S kinda hard to miss, those two.”

Mcgonogall nods, slowly. She asks, “And how would you know this, Severus?”

Severus flushes, shrugging. “The way he looks at him.” Mcgonogall raises her eyebrow.

“What about it?”

Severus goes from pink to red, mumbling into the mug in his hands. “It’s the same way Lily looks at me and James,” he murmurs. “And the same way James looks at her. Well, her and…”

He ducks his head, pursing his lips. Mcgonogall lowers one eyebrow and raises the other. “Her and…?”

“Me,” Severus answers, soft. “The way James looks at her and me.”

Mcgonogall is quiet for a moment. Finally she hums, standing from her chair and heading back towards her study.

“You’d best be on your way, Mr. Snape,” she says. “You’ve not slept in a bed in nearly a week.” Severus nods, still flushed, and escapes into the hallway with only three of her books hidden under his cloak.

4) Lily [Touch The Sky - Julie Fowlis]

Mcgonogall is in the middle of a critical lesson to her first years when the doors of her classroom burst open and Lily storms in, her eyes steely as she stares Mcgonogall down. “A moment, Professor, if you please?” She says, and Mcgonogall raises an eyebrow.

“I am teaching a class, Miss Evans -” Lily’s eye twitches. At the sight, Mcgonogall’s brow furrows, and she sighs. “Very well. I expect nine inches on the importance of intent when transfiguring an object next class - oh, and your best attempt at doodling a giraffe while you’re at it.”

The students all file out with nervous glances towards Lily and Mcgonogall. When the last one trickles out, Mcgonogall waves her hand and shuts all the doors with an impressive display of wandless magic before raising her eyebrow and nodding towards the chair in front of her desk. “Well, Miss Evans? What did you need to speak with me so badly about that you felt the need to completely derail an incredibly important introductory lesson to my first years?”

Lily collapses into the chair and sinks into herself, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands. Mcgonogall sighs. “Miss Evans -”

“Don’t call me that,” Lily rasps. “Don’t call me that, I’m not - I’m not a Miss.”

Mcgonogall raises an eyebrow. “What are you, then?” She asks carefully, and Lily sighs. After a moment of useless fidgeting, Lily says, “Mr. I’m a Mr.”

Mcgonogall nods slowly, considering this. “Well then, Mr. Evans,” she drawls, “will that be all?”

Lily flushes bright red, then shakes his head. “Um, I - I’m a boy, right? And it’s weird for a boy to be called Lily, right? That’s weird, right?”

Mcgononall purses her lips, lacing her fingers together in front of her. Lily watches her anxiously. “I don’t think it’s weird at all, actually,” she finally answers, and Lily lets out a loud breath of air.

“Oh,” he says, curling in on himself. “So if I still wanna be called Lily, that’s - that’s okay? I can do that?” Mcgonogall nods.

“You can be called whatever you like, Lily,” she says. “Mr. Evans. Whatever you like.” Lily smiles for a moment, flushing happily, before frowning again.

“But what about Severus?” He asks in a small voice. “What will he think of his girlfriend being his boyfriend?”

Mcgonogall leans back in her chair, considering this. She glances down at the empty spot next to her, where Severus would be if he were not in class this morning. She purses her lips and carefully answers, “I think that if Severus truly loves you, which all evidence points to, then he will not stop for such an insignificant revelation.”

Lily grins down at his lap, cheeks pinkening, and nods. “Thank you, Professor,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry for interrupting your lesson.”

Mcgonogall waves away his concern as he stands and heads for the door. “No matter. You can make it up to me with tea on Sunday. Oh, and Lily, dear?”

Lily looks up, hand on the door, and smiles. “Yes?”

Mcgonogall smirks. “I daresay Mr. Potter will not mind either.”

Lily turns the color of his hair and nods spastically before disappearing into the fray of students just dismissed.

“Lily cut his hair today,” Severus greets her with when he arrives that afternoon, weighed down by the tons of books in his arms. He dumps them on a nearby desk and makes his way over to her desk, picking up a quill and some parchment and settling in the chair across from her. “It’s all short and frayed and soft. He looks handsome.”

Mcgonogall hums. “Did you tell him that?” She asks as she summons them some tea, smiling at the way Severus hisses when it hits his tongue (he’s always had a bad habit of forgetting to blow before sipping).

“Of course I did,” he says, still scribbling. “He’s my boyfriend. It’s my job to make him happy, and if sweet compliments that make my teeth rot are what make him happy, then fuck my embarrassment, I guess.” Mcgonogall nods, pleased.

“What a gentleman you are,” she drawls, then takes a sip of her tea and asks, “What are you writing?” Severus freezes, then looks up at her with wide eyes.

“Just a list,” he finally says softly. “Of all the things I want to do before this war kills me.”

Alarmed, Mcgonogall coughs, beating her chest lightly as she sets her tea down. “You will not die in this war, Severus,” she says, her hands shaking. “None of you will.”

Severus shrugs and answers quietly, “With all due respect, Professor, we’re all going to die in this war, whether it be now or later.”

Mcgonogall feels her eyes sting with tears but pushes them back, shaking her head. “No,” she rasps. “No, none of you will die in this war. It will be finished before you leave the confines of this school.” Severus smiles sadly at her, shaking his head as he returns to his list.

“Sorry, ma’am. But half of my House have already sworn their loyalty to Voldemort, and soon enough others will be forced into it. Myself, Regulus, and Sirius among them.” Mcgonogall draws in a sharp breath. Quick as a whip, she tears the list from Severus’ hand and throws him a new parchment.

“Here,” she says. “Make a new list. Names of everyone you know with that wretched Mark, and anyone who’s thinking of it. I don’t care what House, you let me know. You bring me that list when it’s finished and I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you, Severus. All of you.”

Severus stares for a moment, dark eyes unseeing, before ducking his head to the parchment, writing slower than before. Clear names begin to come into view: Sirius Potter. Regulus Black. Lucius Malfoy. Bellatrix Black. Narcissa Black. Mulciber, Avery, Dolohov… The list goes on and on until finally Severus finishes with a final flourish of his trembling hand, Severus Snape.

He then hands the list to Mcgonogall, who smiles thinly. “Thank you, Severus,” she murmurs, and he smiles wryly.

“Thank you, Professor,” he answers, and leaves in a hurry, forgetting his books on the way out.

5) Sirius [First Man - Camila Cabello]

Mcgonogall is making her rounds around the castle one night in sixth year when she hears the sound of someone crying. She wanders until she finds the source of the noise - Sirius Potter, his knees pulled to his chest as he stares into the Mirror of Erised.

Mcgonogall drinks him in - his bruised eyes, his sunken cheeks, his shaking hands - and murmurs, “Mr. Potter, it’s late.” Sirius flinches. He stands in a hurry and brushes himself off, wiping at his eyes as he pushes past her.

“Of course, Professor. I’ll just be heading to bed now -”

She grasps his arm, making him pause. He bites his lip, and she swallows.

“You’ll do no such thing,” she murmurs, as gently as she can. “Come with me, Mr. Potter.” He winces again, but follows her soundlessly, hunched over like he’s trying to make himself as small as possible. When they reach her classroom, she moves wordlessly to her desk and settles in her chair, gesturing to the chair in front of her as Sirius closes the door behind him hesitantly. “Please sit, Mr. Potter,” she says, and Sirius flinches so violently this time she worries he might snap in half.

“Don’t call me that,” he hisses, and for a moment she’s transported back to that conversation with Lily all those months ago. “Don’t call me that, please. I… I don’t deserve it.”

Mcgonogall raises an eyebrow. “You don’t deserve to be called by your own name?” She asks, and Sirius withers like a dying flower into the chair in front of her.

“No,” he finally says, softly. “It’s not my name, Professor. That name belongs to my ex-boyfriend. My name is Black.”

Mcgonogall’s other eyebrow raises in surprise. She hums. “Ex-boyfriend?”

Sirius shrugs, wrapping his arms around himself. “After I hurt Moony - Remus, Jamie socked me in the jaw and told me I wasn’t a Marauder anymore. Was caught makin’ out with Evans and Snivellus soon enough anyway. He hasn’t spoken to me in months - I can take a hint, Professor. I may be a stupid, dumb, moronic piece of shit that doesn’t deserve to live, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to tell when somebody stops loving me.”

Mcgonogall feels her heart break open in her chest and stems it with white hot rage - for Remus, for James, for Severus, and, despite everything, for Sirius.

“You are not dumb, or stupid, or moronic,” she says slowly, lacing her fingers together in front of her. “And you’re certainly not a piece of shit. Impulsive and reckless at times, yes, but you’re not worthless. Trust me, Sirius, I’ve met worthless people, and they are nothing like you. Your life means something.”

Sirius laughs. Mcgonogall has never heard such an unhappy sound in her life.

“With all due respect, Professor, I’m the worst fuck-up anyone’s seen in generations,” he snarks. “I’m the disowned disgrace of the Black family who fucks boys and wears dresses and falls in love with poncy tossers and half-blood werewolves whose deepest secrets I give away like a fucking Death Eater spy. I’m the most worthless kind of person there is.”

Mcgonogall pushes her chair back, stands, and makes quick strides around the desk and over to Sirius, pulling him against her chest.

“You are beautiful,” she whispers, right into his ear. “You are smart. You are kind. You are brave. You are selfless. You are funny. You are brilliant. But above all, Sirius, you are good.” Feeling him start to tremble against her, her robes beginning to dampen, she musters up a smile, feeling her own tears well up as she runs her fingers through his hair.

“You are my favorite student, Sirius Padfoot Potter Lupin,” she whispers as he sobs. “You are James Potter’s favorite person, and Regulus Black’s favorite brother. You are Remus Lupin’s favorite friend and you are everyone’s favorite Gryffindor. You are one of the best souls in this world and we would all be devastated to lose you.”

Sirius sniffles against her chest. “Really?” He blubbers, and she kisses the top of his head.

“Really,” she answers, and he laughs into her robes. He mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like I love you and she says, “What was that?”

Flushing, he pulls back, shaking his head and wiping away his tears. “Thank you, Minnie,” he says shyly, and she nods, smiling and squeezing his hand.

“Anytime, love. Would you like me to walk you back to your dorm or do you think you can do it yourself?” She asks, and Sirius shrugs when the door creaks open and Remus Lupin pokes his head through with a soft, “Padfoot? Are you in there?”

Sirius’ eyes widen and his tear-streaked face lights up like the sun as he bounds down the steps and over to Remus, skidding to a stop just before he reaches him. “Here, Remus,” he murmurs, and Remus smiles, running a fond hand through Sirius’ silky dark hair.

“Come on then, Siri,” he says softly. “Time for bed.” Sirius blushes, leaning in just a bit, and Remus grins, engulfing him in a hug and pecking his cheek before pulling back to grab his hand. “I’ve got it from here, Professor,” he says to Mcgonogall with a polite nod. “You have a good night, Miss.”

Mcgonogall smiles and nods back, watching her boys disappear out the door and into the night before sighing to herself and drawing her robes tighter around her to block the wind as she heads, finally, to bed.

In the morning, she wakes up to Severus already in her classroom, making himself busy at  one of the desks. She blearily makes them a few cups of tea before settling across from him, taking in the disorganized array of cauldrons, ingredients, and notes in front of him.

“What’s all this then?” She asks, taking a sip of her tea and then wincing at the sheer sweetness from overpoured sugar, and Severus shrugs.

“Trying to make a potion out of wolfsbane,” he answers, voice soft. “Thought it might be able to prevent transformations.”

Mcgonogall raises an eyebrow. “My, my. A difficult task indeed. May I ask why?” Severus shrugs again, his nose buried in the notebook he’s scribbling in.

“To help Remus, of course,” he says, as if it were obvious, as if they’ve been friends for years. Mcgonogall nods, humming, and takes another sip of her disgusting tea.

“Your new interest is Mr. Lupin is certainly… kind,” she says, and Severus finally looks up at her, eyes wide and dark but so, so light.

“He’s nice,” he murmurs. “That’s all.”

And Mcgonogall suspects that there is far, far more reason than that, but it’s far too early and she’s far too tired to even begin picking apart the peculiar behaviors of one Severus Snape Evans Potter, so instead she simply nods and plonks her head down in her arms, allowing herself to be lulled to sleep by the sound of rustling notebook pages, cracking bezoars and Severus’ out-of-tune humming of Beatles songs.

1) Regulus [Learn Me Right - Birdy, Mumford & Sons]

A few hours before his graduation, Regulus shows up at Mcgonogall’s door, the smallest of smiles settled on his face. “Good morning, Professor,” he says, and she sighs.

“You graduate in three hours, Mr. Black,” she says tiredly. “What could you possibly need my help with now?”

Regulus gives her an amused smile, tracing his fingers along the desks of his brothers and friends as he walks through the rows he’s sat in for so many years. “Nothing,” he answers finally, looking towards her. “I came to deliver this.”

He hands her a light blue card decorated in fluttering rainbow butterflies that reads, You have been cordially invited to the wedding of Remus Moony Lupin and Sirius Padfoot Potter on the 21st of June. At the bottom is a hastily scrawled note in two different hands, We hope you can make it. We love you, Minnie! Thank you for everything! Thank you, Minnie.

Mcgonogall clutches the invitation in surprise and looks up at Regulus with the breathless question, “Really?” Regulus just smiles, nodding.

“Yup,” he says in that slow drawl of his. “Severus and Lily and James have been talking about it too, so you can expect to see another one of those soon.” Mcgonogall smiles, blinking back tears.

“And you?” She asks, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “What will you do, Mr. Black?”

Regulus shakes his head and bites his lip, looking up at her with twinkling eyes and a sparkling grin. “It’s Mr. Lupin now,” he answers, “and I have no bloody idea.”

Mcgonogall laughs aloud, drawing him into a hug and kissing the top of his head. She sends him off with a wave and well-wishes.

Six years later, there’s a knock on her door. Summer has barely started but most of the castle is empty anyhow, with students having been sent home and most teachers taking their vacations now. With the war having been over for years now and the fight for werewolf rights making serious headway, Professor Mcgonogall does not receive many visitors. So she only expects Dumbledore when she opens the door, but instead there’s Severus, grinning and holding the hand of a fluffy-haired, green-eyed toddler with a lightning birthmark on his forehead.

“Hi, Professor,” he says, waving his free hand. She catches the glint of a wedding ring and tears up, smiling as she draws him in for a hug.

“Who’s this?” She asks, bending down to shake the little boy’s hand. Severus grins.

“This is Harry,” he says. “Harry Evans. My son.”

Mcgonogall looks up at him in shock. He shrugs, and suddenly she’s beaming, hugging him close again. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispers, and Severus squeezes her tight.

“I owe it all to you, Minnie,” he murmurs back, and kisses her cheek as she pulls back. After a moment of just smiling at each other, he says, “I have a few hours free to catch up, if you want? Tea?” Mcgonogall beams.

“But of course,” she teases, offering her arm. Severus takes it, laughing, and closes the door behind them with a few simple words of warning: “I feel I should mention, you can also expect untimely visits from six other Marauder children.” Mcgonogall looks at him, shakes her head, and sighs.

“Just as well,” she answers, and Severus laughs, joy shaking his bones. “But you owe me so much tea.” Severus winks.

“I’ve got the literal and figurative kind whenever you’re free,” he answers, and Mcgonogall smiles.

Severus announces his relationship with Lily and James by dragging them in by the hand one morning and shouting, “I got it, Professor!”

[monotonous-minutia]

The cast of Die Zauberflöte: Reality Check

Tamino, tenor

Typical clueless tenor, prince edition. Easily swayed; first he assumes Papageno killed the serpent, despite having no weapons; then he believes everything the Three Ladies tell him; then he falls in love with Pamina based only on her picture (which doesn’t even show her hands or feet); then he believes everything Sarastro and the Priests tell him. After all this happens, he spends most of the rest of the opera Actively Doing Nothing. Even when it almost leads to the death of the woman he supposedly loves. Tenors, amiright?

Pamina, soprano

Total badass who unfortunately doesn’t get to live up to her potential because of Sexism. Is kidnapped by a guy who claims to have her best interests at heart, despite the fact that he has nothing to back up that assertation and is clearly sexist. Manipulated by her equally morally ambiguous mother who, she comes to realize, might not have her best interests at heart either. Infatuated with Tamino on sight and continues to be despite the fact that he’s done nothing for her and refuses to speak to her when she literally says to his face that she is going to kill herself. Another case of sopranos losing brain cells when tenors are involved. Though it’s not her fault she lives in a misogynistic world. Despite all these setbacks, she’s the only one who actually remembers that the flute is magic and can save her and Tamino from the otherwise deadly Trials of Fire and Water.

Papageno, baritone

Let’s face it, this guy’s the real hero of the story. He’s the one who overcomes the most, he has three big numbers (which is two more than either of the lead couple), he’s the most lovable and relatable character, and he’s the only one (aside from Pamina and Papagena) who doesn’t make significant morally ambiguous decisions, and the only one who values life over Love At First Sight™. All he wants is to be safe, happy, and fed, and to share his life with someone who loves him. Who can blame him for that? He’s dragged against his will into this whole Trial of Being A Man thing and punished for wanting to socialize with someone other than Tamino, and given Tamino is a) kind of a prick, and b) refusing to speak to anyone, we can’t really blame Papageno for that either. Luckily, his persistence and good nature win out, and he’s finally reunited with Papagena at the end of the opera. The fact that they plan on having a lot of children is probably subtext, but since this is supposedly a family-friendly opera, we won’t get into that.

Sarastro, bass

Someone really needs to just “okay boomer” this guy. Is proclaimed by many to be a wise and just ruler, though it becomes clear throughout the course of the opera that he’s sexist, has some weird religious ideas that border on cultism, and has a really hard time building positive relationships with his servants. Apparently keeps girls locked away in his palace waiting for their soulmates to show up. It’s insinuated in some cases that he has history with the Queen of the Night, though it’s not quite clear to what extent. Are they age-old rivals? Former lovers? Competing sorcerers? Ex-roommates who got on each other’s nerves so much as to warrant a life-long grudge? Who knows? Does it really matter? It’s all so messed up anyway.

The Queen of the Night, soprano

Undoubtedly glamourous, though her parenting skills are in question. As with Sarastro, her intentions are morally ambiguous at best. Though she claims Tamino is the only one who can save her daughter, she somehow manages to find Pamina herself, and simply refuses to rescue her. Apparently Sarastro stole her power at some point, which again begs the question how these two know each other. Also something about Pamina’s father giving Sarastro the source of the Queen’s power at his deathbed? Can we even believe what she says, though? She claims to have Pamina’s best interests at heart, but doesn’t seem as keen on her well-being as she is on Sarastro’s defeat. Again, some questionable parenting going on here. Apparently a bolt of lighting is all it takes to knock her out for good.

The Three Ladies, soprano, soprano, and mezzo-soprano

Ladies-in-Waiting to the Queen. Infatuated with Tamino on sight and fight for his affections. Consistently annoyed with Papageno, though they engage in daily transactions involving trading birds for a probably unhealthy amount of sweets and wine. Work at the Queen’s bidding, recruiting Tamino to find Pamina (and hog-tying Papageno into joining him); then, somehow sneaking into Sarastro’s palace to try and get Tamino and Papageno to leave with them and go back to the Queen. Apparently they do everything together, and manage to stick together after fighting over Tamino. Can we cite “girl power” here, or is that negated by the fact they’re technically villains? Period-typical sexism strikes again.

The Three Spirits, boy sopranos or mezzos

Are they boys? Are they fairies? Are they miniature sorcerers? Whatever they are they don’t seem very concerned with the rivalry between the Queen and Sarastro, instead keeping tabs on Papageno and Tamino—giving them directions to Sarastro’s castle, giving them food and drink when they need it, and returning the instruments that Sarastro confiscated. They rescue both Pamina and Papageno from their suicide attempts at the last second. Possibly the only characters who care about the principle cast’s well-being for non-selfish reasons.

Papagena, soprano

Papageno’s soul mate. Despite the fact that they are obviously meant to be soulmates given by the similarity of their names, she prudently decides to scope her future lover out before committing her life to him. Is she the only soprano with any working brain cells in this opera? Likely. She’s immediately devoted to her Papageno, but she tests his will, his honesty, and his fidelity before she definitively attaches herself to him, which is more than we can say about anyone else in this opera and arguably the most sensible course of action in the story.

Monostatos, tenor

Sarastro’s servant, in charge of watching over Pamina. Definitely a creep, though there’s a bucketload of racist undertones here we don’t have the time or space to unpack. In another universe this guy probably could have gotten the resources and support he needed to become a better person, but Sarastro doesn’t seem interested in mentoring him, just punishing him for his transgressions.

Two Priests, tenor and baritone

Basically the job of these two is to push Tamino and Papageno around and say misogynist things.

[funscarylaudna]

Okay, so we had a pretty short first session but a lot happened.

My character is Áquila (pronounced Ah-kee-lah) Terragon, human archer for hire, and she boarded a ship to Xorhas searching for... Adventure. Or so she said. The place is a mess, not the most hygienic ship ever but she didn't mind it a lot since she didn't spend much money to be there and it was better than the alternative. For most of the days she spent there, she was busy making a mental check of the other 30-40 passengers, observing their stuff and if there was someone of noble roots there or anyone she could recognize (or could recognize her, actually). She fiddled a lot with her locket and I described her as looking very sketchy and anxious.

She was roomed with Caileigh, a sweet and naivë white-haired half-elf who, for the most part of the 3-4 days they travelled together, was very enthusiastic about finding out things about the wood walls and writing on her notebook. She was also barefoot most of the time, which eventually Áquila mentioned wasn't the safest way to be when you are in a place so icky.

Áquila left the room to look for things to eat when the ship shook violently. She was able to hold onto the walls and not hurt herself falling and took it as a sign to go back to her room... Finding poor Caileigh sprawled on the floor. She joked about how that probably wouldn't have happened if she wasn't barefoot and helped her get up. They both chatted a bit and, after a few hours waiting for the ship to stop shaking (it was a pretty common occurence since they were getting closer to their destination), decided to go to the deck when everything stalled.

There they found lots of confused sailors, shouting at each other and looking at the sea down bellow. Not only the ship had stopped but the rest of the fleet (according to the captain, they had a few other ships backing them up in case of being attacked by pirates) and even the entire sea seemed to have stilled as well.

Walking away to a more secluded area, Áquila snapped her fingers and Coruja the Owl, her familiar, appeared 30 feet above them. Reaching for Caileigh's wrist, she trusted her to keep her safe and went into Coruja vision, urging the bird to get higher and higher so she could try to see what was happening. Blinded and deafened, Áquila didn't notice that she actually held onto another person.

Looking through Coruja's eyes as it flew way above the ship, Áquila noticed there were no seagulls, birds or other animals at all up there. The whole world had seemed to have stopped to a halt. And then the ship shook again and she felt the person she was holding onto slip away.

An enormous Sea Serpent appeared out of nowhere and tore one of the ships of the fleet apart. Chaos erupted. Everyone started looking for their things, some of the sailors jumped out of the ship, others ran to the cannons. Áquila snapped her fingers again and Coruja disappeared and at the same time she started seeing and hearing again. Then she noticed Caileigh wasn't the only one there. There was another half-elf, taller and wearing full armor, who started running to help a sailor with the cannons.

The half-elf managed to help him get a cannonball into the mouth of the sea serpent, wounding the monster to the point of it letting out a pained roar. Ok, that was cool. But the enraged serpent turned to our ship and took it out of the water... And that's when all of us lost conciousness.

The next thing Áquila saw was the face of the other half-elf close to her as she softly smacked her face to wake her up. "Did we die?" she spoke, spitting out water and coughing a lot "We'll, we tried really hard but I guess we didn't." "Funny, I'm pretty sure I died and went to paradise." She smirked at the half-elf as she very awkwardly walked away to help Caileigh explore the beach. Yep, I'm gonna Laura Bailey the shit out of my girlfriend.

The two half-elves and Áquila looked around, finding out a castaway scene. They were at a beach full of dead bodies, wreckage, some wooden boxes and all kinds of remains from the ship.

They spent most of the day gathering supplies, finding equipment that could still be used and setting up camp. Caileigh helped the other half-elf, Adra, build a fire by producing flame (she's a druid). While they did it, Áquila noticed something weird... A tall, moving patch of sand.

Adra readied her weapon and shield while Áquila did her same with her bow and arrow. They moved closer to the... thing and, after carefully poking it a few times with Adra's sword, they noticed it was a shirtless blond elf guy half-buried into the sand. Áquila pointed out that that's how the best parts of some of the books she read as a teenager started.

The guy introduced himself as Will. He had a big axe with a handle that looked a bit like a hook/spear and was very confused about everything that happened. After another round of introductions, he grumbled about being hungry and offered to catch some fish for the group. Even though he wasn't the brightest person, he managed to catch a big fish very fast, with Áquila carefully watching him. She managed to catch a crab, while Caileigh looked around for things to eat, finding herbs and plants that could be used to make a fairly good dinner.

At someone point, both Adra and Áquila silently agreed that Cailleigh and Will are soulmates since both of them are adorably dumb. Adra called Will a "Wonderboy", which he didn't really understand at first because, as he said, he didn't speak elvish (apparently, speaking in English in our campaign = speaking in Elvish).

Áquila accidentally made fun of the poor boy about being an elf who doesn't speak elvish since even Áquila herself, a human, was able to learn elvish with her human father. She managed to further upset him by trying to patch things up by saying that she could teach him since it was a pretty easy language (low char, amiright?). Feeling humiliated, Will moved away from the group and tried to build a campfire for himself, failing miserably.

Adra helped him and managed to talk him into staying and helping them. And since it was already dark, the group decided to just eat and go to sleep and make plans in the next morning, with Áquila casting light on her locket to see further into the darkness and staying up with Coruja by her side to make sure no animals would attack them during the night.

Overall, it was a pretty great first session. I love anything castaway/survival-themed and it felt nice to start a new campaign after our very long previous one. Can't wait till the next session <3

P.S.: I've described only the things that Áquila saw and heard. Other stuff happened with the other characters when she wasn't looking. Also, my girlfriend described our group as: good of heart, dumb of ass; entrapta but make her an anthropologist; himbo elf; and mean claire saffitz. I think that's... Pretty accurate so far.

[justkeeptrekkin]

Ineffable EraserMic

For all my BNHA and Good Omens fans, a crossover! 😇

but more specifically to the love of my life, @sraye96 . Happy birthday baby girl 💖🌻I hope you enjoy!!

***

He knows he’s an angel- not because of the white wings and white dress, but because he can practically smell the logic from here.

There’s the odd tree and palm leaf in the way, but Hizashi can see him, standing up on the wall. The material of his dress fluttering in the gentle breeze up above. Long curls of black hair pouring down his back, and white wings drooping- a bit lazily, which takes Hizashi by surprise, given how uptight angels usually are. Even from where Hizashi is perched on his branch down below, claws digging into the bark, he gives off an interesting vibe.

He’s curious.

Hizashi turns his gaze towards the inside of the garden; he can see Adam and Eve whispering, heads together. Then he looks back up at the angel. He reckons he can take a break from the tempting, for a short while.

With a few short, fast beats of his wings, he flies up onto the wall, beside the angel. And with a little effort, the colourful feathers shift into black, the beak morphs into a face, and blonde hair falls over his shoulders. All the while, the angel turns and looks at him, watching with nothing more than distant interest.

Hizashi sighs in satisfaction, rolling his shoulders and kicking out his legs. “Oh, man. It’s nice having actual legs again. I hate having claws.”

He looks at the angel. Two dark, strangely tired looking eyes stare back at him- look him up and down- then back out at the view beyond. And he doesn’t know why he feels disappointed- he supposes he’d hoped he’d get him to smile. That’s sort of his skill; tricking people into thinking he’s just a harmless bird, sort of funny, sort of entertaining. Having people underestimate him, until it’s too late.

The angel stares out at the desert, looking, for all intents and purposes, a little bored.

“You on duty too, then, huh?”

There’s the flicker of a frown- it looks like confusion rather than irritation, which is new to this famously irritating demon. The angel stares at him evenly. Not quite judgmentally, just- blankly.

Angels really give Hizashi the creeps sometimes.

“Obviously,” he replies in a low voice.

Hizashi blinks. “Wow. Your voice is totally more badass than I expected. It’s like- gravelly.”

“And you sound more like a children’s party entertainer than a demon.”

The burst of surprise isn’t anywhere near as strong as the thrill he’s experiencing. “Holy shit, and he’s a bitch, too! And listen, I like my voice. You can tell I was the fun angel back in the day, amiright? That’s why they cast me down, I was just too cool. Partied too hard.”

The blank look remains unchanged. He just stares, apparently unconvinced. “Right.”

They both turn away, gaze out at the rolling dunes. The sun setting slowly, and some clouds are forming above. The angel tilts his head upwards and watches the clouds gather with a weary look that says, there we go, thought that’d happen sometime soon.

“You managed to tempt them, then,” the angel says, catching Hizashi a little off guard.

“Oh- uh, yeah. I did. Although, less tempted them and more didn’t stop talking about it till I annoyed them into eating it.”

“Mm,” he replies, sounding unsurprised.

“And what about you- oh, shit, wait. I don’t even know your name.”

“Shouta.”

Hizashi smiles at how easily he parts with this information. It’s an evocative name: translating literally as to soar. Such a typically angelic name. Hizashi steps closer, trying to get a better view of the angel’s impartial expression. “Shouta. Well, how about you, Shouta? Did you do your good miracling stuff? Did you do some good deeds like a good boy?”

If Shouta is irritated by his mocking tone, he doesn’t show it. He simply replies, “Of course. That’s my job.”

“Damn. For a second, I could’ve sworn you were more interesting than that.”

The angel’s eyes flick up to the sky- and there’s the irritation. “Unsurprisingly, I don’t care whether you think I’m interesting.”

“I love it when we argue, talk dirty to me.”

“And you?”

“And me what, angel?”

“Your name. What’s your name.”

The easy, happy feeling that’s emerged from this banter dampens. He looks down at his human feet, folds his arms across his chest, then turns his head away.

“You’re not going to tell me.”

“I mean, why should I? I barely know you, man.”

“I told you mine.”

“Yuhuh, sure, but you didn’t have to. And I don’t have to tell you mine.”

They stand in awkward silence. Hizashi doesn’t like silence. That’s why he wakes Adam and Eve up every quiet morning with squawking. And the wind picks up a bit, the clouds getting darker and Hizashi’s hands grip his biceps tighter. The breeze whips up the black material of his dress so it dances like a shadow.

“Just call me Mic,” he says eventually.

There’s a beat, a short pause. “Mic it is.”

Maybe one day- maybe one day, he’ll tell him his angel name. Hizashi: sunshine. That’s what he was once, and he’s not quite ready to shuck that name yet. Not yet.

And it’s only then that he’s reminded- “Wait a sec. Yo. Dude. Shit, I’m so dumb, I knew you were missing something.”

The angel tenses, his previously tired and lazy stance setting like stone. The wind picks up the black curls of his hair, and his eyes stare stoically in the other direction.

“Yeah!” Hizashi continues. “You- you had a sword! I saw it the other day, it was all shiny and shit.”

“Shiny and shit,” Shouta echoes dully.

“Yeah! A flaming sword, plucked right from the sun. Right? Right? I’m right, aren’t I?” Right? Shouta?”

“Yes,” he growls.

Hizashi beams. Shouta won’t meet his eyes. “Shouta! What did you do with it, Shouta? Shouta? Shouta-?”

“Shut up.”

“Shouta? Shouta? Oh my- shit, fuck, man, wait, you lost your sword right? Don’t tell me you lost it- ho ho holy shit-”

“I gave it away.”

Hizashi feels his mouth hang open. Stares at him in pure delight. “You what?”

“I gave it away,” he says a little more loudly, but no less wearily. “They needed it. I didn’t. It was logical.”

“Log- logical? To get rid of a holy flaming sword? And give it to the humans?”

“I didn’t need it,” he repeats, jaw ticking impatiently.

“Oh my- fuck, you’re my hero right, you- do you know that? Like, you’ve literally blown my mind-”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It totally is! I thought you were like all the others, playing by the rules, but fuck, dude, you’re more punk than me! You like doing shit your own away, don’t you?”

That makes Shouta frown, a dark expression that’s somehow stormier than the clouds circulating overhead. And he turns sharply to glare at Hizashi with fierce, disapproving eyes. “I do what’s right. I do what’s best for humanity. It’s cruel not to give them the tools they need to survive. That’s how an angel is meant to be.”

“Meant to be,” Hizashi snorts. He adds a pfft and a wave of his hand. “Meant to be, shmeant to be. You’re an anarchist.”

“I’m not an anarchist. It was only-”

“Logical, yeah. I think you’re just soft.”

And that makes Shouta’s expression slacken, lips parting in quiet surprise. Then, it hardens again, defensive. “I’m not soft.”

“You- yeah, what’s not soft about giving a literal angelic, burning sword to two stupid stinky humans? Just to help them out a widdle teensy bit?”

“It’s my job to protect them-”

“No, it’s your job to follow the rules and act out the ineffable plan.”

He blinks at him. His expression hardens further. It’s not just stoicism, though- there’s a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “Shut up,” he says.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen, I never shut up. Sorry. I’m just sayin’ it how it is.”

That’s what got him into trouble with Heaven in the first place, and that’s how he’s keeping it.

They both look out into the desert again. Hizashi ruffles his wings, getting his feathers into a more comfortable position now that the wind has displaced them. Then-

“Oh! Look, look, see? There they are! Got your sword too! Shit, Adam’s got moves!”

They watch as Adam swings the sword at a lion, Eve cowering. Hizashi smirks, is about to make some comment like wouldn’t it be funny if I did the good thing and you did the bad thing. But when he sees Shouta’s certain, proud expression, he realises that joke wouldn’t hit a nerve at all. The angel knows what he’s done, and he knows he’s right.

He can see why Heaven chose this one to stay on Earth. He’s a pretty independent spirit. Probably works best alone, not following orders. Maybe they think he’d do a good job, maybe they just didn’t want him to cause trouble upstairs. Or maybe they were scared of him, and left him here- just like they left Hizashi in Hell.

When Shouta turns to find Hizashi staring, he moves his eyes away. This angel makes him self-conscious, like no one else ever has. Not in a bad way, he doesn’t think, it’s just that- he’s never cared about how other people judge him. Not even God, really. But for some reason, around Shouta, he wants to impress.

That ain’t good, Hizashi thinks to himself.

And then it begins to rain, at last. Big, fat rain drops, leaving wet circles on the stone of the wall. Making the leaves bounce with loud splats and darkening the sand below. Hizashi grimaces, scrunches up his face and feels his blonde hair sticking to his face.

“Ew,” he grumbles.

He hears a snort. He turns to look. And he finds a huge, terrifying, and quite frankly demonic grin.

“You look like a drowned rat,” Shouta says mildly, smile softening.

“So do you!”

“I don’t care about getting wet. You just look pissed off about it. It’s funny.”

“Asshole,” Hizashi spits.

That somehow makes him smile again, though not as maniacally this time. Annoying, that the only time Hizashi has managed to make him smile has been unintentionally.

And then, Shouta extends a wing over Hizashi’s head- looking the other way as if ignoring the action.

And something in Hizashi swells, bursts, is brought back to life. Something in him that he thought had died in the fall, something that feels remarkably like love. It’s reinvigorated when he looks at Shouta turning away, a petulant pout on his lips like he doesn’t want to admit he’s being nice to a demon.

Yeah, that ain’t good, Hizashi remarks to himself once more.

Nonetheless, he accepts the wing. He steps under it. He looks away from Shouta, out at the view.

And he sees it; he sees a future laid out before him. He sees the inevitability, the ineffability of it. He sees six thousand years on Earth with Shouta ahead of him, and all he can do is prepare for the ride.

[vennfiction]

Maybe Birthdays Aren’t So Bad After All

A/N: Just a short, unedited oneshot because I wanted to put something out and my birthday stresses me out so this is how I’m coping. 2 birds with one badly written stone amiright? Also TW for depressive episode, slight very brief mention of s/h, slight angst, happy ending

Summary: It’s Virgil’s birthday...yay. He’s not the biggest fan, plus he wakes up to a depressive episode not easy to tackle alone. Another year older and nothing seems to have changed.

Story Text:

Virgil woke up tangled up in his boyfriends’ embraces. He felt warm in their arms, he felt safe...but something was up. He groaned internally as he realised the aching in his head, the stiffness in limbs and the empty feeling in his chest. He tried to block out the feelings of numbness that rose in him but he couldn’t and that was what really hurt.

“Morning Virgil dearessst,” A voice hissed drowsily from next to him. 

“Gmorning Dee,” He replied, groaning internally as he saw Patton stirring from his position on Roman’s chest. “Good morning DeeDee, ooooh Virgiiiiiiiiie happy birthday!!!!!” the side basically squealed “Oh. My. Gosh! I GOTTA WAKE THE OTHERS!” This got a chuckle from Dee but Virgil was still stuck on those words. He felt the pit in his stomach grow as he played them over in his mind again and again. ‘Suck it up’ he told himself ‘People love birthdays, right?’ and he rubbed his eyes to mask the frustrated tears that wanted to form. Though, even as he was greeted with love, kisses and kind words from his boys, he just couldn’t muster the strength to feel the happiness he should have felt.  

He couldn’t help feeling low but as he saw everyone’s excitement, as he heard Patton, Remus and Roman struggle over the cake in the kitchen, as he saw the stress lines grow on Logan and Deceit’s faces as they bickered over the decorations, he only got worse. He got a chuckle in when he heard Patton scold Remus over trying to set his brother’s apron on fire but he still felt the creeping insecurity eating at him slowly. This was way too much... way too much, even the music being played, though he adored it so, seemed to mock him. Virgil wasn’t about to let himself cry about getting attention on his birthday... so he blamed the tear rolling down his face on the onions Remus kept leaving around. Dee, though, saw him wiping it away and in that moment, the snake felt his heart truly break and walked over to the smaller man.

“Virgil dear?” he asked cautiously “Are you okay?”

Virgil opened his mouth to say ‘yes, of course I am’ but instead he just bit his lip to stop the sob that wanted to escape and shook his head, kicking himself mentally for it all. Deceit clutched him close and turned to address the rest of their boyfriends. “Turn that music down, please, and come here,” Dee said loudly enough the whole household could hear, but as they swarmed in, Virgil shook his head more and clung further to Deceit’s shirt. “Hey shhh, it’s okay love, I know it’s a lot of people but I promise you’re safe. You’ll be okay,” Virgil sighed and brought his head up, nodding. Logan brought the man off the couch and onto the floor, the rest of the sides spreading out with them in a way that made Virgil feel safe and surrounded but not trapped. “Gosh V, when will you learn you need to share with us?” Lo said and they both chuckled bittersweetly. Roman chimed in after that “ Now my beautiful prince, what has you crying on today of all days?” Virgil sighed looked down and scratched his wrist through his hoodie, knowing just what sat there, before he finally spoke. “I’m just so frustrated, I feel so... bad. And I know I shouldn’t! I’m fine! But you’re all putting in all this effort and I just can’t with all the attention and I woke up in this... place. I’m stuck in my head and I just feel numb! I don’t want to ruin this for you guys, you tried so hard and I’m so ungrateful! But... I’m just...low” he looked up to the concerned but comforting eyes of his boyfriends, just staring for a moment before he heard someone speak. Remus smiled at him, not in his usual wild way but subtly and kindly. “ViVi you know nothing you could do could upset any of us. I blew up four homes using only half a match, 3 bottles of water and an elastic band last week and you think those boys are going to have a problem because your depression’s playing up? Of course not!” he grinned.

Patton chimed in “ Virge we all understand how you’re feeling. We’re here for you, especially today of all days. We know we overwhelm you at times, we’re sorry love but just know that we’re trying and we’ll stay with you through it all,”

“You’re company has always been simply enough, we just wish to spend today with you and make it special. Whatever that entails, whether it’s skydiving or just staying in, as long as you’re here, is, as you say, ‘all g’ by us,” Logan stated as he ran his fingers over Virgil’s knuckles softly.

 “Who even needs a party! I say we eat cake and drink cocoa on the couch while cuddling and watching a movie... of course if that’s what you’d be comfortable with dear one,” Roman suggested, dramatic as ever.

“I think I’d like that.”

 And as Nightmare before Christmas started and Virgil curled into his boyfriends side, hot cocoa in hand, he thought to himself ‘Maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all’.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 41-42: Surprise, It’s Cards

Yo it’s...still hot here. Not as hot as last week, but hot enough that I’m writing like 2000 words less than normal per post. Weird, right? But hey, that’s the weather, amiright? So, last we left off, Yugi was tossed yet another MacGuffin at the last minute--and because Mai is out for the count, currently being mixed with sand via an hourglass--this time the MacGuffin came from Kaiba. He is our MacGuffinGiver Now.

Not sure why Kaiba made it a point to show off how good of a friend he was, or why suddenly Yugi decided to pull a 180 from “I don’t know if I can to trust you” to “I’m Pretty Sure that I’m bestest friends with Seto Kaiba,” but man, it just took one coma for Joey to lose that bff status.

It just feels kind of weird because the last time Kaiba and Yugi were talking, Yugi was trashing talking Kaiba into pieces and Kaiba was screaming at the top of his lungs that Kaiba himself was finished, ruined, nothing, etc.

But they seem completely over it now. It’s really good for their relationships that both of these people have such severe short term memory loss.

(read more under the cut)

So the next few episodes are really duel heavy and you know how little I watch the cards here, and I’ll go over...some things? Maybe? I dunno, I mostly just want to talk about Marik’s gross ass blood pressure.

I may have mentioned this before but it must be really great for that one doctor aboard the Kaiba ship to keep walking by Marik and just every time know exactly what would cause this. Like I dunno what would have to happen to cause this, but that one doctor is just probably thinking of every disease but cards.

It doesn’t take very long for the purple shadow clouds to roll over their duel, and for everyone on and nearby the stage to slowly put their hands to their foreheads.

It’s...

Guys it’s just hangman. I mean we’ll get there but it’s hangman for illiterate people, which is perfect for Pharaoh, who, we’ve mentioned before cannot read to save his own life.

Also this happened:

For the three people who are just super into Mai, here she is! She’s been gone for about a season and a half, only showing up in flashbacks that didn’t exist between her and Joey Wheeler, but she’s here now. It’s Mai. So glad she’s back on the show, it’s been way too long. I actually do enjoy Mai so, kinda wish she had been here a little more.

Bye Mai. Glad you showed up for that one scene.

As Pharaoh is now super pumped up to enact his revenge and save Mai from Ｓａｎｄ, Marik decides to introduce to us the shtick. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this one coming. See, I figured there was just absolutely no way that this show was ever going to get as effed up as the Murder Basement Clown With The Bandsaw ever again.

I figured, after Murder Basement Clown with the Bandsaw That Chops off Your Ankles, that they would have received so many letters from concerned parents, that they would have shut down anything coming remotely close to that again.

Thing is, that’s using 2019 logic, and this was 2001, a pretty crazy time in children’s storytelling. The era that did this:

Why slice off just ankles when you can slice up the whole damn boy!? And not just once, but an endless number of times before he’s ghosted to the shadow realm. Again, Yugioh just writing our super violent fanfiction fantasies for us.

*Tea had absolutely no comment when she saw this happen. Apparently having a Marik in your brain feels the same amount of confusing as when you don’t.*

Bro mentioned that now Tea can’t literally ghost Yugi anymore, she’ll just has to ignore him the normal way and wow. Bro going after the only canon ship on this show.

Anyways, in case you were thinking “yeah, but they’ll never actually start chopping off body parts,” well don’t worry. They do. Immediately. They were so thirsty to start chopping up little Yugi muto. And, they do it with a funny purple gas effect as if Yugi’s some sort of pipe under pressure?? Check out that cloud brush in action.

I wasn’t really expecting for Pharaoh to give up halfway through round one but I guess the world to him without Yugi in it is no world at all. Quite literally, because he cannot experience the world without Yugi existing.

But can you imagine having the audacity to forfeit the winning game of Kaiba’s tournament right in front of Kaiba? And then just having that added layer of irony that Kaiba was JUST about to blow up this island five seconds ago so that out of his own spite, this final game wouldn’t happen? But, now that he scrapped together two tiny bits of humility, Kaiba let the games continue, and then Pharaoh went up there and decided to forfeit right in front of his face? Amazing. It’s like Kaiba knew he had to blow up the island with everyone on it. He knew this would happen.

Thankfully, as one half of Yugi has a melt down, there’s always the other half to scold him back into action. The other half that does seem kinda DOWN to get strung up and chopped into pieces.

Episodes end, card things happen, God cards are played, and then we’re back straight to Fire Tornado and Joey was REALLY excited to recap the entirety of his involvement with Fire Tornado. I know that it was for the kids who are tuning into the show for the first time (lol I can’t imagine) but it was also just kinda low key funny that he turned to everyone to explain it like they were passing by a tourist attraction.

And then, remember how I was waiting like a whole season for someone to finally drop the deets that Bakura freakin died an entire season ago? Like he’s been dead for over 40 episodes. 42 Episodes.

Well it happened, and I was a little disappointed by how little everyone cared. Their reaction was very “again???” as if this has happened to Bakura before. And it was like...your friend is dead? No one? No one wants to properly freak out about it? I mean, I guess of all their friends, this is the very worst one so...can’t blame Bakura too much for always trying (and occasionally succeeding) to kill them.

And then this gross thing happened.

Which was actually kind of neat when you think about Pegasus’ powers. You do kind of wonder--why did he sacrifice an eye? But maybe...Pegasus still had both eyes the whole time, the other one was just hanging out somewhere else. Like, it infers a lot about how the Pegasus powers worked, but of course this episode didn’t dive into that at all because Marik turned himself into a final fantasy boss.

It last like...I dunno...5-10 minutes before Marik decided to hop back out of the bird and back to being just a normal guy again. It was nice that for a little while he decided to be a Yugioh version of what a Gundam is. (Other than that one time they had a literal Gundam in this show that played cards.)

Anyways, next week,

Will this island ever blow a freakin fuse? After they return to Domino to find that every TV freakin exploded, will cards finally be outlawed and only played in speakeasies or Canada (no, right???) Did Grandpa ever get off the floor of the hospital since S2 or is he still just hanging out there this whole time?

And if you just got here, you can read my Yugioh only recaps in Chronological order by clicking here

[fic-xation]

Motel Walls Are Made To Be Soundproof - a GEAH fanfic

Welp. I've officially fallen down the rabbit hole of Netflix's Green Eggs and Ham series. C'est la vie. Because we were ROBBED of this classic shipping scenario towards the beginning of episode ten, I took it upon myself to correct that fatal blunder. Hope you enjoy~! ❤️️❤️️

Archive

"Uh-oh! Sorry, but I've only got one room left. You'll have to share."

"Perfect! Slumber party!"

If Guy's extensive, miserable life has taught him anything, it's that the universe loves throwing him a curve ball whenever possible. And the clerk, (why did he look so familiar?) seemed only too pleased to oblige.

~~

The motel room was nothing short of standard. Beige, unassuming walls, mass-produced inoffensive factory artwork, a television, and twin, bland lamps framing a -

"... Single bed," grumbled Guy, letting his briefcase topple to the hardwood floor. "Figures."

His travel companion, however, approached the subject with his usual flair of obnoxious optimism.

"Hey! Single bed, double the snuzzles, amiright?" Gleefully, Sam elbowed at Guy's belly, before turning his attention to the warbling attaché. "What say we let you stretch your feathers, huh, buddy?"

"Sam, wait-!"

Too late.

Before Guy could get another word in edgewise, Sam flicked at the double latches, and with a caw of delight, Jenkins exploded into the room like a firecracker, crowing and bouncing with all limbs a-gaggle.

“Gyah-!” Guy yelped, stumbling onto his backside. Lucky for him, there was little in the room that could warrant an outrageous destruction fee…

… The noise on the other hand…

“Yeaa-aaah, Mistah J!” Sam whooped, bounding atop the lone bed like the sugar-addled child he was. “Talk about a party animal!”

Guy, however, was far from impressed.

"WILL you two keep it DOWN?!" he hissed, making a mad swipe for the Chikaraffe’s leg. With a playful squawk, however, the bird merely hoisted the elder Knox into the air, before catching him roughly by the scruff of his collar.

"What's got your wockets in a bunch?" Sam sneered, already making himself comfortable against the freshly laundered pillows. Guy, meanwhile, could only dangle helplessly from the smiling beak as he glared towards the wannabe bon vivant.

Thrashing his arms, he managed to free himself before collapsing to the mattress like a sack of cement.

"I don't know if you've noticed, or you're just too crazy to care-" Guy snarled, rising to his knees. "But we are up to our eyebrows in witnesses! Do the words noise complaint mean anything to you?! Or, better yet, search warrant?”

Valid concerns to be sure, but naturally, Sam shot him down with no more than a shrug.

"Chill-AX, my S.O.O.M.D.B... Stressed-Out-Over-Minor-Details-Buddy!” Reaching into the bedside drawer, he began to poke about curiously, evidently looking for something. “Motel walls are made to be soundproof! I mean, heaven forbid ya let the whole building know you n’ your partner are havin’ sweet, wonderful-”

“SAM!” Flushed and flabbergasted, Guy clapped his hands to Jenkins’ ears. (Or, at least, where he assumed ears would be.)

Innocently, Sam tilted his head to one side. “… What? I’m just sayin’, no one wants to have cereal with everyone listening in. Call me old fashioned, but I think slurping and crunching should be done behind closed doors only… Ooh! Speaking of which-”

Unsurprisingly, Sam was quick to find the room service menu. Wasting no time, he began to rifle through the cardboard pages, feigning a look of pseudo-concentration.

“… Let’s see…” he murmured, scratching his chin.

Guy, dumbstruck, could do nothing more than release Jenkins’ head with an aggravated grumph of embarrassment, clumsily shifting his hands into the pockets of his fur.

Why did he get the feeling Sam's… suggestive phrasing was all too deliberate?

"… Look-" he said at last, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just do me a favor, and keep the nonsense to a minimum tonight, okay?"

"Roger-dodger, Captain Cantankerous!" Sam proclaimed, posing his hand in a jolly salute. "Me n' Mr. J'll be the very models of good behavior! ... Won't we, boy? Huh?"

Jenkins, with an excitable gobble, swiftly rolled onto his back.

"Ooooh-” Sam cooed. “Looks like someone is croakin’ for a strokin’!”

With reckless abandon, he launched himself towards the bird, eagerly combing his hands along the soft, feathery belly. “We're gonna be good, wholesome tenants for this good, wholesome establishment. Aren't we? Aren't we, ya silly-willy-nilly-boy...!"

Even Guy couldn’t help but smile slightly, quietly succumbing to a gentle pet along the downy fuzz of the Chikaraffe’s neck.

The power of Sam’s smugness, though, was certainly enough to ruin the moment. With a jerk of his hand, Guy hastily withdrew, and crossed over to the phone atop the T.V mantle.

“Ah, gettin’ the midnight munchies, are we?” Sam smirked, flopping onto his stomach.

“… Sam, it’s seven-thirty.”

“You say tomato, I say ketchup.” He shrugged, propping himself against his elbows. “Oh, but ya know what tastes great in a motel room paid for by identity theft? Couple a’-!”

"If you say the words, 'eggs,' or 'ham,' or 'green,' in any particular order, I'm dumping you off at the diner where I found you." Guy warned, his brows derisively furrowed.

"... Questioned rescinded!" Sam chirped, though something in his expression seemed to have faltered a bit.

... Or, maybe it was just Guy's imagination.

"In any case-" Guy's furry finger trailed the length of the rotary dial. "I'm not callin' room service. I'm just gonna ask the front desk to send up a cot."

Sam chuckled, impishly turning to his back as he kicked at the air. "A cot? … Honestly, Guy, you spoil this bird silly! But there's really no need, I mean, this goofball should be fine with just a sheet or two-"

"It's not for Jenkins." Guy said stoutly. "It's for me."

… Sam’s feet ceased their flexing. Pouncing back to his knees, he stared at Guy with eyes like saucers.

"... For you?" He repeated dumbly. "Ya mean you're not-"          

"No." Guy huffed. "I'm not." Shifting his shoulders, he fidgeted slightly with the coil of the phone. "... It... It’s just for comfort's sake. I-I'd feel better if we weren't... If I-" He cut himself off, practically tangling the cord between his awkward joints.

Sam observed his friend for a moment or two, before smiling easily with a flash of his hand. "Say no more, Pally O'Malley. You need your sleep-space, and I respect that. So!” He leapt to his feet. “What d'ya say we pull the ol' switcheroonie, and trade spots, huh? Let ME take the cot, and you can help yourself to the king-size!"

He then made an exaggerated gesture across the bedspread, like a gameshow host parading a new car. Needless to say, Guy was a little more than surprised.

"... Are... are you sure?"

"Of course! A lil' guy like me doesn't need this much room, anyway. Besides-” Slowly, Sam tucked his hands behind his back, sheepishly shuffling at his feet. “… After all the confuzzlement I've put ya through, this only seems fair."

… Sam was certainly a lot of things, (the words 'dope,' and 'nimrod' generally came to mind,) but every once in a while, he showed a certain level of autonomy Guy didn't think was possible. Briefly lost for words, Guy stared, slightly slack-jawed, before inevitably coming to his senses with a shake of his head.

"... Er... Thank you." He mumbled quietly.

~~

After everything that Guy’d gone through within the last two days, (ranging from breakneck bean-recovery, to adversarial avalanches,) he would’ve happily sacrificed his own appendix for a good night’s rest.

Unfortunately, (but not unsurprisingly,) he had no such luck.

At first, it’d been Jenkins vying for his attention, whining softly as he prodded his beak to Guy’s shoulder.

“… Mr. Jenkins… No… It’s sleep-time…” Guy murmured drowsily, his face half-hidden behind the mound of pillow. If Guy had to guess, he’d wager the big fella was just restless, or hungry… But there was something to his chirping that felt more… desperate. Like he was actively pleading for Guy’s attention. Against his better judgement, Guy finally arose with a groggy grouse, rubbing his palm to the grittiness of his sleep-starved eyes.

“Alright, buddy, wassa matter?” he mumbled with a yawn. Looking over to the creature, Guy expected him to be pecking at the windows, or, (heaven forbid,) scratching at the door… But, to his surprise, Jenkins’ attention was not pointed at the room…

But to Sam.

Sam, who was curled like a boiled shrimp against the suspended canvas of the lightweight cot, quivering pitifully…

… Oh, Dillikins, is he sick?!

Frantically, Guy flicked at the adjoining lamp, scrambling to Sam’s side.

“Sam! Sam, what-”

“… M’sorry…”

Sam’s voice came in feebly; so feebly, in fact, that Guy wasn’t even sure he’d really heard it. Brow furrowed, he gingerly knelt to the floor.

Sam was… sorry?

… Sorry for what?

It was then that Guy realized – Sam wasn’t sick, he was dreaming… Then again, judging by the violent twitches, maybe nightmare would be the better word…

"Sam... Sam, c'mon, wake up-" Guy whispered, hopelessly jostling at his partner’s shoulders… but to no avail.

"... M'sorry..." Sam mumbled again. Guy couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but something about his voice was... unnerving. It lacked his devil-may-care smoothness and bravado... It sounded weaker, smaller... younger, even. “I… I promise I'll be good... I won't be a burden, Mom, please-"

Without warning, Sam’s rubbery arms twisted themselves around Guy’s unsuspecting midsection like a snake. He reeled, flustered and shocked, but there was no prying the little man from the surprise embrace. He seemed glued to Guy’s stomach, murmuring pathetically all the while,

“Don’t leave… Don’t leave, I’ll be good… I swear I’ll be good…”

It was not the monstrous storm of a boisterous sob, but instead, something quieter... and, all together sadder. It rattled in Sam's ribcage, shaking him from the inside-out. Against his friend, he shivered like a pup, huffing and panting and gulping for air, as his tears dampened the weathered, oak-colored coat.

Guy was all too familiar with the type of nightmare Sam was having, even if the specific context was lost on him. More than once, he’d woken up to an exhausted morning after a fit of grief-filled sleep; his face so ludicrously wet with tears, one would think it'd been raining indoors.

"SAM!" Guy hissed, rustling at his partner’s arms like a maraca. Still murmuring his ghostly pleas, Sam head merely bobbed lifelessly.

“What is he, comatose?!" Guy seethed, shooting Jenkins a thunderstruck look. "I can't get him up!"

Mr. Jenkins whimpered helplessly, glancing between his two adopted papas dads like a frightened toddler. Just then, his face lit up, and, (in what Sam would no doubt classify as a lightbulb moment,) he snapped his powerful jaws at the little man's leg.

… Sam was certainly awake then. His eyes popped open like two jack-in-the-boxes, and with an exaggerated breath, Guy knew a scream was bound to follow. Reeling, he hastily clapped his hands to his partner's open mouth, but not even that was enough to stifle the shriek of pain.

"Shh- be quiet, just be quiet!" he urged, not troubling to temper his own volume as he wrestled the writhing Sam. It proved to be more difficult than one would think, (after all, he was no bigger than their luggage to begin with,) but in his twisting arms, Sam squirmed and thrashed a weasel.

“You're fine, you're okay, just be quiet, please!"

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

There came a harsh hammering from the opposite wall, rattling the headboard and lamps in its wake.

“Hey-!” cried a muffled, male voice. “Put a cork in it over there!”

“Yeah!” resounded a second, unfamiliar, (but equally masculine,) voice. “Some of us are tryin’ to eat cereal here!”

Red-faced with effort as well as embarrassment, Guy bit at his lip.

… So much for soundproof walls…

“S-sorry!” he stammered, hurriedly gesturing for Jenkins to hush. “My, uh… my buddy here just stubbed his toe! … We – we promise to keep it down!”

“Yeah, you better!” growled the first voice. “Cause if I hear one more peep outta either a’ you, I’m filin’ a complaint!”

Guy swallowed. “… D-duly noted…” Briefly, he paused, wondering what else to say. “Er… Sleep tight!” he added, with a gawky sort of grin.

“I wouldn’t count on it!” giggled the second voice.

Finally, after a moment of strained silence, Guy let out a breath.

“You know, those two sound so cute together.”

With a strangled yap, Guy glanced down towards Sam. He’d all but forgotten about his partner, now perfectly conscious as he lounged within the incidental cradle.

“I gotta say-” Sam continued, casually resting his hands behind his head. “In spite of the blinding pain in my leg, this is a pretty nice way to wake up.”

With a noise of disgust, Guy hastily tossed Sam to the bed like one unloading a bag of trash.

“For your information-” he snapped. “I was trying to wake you up before you got us thrown out on our furry duffs! You were caterwauling like a Pandog with a Spork in its spleen!”

… Okay, so, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. Even Jenkins shot Guy an accusatorial glare.

Sam’s smile, however, was dropped almost at once. “… You… You heard all that?”

Guy blinked, a little stunned. He’d been expecting a laugh, or a dismissive hand-wave, but… Sam looked almost afraid, sitting back against his knees as he anxiously wrung at his hands.

“… Er… Not too much-” Guy mumbled, suddenly feeling as fretful as Sam looked. There was something so off-putting about seeing such a plucky spirit look so apprehensive… Sheepishly, he rubbed at his arm, glancing towards the ground. “… I-I mean… You mentioned your mom once, but-”

Guy looked up, suddenly noting the subtle twitch in Sam’s seemingly blank eyes.

“… Sam…?” he ventured cautiously.

All at once, Sam’s voice broke out in a crooked sort of chortle.

“BOY-!” he proclaimed, in an unsettling parody of his usual swagger as he hopped to the floor. “I sure could go for a swim right now! Did ya know this place even had a pool? I was shocked, I mean, talk about luxury! Did I remember to pack my swim-trunks? Ah, I guess it doesn’t matter; I mean, I only got the one shirt anyway, right? Do ya think they got pool floaties? Gee, I hope they got pool flo-”

“Sam.”

The little vagabond was already halfway towards the door when Guy’s hand came to rest at his shoulder. Visibly cringing, Sam risked a glimpse, and found his partner’s expression rather… uncharacteristically compassionate.

"... Heh... No beatin' around the bush with you, huh?” Chewing his lip, Sam looked back down.  “… L-look, it... it's nothing! We all have our weird dreams, it's nothin' to get all flibberty-gibbet about!"

Guy groaned, wearily massaging at the corner of his eye. "Sam, a dream about two countries warring over butter is weird. You were having a sleep-paralyzing nightmare. It was…” He paused, suddenly feeling considerably warm. “… Disconcerting.”

"... Oh, Guy-" Sam's eyes wobbled with hyperbolic affection. "You do care!"

He lunged for a hug, but, per the norm, Guy was quick to rebuff.

"I just wanna get this resolved so I can get some sleep, okay?" he spat, shoving the Who to one side. Nevertheless, Sam remained as misty-eyed as a child coveting a Valentine's Day card.

"Okaaaay... ya big ol' softie-pants."

With an amorous giggle, he lightly tapped at Guy's knee, who just rolled his eyes.

“… Alright, c’mon you.” Decisively, Guy headed back towards the bed, helping himself to a seat along the edge. Turning his eyes, he tapped at the open space beside him, to which Sam gave his usual melodramatic gasp.

"You... you mean it?"

Reddening slightly, Guy scowled heavily. "Don’t go gettin’ mushy on me; my legs were just gettin' tired, and..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Look, just get over here before I change my mind."

With a hoot, and a tap of his heels, Sam was already in, burrowing beneath the blankets like a rabid Groundgopher. As tightly wound as a burrito, he poked his face out from the folds, and giggled huskily.

"I always say, heart-to-heart talks are always better when you're all snuzzled up under a blanket! Ooh, ya know what would make this even better? Hot choco-late!" Dreamily, he sighed, and smacked at his lips. "What do ya say we order ourselves a round to get started, and-"

“Sam, stop trying to change the subject and talk to me.” Guy interjected, swiveling in place as he crossed his legs. “… Is talking about your mother that much of a sudden sore spot for you?”

Even before the sentence was out, Guy knew he’d said the wrong thing. Sam lost all trace of mirth in his expression, slowly staring out towards the opposite wall like a man in mourning.

It then occurred to Guy this was probably the first Sam was ever reluctant to speak.

"... Look-" Guy sighed, resting his arms to his raised knees. "... I'm probably the last Guy to be givin' advice about family stuff, but... whatever the deal is, it seems to me like your mom really loved you... And I mean, look at you now. A certified wildlife protector-! A hero, risking life and limb to protect a helpless animal-"

With every word of praise, Sam seemed to sink further and further into the blankets. Sensing the obvious discomfort, Guy quickly switched gears.

"... Look, bottom line is, you got a lot for a mom to be proud of. That..." he glanced over his shoulder towards the briefcase housing his dismantled self-flyer, and sighed. "... That's more than a lot of people can say."

Despite the gentle words, Sam continued to stew in his self-imposed silence. Warbling softly, Jenkins reached out across the bed, and nudged his nose to Sam's shoulder invitingly. With a resigned sort of smile, Sam naturally obliged, stroking his hand along the bird's mop of magenta hair.

"... I can't say any of that, though..." he said quietly. More quietly, in fact, than Guy'd ever heard him. "My mom wouldn't be proud, ‘cause... she never knew me."

Silently, Jenkins withdrew his head, as Guy could only stare. "... What did you say?"

Surely he'd heard wrong.

"... I made it all up." Sam mumbled after a moment. "Everything I said about my mom... was a lie."

... Then... All those stories-

"But... But what about the juice incident?" Guy reasoned. "Or the stuffed animals, or - or-" briefly, he snapped at his fingers, desperately wracking his brain for any other examples. "Or your imaginary friend, Reggie? Who she pretended was real?"

Beneath the thick veneer of shame and guilt, Sam couldn't help but feel a soft pat of fondness for his gruffy companion.

... He really had been listening...

"Made up... Pretend... Non-existaroo." he listed hoarsely, staring up towards the ceiling. "I never told anybody this before, but... when I was very little my mom-" Sam's voice broke slightly, and he swallowed. "... Left me at an orphanage... It's always just been me. I mean-" he paused, smiling ever so faintly. "At least until I met you."

... Guy was stupefied. Practically since the beginning, he'd pegged his fellow felon as a fool; a clingy buffoon born with an undeserved silver spoon in his mouth... And now, come to find out... he'd been abandoned?

"... Do you remember anything about your parents?" Guy ventured softly.

Sam looked away. "... I remember my mom... a little. Just... one thing."

"What?"

Even in the darkness, Guy could catch the faintest hue of rose blooming through Sam's pearly fur. Shuffling deeper under the covers, he mumbled sheepishly, "It's not important..."

Guy found himself leaning forward.

"Go ahead," he whispered encouragingly.

Though something told him he already knew what it was. Whimpering shyly, Sam drew the brim of his sleep cap over his eyes.

"... It's silly..."

"... Sam..."

Sam jolted slightly, looking out from under his hat. He'd known from the get-go that Guy was not a touchy-feely sort of Knox, and yet... he'd made a gentle reach for his partner's trembling hand, as seamlessly as though he'd been practicing for years. And even more puzzling, he showed no sign of regret, or awkwardness... He just stared with those lined, tired eyes, and squeezed.

Sam’s face went from white to pink… Then, smiling in defeat, he relaxed, and gazed up towards the ceiling.

"... She made me breakfast."

... Guy'd known it, without really knowing it... And even still, he couldn't think of what to say. How many times had Sam ordered that dish in their shared existence? ... And how many times did Guy gag, and shudder, and turn his nose up at it?

... How many times did he turn his nose up to her memory?

The guilt suddenly sagged in his stomach like a stone.

"... I bet hers-" he said after a beat. "... Were really good."

Sam chuckled sadly, finally turning onto his side, though he still avoided eye contact. With his free hand, he mournfully traced the swirling pattern of the bed sheet. "The best... Really green... Super eggy... I've been trying to find her all these years, so I could ask... why, ya know?" He blinked, and a tear lazily trailed along his fur. "... Why she gave me up..."

Guy wanted to say something... anything... but a saddened, desperate chuckle quickly interrupted.

"I-I'm sure it's a good reason, I just-" Sam's voice seem to thicken with grief, as his grip on Guy's hand only tightened. One by one, tear after tear splashed against the bedspread, but Sam was determined to carry on. "... I really wanna know... So I keep ordering them, and I keep trying them... But they're..." he struggled to swallow the burgeoning lump in his throat. "... Never hers..."

Sam I-Am and Guy Am-I had not been together for very long, but in their time together, there seemed to be one hard and fast rule.

Sam was always the first to instigate a hug.

Tonight, Guy broke that rule.

“… Keep trying, Sam …” he whispered, gently cupping Sam’s head to his chest. The gesture and confession proved to be too much for Sam, as he quickly dissolved into snuffles of catharsis, desperately clasping his Guy like a life preserver. Purring softly, Jenkins curled his elastic neck around the pair of them, encircling the two like a wreath of pure warmth.

"Here, blow." Guy said after a minute, plucking a tissue from the box atop the bedside drawers, and gingerly held it to Sam's button nose.

Unfortunately, the moment of tactile tenderness was quickly squelched, as, with a nasally Bronx cheer, Sam's thunderous mucus rocketed a stream of slime as green as his eggs. Quickly suppressing the urge to retch, Guy snagged at a fistful of tissues, hastily smothering them to Sam's sticky face.

"... Better?" he asked, swiftly tossing the snotty clump to one side.

Sam gave a shuttering sniffle, nodding weakly.

“… Y-yeah… Th-thanks, Guy…” Smiling wetly, he dragged his knuckles across his swimming eye before casting the discarded cot a look of drained submission. “I… I guess I oughta be gettin’ back to bed…”

He made to move, but was suddenly pulled back in by Guy.

“… You don’t have to leave…” he muttered, squaring his shoulders with a great show of shyness. Lowering his gaze, he buried his twisted mouth against the fluff of his tawny neckline. “… N-not… not if you don’t want to, I mean…”

“... For real?” Sam gawked. “… But… but what about your sleep-space?”

“Eh,” Guy shrugged, finally sliding in under the comforter, as Jenkins dutifully uncoiled. “I always sleep alone… So, maybe…” Shyly, he fluffed at his pillow. “… I could try it with a companion, for once… Who knows?”

Without realizing it, he’d shuffled in closer, making a second clasp for Sam’s feeble hand.

“… I might wind up liking it.”

[simblrbreezycakes]

i was tagged by @chippedcupanddustybooks sweet bb. i am tagging @irrelephantsims @magnoliidae @simplymelaninated and anyone who hasn’t been tagged i swear i feel like the last person doing this LOL. heckin long ass questionnaire under the cut.

1. What is your full name? Brianna Leigh [Redacted] 2. What is your nickname? Breezy 3. Birthday? may 4th 4. What is your favorite book series? hmmmm series? idk.... i really like every single john grisham book and they aren’t related but when you have such a niche brand of book i feel like it counts lol.  5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? kinda on both. 6. Who is your favorite author? oh whew. tough one right here. idk man, i have a few? but if i had to choose i guezz i would say george orwell.   7. What is your favorite radio station? who tf listens to the radio like det anymore lmfao. i don’t have one. before i listened to 107.1 in memphis in the car sometimes, but i moved so. 8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? i loveeee pineapple anything. 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? lit 10. What is your current favorite song? currently really into pink in the night by mitski and also sicko mode by travis scott.

11. What is your favorite word? good ole fuck(in/ed/etc.) i also really like voluptuous and bubbles. 12. What was the last song you listened to? last thing i listened to was another lifetime x nao.  13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? absolutely check out the good place. also hilda, the dragon prince, she-ra princess of power, criminal minds, law and order (the original), and snapped. 14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? i used to watch the notebook religiously when it rained/felt upset like shit. but lately i’ve been watching say yes to the dress to combat my depression lol. 15. Do you play video games? yah 16. What is your biggest fear? dying alone and no one finding me. like literally alone not like meta alone “oh no one loves me” like dead ass alone somewhere isolated. 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? hmmmmm idk that i care a lot about other people? 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? all of them lmfao. i’m annoying, i’m physically unattractive, i talk too damn much, i can be kind of a bitch both intentionally and unintentionally, i’m a trash writer, i can be selfish, and i self depreciate a lot (lol see above response “all of them”) and i’m sure that gets on people who love and care about me’s nerves ((but like....i mean it lmfao)) 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? whew tough. prolly cats though.  20. What is your favorite season? winter followed by a tie between spring and fall.  21. Are you in a relationship? nah lmfao.  22. What is something you miss from your childhood? not being so fuckin ugly and depressed lmfao. 23. Who is your best friend? “my person” as greys anatomy stans would say is ivy lynn [redacted] [redacted] but i also wanna shout out my home girl mary (i know you follow me on here), my home girl christina (also follows me on here but she never checks her simblr anymore), my smoothie gang bitches, my NSA bitches (which includes both ivy and mary lmfao), and my memphis as fuck family. honorable mention to loml [redacted] who is skating on thin fucking ice with me right now lmfao. 24. What is your eye color? brown 25. What is your hair color? brown 26. Who is someone you love? don’t make me answer this tumblr gods. 27. Who is someone you trust? all my best friends, my parents, my brother. 28. Who is someone you think about often? fucking murder me @ this question lmfao. my friend kate (RIP) my grandmother grannypeg (RIP) and [redacted] 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? i’m excited to spend christmas in a new country! forging new traditions and all that. 30. What is your biggest obsession? currently i’m obsessed with wedding stuff and mens fashion and how mens fashion such as suits translates into womens fashion. we love a hot lady in a tailored suit amiright? 31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? spongebob squarepants RIP :”( 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? [redacted] 33. Are you superstitious? kinda i guess? not really about stuff like stepping on cracks breaking mamas’ backs or opening umbrellas indoors but little things about familial traditions. 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? not really a phobia but i have misophonia. i also hate eye shit. like eye violence or anything fuckin around with eyes is a big no from me dawg. 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? absolutely behind the camera. i used to be a theater kid so like being on stage i don’t mind but when it comes to the spotlight and being filmed??? no no no no no. lemme be a cinnamontawgrowfur all day.  36. What is your favorite hobby? watching movies, playing skyrim (I MISS IT SO MUCH), reading, watching music videos, modern calligraphy/hand lettering, baking (ALSO MISS IT MUCH) 37. What was the last book you read? lol a textbook about developing countries.

38. What was the last movie you watched? i just rewatched the swan princess the other day but in terms of watching something brand new i think it was this tom cruise movie my friend showed us and i thought she said someone else ( i don’t remember now. maybe tom hanks?) it was pretty good he was irish or sum with nicole kidman and they came to the united states and pretended to be siblings but the sexual tension was so fucking high dawg. 

39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? nothing i’m wack and a disappointment to my musically gifted family (my dad and brother)  40. What is your favorite animal?  polar bears followed by giraffes. 41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? i’m gonna go with my main tumblr because ion wanna hurt nobody’s feelings but i follow a celebs of color page i really love, a fashion page i really love, and a few artists i really love. 42. What superpower do you wish you had? teleportation or shape shifting.  43. When and where do you feel most at peace?  i feel most at peace when it is raining and i’m in my room, everything is clean and tidy, candles are lit, i have nothing to do so the world is my oyster, i have a nice cup of coffee or hot cocoa or tea, and i just am v i b i n g.  44. What makes you smile? seeing my friends, my brother (when he isn’t pissing me off), funny videos of red dead people falling off their horse in cinematic mode, pretty flowers, cute art, round birds. 45. What sports do you play, if any? i don’t lmfao. 46. What is your favorite drink? honestly a frozen margarita no salt. 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? a month ago.  48. Are you afraid of heights? absolutely. 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? people chewing with their mouths open and people talking to me like i’m incompetent/assuming i don’t know anything about what they’re trying to talk to me about especially if it is my area of expertise lol. 50. Have you ever been to a concert? hail yeah. many. 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? nope! 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? honestly i don’t know but i have a distinct memory of a bunch of girls in my second grade, yours truly included, wanting to be strippers. and i don’t know why or how this came up or if we even truly knew what stripping meant but. yeah. OH i guess around the time i was in 4th/5th grade i started wanting to be a harvard law graduate and be a lawyer but i gave that up in like high school and then bounced being a lawyer back and forth in my noggin up until i applied for grad school. shout out to my mary for doing it though.  53. What fictional world would you like to live in? hmmmm idk. none of em really. 54. What is something you worry about? if i made the right decision(s) in life lol.  55. Are you scared of the dark? not really.  56. Do you like to sing? yeah i do! doesn’t mean i’m good at it though haha. 57. Have you ever skipped school? yeah lmfao. 58. What is your favorite place on the planet? i miss Rwanda a lot. but honestly my favorite place is wherever the people i love are. my family loves to travel so whenever i’m with someone i love sharing an experience? i’m in heaven. 59. Where would you like to live? idk anywhere i guess. somewhere it is mostly cold most of the time though haha. 60. Do you have any pets? my bb boi fred lives with my dad and my mom has a dog and 2 cats. we used to have 3 but one of em ran away when she moved to her house, we caught him, he ran away again. oh whale. 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? oh a big time night owl. big time. 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? honestly i like sunrises better but i am never awake to catch em hahah. 63. Do you know how to drive? yah and i fuckin love doing it. 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? i prefer headphones. like really quality ones too. but i tend to use earbuds more often because i don’t need quality while im working out or going to class just easy grab and go. 65. Have you ever had braces? nope but i used to want some so bad. 66. What is your favorite genre of music? i love rap, dream-y pop music and dream-y rap music, i love 80s music. all 80s music really lmfao.  67. Who is your hero? mi mum and mi dad. also viola davis queen of inventing acting and every single color in the rainbow. 68. Do you read comic books? kind of. i was trying to build up a collection before i moved but i only had my BP comics. 69. What makes you the most angry? injustice and offensive ass content and behaviors. also don’t fuck with my friends. i got two dudes on my shit list right now that it is *on sight* if i ever see them again. 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? a real book all the way. idk what it is about digital reading my brain shuts the fuck down. i am super fast reader but the second i try and read something digitally it takes me maybe like 10-15 min to get through just a few sentences. 71. What is your favorite subject in school? history lol i was a history major. 72. Do you have any siblings? yeah my chicken nugget puppy brother dylan. asshole. 73. What was the last thing you bought? some historical romance i think? it’s in dutch so idrk.  74. How tall are you? 5′7 i think. 75. Can you cook? yeah i love cooking but saddly don’t do much of it. 76. What are three things that you love? my teddy bear my momma got me for valentines day, my st. agatha figurine, and my yikes tapestry mary got me. i realize now after reading the next question you probably meant like shit in general so. the smell of a fresh cup of coffee, snuggly warm sweaters, postcards and tiny gifts from friends. you know the ones “i just got this for you because i thought you’d like it” 77. What are three things that you hate? funky ass attitudes, the smell and feel of lavender oil, corn. 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? female 79. What is your sexual orientation? i’m a big ole heterosexual. sorry to disappoint :/  80. Where do you currently live? the netherlands. 81. Who was the last person you texted? my friend and former roommate. today is her birthday. 82. When was the last time you cried? like an hour ago lmfao. 83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? i don’t have one haha. vevo i guess. 84. Do you like to take selfies? do i like taking them? not really. it takes me too damn long to get one that looks good enough. i like sending stupid selfies to friends though. 85. What is your favorite app? i use twitter probably the most but my favorite app is my spider solitaire game haha. 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? we are very close. i would say both of my parents are my biggest supporters and cheerleaders but how they do that looks a bit different. my mom and i are very similar but sometimes how we handle certain things is very different so we can be the best of friends one day and the completely butt heads the next. 87. What is your favorite foreign accent? i loovveeeee a scottish accent and an irish accent. also tbrh i love a good southern boy drawl. like idk if i could play for you all the way this one dude who works with my mom talks? i would because i wanna bottle it and listen to it whenever i feel bad. 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? i would really like to go to norway for my birthday. 89. What is your favorite number? i don’t have one. 90. Can you juggle? nope but i did try and learn i have a video of it somewhere lmfao. 91. Are you religious? kind of. i’m more spiritual than religious and lowkey hate saying that because it sounds so hoitietoitie but it’s true. 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? the ocean. so much of it we haven’t explored. thinking about space makes me feel existential and dead inside.  93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? nah haha 94. Are you allergic to anything? yeah i’m supposed to take one claritin a day but like i don’t. 95. Can you curl your tongue? yeah 96. Can you wiggle your ears? nope :(  97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? i’ll admit i’m wrong if i’m actually wrong but you’re gonna have to a helluva lot of convincing to get me there lmfao. though if my being “wrong” has caused harm to someone else i’ll apologize quicker than lightning because the last thing i would want is for my stubbornness to hurt someone i love. 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? um the mountains 99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? "never turn down a date. you never know who you might meet while you’re out” -my grandmother to my mother to me. 100. Are you a good liar? lmfaooooo i am a reformed liar. 101. What is your Hogwarts House? HUFFLEPUFF BAYBEEE 102. Do you talk to yourself? yah 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? an introvert. i may be loud and talkative sis but i promise you i’m over compensating because i want you to like me lmfao. 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? i have a private twitter does that count. 105. Do you believe in second chances? depends. 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?imma keep it real with you chief i would keeps the money lmfao. in the past i would’ve tried to return it to the owner but i am big broke bois with a lot of unexpected expenses coming up so like... yeah lmfao. we keepin that coint. 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? sometimes. 108. Are you ticklish? yes lmfao 109. Have you ever been on a plane? yeah! 110. Do you have any piercings? yah i got my lobes pierced one on each ear, my nose, and a cartilage piercing. 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? my girl nancy drew. 112. Do you have any tattoos? yeah i got 2 of em. 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? idk lmfao. probably when i applied for cityterm and when i appled to go back to undergrad. 114. Do you believe in karma? Yeah but not in a “oh you hurt me? you’re gonna get your come uppins” way but in a every action affects your soul and your being kinda way.  115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? im supposed to wear glasses but ask me if im wearing em right now lmfao. 116. Do you want children? presently i don’t see myself wanting or having kids but i want to foster. 117. Who is the smartest person you know? my friends lol. 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? literally every single memory has a tinge of embarassment lol. but probz when i walked into the cafeteria my first day of highschool as a smol freshman and my knees locked up and i fell forward and my giant ass backpack (because i never used my locker ever in any grade) wrapped around my neck and had me stuck in a strange position in the middle of the parting of the tables in the cafeteria.  119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? hell yeah lmfao. 120. What color are most of you clothes? blue or black 121. Do you like adventures? yeah! 122. Have you ever been on TV? yeah but like on the news and shit. 123. How old are you? 24 124. What is your favorite quote? i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart) 125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? OOF TOUGH BUT UHHH probz sweet. 

[mad-love-for-musicals]

Tag Game

I was tagged by @freakygirlsworld thanks love❤️

last

1. drink - hazelnut coffee 2. phone call - i think it was my grandma? 3. text message - lmao so it was to one of my middle school teachers and it said “wait what the hell? seriously?” angsty, I know lol 4. song you listened to - Found Tonight by Ben Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda (seriously so good check it out if you haven’t) 5. time you cried - Monday I think

ever 6. dated someone twice? - Yeaaahhh and it was dumb  7. kissed someone and regretted it - Uh definitely 8. been cheated on - Yeah that sucked too 9. lost someone special - Yeah I for sure have. Several people.  10. been depressed - Yeah that tends to happen when you have clinical depression. Weird concept, I know. 11. gotten drunk and thrown up - You know. I’d like to say no. Normally I can handle my alcohol, however I learned that when you chug like 4 different kinds of alcohol within a short amount of time your body doesn’t like that. Yeah learned my lesson there. At least college taught me something amiright?

fave colours 12. Purple 13. Blue 14. Grey

in the last year have you… 15. made new friends - Yeah for sure 16. fallen out of love - Oh yeah.  17. laughed until you cried - Several times haha 18. found out someone was talking about you - Bruh I swear two faced bitches are everywhere. So this is a  f a t  yes. 19. met someone who changed you -  Most of the people I have met this year have changed me and my outlook on life in some way. 20. found out who your friends are - This one has been unfortunately all too real. It’s sucked but in the end I’m glad I’m learning who’s really here for me and who’s not. 21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - Lmao nooo

general 22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - Basically all of them except maybe like a handful 23. do you have any pets - Yesss. My baby boi Teddy. He’s a 3 year old teddy bear puppy. So just a wonderful little ball of fluff. He’s my child and I love him with all my heart.  24. do you want to change your name - I used to want to. Because like I used to think the name Ciera was such trash because the only nickname/way to shorten it was C and no one wanted to do that so like. I was biter. But now I’m actually pretty okay with the name. So the only way my name is getting changed is if a miracle happens and I somehow get married.  25. what did you do for your last birthday- My family threw a small pizza party for me at a local bar in our town. Which was rigged because since I’m not at the legal age to consume alcohol they got a round of free drinks since it was my birthday and I sat there drinking a soda. They thought it was the funniest thing in the world. But it was cool having my aunts and uncles and cousins together at a time other than a holiday. So that was legit. 26. what time did you wake up today - Lmao ya’ll coming for me here... like 12pm... I have no defense, I just like sleep.  27. what were you doing at midnight last night - Pretending to study math while actually learning the lyrics to Hamilton (my current obsession along with tgs and Dear Evan Hansen).  28. what is something you cant wait for - This school year to be over because ya girl is stressed af. But also waiting for my DVD copy of tgs.  30. what are you listening to right now-  Right Hand Man from Hamilton 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - I know two people named Tom actually! The first Tom I know is a really good friend of my aunt and uncle and he’s just a happy drunk man. I enjoy him. He’s cool. The other Tom I know was a family friend of a family that I went camping this year. We both had been drinking and this Tom guy and I had a really intense conversation about depression and anxiety around a fire and it was rad. Tom was talking about how it was bullshit that society doesn’t talk about it much and how he just got diagnosed with anxiety and shit.  32. something that’s getting on your nerves - Everything lmao. Nah I’m kidding. Um it gets on my nerves when people make fun of someone for loving something. Like don’t give me shit for finding something that makes me happy you piece of shit. i don’t care if you don’t like it or think it’s dumb, i love it so go away. Sorry that got too angsty lmao 33. most visited website - Either Tumblr or YouTube. 34. hair colour - Dark brown (almost black but not quite there) 35. long or short hair - Short hair. Pixie cuts for days bois 36. do you have a crush on someone - Yeah see I don’t really know. maybe? not really? I don’t know. feelings are confusing guys.  37. what do you like about yourself - My eyes. They’re pretty rad.  38. want any piercings? - I used to want to get my lip pierced but I’m less emo now so like probably not.  39. blood type - Lmao I feel like actual trash for not knowing this?? But yeah no clue sorry lol  40. nicknames - I’m lame and my name is stupid so the only thing I got is C. 41. relationship status - Single af. In the odd shot that any of you lovely people wanna change that my inbox is open lmfao I’m so sad ignore that 42. zodiac - Scorpio ;) 43. pronouns - She/her 44. fave tv shows - House MD, NCIS, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, yeah I’m sure there are a bunch more but I can’t think right now 45. tattoos - I have one but want more. I have one on my collarbone area that says “Inhale the future exhale the past” with some birds 46. right or left handed - Right  47. ever had surgery - No and I’m thankful because the concept of it scares the hell out of me lol 48. piercings - I’ve had my ears pierced like twice but I let the holes close both times. just not my scene 49. sport - My favorite sport to watch is probably football or hockey but my favorite sport to play is softball.  50. vacation - My favorite vacation I’ve ever been on was a cruise to the Bahamas. My dream vacation would be Australia and New Zealand.   51. trainers - Wot? I’m confused lol

more general 52. eating - I don’t eat consistently. Like I’m terrible. I usually only eat once a day?  53. drinking - I drink a lot. like I’m always thirsty af 54. i’m about to watch - Probably The Greatest Showman tbh 55. waiting for - My friends to come online because I’m bored 56. want - To see a Broadway production 57. get married - Eventually I’m hoping to 58. career - Yeah I really don’t know what I want to do with my life right now but I’m leaning towards teaching for a number of reasons. 

which is better 59. hugs or kisses - Hugs are you kidding me. They’re the best.  60. lips or eyes - Eyes all the way.  61. shorter or taller - Taller 62. older or younger - Lmao is that even a question? Older.  63. nice arms or stomach - Nice arms for sure.  64. hookup or relationship - Relationship. Don’t come at me with a hookup dude I’m too emotional for that shit.  65. troublemaker or hesitant - Depends on the situation but in all honesty more hesitant

have you ever 66. kissed a stranger - Nope  67. drank hard liquor - Lmao.. umm... yeah  68. lost glasses - Yeah and it was terrible because do you know how hard it is to look for something when you’re like blind??  69. turned someone down - Yeah like once or twice.  70. sex on first date - Nah bro.  71. broken someones heart - Yeah unfortunately 72. had your heart broken - Oh yeah for sure.. 73. been arrested - Nope 74. cried when someone died - Uh yeah of course. 75. fallen for a friend - Lmao dude it’s like my specialty. 

do you believe in... 76. yourself - Not really. Not as much as I should.  77. miracles - Maybe. Depends on the situation I guess.  78. love at first sight - Again.. Maybe.  79. santa claus - Lol no. that magic was taken away from me.  80. kiss on a first date- Hey if it feels right who am I to stop it 81. angels - I believe that people who die watch over you but I don’t believe in the things with the wings and harps and stuff.  82. best friend’s name - Talia <3 83. eye colour - Hazel 84. fave movie - I can’t pick one don’t do this.. The Greatest Showman, Logan, The Breakfast Club, The Prestige, and Dead Poet’s Society 85. fave actor - Is this even a question? HUGH JACKMAN. HANDS DOWN. ALL THE WAY. HUGH. MF. JACKMAN. 

Lmao sorry this is so long. Oops. 

I’m tagging: @three-wishes-not-granted @rewritting-the-stars @no-more-living-in-the-shadows @thegreatestjxckman @teasockschocolate

[micycle--wheeler]

It Always Gets Stranger

Mike’s family is going to Maine for the summer. Sometimes, things take a turn for the worst.

CHAPTER 6

read on ao3

read chapter 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

words: 2162

warnings: homophobic / racial slurs (Henry Bowers, basically)

BEN Hanscom was a patient person. If anyone was to describe him, that was the word to use.

But when his yearlong friend, Richie Tozier, showed up at the quarry an entire hour late with six more people than expected, Ben’s patience was being tested.

“What the hell, Richie?” was Eddie Kaspbrak’s greeting to the boy, and he smiled sarcastically, showing off his slightly over-large incisors.

“Well ya see Eds, I was busy sayin’ goodbye to your mom and I lost track of the time-”

“Beep beep, Richie,” Eddie and his group of friends chorused, used to the antics of their trashmouth friend.

“What’s with the entourage?” Stan asked from his spot on a nearby rock, which he had taken to sitting on for the last half hour of waiting. The group of silent kids behind Richie shuffled, and Ben watched as a kid with wildly curly hair exchanged glances with a tall black boy.

Said boy spoke up, seeming to take leadership. “We’re friends of Mike, Richie’s cousin.” The boy motioned to another, who looked very much like Richie.

“Well, friends and cousins of Richie, welcome!” Beverly said from next to Bill, flashing a smile toward them. A couple of the strangers reciprocated, the curly haired kid and a girl with brown hair just as wild.

The air fell silent after that as everyone yook in the faces of new, and Ben did as well. There was also a girl with vivid red hair that could rival Bev’s, the long tresses pulled back into a ponytail. Next to the boy who looked like Richie (Mike, Ben was proud to remember) stood a kid with round eyes and a wary smile, his hair framing his face in a flattering way. A bird chirped and Stan’s head turned to the sound.

Surprisingly, Bill was the person to break the awkward silence. He motioned to the redhead’s shirt and asked, “Y-you like Eh-Eh-Elvis?”

She seemed to ignore his obvious stutter. “Yeah, I love him. You too?”

“Oh, I c-can never s-s-st-s-stop lis-listening to h-h-hi-him! The Losers ah-are always ann-an-annoyed at me,” He beamed. “Oh, and I d-d-do-don’t buh-buh-believe I caught your nuh-nuh-name.” She opened her mouth to speak as the curly kid beat her to it.

“She’s Max. I’m Dustin. And did you just call your friends ‘losers?’” Ben noted that some of his teeth seemed to be missing, and he had a slight lisp.

“It’s what we call ourselves,” Ben spoke up, and he felt slightly uncomfortable with so many new pairs of eyes focused on him. “The bullies called us ‘Losers,’ so we took the name as our own.”

“Original,” Max spoke up. “Our bullies just call us—”

Richie cleared his throat loudly, not in a way to get something out of it, but to draw attention to himself. “Uh, hello? Less chatty-chatty, more swimmy-swimmy? Come on fuckers, we’re losing daylight!” Richie strode over to the side of the cliff before anyone could point out to him that they had hours to swim.

“Wait, you’re gonna jump off of that?” Mike spoke up, a shake to his voice. He exchanged glances with Dustin and the unnamed girl, and Ben sensed that they had a story to tell from it.

“What’s wrong, Micycle, ‘fraid of heights?” Then he said quieter, “If he shits himself, it’ll be hilarious.”

“No, I’m not! I just… um… it’s a long story,” Mike defended himself.

“Probably about the diving board to the public pool, amiright?”

“Shut up, Richie. Not the time.” Eddie rolled his eyes.

Bill put a reassuring touch to Mike’s arm. “Do-don’t worry, Muh-Mih-Mike, we’ve all done it be-before. It’s perfectly safe.”

“But—”

“It’ll be fine, Mike. See? Watch.” Max pushed past Richie and took a large leap into the water. Everyone ran to watch her fall, and she let out a “Woo!” as she disrupted the water with a satisfyingly large splash.

“Holy shit!” Richie exclaimed. “That was really hot. Is she single?” Richie cringed away as Lucas punched him in the arm. The unnamed girl shook her head and jumped after Max. “Holy shit, is she single?”

“Beep-fucking-beep, asshole.”

“Aw, come on, Eds. I’m just asking a question you all know you wanted answered.”

Stan shook his head, the curls bouncing along. “Weren’t you hung up on Eddie’s mother ten minutes ago?”

“The past is in the past, Stan-the-Man.”

Ben looked at the others. “Wanna jump?”

Dustin grinned, his cheeks pulled up and his eyes crinkling. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Everyone’s feet left rock and flew through the air into the water, multiple cries of “Holy shit!” and “Woo-hoo!” being shouted into the air.

Ben did a head count, and, coming up two short, he looked back up at the cliff.

Two tiny figures stood, and Ben could see the dark hair and pale skin even from a height like that.

Richie and Mike seemed to be arguing, hands waving and voices carrying down the cliff, although Ben couldn’t decipher what they were saying. Ben saw hands connect a chest, and one of them came flailing down the cliff with a strangled “I’M GONNA KILL YOU, RICHARD!” The second figure followed, and Max gargled on water as she let out a laugh when Mike hit the water.

…

Lots of water-splashing and chicken-fighting ensued after that, and the twelve kids took to lounging on the rocks as they dried off and music from Richie’s boombox filled the air.

“So… what brings you guys to Derry?”

Stan had known about Richie’s family situation, as he had complained to them over and over since he’d gotten the news. He (and the rest of the Losers) had no idea as to why they had come.

“My mom,” Mike had spoken up. “She wanted to visit her sister and my entire family was dragged along.”

“Yeah, and we didn’t want him to be alone all summer,” Lucas elaborated.

“Sorry Rich,” Bev turned to the boy with magnified eyes, “if you have to leave for the summer, we’re ditching you.” Richie glared and everyone cracked a smile.

The air fell silent again, save the boombox blasting one of Richie’s many mixtapes.

“Is it true that Derry has twice the average amount of deaths than the national average?” Dustin burst out randomly, as if he was waiting to pop the question all day. The losers’ heads turned to Ben, knowing he was the library feel out of all of them.

“No, actually. It's six times.” Dustin's eyes widened, like a little kid that got what they wanted for Christmas.

“Totally tubular,” he smiled at Lucas and Max, although nobody else seemed to get the joke.

…

On the walk back, Eddie has a feeling of something being… off. When he asked Bev, she just shrugged, saying, “You always feel like something's off, Ed. I bet it's nothing,” and she pushed his shoulder in a sisterly manner.

“She really think shes gonna come outta that school?” Eddie turned at Stan's voice, his gaze fixed on a lone woman sitting on the steps of the empty school, hopping up peeking through the doors as if waiting for someone who was late.

“What? Who’s ‘she?’” the short boy, Eddie learned who was named Will, wondered.

“Betty Ripsom,” Beverly said to him. “She went missing a few weeks ago. That's her mom over there.”

“It's as if she’s been locked in a janitor’s closet for the last few weeks,” Eddie muttered, looking at the mother who was hiding on to a nonexistent thread of hope that her daughter was lost at school, that's all.

“Do you think they're actually gonna find her?” Stan spoke aloud to the silent group.

“Sure,” Richie started, and Eddie prepared himself for an offensive comment. “In a ditch, all decomposed, covered in worms and maggots and smelling like Eddie's mom's underwear.” Richie motioned to Eddie, who shivered at the idea.

“Shut up, this is freaking disgusting.” Eddie shook his head to rid himself of the image, filled with millions of deadly bacteria.

“She's not dead, she’s mm-meh-missing,” Bill said defensively, glaring at the bespectacled boy.

“Sorry, Bill,” Richie apologized, his extra-large eyes seeming to come into focus as he adjusted his glasses. “She's missing.”

Eddie was surprised. The only other times he'd heard Richie apologize was once to the principal for selling candy from his locker (after his mother forced him to), and once to a streetlight that he thought was a person after he ran into it. It was a thing of Richie's: he just didn't apologize to things because he usually didn't feel sorry.

But of course, Bill was always sort of treated a little like glass since what happened in October… Eddie still remembered the phone call and how Bill had to hand the phone to his mother because he was stuttering so badly.

“They’ll find her,” the curly-haired girl said, and Eddie was startled to realize this was the first time he’d heard her speak. She had a soft voice, and it reminded Eddie of a warm cabin in the woods that he had never been to before. She spoke with a sort of certainty to her voice that made it sound like she knew Betty personally, and had seen her. It was quite calming.

“Should we tell her about the shoe?” Ben was still staring at the mother, who glanced at the group before turning back to the school.

“What shoe? Did you guys find something?” Lucas asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“W-we were in the ss-sew-sewers yesterday,” Bill explained. “Looking f-for…” he took a deep breath, “no one.”

“‘Looking for no one.’ Wow, that’s not sinister sounding at all.” The redheaded Max shook her head as Lucas nudged her in the arm. She sighed. “Sorry.”

“Is that how you guys spend your summer?” Dustin asked, crunching down a granola bar that Eddie didn’t know how he got. “Inside of sewers?”

Richie was silent for a heartbeat before, “Beats spending it inside of your mother. Ohhh.” He raised his arm for a high-five to Stan, who grabbed it and yanked it down.

“Woah,” Mike said, looking at something Eddie couldn’t see, “Nice car.”

They all turned, spotting a blue Trans Am, and Eddie’s face paled. “W-we should get outta here.”

“Why, Kaspbrak?” a sneering voice spoke. “’Fraid you’ll go missing too?” Eddie turned around, spotting Henry Bowers standing just a few feet in front of the group. How he managed to sneak up on them, Eddie had no idea, and he sometimes wondered if he had the ability to teleport.

Riche let out a choking sound as the back of his shirt was yanked backwards, and he fell spectacularly into Stan, where they both landed on the ground with an almighty “oof.”

A large belch sounded right next to Eddie’s ear, and he cringed away from the sound and the hot breath, gagging as the boy, Belch Huggins, let out a big laugh.

“Knew he was a bottom,” Patrick said as Richie tried to get up off of Stan, and Victor Criss, another one of Henry’s goons, pushed him back down. Patrick kicked Stan in the arm. “Fuckin’ flamer!”

“And who have we here?” Henry said, looking toward Lucas, who had a scowl set on his face. Eddie wouldn’t put it past him that he would punch Henry if he had the chance. “You seem far from home, dontcha, Midnight?”

“Eat shit.”

“Oh, you think you’re all high ‘n’ mighty, don’t ya?” Henry said in that menacing voice of his. “Newsflash, kid: you don’t belong here. Stay out of this town. Or you’ll deserve what’s comin’ for ya.”

“Hmm, what else’ve we got here?” Victor seemed to have snuck up behind Max, and he had a handful of her hair in his fingers. She yanked herself away from him, turning around and stepping on his toes.

“Leave her alone!” Dustin said angrily. Henry’s gaze turned to him, and Dustin’s bravery seemed to melt.

“You seem to be missin’ a couple ’a teeth there, Curly. Shut up if you don’t want to lose some more.”

“Ss-sss-sshut it, Bowers!” Bill said angrily, his mouth seeming to not agree with his words as he spit them out. Henry turned around slowly, that threatening look back in his eyes.

“You suh-suh-say somethin’, Buh-Buh-Buh-Billy?” he strode over to the boy until they were inches apart. “Yeh got a free ride this year ‘cause ‘a your little brother. Ride’s over, Denbrough.”

Eddie knew he was going to do something horrible like he always did, but a police cruiser had rode down the street, slowing down while going by the kids. His father, Eddie thought to himself.

“This summer’s gonna be a hurt train. For you and your faggot friends.” He walked away and toward Belch Huggins’ car, but not before licking his hand and wiping it on Bill’s face.

The kids all watched them ride off.

“Wish he’d go missing,” Richie commented.

“He’s probably the one doing it,” Eddie said thoughtfully.

~~~

@cactus-byers

wanna be tagged? Just ask!